Melina's voice drifted softly across the wilderness, like wind lingering by his ear.
"Dragon Communion is a ritual of devouring Dragon Hearts."
"It is said that by swallowing the scorching heart of a Flying Dragon, one can gain the power of dragons."
"Since ancient times, countless warriors have devoted themselves to the path of Dragon Communion, pursuing that supreme ritual. To that end, they endlessly hunted Flying Dragons, even losing their lives."
The girl recounted an ancient secret in a calm voice.
"Wait, wait, wait!" Lu Mingfei suddenly raised a hand to interrupt her, his face twisted as though he were constipated.
"The dragons you're talking about, are they the huge kind with four claws and two wings, looking like lizards, able to fly, breathe fire, and use the four powers of earth, water, fire, and wind?"
Melina fell briefly silent at the boy's sudden excitement, but she still answered him.
"Ancient Dragons possess stone-like scales and eternal lives. They wield Storm, flame, and lightning.
"Dragon Hearts, meanwhile, come from the descendants of Ancient Dragons: Flying Dragons. Though they are inferior to Ancient Dragons, their strength remains formidable."
Lu Mingfei was dazed for a moment.
"What the hell," the boy muttered. "So even after running off to another world, I still can't escape dealing with dragons? What kind of bullshit fate is this..."
He scratched at his messy hair.
"And how big are these Dragon Hearts supposed to be? With my five-foot-seven frame, won't I choke to death?"
Unexpectedly, a trace of helplessness flashed through the lone eye of the girl who was usually still as water.
"...They can be transformed through the ritual."
Lu Mingfei breathed a sigh of relief.
"However."
The girl suddenly changed the subject.
"Everyone who performs Dragon Communion will gradually become inhuman."
"The desire for dragons will not disappear. It will slowly accumulate..."
"Until, in the end, that desire fills your entire body and endlessly torments you."
"The power of dragons is both mighty and beautiful, yet terribly frightening—
"Thus, performing Dragon Communion is equivalent to embarking on a one-way road to destruction."
"Desire erodes reason, and power twists the body."
"Will you still continue?"
The one-eyed girl tilted her head slightly, directing her gaze toward the foreign boy beside the Site of Grace. Yet the mouth that was always so prone to idle chatter was unexpectedly shut tight, silent.
The boy remembered the past. He remembered his homeland.
This ancient ritual known as Dragon Communion seemed to be inextricably linked to Dragon Bloodline, yet it had shattered his hope of returning to Earth.
His Golden Eyes dimmed.
"...So Dragon Communion is a path where people gain the power of dragons, then gradually transform into dragons?"
Melina gave a slight nod.
"You could put it that way."
"It has nothing to do with time travel or summoning rituals."
"No."
Melina shook her head.
Lu Mingfei sighed and muttered,
"Actually, back where I came from... there was similar crap. Things like Mixed-Bloods being noble, Dragon Bloodline being supreme, and breaking through the limits making you fall into a Dead Servant..."
Whether the girl beside him could understand or not, Lu Mingfei simply kept talking.
"And bloodline rankings, the sorrow of blood, and all that..."
Melina saw the boy's clenched fist trembling faintly.
After a long while.
"So, I understand everything you said." The boy sighed. "Miss Melina, just tell me everything you know."
"Anyway, it's better than being a useless S-Rank..." he said quietly.
Melina watched him in silence. This foreigner who was always chattering away had become as silent as a statue after saying those words.
"In Limgrave," she finally said, "there once stood a Church of Dragon Communion. It is said that it was built by knights who had lost their homeland, and had existed since the era of the Storm Lord."
Her figure began to fade, yet her words grew clearer.
"The bonfire there was extinguished long ago."
"And in distant Caelid, there are more tales of Dragon Communion... But now, every inch of that land has been tainted by Scarlet Rot. I fear you will find it difficult to reach..."
Lu Mingfei pulled his straight sword from the Kaiden Mercenary's chest. Blood sprayed from the huge wound along the blade's edge, and the mercenary's powerful body crashed to the ground with a bang, quickly falling silent.
The Lands Between was as peaceful as ever today.
Lu Mingfei let out a long breath, casually retrieved his dagger from the horse's corpse, wiped it against its mane, and tucked it back at his waist.
Kaiden Mercenaries were far stronger than the soldiers of Godrick's army and could be called fierce warriors. Every one of them was a swordsman with both strength and agility, capable of using a special technique that spun their bodies violently before slashing at their enemies.
Moreover, they excelled at mounted combat.
If he rode Torrent and fought them on horseback, Lu Mingfei was at least eighty percent sure that—
He would die horribly.
However, after learning through repeated deaths, Lu Mingfei's combat instincts had steadily improved.
I'll kill your horse first!
As long as he cut down the horse first, then faced the dismounted mercenary one-on-one, Lu Mingfei was nearly ninety percent certain he could take these big guys down by surprise.
Just as Lu Mingfei hummed a tune and sheathed his sword, preparing to "return in triumph"—
"Hey—passerby,
"Help me."
Click.
His footsteps stopped abruptly.
Shing—
Lu Mingfei instantly drew his weapon and warily scanned his surroundings.
The place was empty. Other than corpses, there was only grass and trees.
"Haunted."
Lu Mingfei muttered as he sheathed his sword again with a shing.
"Hey—I mean you.
"Why are you pretending not to see me?
"...Why is everyone like this?
"Am I really that ugly?"
Lu Mingfei did not make a sound.
He knew that on this land where demigods, dragons, and monsters ran rampant, encountering anything was normal.
If he wanted to avoid dying too miserably, he could only be cautious, cautious, and more cautious.
It did not take him much effort to identify the source of the voice.
A short yellow shrub.
Lu Mingfei slowly stepped closer, used his sword tip to lift aside the branches, then quickly leapt backward to put some distance between them.
Something strange happened.
The shrub gradually vanished, replaced by a curled-up Demi-Human covered in gray fur. It wore tattered sackcloth and clutched the wound pierced by Lu Mingfei's sword tip with its claws.
Those murky yellow eyes were wet, reminding Lu Mingfei of a stray dog soaked by the rain.
"Fine, fine. Even beastmen can wear armor and swing greatswords. What's so surprising about a clothed, talking Demi-Human..."
Lu Mingfei complained as he tightened his grip on his sword.
"Who are you?"
The short, ugly Demi-Human struggled to rise from the ground.
"Ah... thank you. My name is Boc...
"I wasn't welcomed by the others in the cave, so they drove me out...
"Then they used magic on me and turned me into a tree. You really helped me a great deal."
Lu Mingfei lowered his sword tip slightly, though he remained wary.
He examined the Demi-Human calling himself Boc—the tattered sackcloth was covered in dirt and stains, and several leaves were tangled amid his gray fur.
"Magic?" Lu Mingfei scoffed. "Who was bored enough to turn you into a tree?"
Boc awkwardly rubbed his claws together.
"It was... it was the other Demi-Humans in the cave. They said..."
His voice grew softer and softer.
"They said I was too ugly..."
Before you continue