The reason to become a lord

Thirteen sets of [Godrick Soldier Armor], with the head, hands, body, and legs worth 100 runes each, came to 5,200 runes in total.

Five [Godrick's Soldiers' Straight Swords], four [War Picks], five [Broadhead Spears], four [Godrick's Soldiers' Greatshields], three [Brass Shields], and one [Golden Greatshield], also worth 100 runes apiece, came to 2,200 runes in total.

Selling all this scrap metal to Kale earned Tarnished a whopping 7,400 runes. Together with his remaining 442 runes, his total assets now stood at 7,842.

And so he shouted again, "Everything I've achieved is thanks to my own hard work! Melu, level me up!"

Melina appeared at the site of grace and, with great reluctance, placed her hand on Tarnished's abs again.

With 7,842 runes, Tarnished gained nine levels in one go, spending 6,978 runes to rise from level 2 to level 11, with 864 runes left over.

"First, raise my strength to 16 so I can use the Brass Shield."

Melina complied, adding five points to Tarnished's strength and raising it from 11 to 16.

"Put the remaining four points into dexterity." Tarnished chuckled. "Didn't we find a flail at the Gatefront Ruins? It's perfect with a shield. Taking Stormveil Castle will be a breeze!"

The flail was a weapon that relied heavily on technique. To wield it properly, one's dexterity needed to reach 18.

Melina hesitated. "Early on, concentrating the power of runes into a single attribute will improve your combat ability more quickly. If you spread them evenly and try to cover everything, you will end up accomplishing nothing."

"Relax. I'm the Elden Lord. I can't be wrong. Just do as I say." Tarnished brimmed with confidence.

The reserved girl was poor at arguing and had even grown accustomed to quietly accepting whatever came her way. Since Tarnished insisted, she said no more.

The remaining points went into dexterity. Tarnished's current attributes were:

Level: 11

Level: 1

HP: 414

Focus: 78

Stamina: 96

Observation: 110

Memory slots: 2

Vigor: 10

Focus: 10

Endurance: 10

Strength: 16

Dexterity: 14

Intelligence: 10

Faith: 10

Arcane: 10

"It seems you still don't meet the requirements for the flail," Melina said. "What now?"

"No problem. I'll go back to the Gatefront Ruins and see if they've got any hidden treasure vaults."

With that, Tarnished teleported back to Gatefront. To his surprise, during the time he had spent haggling with Kale, the soldiers at the Gatefront Ruins had been replenished.

"They really have lost their minds," Tarnished sighed. "They were invaded, yet they don't know how to respond. They just keep adding soldiers according to their deployment orders. How pitiful."

Then Tarnished killed all those pitiful soldiers again.

Melina: [...]

As they said, kindness had its rewards. While putting those soldiers out of their misery, Tarnished discovered a cellar in the Gatefront Ruins. He opened the treasure chest inside and obtained two special items.

[Whetstone Knife]: An item fashioned from a whetstone inscribed with secret writing and used as a knife. Through a site of grace, it can borrow the Erdtree's power to grant weapons new skills and affinities.

[Ash of War: Storm Stomp]: An Ash of War that grants weapons an affinity and a skill. Affinity: quality. Skill: Storm Stomp-one of Stormveil Castle's storm skills. Stomp hard on the ground to create a momentary storm around yourself. Usable on all melee weapons.

Simply put, Ashes of War were the equivalent of sorceries and incantations for warriors. Their casting implements were not staffs or Sacred Seals, but weapons of various shapes and types. The [Whetstone Knife] was the tool used to inscribe Ashes of War onto weapons.

"Just what you'd expect from me! Even treasures this well hidden can't escape me. This luck is exactly why I'm destined to become a lord!"

With his haul, Tarnished returned to the Church of Elleh and sold the scrap metal to Kale, earning another whopping 7,400 runes.

Kale couldn't resist commenting, "You're addicted to robbing Godrick's Soldiers, aren't you?"

Tarnished shot back, "You casually forked out over ten thousand runes for scrap. With that much money, why don't you become the Elden Lord?"

Kale coughed guiltily and began playing his beloved rustic lute again.

Including his leftover runes, Tarnished now had 8,264 in total. He chose to keep leveling up, but because each level cost more than the last, he could only gain five levels this time, reaching level 16 at a cost of 7,088 runes.

Although he still had 1,176 runes left, going from level 16 to level 17 already required 2,113.

"The Erdtree really does live up to its golden reputation," Tarnished grumbled. "Its gold sure costs real money."

Melina said nothing and quietly allocated his points.

When another two points had gone into dexterity, bringing it to 16, Tarnished suddenly told her to stop.

"Put two points into intelligence." Tarnished looked utterly drained. "I need more brains to figure out more ways to make money."

Melina was speechless at this mangled mess of a build. But the quiet girl simply didn't know how to refuse, and ultimately obeyed.

"What about the last point? Where should it go?"

"Vigor. You recommended vigor earlier, after all, Melu. Of course I have to listen to my fifth wife," Tarnished said with a smile.

Honestly, only now do you remember to listen to me?

Melina grumbled inwardly. She had never experienced such a feeling before, though she failed to notice it now.

With the final point added to vigor, Tarnished's attributes now looked like this:

Level: 16

HP: 437

Focus: 78

Stamina: 96

Observation: 110

Memory slots: 2

Vigor: 11

Focus: 10

Endurance: 10

Strength: 16

Dexterity: 16

Intelligence: 12

Faith: 10

Arcane: 10

"All right, time to make more money." Tarnished rose from the site of grace and smiled. "Let's restock at the Gatefront Ruins."

But Kale stopped him. "No matter how much of that scrap you bring, it won't fetch much. If you really want to earn more runes, head to the Limgrave Tunnels in northern Agheel Lake. It's a mine that produces smithing stones and somber smithing stones. They're low-grade, but they're still worth far more than those battered suits of armor and weapons."

Tarnished protested, "Are you kidding? I'm the Elden Lord! Even if I starve to death, I would never stoop to becoming a miner!"

Kale said, "I'll pay 400 runes per smithing stone and 800 per somber smithing stone."

"There's no greater honor than honest labor!" Tarnished changed his tune instantly and asked with a fawning smile, "How do I get to the Limgrave Tunnels again?"

The Limgrave Tunnels weren't far from the Church of Elleh. They lay just a little to the north.

In practice, however, the two locations were at different elevations. Heading straight north only led to a cliff, with the Limgrave Tunnels below it. Jumping down meant certain death, so reaching the tunnels properly required going south first, then north through Agheel Lake.

Tarnished's brain thought it understood, but his feet disagreed. In short, he got lost. Going south was correct, but at the point where he needed to turn north, he went east instead.

"Why can't I see the mine yet? I'm definitely going the right way." Tarnished raced along on Torrent, actually getting farther and farther from the mine. Eventually, he even discovered the Agheel Lake South site of grace, when his intended destination was the lake's northern shore.

"Turnip, what are you doing? You went the wrong way!"

Torrent: "..."

"Well, nobody's perfect, and no horse is perfect either. From now on, you need to take this seriously, reflect deeply, learn from this mistake, thoroughly investigate similar risks, and ensure this never happens again. Understood?"

Torrent: "Neigh."

"Good. Sounds like you understand. Now let's head north! Better late than never!"

Then Tarnished rode Torrent south.

Melina: Hopeless with directions... is he?

The kindhearted girl was about to remind him when Tarnished suddenly began singing a song with a strange melody.

"At which station will we kiss goodbye? The wind and roses only ramble when they have to part.

You and I look up at the snow, waiting for God to tear the lies apart, piece by piece.

At what age will we compromise? You slowly pull your fingertips away, an aesthetic of its own.

Once you fanned love into flame, then cast it aside, leaving me to gaze at the dark road behind.

Drinking snow on snowy mountains, listening to the passing wind vent.

Listening as it tells of you receiving a bouquet of roses.

Let the swirling snow replace my tears, and send you radiant spring.

I am indestructible, hiding my feelings deep.

Only that bright moon knows how fierce the journey was.

Such poignant sorrow is mine alone to feel.

Like snow falling in winter, nothing all that special."

"That song..." Melina spoke up curiously.

Tarnished smiled. "Sounds good, right?"

"It's very sad."

Tarnished's smile froze. He mustered his courage and was about to say something when a mounted Kaiden Mercenaries suddenly appeared ahead and swung his blade straight at him.

"Damn it! You ruined the mood!"

Furious, Tarnished leaned aside to dodge the blow, then dismounted. The Kaiden Mercenaries had already wheeled around and charged again, dragging his great blade. Tarnished's gaze sharpened. He drew the Godrick's Soldiers' Straight Sword at his waist and took a stance.

[Skill: Square Off]: Hold the sword level with the ground, then follow up with an attack. Perform an upward slash that breaks an enemy's guard, or charge forward with a powerful thrust.

Tarnished chose the latter. As the Kaiden Mercenaries charged toward him, he timed his move, stepped forward, and drove his Godrick's Soldiers' Straight Sword upward, impaling both rider and horse on the spot.

Melina: [Oh!]

"How's that for stopping a charging horse one-handed? I'm the Elden Lord, you stupid son of a... idiot!" Tarnished caught himself just in time, successfully preserving his image before Melina.

But Melina hadn't noticed any of that. Instead, she warned, "Watch out."

Watch out for what?

While Tarnished was still puzzling over it, a ray of azure light descended from above and shot toward his chest.

With a bang, Tarnished raised his Brass Shield at the last possible moment and blocked the hit. Yet some of the power within penetrated the metal and still injured him.

"Sorcery? Glintstone Pebble!"

Tarnished looked up toward the source of the attack and saw two noble sorcerers atop two enormous stone ruins, waving their staffs nonstop.

Well, damn. Shooting down from above made anyone below a sitting duck. With his impressive 12 intelligence, Tarnished certainly wasn't going to stand there and take it. He immediately blew the Spectral Steed Whistle, summoned Torrent, mounted, and charged toward the stone ruins.

But the noble sorcerers weren't entirely unprepared. Beneath the stone ruins was a small camp containing three Godrick soldiers and two Kaiden Mercenaries. Normally, Tarnished wouldn't have had much trouble dealing with them, but with two sorcerers above providing constant suppressing fire, he had no good options.

If he couldn't win, he'd run! Tarnished might be the Elden Lord, but why should being a lord tie his hands like that? Staying alive was the reason to become a lord!

Torrent was already moving at speed, making it awkward to turn around. Tarnished simply accelerated and charged straight into danger instead, catching them off guard and scattering their formation.

Amid the chaos, Tarnished spotted a wooden chest. Before the soldiers could catch up, he dismounted, opened the chest, grabbed what was inside, remounted, and fled. The entire sequence was breathtakingly seamless.

"Ha! These quick hands are exactly why I'm destined to become a lord!"

Tarnished had barely begun to gloat when a Glintstone Pebble struck him square in the back. He coughed up a mouthful of blood and hurriedly sped away.

The soldiers pursued relentlessly, chasing the mighty Elden Lord like a dog. Torrent finally reached a paved road and gradually shook off their pursuers, only for an Explosive Greatbolt to strike the road ahead and erupt in a booming burst of flame.

Tarnished looked up. A great bridge lay ahead, and the Explosive Greatbolt had come from the checkpoint on it. Worse still, a soldier was winding the ballista and would soon be ready to fire a second Explosive Greatbolt!

"Damn it! You really think I'm an easy target?" Tarnished roared. "If that's what you think, you're absolutely right!"

Melina: [...]

Tarnished accelerated again, Torrent's four hooves nearly striking sparks. As the second Explosive Greatbolt came flying, Tarnished tugged the reins and Torrent leaped high, first to the left, then to the right. With an incredibly nimble double jump, Torrent evaded the explosion and sailed over the checkpoint soldiers' heads through fire and smoke. Then... they fled like the wind.

What else was he supposed to do? Fight them?

Never mind their superior numbers and heavy weapons. Tarnished had just been hit by a Glintstone Pebble, and his current condition hardly allowed for intense combat.

Fortunately, a site of grace lay a short distance beyond the bridge. Tarnished hurried over, activated it, and sat down to rest.

Golden light flowed from the grace into Tarnished's body, healing his wounds and restoring his vitality and mental energy. It felt as though his empty body were being filled with thick, warm liquid. The fullness made him let out an involuntary moan.

Melina: ...

"Ah, that felt amazing! Goddess Marika really knows how to work her magic!"

Melina: ???

For some reason, Tarnished felt a chill behind him. "Ahem. Let's see what I picked up back there."

He looked at the item he had rescued from the chest and casually stuffed into Torrent's saddlebags. It was a weapon that gleamed with a chilling light.

[Great Epee]: A large thrusting sword with a long, narrow, pointed blade, designed for brutal duels. Like ordinary Estocs, it is suited to thrusting attacks and can be used to attack while guarding with a shield.

"Attack... while guarding with a shield?"

Tarnished seemed to realize something. First, he thrust forward with the Great Epee, then raised his shield. Then he thrust again and raised his shield again. After repeating this several times, understanding dawned. He raised the Brass Shield in his left hand, hiding his entire body behind it while continuously thrusting with the Great Epee in his right.

"Attacking while defending-a true union of offense and defense?" Tarnished said excitedly. "I get it! I remember everything now! Shield poking is exactly why I'm destined to become a lord!"