Morning sunlight scattered the thin mist. Clad in golden armor, the Tree Sentinel rode his warhorse leisurely along the mountain road on patrol, while a chorus of birdsong drifted through the woods, waking the land.
I reached up to rub my eyes, only to feel something unusually cold against my face.
Oh, right. It was the ring Melina had given me last night-the Spectral Steed Whistle.
After all this time, I finally had the best means of transportation in the Lands Between. Even running for my life would look a lot cooler now!
As I studied the ring on my finger, an idea suddenly flashed through my mind!
In the game, the Tarnished bites the ring and blows into it to summon Torrent. And at the beginning, Torrent was with Meme, right?
Which means Meme must have bitten this ring to summon Torrent, too...
Then, if I bit the same spot now, would that count as an indirect kiss? Hehehe~
"Neigh-"
Suddenly, a neigh sounded beside me, and a gray-white horse appeared at my side. We stared at each other.
"H-hey there! Morning, Torrent." I greeted him a little guiltily.
Torrent neighed again, his eyes seeming to warn me not to use him for anything weird.
"Ahahaha." I laughed awkwardly, stood up, and stroked his mane. "Oh, I-I was only joking. Don't be mad."
"Oh, right. Want breakfast? I've got plenty of dried rowa fruit."
Torrent happily came closer and started eating the breakfast I had prepared for him.
I took out some jerky as well, chewing as I thought, Now that I have Torrent, I should explore farther afield.
It was embarrassing to admit, but I had been so preoccupied with surviving that I had barely ventured beyond the starting forest outside the Church of Elleh.
A journey that took only a few steps in the game had become much longer in the real world, and several more Godrick Soldiers were stationed there, too.
No wonder it had taken so long to trigger Meme's story. Maybe she had gotten tired of waiting and come looking for me herself.
After all, our first encounter in the game took place at the Site of Grace by the Gatefront Ruins.
But things were different now!
It's time to roam the world with sword in hand and stand up against injustice, Torrent! Let's go!
The pale horse raced along, his hooves kicking up dust.
Torrent truly deserved his reputation as the finest spectral steed in the Lands Between. In the blink of an eye, he carried me along the path and out of the forest, leaving Godrick's soldiers yelling behind us.
All right, Torrent! Let's brave the Lands Between and start by exploring all of Agheel Lake!
"Neigh-"
Torrent gave an equally excited whinny and charged toward the gate beyond the forest.
"Hey, wait! Wait!" I hurriedly reined Torrent in. "Old buddy, can't you see how heavily guarded that gate is? I'm not ready to force my way through!"
Incidentally, in the real world of the Elden Ring, it seemed I couldn't freely teleport between Sites of Grace-though perhaps I was simply doing it wrong.
In any case, if I charged through the gate now, I would have to take a huge detour to get back out. Quite a hassle.
Besides, I wasn't ready to take lessons from Professor Omen yet... Passing through the gate and storming Stormveil Castle would have to wait until I gained a few levels.
So I gave another order. "Torrent, let's head right, cut through the ruins, and reach the main road! Get moving!"
"Neigh-"
Hey, wait! Wait!
Why is he still trying to charge through the gate?!
"Ah, I get it. I must have given Torrent the wrong signal because I don't know how to ride."
I dismounted, took the reins, and turned him around before climbing back on. "Now go forward, Torrent."
"Neigh-"
Torrent whinnied, turned a full hundred and eighty degrees, and once again prepared to charge into the Dragon's Lair, Tiger's Den at the gate.
"Stop, stop, stop!"
This guy, why won't he listen?! He's hell-bent on advancing the main story... Did Meme give him orders beforehand? Damn it!
As I wrestled with Torrent, a horn suddenly sounded a little way off.
An instant later, arrows and bolts flew toward us, whistling past my ear.
"That was-way too close!" Cold sweat poured off me. "Seriously, how huge is their detection range in the real world?! I haven't even entered the ruins those Godrick Soldiers are guarding!"
Worse still, the soldiers guarding the gate seemed to have heard the horn, too.
An earsplitting roar answered from within, followed by a massive figure dropping from above and shaking the earth with its landing!
It was a Troll Guard!
Seeing it in person was far more intimidating than in the game. If it caught the Tarnished, it could probably swallow them in one bite without leaving a single bone.
At this rate, we're going to get attacked from both sides!
"Neigh-"
Fortunately, Torrent finally recognized the danger and charged to the right with me on his back, racing along the cliff beside the ruins.
He didn't stop until we had left the entire ruin far behind and found another Site of Grace.
"Oh, don't tell me you can see grace too, Torrent?" I asked in puzzlement after catching my breath.
Besides, according to various bits of lore in the game, he had quite a connection to Marika, the "Eternal Queen" of the Lands Between.
Torrent neighed in confirmation.
No wonder... Was he mistaking the guidance of grace for my orders earlier? Is that why he kept trying to charge through the gate?
"It's not like we're never going. We just need to be fully prepared if we want to win. I'm nowhere near strong enough yet, so please listen to my directions a little more next time." I sighed as I tried to reason with Torrent.
"Neigh!"
I had no idea whether he understood.
Oh, we passed a group of Sword Monuments.
Greatswords carved from black stone stood embedded in the earth like a little grove, recording the major events that had once taken place in this region. In reality, they looked all the more magnificent and solemn.
-Godrick the Golden, his battle of humiliation. Facing the Blade of Miquella, his forces crumbled. He knelt upon the earth and begged for mercy.
Hahaha! Little Godrick's glorious exploits really deserve to be savored.
Supposedly, he even licked the feet of Malenia, the Blade of Miquella, before she spared him... Damn it, why couldn't I be the one licking them?!
Just kidding. Malenia isn't someone ordinary people can get close to. The rot would eat through your whole body.
"Who are you? What are you doing here?" A rough shout startled me.
Oh, crap. It's a Kaiden Sellsword patrolling nearby. Don't tell me he serves Godrick too and hunts Tarnished?
"Hand over all your runes, and I'll spare your life!"
Seriously? He's sunk to being a bandit! But I don't have any money!
I hurriedly mounted Torrent and fled, but the fellow chased after me on his own horse.
Faintly, I thought I heard someone calling, "Hey-you passing by, help..."
"Hm? A Tarnished!"
Up ahead on the bridge, a squad of Godrick Soldiers and their mounted captain spotted me. They raised their weapons and charged to surround me.
Being Tarnished really is rotten luck. Everyone hates you, and even dogs want a bite!
But I'm not going down without a fight! Torrent!
"Neigh!"
I tugged the reins, and Torrent leaped beneath the bridge as though he could read my mind... Wait, from this height? I remember falling straight down from here killing you in the game!
Jingle~
As I screamed, a bell chimed softly. Blue, butterfly-like glimmers swept past Torrent's hooves in midair, allowing him to jump again and land firmly on a bridge pier.
Then he leaped down once more, landing safely on the ground.
Come to think of it, this spectral steed had even mastered the aerial Double Jump power that a certain V still hadn't learned by the fifth installment.
But if you really can do that, why didn't you just jump over those guys' heads like I wanted you to?!
It seemed I would have to communicate with Torrent more before we could work together as seamlessly as horse and rider did in the game.
"Gah! Gaaaah-"
A sudden chill ran down my spine, followed by a series of splashes from the shallow river.
I turned around...
"Holy crap, living skeletons!"
"Gaaah!"
Piles of white bones rose to their feet, brandishing swords and hacking wildly!
I had nearly forgotten that a squad of Those Who Live in Death Skeletons lay in ambush here, specifically to bully new players.
I quickly squeezed Torrent's sides with my legs and fled at full speed. I didn't know how long we ran, but before I could take a moment to rest, I spotted a bonfire with quite a few people gathered around it... Wait, this is-!
"ROAR-"
A thunderous sound rang out overhead as an enormous shape made its grand entrance, like a bomber!
The Flying Dragon lurking in Agheel Lake breathed a towering inferno over the bonfire, turning the figures there to ash in an instant... No, wait. They turned into golden runes and flowed into the Flying Dragon's body.
I'm screwed, I'm screwed! With this practically naked loadout, there's no way I can handle that thing!
Torrent, retreat!
"Aaah-aaah-"
Amid the howls of the condemned hanging from crosses, I finally returned to the Church of Elleh on Torrent, stumbling along.
The familiar firelight was missing... Don't tell me that old swindler Kale really isn't coming back?
Hm?
Wait, something seems wrong.
Did the Church of Elleh ever have fog this thick?
Before you continue