Bet you didn't see that coming-this was my real escape route!

"Aaah-!"

The scream rode a blast of wind, slicing at my ears like a knife.

Longswords whirled wildly, their attacks crashing over me in an endless tide.

Even when I finally found an opening and attacked with all my strength, the Grafted Scion blocked my club with his greatshield.

"Whew-this bastard!" I used the force of his attack to spring a good distance back and drew a deep breath.

Forget defeating the Grafted Scion. He had even cut off every route I could use to escape.

Several cuts had opened across my body without my noticing, their burning pain constantly stirring my fear of death.

What should I do? What should I do...?

"Aaah-!"

Tch! Before I could work out a plan, the Grafted Scion pressed forward again, his overwhelming presence like the Buddha slamming down his mountain of five fingers.

I couldn't beat him. There was no way!

Chaotic thoughts buried everything else in my mind. I could almost feel the dead of this land gripping my feet, clamoring for me to join them.

"Are... are you kidding me?! Melina, Ranni, Millicent... I haven't even met a single one of my wives yet, damn it!"

Weapon skill-Roar, activate!

All I had to do was smash this guy's head in, right?! I tightened my grip on my equally battered club and charged straight at the oncoming Grafted Scion!

Seemingly startled by my desperate resolve, he calmly slowed his steps and took advantage of his longer arms and greater reach to thrust both swords at me.

"Get! Out of my way!"

Holding the club in my left hand, I deflected the first sword and spun forward with the momentum, dodging the Grafted Scion's other blade. Then I gripped the club with both hands and brought it down hard on the hideous face now right in front of me.

Clang!

The Grafted Scion raised his greatshield in time to block my attack, and my wooden club, already on its last legs, snapped on impact.

But none of that mattered anymore!

Seizing the opening, I leaped up and planted my feet on the Grafted Scion's greatshield! I caught its top edge with both hands and hauled myself up.

The Grafted Scion reacted too. Realizing what I intended, he hurriedly shoved his greatshield away.

But it was already too late!

I vaulted onto his back, then took another great leap and finally landed firmly behind the Grafted Scion.

"Bet you didn't see that coming! This was my real escape route!" The exit from the plaza lay right ahead, and I sprinted toward it with everything I had.

"Aaah-!"

It's no use, no use! Bosses in Elden Ring are generally much bigger than the player character, so they turn pretty slowly. You'll never catch me!

If I'd started as a Samurai, with a shield and a katana, I would have rolled behind the Grafted Scion's left side, behind his greatshield, and attacked from there. That way, I would only have needed to watch out for his big whirlwind move to beat him easily without taking a hit.

But now that I was completely unarmed, that would have to wait!

At the cliff's edge, a gray nascent butterfly fluttered lazily. It was as though a white hole had come into view, with a bright tomorrow waiting for me!

"Little Wood, here I come!"

With a delighted shout, I hurled myself off the cliff.

Huh, wait. Come to think of it, I couldn't really swim. I was a shut-in, after all. The only swimming I was any good at was the underwater kind where I couldn't float back up... And in Elden Ring, the Tarnished seemed to dissolve in water too...

Splash!

Glug, glug, glug...

"...Don't worry, Torrent. He's still alive."

"We finally found him."

"He's sure to seek the Elden Ring too... Even if doing so would violate the Golden Order... But why is his butt bare-why is he naked?"

...Hmm? That figure was...!

"Melina!" I jolted upright, but when I looked around, there was no one in the dim, damp cave... Ah, no. A little farther away, someone seemed to be sitting in a chair beside that golden sapling.

"Achoo-man, it's cold!" I was about to stand when my fingers accidentally brushed something, making it clink.

I looked down. Oh, it was the Crimson Tears Flask (a healing potion) and the Cerulean Tears Flask (a mana potion).

So the figure I'd seen while half-conscious really had been Little Wood-Melina!

Ah, what a shy girl. Couldn't she have stayed a little longer?

Oh well. There would be other chances.

Besides, I was covered in wounds. Since this was a real world, who knew whether my health had been fully restored after that scripted death?

Without standing on ceremony, I picked up the Flask of Crimson Tears and took a big gulp.

A gentle warmth instantly spread through my body, and my wounds began to itch as they healed without leaving so much as a scar.

And in the blink of an eye, the Crimson Tears Flask filled up again.

"Just what you'd expect from a world with magic." Satisfied, I picked up both flasks, only to realize that apart from my loincloth, I had absolutely nowhere to store them. Hey!

No wonder Little Wood had run off. She probably thought she'd stumbled across a pervert.

Well, at least she hadn't stuck the flasks up my butt. That proved my Melina was gentler than the one in that certain manga-The Road to the Erdtree. Heh heh~

"Hm?"

I picked up the cloth beneath the flasks. I hadn't noticed earlier, but it was actually a hooded cloak!

Melina really was so gentle-even gentler than in the game! Absolutely awesome! When would we finally get to meet properly? I couldn't wait!

Come to think of it, could this be Melina's own cloak?

Sniff, sniff~

So precious!

Whistling happily, I fastened the cloak and took a length of cord from it to tie the two flasks to my waist. With everything ready, I officially set off!

I walked over to the figure sitting in the chair. He looked like nothing more than the shade of a gaunt old man, and he murmured, "Tarnished, leap down... Learn and recall. Learn the ways of combat. Recall what it means to be a warrior."

Uh, the game's combat techniques were already deeply etched into my mind. And after that fight with the Grafted Scion, I had a pretty good idea of what being a warrior meant.

But most importantly-most importantly-I had no weapon at all! Wouldn't jumping down just be asking for trouble?

Besides, facing bloodthirsty monsters was one thing, but if my opponents were human, I had no confidence that I could bring myself to attack them. My soul still belonged to an upstanding citizen of the twenty-first century, after all.

Taking all that into account, I decided to skip the Cave of Knowledge's tutorial and head straight out.

I pushed open the door at the end of the cave. Just like in the game, the architecture here resembled a medieval European castle.

I climbed a flight of stairs, and a golden glow appeared in the middle of the corridor ahead-a Site of Grace, where Tarnished could rest and recover, and a guidepost pointing players toward their destination.

After lightly touching it, I thought for a moment, then took out both flasks and started chugging.

Just like the initial setup in Elden Ring, I had three crimson charges and one cerulean. Once I emptied the Cerulean Tears Flask, it no longer refilled, and after two more drinks, the Crimson Tears Flask stopped refilling too.

I'd have to find seeds later to increase the number of uses.

So I sat down beside the grace... Strange. The flasks hadn't refilled? Were they single-use in this world? Hey, hey, hey, don't do this to me!

After a little thought, I reached out and touched the grace.

The next second, two wisps of golden flame slipped into the flasks, filling them again.

I let out a small sigh of relief. Apparently, restoring myself at a grace in this world required the extra step of touching it.

Also... I stood up and turned toward the passage on the right, which was blocked by fog.

Of course, I knew that the Fringefolk Hero's Grave should be on the other side.

There was also an imp statue on the left that controlled the seal.

I wasn't actually planning to explore it right now... But what exactly did this fog seal do?

I was curious!

No sooner thought than done. I carefully reached out to touch the fog. It didn't feel unusual, and I could easily step into it too.

In that case, couldn't I just keep walking forward and pass right through? There would be no need to break the seal.

...As it turned out, that had been wishful thinking.

No matter how I advanced, even if I followed the wall, I would end up back at the entrance after spending some time in the fog. It was a complete waste of time.

"A supernatural maze, huh? Guess I'll have to do it properly and unlock the seal later." With a sigh, I continued on.

I found a Finger Severer in a corner. Uh, did this world have multiplayer too? How would I connect? And with whom?

Leaving those questions aside for now, I continued forward and stepped onto the stone-platform elevator. This room was identical to the one in Elden Ring too. The jars and pots were either empty or held nothing useful.

I might as well just lift that final door open!

In that instant, a gentle breeze brushed through my hair. Grass rustled and trees swayed, and the whole world was so radiant that my heart clenched.

Again and again, I couldn't help marveling inwardly:

-Ah, Elden Ring, here I come!