2 The Pushover Soldier

[???'s POV]

"Hello there?"

There was a giant hole right besides the Erdtree Sapling, and sitting on a chair at the mouth of the hole is an apparition. I was talking to it.

"...."

"No responses?"

"....Brave Tarnished, take the plunge... Of learning and remembrance.... Recall the arts of war, and your warrior's blood...."

"Okay, but is it going to be dangerous?"

"...."

Weird ghost.

It's very obvious that the door to the left is the actual exit, not this hole. But I don't remember much about what happened before I ended up here.... that means my skill is rusty as well.

I peeked down the hole, looking into it.

"It doesn't seem to be treacherous though..."

I can use a little warm up to shake off some rust. Let's go!

I took the plunge and jumped into the steep hole.

__________

(15 minutes later....)

"Hrah!" I lunged at one of the militia sitting at a campfire, hitting him on the back of his head.

'Thud!' I slammed my club on his skull bringing him to the ground....

The dead body of the crazy militia stopped moving afterwards.

"Phew, that was a hell of a warm up...."

There were a lot of militias inside this large cave, and it's tough to sneak past them so I have to resort to bashing their skull in most of the time.

If they aren't crazy in the head, I'd have stood no chance against all of them. Sadly, these bunches are psychos that don't even respond to my words when I called out to them.

Half-dead zombies like this don't stand a chance against me. Unless of course they-

'Thud!' A sharp pain could be felt on my back.

"...stabbed me in the back."

"Uhh...."

"Look pal, it's not nice to do this to someone alright?" I pats him on the shoulder as I pull out the dagger still stuck on my back.

I handed the dagger back to the zombie....

"Uhh...?"

I raised and swung my club on his knee, bringing him down to the ground. 'Thud!'

"Urgh...!"

"Sadly, back stabbers don't get any mercy!"

I grabbed his head, and then swung my club down on his face.

"Urgh!..." The zombie loses his strength, fainting immediately after taking a hit to his head.

"Sigh...." While this wound seems to be small enough to shrug off, it's bleeding out profusely.

Hmm, should I try drinking from that flask then?

"Gulp...."

Somehow it's warm and sweet. I like it.

Immediately after drinking the juice, yellow aura formed on my wounds and eventually dissipates into thin air. Left in the aura's place is my flesh and skin, it made reparations to my injuries.

"Whoever gave this to me, you must be a kind beauty...."

"...?!" A small gasp could be heard from behind me.

"Who's there?!"

Hmm.... there's no one? Impossible, I'm sure I heard someone just now.

It must've been my imagination, time to move on then.

_____________

As I made my way deeper into this Cave of Knowledge, more and more of my battle memories started coming back to me.

And amidst all of them is a vagued memory I have of a certain someone....

He is a man of great size, with big muscles. Wielding a giant axe, with a lion on his back, he's a very memorable person that you'd not forget if you saw him in person.

A legendary warrior whom struck awe in me ever since I was born into this land. A figure of inspiration and strength.

His name was.... What's his name again...?

I had forgotten the name of such an important figure to me...?

["Brave warrior, one of the few who stood by my side until your doom.... Seek and follow that which has thou lost, the Guidance of Grace. It will lead thee to thy destiny.

Only if our fate interwines shall we cross path again. Until then, farewell to thee, my fellow Tarnished."]

Was the words that I fondly remembered him saying to me.

"I am...."

Who in Marika's name am I?

I.... I can't remember.... Have I died so many times that I've even forgotten about myself...?

Is this the downside of the Grace...? That every time I die I will lose a part of myself?

Come to think of it, all the soldiers in this cave are psychos that attack me on sight. No one can truly die in the Lands Between, if this is the case....

Have they perhaps died so many times that they've gone insane?

______________

I made my way through a dim tunnel, coming to a wide open space where sunlight could reach into. This means the exit is close then.

Furthermore, the floor is covered in a veil of water, forming a small puddle inside this room.

As I stepped into the area, the floor below my feet shines bright in a small golden hue. It was a message left by God knows who....

As I touched the sign on the ground, transparent lights formed into the shape of words right above the sign.

[Strong foe ahead]

"Hmm...."

Another sign appears next to this one.

[Despair ahead, therefore try running]

"What kind of monster lives here...?"

Suddenly, noises of the puddle splashing around could be heard on the opposite side of the room. A man in a full suit of armor charges forth at me with great speed.

"Hroo!!!"

"Marika's Tits!"

He aimed his Greatsword at me and rushes forth. Just as he was about to stab me, I dived to the sides and avoided the attack. 'Thud!'

"Hrah!" The man turns around and swung his greatsword at me.

'Tank!' I raised my club and swung it at his great sword, deflecting his attack to the sides.

"Hmph!" Using the force from his attack, I redirected my club and swung it at him with increased force.

(Author's Note : This is a Guard Counter)

'Thud!' The club lands on his ribs, hitting a dent in his armour while sending him down on his knees.

"Take this!" I grabbed his head with my arm and swung my club at his face, breaking apart his helmet while slamming him to the ground. 'Tank!!!'

"Urgh...!"

The armored man tries to getting back up on his feet, and it was then something clicked inside of me.

It was like something that you can't remember suddenly flooding back into your mind, it feels incredible.

"Rah!!!" I shouted out in an insane war cry, causing the air around me bend and push away.

"Urgh...!" Recoiled from the shout, the armored warrior loses his balance and falters.

"Hmph!" I rushed into him, swinging my club at his face with a charged up attack....

'Tank!!!'

"Urgh...." The armored warrior eats one more of my club, and then drops to the ground. He stopped moving, I think he's dead.

"Phew...." That roar just now.... It was a technique that I knew in the past but forgot about. Somehow it came back to me during this fight....

Barbaric Roar is what it was called. I learned it when I fought together with the great Godfrey during the Long March, a war that spans many years....

Wait, Godfrey....? That's right, he is called Godfrey!

Godfrey the First Elden Lord, a man who stood against the Giants himself despite being just a human. He was my leader, and my idol, as benevolent of a Lord as he was Powerful in a fight.

It was he whom told me to come to the Lands Between and follow the Guidance of Grace - a Ray of light that appears to point in a direction that I'm supposed to go.

Yes that's it, I remember it now! Even if it's a bit blurry, I can finally recall one of the most important thing about myself.

My name is Sigurd, a Tarnished warrior that followed Godfrey to the Badlands where we all waged wars until we died in battles.... Just as Queen Marika requested of us.

"Hahaha...." I was this close to becoming just as insane as this armored guy that I had fought.... a zombie, devoid of his mind and his memory, like a feral beast.

I had died so many times and for so long that I forgot the events that made me who I am. In other words, I forgot myself.

This is the side effect of dying.... Nothing can truly die in the Lands Between, but if you did die then you lose a part of yourself before you returns. The more you die, the more you lose until eventually you're nothing more than an empty husk.

I have to be careful.... I don't want to become like these zombies that I fought in the cave, or this guy that I just killed.

Speaking of which, let's get back to the present.... Isn't this guy kind of lame? He barely knew how to defend himself, let alone actually fight.

Interesting.... There are more messages around this cave room, let's see what they say.

[Try fingers but hole]

Yeah.... It's very obvious that the messages around here are jokes. This guy is a total pushover.

(Soldier of Godrick Defeated)

(Chapter End)