4 Finishing the Tutorial

"Well this is bullshit." I muttered out loud. My body propped up by my own staff. Blood dripped down from my open wounds.

I narrowed my eyes at the slow approach of the Blade of Miquella. You know when I heard she was the strongest of the Empyreans, i didn't think much of it. But damn she is living up to that title right now.

I spent most of the fight keeping my distance while pelting her with sorcery. It was working for awhile, until she caught me off-guard with that damn Waterfowl dance. Seeing it in real life and in game are two different experiences. I swear she practically ignored all laws of physics and flew at me.

The difference between the game and real life is that I don't have any I-frames when rolling. Which nearly killed me.

However, that isn't the worst part of it all...

"You really are strong, Malenia..." I spoke with respect. A grin graced my lips as my eyes widened at the approaching enemy.

This feeling, I really can't stop it. My head feels light, my blood rushing, this tingling sensation dancing across my body. It isn't fear, it isn't apprehension, no.... This is pure elation.

"Heh..." The chuckle escaped my throat, halting the Valkyrie in her steps. "HeHEAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!" The eruption of laughter released from the deepest recesses of my being.

This exhilaration, this excitement THIS INSTINCTUAL DESIRE TO FIGHT!

My foot slammed into the ground, my body low, a blade of energy erupted from my staff. Blood splattered on the ground from the abrupt movement. I don't know if this light headedness is from my excitement or shocking loss of blood but it doesn't matter. Shit I really might die here, but I can't stop this feeling anymore.

"I'LL HAVE YOUR HEART!" I kicked off the ground and practically flew at the demi-god. My carian slicer aimed straight towards her heart!

"MALENIA!!!" I fucking love this!

∞

She dreamt for so long, she couldn't remember when she fell asleep. To wake up from that long dream.

She could no longer see, only rot remains in her sights.

Yet even after so long, she could still feel it. The blood that had rotted within her was rushing, the palpitation within her chest reminding her of life.

Even while blinded, she could see him clearly. One who felt the same as her. One who lived for battle.

His movements were swift, his reactions were immediate, it was as if he were a beast in human flesh.

Every thrust, slash, sweep, feint. Each action ended with more wounds piled up upon her.

Yet she had never felt more alive. "That's right... this feeling." the Valkyrie's lips began to twitch upward.

The blade of magical energy didn't slow down or hesitate in her moment of introspection. It continued to thrust straight towards her heart.

"Miquella, my apologies. But no longer can I hold it at bay!" The scarlet flower bloomed once more.

The shockwave sent Zieg flying back towards the outskirts of the arena. His feral smile unwavering as he lifted his head towards his opponent.

"You will witness true horror." The wings comprised of butterflys spread from her rotted form. "Now Rot."

Zieg didn't respond, the magical blade on his staff had died out. He was out of magical energy. But it made no difference, his expression remained the same. His body moved on it's own and pounced at the Goddess of Rot. Whether he pierced, cut or beat her to death made no difference. He was out for blood.

∞

"Your strength, extraordinary. I have finally met my match...." I heard her final words. My body ached, but I survived... no. I'm still dying.

The grace was so close, yet so far. I've lost too much blood. My head is spinning. My body unresponsive. I feel like if I lost consciousness here, then that would be death.

My vision was getting darker... fuck I can't just die now. Not after winning... I've got a damn deathless run to do here...

I considered using magecraft since it wasn't for battle. But then I realized my body was out of magical energy. Fuck, I can literally see the grace just a few steps away from me.

My breathing began to slow down... wait... breathing? I moved my jaw, up and down in realization. My teeth dug into the ground beneath the puddle. My body moving slightly forward. I continued this despite the blood that began to leak out of my mouth, dying the waters red.

I didn't feel any pain, I was numb to it right now anyway.

Perhaps it took only a minute or two, but to me it felt like hours.

I had dragged myself to grace.

∞

The beast was slain, a chill moon present on the horizon and I was left alone.

[Congratulations on finishing the tutorial!] The ping sounded out as the screen popped up in front of me in my small moment of silence.

You know the shitty part about NPCs being more 'alive'? Getting attached to them, only to realize that you must part with them. I felt sadness when I found Thop's corpse, I felt down when Melina turned herself to ashes. Now I felt melancholy after telling Ranni that I could not go with her.

Damn this was like when Scathach asked me to kill her... depressing.

"But this isn't the first time I've felt this way, time to move on." I shook my head and turned my attention back to the screen.

[Calculating.....]

[All bosses slain..... All Great runes obtained.... 1 Mending rune obtained]

[Challenge mode options 1 / 2 / 3..... Completion confirmed.]

[Allowed choice of 3 bosses for randomizer] Oh, i thought it was just going to pick a random boss from every boss in the game. Well this is nice, and narrows my choices. I chose Malenia, Elden Beast and Placidusax. Malenia because she gave me the hardest time and the other two because they are freakin huge and can fly.

[Choices confirmed. Randomizing... Boss summon Elden Beast integrated] Dang, it was the one I wanted least of the 3. Oh well, can't be mad.

[Reward: Secret behind spirit ashes] It was just a moment before I felt it, the knowledge flowing within my head. Not just information on the existence of spirit ashes, but on how to make them myself in the future for integration. Nice.

[Reward: Noble Phantasm: Elden Lord's Strength

Description: Declare your station of Elden Lord and the strength that befits a crown will follow.]

[Translating Great runes. Calculating....] What?

[Godrick's Great rune: All parameters boosted by a level. Example C -> C+]

[Rykard's Great rune: Reptiles will like you more and increased resistance towards poison and toxins]

[Radahn's Great rune: Increase affinity and aptitude towards gravity arts]

[Mohg's great rune: Can no longer die by blood loss]

[Morgot's great rune: Increased resistance towards curses]

[Malenia's great rune: Attacks made immediately after receiving damage will partially recover hp]

[Mending rune of Death: Immunity towards instant death effects]

A flood of rewards filled my vision. Wow these are pretty nice. The only underwhelming one is Radahn's because I don't know how to measure affinity towards something.

[Translating extra stats to skills.] Oh cool, I grinded out my stats before Malenia's fight. Even the stats that I didn't use because I didn't know what it would give me at the end.

[Vigor -> Robust Health Rank C] if I remember right, this boosted Endurance a bit along with making it so that I wouldn't get sick. So basically another layer of poison resistance.

[Faith -> Magic resistance Rank C] Why does faith give magic resist? It makes zero sense.

[Name: Zieg Aversis

Titles: Elden Lord

Strength: C+

Endurance: B

Agility: C+

Mana: C+

Luck: C+

NP:???

Skills: Robust health C / Magic resistance C]

Overall this is either the most average servant parameters i've ever seen or one of the weakest. Dear lord I don't have anything in A. But then again I'm a living human and this would be the base stats of my body if I were to lose all my abilities. I'm guessing the reason my Noble Phantasm is question marks is either due to it not being a real NP or that it has no rank.

[For finishing the tutorial you will receive innate planeswalker ability to traverse the omniverse.] An instinctive feeling on how to do it appeared within my mind.

[Use that to return to primary world. WARNING: May require practice to properly use. We take no responsibility for accidents or unexpected events that may occur!] Well that is a bit unsettling...

Well before I left, I still had a couple of things to do.

∞

"Allow me to c-call you this just once before it ends... My lord. F-for that is what you are." Were the last words I heard from this man before I left to kill the Elden beast. I don't really know what to feel about someone calling me a lord, but it felt... as if a weight was placed upon me.

I stepped into the burning ruins of the roundtable hold. The place was no longer what it once was. I stopped in front of a figure who had not moved from his spot since I had arrived here.

"W-who are you?" Were the first words that left his mouth when his eyes laid upon me. I nearly flinched for some reason. "..Why is the Roundtable Hold burning?" I stood in a moment of silent in front of the one who called me Lord with sincerity.

"I am your lord." I spoke softly before slamming the butt of a weapon into the floor. I let go, leaving the spear propped up by itself. It was a red spear with blue accents across it's frame. Situated on the base of the blade was a blue gem of cold power. The outline of the blade resonated with it, releasing a cold aura.

I don't require a catalyst to cast spells, but it relieves some strain from my body to have a catalyst to focus it towards. The blue gem was actually the Dark moon Greatsword. The blade's true origin was a beam of Ranni's light. Which made it easier for me to change it's shape through some alteration. The Gae Bolg was reforged and repaired, but some parts of the blade were missing and in need of repair.

Which was why I gave Hewg the Moonveil to fill in the gaps. A blade with a relation towards the moon, no matter how small would surely resonate with the gem. Allowing me to be capable of slashing out waves of energy as if I was some anime protagonist.

"And you are the one who forged my god-slaying weapon." I declared towards the man. He looked at the spear, trembling slightly before it disappeared.

"..Oh, I must be a blacksmith. Now... let's get smithing." He picked up his hammer and continued to smith without any direction. I was hoping to jog his memory, but I suppose he's too far gone. Another unfortunate ending for one who had helped me so far. Sellen still turned into a giant monstrosity despite my pleadings, Thops still ended up dying despite my warnings. Truly you just can't have a happy ending within this world.

I didn't use this weapon against Malenia, however I did use it against Godfrey, Radagon and the Elden Beast. It made the battles much easier.

Gae Bolg was reforged and made better than ever. At least in my opinion it was. I can't think of another name for it. Mainly because I was shit at naming things.

I walked away, my mood solemn.

"Will you not leave as well, Roderika?" I asked towards the figure near the fireplace.

She shook her head "I'll remain with Hewg, he made me who I am today. I want to return the kindness, in whatever small way I can." she gave a sad smile.

"Very well. Farewell Roderika."

Only one more thing to do before I leave.