Elden Monarch

by VonLeporace

The Bearer of the Curse finally managed to complete his objective, with the crown on his head he escaped the cycle, but when it all seemed to be over, Alden was dragged into the Lands Between, now caught in a war of demigods, The Bearer of the Curse was placed on another unwanted mission. At least there are several beautiful maidens in these lands.

6. Chapter 6- Exploring Limgrave

Welcome to another chapter of my story, before we start I would like to leave a disclaimer. As the title says, this is an exploration chapter, the Elden Ring map is huge and full of materials to collect, the game has materials for crafting items and materials to improve weapons, but I believe it would be tedious to describe to the reader every common item that Alden finds along the way, so I ask the reader, just imagine that Alden collects materials as he walks through Limgrave.

Dungeons, boss fights, spells, weapons, Ashes of War, npcs, etc. This one I will go into details.

Please read the note at the end of the chapter, I have something important to say.

For now that's it. Enjoy the chapter!

Chapter 6 - Exploring Limgrave

Alden's POV

While riding with Torrent, I took out the Limgrave map piece, taking a look at the map, I think I'll explore the edges of the region and then ride further into Limgrave, I kept riding for a while, until I found a wooden door hidden behind a small rock wall, I left Torrent and approached the door, equipped my Silver Serpent Ring (+2) and Golden Serpent Ring (+2) and opened the door, saw some stairs leading down.

It seemed to be a type of catacomb, as I went down the stairs I found a Place of Grace, I touched it and continued down through the catacombs, entering a path in the right I found a closed door and a path that led left down some stairs, going left I arrived to a larger room with a stone corridor ahead, passing through that corridor and turning right, I stopped short when I saw the wall of flame coming towards me.

I jumped back, the flames lightly burning my robes, that was close, I heard the noise of something to my right, looking down the hall I came from there were two small creatures made of stone, I took Rogier's rapier from my magic bag and I give a blow to each one, they died immediately. Was the rapier already improved? If so then I need to thank Rogier later.

Looking at the stone creatures I saw that one of them had left a forked ax, I put the ax in my bag, now I need to go through the fire, approaching the corridor I started to calculate the interval between the jets of fire, I think I understood.

I got ready to run, when the current jet of fire was about to end I started to run, the jet of fire stopped, but as I ran I saw the fire forming again in a type of pillar ahead, the jet came towards me, I rolled into a hallway on the right, only to grab the wall preventing me from continuing forward, as another jet of fire almost hit me, I'll have to time this one too.

I repeated the same process, when the jet was about to end I started to run, I managed to get into the same room where the pillar was, I took the materials that were on a corpse, several of these stone creatures jumped from the walls and came towards me, looking for the fire throwing pillar I had an idea, with the creatures behind me I ran towards the corridor, when the fire was released I rolled to the left entering an area with a ladder that led up.

I got souls and runes, I saw something shining on one of the creatures, it had a cat-shaped head, I dragged the body close to me and saw the cat's head, it was hollow and served as a helmet, I put it on my head, I felt something different, this equipment was enchanted, I feel that my intelligence has increased.

Going up the stairs I reached an upper area of the catacombs, leaving a corridor and looking to the side, I dodged the ax blow with my rapier, one of those small gargoyles was waiting for me on the side of the exit of the corridor, I kicked the creature from above from where we were, I heard the sound of stone breaking below, moving forward, I killed another one of these creatures and entered a room with a corpse next to a stone coffin.

There was something in the hands of the corpse, approaching I saw that they were Spirits Ashes, it seemed to be a group of people, I took the ash and kept it in my bag, leaving the room and looking at an area further down I saw a lever, I jumped to the area and pulled the lever, I heard the sound of a door opening, returning to the locked door room, going through the door and down the stairs I saw a wall of yellow fog, I think it's time for a notable enemy.

I passed through the fog wall and came to a large room with pillars on the sides, on the other side I saw a strange creature, it was the statue of a cat wearing a cape, a sword and with fire on the tip of its tail, the statue's eyes shone and it jumped towards me, which was strange since it jumped without moving, it was like it was floating.

The statue brought the sword down towards me, I simply jumped back, using the ashes of the war from the rapier, small magic swords floated over me five swords in total, they flew towards the statue, they all hit it, the statue tried to hit me again with its sword, I rolled backwards dodging the blow, this is surprisingly easy, I launched Fire Orb at the statue, the fire blast stunned the statue, I saw something orange glowing on its chest, I immediately hit the spot with the rapier.

The statue debated and fell to the ground disappearing in runes and souls, in the place where the statue fell was a Spirit Ashes, I took the ashes, it seemed to be a sorcerer, I kept the ashes in my bag and left the catacombs.

I called Torrent "Come on Torrent, let's continue our exploration." Said while stroking Torrent on his head, he gave a whinny of happiness, so let's go.

TIMESKIP

We arrived at a small cave between the trees, I entered the cave, touched the Grace in the cave and went deeper, I reached an elevated area and when I looked down I saw several wolves around a fire, I threw a Chaos Fire Ball in the center of the group, the explosion of the fireball followed by the lava killed most of the wolves, one of them started to climb the cave paths running towards me, the wolf jumped with its fangs bared, aiming at my neck, I rolled to the right and pierced the wolf's neck with my rapier, the wolf struggled, soon he stopped moving.

At the end of the cave there was another wall of yellow fog, passing through the wall I came to a large open area, it seemed to be a kind of shelter, in the center of the room there was a creature, it looked like a mixture of a human and a dog, the creature carried a great cleaver and wearing armor, the beast roared and came towards me.

The creature swung the cleaver horizontally towards me, I rolled back and launched a Fire Orb, the orb hit the creature squarely, the creature then pulled the cleaver back and pushed it towards me, I rolled to the left and taking advantage of that the creature still didn't recover from its blow, I hit it with the rapier on its right side three times, it roared in pain then swung the cleaver with both hands aiming at my chest, I dodged the blow by rolling to the right.

I stretched out my hand and used fire whip, the spiral of flames burned the creature, then the creature crumbled into runes and souls, leaving only a talisman on the ground, it was a talisman with the design of a red dragon, I stuck the talisman in my robes, more specifically on the left side of chest, I felt the magic of the talisman taking effect.

I left the cave, called Torrent and moved on.

TIMESKIP

I passed the soldiers' camp at the ruined gate, heading east I heard someone calling me "Hi! You there! Can you help me?" I looked around. Who was calling me? "You, yes, you there! Stop pretending you can't see me. Why doesn't anyone look me in the eye? I'm not that ugly." I started to follow the voice until I came close to a tree.

I walked around the tree, I'm sure the voice came from here. Hm! I kicked the tree, imagine my surprise when the tree disappeared and in its place there was a monkey-like being wearing clothes, he was on the ground moaning in pain, I think I kicked him too hard.

Then he got up and started talking to me "Ouch! Why you did this? Hmm? Oh yes, I remember. I was turned into a tree. You were just breaking the spell, weren't you?" Sure, course I was, I thought as I looked away.

"Thanks! My name is Boc, I was kicked out of the cave, they told me not to come back, never. So I ended up like a tree, lucky you came, really. Boc, the tailor, at your service, master." Boc said as he bowed.

"Nice to meet you Boc." I said as I bowed too.

Then Boc started checking the pockets of his clothes. "Oh, what a shame, when they threw me out of the cave, they took everything I had, so that's all I have to be thankful for. I hope you forgive me." Boc said as he handed me some mushrooms, I put them in my bag.

"No problem at all Boc, but thanks for the mushrooms anyway."

Boc then started to look around, he seemed to think of something "Or, if you could just wait a bit, I could sneak back into the cave and bring you something of real value. So I would be of some real use to you, I think." Why is he so determined to repay me?

"Do what you think is best Boc." I told him.

"Okay, but I'm going to need a moment, I'm scared of them… So I have to pull myself together. My knees start to tremble… just thinking about that horrible cave on the beach." Cave on the beach? I see, better check this later to see if he's going to be okay.

"Very well so I'll be on my way, see you later Boc." I said while calling Torrent.

"Oh, are you leaving so soon? Please be safe on your journey." Boc said as he waved at me, I waved back and kept riding.

TIMESKIP

I came to a hut, near this hut there was a place of Grace, I touched Grace and I entered the hut, inside it there was another bright painting, touching the painting, the place that the painting represented did not leave my head, I need to find that place later, I called Torrent and continued riding.

While riding I came to a ruin that served as a bridge, on top of this ruin was a man shouting at the top of his lungs "Hello? Is anyone there? Anyone who might be interested in rescuing the great Kenneth Haight? Servant of the true Order and famous repudiator of the false! O Erdtree! Grant me help!"

I approached the man, he hadn't noticed me yet, I gave him a little tap on the shoulder, the man gave a surprised cry and quickly turned to me.

"AAAHHH!" I believe that the helmet I'm using is not exactly inviting, as the man looking at me jumped back, the problem was that behind him there was nothing, just a fall that would lead to his death, one of the man's feet stayed out of the ruin, causing him to lose his balance and fall backwards, in a few seconds I ran forward and grabbed him by the collar of his robes, the man was leaning back, with only one foot in the ruin and his arms dangling, the man then decided to look to the side, seeing the size of the fall he looked at me and screamed.

"PULL ME BACK! PULL ME BACK!"

I did what the man said and pulled him back to the ruin, the man called Kenneth was now on the ground breathing heavily and with one hand on his heart, Kenneth then stood up he looked at me cleared his throat and said.

"Oh, you came to lend me your help, didn't you? Well, that's very kind, but, um… No, no. Help is greatly appreciated. Even from a Tarnished one. Despite appearances, nobility is not a prerequisite for serving the true Order. You may have heard of me. Kenneth Haight. Next in line as the rightful ruler of Limgrave."

"No, I've never heard of it." Kenneth bowed his head sadly at my statement. Did I say something wrong?

"Young Tarnished, you arrived as a blessing. I want you to take back my fort. It is to the south, beyond the Mistwood. A Stormveil Knight commander took it. A fool and madman. Simply obsessed with blood!" Take a fort? How did you let the fort be taken? Since you own the fort, shouldn't you be the one to take it back?

I seem to have been silent for a long time as Kenneth began to complain to me "What are you waiting for? A goodbye kiss? My fort is south beyond the Mistywood. Take it back to me. Ah, I see. Do you wish to know the reward? Don't worry, the great Kenneth Haight is known for his considerable generosity. The celebrations will indeed be lavish, at the dawn of my fort's recovery."

Reward? Now I'm interested, from above the ruins, I could see a fort in the distance, it was beyond the forest, so that's where I should go "I accept, I'll take your fort."

"Hmph, yes, now allow me to give you a little advice. I would be very careful to avoid Godrick's Tarnished hunts if I were in you shoes. These perverts are obsessed with sacrificing Tarnisheds like you for the sake of the graft. Honestly, Godrick's nothing more than a jumped up country bumpkin. Lord? Don't make me laugh.

"You do not know? Godrick is dead." Kenneth's eyes widened at this information, and he suddenly burst out laughing.

"That doesn't surprise me. Honestly, Godrick is nothing more than a country bumpkin. Lord? Do not make me laugh. First he hid among the women to escape the capital, then he hid from Radahn in that castle… Then he insulted Malenia, lost to her in battle and to the mysterious warrior who bravely decided to face them, only to lick her boots instead of die like a man. And to think he's Godfrey's blood! Last of the golden bloodline, though you hardly know it from looking at it. I almost feel sorry for the man the more I think about it."

Lick her boots? If I remember correctly Malenia wore sandals that left all her toes exposed. So you mean… I shuddered at the image that popped into my head, Godrick the Hateful Toe Eater. Mysterious warrior? I think he's talking about me. Maybe I shouldn't have entered Godrick's memories "Tell me more about this mysterious warrior."

"Oh! The mysterious warrior is considered a legend in the Lands Between, appearing at different times in history, facing demigods and mysteriously disappearing soon after, his identity remains a mystery, but there are theories about him, some say he is a demigod related to Lord Radagon, due to possessing red hair and bright yellow eyes. A distant relative perhaps? Others say that he is not one person, but several who have taken up the mantle of the mysterious warrior throughout history, due to the moments of their appearances being centuries apart."

It seems that I will interfere a lot in the history of these lands.

"My favorite is also the most outrageous, the theory goes that the mysterious warrior is actually a bastard son of Lord Radagon, born from an extramarital relationship, it is said that when these rumors reached Queen Marika's ears her screams of rage could be heard throughout the capital, soon afterwards Queen Marika led a hunt for the mysterious warrior, but never found him."

I sweated over this statement, I hope I can apologize for the trouble if i find Radagon, maybe together we can clear up this misunderstanding.

"Thanks for the information Kenneth, soon I will bring you news about the retaking of your fort." I called Torrent and rode towards the fort.

TIMESKIP

On the way to the fort I got a cookbook in a cemetery and I killed a beetle near a river and I got a new Ash of War, it was a sword shining with golden light and releasing an energy arch, further on I saw a church, if I remember correctly, one of the pieces of information I bought from Kalé said that there was an important vial in this church.

I touched Grace in the Church and went towards the statue, it was the statue of a woman with open arms, this must be Marika, on the floor near the statue there was a vial, it was a transparent vial with a golden liquid inside, I kept the vial in my bag, inside the church I also found a golden chalice and a small red crystal ball, I kept them all in my bag, I decided to rest a little in the place of Grace, when I sat down, Melina appeared.

"Hello Alden. How do you feel?" Melina asked me.

"I am fine. Roderika told me that you were the one who took me to the Round Table. That's true?"

"Yes. It's been a long time since you went to Stormveil, I was worried so I decided to look for you, I found you extremely wounded next to Godrick's corpse. Demigods are powerful, even though Godrick was the weakest of them, facing him must have been really difficult." Melina said worriedly.

"It wasn't Godrick who hurt me like that." I said as I looked up, it was already getting dark, I'm still not used to the passage of time here. No permanent sunrise, no stars standing still in the sky, no night of incessant rain. Someone must have sat on Drangleic's Throne after I was sent to these lands.

"So who was it?" Melina asked me.

"Malenia, Blade of Miquella." Melina tilted her head and looked at me confused.

"That's not possible."

"Why not?"

"Malenia disappeared after her fight with General Radahn, there's no way she would suddenly appear without the news spreading through the Lands Between."

I stopped to think for a minute, I don't think it would be a good idea to mention that I can travel through time using memories. Who knows what might happen? "You're right, maybe I was hallucinating from my injuries."

We are silent, that is uncomfortable "Melina?"

"Yes?"

"Thank you for taking me to the Round-table and for healing me." I said with a small smile.

"You're welcome." Melina replied smiling too.

Another uncomfortable silence "Melina?"

"Yes?"

"Could you answer some questions?"

"Of course Alden, as your Maiden I am duty bound to help you, so ask your questions, I will try my best to answer them."

"Thanks." I took from my bag the vial with the golden liquid, the small red crystal, the golden seed and the golden chalice. I also took out the vials of blue liquid and red liquid "What are these things?"

Melina stared at me, I'm getting tired of people staring at me for not knowing some common information about this place.

"The vial with the red liquid is called a flask of crimson tears, it serves to heal your wounds, the vial with the blue liquid is called a flask of cerulean tears, it serves to restore your magic, the vial with the golden liquid is called a vial of wonderful physique, the effect of this vial can be modified according to your will, you only need a crystal tear, which is the small red crystal you found."

So you mean all this time I was walking around with magic flasks?! Good to know, since my estus isn't filling when I rest in Grace, I'll save them for emergencies.

"Golden chalice is a holy tear, with it you can strengthen the effect of flasks, while golden seed increases the number of uses of flasks."

Great "Could you improve the flasks for me? I have no idea how to use these items." I said while giving Melina an embarrassed look.

Melina looked down as she sighed, she took the vials, the holy tear and the golden seed and turned her back to me. What is she doing? I tried to look over her shoulder, but Melina always turned around blocking my view, so we stayed like that for a few minutes, spinning in circles.

"Let me see!"

"No! This is a secret art passed down by finger maidens for generations, not meant to be seen by non-maidens!"

And once again we went around in circles, until finally she finished improving the vials, in terms of appearance they hadn't changed, but I felt a slight increase in magic in the vials, they were stronger. Melina handed me the vials and I hung them on my belt. We went back to sit in the church.

When I looked at Melina she seemed to think about something. "Alden, spoken echoes of Queen Marika linger here as well. Shall I share them with you?"

Echoes? Like a message? Why not? "Yes."

"Very good. In Marika's own words. My Lord, and your warriors. I deprive each of you of your grace. With your eyes darkened, you will be driven out of the Lands Between. You will wage war in a distant land, where you will live and die. Well? Perhaps this could serve you in place of a maiden's guidance."

Perfect! More information. So that means Marika sent one of her consorts away. Godfrey I assume, if Gideon told me it's true. "Thanks Melina, you just cleared some of my doubts."

"I'm happy to help. Alden if you don't mind, could you tell me some stories about your adventures?" Hmm! Maybe I can, but I'll have to omit some facts, Melina has only been kind to me, I think I can do her this little favor.

"How about I tell you about the time I found a sanctuary city lost in the depths of the earth and fought a venom-spitting dragon?"

"Seriously? I would loveit." Melina's voice got more excited and she leaned forward towards me, I heard a whinny at my side, looks like Torrent has decided to join us. Let's start.

"Many monarchs have come and gone."

"One drowned in poison, another succumbed to the flames."

"Still another sleeps in a realm of ice."

"This is the story of the Old Sunken King."

"That when finding a sleeping dragon in the depths of the earth."

"Built a shrine around it to worship."

"But that worship would soon come to an end."

"For those who coveted dragon blood."

And then during that night for the first time I told a story, and there was someone to listen, I don't know why but I felt something different inside me. A pleasant feeling.

Alden's POV

I was riding through a forest, heading towards the fort, before leaving Melina told me something interesting, a man named Patches received a large amount of items overnight, weapons, armor, staffs, it seems I found who stole my equipment, according to Melina, he is hiding in a cave beyond the lake of Limgrave, when I finish my current mission I will pay a visit to Patches.

On the side of the road I found a corpse, and in his hands another cookbook, further on I found another tombstone with a piece of map, I placed the two pieces of map I found on the ground and cast Repair, the two pieces of map came together forming a bigger map, but it was still incomplete, its edges were torn, more pieces fit there.

In the forest there was a tree much bigger than the others, it was difficult not to notice, approaching I saw several giant jars around the tree, near the tree there were altars and in these altars I found other crystal tears, one green and the other white and pointed, I kept it in my bag.

I headed west of the giant tree, down the hill I found another beetle rolling a dung ball, I attacked the beetle with the rapier, it hadn't died and started running down the hill "HA!" I yelled for Torrent to go faster, the beetle reached the road in the middle of the forest, on this road there were creatures carrying clubs, I didn't pay them much attention, I cut the first's throat with the rapier, I conjured a Black Orb on the second's face, the third came running towards me with a raised club, I used my pyromantic flame and conjured a Fire Orb towards him, he fell burned to the ground.

The beetle was still running away "HA!" Torrent shot after the beetle, I finally managed to reach it, with one last hit the beetle died and I got a new Ash of War.

I was startled from my celebration by the howl of a wolf, looking around I realized that I followed the beetle to a ruin, the howl continued. Did it seem to come from above? I started looking for the source of the howl while looking up, not paying attention to where I was going I ended up bumping into something big and furry, when I looked ahead, it was the biggest bear I've seen in my life, he got up angrily, it looks like I interrupted its nap.

The bear swung one of its paws towards me, I rolled back, the blow of its paw was strong enough to knock down one of the walls of the ruin, I cast Black Orb towards the bear, he ignored the wound from the spell and came running towards me. The bear opened its mouth and tried to bite me, rolling to the left I managed to dodge the blow and launched a Chaos Fireball at its back, the bear roared in pain as the flames and lava burned its fur and exposed its muscles, this made him furious, the bear began to attack me frantically with several swipes of its paws, its claws almost disemboweling me.

The blows turned left and right, one after the other, until one of them managed to hit me, I flew towards the stairs where the bear was sleeping, while on the ground I saw the bear get up on its hind paws, lift both front paws and descending them towards me trying to crush me, I rolled into the stairs, my body colliding with each step, causing pain with each impact, I finally stopped falling when I hit a metal door at the bottom of the stairs, the bear stuck his head in the stairwell, but he was too big to enter.

Taking my chance I approached the bear and used Firewhip directly on its face, the bear let out a deafening roar as it died and disappeared into runes, I summoned warmth, let the flame heal me, looking back I saw the metal door, I opened it I went into a room with a chest, I hit the chest, nothing happened, opening the chest I found a talisman with an ax, I hung the talisman on my chest, just below the talisman I got by fighting the creature with the cleaver, I felt the talisman's magic taking effect.

Alden's POV

Finally after so many setbacks I arrived at the fort, before entering the fort, I touched the Grace to the west, and I took a golden seed just in front of the fort, the seed was in front of a small golden tree. Come to think of it, didn't I pass some of those trees on the way to Stormveil? I have Rogier's favor to fulfill on Stormveil, I pick up the seeds on the way.

As I approached, from the fort a monster came running towards me, he was humanoid, carried a flail on a chain, his most notable feature was the pumpkin-shaped helmet he wore, "HA!" I yelled as I shook Torrent's reins, he shot forward, as I approached the monster swung his flail towards my head, I bent down and slashed the monster on its right side with rapier.

The monster put its hand in the place where it had been cut, it roared again and started running towards me, it looks like I will need a bigger weapon, I put away the rapier and took from my bag the great sword that I got at the ruined gate, with the sword in my right hand I lit my pyromantic flame and cast Flaming Weapon, the flames left my hand and climbed up the sword, engulfing it in flames.

With the staff in my left hand I casted Affinity, fragments of darkness appeared on top of me "HA!", once again we faced each other, this time the monster tried to crush me with a headbutt using its pumpkin-shaped helmet, the fragments of darkness shot towards the monster, he was hit a few moments before his helm collided with the ground.

"GHAAR!"

I heard the monster scream, as it recovered from the blow, I turned Torrent around, and faced the creature's back "HA!" Torrent advanced one last time, I prepared my flaming sword and when I approached the monster I cut him in his back, with a roar of pain the monster disappeared in runes leaving his flail on the ground, I took the flail and put it in my bag.

Time to enter the fort.

As I approached the stairs leading into the fort, four of Godrick's soldiers emerged from the fort's entrance, three carrying swords and shields and one carrying a spear and shield. This will be easy.

The men with swords and shields came running towards me, one on the left, one on the right and one in front of me, I conjured with my chime Wrath of the Gods, when the shock wave crashed into the soldiers, they all fell to the ground bleeding from their mouths, noses and ears, the shock wave caused deadly internal damage.

The remaining soldier tried to hit me with his shield, I jumped to the left, dodging the blow, due to the impulse of the soldier's blow he ended up passing me, taking advantage of his carelessness I hit him from behind horizontally with the great sword, the soldier was decapitated and his head fell to the floor.

Entering the fort I was greeted with a bomb flying towards me, I rolled to the left dodging the explosion, I cast Dark Orb towards the soldier in an elevated area, the Orb hit him in the chest, the soldier fell dead to the ground, climbing the stairs of wood from the fort another bomb was thrown towards me, this time by one of Stormveil's extremely thin men, I rolled forward, the bomb flew over me and exploded on the lower steps, running towards the man, impaled him on his chest with my sword, placing my foot on his chest, I ripped the sword from his body.

I kept climbing until I reached the walls of the fort, there was a knight of Godrick, he wore full armor, carried a great shield and a great sword, the knight ran towards me, his sword surrounded by a red liquid. Was that blood? I'll worry about that later.

I cast Dark Hail towards the knight, he blocked with his shield and kept running with the shield raised trying to hit me with it, I rolled to the right, but the knight raised his sword and turning his body lowered his blade towards me, the sword hit on the ground a few inches behind me, and as I stood up, I thrust the greats word toward the knight's head, he leaned back, the blow barely grazing the front of his helm.

We took distance from each other, the knight put his shield on his back and held his sword with both hands, blood was still flowing through the blade, I also grabbed my sword with both hands, we stared at each other for some time waiting for who would do the first movement, with a cry of fury the knight raised his sword and began to run, I decided to reciprocate the gesture in an equal way.

I also raised my sword and ran, our weapons collided, both swords sparking as they met, we continued to exchange blows neither of us could advance, the soldier dropped back and swung his sword horizontally, I ducked, the blow passing over the my helmet, I quickly grabbed my staff and caste Dark Orb, the orb hit the soldier in the chest, he staggered back, recovering from the blow the soldier put the blade of his sword in his left hand, then he slid the blade into his hand making a cut.

A blade of blood surged from the sword and slashed through my chest.

"AAAHHH!" That hurt.

I think it's time to find out what the War Ash on my sword does, the soldier repeated the same action as before when the blade approached me, I used the Ash of War, took the hit, then swung the sword in a vertical arc from the bottom up, the blow hit the knight throwing him up, when the knight fell on his back to the ground I stuck my sword in his chest, the knight raised his hand towards me, trying in vain to make a last attack, soon the knight's body disappeared in runes, in the place where the knight was, there was an Ash of War, it was someone swinging a sword with a cut of blood being thrown forward, I kept the ash in my bag, it might be useful if I find it the right weapon to use it.

Looking around I saw that there were no enemies left, let's see if I can find something interesting in this fort.

Alden's POV

Well, I got a cookbook and half a medallion, I wonder what it's for. I used the Grace near the fort to transport myself to the Grace near the hut where I found the painting, climbing up the ruin I found Kenneth.

"Hey Kenneth."

Kenneth turned towards me "Hm? What is it, kind sir?"

"I've taken back your fort, you don't have to worry about Godrick's knight anymore."

Kenneth smiled and said in a pompous tone, "Remarkable! The Knight Commander, dead. Already! A blessing if I ever came across one. Good job, good job indeed. I doubt that was your intention, but the deed is done, and I congratulate you. Now, this is your reward. Go ahead, it's yours to keep."

Kenneth handed me a golden dagger adorned with a crest in the shape of grass, I took a few swings in the air with the dagger, great for close-range combat, I also felt a Ash of War on the dagger, I put it in my bag.

Kenneth passed me and started to walk away towards his fort, after walking some distance he turned to me "Oh yes. I was wanting to ask. Would you like to join my service? I see bright things in your future, stalwart warrior. Enter my service and learn the workings of the true Order of Erdtree. And who knows, maybe at some point, golden grace will return to those Tarnished eyes of yours. What do you say? A nice deal, isn't it?"

Kenneth held out his hand as he smiled. Should I accept? Kenneth is pompous, cocky and arrogant, but I don't think he's a bad person. I'll accept and see what happens. I squeezed Kenneth's hand, Kenneth's face contorted in pain.

"OUCH!" Kenneth broke our handshake and started massaging the aching hand. Did I grab his hand too hard?

"Very good. Very good indeed. I knew I saw something in you. I will wait for you in my fort. We'll hold your naming ceremony there, I think. I see great things ahead of us. We are truly blessed by Erdtree." Kenneth said as he pretended nothing had happened and set off towards the fort.

I never thought this would happen. Me, named a knight? As far as I know Undead are only knighted before the curse mark appears on their bodies, after that if they become Undead they will be considered a disgrace to whoever named them. Maybe here things are different?

TIMESKIP

Alden's POV

This time I decided to ride towards the south of the lake, I need to find Patches, ahead I could see a big carriage pulled by two giant monsters, there were iron skewers inside their bodies, these skewers were attached to chains that served to pull the carriage, well I have no reason to attack them, I'll just go by the side.

I passed by the side of the carriage, but behind it there was a procession of men, they carried swords, rapiers, they were thin and wore rags, it seems that one day these clothes were noblemen's clothes, I was willing to just ignore them, but one of them decided to try to cut me with his sword while I was riding Torrent. Why can't we settle things peacefully?

There were six men in total, nothing too difficult. I leaned back to dodge the blow, took the flail I got from the monster in the fort from my bag, swung the flail towards the man's head, the blow was so strong that one of the man's eyes popped out of his head, the corpse fell to the ground with its skull open.

The other men looked at me startled "So who wants to be next?" One of the men raised his sword and came running screaming like a madman. With my left hand I took a throwing knife out of my bag and threw it towards the man, the knife lodged in his throat, the man then fell backwards with his hands on his neck trying to pull the knife out, he tried to scream while drowned in his own blood, soon he stopped moving.

"Somebody else?" I asked.

The group of men looked at each other, coming to terms, they all dropped their weapons and ran. Unlike Godrick's soldiers, they knew when to give up the fight and run away.

I dismantled Torrent and opened the chest at the back of the carriage, I found a great ax, looking at the front of the carriage, the two monsters had stopped walking, I looked at the chain that attached them to the carriage, lifting the great ax I struck a blow at each chain cutting through them, the now free monsters turned and looked at me, they just nodded their heads and walked away, I waved at them as they walked away.

It seems that there are intelligent creatures here in the Lands Between.

Looking to the side, on top of a hill there were some ruins, according to Kalé's information, there is someone hiding there.

Entering the ruins and down the stairs, I found another wall of yellow fog. What is waiting for me on the other side? Well, there's only one way to find out. Passing through the mist I found another one of the monsters with the pumpkin-shaped helmet, only this one was bigger, the monster roared and readied its flail.

With my chime I conjured Sunlight Blade, I dragged the chime on the great ax blade, the rays engulfed the ax, I also decide to use the ax's War Ash, letting out a roar, I felt an increase in my strength and was enveloped by a red aura, all right, time to fight.

The monster swung its flail twice vertically, the blows came from the left and then the right, I jumped back dodging the blow, the monster then leaned back and brought the flail down towards me, I rolled to the monster's right, the flail hit on the floor behind me making the impact sound echo through the room, finished my dodge I cut the monster on the left side of its body.

Three blows with the ax, cutting it deep, the lightning on the ax causing the monster to spasm, its body thrashed with each blow, the monster spun around with its outstretched left arm, trying to hit me with the back of its arm. I bent down, my arm going over my head, lifting myself up, I cut the monster in its belly, it let out a roar of pain.

"WARGH!"

He leaned back again, and tried to crush me to the ground using his pumpkin-shaped helmet, I rolled towards the blow, passing the monster and getting behind him, I conjured a Great Lightning Spear and hurled it at the monster's back, he, screamed in pain, but kept fighting, recovering from the attack, the pumpkin head, turned towards me.

The pumpkin head started to spin the flail behind him then swung it from left to right in a great arc, I used the ax war ash once more, letting out a roar, my strength increased.

The flail came towards my head rolling forward, I started my attack, the first a right-to-left slash, the second a left-to-right slash, the third a top-to-bottom slash, the last one, I turned my body and I jumped with the ax raised and slashing the monster, every blow opened rips in the pumpkin head's belly and chest.

Blood spattered with each blow, the pumpkin head fell to the ground, disappearing in runes and souls.

The wall of fog that was on the other side of the room disappeared, behind it was a smaller room, entering the room were tables, piles of books and a person wearing blue robes and wearing a strange stone helmet. I can't judge, after all I'm using one too.

"Tarnished, isn't it? A wonder you showed up here. I am Sellen, a sorceress, clearly. Why are you here?" So her name is Sellen. Nice to find a sorceress sister around here.

"Nice to meet you Sellen, my name is Alden. I just followed a piece of information I bought, that there was someone hiding in these ruins, I had no idea that was a sorceress."

"Then let me get this straight. Did you travel to these ruins and fight my pumpkin head, simply because of information you bought?" I nodded yes.

"Your foolishness surprises me. Leaving that aside, I see that you are also a sorcerer." Sellen said as he pointed at my Sunset Staff.

"Would you be interested in learning sorcery?" Sellen asked me. This would be a great opportunity to learn about the magic of these lands.

Yes I'm interested."

"Fine, reach out your hand, let me test your aptitude." I held out my hand to Sellen and she took it. Sellen was silent for several minutes.

"Sellen…"

"Sellen…"

"Sellen…"

No reply.

"SELLEN!"

Sellen released my hand and jumped back in shock.

"Are you okay?" I asked.

"Y-yes… Well, your aptitude seems… passable. But one must choose their masters wisely. I was exiled from the Academy of Raya Lucaria, an apostate and witch. Do you still wish to learn from me?"

"Of course, I don't see any problem with you being a witch."

"Very good. You are now my protege in glintstone sorcery. But I refuse to pamper. Or throw kind words. Never. Anticipate grievances, young apprentice."

"Of course, you remind me of my old sorcery teachers." This seemed to capture Sellen's attention.

"Hmm? And who would they be?"

"Carhillion of the Fold and Straid of Olaphis."

"Never heard of them, but they must be competent with their sorcery judging by your potential, but enough about your teachers, you're my protege, let's learn about sorcery."

I agree, let's see what she has to teach me.

TIMESKIP

Some of these spells were too basic for my interest, but a few caught my eye, Glinstone Stars and Glinstone Arch. But I've been here too long, I need to continue my journey.

"Thank you for everything teacher, but I need to continue my journey, I will come back again when the time is right." I said as I bowed slightly to Sellen.

"Very well, I wish you a safe journey, but don't let my teachings go to your head, you still have a lot to learn." Sellen waved goodbye to me.

On the way out I touched Grace in the room I fought the pumpkin head, outside the ruins I called Torrent and started riding.

Sellen's POV

Well, he left, I waited a few minutes to see if he would come back, five minutes passed, I think it's good enough. Taking a deep breath, I slammed my fists into my desk and let out a cry of frustration.

"AAAAAHHHHH!"

But what was that?! How can someone have such magical power. He my protege? There's nothing I can teach him that he can't learn on his own! Alden is already at the advanced level! How is such a powerful person not in Raya Lucaria? If is to be someone's protege then I should be his protege! When I took his hand and felt his potential I couldn't identify any of his sorcery! What was that blue light? What was that darkness? Two completely unknown types of sorcery.

I took a deep breath to calm myself down, when Alden returns I'll ask him about where he comes from, his sorcery and his teachers. Maybe Alden can help me with my goal? That only time will tell.

END OF CHAPTER

Author's Note: Hello! Thanks for reading this far! Before you leave I would like you to read this note. The reason this chapter took so long to come out was not just because of the size, in fact I had several problems to write this chapter, speaking now it seems like a lie, but while writing I realized that I didn't write down the equipment and items that Alden got in the previous chapters, so I had to reread the chapters and write it all down in a separate document, now every time Alden gets something new I immediately write it down in the document before I forget.

The second problem was that my Notebook battery drained while I was writing so I ended up missing a piece of the chapter so I had to rewrite the lost piece, as if that wasn't enough, my Notebook had a battery issue causing it to shut down out of nowhere while it was with the charger plugged in, I ended up missing another part of the chapter, I had to rewrite it again.

My initial idea was to split the Limgrave exploration into small chapters, but due to the aforementioned issues I decided to split the exploration into two large chapters before anything else went wrong, so it might take a while for the next chapter to be posted.

That's all for now, until the next chapter.