And I'm back! Hope you guys don't mind the wait, even if I do keep telling myself that it's fine to take some time between chapters. Guess it's just a force of habit to try not having too big a gap between uploads, heh.
My self-judgement aside, glad to see that the first chapter had garnered some interest! Can only hope that future chapters will be delivering what hype you guys and gals may be feeling now.
Now then, not really too much that needs to be said here unlike in the previous chapter other than a simple warning that this fic will be something of a slowburner initially, so with that said, let's just go ahead and get right to the chapter! Enjoy!
P.S. Completely random side note, but some months back, someone managed to mod Goku from Dragon Ball Fighterz into Guilty Gear Strive, complete with his entire moveset and all the gameplay mechanics from Fighterz intact. It made for one hell of a broken character, to put it mildly, ha ha. But seeing that really got me wondering if maybe one day someone will try to mod Dante from the latest DMC game (DMC5) or even Nero into Elden Ring, with all their moves and mechanics intact. Or hell, even a character from Bayonetta or even Kratos from the 2018 God of War. That sure as hell would be interesting to see, if only to find out how their unique mechanics would make or break Elden Ring, lol. Anyways, just random food for thought.
Chapter 2
The Tarnished progressed onwards for approximately an hour before he finally reached a road, doing his best to commit the landscape to memory in case of emergency. Additionally, he'd taken this generously peaceful stretch of time to further go through his inventory to see what else he still had.
A fair bit of the materials he used for crafting was sadly lost and there was no guarantee that this world would have similar enough ingredients and items to craft more, but he mercifully retained what items he had already crafted prior to the battle with lord Radagon.
But much more importantly, he was quietly elated to see he still held the whistle to summon Torrent, the warrior able to sense his dutiful steed's presence within. It would also seem that the other spirits he'd gathered across his borderline haphazard journey through the Lands Between remained with him as well, their presence faint but still noticeable to him.
This put him at ease, immensely so – their help had been most beneficial to him across his journey, especially when he'd still been building up his strength. Their help would no doubt do wonders here even in this unknown world.
Alas, he kept from summoning any of them for the time being, not even Torrent. For one thing, there were no battles, obviously and for another, in Torrent's case, he wished to confirm first what sort of world this one was before he started to rely on the steed's help.
And on that note…
He followed the road as best as he could, once again using Ranni's presence as his point of guidance. It was yet another fairly quiet hour of travel before he was rewarded with noise – and then sight.
There up ahead lied a village, fairly large when in comparison to some of the encampments he'd encountered in the past. He'd dare say it was roughly around the same size as the village that had succumbed to the Frenzied Flame, albeit without the ruined castle ruins and lookout tower that the Frenzied Flame village had benefited from.
Even from this distance, he could hear a fair bit of noise, all of it pleasant – people lively chatting, children laughing and playing… it almost felt surreal to him, to the point that he only barely properly took note of the fact that, judging by the village's appearance, it seemed like this world may indeed be similar to his own in terms of development.
Just when was the last time he'd come across any place, village or otherwise, that had seemed so at ease? Why, it must have been back when he'd been no more than a child, well before he'd ever met lord Godfrey and his band of warriors, before the Shattering.
It was enough to actually make the Tarnished pause for a moment, but he regained himself and pressed on towards the village, readjusting the cloak around him to hide Blaidd's armor better before finally reaching the village.
Almost immediately he felt eyes fall on him as he neared it. There was but a humble gate with some people gathered around the general vicinity, not as guards but merely out of fancy… a hang out spot. These people were the first to notice him and their chatter, initially so loud, grew quiet as he passed them by. He could hear their whispers, which weren't as quiet as they thought, questioning his appearance, for while the cloak hid the armor well enough, they could still make out his grieves. Plus there was his height to consider as well, which was noticeably a head or two above most of the people he could see bustling about, though he was still a far cry from the giants – figurative and literal – from the Lands Between.
Paying them no more mind, he decided to head deeper into the village, using the dirt road as his guide. It seemed to head through the village completely, this place serving more as a resting stop for travelers judging by the fairly large tavern that he was about to pass by.
On that particular note, the Tarnished slowed and eyed said building curiously before deciding to head in. It's been a long while since he's ever been able to drink or eat anything of true note – and he refused to consider some of the consumables and crafted items as proper meals – so he might as well indulge if able.
Besides, taverns always served as good sources of knowledge if one knew how to make the most of it.
"Well, well," spoke the bartender, a portly man of presumably average height. He was in the middle of putting away some cups as the Tarnished calmly strode up to the bar. "Been a fair while since we've had a new face around here. Adventurer, I take it?"
The Tarnished silently thanked Fia's hood for hiding his expression somewhat, for he'd been not completely able to hide his mild look of confusion. But he pressed on.
"No," he replied. "Merely a wanderer… though I had once been a merchant, if you're that curious about my occupation."
The bartender quirked a fuzzy eyebrow at that. "Former or not, can't say you really look the part."
"It was quite a long time ago. Much has changed since then," the Tarnished simply explained with a shrug.
In some respects, this was the truth. Long, long ago, he had often accompanied his mother, an actual merchant, on her business trips as part of his training as a merchant himself, his father's death long before even that having warranted his mother to take him around with her anyways.
Sadly, on a particularly dangerous venture to a land far away from the Lands Between, a band of vicious goblins had ambushed them and slain his dear mother. As for himself, just barely ten years of age at the time, he'd fled as best as he could. And then, when the goblins had caught up with him, well, with no other choice left, he'd done his best to defend himself with a knife he'd carried on his person back then as a precaution.
Through sheer force of will and dumb luck, he'd managed to hold on against the arrogant yet vicious monsters long enough for lord Godfrey and some of his men, who'd been passing through the area at the time, to take notice of what was going on and rush on over to battle with the goblins.
As for what had happened after his rescue, well, Lord Godfrey and his men were warriors through and through. They cared not for one's age, gender, creed or any other such factor. All that mattered to them was that one possessed at least the potential to fight and the will to act on said potential. Apparently they'd seen such potential in his young self and had graciously allowed him to accompany them thereafter, the then orphan no longer having any family left.
…The Tarnished quite missed those days, to be perfectly honest. The training he'd received, the ideals he'd inherited… he will never forget the debt he owes to lord Godfrey.
It was to his great shame, however, that he had ultimately perished before he could truly muster up any real achievements for himself prior to his death. Not to say he'd died unblooded or anything; by the time of his initial death, he'd grown up and had managed to overcome his fair share of monsters and men. It's just that, in comparison to his compatriots and especially to lord Godfrey, he'd been a relative unknown.
…Rather ironic that it wasn't until after the grace had revived him as a Tarnished that he'd finally been able to truly bloom as a warrior and gain a significant number of achievements.
But he was seriously digressing here.
"Well, whatever you say, big man," the bartender said while the Tarnished had spent a few seconds dwelling on such memories. "So what can I do for you?"
"I was hoping you'd be able to provide me with some information," The Tarnished began. "This region is one I'm very new to… it'd help a great deal if you could perhaps provide me with a map and some other pertinent information – what dangers I should be looking out for, things of that nature."
The bartender hummed thoughtfully. "Simple enough… but you ought to know how this works, right?" The man's eyes held a certain twinkle in them.
The Tarnished was quick to reply, having expected as much. "Sadly, I can't say what 'currency' I have on me is worth anything in this region." Perhaps a little too honest of himself, but to be fair, his training as a merchant that his mother had tried to provide him was far from complete. Still, he at least knew the basics of bartering and didn't hesitate in pressing ahead. "That said, I believe I may be able to trade in exchange for your information."
"…What do you have on you?"
"What would you believe yourself or this town to be most in need of?"
His swift and unflinching reply visibly left the bartender on the backpedal with even the few patrons in here now looking their way in growing intrigue.
The bartender took a quick moment to recollect himself and think on the Tarnished's words. Then he finally replied. "A lot of the guys here go out to gather some supplies from the forests… and while it's nothing too serious, they tend to end up accidentally brushing up against some poisonous plants. Would help a lot if you could do something about that."
The Tarnished allowed himself a smirk. "As a matter of fact…"
He pretended to be reaching for something under his cloak when in reality, he was reaching into that inventory space of his to pull out a few of the absolutely vast number of boluses he'd spent countless hours crafting. Specifically, the Neutralizing Boluses.
"While I can't guarantee anyone will find them delicious," the Tarnished began with a slight chuckle. "I can guarantee it will work on any kind of poison one could come into contact with."
At that, the bartender's eyes widened in surprise, clearly having not expected him to so swiftly offer such a trade. Then his eyes narrowed in pure skepticism. "Bold words, wouldn't you say."
"If you want proof, then go ahead and find someone to try it out on." The Tarnished showed no hesitation in responding. "But at the very least, could this at least earn me a drink or two?"
The bartender stared for several seconds before letting out a bark of laughter. "Can't tell if you're stupid or not, but I can admire your guts. Alright, I'll indulge you, big guy. Sit your ass down and enjoy a drink… but in the meantime, I'm going to test out one of these things – kids are always playing around in the forest and can just as often end up getting a rash or something as easily as the adults do. Getting one of those brats to give this a try shouldn't be too hard to do."
"My thanks," the Tarnished said before the bartender took the few Neutralizing Boluses placed on the counter and went off for the time being, though not before filling him a small mug with what he presumed to be standard ale or at least this world's equivalent of it.
The Tarnished sat upon the wooden seat nearby at the bar and took a quiet sip of it, reveling in it. He was no drinker nor was this ale particularly exceptional, but it was still fairly good. So, just as the bartender had just said, he opted to take his time enjoying the drink.
As he did so, he mentally played over this brief encounter so far.
The bartender seemed well-spoken enough, hinting at some level of education, at least a level similar to what he himself had received in his distant youth. However, the same couldn't quite be said of others he could hear now chattering in the background. Far from a unique thing, the Lands Between having been much the same in this regard – only those of certain backgrounds could really receive any formal education, at least officially.
But much more than just that, it seemed that blending into this world shouldn't be too hard a thing, but he'll have to wait until he could obtain the information he wanted to confirm this thought for good.
He spent several minutes drinking his ale and then another few minutes afterwards just sitting there in peaceful silence before the bartender suddenly returned. The man practically kicked open the door to the tavern, which got the attention of everyone there.
The Tarnished turned around in order to see the man for himself and bore witness to the borderline stumped expression on the bartender's face.
"…I think I ought to fill up your mug a few more times," the man in question said.
…
…
Some odd minutes go by in a hurry. For after the bartender had returned, true to his word, he'd filled up the Tarnished's mug and had practically drilled him on where the hell he'd obtained such a 'wonder drug.' Evidently, whatever remedies this world possessed for poisons and the like didn't work anywhere near as quickly and effectively as the Neutralizing Boluses do. Of course, the Tarnished had kept his lips sealed on this matter and ultimately managed to force the bartender to give up.
With only a marginal amount of grumbling, the bartender had excused himself for yet another moment to procure for the Tarnished the map he'd asked for. When he'd come back with it and had unrolled it upon the countertop, the Tarnished couldn't help but squint at what he saw.
"…Not quite the most detailed," he couldn't help but comment.
The map he looked upon, covering not just this region but also several of the surrounding ones, was very bareboned. It had a good number of safe roads marked and certain areas marked, such as notable hills, mountains, and other such significant changes in terrain, but that was about it. The map provided no other signs of changes in elevation, no shortcuts, and wasn't even that particularly detailed in showing just how far exactly the towns and villages further out were from his current location.
He's worked on very little information before a number of times, but nothing quite like this. Perhaps the map he'd had on hand back in his world had left him feeling a bit spoiled.
The bartender didn't seem to take offense at his words and merely shrugged. "A lot of us don't really travel too far from here. A lot of this info is due to the few that do travel that far out in addition to some other wanderers who swing on by to share info and boasts. And you didn't specify that the map had to be super detailed." The man grinned wryly with that last statement.
The Tarnished felt his own expression shift into a silent grimace, but only for an instant before he schooled it back into one of neutrality. He had walked into that one, he'll admit. Looks like the lessons he'd learned so long ago weren't quite as fresh in his mind as he'd initially thought.
No matter, this was a learning experience, just like everything else in his life had been.
"And my other request?" he asked.
The bartender leaned in closer towards the map and lightly jabbed a finger at a road going to the east. "Right around this part and further on… it'd be best to watch yourself here."
"Bandits, I presume?" The Tarnished guessed.
"We got a few of those bastards around here, yeah, but they're not too big a deal." The bartender now looked much more seriously. "No, what you really need to worry about are the Non-Prayer Characters that go through these parts."
The Tarnished quirked an eyebrow at that, having not expected a term like that to be thrown his way. He naturally decided to ask about that, but without appearing too oblivious. "And by that, you specifically mean…?"
"Goblins, mainly."
The Tarnished stilled, having definitely not expected that. "Oh?"
The bartender grimaced. "Those ugly little bastards are like a damn plague… haven't been too big of a problem in this region, but as someone who's seen what they can do when they got get going…" the man trailed off for a moment. "…It's not pretty. At all. Like I said, haven't been too bad out here, but sooner or later, they're going to start moving further out here. I'm sure requests have already been submitted to adventurer guilds about it, but who knows how long it'll take for any adventurers to take them on."
"For such a threat, you all don't seem to be putting up much in the ways of defenses," the Tarnished noted.
The bartender grimaced. "Not for lack of trying. Only so much we can do out here to kill the few stragglers we get out here. Against an entire horde of them? Not really anything we can do about that. Honestly, sometimes it makes me wonder if we'd be better off having damn dragons or some other legendary creature marking this area as their turf."
Well, well, looks like this world had a lot more in common with the Lands Between than he could have ever hoped. But not quite in a good way. He knew all too well how dangerous any inhabitant in the Lands Between could be, be they human or otherwise. If the people and creatures of this world were anything like the ones he was familiar with, then he'd have his hands full on his new adventure.
Yet even so…
"I… see. My thanks," the Tarnished said as he gently picked up the map and rolled it up before storing it away. "Then it seems I really can't afford to dawdle about."
Now standing, he nodded to the bartender, who seemed taken aback by his rather bland reaction. "…You're really going to just go out there? Even after what I just said?"
"I can't afford to spend too much time just dragging my feet, no matter what lies in wait for me," the Tarnished replied as he turned around to leave. "The information is most welcome. If nothing else, I now know what to expect."
And as long as he knew that much, it was just a matter of being ready for it. Simple as that.
"That's… that's fair, I suppose." He could feel the bartender's eyes on his back. "Well… whatever you need to do, hope you can pull it off, big guy… would be nice to do business again."
The Tarnished smirked. "Likewise. Do try to use those things sparingly – wouldn't do to use them all up so soon." He spoke of the Neutralizing Boluses he'd traded for the information.
His words got a light snort out of the bartender and that was about the last thing he heard before exiting the tavern.
The sun had swiftly begun to set by this point. While night would not come just yet, it wouldn't be too long before it did.
With this in mind, the Tarnished picked up his pace as he followed the main road through the village until he reached the gate on the other end of it.
Now certain of the similarities this world had with his own, he no longer felt quite so cautious about keeping things so close to his chest. Thus, not even several yards past the gate, he pulled out the whistle and gave it a quick and sharp blow of air.
Just like that, he was literally lifted off the ground as Torrent was summoned to him, manifesting beneath him without missing a beat, just like all the other times before. The Tarnished paid no mind to the startled noises some of the villagers nearby made upon seeing this summoning, instead focusing on gently patting Torrent on the base of his neck.
"Hey there, friend," he said softly. "Looks like our journey together isn't over just yet."
Torrent snorted and bristled in a mixture of simple acknowledgement and anticipation. He was, as always, in for the long haul as some would say.
With a 'hyup,' the Tarnished beckoned Torrent to take off and his steed broke into a run, steadily picking up speed within just several feet crossed.
And soon enough, both were well out of sight of the few villagers that had seen what had just happened.
"Ah man, I'm beat! Think we can stop for the night and set up camp soon?"
"We've only been traveling for a short while. Stop whining so much."
"Hmph! Not my fault my feet are feeling so sore! This road is super uneven!"
"How childish of you…"
"I'd say you're both acting pretty childish… especially in front of our new friend here," mumbled the one known as Sage. She then turned to the fourth member of their merry little band. "Sorry for all the noise."
Said fourth member – Ranni – could only chuckle slightly. "Think nothing of it. If anything, this is quite a welcome change of pace for me. Though I must question if this is how things are for thee normally."
It's been but a few hours since she's met these three and a sort of rhythm had been established. The young one – oddly enough, simply referred to as the Hero – would act much like the child that she appeared to be while the other two members of this all-female party – Sword Saint and Sage as they appeared to be called – would serve as stern adult figures to her, the former more so than the latter.
Nonetheless, despite said bickering, the two older women in the group seemed to defer to the youngest among them. Evidently she possessed some respectable measure of ability if these two would so easily listen to and indulge her.
And if anything, more so than the titles that they seemed to be known by rather than possessing proper names, Ranni found their dynamic more worthy of note.
She and her siblings, both blood related and otherwise, had done their best to live up to the potential they all had. As a result, they'd come to earn the respect of many even back in their youth. However, the way said respect was shown had differed greatly from how these two acted towards the Hero. The other members of Raya Lucaria had treated her as a princess, an untouchable existence of sorts, not one that just anyone could casually mingle with. Similar attitudes had been adopted towards her siblings for the most part, with her brother Radahn practically worshipped by his men while Rykard had been held up as a blasphemous god of sorts to his followers. Meanwhile Malenia and Miquella had been essentially deified by their own followers, with the former's followers even willing to serve her even after being afflicted with the Scarlet Rot merely from being near her.
And while there had been some exceptions, a relative few that had treated them as people and could be called good acquaintances or mentors or what have you, very few could have truly been considered friends. A rather sobering thought to be having now, Ranni must silently admit.
"I… see. Glad to hear that you don't mind," Sage said in a rather off-put tone. Looks like she wasn't too used to anyone just going along with their leader's whims. "…Her apparent fatigue aside, would you not require some rest? Especially after the accident that happened…"
When she'd introduced herself to them, she'd told them a fairly straightforward tale – she was but a humble researcher of magic who'd been caught in the middle of an experiment which had then resulted in her being blasted all the way out here. Thankfully her injuries had been fairly minor due to the nature of said failed experiment, though she now required help in navigating her way back to civilization.
"Pay me no mind, young Sage," Ranni started. "Despite my delicate appearance, I'm rather hardy. I can go on for a while longer before I feel I will require rest."
"I-If you're truly fine then… ok," Sage finished lamely, her current demeanor at odds with the more stoic and put-upon attitude Ranni assumed the young woman normally had. "Still… to think you'd been trying to invent a whole new type of magic… as a user of magic myself, I can't help but feel intrigued."
The Lunar Princess merely smiled. "It's the nature of sorcerers to be inquisitive. Thee shouldn't feel any shame in being so interested in my work. However, I do hope thee wouldn't mind if I keep my research to myself for the time being – I'd much prefer to achieve success first before I discuss my efforts with others."
Part of her falsified tale was that she'd been trying to come up with teleportation magic, which appeared to be quite the novelty in this world if the reactions of the trio had been anything to judge by earlier when she'd told them this.
"Oh, of course! Though I do hope you can complete your work soon," Sage said with just a bit of a blush to her face. Looks like she couldn't help but act like an overeager puppy when it concerned magic. It was rather cute, Ranni had to admit. It reminded her of herself back when she'd first met and had begun to learn from her dear mentor. Though their creeds concerning magic very likely differed immensely, the most basic interest they had in it was something they clearly had in common.
"Still, to think you got blasted all the way out here. Magic sure can be scary!" the young Hero said, now butting into the conversation.
"While she could've probably worded that better, she is right, I guess," Sword Saint added. "Are you sure you're truly fine?"
"Most sure, young warrior. If I do have to admit to some discomfort, however, then I suppose it's all strictly in the mind – I'm most eager to return to my home… for a variety of reasons," Ranni replied.
An understatement – aside from the desire to reunite with her consort eternal, the state that the Lands Between must now be in was weighing heavily on her mind despite her best efforts to stay focused on her current goal for the time being.
"With that said, just how much farther out are we from the nearest town?" Ranni questioned. So far, she'd focused on keeping up appearances and making idle chatter with the female trio. But now that it seems that she's on friendly enough terms with them, she felt it was time to really focus on the matter at hand.
"Hmm, about half a day at most," Sword Saint said. "We actually had to travel through forest giant territory to get here, which is what really held us up. If not for that, though, then we could probably be there a few hours quicker."
"Forest… giants, thee said?" Ranni questioned, now feeling much more alert.
Though giants had long since been vanquished by the time she'd been born, save for the final fire giant that had been cursed by her stepmother to guard the forge, she was very much familiar with them. She's learned of their immense strength and savagery, many of them having proven difficult challenges for even the first Elden Lord back in his younger years, when he'd been expanding Queen Marika's empire.
While she was plenty confident in her own ability, having fought a dragon that specialized in combating sorcerers such as herself, if the giants of this world were anything like the ones from the Lands Between, then she shouldn't proceed so half-heartedly into this. Even if she is now the vassal of the Dark Moon, there were still beings out there who possessed might great enough to do her significant harm… and most importantly, there were those who could impede her journey more than necessary.
She will have to be ready.
"But don't worry!" The Hero fully turned towards her and gave her a huge smile. "We'll protect you if it does come down to it! We might act goofy at times, but we're really strong!"
"Oh, so you are self-aware," Sage dryly commented.
"H-Hey!"
Ranni chuckled alongside Sage at the young girl's indignancy. "Most gracious. But worry not – though not my preference, I can defend myself if needed. Worry about protecting thyself and thy own first."
"…Looks like that's what we're going to have to do." Sword Saint had growled out those words with a mixture of annoyance but also some measure of excitement. In a single fluid movement, she drew her blade and carefully held it as the ground began to tremble.
It was very marginal at first, but rapidly increased in intensity with every passing second. Then came roars from off in the distance, though also rapidly approaching as well. These roars caused the Hero to remove the large sword from her back and hold it with a practiced hand. Meanwhile, Sage moved slightly in front of Ranni despite her words just a moment ago, staff at the ready.
"Here they come! And here I'd thought we shook 'em off earlier!" the Hero commented as a humanoid figure, easily five meters tall, came smashing through numerous thick trees that had lied ahead – a forest, of course.
Aside from its height, the forest giant – for that is clearly what it is – sported a relatively unappealing appearance. With brown, bark-like skin that was sparsely peppered with sickly tree branches jutting out here and there along with a face that looked far too small and warped to be considered humanoid unlike the rest of its body, the forest giant certainly made for quite a sight…
But despite its sudden appearance, Ranni remained unafraid, even as the creature smashed its left foot into the ground in rage, making the area quake slightly. By this point, several more forest giants could be heard and felt approaching, trees falling and bending apart as if to avoid impeding their path.
"Oh my…" Ranni muttered as the first forest giant let loose a bellow that would probably deafen most people if they were a little closer. It would seem that whatever exactly had happened between these denizens and her new travel companions, it had been far from a pleasant experience for the former.
"Ok, get ready!" the Hero said, smirking despite herself. She held her large sword straight, her stance indicating that she was about to charge directly at the forest giants. "Let's just blast through them as quick as we can!"
A full frontal assault? Ranni wasn't about to question whether or not such a 'tactic' was all that viable, but she did have to question if her new companions had a strategy beyond simply 'run at enemy and attack.' Her dear Tarnished, even back when he'd been but a relative greenhorn, had approached every enemy he'd come across with some basic tactics to ascertain their abilities.
But seeing as they'd already fought these giants before, perhaps they did have some special maneuver in mind to swiftly deal with them.
That being said, however…
"If I may," Ranni said as she gently brushed past Sage, who'd been preparing what she could only assume was an offensive spell. Presumably, Sage would've made the first move to create an opening for the other two to capitalize on.
Ranni decided it would be best if she took on that role instead. If nothing else, it would do her wonders to know what she could expect of the denizens of this world in terms of combat strength.
Sage cried out in mild surprise as Ranni now strode past her. The Lunar Princess ignored her even as the woman tried to grab her by the shoulder and pull her back for the time being. But Ranni, stronger than she looked, easily brushed off her hand and continued to walk ahead even as the forest giants now began to charge their way.
Normally, the sorcerers of her world used some kind of medium, usually staffs, to properly channel their magic and weave spells together. Even her mother, the great Rennala of the Full Moon, had made liberal use of a staff to cast her spells.
But those of a high enough level had no such need for a staff. While they did indeed suffer some degree of degeneration in terms of magical strength, casting spells was still well within their grasp. And as an accomplished sorceress herself and vassal of the Dark Moon as well, Ranni was far from helpless, just as she'd said she was.
Without uttering a single word, she raised both of her right hands and fired off two glintstone blasts – perhaps one of the most basic types of spells that existed. But even then, in her hands, even such basic spells were of a magnitude far beyond the norm.
Thus, her two blasts crossed the remaining distance between her and the nearest forest giant in a veritable instant and struck true. The blast fired by her upper right hand struck directly against the giant's left shoulder while the other blast connected with the lower right side of its torso-.
-And promptly blew right through the giant's body with little difficulty.
The forest giant cried out as blood gushed out, contrasting with its odd constitution. Stumbling now, it ended up tripping and falling onto its face. This in turn caused a slight pileup for the two other giants that had been almost directly behind it ended up losing their balance and crashing atop the first one.
"Oh?" Ranni watched as the other giants came to a graceless halt. She knew not what level of intellect they typically possessed, but it was clear that they could tell when they were faced with something most unexpected.
Maybe she should give them further reason to reconsider their current actions.
With an indiscernible mutter, she waved her hands and numerous blades formed from pure magic manifested around her. A volley consisting of ten swords shot forth, skewering the piled-up giants in their skulls and upper bodies in general. The mystical blades pierced their flesh with some measure of difficulty – unlike the glintstone blasts, these were meant to incapacitate rather than outright wound. Of course, given that they just stabbed into these giants' skulls, well, the results were quite obvious.
As the felled giants suddenly ceased in their howling, the remaining giants actually backed up, shock actually registering on their misshapen faces now.
And yet, as far as Ranni could tell, she didn't detect any possibility of them retreating just yet.
It would seem that this much just wouldn't do. But in any case, she's now gotten a fairly decent idea of where her strength stood in this world so far. Assuming that giants were considered among the hardiest beings out there, her spells should prove most effective against most foes, provided the attacks connect – she wasn't about to dismiss the possibility that the beings of this new world possessed means of protecting themselves from spells.
But that was yet another thing that could be tested later, if necessary. For now, all that mattered was finishing this as swiftly as possible so that they may continue their trek.
"My dears," Ranni said to the three women, all of whom were sporting some rather amusing expressions. "I believe now is the time to finish them."
"H-Ha, yeah, you got that right, scary lady!" the Hero yelled, regaining her previously excitable demeanor. "Let's go, you two!"
And with that, Ranni gracefully stepped back as the Hero and Sword Saint charged at the remaining forest giants, who only barely registered the surprising speed of the two women.
As the two women went to work, blades flying and women and giants alike letting out battle cries, Ranni couldn't help but smile. Her four hands came together and her fingers gently intertwined with one another, the Lunar Princess pondering the situation.
If nothing, at least this new journey of hers will be a most informational one.
Once again, I must give this warning – this fic will be something of a slowburner. I do hope this particular fact is clear enough given the content/pacing of this chapter.
That said, that doesn't mean every chapter is going to be like this. In fact, the next chapter will be considerably more action packed… and certain forces will be introduced to give you guys a better idea of what to expect out of this fic that'll warrant why both the Tarnished and Ranni are so eager to link up and figure out a way back to the Lands Between ASAP. I just hope that you all will find it interesting.
Oh, and as stated in the previous chapter's AN, a basic... summary, I guess you could call it, of the Tarnished's past has been revealed... and like I said, that's about all the backstory he's going to get in this fic. What kind of training he underwent, what kind of foes he fought, what his name once was, etc... all that had happened before his death and becoming Tarnished is not to going to be revealed ever because it just doesn't matter. Oh, he'll make some random allusions here and there to his past in some form, mainly just one liners and what not that are relevant to whatever the situation is, but that'll be it. For all intents and purposes, all that matters is who he is after his revival. Just wanted to make that clear as well!
Until next time, everyone. Stay safe!
