Whew, man it feels a little crazy to see the response this fic is getting so far! With the crossover section for Elden Ring still being pretty new to the scene on this site and Goblin Slayer's crossover section being sort of haphazard, I really didn't expect to already get over 20 reviews and as many favs/follows, especially since this is barely even the 5th chapter. Seriously, thank you guys, it really means a lot to know you all find this interesting.

Of course, it still falls on me to make sure to deliver when it comes to expectations here… but just as Elden Ring itself has taught me, no choice but to buckle down and persevere, ha ha.

And on a somewhat related note, I just discovered recently that my previous fic (Village of Darkness) has been added to the Fanfic Recommendation pages for Devil May Cry and Resident Evil on TV Tropes! Sure was a hell of surprise for me and strangely, I can't help but feel like it's an honor. That a little weird? Well, in any case, it sure was an eyebrow raiser for me, heh.

My little rambling aside though, I've been looking forward to writing this particular chapter since the whole point of this fic has been to, of course, have our dear Tarnished interact properly with GS characters. Was admittedly a little difficult envisioning how to write it, however, since there were quite a few different ways I could've done this. Ultimately, I just went with what felt most natural to me as usual and this was the result and incidentally, this is why the chapter took longer than usual to be posted. But of course, this is just a sample of what's to come… especially with the little bits of setup I've already been doing during Illusion's scenes so far.

Now then, let's get onto the chapter! Hope you enjoy!

P.S. Please consider purchasing any of my books! Universal links available on my profile page, just remove the spaces!

P.P.S Random aside, but you guys ever wonder if maybe most of Fromsoft's more popular games (Demon Souls, Dark Souls, Sekiro, Bloodborne, Elden Ring itself) could all be one big weird timeline? Like, Demon Souls came first, then at some point began the Dark Souls series. Bloodborne could probably be considered a form of a painted world given it's all a dream and Sekiro could take place during Elden Ring's time depending on how one wants to spin certain events. Just a random thought!

Chapter 5

Healing the women hadn't taken particularly long at all, perhaps no more than ten minutes at most, the Tarnished surmised. Looks like the Lord's Heal, combined with just a small usage of the Priestess' healing miracle had been more than enough to tend to the former captives' physical states.

Unfortunately – not to mention, expectedly – the same couldn't be said of their psychological states; though a good handful of them had looked most hopeful to be far away from this horrid place, the majority of the women had either been crying their eyes out still, their minds too fraught with horror from the acts inflicted upon them to be feeling all that cheery even after being healed and clothed with what little drapes and rags that could be scrounged up in this mine. There had also been those who were just flat out despondent, all semblance of sanity gone from them, leaving them in catatonic states to varying degrees.

Victory may have been brought about with not a single casualty among them all, but it hardly felt like a victory at all. The only real upside was that at least with these goblins dead, there should not be anymore such victims in this region… and the Tarnished, despite his hardened heart, could find little comfort in that.

Alas, while the women had been healed, they were far from done here just yet. He and his impromptu companions must still lead them all outside and figure out a way to see these poor souls back to their homes.

Thankfully, however, the Tarnished had taken note of a large wagon that had gone without use that lied outside the entrance of the mine. It should at the very least hold most of the women.

And so with this in mind, he and the others had begun the process of leading the women out of this wretched place, with the fully armored young man acting as both scout and vanguard while the priestess, archer and odd short man mingled with the group of women, acting as guards within the group, helping some of them walk as best as they could. As for himself, he was in the rear alongside the lizardman. The reason for their positioning was for them, the hardiest of the bunch, to serve as shields in case of attack from behind.

It was quite a somber walk out of this cave, with nary a word spoken between any of them barring some gentle words of encouragement to the women, courtesy of the young blonde for the most part. Truly, a gentle soul, the Tarnished noted… which, while admirable, wasn't really a trait that sadly wouldn't have gotten her far had this been the Lands Between, he couldn't help but think.

No matter. It was pointless to imagine such a scenario.

It took about half an hour or so to get out of the mine, the armored man having cautiously gone about leading the way in case of any errant foes, of which there proved to be none. By then, it was quite dark out, the Tarnished immediately noted with a slight frown.

While there was still some semblance of light out, it would soon fade in full and while it looked like it would be a clear night, traveling at this time with such a large group could be potentially as dangerous as the mine with the goblins. The Tarnished was plenty confident in being able to fend for himself, his adventures having conditioned him to be able to handle himself regardless of what environment he ended up in… but that was while by himself. Although he didn't wish to doubt the capabilities of the others here, he had no idea for sure how well they could operate under these current conditions.

But one thing was for sure…

"No way we can travel right now," the short man grumbled as he fiddled with his well-groomed beard. "Still, you want to try and make the attempt, Beardcutter?"

The short man deferred to the armored young man. Said warrior shook his head. "No. Too risky. We could use torches to light our path, but that would leave us visible to other potential goblins."

His tone was as blunt as could be and the mere mention of goblins was enough to make some of the more cognizant women shudder in understandable dread. Such a thing caused the priestess to let out an 'awawawa!' in a panic as she tried to help them steady their nerves.

"Hey, blunt much, Orcbolg?" the archer nearly yelled out in annoyance as the woman she'd been helping walk nearly collapsed to the ground then and there. "Sheesh, try and learn some tact!"

"Mm." The man made some noncommitted noise and left it at that. "For now, let's get them all into the wagon. They can rest there."

By this point, all of them were outside the mine and the lizardman promptly walked off to fetch the wagon in question from around the corner. Moments later, the lizardman grunted as he pulled the wagon around and moved it over far from the entrance to the mine and amidst a more open spot amongst the trees.

Not seeing a need to stand on guard so much, the Tarnished now took this moment to help quietly usher the women onto the large wagon.

As he did so, a grumbling sound rang out and one of the women closest to him ended up shyly looking away, obviously embarrassed.

He merely smiled under the Raging Wolf Helm. In a way, to see this brunette act in such a way meant that she may very well recover. Not soon, but someday… and that was all it took to put him just a bit more at ease.

"I'd imagine you'd be hungry after going without for so long," he commented, trying to stay as nonchalant as possible. "Please… wait just a moment…"

A part of him was tempted to go off by himself for a moment to dig through his inventory in peace, this part being born of paranoia. But he consciously stopped himself from doing so – there was such a thing as being too paranoid, especially since by now he could tell that the warriors around him were ultimately good people.

Concentrating, he reached out towards seemingly nothing – and then before everyone's very eyes, he pulled out a steaming hot piece of crab.

It was well-cooked and perfectly seasoned, something that he imagined everyone there could instantly tell. He would especially know this well, having spent a fair bit of time having a long and scrumptious meal with Boggart on the regular. He may have been a rough man and a self-admitted thug, but the Tarnished knew that he was ultimately a decent soul… and one hell of a cook.

God, he missed that man… he hoped he was doing well right now, back in the Lands Between. The same could be said of some of the other people he'd met on his travels.

"Careful as you eat," he said gently towards the gaping woman, handing her the crab meat as he spoke.

Said woman took it clumsily and stared for just a few seconds… but then the enticing smell of it proved too much for her and she took a huge bite out of it an instant later. She practically shuddered with delight at finally having sustenance and the smell alongside her sounds of joy prompted many other women to look on in clear hunger as well.

Having anticipated as much already, the Tarnished had begun the task of pulling out more and more pieces of steaming hot crab. He was very much grateful that his odd dimensional space perfectly preserved any and all foodstuffs that he obtained… and he'd obtained a lot from his time with Boggart, bless his soul.

Alas, the vast majority of his items and consumables lied within the spatial chest that had always accompanied the sites of grace he'd come across to rest at. With this in mind… hmm, he would be in quite the pickle if he ever ran out of the items he had in his inventory here.

Once he's able to meet up with Ranni, perhaps something could be done to provide him with some of the boons that usually accompanied the sites of grace, that way he could restock as needed.

As he mulled this particular problem over, he went about passing crab out to every women there, with even the catatonic ones managing to be roused from their states just enough to partake in the meal.

After a few minutes of doing so, the Tarnished backed away to leave the women be for now.

But just as he turned around-.

"Hm?" A slender hand shot out and gripped his arm – the woman who'd blushed earlier.

"T-Thank you…" she uttered out in a hoarse tone, tears slowly streaming down her face.

The Tarnished turned around to face her, taking her hand into his as softly as possible. "…Please, enjoy and rest up. Come dawn, we'll get you all back home."

The woman hiccupped and nodded, her hand lingering in his for a moment longer before finally drawing away to continue eating.

Slowly backing away, the Tarnished finally turned around to face the party of five, who'd been staring at him in varying levels of surprise… although the spirited archer was still looking at him most intensely.

"My, my," spoke the lizardman. He was chuckling a bit. "You truly are a most intriguing individual. I didn't take you for a user of magic."

"Bah, it was interestin' and all… but pull off that same trick to show us alcohol… now that'll be something impressive," spoke the short man who then guffawed.

The archer rolled her eyes at him as she placed her hands on her hips. "Ugh, you dwarves and your damn obsession with drinking. Surprised you all haven't accidentally gone extinct from overdrinking."

The short man – a dwarf, apparently – simply took the comment in stride. "We know how to hold our drink unlike you elves, long ears!" He laughed heartily.

The two took to bickering amongst themselves, a sight that proved rather amusing to the Tarnished. "I'm actually not much of a magic user. While I may know a handful of spells, it's far from my specialty," he spoke in response to the lizardman's comment, smiling slightly. "At best, I can perform what amounts to some nasty party favors."

That was certainly one way of putting his own magical abilities. While he had access to plenty of spells that he'd learned from various sources ranging from Sellen to Sellivus and more, he'd yet to commit any of them to memory. His focus had primarily been on incantations on that front, particularly godslayer incantations for the most part aside from one of the crucible ones. And, obviously, the Lord's Heal as well for emergency usage.

But of course, these incantations were ultimately meant to supplement his preference and specialty for melee combat, as could be expected of a warrior that had once ventured out into the world alongside lord Godfrey and his men. While he may certainly be more willing than most to change up his equipment as needed as opposed to sticking to any particular style, he still ultimately held a preference for the up close way of battle that the first Elden Lord had so heavily favored.

That wasn't even getting into his preferred set of armor as well, but that was neither here nor there.

"…Can you perform any miracles other than healing?" spoke the armored young man suddenly.

The Tarnished hummed in response. "If you mean to help protect us as we travel through the night, then I'm afraid not. We're still much better off traveling once dawn arrives."

"I see," replied the man with a slow nod of the head. "Then we've no choice but to set up camp here for the night… will you help?"

"Of course. Though in exchange, I must ask you lot for a little help as well. Nothing major, I assure you. But my request could wait until after we get settled in for the night."

His decision to investigate the mine, while somewhat haphazard, had been something of a blessing in disguise, he supposed. This group looked fairly well traveled so if he showed them his map, they should be able to shed more light on what path was best for him to take going forth as well as informing him of other pertinent information. Anything and everything that could help shorten his journey in reaching Ranni would truly be appreciated.

"Mm, it would be remiss of us to not aid you after your help so far," spoke the lizardman in place of the armored man. "I see no issue in this. How about yourself, milord Goblin Slayer?"

The man – Goblin Slayer, an interesting title – simply shrugged. "Shouldn't be a problem."

"Excellent. Then let's not waste anymore time, yes?" The Lizardman smirked and swished his tail about in evident anticipation of something.

"Indeed," spoke the Tarnished, just as eager to get down to business.

At least he will be getting something else out of all this.


As the rescued women went about eating their fill, the party of adventurers plus their new companion(?) took this time setting up camp for the night.

And of course, Priestess was quick to take note of the fact that Goblin Slayer made sure his position faced the mine they'd just come from. No doubt to keep an eye out for any goblins that might have somehow survived the evident slaughter from earlier.

This hadn't gone unnoticed by the others, least of all High Elf Archer, who'd simply huffed in response to the sight. Priestess could only giggle awkwardly at this, but at the same time it put her at ease. With how brief yet how different from normal this task had been, seeing Goblin Slayer act like usual seemed like a sign that things were becoming normal again.

Minutes go by as they all readied a little fire to cook what provisions they'd stocked up on for their journey, some logs being cut from nearby trees to use as makeshift benches for them all.

Once they were all settled and cooking began in earnest, the young girl allowed herself a furtive look at their newest addition, who now sat near Lizard Priest and Goblin Slayer whilst Dwarf Shaman sat on the other side of the lizardman and High Elf Archer plopped down lazily next to her.

"Mm, sweet nectar!" Lizard Priest cried out, his tail nearly slapping into the ground as he'd taken to slightly melting the wheel of cheese he'd brought out and had bitten into it mere seconds afterwards. The sight of the cheese-loving lizardman was always rather amusing to see, more so this time around when the young adventurer noticed the unknown man tilt his head in obvious bewilderment at the sight.

"Fancy a drink, big guy?" Dwarf Shaman called out to said man after pulling out a jar of alcohol that seemed different from the one he usually carried on adventures.

"If you're so willing to share, then I shall not turn it down," spoke the man in good humor, accepting the jar from the dwarf almost immediately. And much to Priestess' confusion and further amusement, the man seemed to drink from the jar through his helm, not unlike how Goblin Slayer seemed to be able to eat and drink just about anything through his own helmet's small visor.

"So… where you from?" asked Dwarf Shaman after the man passed the jar back with a grateful nod. "On that note, care to introduce yerself? I'm a dwarf as you can see and a proud one. Then there's Scaly here, Beardcutter over there, our cute little priestess sitting across from ya and of course, our resident snobby little archer."

"You really can't help but just keep talking smack, can't you?" remarked an annoyed High Elf Archer, though without the same level of energy as she usually would have when retorting. It was just enough of a difference to make Priestess, whose inherent shyness prevented her from immediately introducing herself to the unknown man.

"Mm, well met," answered the man. "My name is of no importance and as for where I come from… I hail from a land far from here, far enough that you'd likely not know of any name for it, much less anything else about it."

"Oho, a traveler from so afar?" Lizard Priest, having finished his wheel of cheese in record time, now leaned forward in obvious interest. "And one who is clearly gifted in the way of martial combat… a warrior in search of testing his prowess, perhaps?"

His guess provoked a bit of a chuckle from the man. "I'd gotten plenty of opportunities to seek out and test my mettle back in my homeland and had certainly not passed up on said chances. While I won't deny some level of interest to see what this new land can offer me in terms of challenge, it is not my goal." He shifted about in his spot and pulled out a piece of folded up paper. "And it is on that note that I now voice my request – you see, I came in search of someone dear to me, who'd ended up somewhere in these lands by way of… I suppose you could consider it unfortunate circumstances. Alas, my own venture from my homeland to here had been less than preferable in terms of allowing me time to prepare."

"Mm, I see. Then you seek information on the regions that await you?" Lizard Priest looked down at the paper that the man began to unfold, revealing it to be a rather plain looking map.

"Exactly right. I'd obtained this from a bartender at the village I'd passed through earlier but as you can see, information is heavily lacking. I've a fairly vague idea of where the one I seek is at, but no knowledge of what lies in between here and their apparent location. Any and all information you could mark down for me would help me greatly."

"Why, I'd be happy to help. It would shame my ancestors greatly if I turned down such a humble request, especially from a fellow warrior," replied Lizard Priest. "Might I see the map for myself?"

"By all means."

Priestess watched as the man handed the map over to Lizard Priest and the two fell into a brief and hushed conversation as the lizardman procured a writing instrument to begin marking the map. As he did so, the man appeared to ask questions here and there, motioning to certain spots as the lizardman marked them.

As this happened, Priestess nibbled as quietly as possible on the bits of meat that had finished cooking by now which she shared with Goblin Slayer in silence. Meanwhile, Dwarf Shaman was leaning in as best as he could in between munching on his own meat and guzzling from his jar of alcohol to better observe what Lizard Priest was marking on the map.

"…Don't like that guy…"

Priestess paused upon hearing such quiet words being spoken by none other than the one next to her.

Turning towards High Elf Archer, who was glaring warily at the unnamed man while also chowing down on some vegetables she'd brought along, Priestess stared at her friend, utterly perplexed.

"Y-You don't? Why?"

"…That sword of his from earlier… it felt really dang horrible to me," spoke the elf after a few seconds of uncomfortable silence. "No way just anyone could wield a sword like that so easily… not without doing something to get their hands on it."

"Uhm…"

Priestess had no idea what to say to that.

The only thing the elf could be speaking of was that sword that had supposedly generated that wave of gold colored energy. To her, it'd felt like a work of art – the very manifestation of grace. Yet to hear their resident high elf voice such a thing now made her wonder if maybe she'd been wrong.

At thinking such a thing, Priestess immediately felt bad, not wanting to suddenly begin doubting the man's intentions and very nature. However, High Elf Archer was much more attuned with the natural order of the world due to her heritage, so if she felt something off then there was obviously some merit to such an opinion.

"Do… do you think that makes him dangerous?" Priestess finally managed to ask.

High Elf Archer grumbled something at first that couldn't be discerned but then spoke up much more clearly for the young blonde. "I… I don't know. But I know for sure that I don't trust him having that weapon. It's just not natural at all."

The still newbie adventurer could only stare in befuddlement at such a statement. She could only look away from High Elf Archer and towards the man, who'd just finished chatting with Lizard Priest about the map.

Then he seemed to realize she was staring at him, for he suddenly turned his head her way. This prompted an 'eep!' out of her over being caught.

"A-Ah, sorry! I didn't mean to stare!" she hastily apologized, nearly dropping what remained of her meal in the process.

The man just waved her off. "No need to be sorry, young priestess. I imagine it's natural for a foreigner to draw some curious stares." He seemed to laugh lightly at that, as if he'd just told some inside joke. "You seem to hold a number of questions. By all means, speak your mind. I see no reason not to answer."

Priestess opened and closed her mouth a few times, trying to process the sheer ease with which he invited her to ask her questions. If he had anything to hide that could be potentially dangerous, then he was doing an interesting job at keeping it hidden.

Eventually, she managed to find her voice and speak. "I-I just… I've never seen armor like that before," she said lamely, unable to bring herself to ask the questions she'd really wanted answers to. "By any chance, were you a knight in your homeland?"

"A knight… no, nothing of the sort," spoke the man as he gently patted the chest plate. The sparks from the fire they had going really helped highlight the golden lining the primarily black armor had. "In my distant youth, I'd travelled long and far with a band of great warriors before eventually venturing throughout the land on my own… for the most part, that is. But I was by no means a knight in any official capacity… though I was offered a position of knighthood by a man I had helped. This armor I wear is but one set of many treasures and spoils of war I'd obtained during my journey."

Distant youth? Such a comment made it seem like he was quite along in age, but judging by his voice alone, Priestess had thought him to be perhaps in mid-twenties at most.

"That sword from earlier one of your 'spoils of war' too?" High Elf Archer suddenly spoke up.

The sheer suddenness of this question in addition to the unexpected intensity in the high elf's voice was enough to make Priestess squeak and tense up. Such a tone definitely hadn't gone unnoticed by the others, who now eyed the chronologically oldest of their group in interest.

"It is," the man answered neutrally. If he was bothered by the high elf's tone, he didn't really show it. "…As I'd thought, its presence doesn't seem to be agreeable with you."

"With something that unnatural? Ha, it'll never agree with anything, much less me!" growled out High Elf Archer. "How'd you even get your hands on that… that thing?!"

"The same way I'd gotten my hands on many of my weapons and gear – by way of combat plus a few extra steps to gain its power." The armored man shifted slightly in his spot. "…For what it's worth, the blade is far from my preferred weapon of choice. I'd used it solely due to its power being much more fitting for the situation at the time."

"Killing those goblins," Goblin Slayer suddenly spoke up, his dull helmet tilted in the armored man's directions.

Said man nodded. "Indeed."

Priestess, feeling a bit emboldened by Goblin Slayer's words, finally asked the question that had been at the forefront of her mind.

"Is… Is it some kind of sacred sword? A holy blade?"

The armored man's gaze returned to her and appeared to consider her words seriously. It was several long seconds before he finally graced her with a reply. "In a manner of speaking. After all, what may be holy in the eyes of some may be viewed as the opposite by others."

He then shrugged and let out what sounded like a mild chuckle. "But regardless of its origins, a weapon is ultimately a weapon. All that should matter is the intent of the wielder."

"And how do we know that the abomination you're carrying around hasn't corrupted you?" asked High Elf Archer harshly.

Harshly enough, in fact, to actually prompt a response from Dwarf Shaman. "Hey, long ears, yer getting mighty damn rude now, even for you!"

"Come on! You telling me you couldn't feel something off with that sword of his?!" she fired back, now speaking loudly enough to draw the attention of some of the women, many of whom had been falling asleep after finishing their meals.

The armored warrior held up his hands placatingly. "Your concern is reasonable. Sadly, I've no way to prove myself uncorrupted… just as you have no proof it's affecting me in such a way either." Even behind that covering helm of his, he was clearly staring at the high elf intensely, enough to make even Priestess shudder despite herself. "But in any case, actions always speak louder than words, yes? In which case, my saving those women should earn me some merit in your eyes?"

"Nngh!" High Elf Archer grimaced audibly at that remark and simply leaned back. Glaring harshly back at the man, she eventually crossed her arms over her slender chest, food forgotten about for the time being. "…I'm gonna be watching you, you big lug. If you so much as think of pulling that so-called sword out again, I'm putting an arrow in you. Don't care about what your intentions are or anything – that thing is wrong and that's final."

Priestess actually gasped upon hearing such a threat coming from her fellow adventurer. She'd never seen the high elf react so… so negatively towards anyone else before. Not even Dwarf Shaman's fiercest barbs nor Goblin Slayer's greatest antics had ever inspired even half as intense a reaction from her.

But whereas the young blonde could only sit and gape in growing worry, the man let out a laugh. Not a dismissive kind of laugh, but it was clear he wasn't feeling particularly threatened by High Elf Archer. "Noted. Now enough of such serious talk – we should finish up and get some rest. The night has already gone on long enough."

Then, as if nothing had happened, the man returned to his meal, pulling out some more of that crab he'd given the women in order to feast on it.

The rest of her party slowly followed suit.

High Elf Archer sulked as she finished her own meal, her gaze not once flickering away from the man.

Both Dwarf Shaman and Lizard Priest ate in silence, the latter no longer looking quite as lively as he finished the rest of his cheese. Instead, both were eying the high elf and the armored man in obvious confusion and concern.

Goblin Slayer, having finished eating already, merely sat in silence as still as a stone statue. His thoughts, as usual, were completely unknown.

As for Priestess herself, she could only nibble awkwardly on her own food.

Seems like the oddities of today were far from over if this conversation had been anything to go by. And the young girl could only pray to the Earth Mother that this wasn't some sign heralding something far greater… and ominous.

Eventually, it came time to turn in for the night and it was with a heavy heart that the girl had as sleep finally took her.


Even when out in the field, Goblin Slayer was always the first one to rise. This wasn't so much a habit as it was a function of existence in terms of scope – he just had to be ready as early as possible for anything, be it his daily patrols around the farm that lived at with his childhood friend and her uncle or errands to be done.

In this case, it was to ensure that everything from last night were still in their proper places.

And sure enough, everything was-.

-Except for one thing.

Or rather, one person.

Getting up as silently as possible, the armored adventurer glanced around the area with much greater alertness and upon seeing no sign of their newest 'companion,' he shot upwards.

Had goblins survived after all? Somehow come and taken the one that had done in most of their group last night?

His hand shot to the short sword at his side in an instant and he prepared to rouse his allies – his friends – from their slumber before he finally heard something off to his right.

Immediately he turned, looking past the wagon of the women, all of whom were still sleeping as peacefully as they could be, determining the slight snapping of a twig to be somewhere just past the line of trees that lied directly behind the wagon.

Goblin Slayer prepared to move-.

-Only to stop as someone appeared now from between the trees, patting themselves down as they did so.

Said individual paused upon seeing him and hummed. "Ah, an early riser. No doubt to ensure nothing's changed throughout the night. Yet another admirable quality of yours."

It was the man from yesterday, Goblin Slayer noted, only this time he was wearing gear significantly different from before. "You've been awake a while?" he asked as he lowered his guard.

The man nodded. "Mm, I'm not one for sleep to be perfectly honest. I imagine you're the same in that regard. And worry not – I've also checked the area for anything. We're still out here by ourselves."

Goblin Slayer said nothing, allowing their brief conversation, conducted as quietly as possible, to stall. "How… how did you change your armor so fast? And where did you get it from?" He tilted his head in confusion as he asked those questions.

There'd been nothing to indicate he'd been carrying anything that could serve as a way of transporting additional armor and likely weapons. Yet here the man was, looking radically different with not one bit of armor he'd been wearing yesterday present on him today.

"I'm afraid that's a secret for myself to know," he replied with a light chuckle as to not wake the others. "As for why I'd changed, well, I've always much preferred this look compared to others. What I wore yesterday was… I suppose you could say it was a way of seeing what the standard of this region was compared to what I'm normally used to. No point wearing slightly heavier gear when I could wear lighter gear to move about."

Goblin Slayer grunted. He was admittedly mildly curious as to how the helm the man now wore seemed to vaguely resemble an axe, but his curiosity over this wasn't strong enough to outright ask.

The man continued his walk, watching his steps more carefully now as to avoid waking the others yet. "I take it you intend to move out once they've awakened?" Now that he was closer, he could afford to speak more quietly.

"Yes," Goblin Slayer grunted out. "Dawn should be in another half hour at the most. Would be best to move out while the weather is still cool and the road is available to us." He then paused before looking back at all the sleeping women. "…Will need to figure out a way to move the wagon though."

The man glanced back as well and hummed thoughtfully. "I believe I can see to that," he said confidently. "Any other precautions you believe necessary? You would know these lands better than I."

Goblin Slayer thought hard as he was often prone to doing. It was about the one thing he was truly good at, even more than goblin slaying. He was far from talented or gifted in any aspect, so the only way to constantly ensure his survival out in the world, he had to think on what tools he had available and make the most of them.

He refused to let anyone roll the dice for him.

"…Nothing just yet. Will need to wait until we're situated before we can figure out what to do next."

"Fair enough." The man agreed with his words easily enough. He finally looked away from the wagon and back at him. Goblin Slayer could feel a curious gaze from behind that strange axe-like helm. "So… you truly are known as Goblin Slayer? I must confess to having been a bit surprised to hear you called as such by your friends yesterday… in addition to a few other names as well."

"…Yes. Those other names are what they call me in their cultures," Goblin Slayer answered.

"Intriguing… you must have killed countless goblins to have earned that title."

"It's what I do…" Goblin Slayer trailed off. "…It's all I do."

He was well aware of how others viewed him. Even after all this time that has passed, with his reputation with his fellow adventurers having improved considerably, he knew he was still that 'goblin hunting weirdo' in the eyes of many of them. Even his own party here, who were most accepting of him, could still be exasperated by his… quirks.

The young man liked to think he didn't care all that much for his reputation and once upon a time that had perhaps been a true statement…

…But now?

Every now and again, he'd sometimes feel something… amiss. Something off whenever he branched out from his routine. Like when he'd been invited out by his childhood friend and Guild Girl to tour the town during the festival or when the land that his home village had once occupied had been turned into a training field for new, fresh-faced adventurers.

Though slight, something in him was changing… and it worried him. Scared him even, though he had no way of truly voicing such a thing aloud for even within his own thoughts, he could scarcely believe such a thing.

But it did leave him feeling… hesitant at times. Curious and confused as to how others may view him and his party as they went about their… adventures. Not enough to truly change his ways – goblins needed to be killed, simple as that – but enough to make him almost acknowledge the existence of 'what-ifs.'

And one such 'what-if' may very well be taking place now – what if this newcomer now looked upon him in a manner similar to how the other adventurers had initially viewed hi-?

"…Most admirable indeed," spoke the man.

"…What?" Goblin Slayer blinked slowly behind his visor, looking at the man in genuine confusion.

"While I don't doubt there are plenty of threats out there that must be taken care of, it's always the smaller ones that have a horrible tendency of growing out of control first," spoke the man, seemingly oblivious to Goblin Slayer's thoughts. "…It can be far too easy to lose oneself amidst the big picture. What I had to learn the hard way growing up was that more often than not, it's best to focus on one thing at a time… and if all goblins in these lands are anything like the ones encountered yesterday, then it's heartening to know one such as yourself can be relied on to kill them. After all, how can one be expected to go on to slay mighty beasts when they've yet to even deal with the smaller ones that are running amok all around them?" He then snickered at something, likely some memory or another.

The man then placed a hand on Goblin Slayer's shoulder for just a moment. "…You should be proud, young one. While I may not know all the circumstances here, I feel certain that if not for you, things could have turned out far differently for countless others."

"…" Goblin Slayer could only stay silent, barring some indecipherable sound escaping his lips as the man removed his hand and began to walk away and back towards the makeshift campsite. "…How…?"

The man paused as Goblin Slayer spoke.

Goblin Slayer. "How can you be so certain of that?"

"…When I was… yes, about ten or so, goblins had ambushed my mother and I as we'd trekked from one land to another. She was slain by their hands and I'd been mere seconds away from suffering a similar fate. It was only my own wit, spirit and sheer luck that had allowed me to last as long as I had in the first place… aside from the goblins' typical arrogance, of course. That had allowed me to survive long enough for the mighty warriors I'd mentioned yesterday to come along to my rescue."

The man turned away, now for sure lost in thought. "…A truly random series of events that could've turned out so much more differently if anything had changed – if the goblins had been more aggressive in their pursuit of me or if I'd been stupider or had given into despair… or if the ones whom I'd sworn myself to emulate as best as possible had simply traveled in any other direction that hadn't been nearby. Any small number of different actions could've had such drastically different outcomes. This applies for everything… and that, of course, includes your own actions as well. Perhaps a little biased on my part given my… interactions… with goblins back then, but even so, all actions have significant consequences. Yours are no exception."

The man, having paused in his trek as he'd spoken, resumed walking before delivering some final few words. "So I say again – take pride in your efforts, Goblin Slayer. Surely, your actions mean something."

"…" Goblin Slayer stood stock still for nearly a whole minute before he could finally find it in him to move again.

…And when he did begin to walk again, it was with a somewhat lighter gait than usual. Though he yet again had no way of really contextualizing what had happened, a great weight on him that had begun to lift thanks to his friends' efforts as well as his own… was lifting just a little faster now.


Roughly an hour goes by in relative peace. The unique party that had come to the mine had gotten up and prepared their items to go in addition to rousing the women to let them know it would soon be time to move.

That had been when the Tarnished had taken the opportunity to call forth Torrent, an action that had certainly elicited some interesting responses from the others, notably ones of interest. Said reactions had gotten Torrent, normally so steadfast, to snort and huff in mild amusement and happiness, clearing appreciating the reactions.

From there, it'd been a simple matter of hooking Torrent up to the wagon and having him move on out, with the Tarnished riding his trusted steed and guiding him in accordance with the directions that the one known as Lizard Priest provided him.

Before long they all were out on the dirt road and had been following it ever since.

The Tarnished hummed to himself as he took stock of the situation.

The young Priestess was riding with the women, a calming presence meant to keep them at ease and tend to any injuries immediately should anything happen.

The one known as High Elf Archer also rode with them, camped out on the very edge of the wagon. She was meant to keep an eye and ear outwards, but he could clearly feel her attention on him without even having to turn around to look at her. He was far from phased by her attitude, however, instead finding her ability to retain her balance for so long despite practically teetering off the wagon's edge to be most impressive.

Meanwhile Dwarf Shaman and Lizard Priest took up the rearmost flanks, magic user and physical fighter meant to easily deter any attackers that High Elf Archer wouldn't be able to react to in time.

And then… there was the one known as Goblin Slayer, walking alongside the wagon and close to where he was at atop Torrent.

The Tarnished eyed the much younger man with interest.

From the moment he'd seen him, he'd been able to almost immediately grasp the man's character. It was, after all, hardly the first time he's ever come across an individual so hurt by the world around them… in fact, coming across those whose minds have been pushed to the brink and beyond had been all too common back in the Lands Between following the Shattering, though there'd also been those who'd been able to recover in their own ways, find new purpose to keep them going.

And he'd determined Goblin Slayer to be one such individual.

In a way, the Tarnished couldn't help but feel a certain kinship with the young man, having gone through a similar process himself. He'd essentially tossed aside his old self when lord Godfrey and his men had taken him in and then had done so again upon becoming a Tarnished, having become willing to use whatever equipment and tools needed to see his journey to the end, a contrast to lord Godfrey's preference to settle things either through his axe or through pure unarmed combat in his true state as Hoarah Loux.

So perhaps as a form of compassion for someone who vaguely resembled his past self, the Tarnished had sought to properly acknowledge Goblin Slayer's efforts, for he couldn't help but feel that this was something relative few had done up until now.

Was it meddling? Maybe. But even so, the Tarnished saw no reason not to help out a little. And it wasn't as if he had much else to do until he was able to reunite with Ranni.

"…Just where did you get the armor from?" spoke the high elf suddenly from her post, much to his slight surprise. He'd thought she'd otherwise ignore him if need be when it came to talking.

He couldn't help but look down upon his chosen armor. He was once again wearing his favorite helm and body armor – the Crucible Axe Helm and Crucible Tree Armor respectively – in addition to Radahn's grieves. As for the gauntlets, he'd decided that ultimately the heaviest of armors didn't seem to impact his speed as much as he'd feared and so had decided to forgo the Veteran's Gauntlets in favor of Lionel's Gauntlets. Heftier, to be sure, but sturdier as well.

Of course, showing up with such different armor compared to yesterday would be a point of confusion for the others since they were naturally unaware of his odd dimensional storage ability. And he had no real intention of telling them about that.

"A trade secret," he said in good humor. Alas his tone was lost on the high elf, who grimaced audibly and looked away.

"Some creepy bastard on top of another damned goblin hunt… ugh…!" High Elf Archer grumbled out, shaking her head as she did so. "…It'd be nice to go on a real adventure one day…"

For the first time since interacting with this party, the Tarnished frowned. He was immediately tempted to respond to her complaint there, but ultimately decided against it as, yet again, his experiences taught him the value of keeping a fairly tight lid on his emotions. Last thing he needed was potentially provoking an argument or even a fight out here in a land that he was still acclimating to.

Nonetheless, the high elf's words proceeded to roll around in his mind for the next few moments.

"A real adventure…?" he murmured to himself, quietly enough to go unnoticed by the others.

How ridiculous, he couldn't help but think. If it's ultimately a thrill or vindication that the archer sought, then it really shouldn't matter what sort of journey she undertook – all that should matter was whether or not she and her friends were tested along the way and took some measure of satisfaction in the results. Be it goblins, dragons, or anything and everything else in between… so long as the foes they came across tested their mettle and made them earn victory, then a 'real adventure' can be easily experienced at virtually any time.

In the end, it was all a matter of mindset. Even the most longwinded and unusual quests he'd gone on back in the Lands Between had been quite rewarding experiences, if not for whatever items and gear he'd obtained by the end then for the sheer challenge these quests had presented him either physically or intellectually.

Ha, even when that rogue bastard Patches had punted him off a cliff, the Tarnished could now honestly look back on that memory in amusement, if only for the sheer novelty of the experience. That, and the complete ballsiness of Patches to continue interacting with him afterwards as if things were all well and good between them.

But he was letting himself get too distracted here. For now, he should simply focus on the task at hand.

"About another hour or so until we reach the town, correct?" he asked of Goblin Slayer.

"Mm, just about."

The Tarnished nodded and then spared a glance back at all the women, his frown deepening slightly. Not that he was one to talk given the cutthroat nature of his home world, but he certainly hoped this world perhaps had a way of tending to the new emotional needs that many of these women now had. They were all looking better physically than they had before now that they'd cleaned up a bit and had been properly fed, but their spirits were another matter entirely.

"What about you…?" spoke up Goblin Slayer.

The Tarnished returned his attention to the young man, humming as he did so. "From what your friends had shown me on the map, it would seem the path I need to travel still aligns with your own since you intend to return to this… adventurer's guild, it's called? In which case, I will continue to accompany you all, if that's fine. I'll pull my own weight as needed, of course."

Goblin Slayer looked his way fully, their gazes locking as a weird understanding took place between them. After a moment, the younger man nodded. "…No problem with that."

"My thanks."

With that, whatever conversation they had trailed off into silence. However, it was a rather comfortable silence and the Tarnished used this time now to reevaluate things.

He now had a much broader picture of this region – literally, thanks to both Lizard Priest and Dwarf Shaman etching new landmarks and the like on his map last night – which would do wonders for his travels ahead. However, he still clearly had much to learn about these lands, especially since what little he's learned last night during their mindless chatter had consisted of terminology such as 'adventurers' and 'guilds' and whatnot, hinting at things clearly hadn't existed in the Lands Between. And it was clear that while there appeared to be some similarities between the two, he could only assume until proven otherwise that there were some differences between the Incantations of his world and the Miracles that the young priestess was capable of using. Depending on the circumstances, such knowledge could mean the difference between life or death.

Moreover, although not much detail has been given to him just yet on the issue, he was absolutely certain that whatever currency this world used wasn't in the form of runes, so he'd need to secure some funds to carry on his journey as a precaution. With any luck, he could probably get his hands on some money in the town they were heading for. If not, then there was always whatever other town this guild of theirs was located at for him to explore.

All in all, he still had much to do before he could say he was truly making headway towards Ranni's general location… but at the same time, the Tarnished could also say with some confidence that his preparations could be completed soon enough if all went well.

His frown finally began to lift as he thought of this. With just the slightest of tugs on Torrent's reins, he picked up the pace a tad bit.

Despite the troubles that no doubt awaited him and Ranni back home, now more than ever, he felt child-like giddiness at the adventure that awaited him.


Soooooo, yeah. Nothing too out there this chapter as you all have seen.

But I like to think that this particular fact doesn't make the chapter any less relevant – our dear Tarnished has now established a relationship of sorts with the party, especially Goblin Slayer through their similarities and with High Elf Archer through their differences. Expect these two particular relationships to continue developing in the near future.

And as this chapter was entirely Tarnished/GS party centric, expect the next chapter to be Ranni/Hero party centric to make up for their complete lack of an appearance this time around. Additionally, you can expect the next chapter to be a little denser too, not necessarily in terms of wordcount but more in terms of dialogue because Ranni is going to be studying the Four Cornered World's system of magic thoroughly… as well as making some discoveries that may or may not impact her own journey towards her dear consort eternal.

That said, I will understand if you guys ultimately didn't like the chapter. All I ask is that you remain patient because in a few chapters' time, that's when things are going to start truly picking up. Please look forward to it.

Until next time, everyone. Take care!