บท 21: Frenzied Conquerer
The abandoned Tower lay broken; charred and scarred, its ancient stones melted away. It looked eerily similar to the one in-game, only lacking the ball of Frenzy that periodically bleached out the roof.
Godrick rose slowly, leaning heavily on his staff as he steadied himself, feeling the sudden surge of Faith coursing through his veins. His armour creaked as he stretched his previously twisted limbs. What was once a Stygian shell was now marred by streaks of orange-gold, the metal warped and gilded, yet stronger—more resilient than before.
He turned to see his forces stirring, rubbing their temples as they slowly regained their footing. Shabriri's bellow hadn't affected them as much. A small mercy, perhaps.
[Heal]
A blinding flash of gold enveloped his soldiers and Demi-Humans, its range and power so domineering that it seemed to clean even the grime accumulated on their battered leather and steel. The gigantic increase in Faith has paid dividends.
"My Lord, are you...", Earnan's voice trailed off as he gazed into Godrick's eyes. The familiar aurous discs had transformed; the gold within them seemed alive, flickering like tendrils of flame. Those same tendrils appeared to have seared themselves into his armour, helmet, and gauntlets.
"The Flame of Frenzy holds me no longer, for I have conquered its madness," Godrick declared as he helped his Knight Commander to his feet. "Gold doth shine even amidst the flames of Chaos."
"Has the demon been vanquished?", Gilika muttered from the side as she gripped her sceptre tightly, leathery skin blanching with the strain "My mind...it was taken from me again..."
The Chiefs awkwardly patted her back as she sighed in helplessness while the whelps whimpered at her distress.
"I swore to myself that my mind would be mine alone, yet it seems the world wishes to mock me over and over", she sighed.
"The world mocks us all, Gilka," Godrick said, gazing at her blankly, unmoved by her reaction. Emotion was a foreign thing to him. "Thy power alone determines if thou canst defy it. The golden blessing wrapped around thy arm grants thee that chance."
Yet even as he spoke, Godrick knew that Shabriri was far from dead. The demon's cunning was more dangerous than the rampage of a Demigod. Without unalloyed gold, Shabriri could not be slain, and he would undoubtedly return to wreak more havoc.
Gilika nodded, "And I shall do my best to be worthy of it."
"My Lord...what of the village?", Forthus piped up from the back, gripping his sword for comfort. "Are they afflicted by the flame as well?".
Godrick looked at the small opening that led to the village. It was worn, moss-covered but it still stood strong.
"I shall go alone."
"But, my Lor-"
"I shall go alone," Godrick repeated, his gaze fixed on his Knight Commander, who sheepishly bowed his head. "Regroup and rest. Ye all need it."
"We will", Earan bowed deeper. He had a lot to write about after all.
***
(Strength: 19->21)
[Order Meditation (Active) Level 8->9: Use a visualisation of the Elden Ring to greatly increase your FP regeneration (+4.5->5 FP/s). Later levels can turn this skill passive. Every level increases Mind and Intelligence by 0.5. Mind +0.5. Intelligence +0.5.]
(Mind: 18.2->19.2
Intelligence: 18.2->19.2)
With firmer, stronger muscles and a faster, more efficient mind, Godrick rode into the village, and his suspicions were confirmed. Large houses that were carefully built with stone and wood were in disrepair, abandoned by their residents who lay twisted and unnaturally bent before them.
[Observe]
(Character Sheet
Frenzied Village
Age: Forty-five years and three months old
HP: 50
FP: --- {Frenzied}
Strength: 5
Dexterity: 4
Endurance: 5
Vigor: 5
Mind: ---
Intelligence: ---
Faith: 18
Skills:
[Frenzied (Passive): You are an extension of the Frenzied Flame. May Chaos Take The World. -All Mind. -All Intelligence. +10 Faith.]
Incantations:
[The Flame Of Frenzy: Incantation originating from the maddening Three Fingers. Causes the yellow Flame Of Frenzy to burst forth from the caster's eyes. Charging increases the range of the burst. The Flame Of Frenzy deals damage and causes buildup of madness. Damage scales with Faith])
One such resident untwisted itself, standing up with jerky movements, sliding out a dagger from its worn and torn red garments. Godrick was never one for wasting time as he swiftly disposed of the Frenxied Villager with a flick of his Greatspear.
[Frenzied Villager Killed +50 EXP]
His strength and skill with the Greatspear was so great that the large number of villagers that began to swarm him were akin to pests.
[Order's Blade]
His gilded spear, now further enhanced by his increased Intelligence and Holy magic, sliced through the zombie-esk villagers like tofu. It was so sharp that it felt akin to swinging the weapon in the air - not through flesh and bone.
Elrus got him through the swarm and around the relatively small village, while he continued to dispose of any Frenzied he found.
[Frenzied Villager*31 Killed. +1550 EXP]
He even spotted a few disgusting plants growing out of the ground, sticking out among the green grass. Melting eyes oozing yellow puss on a brown stick was the best description that he could come up with as he plucked it.
[Observe]
[Eye of Yelough: A shrub fruit bursting with ripened pulp. Grown in lands afflicted by frenzy, it's used for its pain-relieving properties... Though it's also known to be a dangerous intoxicant.]
Frankly, it was sad. A plant that dulls pain growing in places afflicted by frenzy. It was out of reach of the very people who so desperately needed an escape from despair for their minds were long melted away by the flame. The people who needed it most could no longer benefit from its mercy. Both poetic and Ironic.
This is a cruel world.
He plucked as many fruits as his magical pockets could fit as he continued his exploration of the village. It was not long before he found a path leading up and above the large walls surrounding the villages. Surprisingly, it was blocked by a small group of Cuckoo soldiers who were also afflicted by Frenzy.
[Observe]
(Character Sheet
Frenzied Cuckoo Soldier
Age: Thirty-seven years and five months old
HP: 80
FP: --- {Frenzied}
Strength: 9
Dexterity: 8
Endurance: 7
Vigor: 8
Mind: ---
Intelligence: ---
Faith: 17
Skills:
[Frenzied (Passive): You are an extension of the Frenzied Flame. May Chaos Take The World. -All Mind. -All Intelligence. +10 Faith.]
[Sword Mastery (Passive): Level 3: Mildly proficient in wielding swords.]
[Sheild Mastery (Passive): Level 3: Mildly proficient in wielding shields.]
Incantations:
[The Flame Of Frenzy])
Though stronger than the villagers, the soldiers were still no match for him. They barely had time to draw their swords before they were impaled and burned by his Greatspear. Only a few months ago, these soldiers would have posed a significant challenge. Now, they were nothing more than a minor annoyance.
[Frenzied Cuckoo Soldier*7 killed. +700 EXP]
'This is boring', he thought as he flicked off the last body of the soldier. This failed to boil his blood and he felt dragged back to that grey blob of emotionless existence. He needed a fight, and he needed a good one.
He found nothing of worth in their camp except a tattered and charred Frenzy cookbook detailing the crafting of Clarifying Boluses - pills that could be used to fight the madness of the Frenzied Flame. It had a charred handprint on its cover, as though a soldier had reached for it while being cursed by the flame.
Given his computer-like processing power, he was able to absorb the procedure within seconds of flicking past the pages. Boredom was beginning to set in as he urged Elrus up the path and over the tall walls of the village.
The scenery wasn't all that different, but it hardly mattered as Elrus ran at speeds that made it blur into a blend of green and grey. At that speed, he managed to reach his destination within an hour.
The Church of Inhibition.
Unlike the game, he did not meet Vyke the Dragon Knight as he scaled the steep path to the Church's entrance. He was probably hundreds of years too early.
Dismounting at the entrance, he took in the building that was slowly falling into disrepair, just like every structure in the Lands-Between. It was a broken world and its people and places reflected that.
Despite its failing nature, it still elicited a sense of awe in anybody other than the emotionally stunted Godrick. Golden drapes and embroidery that was ostentatious enough to show power and prestige but not overdone to the point that it became pretentious, pale stone walls that shimmered faintly in the light of the Erdtree, their surfaces etched with the lifelike spirals of roots and branches, as though the church itself were an extension of the sacred tree's will.
It was beautiful, but what truly caught Godrick off-guard was hearing a familiar voice.
"Godrick the Golden, dost thou come to greet an old friend? I am truly flattered", a voice rang out from within the church, akin to dragging a razor across stone.
***
Gimme powerstones! Please, the Frenzy is getting to me!
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