Chương 2: Game?
"Where am I?" A muffled groan escaped his mouth as he clutched his dizzy head. His surroundings were unfamiliar; the ground was cold and damp, and the area around him was littered with rocks and broken furniture. He tried to move but found himself unable to do so due to pain in his shoulder.
"Shit," he muttered to himself as he lay there staring at the ceiling. "How did I end up here?" He turned his head behind him and saw something that made him freeze.
〖SUCCESSFUL TRANSPORTATION. PROTOCOL #2163 INITIATED. STARTER PACK WILL BE GIVEN AFTER THE TUTORIAL. HAVE A SAFE JOURNEY〗
'Huh? What do you mean? 'No, no, no, nooo!!!' Panicking, Kaida tried to resurrect the voice. But no matter how much he cried, screamed, or pleaded, there was no response.
He could feel his soul being sucked away as dread began to consume his mind. The last thing he remembered before losing consciousness was a hot, burning pain on his chest.
Biting his lips he stood up there for an unknown amount of time, and finally releasing a loud scream, he crashed down on the ground. He was unable to get back up again. The pain had reached his brain; it seemed like it would be better if he just died right then and there.
"*Hic*... T-This wasn't supposed to happen... *Sniff*... I was s-supoosed to BECOME OP!" As he continued to sob, tears began to fall from his eyes. He cursed himself in his heart for being so naive, and an idiot for accepting everything without question. He felt like he was going to be sick again, but there wasn't much he could do about it now.
He felt it was better to die, to escape the pain and this place he knew so well. It felt like his insides were on fire, a fire that would never go out.
"It's all my fault..." he cried, still staring at the ground below. "I should have known... I shouldn't have let this happen!"
He stood up wobbly, pushing himself off his shaky knees. There is no map to show where he was. Though he had only played the game casually once, he was certain after seeing the familiar dead maiden next to him.
'I am in the Elden Ring... Demi-Gods who like to throw tantrums... Giants are so massive that they can destroy towns with a wave of their hand. Let us not forget the true Gods and the parasite... obsessed with making others despair.'
Glancing down at his palms, a silver nail appeared, and with a stab to his thigh, all the panic vanished.
"I can't leave myself in this state. A level 1 soldier can easily dispatch me. My holy nails will do nothing if they can dodge."
As his gaze returned to the corpse, determination filled his eyes. Each step he took became more difficult. He soon arrived at the cold corpse with lifeless eyes and a slashed throat.
"Please forgive me... " He stabbed the corpse's shoulders with the same silver needle as he mumbled his final apology.
'Why isn't it working?' he wondered, frowning. 'I tried it on dead rats, and it worked.'
To try again, he summoned more nails and stabbed the corpse at various points - knees, elbows, behind the neck. The cold corpse twitched just as his hand reached the women's brow.
"Shit!" Kaida cursed after being startled. No man can't but scream like a girl when they see a corpse move.
"Grr...." His fears were not diminished by the zombie-like growling. For a brief moment, he wondered if he was about to spark a zombie apocalypse in Land's Between.
Finally calming his beating heart, he thought, 'The rat took just one nail, but this human corpse took 3. Why?'
Kaida hoped the zombie could protect him for even an hour. All he needs is a sword and a perfect meat shield.
Pushing through the metal door, he soon arrived at what appeared to be a cave, with a dead corpse on the chair and a hole next to him. There was another door in front of him, but his attention was elsewhere. They were instead focused behind him, on a corpse with a white ball hovering over its head.
"You. Raise me up!"
He doesn't mind, as embarrassing as it may sound. He grasped the glowing orb as soon as the zombie nun lifted him. As the light dimmed, a talisman was revealed in his palms.
"Haligdrake Talisman... Boosts holy damage negation to around 13%, I think."
Unlike in the game, where he had to look up a tutorial and do so many things just to get this talisman. He simply used the zombie to push himself above the rock. He got this later in his playthrough.
As he wore around his neck, he felt a warm gushing over him. Filling him with a sense of security. A sense of belonging to something larger than himself. The feeling that all was as it should be in the world. And then suddenly, it stopped and he found himself standing around the cold walls, alone again.
He returned his gaze to the talisman around his neck, but he felt nothing different about it. He shook his head, attempting to clear it of any lingering feelings of warmth or safety. He needs to be on guard right now.
'I hope I can get something like status when I meet the maiden... Will I ever meet her? After all, I'm not a Tarnished.'
***
Pushing through the massive metal door revealed an incredible view of Elden Ring's world.
The Lands Between is a massive continent that spans the Lands Between and is divided into seven regions: Limgrave, Caelid, Liurnia of the Lakes, Altus Plateau, Mt. Gelmir, Mountaintops of the Giants, and The River Kingdoms (underground). Each region has its own distinct characteristics, such as different races, climates, environments, flora and fauna, and monsters. The Lands Between contains several areas that the player will explore, each of which contains dungeons (and sometimes optional areas), towns, temples, shrines, and other locations.
Looking ahead, he immediately looked for "White masked Varre," who is usually the first person the player meets to get a sense of the world they've arrived in. But, thankfully, he isn't present, or Kaida is certain he wouldn't be able to explain the three zombies controlled by him who were patiently waiting behind him.
How did he obtain another?
A corpse sat in a chair. He wasn't going to pass up getting another meat shield. He's not going to risk dying when he's not sure if he'll be resurrected or not. This isn't a game anymore. This is real!
"If only there was a minimap..." It would be excruciatingly difficult to travel between this land without the game interface.
"Oh well, I guess I'll have to finish the tutorial I'm supposed to do or wait for the finger maiden... Wait... didn't I already finish the tutorial?" Kaida was perplexed and scared. He had hoped that after leaving the tower and stepping outside, the tutorial would be finished.
'Don't tell me...' Dread began to fill his mind. His breathing began to quicken, causing him to clutch his chest in pain. He felt dizzy and lightheaded, and the world spun around him in a blur; he could almost see his vision begin to dim. Almost immediately, he closed his eyes, focusing on his palms, and a silver nail appeared, prompting him to stab himself in the chest to relieve his panic attack.
A wry smile appeared on his face as he felt the anxiety fade, and his face soon morphed into reluctance as he thought, 'I have become too dependent on my holy nails... Without them, I can even control my own emotions properly... I am weak!'
Kaida was embarrassed by how much he had relied on his power and how easily it had become a weakness. Worst of all, it was his own fault, and his inability to take shortcuts rather than face his pain head on.
Ulcerated Tree Spirit is a giant armored man riding on a horse, brandishing what appears to be a poleaxe and a shield. He knew that man was supposed to be a 'fake' boss, designed to teach players that death is common and that they should accept it. He would never even try to scratch him because he knew he was too much of a coward, and he would flee the moment his zombie was crushed.
It made no difference that his zombie would make an excellent meat shield. Even if that man just approached him and said, "Would you like a cup of coffee?" Kaida would probably pass out from fear. He even avoided the actual tutorial boss out of fear of dying in there.
His grip on the talisman tightened. It didn't seem like a good idea to leave until he figured out how to level up or gain a system interface. First and foremost, he would require more soldiers (meat shields) in order to at least attempt to defeat the tutorial boss beneath the tower behind him and thus obtain the starter pack.
"I wonder if my nails will even work on this guy..." He began sneaking away from the Tree Spirit, muttering to himself. Thankfully, even though this is no longer a game, the Tree Spirit is still following the path it usually takes in the game.
Soon after arriving at what appeared to be a broken church, he went inside and saw another grace with a man with many goods orderly arranged in front of him, making him appear to be a merchant.
"Are you a Tarnished? I can't seem to see... but I see you're not after my throat, so why not buy a little something?"
He could hear the voice behind him but chose to ignore it because he was trying to figure out how to proceed without being detected or seen by anyone. It was difficult enough without someone trying to sell me something.
"I can't afford anything."
"Oho! That's unfortunate, but we do have some low-cost options. I'd recommend a new type of item that has recently hit the market. It's an item bag that not only stores herbs you collect but also preserves the items for later crafting. It's called a 'Crafting Kit.'"
"No thanks," Kaida said flatly. "Why don't you tell me about yourself?"
"Ah, that's an intriguing question. My name is Kale. I'm nothing but a humble merchant. So far as I know, I've been here since the beginning."
"What types of merchants do you normally deal with?" Kaida inquired, trying to figure out what kind of person he is. "Do you have any stories or legends about the people who lived in these lands before Queen Marika?"
The merchant's eyes twinkled. Kaida can see for a split second that his question triggered some memories.
"...That's a long story. But for now, let me tell you a short story. Do you know where you are? You're in the Lands Between, right?"
Kaida nodded and continued the conversation.
"Before the shattering, it was ruled by the Golden Order. But this was not always the case; once upon a time, the land was filled with magic and wonder, and people of various races coexisted peacefully. There was no Queen Marika or the Golden Order among us at the time. But there was an Elden Lord, he went by many names, and there were rumors that he was a dragon. His true name has been lost, but his legacy lives on. He was the first to wear the Elden Ring, which some believe was created by this Elden Lord. The ring itself is made of indestructible material, and unbreakable rules constrain its powers."
Kaida knew who the first Elden Lord was; according to his information, he was a Dragon Lord who was the Elden Lord before the Erdtree even existed. Even he was perplexed as to how the ring came to be. Was Marika the first vessel for the Elden Beast or the Dragon Lord? Was the Ring created before the Greater Will became interested in this world?
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A/N: This is not an Elden Ring fanfic. The DXD world will be the main focus.
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