Elden Ring/Lord's Tutorial Chapter 12

The Tombsward Catacombs on the middle of the southern continent was an interesting thing... The Imp statues were rather annoying until, I used a warhammer to break their stone bodies.

I made my way into the catacombs, and as I did so. The biggest issue of the monsters in the catacombs was just the number of those stone-skinned constructs.

Then I took a deep breath as I had already taken care of unlocking the depths of the catacombs. 'There is just one major issue... I still haven't run across Ranni or her alt identity of Renna. I can't summon any summon ashes yet.' I mused as that was truthfully rather annoying obviously.

But still, I walked past the candle lit large stone door, and down into the depths of the catacombs. Where as I came into the main room, I saw a figure of solid shadows standing listlessly in the center of the room.

Near the roots of the Erd Tree which were meant to absorb the lost souls that had been buried in the crypt.

"Cemetery shade... Gotta keep my distance if I can." I muttered as I swung my staff around to summoned a dozen flying carian blades that floated above my head. Then I stepped forward into the room.

The cemetary shade, was a monster of true darkness made manifest. And it's vaugely humanoid form shifted and snapped about as it could seemingly sense my arrival.

Then pure white eye's formed in the head area of the cemetery shade with a loud hiss ringing out from the thing before it zipped forward towards me at high speed.

With a mental flex of my will, the carian swords shot forward at even faster speed! But while the cemetery shade blocked one of the swords with it's abnormally hand blades, three more blades shot through the monster's chest.

And it hissed out a gurgling furious pain-filled roar, but I shut it up as I smashed it in the face with my warhammer.

My hammer hit the monster's head, shutting it up for sure... But I could tell the shadow monster was less of a physical entity and thus physical attacks weren't as effective.

So I jumped backwards to avoid a swipe from it's claw's and then as it's chest holes began to fill in with shadow's and it's form becoming smaller.

I put away the warhammer... To take out a fire pot in both of my hands and I could all but see the cemetery shade's eye's widen in the reflective glare as the fragile highly flammable pot's exploded with their napalm-like innards sticking to the cemetery shade's shadowy flesh.

It's hiss of agony was now much more of a scream. And now, not wanting to give it a chance to regenerate or anything. I sent several Glintstone Missiles through it's chest as it couldn't run at super speed anymore due to it.

Being very much on fire and screaming as it was burning alive.

The cemetery shade then collapsed as the fifth glintstone missile I sent through its chest passed through, and I quickly felt a good amount of runes filling my soul signifying the monster's death.

"There we go... Now where, oh there is Lhutel?" I muttered as I approached the mass of twisted roots filling the end of the room and where I found a mass of ashes which was literally hovering off of the roots.

So with a small glass jar, I had bought just for this from the trader I came across at the Castle Morne Ramparts. I filled said jar with the headless warrior's ashes.

'I really do need to get the summoning bell though. It will be super awkward not being able to abuse something like a Mimic Tear.' I thought a bit sheepishly before I stretched and groaned a bit.

"Damn... There is just too damned much to do. And I don't want to get crushed by Margit when I go up to fuck with Godrick, so I need to be even stronger." I muttered before I sighed as I realized that I may need to go even further in gaining strength.

I wasn't a demigod... Hell, I refused to die to test the water's as I doubted my so-called Tarnished nature. But was Dragon Comunion really the right answer? 

To slay a dragon, take their hearts, and then, while at a Dragon Comunion Church, devour said hearts to gain their power. And even some of that dragon's abilities? 

"It will change me for sure... The question is, is it worth the possible change it can do to me?" I muttered before pausing as I realized something.

'Wait... With Godrick's 'grafting' or union-based shard of the Elden Ring. Wouldn't that piece of the Elden Ring prevent the failure of the Dragon Communion process?' I wondered as I knew that the runebears were the result of people failing the dragon communion process and turning into mad beasts.

"Well. I certainly am not going to be attacking the Will of the Golden Order with nothing but a katana and a pot on the top of my head." I muttered as I kept the idea close to mind.

At the very least, when I finished dealing with the southern continent. I could begin my 'Great Value' Dragonborn journey in killing the lake dragon Agheel.

By the time all my mental ruminations were over, I was already out of the dungeon. And I headed north to the Church of Pilgrimage so I could get the Sacred Tear there.

And use the site of grace there to spend all my runes I had gotten from killing all those demi-humans and then the monsters within the catacombs itself.

'Oh... That's something.' I thought as I rode into the dilapidated church that was well lit by the full moon above us and streaming light into the broken church.

"This way, Tarnished... May I have but a word?" An elegant voice spoke out and under the bright but cold moon.

My eyes fell upon a figure wearing a fur-like dress around her top, with a massive hat that had crystals on the inside of the hat. With her 'skin' a pale blue but well-crafted features. I saw Ranni the Witch sitting atop a broken pillar with her four hands intertwined together.