Lord's Tutorial Chapter 11

Melina helped me gain a few 'levels' in strength, endurance, vigor, mind, and intelligence without too much issue, but then as she finished pushing all the runes into me. She had a bit of an odd expression. "In truth, you are rather odd Jake Bariss. Not in your character, but our body seems to have a great acceptance of runes being used to strengthen you."

I raised an eyebrow, and after a moment of thought I asked. "I understand that's a good thing, but can you be a bit more specific?" 

Melina gave a slight hum before she continued. "I mean, that with how strengthening of your form. You should become more and more resistant to foreign runes being imbued into yourself. But you... You are only gaining less than five percent of the resistance to more runes with each strengthening, to the amount of runes it takes to make you stronger." 

I blinked as I mentally translated what she meant. Basically, that with Rune costs increasing with each 'level' the cost to increase my level was growing much slower than other tarnished's growth. 

Which, to be fair, I had zero idea the costs and methods of growth for other tarnished. As Melina wasn't even a finger maiden... And the other finger maidens we see in Elden Ring in the game is literally just a corpses we collect a sample of blood from. For Mohg's questline.

And the Finger Maiden Therolina, who was actually a puppet of Princeptor Seluvis, so she didn't count either.

I took a breath and said with a shrug. "Well, that's goo,d I guess. It allows me to get stronger, faster in any case." 

Melina seemingly chewed on a thought before she spoke slowly. "That with this boon, I might be able to teach you faith-based spells. Even if you do not have the right mindset for it, you would just need to force the spells with force of will." 

"Alright, well, I am going to be slaying a lot of misbegotten in the Demihuman Ruins just over the way." I said with finality as I got up to my feet with Melina nodding and also stood up from the site of grace we were sitting around.

"Very well, my tarnished... Beware of being overwhelmed by simple numbers." Melina spoke before she faded away into motes of blue light.

'What was that, My Tarnished bit?' I mused to myself before I whistled, summoning Torrent to head further east towards the ruins that would have... Dozens, if not more, Demi-Humans for me to slay and collect loot from.

As I kept moving, I could however feel myself being watched. And not merely by Malenia either and then from the very large but sparse tree's they came.

The demi-humans abandoned stealth as they came out of the tree's and began screaming loudly at me in warning while waving sticks and rotting metal weapons, and such at me!

The taller monkey-like demi-humans screeched and hollered at me furiously with them advancing with their wildly waving weapons making Torrent huff in agitation.

"This is far enough, then Torrent." I spoke as I squeezed around his side before I took a breath and dismissed him with a long sword falling into my right hand and my sorcery staff falling into my left.

And without a word... As a demi-human charged at me, to scare me away and stop right in front of me in a false charge... I didn't just accept a false charge at me. I spun my sorcery staff around, and a thick arc of blue light shot out as a Glinstone Arc.

The Glintstone Arc, powered up by my enhanced intelligence carved through the charging demi-human, and then past the poor bastard. Going a dozen meter's back where my slightly downward angle of aim made it cut through the legs of another four more demihumans.

'My spell has grown in size and power.' I thought as I saw a larger demi-human try to block the Glintstone arc and fail with the arc of power going through it's wooden shield.

Then the following minutes was a blur of violence, as I stepped forward and backward as I found my tempo in using my longsword to cut down the demi-humans that got to close, and with my set of thin plate armor and a layer of chainmail. I could take small hits as I used my new sorcery in the Carian Slicer with my staff to surprise the demi-humans.

"Damn you fucker's just don't end!" I cursed as the sounds of the screeching demi-humans and the battle just drew more, and more of the scruffy little bastards with even bigger and more developed demi-humans coming into the fray.

But with the demon human's at best wearing only some rope cloth, and having wooden shields. Regardless of size, were just a single summoned Glintblade, from the Glintblade Phalanx spell from death.

But after another five minutes, and probably... Fifty to sixty of the demi-humans dead. I was literally on the edge of exhaustion with my mana empty as well.

So with another wave of the demi-humans coming towards me. I could only summon Torrent with a whistle and we charged out with a grunt from me as the demi-humans chased us through the forest.

'Gods dammit... I know this world is so much bigger then the game. But if there is hundreds if not a couple fucking thousand of these demi-humans at the very least! How the hell am I going to explore the Capital? With the city being larger than smaller countries in my old world.' I mentally cursed as I felt so much smaller at this realization.

Sure, I was a 'tarnished' who could slay great monsters and grow quickly in strength. But I realized I truly needed more endurance just for stamina to fight longer... All the stat's that Melina could level up for me, truly had value, as I would no doubt need them.

"Fucking hell... Imagine getting all the way to Lyndell, and then dying due to just getting tired after dealing with the literal armies there." I cursed at the thought. 

But this was also a firm reminder that just because I was strong, that didn't mean I could wash over endless forces. At least for now. So with this failed expedition to kill the Demi-Human Queen done with.

"Fuck it, I need help. So I am going to get the summon ashes of Lhutel the Headless, she also has the cheat of causing deathblight build up." I muttered as I directed Torrent further east. Where I get to the Tombsward Catacombs. And where I WOUDN'T be overwhelmed by an army of lesser mobs obviously.