Chapter 251: Pants Off First!

Chapter 251: Pants Off First!

When Luk opened his eyes again, he found himself back in the familiar wooden cottage. The simple, rustic wooden structure was a testament to nature's simplicity, with gaps in the walls providing excellent natural light. Behind the cottage lay a steep, bottomless cliff, while in front, a few cows and horses grazed leisurely on the lawn.

This scene was no stranger to Luk.

This was near the Guidance Site of Grace in the Liurnia region, where the typical Fingersmitten would awaken. A short walk around the area would lead them to a guidance site where they could find a Finger Maiden, a gift from the Fingers. The Finger Maiden's role was to help the Fingersmitten understand the world, comfort their hearts, and guide them on the path to becoming the Erdtree's chosen one. In essence, she was like a mobile version of the Firekeeper.

"Back to the beginning again."

Luk muttered, his thoughts drifting back to the early days when he first arrived in the Lands Between.

Back then, Luk was young and naive. He thought he was the chosen one, destined to be selected by the spectral steed Torrent, possessed by Melina, and fight his way through the demigods to collect all the Great Runes and become the new Elden Lord.

But when he realized he wasn't in the Cathedral of the Golden Order but at the Guidance Site of Grace, he knew something was off.

This starting point felt wrong!

After his Finger Maiden, Eleanor, came to find him, the heavy stone in his heart finally fell. He was relieved to confirm that he wasn't the chosen one who would sacrifice the Finger Maiden at the beginning of his journey.

The Lands Between was a peculiar place, not a pure game but a world that was half-real, half-game. The system and status panels were always present, but everything else was 100% real. The map was countless times larger than in the game, and sentient humanoids could be communicated with. The bosses seemed just as formidable, and he had once seen the weakest demigod, Godrick the Grafted, leading his soldiers to hunt a small dragon less than ten meters long.

There were indeed sites of grace, but resting at one wouldn't fully restore your condition. Grace only accelerated the recovery process, and the cost of death wasn't just the loss of runes. While the Fingersmitten could resurrect, the more powerful they became, the slower their resurrection. Some Fingersmitten who abandoned the path to becoming the Elden Lord or didn't improve much gradually lost the ability to see or use grace.

If no Fingersmitten could repair the Erdtree within the given time, the broken Golden Order would reset the world periodically. The dead would come back to life, including the demigods, elite enemies, and NPCs who didn't resurrect in the game. The Great Runes collected would also return to the demigods, as if starting a new run.

Before his golden finger awakened, Luk was particularly cautious. He wasn't sure if he could resurrect like other Fingersmitten or creatures. After all, he wasn't a native of this world, and who knew if the grace of the Golden Tree could recognize him.

You can't plug an Apple charger into an Android phone, after all.

Furthermore, even if he could resurrect, would he truly be himself? Would he be altered in some way? Would he just be a perfect clone?

Luk wasn't a fan of philosophy, but he was familiar with the Swampman hypothesis and the Ship of Theseus. He was wary of any form of resurrection and cautious with his life.

So, he often slacked off.

In the first few runs, Luk tried his best and managed to defeat the weakest demigod, Godrick the Grafted, but he couldn't progress further. Unlike in the game, the demigod bosses here were incredibly powerful. Their strength couldn't be overcome with just better stats or more practiced moves, and there were no invincibility frames for dodging.

Even fighting Godrick was dangerous, and the subsequent bosses were even more formidable.

So, in the subsequent resets, Luk gradually gave up. In the last run, he barely did anything, not even facing the Plague Mariner. His inaction finally made Eleanor leave in a huff.

As the first Fingersmitten to be dumped by his own Finger Maiden, Luk felt a mix of sadness and melancholy. He took a nap and then found himself with a new power.

I am the Wind Spirit, Moon Shadow, the Invincible!

Who can match me, except for the CE party?

Then, Luk met Rennala.

Rennala, the Queen of the Full Moon, was a woman of regal beauty and noble demeanor, one of the most beautiful women in the Lands Between. After her ex-husband, Radagon, left her with their three children, the once-majestic queen lost her mind. She spent her days hugging the Great Rune left by Radagon, obsessively trying to hatch "children."

Luk was just passing through while looking for his Finger Maiden. Feeling sorry for the Queen of the Full Moon, he decided to help her by taking the Great Rune to snap her out of her delusion.

Luk never imagined that after securing the Great Rune and waking the Queen, he would end up being the one to pay the price.

At first, Luk was reluctant. His heart belonged to his finger witch, Eleonore. But the Full Moon Queen was just too irresistible! Her gentle and seductive voice, her graceful and alluring figure, and her status as the last queen of the Caria royal family—how could anyone resist?

Recalling their interactions, Luk shuddered with a mix of longing and dread.

The Queen was perfect in every way, except for her deep-seated obsession with having a child. Until she sensed life within her, she wouldn't stop her plan to conceive.

After the shared overlay, Luk became an excellent rider. He could drive a regular cart for eternity, and even large trucks were no match for him. However, the top-of-the-line luxury vehicle of the Caria royal family was a different story. Its fuel consumption was terrifying, and no matter how much he filled the tank, it was never enough. Luk insisted that he had run out of fuel.

Every day, he longed for the reset, hoping the other Faded Ones would fail in their quest to become kings. Fortunately, none of them succeeded, and he was granted his reset.

"What does this mean? It means I'm destined to be a king."

Rolling over in his familiar wooden bed, he succeeded in crushing the dilapidated furniture beneath him. Luk stretched, resolving that this time, he would not follow Radahn's path. He needed to consider becoming someone else's Blade.

Instinctively, he reached for his waist, but the Caria Knight's set, the fully upgraded Moonveil, and the Caria Staff gifted by Radahn were all gone. Realizing he was now clad in nothing but a loincloth, Luk sighed.

"The joy of a new cycle is using top-tier gear to crush the newbie bosses. Not keeping the gear deserves a one-star review!"

Luk opened his status panel, and a familiar yet dizzying array of stats appeared.

Character Data:

- Level: 1

- Held Runes: 0

- Vitality: 99

- Focus: 99

- Endurance: 99

- Strength: 99

- Dexterity: 99

- Intelligence: 99

- Faith: 99

- Perception: 99

- ...

Despite being Level 1, all his stats were maxed out. The reason they showed 99 was because that was the cap, not because Luk's actual stats were limited to 99.

He didn't bother checking the rest of the stats; they were all maxed out. The panel's only use now was to confirm that his golden finger wasn't just a dream.

"Eating dragons..."

Luk tapped his chin, thinking about the conversation he had with the elf Luk. The Lands Between indeed had many dragons, and there was a ritual called Dragon Communion, where eating a dragon's heart granted dragon powers. However, eating too many hearts would cause a backlash, eventually turning the eater into a Dragonrot.

But Luk didn't have to worry about that. He could easily use the "Feast of Heaven" technique, and the Lands Between's high tolerance for foreign energies made it a non-issue.

This place had long been a battleground for various deities, from Dragon Gods and Evil Gods to the Mother of Reals and the Goddess of Corruption. The rules of the Lands Between had been thoroughly messed up.

Now, it was just one more Curse God.

Luk closed his eyes and expanded his magical senses, starting from himself.

He saw "White Mask Vanlei" holding a bouquet of flowers, looking around. He saw a young witch in a ceremonial dress approaching him with reverence. In the distance, he saw a Faded One in knight's armor slowly rising from the ground in Haight's Chapel.

Hmm?

Luk raised an eyebrow and focused on Haight's Chapel.

Inside the ancient, desolate hall, a finger witch's life force had been extinguished, her body lying in a pool of blood. The knight beside her was reading a message on the ground.

"Even though the guidance has been broken, please become the Elden Lord."

At the same moment, Luk sensed a strange disturbance. An invisible wave emanated from the Golden Tree, quickly spreading across the world, causing subtle changes.

Well, looks like the real protagonist is here.

Luk was slightly surprised.

Observing the knight, he saw him wandering around, finding nothing of interest, and then exiting the chapel. The knight began to circle, walk, jump, perform light and heavy attacks, and run.

This didn't seem like a newly awakened Faded One but more like... a player?

"There's something worth investigating here. I'll go take a look."

Luk was about to leave when he remembered something, and countless threads appeared in his eyes.

The Finger Witch and the Tarnished are bound by fate; every Tarnished will encounter their Finger Witch on their journey, and vice versa.

"Almost forgot about the Finger Witch."

Luk thought for a moment, then extended his hand toward a thread connecting to himself. With a gentle grasp, the thread shifted slightly.

"Sorry, Eleonore. Just give me a bit of time. Next time, for sure."

...

As a Finger Witch serving a Tarnished, Eleonore had fantasized countless times about how she and her Tarnished would meet.

Perhaps they would both pause on their lonely journeys, sit down together at a Site of Grace, and then, with a mutual glance, take each other's hands.

Or maybe she would encounter danger while searching for him, and he would bravely step forward, slaying the monster that attacked her, and then offer her his hand.

Or perhaps the Tarnished would be near death after a fierce battle, and she would appear just in time, using her prayers to heal his wounds, earning a grateful and loving look from him.

She had many ideas, some good, some not so good, but none of them were bad.

After the mysterious pull she felt today, Eleonore quickly dressed in her most elegant witch attire, tidied her appearance, and set out to meet her Tarnished.

She was a bit anxious, wondering what her Tarnished lord would look like, what his personality would be, and whether he would look down on her.

But halfway through her journey, Eleonore suddenly froze, letting out a soft, puzzled sound.

"Huh?"

The pull she felt had disappeared, but the sense of fate connecting them remained. The Tarnished was still alive, but the feeling that would bring them together had vanished.

Where was her Tarnished?

Where could such a prominent Tarnished have gone?

Eleonore felt a bit panicky.

She couldn't be one of the extremely rare Finger Witches who couldn't find their Tarnished, could she?

Absolutely not!

...

In the Cathedral of the Houkou, Luk, invisible, watched a fully armored knight hop and skip, eventually stopping at the edge of a cliff, seemingly eager to jump.

Was he planning to jump?

Just as Luk thought this, his vision blurred, and a figure darted past.

"Ah~"

A familiar, brief scream echoed, and the world turned gray for a moment. Then, Luk saw the knight reappear at the starting point.

Luk's face turned black with exasperation. The scream he heard was a woman's, meaning this was a female knight.

What a joke, enjoying the thrill of the edge between life and death?

No, if this was a new player, such things could happen. Newbies often fall victim to the traps left by experienced players, enough to circle the Earth three times.

If that was the case, could this world really be a game?

But the reality of this world was undeniable.

Luk suppressed his doubts and continued observing the female knight, who then started to remove her equipment.

Helmet, top, bottom, leg armor...

Once she was undressed, a youthful and attractive young woman stood before Luk. She had a clear and beautiful face, but her expression was cold and stern, giving off a strong, authoritative vibe.

The female knight touched her body, which was covered by bandages and shorts, tugged at them, and frowned when they didn't budge. She spoke her first words.

"Is that it?"

Luk: ...

Putting aside all the elements that needed to be ridiculed, he understood the truth.

This female knight was a "player." To her, the world was a game, and the fact that she couldn't engage in certain adult activities confirmed that she was indeed in a "game."

She possessed the ability to "digitize the world," making her surroundings resemble a game. Whether this ability was innate or granted by someone else was unknown.

"Interesting."

Watching the female knight reequip her armor and step forward toward the territory of the Erdtree Noble, Luk showed a hint of interest.

He had expected a Tarnished who would be emotionless and unable to speak, someone who would fight through the entire Lands Between without a word.

A few seconds later, a fog gate appeared in Luk's line of sight.

"Sure enough, world digitization."

Luk raised an eyebrow, counting down in his mind.

3, 2, 1.

A thud sounded as something hit the ground, followed by the female knight's scream from inside.

"What the hell, what kind of monster is this!"

Luk, who was watching from the sidelines, silently provided the answer.

It's the Erdtree Noble.

(End of Chapter)

Chapter end