Orion jerked upright with a strangled wail, hands flying to his chest as if expecting to find a greatsword sticking out of his guts.
Nothing.
He found nothing…
Just a shirt soaked in cold sweat and the lingering echo of trauma.
'That motherfucker, he skewered me like I was some pork meat at a cheap restaurant.'
Heavy breathing from memories before his obvious death made him dizzy. He could still feel the pain somewhat.
[Ah, thou stir at last. I had near thought thy soul fled for good. Truly, I foresaw thy fall… yet never did I imagine thou wouldst crumble with such haste. A sorry sight, aye—but one that did grant me no small measure of amusement.]
Came a snarky comment from no doubt his useless goddess.
"Thanks for the rebirth motivation. It truly helps," he replied dryly.
[Anything for my champion.]
Marika giggled, having fun at his expense, but he didn't pay much attention to her.
He patted himself down again, just in case. "I swear I got skewered. I felt it. It feels so unreal."
Marika, seated beside the golden glow of the Site of Grace, regarded him like a disappointed schoolteacher watching a child panic over homework.
[Verily, it doth stir my curiosity as much as my delight. To be restored so swiftly—whole of flesh and hale of spirit—such a bond to grace is nigh unheard of. Not even mine chosen warriors returned to me so untouched by death's sting. Truly, grace hath set its favor upon thee, champion. A rare blessing… and a rarer sight.]
Marika replied, her voice genuine as she spoke. Orion also saw a flicker of excitement in her eyes, a gleam he only caught for a moment before it was gone.
"That doesn't make getting impaled by a fucking greatsword any better," Orion complained, already feeling the PTSD.
[Huff… thou yet livest, dost thou not? Then cease thy mewling and rise, for I'll not coddle a babe in swaddling.]
She huffed, clearly never heard of employee rights.
To just prove a point, Orion lay back on the stone floor, staring at the ceiling.
Marika narrowed her eyes, noting the snark but not pointing it out—nothing but the stubbornness of an infant to her.
"That… that was not okay. That was not a tutorial boss. That was a war crime." He muttered with exaggerated intensity.
He almost recalled the first time he played a soulslike game, which also happened to be Elden Ring. Needless to say, he died a lot back then.
But ever since, he had gotten better—at least he thought—until getting one-shot by that thing.
Because the Soldier of Godrick—who was supposed to be the easiest boss in Elden Ring, the punching bag of punching bags—had handed him the most humiliating defeat imaginable.
Dodging him had been a nightmare. The i-frames were real, sure, but apparently not real enough for Orion's skill level, because every time he rolled, the blade somehow found him anyway. Either his timing was off, or the soldier's sword had a personal grudge.
"That dodge window was tight. Too tight. Illegally tight," he muttered, sitting up slowly.
[Perhaps 'tis thee whose reflex falters, not the world that hastens. Blame not fate for thine own sluggish hands.]
Came once again the ever-helpful input from his goddess. He tactfully ignored her.
He also felt it—it wasn't like the game, where dodge was just a button away. It takes time and matching the movements to get the iframe exactly when attacks hit him was hard.
Slow attacks were easy enough, but fast, deadly ones like the one he faced were almost impossible. Either he had to roll faster or predict the attack coming and roll in advance.
Of course, there was also sidestepping. He switched to it immediately after the first time the bastard cut half of his chest open. The only thing that kept him going was the last healing flask with him.
Sidestep helped him from then on; it was faster, but that also meant the invincibility timeframe was that much tighter. He couldn't even delay the dodge by a second or else he'd be toast.
And that doesn't even begin to tell what else went wrong.
Every swing from the monster felt like a miniature earthquake aimed directly at his bones. Matching strength with him? Impossible. Orion had tried a guard counter once, and the result was so catastrophic he preferred not to speak of it. He still swore he heard his arm break before the respawn kicked in.
And the speed. Why was the knight fast? Why was the knight agile? Which knight is supposed to be this agile in full metal? No one told him he'd be fighting Usain Bolt in armor.
"I was utterly, completely, undeniably outmatched," he sighed in defeat.
[Aye.]
Marika replied, far too cheerfully for someone watching him get turned into meat paste earlier. "But thou didst last longer than I expected."
He shot her a betrayed look. "That's not comforting."
[I merely spoke truth: thy reflex is naught but a sluggish flutter. Take no comfort in it—only correction.]
She replied with a shrug.
'Someday I'm gonna fuck this bitch senseless. No matter how ungodly beautiful she is…' Needless to say, he was annoyed.
He rubbed his face, finally noticing the soft, warm glow of the Site of Grace beside him. This was where he'd reappeared—the checkpoint just outside the boss room.
A respawn point.
A chance to try again.
A chance to get murdered again.
For a man who had died three times by now, he could confidently say—it doesn't get easy.
He groaned. "I don't wanna go back in there."
Marika folded her arms.
[And yet, thou must.]
"Aye," he muttered.
Sighing, he still stood anyway. Because that was the rule of this world.
Die. Learn. Try again.
"For I am the Elden Lord. I have slain gods before; this little shit's got nothing on me." His gamer pride was on the line here.
Even when the learning part hurt the most.
[Ah… so the spark yet flickers within thee. I had wondered if the Soldier's blade had carved all spirit out of thy breast. But no—it glimmers still.
Very well. I would expect no less from my lord, though thou stumbleth and blundereth like a fawn finding its legs.]
She had the smallest hint of a smirk on her face before she was back to her normal, amusing, self-seeking out of his misery.
"Gee, what a way to motivate a guy…"
["Motivate thee…? Hmm. A curious notion.]
She responded, a mischievous look appearing on her face as she slowly rested her beautiful face on her hands, her bangs falling like golden silk, mesmerising him—but he averted his eyes before the witch charm could work on him.
[Very well—if I am to be thy goddess, then perhaps I should stir thy spirit.]
She said as she slowly came toward him, arms effortlessly supporting the glorious weight heaven bestowed upon her.
["If thou shouldst triumph, then I—thy goddess—shall heed any single wish thou dost name.
Would such a boon quicken thy pulse, my lord? Would it set thy feet to moving swifter than thy sorry dodges thus far?]
She spoke as her hands, under his breath, slightly pushed them up, emphasizing them in an alluring manner which left Orion gulping.
It was the most textbook, obvious thirst trap he knew.
But knowing alone doesn't mean he could dodge it. No amount of rolling would suffice here.
"Anything you say. Make sure you remember that…" He half-blushed and half-shouted, quickly turning around before he completely lost his composure.
He could hear the soft giggles from her. He hated that—even though she was kind of making fun of him, he liked the sound of her giggling.
'God… am I turning into one of those SIMPS…' He was horrified.
Shaking his head, he put it back to the game.
Rick…
He had to face him. And this time, he would win.
His gamer pride was no lie.
Definitely not for the prize the sultry goddess offered.—NOT AT ALL…
Just as he was about to march toward his inevitable doom, he backtracked.
"Before I go in though, update my Falna. I better take all advantage I have before crossing that fog." He shot the Boss Fog a glare before turning back to the golden head, who blinked in confusion at him.
She recalled him talking something about Falna but didn't know what he meant back then.
[What sayest thou? What Falna?]
"Sigh… just do what you did back when you tried to turn my rune into strength, that's all. I'll explain everything to you once we leave this damn dungeon."
Orion sighed; he wasn't looking forward to the entire "another world" talk with her anytime soon.
Marika for a second glared at him, like scanning him for falsehood before just going through the motion.
Not commenting on the subject for now.
---
Name - Orion Star Storm
Familia - Marika Familia
Level - 1
[Stats]
Strength - I 57 > I 98
Endurance - I 72 > I 86
Dexterity - I 41 > I 67
Agility - I 38 > I 52
Magic - I 0
[Magic]None
[Skills]
Soulslike…
Elden Lord…
Animus Ignus…
---
As soon as the update was done, Orion's eyes lit up. The upgrade to his base stats was impressive enough that it might just give him the edge he needed against RICK.
Shame he couldn't do the update part himself—for that he needed Marika. Though the moment she updated his status, in a sense pouring her energy into him, his holographic status window also updated in real time.
A little corner somewhere inside him told him to just go around the damn dungeon and farm those green grimlings at this point.
But he shook his head. Just stats weren't the real issue here—it was also his lack of real fighting skills.
That would only improve when he faced not a monster, but a human.
RICK was the perfect opponent right now for him.
"Gosh… I'm all fired up."
[I still canst make little sense of these writings, yet it doth seem an improvement, if my reckonings be true. What sayest thou?
Dost thou feel any stronger as yet?]
Marika asked, half-understanding the updating system and half-guessing. She seemed to have realized at least this much: higher numbers meant better improvement.
"Yup, thanks for your help. I'm already feeling like I can take on a demi-god. Leave that beginner boss to me." He grinned; power felt like it was coursing through him.
He felt refreshed.
[If thou say so…]
~O~
A/N : I planned to show the fight; however, I completely forgot to made him update his falna last time. Not to mention I had to show that this wasn't a game. He had to learn how to fight.
Weight difference and fighting skills matter as well.
Next chapter, let take on RICK, Shall we.
And guys, please stones and comments.