Lucian listened to Varré's rambling with an expression of cold indifference.
He knew exactly what Varré was—a recruiter for the Mohgwyn Dynasty of Mohg. Scouring the Lands Between for lost, unblessed Tarnished—those maidenless, yet overflowing with potential. The very kind most easily swayed.
Stormveil was a crucible. A place to test their strength. The best were offered the title of Pureblood Knights.
But Lucian wasn't ready to deal with him. Not yet.
No, Varré would live—for now.
He would serve as Lucian's ticket into the Lord of Blood's ranks. And once he got there… he'd make sure Varré paid for every honeyed insult and condescending smile.
Feigning vague belief, Lucian simply nodded and began walking toward the direction Varré had pointed.
"Hehehe… I have a feeling we'll meet again very soon, my dear~"
Lucian said nothing. He feared staying even a moment longer would shatter his restraint.
Varré watched him leave in silence. Beneath the mask, his eyes were dark and unfathomable.
The bloodstained smile never left his face.
Following the golden trail, Lucian crossed hill after hill until he reached the edge of a familiar ruin.
Just over the rise lay the old ruins of the Church of Elleh.
But he didn't move forward.
Instead, he crouched low in a patch of shrubs and removed Hakkan's helmet, not wanting its reflective surface to give away his position.
There was danger here.
A fearsome field boss—the Tree Sentinel—patrolled nearby.
This wasn't the time for heroics. He'd needed his cheat skill just to handle elite mobs like the Grafted Scion. He wasn't about to pick a fight with a walking death sentence.
Even with Wind Spirit Moon Shadow in hand, he wasn't sure how long its power would last. It certainly hadn't recharged with time.
He had to save it—for bosses who wielded Great Runes.
So, he waited.
Time crawled by. The sentinel did not appear.
"Maybe… maybe he's not here at all? Maybe they changed it from the game?"
Lucian stood cautiously, stepping out of the brush.
He barely took two steps before jumping back in, heart racing.
From the path below, a massive golden figure emerged from his blind spot.
The Tree Sentinel.
Towering in shining gold armor atop an equally massive steed, it marched slowly along the dirt road.
"Damn... so that's where you were hiding. His patrol range is huge."
Lucian hadn't taken the road earlier for fear of guards. That path would've taken him right into the sentinel's route.
A close call.
But at least now he knew its path.
The Tree Sentinel moved slowly—painfully so. Lucian figured out the full patrol took over thirty minutes.
He noted where it didn't go. The left path, devoid of a road, seemed untouched.
That would be his route.
His stomach growled.
Looking up, he saw only the golden glow of the Erdtree. There was no sun in this world. Time meant little.
So, he ate.
He pulled out a pack of dried meat from his satchel. No magical properties. Just food.
The flavor was terrible—worse after being soaked in seawater during his arrival.
Chewing each bite like sandpaper, he studied the sentinel's pattern.
By the time he'd swallowed the last piece, he had it memorized.
Once the sentinel had passed beneath the hill, Lucian counted to three minutes, then sprinted down the slope and made for the church.
The ruins of the Church of Elleh loomed ahead, its roof long since collapsed. Stone walls jutted out at odd angles. Only the main archway remained intact.
Inside, a small fire burned near the wall.
And beside it—a man and a mule.
The man wore bright red clothing with a white-trimmed scarf, orange-yellow pants, and a ridiculous feathered hat. He strummed a bizarre instrument, humming a strange tune.
Startled by Lucian's arrival, he stopped playing and tensed.
But Lucian made no hostile move.
The man relaxed.
"You are a Tarnished, I can see it. And I can also see..." he said. "That you're not after my throat. Then why not purchase a little something?"
He set his instrument aside and stood up.
"I am Kalé. I know I don't look like much, but I am aPurveyor of fine goods."
His long, graying hair peeked out from beneath a mask that covered the lower half of his face. Not exactly a portrait of trust.
But Lucian remembered—Kalé sold a lot of useful items early on.
"Sure" he said. "Show me what you've got."
Kalé smiled and began unpacking wares from his mule.
"Oh, and don't worry about that Tree Sentinel outside. He doesn't bother anyone but Tarnished. I've been here a while—just don't let him see you."
Good to know. Lucian still had PTSD from that bastard in the game.
He began browsing Kalé's goods carefully.
After some consideration, Lucian purchased:
A torch
A telescope
A crafting kit
Two nomadic warrior's cookbook
The journey was just beginning. But he was finally starting to prepare properly—for the long, bloody road ahead.