webnovel

Firelink, Undead Berg and Knights.

Once Adrian and the Undead who he still did not know the name of arrived, they were left at the entrance of Firelink Shrine. When Adrian was dropped by the Crows he looked around as he was seeing this for the first time in real life.

It was just as depressing as he remembered from the game but even worse. As he observed his surroundings, The Beast emerged from his shadow once more and gazed around. 

Adrian turned to his other half. 

"Bleak ain't it?" 

The giant wolf snarled before quickly retreating back to his shadow after that. As for the Undead with him, she had seen the wolf come from his shadow. She had never seen a creature like it before as while it looked like a regular wolf it was far too monstrous to claim that title. 

 "What was that?"

"My other half. I will ask this, what goal do you have to keep you going?" 

She did wonder about that and how long ago he had died as it was not always an instant recovery. Some had stayed dead for centuries before resurrecting as undead.

"I think I want to link the fire."

Adrian looked down at her as he finally had some advice for her. After killing the demon they both acquired humanity which he knew she could use.

"I see. I have some advice if you will hear it. One is a way for you to recover your human appearance and the other is on a name. It would be most useful for you to have one would it not? And last but not least, pick another goal for I will be ending the age of Fire." 

His words were shocking as he was part of Lord Gywn's Bloodline. For what reason did he wish to bring about the age of Dark? 

"Why? The Age of Fire is all that gives life right?" 

"Wrong. The Age of Fire and the Age of Dark are two sides of the same coin. They come and go in an unending cycle. My grandfather's linking of the fire has tainted the cycle and created the curse of Undead. I am merely bringing back order to this realm."

She thought about this advice and would need time to come to terms with it. However, she did agree to the name. She had no idea what her name could have been as she had died many times so she had lost most of her memories. The ones she did have were just of fighting.

"I will keep an open mind, but a name. I can't remember mine anymore as we undead lose memories of our past the more we die. I must have died too many times while in the Asylum or before so I have forgotten. But how about you think of one?"

Adrian imagined he was naming a cat or something so he thought of one. However, he walked toward the bonfire as he needed to upgrade his stats. He wanted to get all of his stats to the max before he left. He wanted to be perfect for his future of endless battle. He would serve as long as she gave him the power to keep fighting and killing.

"How about Seraphine? Is that fine with you?"

She nodded as having a name at all would give her something to hold on to keep her from going hollow. That was the biggest fear of the undead to completely lose themselves to madness. A new name would be great for her.

"Thank you, Adrian, now, how do I get rid of this hollowing?"

He pointed at the bonfire.

"You kindle at a bonfire with humanity. We got some from that Demon and you can also find some at that corpse over there. All humans will have some humanity, but don't just go and randomly kill innocent people for theirs."

She looked at the corpse he pointed at and walked toward it. She would use her own, but having more was better. She placed her hand on its head and drained the humanity from it. Once she finished she walked toward the Bonefire and fed it the humanity she had. Once she did so, she felt his hollow body reverse back into a human.

Her skin smoothed out into smooth white skin, long white hair fell from her bald head, and her eyes were bright gold. She had good muscle mass as she was quite tall for a woman, but she was a warrior and a different type of human than the one he used to be.

She also had a gnarly scar going from her shoulder up to her cheek. Adrian felt it suited her as he had scars as well from his time on the battlefield. And last time he checked, he could still feel them there.

"I did not expect you to look half decent."

She did not know how to take that.

"Thanks, I guess."

She looked at her reflection on her shield and tried to see if she could remember anything from her past. She looked into her amber eyes and long white hair. She tied it into a ponytail as she put her helmet back on.

Adrian looked at his soul count and what stats he needed to boost. His carry weight was fine as he was built differently, but better stats would be better in anything.

<Souls Count: 219,400>

He looked at the Bonefire and asked the system something.

'System, do I have to use the Bonefire, or is there a difference between you and it?'

<No difference at all. The host can use the system or Bonefire when needed.>

'Good to know.'

-Race: Fume Knight/Lord

Class; Fume Knight/ Dragon Tamer.

-Vitality: 65

-Attunement: 65

-Endurance: 65

-Strength: 65

-Dexterity: 65

-Resistance: 65

-Intelligence: 65

-Faith: 65

<45 Level Ups Available.>

Seeing his stats at the start made him curious about something.

'What is my level cap?'

<Humans 99 have a level cap of per stat. As Fume Knight, your will be 200.>

'And I assume it will be expensive?'

<Affirmative. >

'Shit. Well alright then, put 20 to strength, 20 to dexterity, and 5 to vitality.'

Once he did that he felt the system break down 219,000 souls into pure energy which was used to refine him to become even stronger. His muscles and bones grew stronger while also becoming more nimble and flexible.

He felt slightly healthier if he could call it that as well, but he felt greater than ever. Even with his muscular body, he would never become slow and he even felt like his body was more efficient.

His organs and body worked better in every way. He groaned with how great he felt right now as he stretched his limbs. He flexed his giant body as he moved his shoulders around. It was like he was even more of a tank than before.

Not to mention his other half, the Symbol of his connection to Cain, the wolf emerged once more. It was linked to his soul and after his own soul grew stronger so did the wolf. It grew larger and more corporeal. 

With a roar the wolf entered his body as he felt himself grow whole once again. He popped his neck and he knew he was going to follow up with more vitality. His end goal was to be able to regenerate from even losing his head.

"Now this is amazing."

Seraphine went to the bonfire and used her soul to level up as well. She looked at him as he sat down on a large stone waiting for her to finish.

"I will increase my strength so I can fight better with this heavy gear."

He removed his helmet and rested it on his knee.

"Do as you will, but plan ahead. Will you follow me around forever or will you stake your own path? I do not mind either way, but it is my mission to put Gwyn to rest and let the fire fade."

"Hahahaahaha, good one. You might just be able to pull it off. I heard you being Gwyn's grandson." 

Adrian turned to the laughing Crestfallen warrior who slumped against a wall. The warrior looked at both of them and more importantly looked right at Adrian.

"I overheard you earlier. So you are a Fume Knight, are you? Been a long long time since your kind vanished. Now you come back as an undead? The world is going to shit?"

Adrian squinted his eyes looking at him.

"You could say that. Now, what are you doing slumped on a wall? You are a warrior are you not? Stand on your feet and fight or go hollow." 

The warrior sighs as he looks around.

"Can't. I am already on my last legs and I will go hollow in time. Now, you two look in better spirits than I do. Just do as you will and do your duty. Fume Knights were heroes before the world went to shit."

Seraphine who finished with her leveling walks up to Adrian as she looks at the Crestfallen warrior.

"You going to come along or will you just sit there? A warrior does not let their back hit the ground, so stand and come with us."

The man simply scoffed.

"I will sit."

Adrian rested his greatsword next to him and started thinking about where he would go first. There are a few options right now as he could go to the catacombs, or he might go to the Valley of Drakes. He could tame them, but it did not seem like a worthwhile investment. However, the Drake in the Undead Berg would be a good starting mount.

It would make traversing this place a whole lot easier. Despite that, this was now the real world and not a game so he had to play it smart. As he was thinking Seraphine glanced at the greatsword he placed down on the ground next to him and sneaked up to it. She had just gotten stronger so she felt she just might be able to lift that sword.

She grabbed the handle and tried to lift it off the ground, but she couldn't even make it budge. Adrian glances down at her still trying to lift it with her meager strength. She felt it start to go in the air and felt she had managed to pick it up, but she noticed she went off the ground. Adrian chuckled at how funny it looked.

"Nice try."

She let go and landed on her feet. She looked a little annoyed, so he patted her on the back. She felt her back hurt as she rubbed her back even more annoyed.

"Don't worry about it. Not everyone can lift a weapon of this caliber."

"Well, I want to one day."

"You just might."

First, he started to walk toward the location of the chests and loot to see if he could find them. As a Dark Souls veteran, you hoard and collect every single shiny first. Seraphine looked as he found chests, soul items, firebombs, and humanities.

She followed him as he taught her some of his knowledge from the days when he played this game like it was religion. He went through the elevator shaft as he jumped down it. When places got too small for him he simply shrunk down to a more manageable height.

When they arrived at the three chests she looked at them with interest.

"Here is a good lesson, find every short cut and you might find loot someone left behind."

"Why would there be random chests and loot here?"

He shrugged.

"Someone must have left it behind. Anyways, let's see what we got."

He found homeward bones, a Morning Star which he gave the Seraphine, and more loot. She had her sword she looted so she just kept it as a weapon for tight places. Once he had grabbed everything in his memory she was looking at him with curiosity.

At first glance, he seemed like a brute, but he was smart. Now they were standing overlooking the graveyard. Adrian wanted to see how it differed from the game and he already got his answer. The skeletons were not fragile animated skeletons, as they looked like skeleton knights.

Their bones were black, they had a green fire for eyes, and were standing like a proper fighting force. He counted about 50 of them and that was just what he could see above ground. Seraphine looked up at him as she waited for what he would do.

"How do we do this?'

Adrian paused as he looked at those skeletons.

"We will fight head will hou charge in behind us. You should come along as a saying we had in the order. 'Only through battle can one's worth be measured.'

"You have a lot of respect for your order?"

He nodded as the system directly filled him in on the information on this alternative self he took over. 

"Course I do. Now get ready."

She was interested in hearing that story, but he was most interested as he was experiencing it firsthand. She looked up as he jumped down toward the skeleton knights along with that spiritual wolf.

She charged right next to him as the stationary knights moved the moment they saw them. They moved nimbly and rapidly as they moved in a strange formation.

In the back was a shaman who began to chant in a raspy voice to Nito. Adrian did not ignore it and ignited his whole body in flames and lightning as he saw 10 skeleton knights surge toward him.

4 of them lept into the air while the other 6 ran around him like he was some beast. However, the airborne skeletons were simply sitting ducks as he cut their heads off with his longsword.

In the same movement, he kicked one of the knights in the face turning it into bone shards. As for his Wolf Aspect, the wolf roared and charged into a gathering of Skelaton Knites and killed their very souls with a swipe of its claws. 

Seraphine faced 10 more, but she used her shield and Morningstar to fight them. She had to be careful as she did not want to die early. She focused on her opponents while Adrian swung down with the Fume Knight greatsword. He smashed it through the tower shield of one and killed it. He was stronger and faster and he moved like a nimble giant that made him feel like a Custodes.

Adrian drew on the power of his Lord Soul as more lightning began to cover his body. If he was the Son of the Nameless King he should have this power and he did. He fused this with his flames and flamming lightning surged all around him burning the skeleton knights down.

He stopped once they were all dead and was quite satisfied. Of course, he had a lot to learn from his new abilities as Giants had to have some power unique to them. He just had to find out what it was.

"That was not so bad."

Next to him, the wolf seemed to at last find joy now that they were not crippled any longer. They turned to Seraphine who kept parrying and smashing with her Morningstar with care.

She was facing 8 now as she had managed to behead 4, but now she was struggling. She was being swarmed and she did not have Adrian's overwhelming power so he helped her out. He sent in the wolf who helped her out. 

<Each 50 600 one is worth souls, a total of were killed. 30,000 souls gained.>

"FUCK!"

Seraphine sat down on a grave and drank some estus.

"That was rough."

Adrian did not notice as he picked up the Zweighthander which looked like a toothpick in his hands. He grew back to his full height and handed it over to Seraphine as he had his equipment and was not going to change it out.

It was hand created by Death so he would not change it for anything.

"You can have it. Might do you some good."

She grabbed it and could barely wield it. She could swing it with both hands as she needed more strength.

"Thanks, but can you store it in your magic thing or whatever? I can't wield this."

She did not have an Endless box and thought he had a magic spell to store things. He nodded and took it back to put in his inventory. Once he finished looting this place for all it was worth he started to head toward the Undead Berg. There he would test out his Dragon Tamer class on the Drake.

If it did not work he would just kill it for the souls as he wanted Kalameet to be honest. That was a dragon worth taming he knew how powerful it was. Not only did Anor Londo not dare fight him, but they even feared him. Either way, he had more souls to use, but he would use them when he found a safer place to do so.

They went up the stairs as they killed the weak surrounding hollows for souls. It did not take much as they entered the Undead Berg. Any souls were good as he would a crap tone to reach the max soul level. Plus if he could bring Seraphine out of this world along with Solair he would have good friends. At their strongest, they would both be worth the investment if they could also max level in the other worlds.

As they walked through the sewer Adrian was planning things for the future. However, as they walked Seraphine noticed something.

"Why are these corridors so big? They seem to be up to your height?"

He shook his head.

"I have no idea, but I appreciate it."

When they came out into the Undead Berg they were swarmed not by mindless hollows, but by knights. Real human knights and they were armed to the teeth as they had all of their weapons drawn and aimed at him. He was already at max height so they were wary of him.

"Halt. Identify yourselves before we are forced to deal with you."

'This is different.'

He looked at all of the knights as Seraphine came out next to him. They pointed their bows and their spears at her as well. A lead knight walked out and looked at Adrian in shock as he ran out and kneeled in front of him with his face hitting the ground.

"By Lord Gwyn. A Fume Knight. You yet live. I always believed your order was not extinct. Please, forgive my knights, my lord. Spare them."

'This is even more different.'

Adrian removed his helmet as he looked at the kneeling knight before he patted him on the shoulder. He would play along with the backstory the system made for him.

"Stand knight. Do not kneel simply explain what has occurred."

The knight looks up with pure reverence when he saw Adrian's eyes. Those black sclera only the Fume Knight order have the armor, the weapons. He remembers them like it was yesterday.

"Ages past my life was saved by a Fume Knight by the name of Raime. Your service to Lord Gwyn has never been forgotten, my Lord."

Adrian was quite happy to have this backstory, so he thanked the system even more for this. Sometimes a good system was just what you needed.

Next chapter