[Item Name: Remembrance of the Frenzied Flame Soldier]
[Carved by the Erdtree, this is the remembrance of the Frenzied Flame Soldier.]
[With the guidance of the Finger Reader, you can obtain the power of the one remembered. If used directly, it grants a large number of Runes.]
[The appearance of the Frenzied Flame is usually a harbinger of misfortune and despair—but this time, it has come to welcome a kindred spirit from afar.]
[Perhaps, as it once said—]
[The instinct of flame is to devour flame.]
Item Name: Frenzied Flame Greatsword
[Originally just an ordinary greatsword, it gained incredible power after being tainted by the Frenzied Flame.]
[Engraved on the blade is a small inscription:]
["I sincerely look forward to our next meeting."]
[Ash of War: Howl of Shabriri]
[Unleash a roar of despair to increase your attack power, but slowly build up frenzy.]
Remembrance? Frenzied Flame? Frenzy buildup?
Staring at the new items that had appeared in his inventory after defeating that strange being, Lloyd thought for a moment, then simply drew the Frenzied Flame Greatsword and tested out its Ash of War.
"So this is frenzy..."
After some testing, Lloyd realized that frenzy buildup functioned like bleeding or frostbite—an abnormal status effect. Once the bar filled, it would cause a loss of both HP and FP and leave the character briefly staggered.
The HP and FP loss wasn't severe, so relying on it for damage wasn't practical—it was faster to just swing a heavy weapon.
But the real problem was the brief stagger.
As any Souls player knows, enemies hit hard. Unless you specifically build resistance, a boss can down you in two or three hits. From the weapon's description and how that weird creature behaved, Lloyd figured even basic attacks might trigger frenzy buildup.
If he got hit, the damage might not be high, but if the enemy landed a couple of hits during his stagger or followed up with a grab, his health bar could be wiped out in an instant.
On top of that, the thing moved like it was teleporting, had lightning-fast attacks, and struck before it even finished talking...
Looking back on it, Lloyd suddenly realized—the opponent wasn't weak at all. It was probably a tough enemy.
Its only real flaw might've been its short health bar. When it rushed him, he instinctively raised his shield and parried, and because his stats were so high, the counter killed it instantly.
Damn, I should've drawn that fight out...
Now that he realized the enemy had been strong, Lloyd felt a bit of regret.
It was the first boss he'd encountered in this world—he should've let it show off a bit more so he could learn how battles worked here. Judging from what it had said, that thing might've only been a clone. If he had to face it again later, and it had better stats, he might struggle without knowing its patterns.
Besides that, he also noticed something strange: after defeating it, the number of Runes in his Elden Ring system didn't increase. Instead, the Soul count in the Dark Soul system went up by 5,000.
"Though these two systems are similar, they function independently and don't interact. Whichever law you use to defeat an enemy, the corresponding power increases within that law."
The blonde girl had appeared again out of nowhere.
Since he'd already experienced this once, Lloyd wasn't surprised. He thought for a moment, then asked,
"So, if I want to strengthen one system, I have to stick with it in battle and not use powers from the other?"
He didn't know exactly what "law" meant, but from her explanation, it sounded like the system.
"You can think of it that way."
In that case...
After a moment of thought, Lloyd made his decision.
He'd stick to using the Elden Ring system for now. His other build had already hit a wall, and if things got tough, he could always switch over.
More importantly, during his recent fight with that strange being, he noticed something: even though the systems were separate, they could be used together.
In game terms, it was like equipping a weapon with stat scaling—the weapon could benefit from the attributes of both the Dark Souls and Elden Ring systems. Buffs, enhancements, damage reduction—everything stacked when both systems were active...
That was terrifying.
At the moment, the Elden system's bonuses weren't all that impressive—practically nonexistent. The most he got was maybe one extra point of damage on executions.
But what about later?
Once he maxed out his stats, collected all kinds of armor and weapons, stacked up buffs and miracles, and then activated both systems at once...
He couldn't even imagine how insane that would be.
Of course, that was a matter for the future.
Right now? Forget about max level or full gear—he didn't even have a Fire Keeper around who could help him level up.
The few Runes in his pocket were just scraps from killing a couple of grunts.
"Anyway, let's get out of here first."
After one final sweep of the cave to make sure there were no hidden items or secrets, Lloyd jumped through the exit and returned to where he had first fallen.
As for all that weird stuff the strange guy said during the fight? Things like "kin," "Chaos Flame," and "so that's how it is"...
Of course he was curious, but he'd barely been in this world for a day. He couldn't understand what the guy was talking about, let alone remember it.
But he was used to it.
Same old story—Souls games never run short on cryptic weirdos.
If he had to waste time deciphering riddles every day, he might as well just swing his sword and be done with it.
Back at the place where he had initially fallen, Lloyd searched the cave one last time to make sure nothing was left behind. Then he looked up toward the nearby door.
He stepped forward, climbed the stairs, and pushed open the wooden door. Outside was a corridor-like structure that looked like a tomb, with torches on the walls burning with white flames.
Right in front of him was a Site of Grace, glowing like the golden human-shaped aura he'd seen earlier. To the right was a ledge that looked jumpable, but a thin fog gate blocked the way. When he approached and touched it, a system prompt popped up:
[This area is sealed by an Imp.]
Imp?
Lloyd scanned the area and saw two odd-looking statues stacked together not far away. He approached, studying them carefully. One had a sword-like object stabbed into its head. The other had a hollow socket in the same spot.
When he reached out and touched it, another prompt appeared:
[Not enough Stonesword Keys.]
So that path was blocked for now.
Still, while checking the area, he noticed a corpse beside the Imp statues. A small glowing item rested on it.
He stepped closer and picked it up. His inventory updated with three items: "Tarnished's Furled Finger," "Furlcalling Finger Remedy," and "Finger Severer."
After a bit of testing, he figured out what they did.
Leave messages, summon help, and kick out co-op players...
It was all a bit too familiar. Just a fresh coat of paint on the same old systems.
He stashed the items away, gave the area another once-over to ensure he hadn't missed anything, and then activated the Site of Grace.
Then he moved on—and something even more familiar came into view.
A circular lift base with a raised platform in the center...
Lloyd paused, then stepped on it.
Just as expected, the mechanism activated, and the elevator began to rise.
As the familiar sensation of ascending filled him, any lingering doubt in Lloyd's mind completely vanished.
This was Dark Souls.
The elevator came to a stop. Lloyd arrived on the upper level, facing a large iron door.
He looked around. No other paths. He checked for hidden routes—nothing. Then he stepped up to the iron door, grabbed its base, and pushed it open.
Clang—
Soft sunlight streamed in through the widening gap, slowly creeping upward.
When the light finally bathed his entire body, the door finished lifting. The outside world unfolded before him at last.
Rocks, sunshine, a gentle breeze.
Grass, trees, and small animals wandering about.
Staring at the vibrant, peaceful world before him, Lloyd froze, eyes wide.
For a long moment, he just stood there.
Then he sighed.
"Holy crap… Majula."