Create a body...
Staring at the fragment Lloyd showed her, Melina fell silent.
She had followed Lloyd to Castle Morne. Although she didn't go in with him—knowing the toll it would take on a spirit body to move and fight—she still understood the general situation. After they regrouped, he had filled her in on what happened.
As for a physical body...
Truthfully, it wasn't like Melina didn't want one. That was impossible. After all, just existing and moving around as a spirit in the physical world caused wear and tear. Combat consumed even more energy. If she had a body, it wouldn't just be about minimizing loss—she...
Melina stayed quiet for a long time, then shook her head.
"I don't have plans for that, at least for now."
"Alright, just let me know if you change your mind."
Lloyd didn't press. He had only asked on a whim. If she wasn't interested, he wouldn't force it. Besides...
"Here, take this."
He put the fragment away, switched to his main account, and handed her a clump of souls.
Melina didn't refuse. She took it, and, like eating candy, popped the soul clump into her mouth to recover from her recent energy loss.
It wasn't the first time she had accepted soul clumps from Lloyd since the underground catacombs. In fact, ever since learning about her condition—and with little room left for improving his main arsenal—Lloyd had taken to feeding her souls every so often. He was hesitant at first, but by now, both he and Melina had gotten used to it.
Of course, Lloyd hadn't forgotten the others. He also fed the ashes of the Finger Maiden he'd found back in the starting area.
However, perhaps due to the maiden's soul being weaker than Melina's, after a few feeds, the [Incomplete Finger Maiden Ashes] gained a +1 mark. When summoned again, she was still sluggish, but there was definitely more clarity in her gaze.
Maybe, with enough feeding, she could return to normal?
Lloyd wasn't sure. To be safe, he planned to follow Melina's earlier suggestion: find a "Spirit Tuner" and let a professional take a look.
The problem was—as mentioned before—Spirit Tuners were hard to find in the Lands Between.
After completing the letter delivery side quest, Lloyd resumed exploring. Despite covering a lot of ground and collecting various things, he found no Spirit Tuner—no clues, nothing.
He wandered, combed maps, hunted monsters, and farmed Runes...
Chatted with Alice and Melina when idle, spent evenings attending Sellen's lectures, and even found time to visit Kalé and Boc.
As for White Mask Varré? Who was that? Didn't really know the guy.
As for what he found during his explorations...
A Great Turtle Shell, a Demi-Human Queen's Staff, the sorcery "Crystal Burst"...
A set of Demi-Human Ashes, Lhutel the Headless's Ashes, and a Memory Stone—earned after solving a puzzle in a sorcerer's tower—that increased his memory slots...
Of course, that wasn't everything. He also picked up plenty of Rune items and similar loot, which he tucked away after a glance.
One item worth mentioning was Lhutel the Headless's Ashes.
According to the witch Ranni, the Spirit Calling Bell summoned "Spirit Ashes that did not return to the Erdtree," allowing them to be summoned. But the description for Lhutel's ashes said: "She was rewarded and returned to the tree as a hero"...
Maybe it was a special case? Or maybe something went wrong with the "returning to the tree"?
Lloyd didn't know, but he didn't dwell on it. After confirming the ashes worked properly, he moved on.
Aside from that, he found something odd during his exploration...
"Teacher Sellen?"
After clearing out the small fry on the surface and heading into the basement, Lloyd froze when he saw the person sealed inside.
But this "Teacher Sellen" didn't seem to recognize him. No matter what he said, she only responded with a couple of vague "hng-aah" sounds, like an NPC stuck on a fixed dialogue loop.
"Oh, that one? That's my original body."
After spending a few days together, Sellen and Lloyd had grown fairly close, and she now trusted this foolish disciple—though not when it came to his brains or comprehension.
"The me here, you could call it a kind of 'clone.' But unlike a regular clone, I've transferred my main consciousness into it."
"Then your real body…"
"Sealed away."
Sellen shook her head.
"After the Carian bunch exiled me, they still weren't satisfied. They got people to seal me up and even posted a bunch of puppets to guard the place. I thought they'd at least be more thorough about it, but turns out no one ever checks on it. So, I whipped up a phantom and slipped out. What's left there is just a sliver of my consciousness, enough to keep up appearances."
No wonder that Sellen only made weird humming noises...
Lloyd nodded.
"Do you want me to help break the seal?"
"No need to bother."
Sellen shook her head again.
"Putting aside whether you're even capable of it, ask yourself this—why do you think those Carian idiots chose to seal me instead of killing me outright?"
"Why?"
"Because of fate."
She then started saying all sorts of cryptic things—how "the stars and the Carian royal family are bound by destiny" and "General Radahn sealed the stars and, with them, fate itself."
Lloyd didn't really get it, but he at least understood one thing: Sellen had no plans to leave the seal and didn't need his help.
As things were now, she was content to stay here, do her research, study the stars, and teach her apprentice.
Of course, it would be even better if this dumb apprentice of hers wasn't constantly pushing her to the edge every night during lessons.
"By the way, aren't you a Tarnished?" Sellen asked suddenly.
Lloyd nodded. "Yeah. Why?"
"Then… can you see the Guidance of Grace?"
"I can."
"It's actually normal if you can't… wait, you said you can see it?"
Sellen froze for a second, then scanned Lloyd from head to toe with a highly suspicious look.
What? This blockhead of an apprentice can actually see the Guidance?
Though she was a Glintstone sorcerer with limited knowledge of the Golden Order or faith-based practices, Sellen still knew a few things.
The Guidance of Grace was controlled by some higher power. Being able to see it implied, in a way, that one had received that power's "acknowledgment."
Now that the Elden Ring was shattered, more and more Tarnished were losing the ability to perceive that guidance—so being able to see it carried even more weight.
At least, that's what she had gathered.
She'd originally assumed her dim-witted disciple was just like the others—unable to see the Guidance. She had planned to use that as a reason to persuade him to stay by her side.
But now...
Sellen fell silent for a while, then shook her head.
"Just being able to see the Guidance doesn't mean much. Those who are truly recognized are invited to the Roundtable Hold…"
"Oh, I went there a couple of days ago. The people inside did seem... kinda alive."
Sellen: "...?"
Wait, the Roundtable Hold doesn't screen people anymore?
She knew someone she absolutely despised who used to be part of the Roundtable Hold. Out of curiosity, she'd looked into it. She wouldn't call herself an expert, but she knew the basics. Not everyone there was some kind of prodigy, but at least they were all major players.
But her disciple...
"Are you sure you weren't scammed?"
That was the only explanation Sellen could think of.
"Pretty sure I wasn't."
Lloyd shook his head.
"The place was definitely big, with a massive Site of Grace in the middle. I even ran into this guy who called himself the 'All-Knowing.' Talked a bunch of nonsense, but when I asked, turns out he didn't even have a single Great Rune on him..."
Sellen: "..."
She might not know everyone in the Hold, but she'd definitely heard of the All-Knowing.
After all, that detestable man Seluvis—someone she really couldn't stand—had once been part of the Roundtable Hold, and he had... well...
Let's just say he and the All-Knowing had some history.
It had nothing to do with her, but it was enough to confirm that her dumb apprentice had made it to the real Roundtable Hold, not some fake knockoff.
"Teacher, are you okay?"
"I'm fine." Sellen sat down, pressing a hand to her forehead. "That's enough for today's lesson. Go on, I'd like some time alone."
"Got it."
Lloyd didn't know what had just happened, but since Sellen said so, he didn't stick around. After leaving her hidden basement, he resumed exploring the map.
It took some time to finish clearing the rest of the Weeping Peninsula. He even took down a fat boss called the "Erdtree Avatar." In a half-ruined church, he listened to Melina share some "Queen Marika's teachings."
After another quick sweep to make sure he hadn't missed anything, Lloyd returned to Limgrave and followed the Guidance of Grace northward.
He pushed past the checkpoint's forward outpost, cleared the small fry inside, and then headed up the slope to the left—where he found an Evergaol.
Inside, he encountered a creature called the "Crucible Knight."
There was something familiar about the fight—especially that tail whip attack. It reminded him of a bootleg version of the Misbegotten.
Since he'd already fought the real deal, this one didn't give him much trouble.
After defeating it, along with some Runes and a prayer called [Aspects of the Crucible: Tail], he also received a notification.
[Crucible Fragment has changed.]
When he checked, the [Crucible Fragment] in his inventory had become [Crucible Fragment +1].
"Collect more fragments to unlock higher-tier crafting. For example, with that knight just now—once you upgrade to a Great Fragment and get the matching crafting note, you can make one yourself."
Alice popped up to explain.
Wait, this crafting system goes that far? You can even craft bosses?
Surprised, Lloyd stored the fragment and continued exploring.
He hadn't walked far before he came across a rundown shack.
Inside, he found a Site of Grace—and a figure sitting next to it.
It was a girl in a red hood.