Near Raya Lucaria Academy in Liurnia of the Lakes lies one of the lowest regions in all of the Lands Between, and also the home of the world's largest freshwater lake.
What makes this place so unique is the astonishing number of glintstone ore veins buried beneath it; the magic emanating from these ores permeates the air, causing the animals living here to undergo significant mutations.
In this region, the most powerful wild creatures are undoubtedly the lobsters.
They possess astonishing size, reaching five meters in height and tens of meters in length, along with a pair of incredibly hard, steel-like giant claws, and can even spray high-pressure water jets.
These lobsters once struck fear into countless Tarnished, becoming an enduring nightmare in their hearts.
Hundreds of thousands of Tarnished met their demise here daily, earning the lobsters the esteemed title of "Prawn Bro King."
They are recognized, along with Rune Bears and chariots, as the Lands Between's three strongest Tarnished killers.
Watching the lobsters foraging below, Xiao's damned competitive spirit suddenly flared up, and he decided to challenge this renowned "Prawn Bro King."
He picked up his Godslayer's Greatsword and bravely charged toward the giant lobster, beginning his battle with it.
Splat~~~
The massive spiral greatsword smashed into the "Prawn Bro King's" head.
However, although Xiao easily slew the giant lobster, after assessing it, he found that the "Prawn Bro King's" strength was equivalent to that of a cultivator in the early Foundation Establishment stage; the "Prawn Bro King's" combat power was indeed somewhat outrageous.
Especially the power of its high-pressure water jets, which was comparable to a waterjet cutting machine; ordinary steel could be pierced in a single blow, and one could be instantly killed if not careful.
However, before Xiao could marvel further, an even more miraculous thing happened: the lobster Xiao killed completely decayed and disappeared within just a few minutes, leaving behind only a small amount of fresh lobster meat and a few hundred runes, which remained on the spot as Grace.
"This is the fundamental principle of the Golden Order!"
Xiao stepped forward, opened the Erdtree's Grace, and looked at the runes in his hand, which resembled gold coins, with some disbelief.
He never expected that a mechanic from the game would actually be the fundamental principle of the Golden Order; this was truly amazing.
When the lobster is killed, its flesh and soul are returned to the Erdtree by Grace.
And part of the Grace and flesh within it are left behind as a reward for the warrior who killed the lobster.
The Golden Order actually encourages mutual combat and slaughter to continuously create stronger warriors.
However, Xiao quickly discovered that he could not use the runes; in his hands, they could only serve as currency and could not be transformed into his own power.
This reminded Xiao of some plots from the original work: originally, after the Tarnished obtained runes, they could not directly convert them into power.
It was only with the guidance of a Finger Maiden that they gained the ability to level up.
In other words, even with an abundance of runes, without the help of a Finger Maiden, their effects cannot be utilized.
Does that mean that in the Lands Between, the Two Fingers and their Finger Maidens have firmly grasped the world's channels of advancement?
Everyone can only convert the runes in their possession into actual power through their guidance.
Thus, a logical paradox emerged:
The lower class wants to rise, so they must become stronger.
To become stronger, they can only rely on the Finger Maidens.
To receive the Finger Maidens' help, one must become a lackey of the Fingers.
Looking at it this way, although the Empyrean Marika became the deity of the Lands Between, established the Golden Order, and occupied the highest position of power,
even though Marika held such a lofty status, true authority was not in her hands, but controlled by the Two Fingers, who monopolized all paths of ascension.
The Two Fingers controlled the discourse of the entire world's lower, grassroots, middle, and even upper classes.
Apart from Marika's demigod offspring, no one could refuse the Two Fingers' commands, because refusal meant losing the future possibility of becoming stronger.
It can be said that in the Lands Between, if the Two Fingers and Marika issued conflicting decrees, everyone in the Lands Between would unhesitatingly follow the Two Fingers' commands and disregard Marika's instructions.
To be honest, being such a god is truly frustrating!
If Xiao were in such a situation, he would probably flip the table just like Marika! After all, who wants to be led around by the nose?
Since the Two Fingers refused to let Marika have her way, then everyone would just stop playing!
Thus, a "flaw" appeared in the Golden Order, making it difficult to maintain its original causal cycle, and the Elden Ring shattered as a result.
Marika's offspring all obtained Great Runes, became demigods, and initiated a prolonged, endless chaotic war.
In this chaotic war, there was no ultimate victor, because it was an endless vortex of conflict.
Chaos is a ladder for climbing upward.
This famous quote runs throughout A Song of Ice and Fire.
And how could Elden Ring, from the same author, deviate from this truth?
When the Golden Order collapsed and the demigods engaged in fierce chaotic warfare, all that remained was a stalemate—an unending stalemate.
The entire world also completely decayed and declined in the war; people no longer believed in the Two Fingers, nor did they hold them in awe.
There even emerged Volcano Manor, which hunted Finger Maidens and cultivated the power of the Great Serpent, as well as the Mohgwyn Dynasty, which hunted blood and pain.
Faced with such a situation, the Two Fingers had no choice but to recall the Tarnished who had been banished by Marika and invite them to return.
Their purpose was to break this lifeless world, have the Tarnished repair the Elden Ring, ascend to the throne of Elden Lord, restart the world's operation, and thereby restore their ruling position.
However, after the Tarnished reclaimed several Great Runes, defeated Radagon and the Elden Beast, and repaired the Elden Ring, the world was still referred to by people as entering the next era of decline, which shows the dissatisfaction of all beings with the rule of the Two Fingers.
…
…
Having finished his thoughts, Xiao put away the runes gifted by the Prawn Bro King and did not linger on the road, but continued advancing toward the center of Liurnia.
Whatever the truth was, it had no impact on Xiao.
He just wanted to find the Glintstone Key and kill all those arrogant mages in the academy.
As Xiao advanced, his keen eyes immediately spotted the true ruler residing within this lake, and also one of the strongest creatures in the Lands Between, the Glintstone Dragon Smarag.
If Xiao's memory was correct, the only Glintstone Key capable of entering the Academy in the Lands Between was currently in the dragon's lair, having become one of Smarag's treasures.
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