Rya wiped her mouth, mentally double-checking the instructions her lady mother had given her. Was there anything she had missed?
"Right, there is one more thing I forgot to mention—something I personally wanted to tell you both. In the Liurnia region, one could originally travel to and from the Altus Plateau via the Grand Lift of Dectus at the end of the main road. However, ever since the Shattering reached a stalemate, the lift has not operated for a long time. The road has fallen into disrepair and has been cut off by the Academy."
Rya pointed her finger toward a specific spot on the map, indicating a ravine.
"If you wish to reach the Altus Plateau, you can take the path through the Ruin-Strewn Precipice. Those ancient ruins are located at the bottom of the valley next to the Grand Lift; it's an old mining tunnel."
She traced the location for them.
"They say it was a tunnel excavated from both directions—Liurnia and Altus—simultaneously. I hope this helps you on your journey to the plateau. I shall await your arrival there."
The Prawn Bro listened quietly to the conversation. As expected, both of them are Tarnished aiming for the throne. While he could largely ignore the bald one, the other warrior gave him the impression of having immense potential.
He recalled the nightmare-ish figure he had encountered back when he was locked in the gaol. He wondered if the warrior before him would ever have the chance to reach the Royal Capital and deal with that monster.
The four gathered around the cauldron were each lost in their own thoughts. Once the second pot of prawns had been mostly polished off, Gawain patted his armor and stood up.
"Alright, I've had my fill. I have matters to attend to, so I'll be taking my leave."
Seeing that there was still plenty of daylight, he didn't want to linger. There was still much to be done today.
"Eh? Leaving so soon? Well then, I'll gladly take the rest of these prawns for myself!"
Patches lunged forward, trying to snatch the remaining crayfish from the pot, but the Prawn Bro immediately swiped the cauldron away and placed it in front of Rya.
"Did you pay for those? You're a grown man trying to steal food from a little girl. Shove off, shove off!"
The Prawn Bro could tell that Gawain cared for the girl named Rya. Having received such a generous payment, he naturally felt he should show some courtesy. As for the bald guy, he could go die in a ditch for all he cared.
"Huh? But I'm already full..." Rya looked a bit confused at the thug's sudden change in attitude. He must have been disciplined quite severely earlier, she thought. Since her necklace was back in her hands, she decided to let bygones be bygones.
"See? Rya said she's full! So the rest should go to me, right?"
"Heh, keep dreaming. These are all mine now." The Prawn Bro spitefully ate the remaining prawns himself, leaving not a single one for Patches. Then, he turned back to Rya.
"Ahem. Miss Rya, are you heading back to the Altus Plateau?"
"More or less. I believe I've completed the recruitment task my mistress gave me. As I said, it's time to head back to Altus and wait for good news."
"That works out perfectly. I'm heading toward Altus myself. Since we're going the same way, we might as well travel together. After all, the road isn't exactly safe."
Rya was about to say that there were always Recusant brothers nearby and that she could simply teleport back to the Manor if things got dire. But then she thought about those delicious prawns. Her heart swayed, and she eventually agreed.
"Then I'm coming with you too! I've got my invitation, so I'm officially a member of Volcano Manor now. Naturally, I have to go to Altus as well."
Patches joined the group as well. Having two companions would make the trip safer; if things got ugly, he could just throw the thug in front of him and focus on keeping Rya safe. He could see that while Rya called herself a recruiter, that necklace proved she was close to Lady Tanith. If he got on Rya's good side, he'd have a direct line to the top. Why wouldn't he take that deal?
"Then the three of you stay safe on the road. If you run into any trouble you can't handle, head to Stormveil Castle and ask for help. I'm off."
Gawain remembered that in the game, one could summon the Prawn Bro and Millicent for help at the Ruin-Strewn Precipice. This lined up perfectly with their route. These three should be fine. Volcano Manor was still a long way off for him, so he departed.
Watching Gawain's retreating back, the Prawn Bro rubbed his chin thoughtfully.
"So that warrior is from Stormveil? No wonder that armor looks a bit like the Banished Knights'."
Patches' lip twitched. He knew exactly who that "warrior" was, but he kept his mouth shut. It wasn't his business.
Gawain rode Torrent toward the cliffs on the left, searching for the cave in his memory. It shouldn't be far from the shack. Before long, he noticed something and slowed down.
Using his telescope, he looked ahead. A group of patrollers had appeared—the very same Albinaurics he had seen from a distance earlier, the ones confronting the Cuckoo Knights in front of the Academy Gate Town.
He hadn't had the chance to observe them closely before, but now he did. They had rounded heads and bodies, with large, dark, shining eyes. Their skin was a reflective silvery-white. Most wore simple, tattered rags, while a few larger individuals were bare-chested. They carried crude weapons—mostly wooden clubs and shields, or "large clubs" for the stronger ones.
Albinaurics were artificial lifeforms, beings not recognized as "living" by most residents of the Lands Between. According to the lore he knew, they were created by the Academy of Raya Lucaria using lost techniques from the Nox dynasty.
The "Albinauric blood" flowing through them likely shared a common source with Silver Tears. The first-generation Albinaurics weren't so bad; they at least had human forms and the same capabilities as normal people, including speech. They even had specialties like magic and archery—especially their archery, which was incredibly high-level (he mentally "praised" the ultimate snipers of Ordina, Liturgical Town).
However, the first generation had a massive flaw: they were born with defective legs. As they aged, their legs would wither until they were paralyzed. To maintain mobility in battle, they would tame and ride direwolves.
The frog-like Albinaurics in front of him, however, were the second generation.
The second-gen Albinaurics were created as cheap, expendable combat units. They usually appeared in large groups, like the mass of them found on the road to the "Blood Bank." Because of the lack of investment in their creation, their appearance, individual strength, and modeling were all subpar. To save on costs, they were even denied the ability to speak.
They were essentially the "untouchables" of the Lands Between, and it was quite pitiable. Any faction that showed them a modicum of kindness would see them flocking to serve, much like those currently loyal to the Carian Royal Family—though they were often tricked into places like the Mohgwyn Palace to be harvested.
This group of Albinaurics was wading through the lake water in a procession. It was strange; logically, they should still be some distance from the actual combat zone.
He waited a moment and soon discovered the anomaly, his pupils shrinking in shock. The Albinaurics ahead merged with another group of their kin, forming a circle around a woman lying on the ground.
The woman was already a corpse. Though her face was pale, she still possessed a normal human appearance. She wore the attire typical of the first generation, and a bow lay discarded beside her. This was a first-generation Albinauric who had met an unfortunate end.
The second-gen Albinaurics were surrounding her to protect her body, performing motions of mourning. It seemed that despite their wildly different appearances, they still recognized each other as kin.
Gawain sighed. He could only hope that corpse wasn't the one he was looking for. He could see that the fatal wound on the archer had come from a massive weapon—she and her wolf companion had practically been sliced in half. The culprits were likely the very people he was thinking of.
Continuing along the cliffside, he finally discovered a hidden cave obscured by glintstone crystals. This was the Lakeside Crystal Cave, the path that led to Latenna in the game. Regardless of the situation, he had to check it out.
Dismissing Torrent, he cast Starlight above his head, illuminating the dark cavern. There were already lit torches inside; judging by the footprints, many people had passed through here recently.
"Wait. I sense a familiar scent. This is the specific aura of an Omenkiller."
Melina crouched down to examine the marks in the dirt. She was certain; only an Omenkiller would leave such traces.
"Omenkillers? Seems it's more than just that. What are so many people doing hiding in here?"
Gawain knew he was likely a bit late. Most of the people who had been hiding here had already left. Without further delay, he pressed forward along the winding path.
He leaped down from a height, the storm surrounding him cushioning his fall. The gust also flipped over several glintstone snails nearby. He crushed one underfoot without giving the aggressive creatures much thought.
Looking up, he saw a hollow covered in glintstone. If his memory served him correctly, the boss room was right ahead.
Suddenly, a figure flashed behind him. Prepared, Gawain simply stepped aside, dodging a sneak attack from a Bloodhound Knight. He countered by instantly forming a Lightning Spear and hurling it.
Before the spear could hit, the ghostly figure vanished into thin air, reappearing instantly in front of Gawain. The curved claws bypassed his weapon's guard and struck his armor, leaving three deep gouges.
"So that's Bloodhound's Step? Not bad."
The strike had only barely connected; leaving claw marks on his heavy plate was already an impressive feat.
Gawain didn't give the knight another chance to surprise him. If the enemy could teleport, he would simply use an absolute defense. He crossed his arms over his chest. Iron Flesh and Endurance activated, followed by a swig of Ironjar Aromatic. He didn't care about the enemy's tricks; Poise was the key to becoming King.
The Bloodhound Knight stared at the opponent who was suddenly radiating a strange light. After a moment's hesitation, it used Bloodhound's Step to zip behind him and slash violently. Two of its three claws were deflected and sent flying. This time, it didn't even leave a scratch.
The knight refused to give up, believing that because its speed was superior, it could find a weakness as long as it kept moving.
Silver lines flashed before Gawain's eyes—the afterimages left by the Bloodhound Knight's sudden bursts of speed. It felt as though countless attacks were coming from every direction.
His Dexterity was still too low, so he didn't bother trying to chase a high-mobility enemy. He simply planted his feet and kept his Endurance buff active. Gradually, the opponent's attacks seemed to slow down. At some point, a broken claw fell to the ground.
"You done scratching? My turn."
Gawain exerted his strength, and a purple glow erupted from his body. He slammed his foot down, creating a crater. The Bloodhound Knight suddenly felt its body become immensely heavy; it couldn't even trigger its Bloodhound's Step. Caught off guard, it was instantly closed in upon.
Gawain grabbed the knight's head and slammed it into the ground. A strike infused with Gravity magic was no joke—the knight's entire suit of armor buckled and deformed.
Controlling the gravity to pin the knight to the floor, Gawain summoned a storm to whip the enemy into the air, then delivered a punch that sent the knight flying, embedding it into the stone wall behind.
Drawing the Sword of Night and Flame, he channeled the torrent of Glintstone and Miracles. A single blast pierced through the Bloodhound Knight's abdomen. The knight coughed up blood and went limp, dropping a Blue Amber Medallion.
Gawain walked over and picked it up. While it wasn't particularly useful to him now, a trophy was a trophy.
"First Omenkillers, now a Bloodhound Knight. Who could possibly bring these two types together? I wonder what they were planning in this cave."
"Keep going and you'll find out," Melina said. "I can sense someone with a very faint life force ahead. Go and see."
Gawain breathed a sigh of relief. That was likely Latenna. It seemed the corpse he had seen earlier belonged to her kin.
There might have been more than one Albinauric captured for interrogation. The scouts on the outskirts of the Albinauric Village were likely wiped out, and the village had probably been slaughtered before anyone could react. He needed to find out exactly what happened; perhaps he could still make it back in time to save some people.
────────────────────────────────────────
Support me here: https://[email protected]/AuAuMon
Spring Sale Special – 20% OFF!
Elden Ring: In the Name of Ash (189 chapter - Ongoing)
Join the journey and become part of the story!
────────────────────────────────────────