Elden Ring : a Tarnished of No Renown

[Sigurd's POV]

It took hours for me to reach the castle gate because of countless roadblocks and guards standing in my way. But they proved to be nothing more than minor setbacks, as they weren't as coordinated as the bunches guarding that valley.

I made my way following the main road up north, eventually arriving at a gate surrounded with more guards. There was another Site of Grace inside the tunnel for me to use.

Going farther up led me to an open area.... A small road leading up to the Stormveil Castle, built on a sloped mountain pass with a small gate guarding the middle of the road.

There appears to be no guards this time, the way into it is clear.

"Alright...."

I walked forward on foot, treading carefully to avoid slipping and falling to my death....

Suddenly, the deep voice of an old man shouted from farther up.

"Foul Tarnished in search of the Elden Ring...."

"?"

A golden aura resembling Melina and Torrent's magic aura started materializing on one of the battlements of the Castle, turning into the shape of a monstrous-looking man.

The man held a walking stick in his hand.

"Hrah!"

The old man monster leapt to the air, so high up that it's unbelievable for his age, and landed down on the road blocking my way into the Castle. He knocked up a huge screen of dust just from the impact alone. 'Thump!!!'

Once the dust clears, then I noticed.... Despite having horns and tail of a scorpion - features from monsters across the land, is still human in form and soul. No doubt about it, he is an Omen.

That being said.... He's still at least double my size, and his walking cane is like the size of a small tree.

The Omen brandishes his walking cane, holding it up like a small sword.

"Thou art but a fool, emboldened by the flames of ambition. Someone must extinguish thy flames, let it be Margit the Fell."

The monster raises his cane and held it up like a weapon instead of using it as a walking stick.

"The name's Sigurd. Accursed Omen, here I come!"

(AN : I am not going to do this fight twice, so let the skipping be done using vagued details instead.)

We rushed into each other trading blows immediately upon entering our range.

I said exchange blows.... But it's more like I've been getting hit repeatedly, because I couldn't dodge or defend against his attacks.

His moves are full of telegraphs that while normally slow and easy to avoid, are also done deliberately by the old man to trick me into dodging too early.

'Tink! Tank!'

If you dodge too early, he'll catch you when you are vulnerable. If I attack him while he is winding up, he'll just swing at my attack to parry my hits.

'Clank!'

And if you try to run away, you'll face three problems. You won't be able to get away as easy, this old man is surprisingly agile. You won't be able to get back into range because of the same reason. And finally, his golden daggers.

'Fwoosh!' A small dagger materializes from Margit's left hand, swiping towards my face while aiming for my eyes.

"Shit, that was close!"

Just when I thought he missed an attack and left himself open, it was actually a feint to quickly swipe at my weak point.

The old man jumps backwards to create space, and while I chased after him he threw the dagger at me from mid air. "Hmph!"

'Tank!' I easily deflected the dagger to the sides.

He is good. Extremely good in fact, far better than I am. Not just in strength, but in skills and tactics.

"Hmm.... Is this the state of Godfrey's warriors? Thou art all but pretenders sticking to a lord for power and fame, smouldering with thy meagre flames, casting thou's greed onto what suits thee."

"I don't care, old man."

All it takes is just a single mistake for him to kill me, because all of his swings are surprisingly fast and powerful in spite of his age. Not to mention the size difference is really making this fight hard for me.

I weaved between Margit's attacks while counter attacking with my own.... But despite landing my hits on him, he didn't faint even the slightest while just a single hit from him was dangerous enough to kill me.

I stepped and ducked under a few swings of his, but eventually Margit chains his attack into a really slow thrust...

"!"

I raised my club to guard it, but because it was a thrust the attack slipped right past my club.

'Stab!!!' The thrust impales me in the chest and slams me to the ground.

"Urgh!!!"

"Put these foolish ambitions to rest."

"Cough!... Gah...."

[You Died]

____________

(Sometime later....)

[Melina's POV]

When a Tarnished dies, they lose a part of themselves. Be it a part of their memories, or their very own soul.... It doesn't matter, they always loses something.

Not everyone can just die and come back as if nothing happened. Most only die once and lose their very self, while others are allowed only a few chances - only if they are deeply focused on something.

But this person is special.... He died many times, far more than the average person, but he came back without losing much of himself. In the grand scheme of things, his sense of purpose isn't even as strong as some others, but yet he still came back everytime.

Either way, however, Torrent is right.... He did choose the right master, someone who will bring us to the foot of the Erdtree just as mother predicted.

'Fwuom....' At the Site of Grace, just behind the road where he fought that Margit, golden aura started to form into the shape of a person.

Eventually, Sigurd's body formed out from the Grace's power, and awaken from his slumber.

"Urgh.... My chest...."

After waiting for Sigurd to take a rest, I materializes into the world.

"Sigurd, may I have a moment with you?"

"Melina...? What do you need?"

"Forgive me... I've been testing you, to see if you are truly capable enough, and to see whether or not the grace truly guides you.... And if you're fit to face the challenges that entails."

"I see..."

"It seems my worries are unfounded. Torrent had your measure from the very start, whereas I only pretended."

"I knew you were hiding something from me.... but I do not mind it."

"I see...."

"But with that being said it's not like I can beat this Margit either...."

"Margit the Fell Omen.... He was an amazing warrior during the Shattering. Even Radahn, one of the strongest demi god, was once defeated by him."

"In that case, that means I'm far more outclassed than when I faced the Tree Sentinel huh...?"

"...I have but one other thing to do to offer you more guidance. I can take you to the Roundtable Hold, gathering place of Tarnished Champions guided by Grace, just like you."

"An invitation to the roundtable hold huh? Just like what that white-masked man said.... But how are we going to head there?"

"Through teleportation, like you do with the help of Grace."

"....Wait, you can teleport with Grace?"

With how stupid he is, it's quite interesting to think that this is the man that will become the Elden Lord one day.

(Chapter End)