Sanctuary Paradise

Chapter 897 Departure
[Flawless Broadsword] + [Flawless Round Iron Shield]

These are two of the "Six Essential Gear for Beginners" that they obtained from the old blacksmith Andre with the help of the blindfolded nun. The remaining four pieces are the [Flawless Battle Armor], the [Flawless Legplates], the [Flawless Longbow], and the [Energy Amulet], which increases stamina recovery speed.

With this equipment alone, even without following any mechanics, they could probably kill the gravedigger with three sword strikes and a small monster in the hero's graveyard with a shield bash.

If there's anything that's not perfect, it's that the [Flawless Broadsword] currently requires 15 points of strength to wield in one hand. Therefore, until their 'Blessing Level' is raised to LV.11, they can only equip each other with this weapon by dual-wielding it without a shield.

Although the 'combat skill cancellation' technique allows them to switch to shields at crucial moments even when dual-wielding, it's still better to raise their strength attribute to a level where they can single-handedly wield the [Flawless Broadsword] as soon as possible for the sake of safety. Therefore—

"Let's go, let's try to finish this round as quickly as possible."

"Hmm~! We can't waste this set of equipment that the nun prepared for us!"

Standing before the precipice, Xin Lailai, having sorted out her thoughts, looked up at the gradually darkening sky. Without saying much, she quickly ran across the suspension bridge.

Before they had good equipment, they would avoid three ghosts huddled together in the Hero's Graveyard. But now, with this top-tier "god-tier" set that multiplied their damage and tankiness several times over, it's time to let those ghosts who like to play dead and ambush people know who's the boss here!
……

……

So, three days later.

Upgrade successful! Current level: LV.21

[Upgrade to LV.22? This upgrade requires 10000 Soul Points]

……

[Black Sword (left)]

Level: LV.21
Oath: (None)
Soul Points: 12670
Health: 250/250 (100%)

Endurance rating: 250/250 (100%)

Mana: 350/350 (100%)

Soul Energy: 350/350 (100%)

Weapon attack power: 255.5 (182.5 + 73.0)

Shield block strength: 112.0 (80.0 + 32.0)

Strength: 25; Agility: 25
Physical Fitness: 25; Intelligence: 25
Temperament: 25; Soul: 25
……

"Phew... Does the number of souls required starting from LV.21 already exceed four figures?"

Before the flickering campfire, Xin Lailai opened her eyes, looked at the blessing interface on the other side of her vision, and breathed a long sigh of relief.

This is their third day since arriving at the Fire Ritual Site. In these three days, thanks to the equipment given to them by the blindfolded nun, they have farmed over 60,000 soul points in one go, instantly raising their level to LV.21.

Furthermore, when their physical attributes recover to 20 points, the bonus provided by their Grandmaster passive skill in the Blessing system also changes significantly:
……

[Black Sword (Right)]

"Swordsmanship Feat (↑↑)": When using swords, weapon attack power is increased by 40%.
"Spell Feats (↑↑)": When learning or using spells, spell power is increased by 40%.

"Parry Feat (↑↑)": When using shield-type weapons, parry strength is increased by 40%.
"Mana Feats (↑↑)": Increases mana growth from mana-related effects and Intelligence by 40%.
"Soul Specialization (↑↑)": Inspiration-related effects and Soul Energy growth from Souls +40%.
……

With a 40% attack power bonus and 255.5 weapon attack power, although it's still far from their peak condition, at least now, if facing an enemy of the Gravekeeper's caliber, Xin Lailai is confident that a single prepared stance will send them packing.

"I've bought almost everything I could from the blacksmith and the old woman—arrows, repair stones, enchanting grease... I'll keep these Soul Points for later use."

Given their current attributes, even if they level up again, there won't be much improvement. Therefore, it's better to keep these soul points in their possession for now, just in case.

As for what’s next…

"Lord Ash, I have completed all preparations. You may depart at any time if you wish."

As the gentle voice faded, a blindfolded nun dressed in a simple habit stood quietly in front of Xin Lailai, seemingly waiting for her instructions.

"In that case, let's set off immediately."

Upon hearing this, Xin Lailai nodded slightly, without saying anything more. She got up, dusted herself off, glanced at Rudolfs and Brother Huixin who were resting with their eyes closed, and then led the blindfolded nun toward the exit of the sacrificial site.

According to the blindfolded nun, to see the Lordfire, one must first gather all the Lords' Souls and be crowned the Lord of Cinder. However, since two of the five surviving Lords of Cinder are currently inside the Royal City, which is sealed by the Storm, and one is missing, the only one that can be defeated at present is "The Devourer" Elizid, who is enshrined in the Cathedral of the Deep.

Incidentally, normally there should have been three Lords of Cinder missing, but because Rudolfs was near Firelink Shrine and Ashheart had seen Elriced, the number of missing Lords of Cinder was reduced to one.

From this perspective, it's fortunate that they were able to awaken at the Fire-Giving Ritual site where the blindfolded nuns were located. If they had awakened in another area, even if they were lucky enough to encounter other Fire-Giving nuns, they would probably have spent most of their time just searching for the Lord of Cinder.

As for now... according to the information obtained from the blindfolded nun, if they want to gather all the Lords' Souls, the only thing they can do is to follow the road north of Firelink Shrine all the way to the 'Pilgrim's Path' mentioned by Ashheart, which is used to transport tributes. After finding and defeating Elizid, who is hiding in the Cathedral of the Deep, they can return to Firelink Shrine and get Rudolfs, one of the previous Lords of Cinder, to reveal information about the other Lord of Cinder whose whereabouts are unknown.

In terms of route alone, if they hadn't unexpectedly found an exceptionally useful item in the Heroes' Graveyard and hadn't been able to use the Lord's artifact fragment on Ellizid's body to teleport back to Firelink Shrine after defeating him, the round trip from Firelink Shrine to the Cathedral of the Deep would have taken them more than half a year.

This is why they made such thorough preparations. After all, according to the blindfolded nun, they might not encounter any fire on the long journey from here to the Pilgrim's Path. This means that if they die, they will be forced to be resurrected and return to the Fire Ritual Site, which means they have to pay the maximum price for dying once.

As for why we didn't prepare more comprehensively, such as grinding levels for a few more days, there are two reasons.

One reason is that, based on their soul point consumption curve, relying solely on the soul point production efficiency of monsters in the Hero's Graveyard, it would be difficult to level them up to LV.30 even if they stayed there for ten days or half a month.

Another thing they discovered while using the fire-sitting mechanism to farm souls was that although the consumption of notarization power by their normal activities in this world was so small as to be almost negligible, each time they sat on the fire, their mark would consume about 0.001% of notarization power. As for the consumption of dying once... they dared not risk trying that for the time being.

It was precisely these two limitations that led them to decide to stop after three days of grinding. After all, with the notary power reduced to only 2.016%... oh, now it's 1.973%, wasting too much notary power in a place with extremely low soul point production efficiency was clearly not a wise choice.

[Note: Due to the overflowing power of the "Fire Seed," the area ahead is temporarily inaccessible.]

"Lord Ash, this should solve the problem."

As the gentle voice faded, a large amount of gray mist suddenly appeared around them, surging towards the entrances and exits of the sacrificial site, completely enveloping the entire Fire Offering Sacrifice Site.

"Ah."

Seeing this, Xin Lailai nodded slightly, saying nothing more. Instead, she took out a silver-white, flame-shaped soul and placed it together with the elemental bottle she had received from the old woman. ...

The Soul of the Nameless Spirit Horse

Category: Rare Items

Durability: (None)

Synopsis: A peculiar soul buried in the heroes' cemetery, the long years have made it forget why it was buried there, remembering only that it should follow someone's mission.

……

"Hiss—!!"

The next second, a long neighing sound rang out. As the crimson liquid dripped from the left half of the Element Bottle, the silver-white soul in Xin Lailai's hand suddenly emitted a bright but not dazzling light. From her and the blindfolded nun's sight, it transformed into a rather thin, gray-brown spirit horse. After raising its head and neighing, it obediently stopped in front of the two of them.

The soul of the nameless spirit horse.

This is an item they obtained from a treasure chest deep within the Heroes' Graveyard. According to Xin Lailai's test, it only requires the recovery amount of the previous Elemental Bottle to directly restore it to Spirit Horse state. However, if it dies or they are burned, it will return to its Soul state.

As for its movement speed... let's just say this: with his stats at 25, he can only jump three meters, but with a full-force leap after a running start, this thing can cover a distance of nearly twenty meters. And in its normal state, which is its speed without consuming stamina, it is already more than twice as fast as when they run at full speed.

"So this is the spirit horse that Lord Ash spoke of... It's quite obedient indeed."

The blindfolded nun standing to the side gazed at the spirit horse before her and gently stroked its mane twice. As if sensing something, the spirit horse obediently rubbed against the nun's hand and then leaned forward, as if inviting the nun to sit on it.

"Hmm...good boy. With your help, Lord Ash's path will be much smoother."

The blindfolded nun watched this scene, smiled gently, and asked Xin Lailai with some curiosity:

"Speaking of which, Lord Ash, haven't you named it yet?"

"Well... not yet."

"In that case, how about we name it Charité?"

"Hiss—!!"

As the gentle question faded, the spirit horse beside them seemed to understand their conversation, letting out a satisfied neigh. Seeing this, Xin Lailai glanced somewhat surprised at the blindfolded nun who was gently stroking the spirit horse, then nodded in agreement.

"Okay, then let's call him Charité."

[Note: The "Soul of the Nameless Spirit Horse" has been changed to "Soul of Charité"]

Even the naming process is the same as the notarization process used by the amusement park...

After glancing at the information that popped up on the blessing interface, Xin Lailai looked away, climbed onto the saddle of the spirit horse Charité, and reached out to the blindfolded nun beside her:
"Your Excellency, please come up. It's time to prepare for departure."

"Hey, Lord Ash, I can do it myself..."

Upon hearing this, the blindfolded nun below stared at Xin Lailai's outstretched hand and was taken aback. Just as she was about to remind the other party that she didn't need to take such good care of her, she seemed to suddenly remember something, gently bit her thin lips, nodded, and took Xin Lailai's hand. She then carefully sat down in front of Xin Lailai, guided by her.

“Let’s go, Charité.”

"Hiss—!!"

Once she was sure the blindfolded nun was seated securely, Xin Lailai used a small amount of her stamina to manipulate the flexible magic chip to firmly hold herself and the nun in place. At the same time, she flicked the reins, and amidst the spirit horse's neighing and the intense shaking, she watched as her vision quickly shifted backward.

Crash——!!

A slightly chilly wind howled in, accompanying the galloping spirit horses. After the fire-giving sacrificial site behind them disappeared from sight as a small black dot, the blindfolded nun, who had been mostly silent, suddenly pursed her lips, lowered her head, and whispered:

“Um… Lord Ash.”

"Hmm?" Xin Lailai lowered her head in confusion upon hearing the sound.

"Thanks……"

The next second, a faint whisper of gratitude fell, and Xin Lailai, upon hearing this, paused slightly, then chuckled softly and said calmly:
"Don't worry about it, it's not a big deal. Speaking of which, the naming thing just now reminded me that I don't think I've told Her Majesty my name yet."

"Eh?"

As soon as she finished speaking, the blindfolded nun, who had been looking down just a second ago, suddenly raised her head and clenched her hands tightly on the hem of her nun's habit.

"Black Sword, although that's not my real name, most people I know call me that."

As the calm statement faded, Xin Lailai gazed ahead, her pupils reflecting the gently rippling gray sky and the desolate, empty wilderness. She began:

“If you don’t mind, Sister, you can just call me by this name from now on. After all, we’re probably going to encounter quite a few ashes like me soon, and if we keep using the old name, it might be hard to tell us apart when there are a lot of people around.”

"Black... sword."

As soon as she finished speaking, the blindfolded nun pondered the title Xin Lailai had used, remained silent for a while, and then revealed a gentle expression, smiling slightly:
"Hmm... I understand. In that case, I will address you as Lord Black Sword from now on."

"In fact, I personally wouldn't mind just removing the honorifics at the end."

"Please allow me to refuse, Lord Blacksword. As your Fire-Bestowing Sister, this is a matter of respect you must show."

"Hiss—!!"

"As you can see, Charité thinks so too, so please refrain from arguing about it further, Lord Blacksword."

"...Forget it then."

……

(End of this chapter)