Lu Mingfei, become the King of Elden!

Chapter 1 I am at most bacteria on the skin of an ant's feet

Lu Mingfei lay on the grass of the Elysium Church, spread out in a starfish shape, staring blankly at the sky above.

The clouds scattered and changed shape, resembling dragons, tigers, and roast ducks.
If only I could have a bowl of instant noodles with ham and a bottle of nutritional drink right now, that would be wonderful.

Lu Mingfei's thoughts wandered aimlessly, reminiscing about his days conquering all corners of the internet cafe, thinking about interstellar space, and the delicious food on Earth.

Even if it's not gourmet food, it's fine.

Because now he doesn't need to eat, he won't die, and if he gets injured, he can recover by drinking a sip of the medicine in the Holy Grail bottle.

It had been a very long time since he left the drifting cemetery, so long that Lu Mingfei couldn't even keep track of the days, and he hadn't made any effort to remember them.

Because his brain was already being used to remember something else entirely.

Number of deaths.

If Lu Mingfei remembers correctly, he has died forty-seven times.

The feeling of having his chest crushed by a giant horse, the feeling of being cleaved in two by a halberd, the feeling of being stabbed through the abdomen by a longsword and hacked to death by a flurry of blows—what Lu Mingfei least wanted to recall was the feeling of being attacked and bitten by those bizarre monster bats, their throats ripped open, blood gushing out, and then their flesh being torn off piece by piece.

Regardless of the method of death, it penetrates to the very core of one's being. The pain, the fear.
How could I possibly get used to it?

But these forty-seven deaths, along with his sporadic conversations with Brother Galen, finally allowed him to piece together the outline of the world.

In this land called the Borderlands, where he resides, Nymgford is the territory of one of the demigods, Grik.

Ever since the goddess Marika of the borderlands shattered the Elden Ring with a single blow, the people of this land have gone mad.

Lu Mingfei stroked the golden shards dancing in his palm—runes, the lifeblood, soul, and power of living beings.

This is the power that dissipates after a person dies, and according to Galley, the privilege of harmonizing this energy is in the hands of the Finger Witch.

But at this moment, Rune transformed into the energy of his body according to his will.

It must have been a cheat code that the little devil secretly slipped to him again.

As for why he was in this place?

what.

Lu Mingfei didn't know either.

One second ago, he was on a mission in the Three Gorges Reservoir, watching as the red-haired girl's chest was ripped open by the dragon's tail, blood overflowing.

At that moment, he was in utter despair.

To save the girl, he risked a quarter of his life, watching the devil's hand strike his palm. When he heard the words "contract established," he suddenly felt relieved, and then the next second...

Suddenly everything went black and I was thrown into this godforsaken place.

Just as Lu Mingfei was about to step into the cemetery square that had brought him his first death, the little devil appeared.

He ignored Lu Mingfei's questioning and simply said with a solemn expression:
"I know nothing about this place, and the world is rejecting me."

Even for me, getting here wasn't easy, and it seems something blocked the entrance; just showing myself exhausted most of my strength.

"But I've still prepared a little starter pack for you."

"Just walk into that square."

Then, Lu Mingfei saw the monster.

Its gnarled arms stretched out like a spider, with countless joints connecting to several human hands. One pair of hands held two ornate straight swords, while the other held a straight shield with animal patterns.

Its back was hunched over like a beast, but on its neck was the face of a human boy, with handsome eyes that shone with golden light.

At that moment, Lu Mingfei was so frightened that he couldn't even lift the knife in his hand.

Even if we lift it up, so what?

They're just ants and elephants.

"No, I'm not even as good as an ant. At most, I'm just bacteria on the skin of an ant's feet, the kind that gets picked off."

He thought so.

Then he was split in two.

Just as Lu Mingfei was on the verge of death, with the snap of the little devil's fingers, the huge monster turned to ashes before his eyes, and an unknown power entered Lu Mingfei's body and disappeared.

The devil's figure reappeared, smiling as always.

"This power, along with this death, are both included in the newbie perks, brother."

From now on, you must learn to get used to this feeling, so I'll let you experience it for yourself.

Isn't that thoughtful?

"In addition, there are three extra messages included."

1. I gave you the method to become stronger.

"2. You have something like a storage space, which is bound to your soul. In theory, you should be able to learn how to open and master it yourself, but I have already given you the authority."

3. Go find Long Xiang.

After saying this, the little boy sighed almost imperceptibly.

"Time was too short. This is all I can understand and do. My strength is exhausted, and I will be offline for a long time, brother."

"You have to walk the road ahead on your own."

"Lu Mingfei, it's time for you to grow up."

Then he vanished, as if he had never existed.
-
Lu Mingfei discovered that he would not actually die.

After each death, he would awaken again in a place called Blessing.

Thus, Lu Mingfei embarked on a journey to find the "Dragon Feast".

After leaving the drifting cemetery, there are roughly three roads.

The first one is guarded by a giant knight known as the Great Tree Guardian.

Of the forty-seven deaths, at least thirteen were caused by it.

The knight's senses were terrifyingly sharp; the moment something entered his field of vision or made a sound, his golden halberd would slash down with a deathly whistling sound.

Its overwhelming strength left Lu Mingfei with no even the thought of defeating it.

Lu Mingfei chose to take a detour.

After paying the price of six deaths, Lu Mingfei lit up the blessing point at the Church of Elley.

But when he went out, he would inevitably be noticed by the huge guard once or twice.

In the instant the halberd fell, Lu Mingfei could occasionally see his terrified reflection on the curved surface of the blade.

The second path is hidden on the cliff face to the right of the drifting graveyard, where hordes of monsters rest on the rocks. They instill in Lu Mingfei a greater fear than the guardian trees.

Because the tree guardians will at least give you a quick death, but the bats will gather together and toy with you with their sharp claws, but won't kill you immediately, until you bleed to death.

Therefore, the exploration on the right side had to be temporarily put on hold.

The third road leads to the barren beach on the right.

Demi-humans—those ugly, monkey-like creatures—inhabit this place.

The only thing that attracted Lu Mingfei was the island on the other side of the sea, but the turbulent currents dashed his hopes of crossing the sea.

It has no value.

Lu Mingfei's main prey are the Grek soldiers who roam the jungle in front of the Church of Elley.

These soldiers were clearly among those Galley had mentioned, the ones who said "everyone in this land has gone mad since the Dharma Ring shattered."

They possess a certain level of intelligence, patrol along fixed routes, and have a simple attack pattern.

However, they cannot communicate, cannot speak, have very poor perception, and basically will kill anyone they see.

It can be killed.

A backstab to the heart is fatal, but a direct confrontation comes at a price.

This is experience gained through more than ten near-death experiences.

Killing these enemies grants access to a power called Rune, which can be transformed to strengthen Lu Mingfei's physical body.

变强
This thought revitalized him like celery soaked in water.

As long as you become stronger, you can continue your journey, leave this mountain forest, and find the "Dragon Feast" that Lu Mingze spoke of.

After losing more than ten more lives, he finally figured out all the soldiers' patrol routes and then assassinated them one by one.

However, after he finally killed all the soldiers in the area, following the guidance of the blessing, Lu Mingfei walked out of the woods, only to be met with an even crueler reality.

A whole level of well-equipped, fully-equipped soldiers of the Greedy Legion, equipped with War Wolves and led by a boss.

If any one of them is alerted, the surrounding soldiers will swarm in and chop him into mincemeat with their swords.

The knight with the long spear, clad in fine armor, stood like an insurmountable wall.

Not only is his strength far superior to that of ordinary soldiers, but he also uses a technique that Lu Mingfei has never heard of before, which can unleash terrifying thrusting power in an instant, piercing him straight through.

It is simply impossible to defeat.

Death after death, a cycle that repeats itself again and again, with the fear of death and physical pain to endure each and every one of them.

I brought him nothing.

Lu Mingfei suddenly felt lost.

I.
What am I doing?
Why should I fight these powerful enemies?

I am not the protagonist of the story, not the hero who fights the dragon, nor one of those faded figures who want to become king.

I'm just a nobody who nobody cares about.

Ah, right.

I think I wanted to become stronger.

What happens after you become stronger?
Go back to your original world and save a girl.

Stand tall and let others look at you with new respect.

but--

How do I get back?
It turns out I had no idea how to get back.

So what's the point of doing all this now?
In the end, I still ran away.

I have been running away from this fundamental question, forcing myself to immerse myself in the cycle of "survival and death," numbing myself with fighting, and deceiving myself with an illusory future.

Is it really impossible to go back?
And so, Lu Mingfei broke down once again.

On the lawn of the church, Lu Mingfei lay on his back, gazing unfocusedly at the clouds in the sky.

For him, the breakdown was not hysteria, but a complete surrender.

He chose to fight against this absurd world by giving up.

"Brother Galai, tell me, what is the purpose of life?"

The traveling merchant dressed as Santa Claus, who was fiddling with a huqin-like instrument in his hand, paused for a moment and turned his gaze to the strange guest beside him.

As a businessman, he had seen all sorts of faded individuals:
Ambitious, warrior, outlaw...

He had never met anyone like Lu Mingfei before. Cowardly, weak, and utterly unambitious.

Every faded one who comes to the border is ambitious; they want to use their fighting prowess to either achieve great deeds or become a king.

However, since Galley met Lu Mingfei, Galley has never seen his ambition.

He was sometimes as dejected as those living dead who could not find their way back to the tree, and sometimes as excited as celery soaking in water, just like a lunatic.

But Galai didn't dislike him.

There is a tribal rule among nomadic peoples:
"Being alone is good—even if you are looked down upon or abandoned, you don't have to think about seeking anything."

"Those who harm us must not be let off easily."

In this chaotic era, lone businessmen are often coveted, but Lu Mingfei has never harbored any malicious intentions.

He was so pure as to be almost stupid; he would even squat in a corner and dry heave after his first murder.

However, those who faded in color were still descendants of warriors.

He progressed rapidly, his mind sharp, transforming from a weakling who couldn't even use a knife into a cunning individual skilled at stabbing people in the buttocks.

In short, he's a good person.

The strings trembled slightly, and Galilee's voice, mingled with the sound of the wind, drifted over:

"Guest, you may not know this, but our nomadic people have never been favored by the blessing of gold."

Forced to wander and live in poverty, our minds were preserved even after the Dharma Ring shattered.

I am content to have a place to stay and to be able to do business with you with a clear head.

After all, you are my important guest.

(End of this chapter)