Lu Mingfei, become the King of Elden!

Chapter 37 The Round Table
Lu Mingfei opened his eyes.

That familiar girl's face came into view, with delicate features and a calm, serene expression.
what.

came back.

Before leaving, he swore in his heart that he would never come back.

But tonight, Lu Mingfei inexplicably took out the "Farewell Black Crystal," only to find that the cooldown period had expired. He then inexplicably left his dormitory and went alone to the Norton Mansion, where no one would visit, and activated the Black Crystal.

Lu Mingfei looked around.

The sky was overcast as always. Ahead lay the magnificent city of Stoneville, behind which stretched a square strewn with the weapons of the defeated.

What am I thinking?
Lu Mingfei wished he could slap his past self from five seconds ago, questioning why he hadn't given up the wonderful life of the 21st century, why he hadn't continued to enjoy his life as a dragon-slaying hero, and instead ran off to this godforsaken place to be tortured.

But in truth, Lu Mingfei was also very clear about it.

He is afraid.

With each day he immersed himself in this kind of life, his fear deepened.

Because he didn't have the power to kill Norton.

That was a cheat code given to him by Lu Mingze, which he obtained by trading a quarter of his life.

Lu Mingfei believed that he could barely hold his own against those A-level hybrids, but what about the Dragon King?

Just kidding, at worst, he could only take down a third-generation monster together, right?
But what others don't know is that everyone thinks he is a super hybrid capable of rivaling a monarch.

If one day, the second Dragon King revives, as the ace of the Secret Service, the S-class super hybrid will naturally have no choice but to step forward and confront the enemy.

Standing behind him were the principal who shielded him from the school board's investigation, the blond Italian student council president who gave him money and weapons, and the red-haired witch who pulled him out of the abyss of high school.
What should he do?
Sell ​​another quarter of your life?
So he came back.

He returned to the borderland where he could become stronger, at the cost of loneliness, pain, and helplessness, but without death.

Just as Lu Mingfei was contemplating life, a clear female voice interrupted him.

"Round table hall".

"what?"

Lu Mingfei paused for a moment, then looked up and glanced to the side.

It's Melina.

"The Round Table Hall, are you still going?"

The young man, now faded, slapped his forehead and suddenly remembered.

He had long since forgotten about it.

"Have you been waiting long?"

Melina gently shook her head.

It seems that the flow of time is completely different on both sides.
What kind of place is the Round Table Hall?

"That is where heroes gather, and a sanctuary for those seeking the Elden Ring. Fighting is forbidden there, and there is no need for vigilance. This is the eternal ironclad rule of the Round Table Hall."

"Then let's go"

Lu Mingfei slowly extended a hand and touched Melina's fingertips.
-
A golden light of blessing enveloped Lu Mingfei's body. When the light faded, the rusty, metallic smell that had permeated the gates of Stoneville City vanished. In its place lay tranquility and emptiness.

He stood in a huge hall.

Beneath my feet are dark stone bricks, polished to a mirror shine, cold and hard.

The hall was exceptionally spacious, yet it did not appear luxurious. On the contrary, it exuded an atmosphere of forgotten solemnity and legend.

In the center was a huge, antique-style round table. The tabletop was covered with a thick layer of dust, and the edges were carved with intricate but now blurred patterns.

Several ancient, mottled straight swords were stuck in the round table, and an extraordinary blessing floated above them, radiating golden light.

Around the round table were many similarly dusty high-backed chairs, most of them empty. Only one chair was occupied.

Two men were standing by the wall.

A man dressed in a tattered linen robe, with strange ornaments around his neck and his eyes covered with tattered cloth, looked like a clergyman.

The other man was handsome, dressed in exquisite silver armor, with a flamboyant bright red cloak. However, the aura he exuded was very familiar to Lu Mingfei—it was one of decadence and cowardice.

He thought about it for a moment and finally decided to strike up a conversation with the man in the flashy silver armor.

However, before he could take a step and make a sound, a deep male voice came from behind him.

"...Oh, a new faded one has arrived in the Round Table Hall."

Lu Mingfei turned around, but was startled.

The man's appearance was very distinctive. He was wearing a suit of armor covered with eyes and ears, and was leaning on a cane. He was standing next to the huge goddess statue in a resting posture.

"It's been a long time since any newcomers came. Very good. As a senior member of the Round Table Hall, I welcome the younger generation here."

It's safe here... relax.

Lu Mingfei spoke hesitantly:
Are you the owner of this place?

The man slowly turned his head, scrutinizing Lu Mingfei from head to toe with a critical gaze, before saying calmly:
"He's a smart person."

“I am Gideon Ophniel, the ‘wise one’ and the current host of the Round Table Hall. You could say I am the master of this place.”

Lu Mingfei nodded.

"Hello, senior."

Sir Hundred Wisdom did not respond, but continued speaking to himself:
"Since you are so sensible, then I will give you a suggestion."

Right now, you only have access to the Round Table Hall. In other words, you're just a passerby. Keep this in mind and don't overstep your bounds.

Lu Mingfei scratched his head.

"Oh."

"I've said everything I needed to say. Now relax."

The man then ignored him.

Do you have a blacksmith here?

Lu Mingfei suddenly asked.

Logically, a place that looks like a basic town specifically for players should have blacksmiths, merchants, apothecaries, and mentors for various professions.
In order to get rid of this immature faded one as soon as possible, Sir Hundred Wisdom raised his cane and pointed in a direction.

"It really does!"

Lu Mingfei was pleasantly surprised.

Following Bai Zhi's guidance, Lu Mingfei passed through the stone gate and arrived at a corridor. In a corner next to the door, a furnace was burning brightly, and an ugly blacksmith stood beside a huge anvil, wielding a hammer.

Lu Mingfei had never seen such a race before.

The blacksmith was clearly old, with a gray beard and a hunched back. His back was covered in bony, skeletal skin, rough and scaly, making him hardly a handsome man.

The old man noticed the figure in front of him, put down his hammer, and looked up.

"I haven't seen you before. Well, anyway, the things I need to do are still the same."
Bring out the weapons, I'll forge them.

"Can you repair armor?" Lu Mingfei asked.

The old blacksmith of the unknown race raised his head, squinted at Lu Mingfei for a long while, and then said:
"Are you looking down on me? How can a blacksmith not know how to repair armor?"

Fortunately, the old blacksmith didn't hold it against Lu Mingfei.

He took the armor of the lost knight from Lu Mingfei with his calloused hands, feeling the texture of the surface with his fingertips:

"This is a style I haven't seen in a long time."

The blacksmith wore a complicated expression, but this longing did not last long.

He extended a hand towards Lu Mingfei.

Lu Mingfei looked at his hands, then at him.

The two stared at each other.

".What?"

Lu Mingfei hesitated.

"Rune!"

The blacksmith was getting impatient.

"what?"

Lu Mingfei, the miser who had just finished an inter-world trip, was shocked:

"You still want runes?"

In Lu Mingfei's memory, Melina told him the following:

The Round Table Hall was established on the orders of Two Fingers, a place for the faded and heroes to gather. Therefore, Lu Mingfei subconsciously assumed that all the services provided here were free.

(End of this chapter)