Frilian at Elden Ring

Whoosh!

A crossbow bolt flew toward her face, but Frillie easily dodged it by tilting her head. The force was considerable, and the arrowhead was likely coated with poison.

“It will work. A true demigod would never hide.”

"Idiot, that's just their style."

After cursing angrily, Patch immediately took off running into the depths of the cave, determined to dig a path to the surface rather than face a rising Rune King.

His escape directly demoralized the thieves. After calming down and thinking carefully, they realized how to fight a demigod, so they also ran away as fast as they could towards the deepest part of the cave.

On the contrary, Frilian was neglected. She originally wanted to knock them out one by one with ordinary weapons, but the other side had no fighting spirit.

She still valued this group of people, since the vast majority of them were intact and had not turned into zombies.

Upon realizing this, the silver-haired girl unleashed her magic with a bang. It was the simplest intimidation spell, but with the added effect of soul control. The terrifying power caused dozens of thieves to freeze in place, sweating profusely, their hearts clenched as if gripped tightly.

They initially thought they could at least exchange blows, but after witnessing the sheer power of the opponent, they realized just how vast the gap was between them and world-class experts.

Some were even so frightened that they fainted.

Immediately afterwards, Frilian raised her hand and shot a beam of light toward the ceiling, instantly piercing through the thick rock layer. The enclosed cave was filled with light, and a gale howled.

"This is what will happen if anyone tries to escape again."

Upon hearing this, the thieves immediately stopped their commotion and turned to face the attack. After all, no one wanted to be hit by such a magical attack; they would not only be knocked away, but would likely be reduced to ashes, including their souls.

"Wait a minute, I surrender."

Patch immediately knelt down on the ground and chuckled, "I knew His Majesty was reasonable."

"Please introduce yourself."

"People call me Mad Patch, and like you, I am a faded one, wandering around. I occasionally travel with this group of thieves, but I have not done anything immoral."

"That sounds alright. What are your plans for the future?"

Frillie asked with great interest.

Each Patch-related side quest involves some key locations, so you need to pay close attention.

If he's a hopeless case, I wouldn't mind sending him away.

"Thanks to His Majesty's good governance, everyone is living in peace and prosperity. This industry is increasingly lacking in fresh blood. Besides, robbery is inherently high-risk. Why risk your life when you can earn a living? I'm quitting and will open a shop to make a living from now on."

"Really?"

“It’s absolutely true, Your Majesty. Although I, Patch, may seem unreliable, everyone around me says I’m dependable.”

He looked around and asked, "So you didn't say exactly what happened, did you?"

The underlings nodded hastily, like pecking at rice. They were all in the same boat now, so they shouldn't sabotage each other and should focus on escaping this predicament first.

Frillie snapped her fingers, a simple gesture that made everyone involuntarily shrink back.

When the large group of soldiers entered, they breathed a sigh of relief, fearing that the enemy could kill them with a snap of their fingers. Even facing torture was more comfortable than facing the pressure of a demigod.

She instructed, "Carefully verify the charges against these people, and treat them leniently, mainly by labor punishment."

"Yes, Your Majesty."

Meanwhile, the soldiers meticulously sorted and moved the valuables from the scene. As expected of a competent thief's hideout, it did indeed contain some jewels, making the trip worthwhile. But witnessing all this, Patch grew increasingly apprehensive:

Why aren't they reacting to me at all? All the other accomplices are handcuffed, so why are the soldiers ignoring their leader?

He was confident that he could escape quietly if he got caught, and that the lowly soldiers wouldn't be able to stop him.

However, the attention from a Fragment King was terrifying. Although Frilian was currently selecting high-quality loot from the chest, her gaze never left. Could it be that she had noticed the connection to the Volcano Mansion? Could Nymgford's information network be that advanced?

Click!

The last searched box closed, the sound making Patch's heart tighten. Before he knew it, the soldiers had all withdrawn, and all was quiet.

The firelight reflected on Frillie's cold expression, her gaze seemingly piercing through her soul.

"How about I be your first customer?"

"Of course, my goods are guaranteed to be of high quality and low price. Oh, and by the way, I'll give His Majesty a discount, hehe."

Patch chuckled dryly and pulled out a small, hidden box. Why did he feel like he was the one being robbed? But the ruler of Stoneville was indeed generous, immediately buying up all the goods.

Frillie wouldn't overlook any item that might disappear after being refreshed, especially those sold by familiar acquaintances who might hold clues. She also made sure to check Jianyan's account as well.

I don't understand why there's such a thing as the Malkit prison. If the Faded One could ask, they'd probably know directly about the Ominous Twins.

As expected, an old acquaintance delivered a crucial clue; remember to complete the relevant side quests as well.

[Well, actually I don't really like the quests at the Volcano Mansion. They always make me kill those good, faded people, especially the Great Goat... But for the Great Goat set, I'm innocent, but possessing a treasure is a crime.]

You, Patch, truly delight me.

For some reason, seeing you reminds me of so many things.

[This refers to the past lives of the Dark Souls 5 characters, right? Enough already, I want to see more information about the side quests.]

If you can't escape my fully upgraded god-slaying weapon, you might as well start over in the next playthrough.

...Although the remarks were full of inexplicable nonsense, Frillie caught some key information, so she looked directly at Patch and coldly asked:

"People from the Volcano Official Residence?"

Upon hearing the words "Volcano Residence," Patch felt a chill run down his spine and his scalp tingle.

After all, he just called himself a Faded One and is believed to be related to the Volcano Mansion, so isn't he a traitor? The Round Table Hall faction is heretical and needs to be punished.

Damn it, how did Frilian know?

What are you saying...?

On the surface, he denied it, but in reality he was already planning how to run away. Even if he couldn't run away, he had to run away anyway, otherwise it would be troublesome if he fell into the hands of a standard orthodox faded person like Soul King. I don't know if bringing up the demigod behind the official residence would be enough to intimidate him.

"Relax, I don't mean to pursue this, provided you tell me all the relevant information about the Volcano Mansion."

"There's not much to say about it; it's just a rebel stronghold that was attacked during the War of Destruction."

"Don't try to fool me, I need to know the current situation."

Frillie's words carried a hint of spiritual pressure, causing Patch to immediately lower his head in apology, no longer daring to try anything clever. He quickly poured out all the information he knew about the volcano mansion, like beans spilling from a bamboo tube:

It turns out that the magistrate Lakad has become one with the serpent, and is killing and eating the people in the volcano mansion, making the situation even more miserable than when it was attacked.

She immediately recalled the opening scene where a snake devoured a bearded man, seemingly foreshadowing turmoil at the volcano's residence—what a pity.

Speaking of which, the combat skills instructor Bernal is also related to Lacad. Could it be that the two have a connection? The intricate web of relationships slowly unfolds before Frilian, becoming clearer and clearer. Sure enough, the beginner village map contains many clues for later events.

Also.

Patch said that even today, the Rodel army is still fighting in the volcanic area, and has almost destroyed a piece of land.

It was already unsuitable for farming and production, and had suffered greatly from war; it was truly the end of the world.

He also revealed that Herrscher-related missions do indeed involve hunting down Faded Ones, but he didn't forget to use Bernal as an example to say that the Golden Law deceives people.

"...Did you know? Bernal's witch died trying to stop the burning of the Golden Tree's branches. She died herself, and the Faded One she served failed to become king. It was all a lie!"

A performance full of emotion is not necessarily well-intentioned.

Patch instilled in him the idea that the Golden Law was flawed, little did he know that Frilian never thought of him as a good person, so how could she follow the established system?

As a player, you can play however you want. Ascending the throne is not the goal of the journey, but rather conquering this borderland.

Oh no.

Melina, who had been listening in the background, wanted nothing more than to beat Patch up.

Anyone with a sound mind should have thought of Bernal's witch death as a cautionary tale, and thus assumed that another witch would sacrifice herself... or was she just being presumptuous? In reality, Frilian didn't care at all if anyone died on the road to becoming king?

The silver-haired girl listened with an indifferent expression, as always, while Melina didn't know whether to feel fortunate or regretful.

"Actually, Bernal's method is wrong. We have our own solution, so don't worry."

"Ah."

Frillie's nonchalant reply only deepened her confusion. Patch, on the other hand, assumed the other's approval meant yet another figure whose dignity had faded was questioning the Golden Tree—that would be a huge win, a good thing.

He didn't know that Frilian was actually more concerned with how to obtain Raccard's Great Rune, and that the Undying Serpent sounded like it had a lot of research value.

"There's one more thing: why do you have this?"

The silver-haired girl took out a black prison utensil.

"It happened to fall into my hands by chance, and it's hard to trace back. But I can tell you that it was during the Battle of Rodel that the Blessed King released the sons of evil omens, and Markit was one of the best among them. He was once imprisoned in the sewers of the royal city while wearing prison shackles... Most of the sons of evil omens were like that."

"Even at its most prosperous and tolerant, the Golden Dynasty would not share its glory with ominous signs. However, this prison has a suppressive effect and will be useful when you encounter Malkit.

Patch added with a grin, "I know you're already stronger than him. If you fight again, plus the prisoner's equipment, you can kill him."

The people at the Volcano Palace were eager to weaken the Royal City's power, especially Markit. He was the one who led the troops to attack the Volcano years ago; it's easy to imagine how furious the righteous judge was, having been so thoroughly humiliated by a son of an ominous sign.

So you've gone mad.

"I know pretty much everything I need to know, so let's stop here."

Frillie changed the subject, "Now it's time to talk about your problem."

She didn't express any opinion from beginning to end because while Patch might be useful, he wasn't necessarily trustworthy and could even trick you from time to time, so she had to be vigilant.

"What are you planning to do to me? Are you going to silence me? Spare me!"

“I’m not that bad, I’m just reminding you to behave yourself and not do anything that would harm Ningmgefu.”

"As ordered."

"It's fine to leave the cave to you as a base for now. After all, didn't you say you wanted to do business? A shop needs a good location. Patch, I look forward to you bringing me more special products."

After brandishing the prison shackles in her hand, Frillie turned and left.

Dealing with this kind of person requires maintaining a respectful distance; don't assume you can trust them. They'll suddenly reappear when necessary. Don't worry about how tough they are; you might just meet them in a volcanic region someday.

Patch, who was left behind, wiped the cold sweat from his forehead and realized that his clothes were soaked with sweat. That was too damn dangerous.

If the other party had even the slightest intention to kill, I would definitely be beheaded; falling into the hands of a soul magic user would probably be even more terrifying.

He gazed in the direction the silver-haired girl had left and murmured, "Distrust of the King of the Golden Tree?"

Things are getting interesting. After thousands of years, a faded ruler has emerged who can once again claim the throne, yet there has been no respect shown to him from beginning to end. So where is the world headed?

Outside the cave.