Elden Ring, my witch is a talkative beautiful girl

Elden Ring, my witch is a talkative beautiful girl

Author: A Dream of a Confucian Scholar

Introduction:

The fallen leaves bring a message that at the border of our hometown, the great Elden Ring has been broken. The blessing that was lost long ago has once again returned to the unknown Faded One. Cross the other side of the fog, meet the Elden Ring, and become the King of Elden!

Having said that, Ah Tui, who had just stepped onto the border, was confused: "That's what I said, but what should I do?"

At this moment, the most talkative and beautiful girl in the border area appeared before him.

"Since you don't refuse, I'll take it as your consent. I'll be your finger priestess, and you'll be responsible for leading me to the golden tree. It's a win-win situation! A big victory!"

"If I'm gone in the future, you'll still have the doll I made myself to keep you company. What do you think?"

"As your miko, I will always stand by your side."

"Because you and him, you are both very gentle people at heart."

"Partner, fight with all your might and defeat the undefeated legend of the strongest demigod with your own hands!"

Volume 1: The Beginning of the Journey: Chapter 1: The Unparalleled Beautiful Girl at the Border

"Damn it! Who is so wicked? As soon as I left the house, I was chased by a spider monster with seven or eight arms and legs. The rock I stepped on while escaping even collapsed. Do you have any humanity left?"

In mid-air, in free fall, Ah Dai roared out his last words before falling.

Unfortunately, this could not change his fate of falling off a cliff from a high altitude. With a "splash", water splashed everywhere, and the unconscious Faded Man fell into the underground river under the cliff and rushed downstream.

And below the river that Atui was about to reach, in the cave at the end, a young girl was sitting sideways on the back of the spirit horse Torret with her legs together.

"Da da da."

The spirit horse with horns on its head waded through the river and walked steadily on the wet cave floor.

The girl was wearing a black cloak and long boots. A few strands of brown hair were faintly visible under the wide hood. Her right eye was shining with night gold, and her left eye had a faint scar.

This strange duo, man and horse, engaged in a conversation incomprehensible to outsiders. "Torret, what do we do if this continues? The runes Mother gave us for travel expenses are almost gone, and we're making no progress on our mission to restore the Golden Rule. If this continues, I'll be living on Red Dettol starting next month."

Torrett hissed briefly, "Hiss—(Trust in the guidance of blessing.)"

"That's what I say, but we've been wandering for so long and haven't found a suitable candidate." Melina counted on her fingers. "Whether it's this embroidered pillow or that shit-eating expert, none of them meet my requirements. Partnering with someone who's so unsatisfactory in appearance and so vulgar in heart, I'll never reach the golden tree and complete the mission my mother has entrusted to me."

Torret shook his head. "Hmm—" With your strength, you could defeat the demigods, gather the Great Runes, and reach the Golden Tree on your own, right? Why do you need a partner?

"What are you talking about? My role is the finger priestess who guides the faded ones. How could I possibly do something so ungraceful and violent? And I can't even lift anything heavier than a fork. Isn't that right, Torret~"

Glancing at the golden dagger under its neck, the spirit horse decisively chose to protect itself. It still wanted to stay alive and eat the dried Loya fruit tonight.

Suddenly, Torrett stopped, and the horse's hooves seemed to hit something hard, and the crisp echo drifted on the rock wall of the cave.

"Huh? What is this?" Melina dismounted from her horse and half-crouched to examine the "corpse" of the armored man on the ground.

"Did he miss a step and fall from the cliff at this height?" Melina looked up at the cliff. "I remember that nearby is the King's Chapel prepared for new Faded Ones. All Faded Ones are assigned their own Finger Priestess there."

"Speaking of which, there's a recent report in the Rodel Royal City Daily that some unknown individuals are hunting down new Faded Ones and preventing them from approaching the Elden Circle. This guy who fell must be quite unlucky. He didn't even see his own Finger Priestess and died just as he reached the border. How pitiful. You're lucky to have met me; at least you're not left to die in the wilderness."

Believing that meeting is fate and having nothing to do at the moment, the kind-hearted girl prepared to dig a hole on the spot and bury the "corpse".

She lifted the mask on the Fader's helmet and glanced at the black-haired man's ordinary face for a few seconds. However, the moment her outstretched index finger touched Fader's face, it retracted like lightning.

"He's still alive after falling from such a height. Is he an ancient dragon in human form?" Melina said in disbelief. It looked like the plan to bury the body could be stopped right there. "He must have good luck and strength. He looks pretty good too, and wearing that stiff armor, he probably means he's a decent person. And considering he doesn't have his own shrine maiden, I could fill that void."

At this point, the two of them becoming partners seemed like a natural progression. Thinking that their long-delayed mission would finally take its first step, Melina embraced Torret's head and leaped for joy. "Torret, you're right. Meeting him now, when I'm desperate, is surely a blessing, a sign of Mother's guidance. He must be my destined partner! With this beautiful girl by my side, we'll surely reach the foot of the Golden Tree without a hitch."

"Hiss—(If he's not treated, he'll really die.)"

"You're right, we need to treat him first. Let me find the spare bottle of Red Dettol..."

Hearing the voices of talking and rubbing of something coming from the front, the unconscious A'ui gradually woke up. Then a glass bottle fell from the sky and hit him on the forehead by chance.

"Ah, my hand slipped!" The girl screamed nervously, "Hey, hey, don't die, hold on!"

In his hazy consciousness, the last remaining image in the Fading One's vision was a pair of long boots with black stockings. The owner of the shoes took out a bottle of red Dettol that he carried with him and stuffed it into his mouth.

Facing the slightly dazzling afternoon sunlight, A Tui walked out of the dim cave. The change of light from darkness to brightness made him squint slightly.

It is certain that someone saved me when I was unconscious.

If you ask why, when A'tai woke up again, the injuries caused by the fall from a high altitude had basically healed, and the person who saved him was no longer there, so he couldn't find anyone to thank.

He once suspected that he had had a dream while in a coma, but the small bottle of red potion beside him and the swelling on his head proved that the sounds he heard and the images he saw were not delusions of near-death.

"Why should I leave? I won't blackmail her. Do people here like to do good deeds without leaving their names?" With a lot of questions in his mind, Ah Tui's eyes swept over the scenery outside the cave.

A towering rock castle stood atop a coastal cliff. Even at the distance of dozens of kilometers, the city was clearly visible to his eyes. And further away, a golden tree, gleaming with brilliant golden light, stood tall above the earth. Its roots reached deep into the borderlands, its branches blotted out the azure sky, and its brilliance captivated all who beheld it.

The Golden Tree guards the royal city of Rodel, awaiting the arrival of the king who will gather the Great Runes scattered across the border and reforge the Elden Ring once again.

"Is that... the golden tree?" A Tui sighed sincerely.

"Yes, that's the Golden Tree, the symbol of this borderland." The uninvited speaker, a suspicious figure in white clothes, white pants, and a white mask, took the initiative to answer the question. "Allow me to introduce myself. I am 'White Mask' Fan Lei."

Ah Tui took a look at the clothes of the person who came and thought to himself, "The gender is wrong, the color is wrong, the person who saved me is not this guy. I'll just listen to what he wants to say."

"Faded One, you must be confused as to why you have come to this land." Van Lei chuckled wickedly, "I don't know where to go, nor what to do. Without the Finger Witch by my side, I can't transform runes into my own strength, and I can't be invited to the Hall of the Round Table... You can only die in obscurity."

As he listened, Ah Tui's mouth twitched, and his hand pressed on the hilt of his straight sword. He thought to himself, "What's wrong with this guy? Is he guarding outside the cave just to discourage those who come out? Or should I just kill him?"

Even a clay figure can still be a little angry, not to mention that since this morning, Ah Tui has encountered nothing but bad things. If White Mask continues to preach in frustration, he will probably have to resort to physical means to silence Fan Lei.

Although he couldn't see the expression beneath the Faded Man's helmet, Fan Lei could sense the gradually growing hostile aura from him. Knowing that the situation was almost critical, he immediately changed the subject, "But fortunately, you met me, so there's still a chance to complete your mission."

"No matter how you look at it, you are standing on the road that must be passed and waiting for something to happen. How can this be considered a blessing?" A'dai complained in his heart.

"The Blood Bank established by the demigod Mung, the master of our Blood Dynasty, strives to provide rune assistance to every confused faded person. As long as you join us Pure-Blood Knights, we will give you a complete set of gorgeous blood noble equipment, with 1000 runes as your starting capital. For each subsequent conquest of a demigod, we will give more rewards after recovering their great runes." Van Lei spoke fluently, and he finished the whole paragraph without taking a breath. He must have repeated the same words countless times to countless people.

At the same time, in the grove not far from the cave exit.

Melina was busy rehearsing her entrance. "Hello, whoever has come through the fog. My name is Melina, and I'd like to negotiate a deal with you."

"Hmm..." After reading this, she tilted her head and thought, "The action is in place, but isn't this opening a bit too cliché? Starting off by talking about negotiating terms, it sounds like a business deal, or like the Doctor, determined to drive the villain crazy, determined to die. He still has time to reach the first blessed point, so maybe we should rethink it."

Nearby, Torrett munched on bland grass, wondering when he'd be able to taste the finest sweetened dried fruit again. He glanced over and saw Van Lei chatting with the Faded One in front of the cave. His eyes widened.

The spirit horse quickly spat out the grass roots in its mouth and bit Melina's cloak, telling her to look over here quickly. If she hesitated any longer, someone would get there first.

"Don't pull me, Torret, it's not dinner time yet." The girl thought the spirit horse was just mad because it was hungry, so she patted its head. "After we finish rehearsing your entrance for the 33rd time, I'll feed you some dried Loya fruit. For now, be patient. After all, the first impression you make on stage is crucial."

Torrett hissed, "Who told you this? Look over there, look over there!"

"You asked me to look over there, you wanted to see that..." Melina finally noticed Van Lei who was talking nonstop, and the Faded One who seemed to be listening very attentively, nodding his head from time to time.

"That masked bastard actually dared to steal my business and steal my client..." Melina, who was hiding not far away waiting for her chance to appear, clenched her fists and gritted her teeth. "I was the one who took a fancy to him first. I can't let him get there first. Torret, let's go!"

"Hiss—(Gentle, the reins are too tight and are pinching my neck.)"

Melina mounted her horse and set off, unleashing a powerful gallop. Taking the shortest possible route, she dashed past the patrolling golden guards, leaving the area's "traffic police" with a flurry of question marks.

And on the other side-

"How's it going? Are the terms offered by Lord Munger very generous?" Van Lei continued tirelessly promoting his bank's products and services. "Our latest target is the city of Stonewell on the cliff. It's the territory of the old and ugly demigod 'Limb-Graco'. If you defeat him, you can reclaim the first Great Rune."

"This guy's been talking for almost ten minutes now. Is he ever going to stop?" Ah Tai was so bored he looked like he was about to doze off. Wearing a helmet, he looked like he was nodding in agreement. This gave Fan Lei the illusion that if he just tried harder, he'd definitely land this deal and boost his quarterly performance.

Just when A'tu was considering whether to hit Fan Lei with a shield, knock him unconscious and then go around him, the rapid sound of horse hooves attracted the attention of the two.

"Who said he didn't have a priestess by his side?" a voice shouted, and Melina, riding a spirit horse, appeared dashingly. "Masked man, open your cataract-ridden eyes and see clearly. I am the finger priestess of the Fading Ones over there, a peerless beauty in the Borderland! My partner was chosen by Queen Marika's blessing, destined to meet the Elden Ring and become the king of the Borderland!"

Seeing this scene, Fan Lei, who was a "blood noble", turned around and ran away without saying a word.

Melina boasted proudly, "Hehe, did you see that, Torret? That dead mask was intimidated by my aura and ran away with his tail between his legs."

"This...Miss." Although he had never seen her face, just by listening to her voice, Ah Dai was 70% sure that the girl who suddenly appeared in front of him was the one who saved him not long ago.

He pointed behind Melina and kindly reminded her, "I don't think he ran away because of you, but because he saw the person following you."

"Eh?" Melina turned around and saw a huge armored giant riding a fully armed warhorse. The knight was made of pure gold, and the heavy armor enchanted with holy attributes reflected a dazzling light in the sunlight.

"Big, big tree guard!" Melina exclaimed, "I was speeding in a hurry just now, and now I'm doomed..."

If the Toretto is the Bugatti of the vehicle world, then the TreeGuard is the Tiger tank. It goes without saying which one would die more miserably if the two collided.

"He seems to think of me as an intruder to be eliminated. There's really nothing I can do." A head-on battle with the tree guards on tall horses in the open field was obviously not a good idea. And Ah Tui didn't intend to abandon the girl who had saved him and escape alone. So the only option left was...

"I'm sorry, can you lend me the control of this horse for a while?" With an apology, Atui turned over and rode on Torret, sitting behind Melina and holding her hands that were holding the reins.

"Eh? But what are you going to do..." Feeling the coolness on the backs of her hands, Melina's panicked heart calmed down again.

The charging tree guards were already within reach, and the knight raised the golden shield in his left hand, intending to crush both of them into meat patties.

Ah Dai was unhurried, swinging the reins vigorously. "Don't worry, I've fought many enemies on horseback before. Against a giant like this, all we have to do is outrun him. Go!"

The golden shield smashed down, and in the gray smoke that rose up, the spirit horse Torret leaped up and galloped wildly with all four hooves, controlling the strong wind and carrying the two people on its back away.

Volume 1: The Journey Begins: Chapter 2: You Are My Partner

The sun was setting in the west, and the curtain of night enveloped the border area.

After searching in vain, the tree guard returned to his territory in disappointment as he could not find the driver who caused the accident. The new Fader killer was on duty 24 hours a day and had to continue to stick to his post.

Melina poked her head out from behind the ruins of the Islay Church and breathed a sigh of relief. "Finally, we got rid of him. He was wearing such heavy armor, but he could still run so fast. It's really unfair."

Behind him, A'tu was comforting the spirit horse Torret while thanking the wandering merchant who lived in the church. It was he who asked the two of them to hide in the church, otherwise this horse chase would probably have to go into overtime.

The wandering merchant, Kale, waved his hand. "Only living customers can bring me more business. Besides, I'm just using this uninhabited land for a short break. You don't look like you'll attack me. Would you like to take a look around and buy something?"

"I'm quite interested in everything you're selling at your stall." As a qualified soldier, even though he had lost his memory of the time before arriving at the border, Ah Tui still adhered to the basic principle of being fully prepared. The colorful items on the stall could all be of some use to him, even though he had nothing. The problem was...

"But I'm sorry, I'm penniless now and don't have any runes on me." He spread his hands helplessly.

A day after coming down from the Chapel of the Princes, poor A-Tai was either unconscious or ran away. He hadn't signed a contract with the Blood Bank, so where could he get Rune?

"It's okay, I have money, let me do it!" Melina immediately took over the conversation excitedly, glancing at her savings with a slightly subtle expression. "I'm a little tight on cash lately. If I buy more things, can you give me a discount? I'll reward you handsomely when my partner becomes king."

Kale: “…”

Ah Di: "..."

After a lot of shopping and bargaining, Melina, holding a pile of miscellaneous things she had bought, pulled the Faded One to sit down next to the Blessing, which was burning with golden light like a bonfire.

Before the conversation began, Torret, who was standing aside, snorted to make his presence felt.

"Okay, stop complaining so loudly." Melina chuckled and gave Lingma a bunch of dried Roya fruits, about twice the usual amount. "I haven't forgotten you, my great contributor. These dried fruits are all for you."

Torrett held the dried fruit in his mouth and went to eat contentedly.

Melina then handed another package to the Faded One. "This jerky is for you. I don't know how big your appetite is, so let me know if it's not enough. Remember to use the Dettol bottle with you. As long as you have the Blessing, you can get unlimited refills. I heard that the Royal City of Rodel has recently developed Dettol bottles with flavors other than the traditional orange and blueberry. I'd love to try them if I get a chance."

"Uh...thank you." After hesitating for two seconds, Ah Tui took the food. If he didn't agree, Melina, who would be reluctant to refuse the hospitality, would probably keep talking.

Feeling the atmosphere was about the same, Ah Tui took the initiative to speak: "I have a lot of questions to ask you. In the cave before..."

"You've got the wrong person, yes, the wrong person!" Melina jumped up as if she had been electrocuted, shaking her hands hastily and denying it flatly. "It was definitely not me who accidentally hit you with the bottle. The injury on your head was purely accidental. I have nothing to do with it."

This girl really doesn't know what it means to be so secretive. She confessed before anyone even started asking.

"Really? Let's just take it as it is." Looking at the girl's face which was flushed even more than that of blessing, A'ti decided not to ask any more questions, otherwise Melina would most likely roll on the ground holding her face, and then normal communication would be impossible.

He then took out the bottle of red dew and said, "You dropped this in your haste to save me, right? Thank you for saving my life. Now it's time to return it to its rightful owner."

"Ah, no, that, ahem..." Melina coughed and straightened her composure, "That thing was originally meant for you."

"Was it originally intended for me?"

"Listen to me, my name is Melina. My mother... Queen Marika has been asking me to work with Nimfogg and Torret to find a Faded One capable of gathering the Great Runes and repairing the Elden Ring." Melina's gaze focused on A'tai's face. "You should know the Finger Priestess, right? They serve the Two Fingers, helping and guiding the Faded Ones, but you don't have a Priestess by your side right now. If you're willing, I can take on the Priestess's duties and transform the Runes into your inner strength. In return, you have to lead me to the Golden Tree. How do you think? Is this a sure win for you?"

"Finger-shaped priestess..." Ah Tui silently pondered the girl's suggestion. "The one with the white mask mentioned this term before. Although I have forgotten many things, I vaguely remember the reason why I was summoned by that voice and came to this land."

Seeing the Faded One remain silent, the impatient Melina excitedly said, "Since you don't refuse, I'll take it as your consent. From today on, I will be your finger priestess, and you will be my partner. You are responsible for leading me to the golden tree, and I will transform the runes into your power. It's a win-win situation! A great victory!"

"Hmm..." Ah Tui was stunned for a second. This girl was very familiar, but he couldn't seem to think of a reason to refuse.

"There's no time to lose, let's try it out." Melina said enthusiastically, "Just for a moment, let me touch you and transform the runes into inner strength."

"Please touch the darkness within me, and that ownerless soul will become your strength."

For some reason, upon hearing Melina's voice, A'tai recalled familiar words. He subconsciously knelt on one knee, placed his left hand inward on his chest, and extended his right palm upward. His distinct black and white eyes gazed affectionately at the girl's delicate face, his movements flowing like water, as if he had done them countless times.

"Why, why did you suddenly get down on one knee in front of me?!" Melina was so shocked that she was incoherent. "We've only known each other for less than half a day. Even if you're interested in this beautiful girl, you should take it one step at a time. How can you just propose right away?"

"Isn't this what they call touch and transformation?"

"No, don't be so formal." Melina took a deep breath, realizing she had overreacted. "Just give me your hand. Remember to take off your gauntlets."

Melina's slender, white index finger touched A'tai's palm. Years of wielding weapons and fighting had left the lines on his hand rough, but it also brought the girl a sense of security and warmth. From today on, she was no longer wandering alone.