Elden Ring, my witch is a talkative beautiful girl

Melina picked up a stick from the ground and joined in beating Patchy: "I let you deceive my feelings with a piece of cloth, and let you try to lend money at high interest rates. Let's see if you dare to do it again in the future."

"Hey, I've already apologized! Stop it!" He had been playing dead, but this time the bald man couldn't hold on any longer. "My health bar is almost empty. Two more hits and I'll be dead!"

Volume 1: The Journey Begins: Chapter 5: Teleportation Trap

By the campfire, Patch stroked his bald head and said sincerely, "To be honest, I attacked you just now because I was controlled by the evil dark prayer. I hope you don't mind. It was just a misunderstanding. Now that we've talked it out, how about letting the grudge fade away like the river?"

stare--

A'tai was skeptical, while Melina didn't believe it at all.

However, this level of gaze was nothing to Patch. His skin was so thick that even the ancient dragon's lightning could not easily penetrate it.

"Actually, I've been planning to retire recently and start a business with my men." Ignoring their gazes, Patch continued, "Because the risks of being a bandit are too great. If you're not careful, you could get into trouble. Today happens to be the first day of Patch's store opening. Congratulations on being our first customers! You'll receive a beautiful gift from Patch's store."

If there were a lie-making contest in the border area, Patch would easily take home the first-place trophy. That is, provided the contest offered a generous prize. Patch would never bother with anything unprofitable.

Melina was excited when she heard this: "A beautiful gift? What is that? Is it another cloth top?"

"No, no, no, how could that be? I, Patch, have always been honest with people. That box just now was just a harmless little joke to seduce stupid... I mean, to scare the guests." He almost said that he was exposed, but luckily he reacted quickly and corrected himself, "This time it's real."

Patch yelled to his men, "Hey guys, hurry up and bring over 'that thing' we prepared for our distinguished guest."

"Yes, boss!"

The four thieves immediately took the order and carried out a new treasure chest from the tent where they usually rested. Seeing how breathless they were, the things in the chest seemed to be quite heavy.

"What's in here is the best merchandise from Patch's store. Please accept it." Patch patted the box, trying to look good, and smiled with his burnt yellow teeth.

Ah Tui's eyes flickered between Patch and the box. A voice in his heart warned him that this guy definitely had bad intentions: "You seem really eager for us to open this box?"

"It's an illusion. This is definitely your illusion." Patch rubbed his hands. "Everyone calls me 'good guy' Patch, don't you think so?"

The latter sentence was spoken to his subordinates.

Several soldiers stood at attention and responded righteously.

"Yes! The boss is insidious and cunning!"

"The boss is so cunning!"

"The boss is stingy!"

Melina pinched her nose and squinted her eyes, saying, "These words don't sound like 'nice guy' at all."

It's undeniable that Baldy's villainous image has become ingrained in everyone's minds, even among his minions. Patch didn't expect these free laborers, whose IQs were no less than 60, to speak properly. He spread his hands and said nonchalantly, "Anyway, I'll give you the box. It's up to you whether you want to take the contents or not. But after today, the store will recycle it. I'm really reluctant to part with the treasures in here, so I won't wait any longer."

"Who said we don't want it?" Melina rushed to the box. "I want to see what treasures are inside. If you dare to trick us with a cloth shirt again, this beautiful girl will make you pay!"

Ah Tui followed her and muttered softly, "I have a bad feeling."

Melina grabbed the edge of the wooden box with both hands and opened the lid of the treasure chest with force. The box was empty and a burst of white smoke rushed towards them in an instant. The two people facing the treasure chest were unable to dodge and were hit at the same time.

"Amei, grab my hand!"

"Damn baldy, there's a teleportation trap in the box..." Before Melina could finish her words, the two people trapped in the trap were forcibly teleported. The last sound they heard was Patch's evil laughter as his conspiracy succeeded.

"Hehehe... Didn't anyone tell you that you can't just trust what you see in this borderland? Being deceived by false appearances and trusting others will cost you dearly."

Although the process was extremely repetitive and full of twists and turns, and he had to resort to self-torture, retreating to advance, and playing hard to get, Patch was still satisfied with the result. Having fallen into the teleportation trap he carefully laid, these two evildoers had no hope of escaping.

The teleportation had come and gone as quickly as it had come. When Ah Tui regained consciousness from the smoke, he discovered that they were no longer in the cave. Before him lay a lush, verdant forest. The midday sun shone through the gaps between the leaves, casting specks of dust on the decaying leaves.

He didn't know if the treasure chest in the other world would open its bloody mouth and bite off the head of the person who opened it, or swing its two-meter-long splayed legs to trample people to death. But he was certain of one thing: the treasure chest at the border could be a dangerous teleportation trap, and if you weren't careful, you would lose your way.

It is said that some teleportation traps handed down from ancient times can teleport victims hundreds of kilometers away in one breath. At least it doesn't look like this one of them. It seems that the surrounding environment is still within the boundaries of Nimgefu Land.

"I'm so pissed off, so pissed off, so pissed off!" Melina stamped her foot in frustration. She'd been hanging around the border for so long, and today she'd been so easily tricked. It was a complete and utter shame. Miss Miko was so embarrassed, she was practically exploding with rage.

If Patchy fell into her hands, he would definitely be chopped into small pieces with a meat saw, sealed in a large pot, and thrown into the sea to drift for 10,000 years before she could get rid of the hatred in her heart.

"It's good that we didn't disperse. This place doesn't look like a dangerous place." Ah Tui was very calm. "Now it's time to go back and settle the score with Patch..."

"Rustle, rustle—"

A strange friction sound interrupted his words, and the two noticed that at the 12 o'clock position directly behind them, a majestic black animal stood on two feet, rubbing its front paws against a towering tree that was seven or eight meters high.

"Rune Bear?" Sharp-eyed Melina instantly recognized the creature's origin. "And it's a mature one? That damn bald donkey teleported us to the Fog Forest Ruins?!"

The Rune Bear, the dominant force in the Border Forest, exists in three forms: a growing cub, a mature giant, and a fully grown red-brown bear. Its combat power doubles with each stage of growth, making it one of the three kings of the wild, along with the giant crabs and shrimps of the lake region. A typical Faded Bear would be instantly killed by a single blow before even having time to flee.

"I take back what I said before, it's not safe here at all." Ah Tui drew his sword and raised his shield, ready for battle, because Rune Bear had already noticed the takeaway that was delivered to the door, and his two green bean-sized eyes were staring at the two of them.

"Roar--"

A roar like a tsunami sounded, and the black bear stomped the ground with all four claws. The ground shook as if a derailed and out-of-control train was rushing towards them.

Volume 1: The Journey Begins: Chapter 6: Blaze the Half-Werewolf

In the ruins of the Mist Forest, the Faded One fought against the Mist Forest Overlord, the Rune Bear. Due to the huge difference in strength between the two sides, he was mainly on the defensive most of the time. Occasionally, he would seize the opportunity of the black bear's attack to stab with a sword, but it was difficult to cause fatal injuries to the huge beast with hard fur.

Melina hid behind a tree, watching the battle intently with one eye. "Buddy, Rune Bear is very strong, you have to be careful. If things don't work out, we can just run away."

If they had a sleeping pot, one of those beast-killing sleep pots, they could have just smashed it on the Rune Bear's head and put it into a deep slumber. They could have easily taken advantage of its nap and made a grand exit. Unfortunately, the witch didn't have this item in her yesterday's supplies. She had intended to gather the materials after receiving her tool pouch and prepare some for a rainy day, but plans couldn't keep up, and she had no choice but to confront it head-on.

"I have the rhythm of the battle under my control." Ah Dai blocked another sharp bear claw attack and said without looking back: "Although it may take a long time, we should be able to win."

Even if he summoned Torret to escape, at close range, the spirit horse might not be able to outrun the angry bear in the dense forest. Unless it was absolutely necessary, A'tai did not want to expose his back to the enemy.

Ah Tui's gestures were as steady as a rock, and he stabbed Rune Bear's body with sword after sword. After more than ten minutes of hard fighting, he finally accumulated a lot of strength, causing the big bear to bleed profusely and fall to the ground.

"It's not easy." Ah Dai sighed, and felt that his left hand holding the shield was almost numb. The moment he turned around, something unexpected happened.

"Roar--"

"Photography stick!"

Melina's screams and the bear's roars mixed together, and the giant bear, in its last moments of life, suddenly pounced from the ground and pinned the unsuspecting Faded One to the ground. The beast's terrifying vitality and wildness that was not afraid of death were fully revealed at this moment.

"I was careless. Now things are a little difficult." Ah Ti never expected that this bear would pretend to be dead and deceive people.

The bear's claws on either side of his body were so powerful and heavy that it was impossible for someone like him, who mainly focused on intelligence, to break free. The bones under the armor gradually began to make crisp "crackling" sounds. If he continued, he would be in danger of being crushed by the giant bear and suffering comminuted fractures.

Will the bear die first from losing all its blood, or will it be crushed into a metal can first? If there is no third party to intervene, no one can guarantee that they will be able to hold on to the end.

Seeing that A'tu was in imminent danger, Melina's right hand, hidden under her cloak, grasped the hilt of the dagger, but unexpectedly, a swift black shadow was one step faster than her and took action first.

The half-wolf, half-human shadow hunter jumped and leaped between the tree branches, and in a moment he came to the blind spot behind the Rune Bear, and suddenly slashed down with the two-meter-long royal giant sword.

Combat skill, spinning slash!

The greatsword swirled, splitting the mountain with force. The battle situation changed in an instant. The already seriously injured giant bear was cut in half by the half-werewolf, and died on the spot. This time, it was dead and could not be deader. If it wanted to move again, it would have to turn into ashes, or consider joining the "Tibia Summoning Ship Family Bucket" series.

After escaping death, Melina ran to help A-Tai up and took the initiative to hand his bottle of dew to her mouth.

The half-werewolf slid his greatsword back onto his back, his fur-covered black armor making a soft, crackling sound as he moved. "The Faded One and your partner, the Finger Witch? What brings you to this desolate ruin?"

"Thank you for helping us." Melina thanked them first, then continued, "As for why we came to the Misty Forest Ruins, it's a long story..."

After some conversation, A Tui and Melina recounted a series of events that had happened to them from morning till now.

"So that's how it is. It was Kale who asked you to wipe out the bandit gang, but you ended up falling into a trap they set. Since he's someone Kale knows, he's probably not a suspicious person." The half-werewolf murmured, his attitude noticeably friendlier. He continued, "My name is Blaze, and I'm under my master's orders to search this area for the whereabouts of a man named Darriwell. If you see him, please let me know."

Melina asked curiously, "Does your master want to catch up with friends?"

"No, I came to him to kill him." Blaze flatly denied, "He was once a comrade who walked the same path with me, but now he is nothing more than a traitor who has betrayed his friends and turned to the dark side. A traitor must get what he deserves."

After hearing this, the two men's interest in helping to find people was obviously reduced by half. It is best not to get involved in other people's hatred casually. However, they still promised Blaze that if they saw the Darryl he mentioned, they would come to the Mist Forest Ruins to inform him.

The half-werewolf continued to search the nearby area, while the faded duo stayed where they were, looking at the big bear's body thoughtfully.

"Photography stick."

"Ok?"

"What do we do next?"

"Let's settle personal grudges. I have a good idea."

"If I'm not mistaken, my partner and I had the same idea. Let's go and have a good time."

Thirty minutes later——

The sneaky Patch appeared in the ruins of the fog forest and saw the bodies of Ati, Melina, and Rune Bear on the ground.

"They fought so horribly, yet they both perished." The bald man's eyes lit up. "Don't blame me for being disloyal. Blame you for being so stupid. Sell both of their bodies to Gotok, the gatekeeper, and add the bear skin and gallbladder... Hehehe, this will make a killing."

After using the bear to kill someone, he, the mastermind, of course, had to clean up the mess at the scene. While meat can be eaten and digested by the bear, weapons and armor are not on Rune Bear's menu. He's a bear, not a Nobita, and he can't summon a blue robot cat to unfold its four-dimensional pockets and store things.

"Hasn't anyone told you that you can't trust your eyes in this part of the borderland?"

"Being deceived by false appearances and trusting others will lead to a terrible price."

A'tu and Melina, who should have died tragically under the claws of the Rune Bear, stood up as if nothing had happened. Their plan of pretending to be dead was a great success!

Patch looked as if he had seen a ghost, his eyes almost popping out of his head: "You...you two are not dead!"

The two of them surrounded Patch from the left and right. Ah Tui stretched his muscles and said, "Do you have anything else to explain about what you just said? After Ah Mei stabs you to death, I can carve your last words on the tombstone. If you don't have anything to say, let's just do it."

Patch stepped back, trying to control the situation: "It's a misunderstanding, it's all a misunderstanding. I think we need to sit down and have a good talk."

But this time, A'tu and Melina didn't want to listen to his nonsense at all.

"When I saw your bald head, I felt a sense of familiarity. Saying you're controlled by dark prayer is just an excuse, right? Because that's just your nature."

"You bald bastard, you actually dared to use a teleportation trap to trap us? You are destined to die, and your whole family is destined to die!"

Seeing the two approaching, Patch immediately used the unique skill he had practiced for many years outside the border area, "Running is the best strategy", and even made an excuse when he ran away: "I suddenly remembered that I forgot to put out the fire when I left, so I can't accompany you two for now--"

"Don't run!"

"Stop!"

"Who would be so stupid as to stand still and not run?"

The dense forest wasn't suitable for spirit horses, and it wasn't long before the two were left behind by the shrewd Patch. When it came to survival skills, few in the borderlands could compare to Patch. He had the will to survive etched into his very nature.

"Amei, do you still want to keep chasing?" Ah Tui's intuition told him that catching the bald guy was as difficult as climbing to the sky. "We've achieved our goal of scaring him, so why don't we just let it go this time and let him go?"

Melina, furious, refused to give up. "It doesn't matter. There's a saying in the Land of Reeds: the monk may escape, but the temple cannot. We know where his base is, so we'll just go and rob his property. This time, we'll make him hand over all the looted wealth."

However, when they returned to Mengliu Cave, the place was empty.

The wind blows the fallen leaves, and there is silence everywhere. The cave is misty and empty.

Pachi scraped the ground and carried the "temple" away with his men. The nomadic people on the grassland were not as fast as him in packing up their belongings.

Volume 1: The Beginning of the Journey: Chapter 7

"Buddy, Rune's transformation is complete." Melina released her hand inside the ruins of the church. "Try it and see how it feels."

Ah Tui shook hands and jumped a few times on the spot. He could feel his body becoming lighter and the armor on his body was not so heavy anymore. "Is this the ability to transform runes into strength? It's so convenient and powerful."

The runes dropped by the Rune Bear a few days ago, combined with the contributions from the bandit group and the nearby wildlife, are more than enough to sustain continuous upgrades. This time, the focus of the upgrades is on vitality, endurance, and agility, all of which can immediately improve combat effectiveness.

"Hehe, have you seen how powerful this beautiful girl is?" Melina's tail was almost raised to the sky. "A 9% efficient conversion rate. As long as you collect enough runes, you will continue to become stronger."

"Can I ask where the other one percent went?"

"That's just wear and tear, normal wear and tear."

In fact, the money was collected by the witch as a handling fee and added to her private money.

Melina coughed lightly and changed the subject. "Well, after a few days of preparation, it's almost time for us to head towards the first Great Rune." She pointed her index finger at the city on the cliff that belonged to the demigod "Limb Reattachment" Greg. "Target, Stonewell City!"

Ah Tui scratched his head: "That's what I said, but it's not that easy to defeat a demigod, right?"

It's been quite some time since Queen Marika summoned the Faded Ones back to the border, but no one has yet managed to break through this first barrier. Greg, a demigod, certainly wouldn't challenge anyone to a duel at the gates of the city. The thousands of men under his command aren't there to work for nothing.

"Don't worry, I'm prepared. Only a fool would go head-on with those patrolling soldiers. Being outnumbered certainly has its advantages." Melina pulled out a parchment map and traced it across the map, drawing a pleasing arc. "Gerrick's main forces are led by several knights and stationed in the camp outside the pass. Those blind men don't have very good eyesight. We just need to sneak through the bushes outside the camp, quickly defeat the mountain goblins guarding the pass, and break through. Aside from a few mounted Kaidan mercenaries, no soldier can catch Torret."

"It's a good idea to sneak in. There's no need to kill all the soldiers who stand in our way." Ah Tui nodded slightly. "But where did you get this map? Ah Mei, did you draw it yourself when you were gathering information?"

"No," Melina said, slamming a book twice as thick as a brick on the table. "The geography magazines in the royal city have information on every area of ​​the borderland. They even list the secret passages and hidden doors in Stonewell and the shortcuts there. Nimgefu has a beautiful natural environment and a well-developed ecology, making it a top destination for holiday travel. Few people want to visit places like Mount Glir and Galide."

"Can such confidential documents be published in a magazine casually?!" Ah Tai was sweating profusely after hearing this. The person who published this magazine was probably powerful enough to be half the King of Elden.

Melina packed her things and tossed them into a leather bag. "There are many people coming to the border area. It's not surprising that some of them are strong and have unique hobbies. When it gets dark, we'll have dinner and walk Lao Qin, Er Yin, and Xiao Ye around. Then we'll start the battle."

"These three are wolves, not dogs..." After hearing what the witch said, A-Tu suddenly felt no longer nervous and felt like he was strolling in his own backyard.

That night, the moon was dark and the stars were sparse. In front of the Storm Pass, one could vaguely see the flickering torches in the hands of the night patrol soldiers and hear their listless yawns.

Watching the passing soldiers go away, Ah Tui, who was hiding in the grass, breathed a sigh of relief: "The quality of these soldiers is even lower than I thought. Are all the troops at the border like this?"

I thought the infiltration plan was not that simple and there would be a few unavoidable conflicts. However, once I started, I found that it was easier than I thought. The work attitude of these soldiers was simply perfunctory.

"Nimgefu's army wasn't like this before." Melina followed him carefully, "But since that battle, the morale of this army has been completely broken."