madnovel Chapter 1, ahead of the level
Chapter 1, ahead of the level
The deep darkness suddenly broke through.
Xia Tong slowly opened her eyes.
Cold, damp, and foul-smelling.
He found himself lying in a patch of mud, barely clothed, with only a tattered cloth wrapped around his waist to cover his body.
All around him were ruins and rubble.
"Who am I? Where am I?"
Xia Tong slowly sat up, her mind still a bit blank.
He looked around and found the place so unfamiliar, yet strangely familiar.
In the distance, there seemed to be figures moving about.
Wait... that outfit?
A red and green robe, a huge shield...
Isn't this the Grek soldier from the old man's ring?
Xia Tong struggled to her feet, leaning against the dilapidated stone wall beside her, and squinted to carefully examine the lingering figure in the distance.
Because he was wearing nothing, with wet mud clinging to his skin, a gust of cold wind immediately gave him goosebumps.
Instantly, Xia Tong's heart sank to the bottom.
"I think I've really time-traveled!"
He looked down at his entire outfit—oh, he had nothing.
However, there was a huge wooden stick at hand.
Starting with just a stick, all your equipment comes from hacking and slashing?
"And what is this?"
Xia Tong noticed that she had a pendant on her wrist.
It's called a pendant, but it's actually an irregular, grayish-white crystal, only the size of a little finger.
Its texture is like unpolished amber, with a rough surface.
But through the dim light, two swirling, smoky shadows could be seen hovering inside.
As Xia Tong focused her gaze on it, the shape of the shadow gradually became clearer.
Those were two small, ferocious-looking monsters.
Fangy Little Devil!
"Could this be the ashes that can be summoned?"
"But... I don't have a soul-summoning bell right now."
Now that things have come to this, Xia Tong has basically accepted reality.
I was transported to the world of "Elden Ring" and my initial profession was the most miserable "useless person".
A thought suddenly occurred to him.
Sure enough, just as he expected, a semi-transparent character panel appeared in his mind.
[Character Data]
Rating: 1
Holds 0 Runes
Vitality: 10
Concentration: 20
Stamina: 10
Strength: 10
Dexterity: 10
Intelligence: 18
Faith: 2
Sensing: 10
Sure enough, the level is only 1.
and many more?
Xia Tong was stunned.
"Why is my concentration score only 20?"
"And his [Intelligence] is as high as 18 points?"
"And [Faith]... Why is it only 2 points? That's way too low, even lower than an average person."
This unscientific!
After thinking about it carefully, Xia Tong suddenly realized something.
Is it because I'm a time traveler?
It seems that the nearly sixteen years of schooling in his previous life were not in vain, as his intelligence level directly reached 18.
And for an atheist who has received modern scientific education, having only two beliefs seems... quite reasonable?
Xia Tong remembered clearly that the useless person in the game was the only character in "Elden Ring" who started from level 1, with all attributes fixed at a mediocre 10 points.
This panel of mine is clearly a "special edition".
"Oh well, what's done is done."
Let's stop thinking about these things and focus on the present.
So, Xia Tong gripped the rough wooden stick tightly with both hands, crouched down, and, using the ruins as cover, crept towards the lone Grek soldier from behind.
One step, two steps...
Click!
A crisp cracking sound rang out in the silent ruins.
Xia Tong looked down at her feet.
There was a broken, dry branch there.
"It's over."
The Grik soldier in front paused and slowly turned around.
He was wearing a dirty, earthy-yellow robe, with a filthy golden lion emblem painted on his chest and shield.
That was the symbol of the Golden King, Greke.
Although the soldier's eyes were numb and empty, the moment he saw Xia Tong, they were filled with instinctive killing intent.
Without saying a word, he raised the King's Army straight sword in his hand and swung it at Xia Tong!
"Let's give it our all!"
With nowhere to dodge, Xia Tong immediately raised the large wooden stick in his hand and held it horizontally in front of him to block!
Crack!
Wood chips flew everywhere.
A deep gash appeared on the thick wooden stick, but fortunately it did not break.
The immense recoil made Xia Tong's hands go numb, but a hint of surprise flashed in his eyes.
"Wait! My body... seems to be doing alright?"
Although the previous incarnation was a useless person, he was still a person with a faded constitution.
Beneath his dark skin were sharply defined muscles, exuding power.
With the wooden stick blocking her path, the powerful sword strike from the Grek soldier didn't put much pressure on Xia Tong.
Moreover, the moment he grasped the wooden stick, a strange memory surged into his mind.
"This is... a built-in combat skill?"
Combat Skill - Savage Roar!
Just then, the Grik soldiers, seeing that their first attack had missed, drew their swords and charged again.
Because she wasn't wearing any clothes, Xia Tong felt as light as a feather, without any burden of protective gear.
He rolled to the side, dodging the attack in a disheveled but effective manner.
Then, he leaped forward with his right leg and actually crashed into the arms of the soldier, Grik!
"roar--!!!"
Xia Tong suddenly let out a roar.
The invisible sound waves spread outwards as if they were tangible, and the air itself seemed to vibrate.
Combat technique activated!
Instantly, Xia Tong felt her blood flow accelerate wildly, her body become hot, and power surged throughout her body.
The wooden stick in his hand seemed to have become much lighter.
He swung his arms in a wide arc and slammed them hard onto the huge shield of the Grik soldier!
boom!
The shield shook violently at first!
boom!
The second blow caused the Grik soldier's arm to go limp, leaving his center wide open!
Two upward slashes followed by a horizontal slash!
This is the heavy attack combo following "Savage Roar"!
boom!
The third heavy blow slammed down!
The stance of the Grik soldier in front of him was instantly broken, and he staggered backward like a drunkard.
opportunity!
Xia Tong spoke in the blink of an eye.
He raised the huge wooden club high with both hands and, with all his might, smashed it down on the soldier's forehead!
Boom!
That was a solid hit.
The soldier fell to the ground, his helmet dented, dizzy and disoriented, and staggered as he tried to struggle to his feet.
"Lie down!"
Xia Tong's eyes reddened, and she unleashed several more flustered staff techniques!
Finally, the soldier collapsed to the ground, no longer moving.
At the same time, a faint golden light emanated from the body of the Grek soldier and flowed into Xia Tong's body.
"This must be Rune!"
Xia Tong sensed it.
This Grik soldier just gave him 64 runes.
"Huff... huff..."
Xia Tong was panting heavily, just about to celebrate the first kill.
Suddenly, the sound of rapid footsteps and the clanging of armor came from not far away.
It turned out that when Xia Tong used Savage Roar, the loud noise attracted other Grik soldiers nearby.
These soldiers suffered mental impairment due to the shattering of the magic ring, becoming extremely violent.
Hearing the commotion, their basic instinct to pursue the enemy compelled them to begin surrounding the area.
"run!"
Xia Tong's expression changed.
The world of Old Man Ring is too dangerous, and this is not a game!
He's currently in a physical body; if he gets killed, he'll really be done for!
He looked down at his arm.
There was a wound there, grazed by the blade of the Grik soldier's sword. It wasn't deep, but blood was already gushing out.
The burning pain actually made Xia Tong's mind even clearer.
Without thinking twice, he picked up the wooden stick and ran into the depths of the nearby dense forest.
As he ran, he noticed several lights appearing on the outskirts of the forest.
Each flash of light represents a Grik soldier holding a torch.
Xia Tong held her breath and entered the dense forest under the cover of night, carefully avoiding the firelight.
Finally, he found a small cave behind a hidden thicket of bushes.
Xia Tong crawled into the hole and plopped down on the ground.
"I'm so hungry... I don't even have any clothes on, I'm completely exhausted!"
A cold wind rushed into the cave entrance.
Xia Tong really wanted to look up at the sky and roar.
Being a programmer in my past life, even though it was like being a beast of burden, was still much better than being a "naked man" in the world of the Old Man's Ring!
Fortunately, the Grik soldiers in front of the checkpoint did not venture deep into the dense forest to pursue them.
"No, we can't just sit here and wait to die."
"In this cold weather, if you're not wearing clothes, you'll either be hacked to death or freeze to death."
After a while, once it was confirmed that it was safe outside,
Despite the pain from her wounds, Xia Tong quietly stepped out of the cave and gazed in the direction of the ruins.
There, the body of the Grek soldier who had been killed by Xia Tong still lay.
He crouched low and used the bushes as cover to sneak past.
With great effort, they dragged the corpse of the Grik soldier to a corner—a blind spot.
After that, Xia Tong began "looting the corpse".
First, he took off the dirty outer robe.
Then, with great effort, he unfastened the leather buckles and removed the inner chainmail.
Then, the leg armor and chest armor were peeled off together.
Finally, there was the King's Army straight sword, which was already somewhat rusted.
It must be said that the smell on these clothes was a bit overpowering, a mixture of sweat and blood.
But in order to survive, we can't worry about that anymore.
He tore off a few strips of cloth from his tattered robe and used them to lightly bandage the wound on his arm to stop the bleeding.
This armor is covered in mud and blood, so it's impossible to wear it directly now.
Xia Tong carried the suit she had taken off back to the dense forest.
I carefully washed it in that small puddle under the moonlight, and then hung it in a well-ventilated spot in the cave to air dry.
After doing all this, Xia Tong was panting and exhausted.
My stomach started rumbling loudly, much to my dismay.
"Oh, right, in those bushes over there... there seem to be some red Roya berries."
This fruit can be found everywhere in the dense forests of Nymgf.
Despite her hunger, Xia Tong carefully searched the area near the cave entrance.
He filled a whole bag with the leftover scraps of cloth and then began to wolf down the food.
"Um……"
"It's not very juicy, slightly sweet, not bitter, but not delicious either."
"However, it's enough to fill our stomachs."
Looking through the narrow opening at the few streaks of firelight lingering outside the dense forest in the distance, Xia Tong still felt somewhat uneasy.
He then placed some dry branches in front of the cave entrance.
That way, if someone comes in and breaks a branch, the noise will wake him up.
After taking the final defensive measures, a wave of exhaustion washed over me.
And so, he curled up in the corner and finally fell into a deep sleep.
......
late at night.
All sounds are silent.
"Toret, is this person in the cave... the one you're looking for?"
The cool moonlight slowly spilled onto the cave entrance.
A translucent figure slowly emerged, like a ghost.
Beside her was a grey-brown horse with two horns on its head.
The spirit horse named Torret looked at Xia Tong, who was fast asleep in the cave, and snorted twice, as if to express its approval.
The girl's single eye, hidden beneath her hood, gleamed with a probing light as she whispered:
"This man was already dead... He was lying in the ruins of a building in front of the checkpoint, where he was slashed to death by two squads of Grik soldiers with white wolves."
"But......."
The girl's voice carried a hint of confusion and surprise:
"This afternoon, he miraculously came back to life."
Torret lowered his head and rubbed his hand against the girl's palm.
The girl remained silent for a moment, took a deep look at the scantily clad man inside the cave, and then slowly disappeared into the darkness.
"Since you chose this person... let's observe them a little longer."
"Perhaps, he really might become king."