Elden Ring: With God Mode Enabled

Chapter 335: The Possibility of Curing the Numen

Bai Shi stood cradled in the Dragonkin Soldier's massive claw as he was carried through the air.

The feeling of the strong wind rushing past was exhilarating.

This crisp night air, in particular, was a much-needed reprieve, allowing Bai Shi to finally breathe a sigh of relief.

After spending so long underground, it had begun to feel a bit oppressive.

Especially since the place he had just visited was nothing like the tranquil and peaceful Siofra River.

In the Ainsel River, ants crammed into every corner of the basin.

The remains of corpses they fed on, mixed with the complex odors of the ants' own lives, created a nauseating stench.

Not to mention Bai Shi's trip to the Lake of Rot.

That Lake of Rot was an out-and-out cesspool.

Although Liurnia of the Lakes had its share of lobsters and spirits...

In comparison, it was practically pristine. Who could possibly complain about this lake now?

The Dragonkin Soldier carried Bai Shi across the skies of Liurnia, flying toward the clifftop fortress of Stormveil.

The Stormhawks emerged from their roosts, investigating the sudden appearance of the Dragonkin Soldier.

Bai Shi used the wind to give them their orders, simultaneously notifying Stormveil of their return.

The Dragonkin Soldier flew quickly, only a little slower than Selinsax.

As such, the two didn't spend much time on the journey and soon arrived outside Stormveil Castle.

Because Stormveil had received advance notice, and it was the dead of night, the Dragonkin Soldier's arrival didn't cause much of a panic.

Bai Shi had the Dragonkin Soldier land at the base of the cliff, beneath the lone bridge leading to Stormveil.

Down there was a vast, undeveloped forest, untouched by human feet.

—With the exception of the Tarnished who were swept off the cliff when challenging Margit, the Fell Omen.

If you piled up all the corpses swept off in the game, you could probably fill this entire ravine, right?

Still, he imagined the vast majority of Tarnished never learned what lay below that cliff.

Geographically, this area was just behind the Gatefront Ruins, an explorable region in the game.

In the game, there was a graveyard here, along with a group of Spirit Jellyfish.

But the varied elevation and dense forest provided such excellent cover that almost no one ever came here.

Travelers usually just turned right, following the main road up the mountain past the dilapidated shack where Roderika stayed, and on toward Stormveil.

Unlike Selinsax, the Dragonkin Soldier couldn't transform into a human to live inside the city.

If his size were closer to a troll's, it wouldn't be an issue, but unfortunately, he was more than just a little bigger.

And there were no suitable spots farther away.

This area happened to be quite large, more than enough space for him to move around, making it a perfect temporary residence for the Dragonkin Soldier.

Within this forest, the surrounding ancient trees barely reached the Dragonkin Soldier's waist.

After the Dragonkin Soldier landed steadily on the ground, Bai Shi began to ponder how to make specific arrangements for him.

Just then, a crisp, surprised voice suddenly sounded beside him.

"Wow, you're huge!"

"Is that an ancient dragon? It looks a little different from what I remember."

"Hey, hey, what are you, anyway?"

"And why is there the presence of a giant and a teardrop inside you?"

Startled by the voice that seemed to materialize right by his ear, Bai Shi whipped his head around to look.

He saw a petite creature in a green robe, which had appeared beside them at some unknown moment.

Before she spoke, Bai Shi hadn't detected her presence at all.

This was definitely not a simple matter of stealth or something similar; after all, she didn't seem to be hiding in the slightest.

'Is this... cognitive masking? Or presence erasure?'

She was now darting around the colossal Dragonkin Soldier at high speed.

The Dragonkin Soldier had also noticed the tiny, flitting thing.

The size difference was absurd. Before the Dragonkin Soldier, calling the little creature a fly would be a gross overstatement.

For some reason, he felt no hostility toward this thing.

Bai Shi had not issued a command, so the Dragonkin Soldier simply stood there silently.

Bai Shi stared at the little creature, his surprise growing.

Although he had never seen one with his own eyes, he had heard Hakan's description a long time ago.

Bai Shi quickly realized what this being was.

It was a pixie.

The very one Hakan had accidentally freed from a cave, perhaps the last remaining pixie in the Lands Between.

Her appearance and all her characteristics matched the description.

Besides, such a magical lifeform was likely one of a kind in the Lands Between; it could only be a pixie.

Upon this realization, Bai Shi didn't make any rash moves, instead choosing to observe her carefully.

He noted the pixie was not much bigger than Small Ranni.

She moved through the air with incredible speed, almost as if she were blinking in and out of existence or teleporting.

Even Bai Shi would lose sight of her at times if he didn't concentrate completely.

'A pixie... why is it here?'

'Was it attracted by the Dragonkin Soldier?'

'It's possible. There was a lot of commotion just now. I just wonder where she's been all this time.'

Watching the pixie dart about, an idea began to form in Bai Shi's mind.

'This might be an opportunity. Maybe I can communicate with her and learn something...'

As Bai Shi was lost in thought, another female voice called down from the bridge leading to Stormveil:

"Lilianna! Why didn't you wait for me? What if you ran into danger?!"

"Ah! Sir Bai Shi..."

The body of the Dragonkin Soldier stood beneath the cliff, towering over the forest.

Though there was still some distance to Stormveil's lone bridge, it was close enough for someone up there to see them.

Bai Shi followed the sound of the voice, looking up toward the bridge.

There, on the not-so-distant bridge, stood a young woman in a witch's long robe, a light veil obscuring her eyes.

Suddenly noticing Bai Shi held in the Dragonkin Soldier's hand, the young woman cried out, her voice a mixture of shyness and irrepressible joy.

Appearing before Bai Shi was Irena, whom he hadn't seen in a long time and who was supposed to be at Castle Morne.

Only, the Irena before him now was somewhat different from the one in his memory.

The old Irena was pretty.

But only within the scope of a normal human, and she was still quite young.

Not to mention, she lacked the unique aura that Melina, Ranni, and even his teacher Sellen possessed.

But the Irena before him now left Bai Shi utterly astonished.

She radiated a faint, captivating air.

It wasn't due to the deliberate or passive use of any power; it was simply that her "charisma" attribute had gone through the roof.

More tangibly, Irena's appearance had also become even more beautiful.

To put it simply using the character creation stats from a certain edition of Call of Cthulhu:

A human's Appearance attribute ranges from 3-18. The old Irena was around a 16.

But the current Irena was about a 20, a level beyond what a human character could normally be rolled.

Of course, in a world like the Lands Between, where extraordinary powers were commonplace and often of a high level, such beauty, while rare, wasn't so unheard of as to be unacceptable.

Melina and Ranni's appearances were well above that value, especially given the true demigod blood that flowed in their veins.

What truly astonished Bai Shi was the speed of Irena's transformation.

He remembered that the last time he had seen her, she had not undergone such a change.

It was as if the girl next door he'd gone to school with just yesterday had suddenly announced she was now a magical girl capable of transforming.

Moreover, it seemed something on a deeper level about her had also changed...

Seeing Irena after so long, Bai Shi pushed down his doubts and offered a greeting.

"Ah, Irena, long time no see." Then, a realization struck him, and he blinked, a little puzzled.

How had Irena recognized him before he had even spoken?

And also, who was Lilianna?

Bai Shi turned his gaze toward the pixie, who was still dancing around the Dragonkin Soldier.

Her?

Was she connected to Irena's current changes?

The mysteries were multiplying. It seemed it would take some time to unravel them all...

--

Just like any other evening, Irena and the pixie Lilianna wandered aimlessly through Stormveil Castle.

This had already become their daily routine, something they repeated every day.

Although they had been here for some time and had long since explored every nook and cranny of Stormveil...

The pixie maintained a level of curiosity so vigorous it was almost abnormal, constantly finding new things to investigate even in familiar scenes.

And Irena, having regained her sight, was equally willing to accompany Lilianna again and again, repeatedly observing the place she now called home.

Committing Stormveil to memory gave her a surreal feeling, as if she were truly alive in this world.

It was a stark contrast to her life before.

By the time she snapped out of her thoughts, it was deep into the night once more.

Just as she was preparing to head back, their attention was suddenly captured by a colossal beast soaring through the sky.

Gazing up at the passing ice-blue wings, Irena was utterly stunned.

She had never seen such a creature before.

Before she could react, Lilianna had already zipped off, determined to meet the big fellow.

Although Irena was reluctant to go, she had no choice but to follow the unique trail Lilianna left behind in her vision.

Along the way, Irena's heart pounded with fear.

It hadn't been long since Lilianna had shared her pixie eyes with her, granting her the gift of sight.

Until this moment, the most powerful and terrifying creature she had ever seen was the skull of Agheel, which hung beside Bai Shi's throne.

Thanks to the pixie's power, Irena could perceive the fearsome strength the dragon possessed when it was alive.

But the immense creature that had just flown past them emanated an oppressive aura that far surpassed Agheel's.

Lilianna had gone off on her own initiative, leaving Irena no choice but to grit her teeth and follow.

She never would have imagined, however, that she would find the very person she had been longing to see.

Watching Bai Shi leap from the creature's hand to land beside her, Irena could only stare at him in a daze.

Although she had never truly seen Bai Shi's face before, she had once traced his features with her hands, committing them firmly to memory.

That was why she could recognize him without even needing to hear his voice.

Looking at Irena, Bai Shi asked in amazement:

"Irena, your eyes..."

"Can you see now?"

Bai Shi's question snapped Irena back to reality.

Irena quickly nodded, lifting the veil that covered her eyes.

Her eyes were now open, and they shone with an unusual, incredibly profound light.

Seeing Irena like this, Bai Shi nodded.

He had to admit, it was a true medical miracle.

This was wonderful. Not only had he managed to save her, but now her eyes had been inexplicably healed as well.

It made up for the regrets of the game, and Bai Shi was overjoyed.

To get a better look at Irena's now-special eyes, Bai Shi leaned in closer to meet her gaze.

But this proximity made Irena too bashful to look directly at him.

She averted her face, lowering the veil back over her eyes. Fidgeting with the hem of her clothes, she stammered,

"It's... it's all thanks to Lilianna's power..."

"Oh, right, I haven't introduced you to Lilianna yet."

The mention of the magical pixie helped Irena calm down slightly.

Bai Shi nodded and asked,

"What's the story with that pixie?"

"Tell me a little about her."

Taking a deep breath, Irena regained her composure.

Looking over at Lilianna, who was still pestering the Dragonkin Soldier, Irena began to explain.

"Pixies are magical creatures, possessed of an abnormally potent curiosity."

"And their ability to focus seems strange; their actions often change completely from one moment to the next."

"She's a very, very whimsical creature, but it's impossible to dislike her."

Recalling Lilianna's various exploits, Irena smiled.

"A while ago, Lilianna suddenly appeared out of thin air in my room and sought me out."

"We formed a pact, and since then, I've gained the eyes and power of a pixie."

"Let me start with the pixie eyes, which I'm most familiar with."

"It's a vision that encompasses everything around me, with no blind spots whatsoever. I can even see clearly what's behind me."

"Because I used to be... well, let's just say I adapted to it fairly well."

"Moreover, through this perspective, I can perceive something called 'concepts'."

...

After listening to Irena's description of the pixie eyes, Bai Shi finally began to understand.

At the same time, he had gleaned a critical piece of information.

'Concept.' It was a very abstract, yet crucial, thing.

Perhaps, he could now attempt to cure the Numen.

The fusion of flesh between the Numen and the Horned Men could not be healed by ordinary means.

Although Bai Shi still couldn't quite grasp what 'concept' truly looked like from a pixie's point of view...

It was clearly different from the perspective he employed after his 'Perception' attribute had broken its limits.

Since Irena repeatedly mentioned this thing called 'concept,' then perhaps there was reason to hope.

And she had also mentioned that when she looked at the Dragonkin Soldier, she could even pinpoint the origin of each part of its musculature.

If she could distinguish the Numen and the Horned Men on a 'conceptual' level, then he could likely attempt to heal them.

As for how to separate them once they were distinguished...

As long as the two could be delineated, Bai Shi could then use the analytic power of his Great Runes to make an attempt.

In the beginning, the Great Runes could only analyze power, allowing him to wield the strength of different lifeforms.

Later, he gradually became able to analyze life's very structure.

He had made considerable progress along the way.

While Bai Shi couldn't yet perform feats like reshaping life on a cellular level, he was already capable of more advanced applications.

His recent radical modifications to the Dragonkin Soldier had been one such advanced attempt.

The successful outcome had given him a measure of confidence.

He couldn't be certain this plan would work, but at least now, there was a glimmer of hope.

Bai Shi let out a breath of relief, speaking to the pixie who had, at some point, appeared on his shoulder.

"There's something I need your help with."

Recommending a friend's book, title: My Wife is a Nuke-Girl.

Synopsis: A male protagonist returns from the wasteland with PTSD, helping the female protagonist, who was raised as a human bomb, adapt to modern society.

Tags: Light-hearted, comedic, superpower awakening, sweet romantic daily life.