Death, a heavy topic. People always think it's far away from them, but when it truly arrives, they are shocked by how sudden it is.
Bai Shi was just an ordinary person. Although his parents divorced early and started new families, they humanely left him a very small apartment. With the help of relatives, he grew up healthy, went to a very ordinary university, and after graduation, found a quiet job close to home. He barely had to communicate with anyone. Although his salary wasn't high, the work hours were short, leaving him plenty of time to play games.
Since he didn't need to pay rent, he gradually saved a good amount of money. Aside from daily living expenses, his spending was basically all on games. For his 28th birthday, he configured various gaming devices like the Xbox and PS, and converted his bedroom into an esports room.
Naturally, as soon as the BCI was released, he got one. Unfortunately, it was also because of the BCI that his life ended at 29.
Due to his childhood family situation, Bai Shi had long placed his heart's trust in games. Whenever life threw something at him, he would hide in the virtual world for shelter. The virtual world was his true home—at least, that's what he used to think. He had imagined death, but he never thought it would come in this way, at this time, so suddenly.
"Please, anyone, let me go back..."
However, the Chapel of Anticipation remained desolate and cold, with only the statue on the wall watching him indifferently. In this Lands Between that had long lost hope, everyone was too busy fending for themselves; no one would respond to his cries.
Bai Shi actually knew in his heart that waiting for such a miracle was impossible; he just needed to vent.
"There's no way, how can I survive in a world like Elden Ring..."
"But I don't want to die again, I want to live."
"I must live."
Bai Shi thought a lot. He hadn't fully accepted reality yet, but staying in the Chapel of Anticipation was just waiting to die. He carefully laid the maiden's body flat on the ground and covered her face with her hat. This was the most respect he could show her. After arranging the maiden's final appearance, Bai Shi also found the last item in the room: the Tarnished's Old Finger.
After searching the entire room, Bai Shi began to take stock of his belongings: a helmet with a broken visor that couldn't be pulled down, a set of weathered but still reliable full plate armor, a straight sword, a halberd, a metal medium shield, and a pouch containing two stone keys shaped like swords, a pack of white meat slices, two pieces of jerky, various scattered runes, and the Tarnished's Old Finger he just found. Aside from the extra meat and runes, this set was the standard Vagabond Knight starting gear in the game. If this was truly a transmigration, then having food and runes as travel expenses was a reasonable bonus.
Taking stock of his supplies, Bai Shi's mood was heavy. Although it was a little better than the game's start, it was only a negligible improvement. Now, he could only take things one step at a time. He pushed open the large door, and light streamed into the room, finally bringing some brightness. However, the overcast sky and the never-ending storm seemed like an ominous sign. Seeing the suddenly expansive scenery before him didn't make Bai Shi happy, because he knew what kind of opponent he was about to face.
That was the Grafted Scion, a genuine elite enemy in the game. In terms of game stats alone, it could even beat their leader, Godrick the Grafted, without him being able to fight back. If this were a game, Bai Shi would have many ways to defeat it, but now he had to challenge it with his own human body. He knew nothing about combat. Furthermore, even if he did manage to beat it, the Chapel of Anticipation is built in the middle of the sea, and he would still have to jump off a cliff to leave. The game's protagonist could revive infinitely, but he couldn't be sure he could. He didn't want to use his precious life to find out.
Ultimately, Bai Shi didn't even know if this was a real transmigration or just a dying hallucination. "I guess I'll only know if it's a transmigration once I learn a spell, an incantation, or a weapon skill with supernatural power." "If I can truly feel the supernatural power, and not just activate skills by pressing buttons, then maybe that will prove I'm truly alive."
As he walked out of the room, Bai Shi suddenly remembered that there were two important in-game items in a side room nearby. According to the game's progression, they could only be obtained by teleporting back after leaving this isolated island structure. But with the precedent of the Finger Maiden's hat, he wanted to try. He went to the side door, pulled the door ring and tried to open it, but it still wouldn't budge. However, it seemed the wooden door was no longer sturdy after years of decay.
Bai Shi first took out the halberd on his back. A halberd combines the features of a spear and an axe. He wanted to try to cleave the door open with the axe blade, but after taking it out and measuring it, he found that the halberd was too long. The side door was awkwardly wedged between two walls, so he would inevitably hit the wall if he used it. He didn't want his weapon to be damaged in a place like this.
So Bai Shi drew his straight sword. He didn't plan to use the sword in the upcoming fight; the Grafted Scion was large and very agile, and the longer halberd would be better for attacking. So it didn't matter if the sword got damaged now. Bai Shi gripped the sword with both hands, stepped forward with his left foot, twisted his waist and applied force, bringing the sword down in a powerful diagonal slash that actually shattered the wooden door in a single strike.
"What's going on? My body is so agile. Is this the muscle memory of this body?"
Bai Shi himself was shocked by the strike. A person who had never touched a sword in his life could slash so smoothly. The muscle memory behind this must be the result of countless hours of training. The Tarnished truly lives up to his heritage as a warrior.
Bai Shi carefully checked the straight sword, found no obvious damage, and sheathed it before walking inside. After a short flight of twenty or thirty steps, a broken terrace appeared before his eyes. On the edge of the terrace, closest to the sky, sat a small stone box. That was none other than the Stormhawk King's ashes. In the distant past, the Storm King ruled the southwest of the Lands Between. The Stormhawks were one of his powerful armies. Though they were hawks, the strongest among them had a fighting prowess equal to human heroes. They soared in storms, conjured them, and tore apart all enemies. The Stormhawk King was the king of the Stormhawk species, so naturally his ashes, after death, were placed closest to the sky.
Bai Shi walked forward, preparing to pick up the ash box, but as he approached, the perpetual storm above the Chapel of Anticipation suddenly intensified violently, only to cease a few seconds later, as if it were all just an illusion. Bai Shi waited a few more seconds, and when the situation didn't repeat, he walked forward and placed the ash box in his pouch.
Bai Shi simply thought it was a normal weather change, but what he didn't know was that even time could not erase the ancient king's pride. Only a person with the qualification of a king could receive the ancient king's acknowledgment, and not everyone could even make it to the Chapel of Anticipation.