Elden Ring: Atai vows to have a perfect ending

Watching the huge body of the flying dragon Yakir gradually turn into ashes and dissipate, large pieces of golden runes drifted away and gathered on... Nefeli's body? !

——Hmm? Wait, why wasn't it on me? Didn't I do the last blow? Hey!

“Zero! Are you okay?” But Nepheli didn’t care about that at all. She hurriedly drove the Torret through the gray smoke and rushed over. The first thing she did after jumping off was to check me around like an old nanny. “How are you? You weren’t hurt just now, were you?... Why don’t you say anything?”

"No, it's okay." But a little blood dripped in my heart.

——It seems that the flying dragon Yakir was just one cut away from the target. After all, the opponent was so seriously injured and his body was transformed into a rune. Even if the attack was not aimed at the vital points, it would be the last straw that broke the camel's back.

So, Nepheli rode on Torret and ran at full speed, and killed the enemy with a casual axe.

I couldn't help but sigh. If I had known, I wouldn't have pretended to be so cool and would have walked over slowly. In the end, I lost the fight with punishment.

But, if you think about it carefully, it's okay.

After all, in this battle, I seemed to have just slashed a few times when I came up, and the main damage afterwards was done by the crossbowmen and Nepheli. It was not fair to seize the fruits of victory from others in this way.

When Nepheli saw that I was indeed safe and sound, she smiled, reached out her hand and patted my shoulder lightly, then turned around and said to Torrett, "Torrett, thank you very much this time. When we return to Stonewell, I will ask someone to prepare the best food and fodder for you."

"...Torret prefers the Roya fruit to food."

Phew——

Torrett let out a long cry, highly agreeing with what I said.

"Hahaha, okay, I'll prepare the best Loya Fruit for you!" When treating the spirit horse, Nefeli obviously patted its neck gently.

——It made me start to suspect that she was just picking on me on purpose!

Afterwards, Nepheli walked back to the Dragon's Breath Ruins and said loudly to the Stonewell soldiers who popped up from everywhere: "Thank you for your hard work! I have seen all your heroic performances. When I return, I will reward you according to your merits and distribute the runes of the flying dragon Akiel to everyone!"

Nepheli's words caused the soldiers to cheer.

She didn't seem to care at all about converting the rune into her own power, and shared it with her soldiers.

No wonder, in just a short period of time, Nepheli has established herself as the absolute leader in Stonewell and is deeply loved by the people. Kenneth Hyde, Edson Hyde and Hurtok all obey her orders.

——In comparison, I don’t have the nerve to ask for credit.

"Next, are we going back to Stonewell? Nepheli." I stepped forward and asked.

"Yes." Nefeli turned her head. "Old Edson wrote a letter to report that recently, the situation of the Azalea Knights in Lienia has been a little strange. That's why we need to quell all the chaos in Nimgefu as soon as possible so that we can prepare for it in advance."

"But what's so strange about Du Juan? From what I know, these guys seem to be keeping an eye on the Magic Academy and the Kalia Royal Family all day long. But the academy has been sealed for a long time, and the Kalia Royal Family has been unable to be conquered for a long time, so they just bully the lone Faded Ones and the Platinum Sons all day long."

Nepheli's expression seemed to be slightly gloomy.

Ah, I just realized that the Son of Platinum that I mentioned casually might have reminded her of the Platinum Village and the subsequent severance of relations with her adoptive father Momochi.

I quickly apologized: "Yes, I'm sorry, I said too much."

"Hmm?" Nefeli was slightly stunned, as if she recalled what I just said, and then she smiled and said, "Oh, I'm not worried about that, but if you say so, then Dujuan's next target must be Stonewell, right?

"Oh, so that's how it is." I scratched my face with a slightly embarrassed look.

"But I didn't expect that you still care about that matter, Zero. It doesn't matter now." Nepheli lowered her voice and spoke slowly, "... I was too weak at that time, so I fell into confusion. But you guided me in the direction of moving forward, Zero, and allowed me to follow my inner choice and change those unfair and annoying things step by step. This is all thanks to you."

"Hahaha, you think too highly of me, Nepheli."

"Didn't we Faded Ones say that we would meet a Finger Witch who was willing to pray for us to become the King of Elden? Although it's not quite appropriate for me to say this, sometimes I would think that it wouldn't be bad if Zero were my Finger Witch." Nefeli said, and even she herself couldn't help laughing.

Her eyebrows curved into crescents along with her eyes, and the corners of her mouth raised a small arc, called dimples, which made people feel intoxicated.

——But, speaking of which, I wouldn’t really get the female lead role from her, would I?

“By the way, this is for you.” As she spoke, my female boss condensed a golden glow in her hand and handed it over.

——Look, look! Isn't this just pocket money for my little husband? !

I took the Rune and looked at it, and there were more than a thousand of them.

——Although, in the game, this number is not even as high as that of a small monster in the later stage.

——However, the flying dragon Aqir is an early-stage monster. If I remember correctly, after defeating it, you can only get 5,000 runes.

I don't know whether the real Yakir has stored more rune rewards due to other factors, such as burning the Immortals and invading the ruins of the level, but these one thousand runes are probably the top reward in this battle.

"Nefeli, did you calculate wrongly? Can I really get so much?" I asked in a low voice in her ear.

Nepheli chuckled and said, "Zero, you used your body to protect me at that time, so I am giving you this portion of mine as well. Please accept it."

“Oh… yeah.”

"But next time, don't do such a dangerous thing. I don't want to..." Nepheli seemed to have something to say, but she swallowed it back and changed her words, "If you are too kind, be careful of being deceived by others."

——Before you say that, take care of yourself first, Nene.

——I am very worried that your stupid soldier's brain will be used as a gun by others and you will be counting money for others.

——In addition, the good guy in your eyes is actually a time traveler who holds the big script of the border area. Who can deceive me?

- Of course, this kind of thing never happened in the game's plot. Nepheli has always been Atai's "Storm Wing" and has helped the player about three times. She is also my favorite character.

——So, being a little husband occasionally seems to be nice~

Following the large dragon hunting team back to the camp in front of the level, Nepheli fulfilled her promise and distributed runes to every soldier in the team. It must be said that the amount of runes stored in this dragon is indeed more than in the game, which is probably enough to catch up with the rune reward for defeating the "Evil Omen Demon" and Greg.

Everyone had a smile on their face, and no one objected to her verdict.

——By the way, while fighting, he was able to observe the actions of so many people. Could it be that Nene is actually very smart?

Then the soldiers in the camp prepared a horse for her.

The two of us hurried back to Stonevale, went to the Storm King's throne, and summoned Edson Hyde.

When the old man saw the two of us, he seemed particularly happy. His face was faintly glowing, and he kept stroking his beard. "Welcome back, Master Neferi. And, I didn't expect Master Zero to be with you."

"Hehe." I laughed awkwardly. "When I came back from Galid, I was teleported to the wrong location. I happened to meet Nefeli and the others who were hunting the flying dragon Akiel... By the way, Mr. Edson, Laya, Lenia, and Diaros are here too, right?"

"Lord Ling, please rest assured. Those are your friends, and naturally they are also distinguished guests of Stonewell. I have already arranged accommodation for them. If necessary, I can take you to find them now." Edson did things in a thorough manner as always.

I also breathed a sigh of relief and shook my head. "Since we are here, there is no need to rush. I heard from Nefeli that Dujuan's behavior has been a little strange recently. Can you please tell me in detail?"

"Of course." Edson stroked his beard again. "About two days ago, the spies in the Lienia Lake District brought back a piece of news that I am quite concerned about - the Knights of the Azalea are preparing to hunt the 'pyroxene dragon' Smarag."

——Huh? Are those guys also hunting dragons?

--why is that?

——Dragons are not easy to deal with, and this is not League of Legends. You also have to seize the rhythm of the little dragons. If you gather four, you can even kill an entire ancient dragon.

"Smarag?" Nepheli frowned.

"Lady Nefeli, you don't know that this is a ferocious beast lurking near the Rhea Lukalia Academy. Most people don't dare to get close to it." Edson explained, "Some people also say that it is a monster raised by the 'Full Moon Queen' Reinara to protect the academy. But there is no solid evidence for this statement."

——Lying around Rhea Lukalia...Oh, it's that pyroxenon.

A thought that made me sweat suddenly popped into my mind.

——Perhaps the cuckoos’ target is not the pyroxene dragon, but the pyroxene key that unlocks the gate of the academy?