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"Elden ring..." Margit muttered, struggling to speak through the blade pierced through his neck, and he barely saw the maddened expression of Sasuke. The expression of someone who had acquired something great.
"Hah." Margit scoffed, his body slowly turning to dust. "The path of the Elden Lord is one not befitting for thou..." He spoke, his voice sounding as if it's moving miles away, echoing.
Sasuke fell to the floor as Margit's body disappeared and he looked up to the sky, hearing Margit speak.
"I shall remember thee..." Margit's voice echoes. "Tarnished... Smoldering with thy meager flame. Cower in fear... Of the night." Venom laced his words. "The hands of the fell omen shall brook thee no quarter..."
"What..?" Sasuke let out, confused. "Is he dead?" He asks himself just as words popped up in front of his vision.
[Acquired: Talisman Pouch]
He read it and opened his inventory to see an open space next to his Crimson Medallion. "So now I can get another one..?" Just as he muttered this, something caught his attention in the right bottom of his vision.
[+9000]
His eyes widen at the number. 'Holy shit.' He looks to his left where he saw a Grace manifest after defeating Margit and he sits down before going to the Level Up section.
[Level 12
Runes held: 9000
Runes Needed: 1038
Vigor: 13
Mind: 11
Endurance: 13
Strength: 12
Dexterity: 17
Intelligence: 9
Faith: 8
Arcane: 8]
He goes through his current stats and narrows his eyes. 'Mind raises my FP... And I know now that that is my Chakra pool...' He muses, but doesn't rush to put all his runes into it. 'Dexterity is something that enhances my speed and flexibility? From what I've gathered so far... I can hold off on Vigor since I have the Medallion while Strength isn't that much of a problem for me right now...'
He delves deep in thought, unaware that Melina had appeared and sat next to him.
'Intelligence probably enhances my brain functions while I don't know what Faith and Arcane does...' He thought and stayed silent for a few seconds before Leveling up what he thinks would help him right now.
[Level 17
Runes held: 1738
Runes Needed: 2113
Vigor: 13
Mind: 11 -> 14
Endurance: 13
Strength: 12
Dexterity: 17 -> 19
Intelligence: 9
Faith: 8
Arcane: 8]
Sasuke levels up and nods to himself. 'I need more chakra since I unlocked my Sharingan, while speed is a must with seals...'
Yes, Sharingan. Sasuke had since figured out when the world around him moves slower, there's a constant pull of Chakra moving to his eyes, so he deduced he unlocked his clan's Bloodline Limit.
Turning his head slightly, he shoots up to his feet. "Ah!" He lets out a short yelp, wide eyed at the woman sitting at the Grace.
"Forgive me." Melina smiles at Sasuke, who slowly sat back down.
Nodding at Melina, Sasuke stays silent, partly embarrassed by his actions.
"I..." Melina starts. "Have been testing you, Tarnished." She states and Sasuke frowns.
"What do you mean? Testing me on what..?" Sasuke asks, wondering what she could be testing him on.
"To see whether or not grace truly does guide you." She answers his question and looks at the Grace in front of them. "And...whether you are fit to face the challenge that entails." She Continues.
'Challenges..?' Sasuke thinks, but before he could ask, Melina speaks as if she heard his thoughts.
"The road ahead is dim, Tarnished." She explains and looks up towards the Erdtree far away. "The battles you must face against shard bearers are more than one would think... But it seems my worries were unfounded." She shook her head and looked back at Sasuke before taking his hand in her own, looking at the ring on his finger.
"Torrent had your measure from the very start, whereas I merely pretended..." She states and looks into Sasuke's confused eyes. "There is but one other thing I can do to offer you guidance... To make up for my testing." She spoke, her gentle words raising Sasuke's curiosity. "I can take you to the Roundtable Hold... a Gathering place of Tarnished champions, guided by Grace..."
"Tarnished guided by Grace?" Sasuke copied her words. "Like me?" He asks and Melina nods her head in confirmation.
Melina closed her eyes, raising her hand, in which Sasuke's rest, a bit. "If you wish, I can take you to the Roundtable Hold." She says, ready to teleport Sasuke, but Sasuke quickly withdrew his hand, causing her to open her eyes and look at the boy in confusion.
Sasuke shook his head. "Not now." He said. "I need to take care of some things..." He said as he took out the Finger Severer dagger.
Melina nodded at him, not asking further. "Very well... Call upon me if you're ready..." She said and stood up, putting the hood over her head while smiling softly at Sasuke. "Farewell Tarnished." She left these words and vanished.
"Yeah... Bye..." Sasuke muttered, looking at the spot where she vanished from before shaking his head and looking down at his armor and katana, making sure everything's fine before he sliced the air in front of him with the Finger Severer.
"Let's get to it..." His words travel through the empty spot as his body turned golden and disintegrated.
---
"Sasuke!" Naruto's eyes widen as he saw his friend's body disappear. "No..." He mutters, his eyes no longer focused. "No..." His pupil grows split. His eyes turn red. "No..." His voice deepens while the whiskers on his cheeks thickens. "I'll kill you!" He points at the Hunter that killed Sasuke.
His nails already grown sharp. His consciousness wavered. "Grrr..." He growls. "I'll kill you!" He bellows before vanishing from his position and appearing right next to the Hunter, his claws raised as he growled. His features and posture animalistic. Wild.
"Fuc-" The Hunter barely lifts his hand to defend himself before he got launched away.
*Crunch!*
He crashes against a tree behind him, feeling his spine compress to a great degree. "Ahhh..." Was all he could let out before Naruto? appeared in front of him, his claws ready.
"Kill!" Naruto slices at the Hunter's neck, his eyes shaking briefly. His hand slowed down for a second and the Hunter took that chance to stab a needle into Naruto's raised palm.
"Ahhh!" Naruto snapped, his eyes no longer shaking and he strikes the Hunter's stomach with his palm, stabbing the needle into his abdomen, ignorant to the pain.
With grit teeth, the Hunter grabbed Naruto's extended hand at his stomach while weaving through seals with his free hand. Pulling Naruto's arm a bit, he kicks the boy's feet, causing him to stumble while his cheeks puffed up.
*Pwoo!*
He crooks his neck and stares into Naruto's foxlike eyes and spits out a single needle made of water, turning it into ice as it flew through the air.
"Grr..." Naruto continued to growl, watching on as the needle grows closer and closer, as if moving in slow motion to his eye.