But to find Teacher Sellen, Xia Yu would not hesitate. Of course, he wouldn't just recklessly charge in without a brain; he was a mage who relied on Intelligence!
Then, he asked Ashen Xia Yu in the group chat for the Soul-Sucking Gloves and the Pyromancy Flame.
No one said a mage couldn't use other powers. Plants are afraid of fire, and even the poisonous Miranda Sprout is no exception. Therefore, the best way to deal with the opponent is fire.
However, he hadn't learned any fire incantations yet, so he could only use Ashen Xia Yu's Pyromancy Flame for now. As for the Soul-Sucking Gloves, they were naturally for pulling out the soul of the main Miranda flower, as the opponent could call down lasers from the sky.
Whether he could learn it or not didn't matter for now; he'd pull the soul out first and worry about the rest later.
"..."
"Damn, that bastard Ashen One has really corrupted me. I've actually started having these villainous thoughts about playing with souls!"
After grumbling with a curl of his lip, Xia Yu put away his twin staves and walked toward the nearest small poisonous flower.
These small poisonous flowers were offshoots propagated around the main Miranda flower. They were tiny and clearly malnourished defects.
Taking advantage of a small poisonous flower taking root to rest, Xia Yu crept closer, reached out his wicked hand, and then—
Pyromancy Flame!
Violent flames ignited instantly. Before the small poisonous flower could release its toxic pollen, it was turned to ash in the fire.
But Xia Yu frowned. Burning them one by one would be too slow. Looking at the Pyromancy Flame in his hand, he thoughtfully pulled out two Lordsworn's Straight Swords.
The Lordsworn's Straight Sword was the sidearm of the soldiers under Godrick. He had snatched quite a few earlier and had a large stockpile.
In any case, there was no need to grind for drops in this world; he would definitely take as much as he could. If Ruined Fragments weren't literally just ruined fragments, he certainly wouldn't even let those go.
Wielding the twin swords, Xia Yu guided the Pyromancy Flame to spread from the hilts to the blades, and raging fire instantly ignited from the steel.
A simple fire enchantment. Although it couldn't compare to a true fire grease or spell, it was more than enough to handle a few little flowers.
"Now, it's hunting time."
Adopting the same stride as the number one expert of Castle Sol, Xia Yu walked into the depths of the ruins with an imposing presence. The small poisonous flowers along the way had barely noticed the enemy before Xia Yu's sword sliced through their pistils.
The Pyromancy Flame instantly spread over them, completely burning the bisected poisonous flowers into flying ash.
Seeing that the poisonous flowers were completely unable to block his slashes, Xia Yu assumed the Quickstep stance and lunged forward. In a blur of movement, all the small poisonous flowers along the path fell victim to his blade.
The skill Quickstep—a combat technique where one raises their weapon and assumes a stance, steadying the posture and lowering the body to instantly increase poise and speed.
It was one of the skills taught by Bernahl. While not very useful in the game, in reality, it was a combat technique accumulated bit by bit by predecessors in life-and-death battles!
How could mere poisonous flowers possibly compare to battle techniques tempered a thousand times over!
Before long, the small poisonous flowers on the periphery were completely cleared out by Xia Yu, and he arrived at the deepest part—the location of the main Miranda flower.
But just as he appeared, thread-like brilliance suddenly manifested beneath his feet. In the next moment, lasers rained from the sky!
Boom! Boom! Boom!
The moment he saw the thread-like light, Xia Yu hurriedly dashed out of the range of the laser rain, barely dodging the abrupt attack as the lasers grazed the edges.
On the other side, the main Miranda flower had already begun to flee. It wasn't just some mindless ordinary plant; when encountering an enemy it couldn't handle, it would naturally choose to run.
But Xia Yu, having dodged the laser rain, had already charged over with a few leaps against the walls.
"Hmph, trying to run? Lightning Cyclone Slash!"
Wielding his twin swords, Xia Yu seemed to have truly become the number one expert of Castle Sol. His figure descended from the sky, blocking the sun, and the shadow he cast completely covered the entire main Miranda flower.
In the next instant, flaming slashes erupted. Each strike left behind burning fire.
Furthermore, the main Miranda flower's weakness happened to be the pistil at the top of its head. Suffering such a heavy blow, the main Miranda flower could no longer rise.
Seizing the opportunity, Xia Yu yanked out the main Miranda flower's soul and stored the greyish-white soul into the Soul-Sucking Gloves.
The Soul-Sucking Gloves could not only pull out souls but also store them. Now was not the time to study the soul of the main Miranda flower, so he stored it in the gloves for now.
When he had time, he would find Teacher Sellen to study it together. She certainly wouldn't mind researching the mysteries of the soul.
After searching nearby for a moment, Xia Yu finally found the cellar with the small entrance, and he walked down without hesitation.
There was a simple seal at the entrance, but such a seal was easily broken; it shattered instantly with a single sword strike.
Subsequently, the imprisoned Pumpkin Head Soldier also noticed the intruder.
By this time, Xia Yu had already taken out his spirit calling bell. Since he would be fighting alongside Spirit Ashes in the future, he would test their synergy now.
With a crisp ring of the bell, greyish-white soul mist suddenly appeared in the air, and a giant jellyfish condensed its form from the mist.
Clarina the Jellyfish, the Spirit Ashes that Rodrika had given him.
Putting away the spirit calling bell, Xia Yu held his enchanted twin swords and shouted.
"Go, Clarina! For your great master, spray your poison with all your might!"
As if hearing these words, Clarina's light jellyfish tentacles aimed at the Pumpkin Head Soldier, and a stream of purplish-red poison sprayed out in an instant.
The sprayed poison was like a high-pressure water gun, directly repelling the Pumpkin Head Soldier who was charging crazily toward them.
Then the poison took effect instantly. The Pumpkin Head Soldier, covered in poison, suddenly went berserk, raising his weapon and smashing the ground frantically.
Taking this opportunity, Xia Yu used a Quickstep forward, arriving behind the Pumpkin Head Soldier in the blink of an eye.
The skill Quickstep—a skill used by combatants who disrupt enemies with speed, allowing for quick movement with light steps. This was also one of the skills he had learned from Bernahl.
Arriving behind the Pumpkin Head Soldier, Xia Yu thrust his enchanted twin swords fiercely into the soldier's lower back.
The invincible backstab!
Puchi!
Roar—!!!
Severely wounded, the Pumpkin Head Soldier's head jerked back violently in an attempt to crush the enemy with his helmet, but Xia Yu had already used a Quickstep to leave the spot.
Seeing Xia Yu distance himself from the enemy, Clarina sprayed poison again. This time, the purplish-red poison entered the Pumpkin Head Soldier's body through the wound.
The poison's effect gradually manifested; the Pumpkin Head Soldier's physical movements became slower and slower, to the point where he couldn't even steady himself.
"It's high noon!"
Pyromancy Flame ignited in Xia Yu's hand. He closed in with a Quickstep and then slapped a palm onto the Pumpkin Head Soldier's body.
In an instant, intense flames flared up. This was the simplest pyromancy, and thus its power was formidable.
Bathed in flames, the Pumpkin Head Soldier was so weak he couldn't even let out a scream. In just a moment, the figure in the fire completely disappeared, leaving behind only a pile of black ash and the Pumpkin Helm that Xia Yu had intentionally left behind.
As a player with a collection obsession, he sincerely thanked this world for not having things like drop rates; if you wanted any equipment, you could just strip it right off the enemy.
Picking up the Pumpkin Head Soldier's helmet, Xia Yu felt somewhat emotional. Back in the game, to get this thing to drop, he had slaughtered nearly a hundred Pumpkin Head Soldiers.
He had finally gotten it only when he was about to go numb; it was truly a story to make the listener weep.
After putting away the Pumpkin Helm, Xia Yu looked at Clarina nearby with a smile. Unlike the game, after defeating the enemy, Clarina could stay outside indefinitely unless she chose to go back or he ordered her to.
The same went for other spirits. Of course, if a spirit's form was dispersed, they would be forced back into the Spirit Ashes, and they could only be summoned again after recovering.
Being watched by Xia Yu's smile, Clarina waved her tentacles somewhat shyly. Seeing this, Xia Yu's smile gradually became eccentric.
"You did a great job. Come here, give me a hug!"
With that, he didn't even wait for Clarina to react before pouncing forward for a hug.
"The feel is actually quite good; I feel like I'm getting addicted."
Clarina's body was soft and squishy, like a giant body pillow. Xia Yu's whole person sank into Clarina's soft jellyfish body, feeling the gentle softness.
Clarina's greyish-white soul body took on a faint tint of pink, like a shy little girl, as she slowly wrapped her tentacles around Xia Yu.
"Mm, good girl, Clarina, you're the best. You go ahead and play by yourself for a bit. I have some business to attend to. When you're tired of playing, just return to the Spirit Ashes on your own."
After lying on Clarina for a while, Xia Yu finally remembered he had serious business. His Teacher Sellen was still waiting for him behind the sealed door.
After letting Clarina play on her own, Xia Yu walked to the sealed door, grabbed the bottom with both hands, and lifted it up with all his might.
The door opened, and the scene inside came into view.
11.15: Went to Limgrave with Melina to see the surrounding scenery and feel the breeze.
11.16: Went to the Church of Marika with Melina. Melina translated the proverbs left by Marika for me.
11.17: Went to Stormhill with Melina. The Trolls are very scary, but with Melina there, they aren't scary at all.
"Melina is the best!"
11.18: Cheated with Clarina.
Clarina, I like you so much! For you, I'm going to cheat on Melina!!!