Marvel: Elden Ring System

Ray walks into his room, fixes himself a meal, then sits at the dining room table and eats quietly while going over what he has learned about the Gamer's Body skill. The doctors were very thorough with their testing, giving him more insight into how the skill functions and what it means for him moving forward.

Ray finishes his meal and decides that it is time to return to the lands between. Though this time, he is going to be a lot more careful. While the world does resemble Elden Ring, there are still differences that he must pay attention to if he doesn't want to meet an untimely end. 

The major change is the fact that there are far more enemies than normal, making it very dangerous for him to try and rush in and kill anything that moves. He will have to take a more systematic approach and micromanage his level ups and item gathering. 

Knowing what he will be doing first, Ray takes a quick shower before sitting down on the living room couch. He closes his eyes and activates the World Traveler skill.

He opens his eyes and finds himself seated at the Church of Elleh grace with an amused Kalé grinning at him. He glances at his body and finds that he is wearing his tree-and-beast surcoat and chain leggings. Ray turns towards Kalé when he hears a hearty laugh.

"Back already? Must have had an unfortunate accident… But that is expected of a tarnished, to die over and over again as you crawl towards the Erdtree with unending determination. My only advice is to try and keep your sanity intact, for your fate will be well and truly sealed if you descend into madness…"

Ray goes and sits down next to the fire, his eyes staring into Kalé's. "Thanks for the advice, I will take it to heart."

Kalé nods in acceptance. "Good… As long as you remain sane, my shop will be open to you."

Ray gives Kalé a simple nod before he stands up and leaves the church, heading south whilst giving the Tree Sentinel a wide berth. Soon, he finds himself climbing a large boulder, seeing the familiar golden glow of a site of grace. 

Standing off to the side is a man wearing a white and gray surgeon's outfit and a white mask, a bouquet of flowers on his hip that is bright red and seemingly dripping with fresh blood. Upon seeing Ray, the man takes a step forward. 

"Oh yes... Tarnished, are we? Come to the Lands Between for the Elden Ring, hmm? Of course you have. No shame in it. Unfortunately for you, however, you are maidenless." 

"Without guidance, without the strength of runes, and without an invitation to the Roundtable Hold… You are fated, it seems, to die in obscurity. Luckily for you, however, there is one shining ray of hope for even the maidenless. Me, Varré. Heed my words."

"Are you familiar with grace? The golden light that gives life to you Tarnished. You may also behold its golden rays pointing in a particular direction at times. That is the guidance of grace. The path that a Tarnished must travel. Mm, indeed. Grace's guidance holds the answers. It will lead you Tarnished to the path you are meant to follow. Even if it leads you to your grave."

"Grace's guidance will reveal the path forward, most certainly. To castle Stormveil, over on the cliff. The home of the decrepit demigod, Godrick the Grafted. It's time you set off, I should think. To castle Stormveil, on the cliff, where grace would guide you. If you seek the Elden Ring, maidenless as you are."

Ray scoffs, clearly remembering the story of an Elden Ring hater that left a bad review of the game because he didn't know you weren't supposed to attack Varré. What a moron…

Anyway, Ray activates the grace before walking towards Varré. He stops only a few feet away from him. 

Ray clears his throat. "The path to Godrick is fraught with peril, therefore I seek the aid of a maiden. Have you seen any in this area?"

Varré rubs his chin. "The maidens have vanished from this world. Long ago, it was promised that a maiden would be united with their destined Tarnished, though many never received such guidance. As for having seen one with mine own eyes? You are out of luck, my lambkin."

Ray sighs loudly. "I appreciate the honesty, Sir Varré. Now, I must be going. I am sure that my maiden is just around the corner."

Ray walks towards the door to the stranded graveyard while under his mask Varré is smiling, the nativity of the Tarnished making him chuckle quietly to himself. Ray grabs the handle at the bottom of the wrought iron door and pulls upward, the door sliding up into the stonework before clicking into place. He descends the stairs, now lost to Varré's sight.

…

Ray descends the stairs, finding himself in a circular stone room. In the center of the room is a stone elevator surrounded by six pillars. Currently, the elevator is at the bottom, though that problem is soon solved when Ray grabs the lever off to the side and pulls, causing the stone platform to rise to the surface. Once the stone platform reaches the top, a small indentation in the center lifts up, this being the mechanism to send the platform back down when someone steps on it. 

Ray wastes no time as he walks forward and stands upon the indentation, sending the platform back down to the lower level. At the bottom, Ray finds himself in another circular room the same as the one above, save for a small hallway between another room. In the center of this room is a sight of grace, which he promptly activates and sits at for a few minutes. 

With Melina still not showing up, Ray takes in the room, noting the fanged imp statue with a slot for a stonesword key. To the right of the statue is a strange wall of fog that he can't get past, the fog somehow being as solid as stone. He shakes his head in disappointment before making a right and heading down a small flight of stairs into a small square room with a metal door. 

Even with the doors shut tightly, Ray can hear the screams of the unfortunate souls that are trapped down here, the sound grating on the ears and putting him on edge. Gritting his teeth, Ray pulls open the doors and walks inside, finding the interior of a cave filled with dirt, roots, coffins, and the skeletal remains of countless people. 

Ray covers his nose with his hand as the smell causes him to gag reflexively. He grumbles in annoyance before entering the cavern, hoping to find Melina or at the very least a hint to her whereabouts. It's as he is searching the ground further back in the cave that he spots two flasks in the mud, their golden filigree shining past the grime that covers them.

He reaches over and touches them, the flasks entering his inventory. He quickly opens his menu and smiles at the sight of the flask of crimson tears and the flask of cerulean tears that are now in his possession. With a great source of healing, Ray feels more hopeful at the prospect of continuing his journey. He walks over to the hole in the cave floor and starts to descend even further into the darkness.

Ray rolls down the hole onto a small dirt ledge before falling the rest of the way down, finding another grace just a few meters ahead of him. He activates the grace before continuing through the muddy caverns, wanting to get out of this disgusting place as soon as possible. 

He doesn't get very far before finding an emaciated figure digging through the mud with his bare hands. Ray takes out his lordsworn's greatsword and makes an overhead slash down the figures back, releasing the figure from its tormented existence. 

Ray grimaces when he sees that he only got ten runes from killing him but knows that he must be thorough so as to avoid being surrounded by enemies farther in the cave. Though Ray needn't have worried about that as he easily defeats every enemy throughout the caves and tunnels with almost contemptuous ease. 

Even when a godrick soldier fires his crossbow from an upper ledge, Ray was able to sidestep the attack before dashing underneath the stone arch then dispatching the few soldiers with large shields in his way by simply running around them and stabbing them in the back. 

Once the godrick soldier with the crossbow lies dead at his feet, Ray only has to travel a short distance before entering the room where you fight a mini boss godrick soldier in the game. Though instead of a single godrick soldier, there are five of them, each with golden eyes along with around two dozen emaciated workers, their pickaxes swinging at the ground around some large sarcophagi. 

While the soldier's attention is on directing the workers, Ray pulls out his crossbow and lines up his shot, aiming for one of their heads. Once he is ready, he fires, sending a bolt straight through the eyeball of the closest soldier. He reloads his crossbow and fires again, hitting another soldier below the armpit and through the heart. 

By now, the soldiers have realized that they are getting shot at but instead of going to ground like Ray expected, they draw their swords and charge at him, not even attempting evasive maneuvers. Ray returns the crossbow to his inventory then equips his lordsworn's greatsword, meeting the enemy with a clash of steel. 

The soldiers fight with reckless abandon, swinging their swords wildly and without any form, making them easy targets for Ray's sword skills. The ingrained knowledge of how to wield his sword carries him through the fight, leaving him with not even a scratch upon his body and three corpses dead at his feet. 

The workers, having lost their will long ago, charge at him as well, their bodies soon falling like the rest. Ray shakes his head in exasperation, wondering what these people did to deserve such a cursed fate. 

Ray loots the room, finding nothing but broken tools before heading up the path that leads back to the room that had the flasks. He continues upward until he reaches the surface once more, breathing in the fresh, clean air. 

Varré is still standing near the grace, his eyes scanning the horizon while his mask hides his expression. Ray decides to ignore him for now and head back to Kale and buy the chain coif, chain gauntlets, and the crafting kit, giving him a full set of armor if he wears the tree and beast surcoat. 

With the lordsworn's straight sword on his hip, Ray heads to the Groveside Cave, killing the wolves and the wounded Beastman of Farum Azula inside. He equips the Flamedrake Talisman before heading through the woods towards the gatefront once more. But once he breaks through the tree line, he stares down at the ruins and finds it abandoned, most of the tents have disappeared and there isn't a single soldier in sight. 

Ray, still not fully convinced that everyone had already left, searches the area thoroughly, finding the small underground area with the whetstone blade has been completely blocked off with rubble. 

It takes some time but he is able to clear the debris enough to climb down, opening the chest at the bottom and collecting the whetstone blade. He heads back up and goes towards where he died previously, finding the glowing gold runes laying on the ground. 

Ray holds his hand over the runes, the swirl of golden light going back into his body before heading over to the gatefront grace. He sits down and sighs heavily, hoping against hope that Melina shows up. And, as if answering his prayers, a woman in a grayish black cloak materializes out of thin air and sits on her knees in front of him. 

"Greetings, traveler from beyond the fog. I am Melina, and I offer you an accord."

Ray looks at her with a calm gaze, trying his hardest to not look relieved at her appearance. "An accord? What is it that you would ask of me?"

Melina stares into his eyes for a moment. "Have you heard of the Finger Maidens? They serve the Two Fingers, offering guidance and aid to the Tarnished."

"But you, I am afraid, are maidenless… I can play the role of maiden. Turning runes into strength. To aid you in your search for the Elden ring. You need only take me with you, to the foot of the Erdtree."

Ray scratches his chin in contemplation. "I accept your accord. Without a maiden by my side, I could never hope to defeat Godrick let alone ascend to the throne of Elden Lord."

Melina smiles lightly. "Then it is settled. Summon me by grace to turn runes into strength…"

Melina's eye opens wider in realization. "Ahh, another matter. I bequeath to you this ring. It will summon a spectral steed named torrent. Use it to traverse great distances. Torrent has chosen you, so treat him with respect."

Ray leans forward and gently takes the spectral steed whistle from Melina's hand, treating it with the utmost care. "Thank you, Melina. I shall cherish this gift and take good care of Torrent."

Melina smiles, nodding in satisfaction. "As you should… Now shall I turn your runes into strength? Just let my hand rest upon you, for but a moment." 

Melina extends her hand towards Ray, Ray responding in kind. 

"Share them with me… Your thoughts, your ambitions, the principles you would follow."

Once her hand grabs his, Ray sees the level up menu in his vision. With his current amount of runes, he can only level up five times. For now, he puts every point into strength, getting it to fifteen and leaving him with next to no runes left. 

Once he confirms his level up, a wave of pain overcomes him as his muscles tear themselves apart and regrow at astonishing speeds. The pain only lasts a minute or so before it stops, Ray panting loudly as sweat rolls off his skin. He lets go of Melina's hand and slowly stands up, feeling the strength coursing through his entire being. 

"Incredible… Thank you, Melina, for being my maiden. No matter how much time it takes, no matter what stands in my way, I shall get you to the Erdtree."

Melina nods. "Thank you, my Tarnished. Should you need me, just whisper my name while seated at a site of grace. I shall take my leave for now…"

And with that, Melina stands up, her body dissolving into blue particles that float away on the wind. Ray watches her go with a smile on his face. Once she is gone, he wipes his brow and whistles softly. 

'Thank god she showed up… I don't even want to think about what I would do if I couldn't level up…' 

Ray pulls out the spectral steed whistle out of his inventory. "Now let's say hi to a new friend."

Ray holds the whistle to his lips and blows softly, a sharp, piercing whistle coming out. Ray is startled when he is suddenly lifted into the air as Torrent appears underneath him, the majestic horse neighing at him.

"Hey there, buddy. It's good to finally meet you… Here, want some rowa raisins?..." 

Having already prepared some rowa raisins for Torrent, he holds a handful in front of torrent's mouth, the horse eagerly chomping down on the fruit. Torrent finishes the rowa raisins quickly, making sure to lick his hand clean. Ray chuckles while stroking Torrent's mane, the horse neighing in gratitude. 

"We are going to be the best of friends, Torrent. Why don't we see how fast you can run? I need to get to Fort Haight while collecting some much needed upgrades along the way."

Hearing this, Torrent's ears perk up and he lifts his front legs into the air, causing Ray to grab the reins so he doesn't fall off. Torrent then takes off light a bolt of lightning, the wind whipping Ray as they head southward.

… 

(Melina POV) 

'This tarnished is different. I can feel his potential, his resolve. The ambition in his heart burns brightly, a flame that will draw the ire of Morgott.'

Melina holds her hand over her sealed eye, the eye sending a pulse of pain through her mind. 

'The seal is weakening, I must find my purpose before it breaks. I hope you are the one to fulfill your promise, without succumbing to madness like him…'