Bai Shi sat before the Site of Grace, wondering why Melina had suddenly disappeared.
After putting on the ring, he had wanted to ask how to blow the whistle. It would have been embarrassing if he couldn't make a sound.
He also hadn't had the chance to ask other questions, like whether he could teleport or store items at the Site of Grace.
"Melina? Are you still there?"
"Never mind. Melina must have her reasons for doing this."
Bai Shi took out a sacred flask.
"I might as well see what these taste like. Resting at the Site of Grace will refill them anyway."
Bai Shi licked his lips. He'd been so busy running around and eating that he hadn't had a proper drink of water yet.
He had forgotten to ask Kalé if he had a waterskin, but since he hadn't seen one, he figured Kalé probably didn't have one either.
After all, most people in the Lands Between were basically living corpses who didn't need to eat or drink."Gulp, gulp... Ahhh!"
Bai Shi downed a Flask of Cerulean Tears in one go. It tasted pretty good, a bit like a sharp, cool iced tea that was incredibly refreshing.
He then tasted the Flask of Crimson Tears. Yep, that was the one—classic original iced tea.
After quenching his thirst, Bai Shi watched as the Grace refilled his flasks drop by drop, and he began to think about his next steps.
Right now, Bai Shi had no real combat skills to speak of. His previous victories were only because this body's stats were sufficient.
But that wasn't enough. He had to train harder. The Lands Between was too dangerous a place.
When facing the powerful demigods, without Fengling Yueying, he would most likely be crushed by their superior stats.
Not to mention all the elite enemies on the road; Bai Shi couldn't afford to waste his uses of Fengling Yueying on them.
Therefore, he had to make this body perform at its full potential, or even beyond the limits of its stats.
Bai Shi needed superior combat techniques so that when faced with enemies whose stats far surpassed his own, he could overcome stronger foes.
He needed someone to teach him how to fight.
The best choice, of course, was Warmaster Bernahl. He could learn many useful skills from him.
But his fees were expensive, and the path to reach him was quite dangerous.
One route was to force his way through the nearby gatefront, which was heavily guarded by soldiers.
The other was to use Torrent to ride the spiritspring up the adjacent cliff to the top of the hill—Stormhill, a place teeming with Trolls.
No matter which path he chose, the number of enemies was immense, and their combat strength was not to be underestimated.
Although it wasn't impossible to get to Bernahl, Bai Shi had another teacher in mind.
On the Weeping Peninsula was Castle Morne, whose castellan was a highly skilled Banished Knight. While not as strong as Bernahl, he was still incredibly powerful from Bai Shi's perspective.
If the timeline here matched the game, then a bloody rebellion was likely raging in Castle Morne at this very moment, with daily clashes between the rebelling Misbegotten and the soldiers.
While the Misbegotten were numerous, they weren't particularly tough opponents. It would be a perfect place to hone his fighting skills.
Besides, there was a girl on the Weeping Peninsula, the castellan's daughter Irena, waiting to be saved by Bai Shi.
Lost in thought, Bai Shi drifted off to sleep. The day's battles had left him mentally exhausted.
For a former shut-in, Bai Shi's ability to adapt after crossing over was nothing short of terrifying.
After only two days, he already showed no fear of combat and killing.
Perhaps he was never meant to live in an age of peace. Peace would only lull the beast within him to sleep.
Bai Shi was a peace-loving person, and his desire to bring peace to the Lands Between was genuine.
But he had yet to realize that he was just as captivated by the slaughter and bloodshed that paved the road to peace.
—
Melina sat quietly beside the Site of Grace. Torrent was lying on his side, serving as a couch for her to lean against.
She had fled in a panic because of Bai Shi's actions. In the Lands Between, placing a ring offered by another onto the ring finger of the left hand was also a marriage ceremony.
But Melina had only seen the ring as a whistle. Aren't whistles usually worn on the index finger to make them easier to blow?
Who would have thought Bai Shi would put it directly on his left ring finger?
Only after he had put it on did Melina realize that his action could easily be interpreted as a marriage proposal.
And a proposal from Melina to Bai Shi, at that.
She thought Bai Shi was deliberately teasing her and, in a fit of pique, had left without a word, turning back into her spectral form.
But seeing Bai Shi's confused and uncomprehending expression afterward made Melina hesitate.
Could it be that the Tarnished simply didn't have such a custom? Had she misjudged him?
In the end, Melina decided to put the matter aside. Now was not the time to dwell on such things.
She still couldn't be sure if he would truly follow the guidance of grace, or if he would rise to meet the challenges ahead.
Though Torrent had chosen him, Melina still had her worries. The journey to the foot of the Erdtree was arduous, and she had to return there.
If he had no intention of fulfilling their bargain, or if his abilities were insufficient, then Melina would have to find another way on her own.
Watching Bai Shi sleeping curled up like a child, Melina shook her head.
And a man like this claims he'll definitely protect me…
Melina shook her head again. The word "protection" felt so distant to her.
She couldn't even imagine what it felt like, because besides her yet-to-be-recovered purpose, she had nothing at all.
But who wouldn't like the feeling of being protected?
To be blunt, Melina was just a pitiful girl.
Someone's firm promise to protect her stirred an indescribable feeling in her heart.
Even though she was just a spirit, for whom the concept of protection shouldn't even apply, she unexpectedly found herself longing for it.
For the first time, she yearned for that distant, unfamiliar word, one unrelated to her mission.
It wasn't that she didn't long for a grand adventure like those in heroic tales, nor did she not want to explore the Lands Between freely.
But she had to search for the reason she had to continue living, even after her flesh was burned away and only her spirit remained.
There had to be something, some vital mission waiting for her to complete, even as just a soul.
—
When he awoke, the sky was already bright. Bai Shi felt refreshed and light. At that moment, he felt terrifyingly strong.
He shook his head hard, banishing the chunibyo thought from his mind.
It wouldn't be very funny if he died because of his own arrogance.
Bai Shi stood up, and the space enveloped by the Site of Grace dissipated.
The soldiers in the distance saw someone suddenly appear and began shouting to their comrades, preparing to surround him.
But the Bai Shi of this moment was not afraid.
He raised his left hand and blew forcefully into the whistle on his ring finger.
With a sharp whistle, a large, gray-furred steed with a pair of horns materialized from thin air.
Torrent affectionately nuzzled Bai Shi with his horns. Bai Shi laughed heartily and swung himself into the saddle as if he had done it countless times before.
"Hahahaha, Torrent, let's go!"
Bai Shi galloped toward the horizon on Torrent's back.
In the unseen spirit world, Melina was sitting sidesaddle behind him, quietly admiring the passing scenery.