Trina awoke.
Though the Dream Nail's description claimed it allowed entry into another's dreams, in practice it had instead roused Trina from her slumber.
Lloyd didn't dwell on it.
As long as it worked, that was enough.
Even so, though she was awake, Trina still looked hazy, like she hadn't fully shaken off her drowsiness. After a while, she finally seemed to realize what had happened. She turned her head toward Lloyd, opened her arms, and murmured softly.
"Hold me..."
Lloyd pulled her into his embrace. Nestled against him, still half-asleep, Trina whispered.
"Mr. Lloyd... was my body... comfortable to use?"
That sounded a little strange.
But despite the odd phrasing, Lloyd nodded and gently patted her head.
"Yeah, you really helped a lot."
He was talking about the fight at the Divine Tower of Liurnia. Without Trina's super sleep weapon, even if he had managed to win, the battle would've been miserable. From that point of view, it was certainly comfortable.
"That's good..."
Trina shook her head slightly, rubbed against his chest, then cupped her hands together and lowered her gaze. After a moment, clear liquid pooled in her palms, shimmering softly. She raised it toward him.
"This is what I've managed to accumulate. It's not much, but it should help you..."
"Please take it..."
She brought her hand to his lips.
After he drank it, a system prompt appeared.
[Acquired 'Trina's Blessing']
[No equipment required. Slightly increases maximum Focus.]
After giving him her stored nectar, the little purple flower looked much weaker. After resting for a bit, she spoke in a tentative voice.
"My King, my blessing... how did it taste?"
"It was good."
Smacking his lips lightly, Lloyd added,
"Sweet, with a hint of fragrance—like nectar. I liked it."
"I'm glad you did."
Hearing his answer, Trina let out a soft sigh of relief. After nuzzling against him a little longer, she spoke again.
"Though I'd love to stay with you longer, I still need to care for you..."
"Afterward..."
"You don't need to wake me."
Her arms tightened around Lloyd's neck as she whispered,
"Even when I'm asleep, I can feel what you do to my body..."
"If you need to talk to me, you can wake me like this. But when there's nothing to discuss—whether it's affection or reward—you can just use this body directly..."
"I can feel it... and I like it..."
Before she could finish, she drifted back into sleep.
Lloyd's eye twitched, but remembering her words, he didn't use the Dream Nail to wake her again. Instead, he looked down at the little purple flower sleeping in his arms, thought for a moment, then leaned down and kissed her cheek.
Her mood improved.
Even though she remained asleep, she seemed a little happier.
Then, recalling how wilted she had looked after giving her blessing, Lloyd checked her spirit body again. Confirming how much strength it had cost her, he prepared to feed her some souls.
But in this state...
When he brought the essence to her lips, Trina didn't react. After a moment of thought, Lloyd carefully pried open her mouth.
There was no resistance. In fact, she seemed to cooperate.
When he slid his soul-coated finger into her mouth, her small lips closed around it. After a brief pause, she seemed to realize what it was. Confused for an instant, then overcome by hunger, she began to suck instinctively.
How adorable...
Watching her nurse on the souls like a child, Lloyd sensed she was still holding back. He patted her back gently and whispered.
"It's fine... you can use a little more strength."
Otherwise, at this pace, it would take far too long to restore her.
Under his guidance, Trina gradually relaxed, sucking more eagerly, her pace quickening as she absorbed the soul essence.
After a good while, once he confirmed she'd had her fill, Lloyd pulled his finger free, kissed her forehead lightly, and returned the well-fed girl to his inventory to digest.
Only then, looking at the saliva on his finger, did he realize something.
Wait... the others don't have inventories, right?
Then that liquid Trina gave him earlier to boost his Focus—where did it come from?
He stared at his damp finger, deep in thought.
—It was tears.
...
After handling Trina's situation, Lloyd continued exploring the Deeproot Depths.
Mapping, fighting, farming Runes...
The area wasn't that large, so it didn't take him long to clear out both the people and the ants.
Along the way, he picked up plenty of items. Most were Runes and Smithing Stone shards, with some Ashes of War and equipment mixed in.
Among them, one was especially noteworthy—an Incantation.
[Elden Stars]
[Said to be the oldest Incantation of the Erdtree]
[One of the 'Legendary Incantations']
[Summons countless golden stars to strike surrounding enemies]
[Long ago, the Greater Will sent golden stars, along with a beast, to the Lands Between]
[It is said that this later became the Elden Ring]
The reason it was noteworthy wasn't because it was strong.
On the contrary—after Lloyd tested it, he found that despite its dazzling appearance, all it really did was send a single golden star drifting forward at a snail's pace.
During its movement, it continuously released smaller golden meteors that struck at targets. In terms of visuals and spectacle, it was stunning—absolutely magnificent.
The problem was, the damage was pathetically low, the mana cost absurdly high, and the casting time ridiculously long. It was, quite literally, a toy among toys.
Yet while testing it, watching those golden meteors fall, Lloyd couldn't shake the feeling that the scene looked familiar.
If sped up, didn't it resemble Alice's descent?
And thinking back to her attack—the way she came crashing down—it really did look similar. Except hers was on a completely different scale in both area of effect and damage, and it even came with a full set of golden buffs.
Aside from this strange Incantation that seemed like a cheap imitation of Alice's descent, Lloyd found something far more important.
On a root-entwined platform deep within the Deeproot Depths, he encountered a Crucible Knight with a tree-like form, bearing the name 'Siluria'.
When he presented the Crucible Fragment, the knight contributed its strength to him. Along with an additional fragment, Lloyd also received its Spirit Ash. In the chest behind it, he discovered a full set of Crucible Armor.
Looking over his spoils and recalling the Crucible Knights he'd encountered earlier—especially their names...
Ordovis, Siluria...
Was there going to be a Devonia Knight too?
After a short laugh to himself, Lloyd wrapped up his exploration of the Deeproot Depths.
...
Opening his map, he first checked in on Alice at the Erdtree. After confirming she still needed more time, and since Ranni was still occupied designing her new body, Lloyd decided to head to Stormveil.
Not only did he want to visit Nepheli and the others, but he also intended to finally take a look at the Caelid Colosseum.
He'd been too busy until now—either exploring or clearing dungeons. Though he'd kept this particular instance in mind, he'd never gotten around to it. And just earlier, while checking on Alice's progress, she had mentioned it to him: that he should take a look at the Golden Dungeon. If he cleared it, it might prove useful.
So Lloyd came.
The Golden Dungeon wasn't meant to be cleared alone. It required bringing in a party of six, and it had strict level restrictions.
After some thought, Lloyd decided to simply gather the girls and go in.
...
After one round of filtering, five people qualified to enter.
His Finger Maiden.
Therolina, the Finger Maiden he had met at Redmane Castle.
Irina of Castle Morne.
Roderika the "Spirit Tuner" (though she couldn't bring overpowered spirits).
Nepheli Loux, the "Warrior."
Looking over the final list, Lloyd fell into thought.
Did something strange sneak in?
That last name wasn't even in the same league as the others.
Lloyd hadn't made a point of it before, but in truth, Nepheli's strength was nothing short of top-tier among the Lands Between.
Especially after he entrusted her with the Stormhawk King's Spirit Ash. By resonating with its essence, she awakened dormant bloodline power, allowing her to summon and even command storms. To put it bluntly, she could take down Godrick alone without issue.
Yet despite her overwhelming strength, she was allowed entry into the Golden Dungeon. Meanwhile, Latenna—who had grown stronger after ascending to Platinum Queen, though still not as strong as Nepheli—was barred from entry...
Faced with Lloyd's confusion, the instance only provided a single explanation:
[The Golden Dungeon evaluates heroes based on overall ability, not any single attribute.]
"What's that supposed to mean?"
Nepheli saw the message too. She pondered for a long while but couldn't figure out how it justified her entry.
The others said nothing.
"Well... just take it as being naturally gifted."
After all, even an Intelligence of seven is a kind of gift.
...
Once the screening was over, Lloyd chatted with the others for a bit, then led the five who qualified into the dungeon.
...
[Our dynasty has fallen...]
With a dizzying shift, Lloyd entered the instance.
When he opened his eyes, he found himself seated inside a carriage, facing a system panel.
[Lord: Lloyd]
[Territory: None]
[Steward: None]
[Heroes: None]
After this display, portraits of the five he had brought appeared at the bottom of the interface, ready to be dragged into place.
So it was just role assignment, then.
After a moment of thought, Lloyd dragged his Finger Maiden—the weakest in combat—into the Steward slot.
The remaining four could neatly form a four-person party.
The system panel shifted.
[Lord: Lloyd]
[Territory: None]
[Steward: Finger Maiden]
[Heroes: Nepheli, Therolina, Irina, Roderika]
Assignments complete.
After Lloyd clicked confirm, the five girls materialized inside the carriage.
Then...
"Is it getting a bit cramped?"
The carriage had felt spacious enough when it was just him, but once five people squeezed inside, it instantly became crowded.
Before Lloyd could complain further, the carriage jolted with a loud crash and came to an abrupt stop.
It looked like an ambush.
Pulling his face out from Nepheli's chest, where he'd been shoved when the carriage lurched, Lloyd opened the door and saw two demi-humans—one large, one small—blocking the road.
On instinct, he drew the golden Dragonbolt Greatsword he'd just obtained. But a thought struck him.
"Am I even allowed to fight in this dungeon?"
It was supposed to be a simulation-management dungeon where others did the fighting, but it had never said the lord himself couldn't join in.
[You can. You can even use your main account.]
[But you won't receive any rewards.]
That works.
Lloyd nodded. Even if killing monsters brought him nothing, at least he could step in to protect them if things turned dangerous.
Since he wouldn't gain anything from fighting, Lloyd didn't rush in. Instead, he called the others out of the carriage, and then...
Clang! Clang!
Without anyone else lifting a hand, Nepheli cleaved the two demi-humans into quarters with just two axe swings.
Afterward, she—and even those standing behind her who hadn't joined the fight—received Rune rewards.
That triggered a new system for Lloyd, letting him open their panels and spend Runes to upgrade them in different ways.
Looking at the system panel, Lloyd glanced at the two Finger Maiden beside him—Therolina was one as well—and fell into thought.
Was he basically acting as a Finger Maiden for the Finger Maiden?
But he didn't dwell on it.
After all, it seemed pretty fun.
By now, his own strength had reached a point where leveling up required massive amounts of Runes, and finding worthy opponents was rare. Playing a raising-simulation game like this didn't seem like a bad change of pace.
After the demi-humans were dealt with, Nadisha—Lloyd's Finger Maiden—came to his side.
Since she had taken on the role of steward, she had access to special information and panels that let her serve at his side, supporting him while tending to his needs.
With the carriage destroyed by the demi-humans, she pointed out the next direction they should head.
In a sense, that too was part of a Finger Maiden's duty.
Following Nadisha's guidance, the group pressed on.
...
Along the road, they encountered two more waves of enemies: demi-humans and regular soldiers.
This time, though, Lloyd decided to let the others get some battle experience. Instead of letting Nepheli instantly hack them apart, he had Irina and Roderika take the lead.
Roderika, of course, while her own combat ability was still a mystery, had trained in that other Spirit Ash dungeon—like a Pokémon exercise, in a sense. By now, she could reliably throw out Spirit Ashes in a fight.
Her title had even changed from [Spirit Tuner] to [Summoner].
And judging by what the Warrior Jar had told him before they entered, in less than two days her title might even shift again, to [Master Spirit Summoner].
That was just as well. If she really did become a Master Spirit Summoner, she might not even qualify to enter this dungeon anymore.
As for Irina...
Though blind and frail, she had a natural gift for Incantations.
After Lloyd gave her the Braille Divine Tome, she had managed—without any teacher and with only the occasional bit of guidance from him—to self-study a range of basic Incantations.
She could use Basic Heal for recovery, Minor Force Shockwave for offense, and even provide allies with a Magic Defense buff.
Her strength was low—so low that even using everything at once, she might not defeat a single ordinary soldier.
But her versatility made her valuable in a team.
And with her stubbornly determined personality, she was surprisingly reliable despite her weakness.
As for Therolina...
She was also a Finger Maiden, but one who specialized in prayers.
The problem was, she hadn't learned a single offensive incantation. Her only "attack" was throwing Holy Water Pots.
But in exchange for fragile health and near-zero damage output, she offered healing so potent that even Lloyd had to admit it was impressive, along with various support buffs.
Incidentally, while she was clearly the party's main healer, she didn't seem proud of it. In fact, aside from Lloyd himself, she might be the least imposing member of the group.
...
After cutting down two more waves of enemies and gathering supplies along the way, Lloyd and his party finally reached the dungeon's target.
The tutorial was over.
[Arrived at the territory 'Hamlet']
In this dungeon, Lloyd's role was that of a noble inheriting a fallen domain. Upon arrival, he immediately gained ownership of the land.
Then...
"Is there not a single soul in this place?"
After a lap around the ruined town, Lloyd realized that while it was nominally a territory, in reality there wasn't a single person here. Even the functional shops—equipment, items, and the like—were completely empty.
Opening the domain options showed a drag-and-drop slot in front of each building, each with listed requirements. It seemed you had to bring in someone who met those conditions to get them running.
Just then, Nadisha stepped forward.
"I've taken on the butler's duties. I can temporarily fill these positions."
"As long as there aren't too many at once, I should be able to handle it alone."
So Nadisha acted as Lloyd's all-purpose helper for the moment, assisting him in testing the buildings he'd unlocked so far. There was the blacksmith for upgrading weapons and gear, the Ash of War house for improving skills, the Witch's Church for Sorceries, and the Church for Incantations and miracles.
There was also the Item Shop for supplies, the Jewelry Shop for accessories, and an upgraded carriage that raised entry restrictions. Beyond that were various scattered structures—some to improve domain stats, others to enhance a champion's abilities.
The most noteworthy among them was the Lord's Castle.
It was Lloyd's residence as ruler of the domain—and also a place where champions could relieve stress.
Stress was this dungeon's unique system. Simply put, beneath the HP and MP bars was an additional white bar. There were two segments to it. Filling the first triggered a Will Test. Passing it granted the "Virtue" state, bestowing positive traits like "Valor" or "Fearlessness," and most of the stress bar would be cleared. Failing it resulted in negative states like "Madness" or "Doubt"—torments that afflicted the hero and could even pressure or harm teammates depending on the traits expressed by those negative tags. Once a hero fell into torment, it would persist unless they underwent a powerful stress release.
Lloyd hadn't fully figured out the system, but he grasped the basics. Something else, however, left him puzzled.
"Wait, why does my place reduce their stress?"
After looking around the town, he found that his residence seemed to be the only spot that could lower their stress. The methods of stress relief could be summed up as eating, drinking, playing, and sleeping—spend a little money on good food and drink, buy some games, or just get some rest.
But couldn't they do that somewhere else?
A closer inspection revealed something even stranger. Beneath the castle was an expandable prison. Lloyd assumed it was for holding prisoners, but it also seemed to function as a stress-relief facility...
Seriously? You can reduce stress by locking people in a prison?
By comparison, the room beside his bedroom—a "Prayer Room" where champions could ease stress through prayer and confession—seemed perfectly normal.
Then, at the end of his inspection, Lloyd found a door in his own bedroom. It looked familiar. He pushed it open, and a familiar structure appeared before him.
The Roundtable Sanctuary.
Seeing him arrive, Alice paused what she was doing and explained, "I wanted to give you a regular way to access this place. Since this territory is your exclusive domain, I set the entrance here..."
"Also, the dungeons you've cleared are changing. Because they're fragments, they aren't connected yet, and the areas in between need to be filled..."
"You can use this dungeon to develop your current territory, then move on to conquer other regions and dungeons, bringing them under your control..."
"That way, you can link the dungeons together, and it'll be easier for me to fill and modify their contents..."
"Oh, and by the way, since this place may need expansion later, it doesn't matter for other dungeons, but in this area, you should bring only your Covenant or potential Covenant..."
"Otherwise, once this place's influence starts to spread, people within its range who haven't made a Covenant with you won't just be repelled. In the worst case, their souls could be obliterated..."
"Don't worry too much, though. For now, there's no sign of the influence expanding. And before it does, I'll give you a heads-up..."
Lloyd nodded at Alice's explanation, then, remembering the others waiting outside, stepped back through the door.
When he returned to the Lord's Castle, the other five had just about finished looking around. After a quick orientation, Lloyd prepared to take them out for a run.
[Party Setup: Nepheli, Irina, Therolina, Roderika]
[Supplies & Equipment: 24 units of food, 8 torches, 8 warming stones]
As for their destination...
Lloyd opened the interface to check.
[Hamlet Periphery]
[Pus of Man · Stormveil]
[Crystal Academy · Raya Lucaria]
[Crystal Lake · Liurnia of the Lakes]
[Abyssal Contamination · Caelid (Unactivated)]
He'd wanted to hit a high-difficulty instance, but after looking at his current lineup, he thought it over and obediently chose [Hamlet Outskirts].
Then, under the "protection" of four girls, Lloyd set out with them.
What followed was an indiscriminate sweep of the surrounding map.
...
[Maiden's Dungeon]
...
[Upto 20 chapters ahead for now]
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