Bai Shi crushed all the Golden Runes, and a massive amount of runes flowed into his body.
Melina stepped down from the Roundtable and stood before Bai Shi, extending her hand.
Without a word, Bai Shi skillfully placed his hand in hers.
"How many runes do you have now?"
Melina sensed the runes within Bai Shi. Although she had already made an estimate, the actual number was even greater than she had expected.
"Including what you had left, you now have 263,000 runes. It's enough to increase your power significantly."
Hearing this amount, Bai Shi couldn't help but gasp.
He had really hit the jackpot this time.
With this starting capital, he could quickly increase his power and start a snowball effect. The days ahead would only get better.
Bai Shi thought for a moment. Although he had plenty of runes, he couldn't afford to waste them.After all, he was about to challenge a demigod.
So far, Bai Shi still didn't know the true strength of a demigod, only what he had heard from others.
Moreover, he had to take the Great Runes into account. Although it wasn't shown in the game, a demigod with a Great Rune would surely be stronger than one without.
In that case, it was best to play it safe and put all the points into stats that would directly increase his combat power.
He still wouldn't add any points to Faith, Intelligence, or Arcane.
Bai Shi told Melina the stats he wanted to enhance, one by one.
The massive amount of runes was consumed rapidly, transforming into Bai Shi's own power.
Before long, the runes were nearly depleted, with only 8,000 remaining.
The current Bai Shi was terrifyingly strong.
His Vigor was the first to reach 30, a health bar truly befitting a warrior.
Mind, the capacity for his magic, was enhanced by 8 points, instantly increasing Bai Shi's FP storage by nearly half.
Endurance received a small boost of 2 points, while Strength and Dexterity each got 3.
This leveling session brought Bai Shi's level directly to 54.
Not only that, but through the cycle of constantly using and depleting his magic, Bai Shi's Mind had naturally increased by 1 point.
In the battle against Erlisa, wearing heavy armor and wielding two greatswords while learning her movements had also increased his Endurance and Dexterity by 1 point each.
Including the point of Endurance and Strength naturally gained while training in Castle Morne, Bai Shi's naturally increased stats had now reached a total of 5 points.
In other words, Bai Shi now possessed the stats of a level 59 character.
But that wasn't all. Bai Shi's combat power was still rising!
With Melina's help, Bai Shi first bound himself to the Talisman Pouch.
Upon binding, Bai Shi felt as if the Talisman Pouch had been a part of him from the very beginning, inseparable.
Bai Shi took out Radagon's Soreseal, a powerful talisman that increased Vigor, Endurance, Strength, and Dexterity by 3 points each.
Once the stats from this talisman were factored in, Bai Shi's effective stats would reach the terrifying level of a level 71 character!
He placed Radagon's Soreseal into one of his Talisman Pouch slots.
The Talisman Pouch immediately enveloped the Soreseal like flesh and blood.
No, it was more like Radagon's Soreseal was demanding flesh from the Talisman Pouch.
Bai Shi could feel that the Talisman Pouch had been completely 'parasitized' by Radagon's Soreseal.
At the same time, Bai Shi clearly felt his body become lighter. It seemed the effect had taken hold.
But a strange sensation also came from his body, as if he was being 'corrupted'.
The Soreseal's side effect had also activated.
Bai Shi remembered that Radagon's Soreseal increased the damage he took, and it seemed this was how it was achieved.
Bai Shi tried to remove Radagon's Soreseal from the Talisman Pouch.
At Bai Shi's thought, the Talisman Pouch immediately ignored the Soreseal's demand and separated from it completely. As Bai Shi removed it, the power instantly left him, but the feeling of 'corruption' also vanished.
Bai Shi confirmed that the Talisman Pouch did indeed sever the direct link between Radagon's Soreseal and himself. With this, he had nothing to worry about.
Bai Shi had no desire to randomly fuse an item related to a god with his own body.
The Talisman Pouch truly was a wondrous thing.
Once again letting Radagon's Soreseal 'parasitize' the Talisman Pouch, Bai Shi reached his current peak of power.
Vigor 33, Mind 19, Endurance 19, Strength 24, Dexterity 21.
He was now a considerably powerful Strength/Dexterity warrior, and he also had plenty of magic to use his storm abilities.
In just over ten minutes, Bai Shi's power had skyrocketed, giving him another boost of confidence.
With this power, who could stop him now? Who could possibly stop him!
The next step was simple and clear.
Once he picked up his repaired equipment, it would be time to head to Stormveil Castle and defeat Godrick the Grafted.
* * *
Bai Shi returned to Castle Morne. He planned to get a few things done during the two days he was waiting for his equipment to be repaired.
Bai Shi found the nomadic merchant Arnogo, who was selling his wares in the castle. Bai Shi needed to ask him for a favor.
Seeing Bai Shi approach, Arnogo spoke up:
"You're back, great hero. Care to take a look at my new stock? You might find something you need."
Bai Shi shook his head. He wasn't here to buy anything this time; he was looking for someone.
"I'd like to ask you for a favor, to help me find someone. I hope it's not too much trouble."
Arnogo was a bit surprised, not expecting Bai Shi to come for this reason.
Arnogo didn't hesitate. Nomadic merchants like them also dealt in information, as long as it was something they knew.
"No problem, as long as it's someone I know. But, even though we're pretty familiar... you know how it is."
Arnogo touched his thumb and index finger together, making the shape of a rune.
Bai Shi smiled.
"Don't worry. Just focus on finding him for me."
Arnogo nodded and asked Bai Shi who he was looking for:
"Alright, describe him to me. The person you're looking for."
"Appearance, name, anything helps. I'll see if I've run into him."
Bai Shi recalled the image of that comedic figure you love to hate and began to describe him to Arnogo:
"Well, his most obvious feature is his bald head. A very shiny, very round bald head."
"I'm not too sure what he wears, but it should be all black."
"He hangs around the Limgrave area with some cronies. He's probably part-time bandit, part-time merchant."
Arnogo listened quietly to Bai Shi's description, comparing it to the figures in his memory, and quickly found a match.
"I probably shouldn't ask, but why are you looking for him? Revenge?"
"No, I heard he has something I need. I just want to find him and buy it."
Arnogo breathed a sigh of relief.
"If I'm not mistaken, the fellow you're looking for must be Patches."
"I have some dealings with him myself, so it's good news you're not out for revenge. I'll take you to him tomorrow."
Bai Shi was curious and asked Arnogo:
"What if I were looking for revenge? Would you have hidden his whereabouts?"
Arnogo was silent for a moment, then let out a couple of self-deprecating laughs.
"I'd write down his hiding place for you, and then mourn his death."
"That's just the kind of people we nomads are."