Ranni looked at the weapon, which had been sealed in dust for who knew how many years, with a hint of emotion.
"This sword is a treasured heirloom of the Carian royal family."
"It is a precious weapon forged back when the Stargazers lived on the snowy mountaintops, as neighbors to the Fire Giants."
"One of the legendary armaments."
A legendary armament meant that it once possessed unparalleled fame or a distinguished combat record, enough to be remembered in the legends of later generations.
Some weapons were, in fact, no worse than legendary ones.
However, for various reasons, they were either unknown or their deeds unsung, and thus they were not counted among the legendary armaments.
Bai Shi picked up the Sword of Night and Flame to examine it closely.
Although its openwork design made the sword incredibly light, that did not mean it was fragile.
An ordinary weapon—no, even if Bai Shi's Dragonslayer Swordspear were to clash with it, it would surely be destroyed on the spot.After enduring the long passage of time and passing through the hands of countless masters, the Sword of Night and Flame had reached a reinforcement level of +7.
It was important to know that in the Lands Between, weapons with such special powers could only be reinforced with Somber Smithing Stones, and they could only be strengthened up to level 10.
Moreover, a level 10 weapon could already be called a god-slaying weapon. Reality was not like a game, where one could easily reinforce a weapon to its maximum level.
In the current Lands Between, there might not even be a single god-slaying weapon reinforced to level 10.
Even if one did exist, it was either forged by an ancient dynasty, or it would be one that Smithing Master Hewg might forge in the future.
For normal armaments, +24 was the limit; for special armaments, +9 was already the peak.
And a treasured sword like this, one that possessed special powers, had exceptionally outstanding attributes, and was even reinforced to level 7, was fully capable of serving as Bai Shi's main weapon.
The swordspear in Bai Shi's hands was simply incomparable to the Sword of Night and Flame in terms of raw stats.
Bai Shi played with the sharp sword, quite satisfied.
"Throughout its long history, this weapon was once entrusted to various powerful individuals, and the Carian royal family continuously collected materials to reinforce it."
"One could say that, aside from the weapons used by the demigods, it is second to none among all the armaments in the Lands Between."
"Speaking of which, you could be considered the strongest user this weapon has had thus far."
Bai Shi nodded.
The weapons used by demigods were undoubtedly forged with the utmost care, gathering the resources of an entire faction to reinforce them as much as possible.
Each of them was likely +9, or at the very least +8.
Even Godrick had exhausted his efforts to reinforce his golden great axe to level 5.
Radahn and Rykard probably didn't use the Sword of Night and Flame because they already possessed weapons with higher reinforcement levels.
Or perhaps their weapons were of the same level, but they were more comfortable with or better suited to what they already wielded.
But for Bai Shi, there was nothing to complain about. It was a freebie, after all, a great bargain for him.
"Oh, right."
Ranni suddenly turned and walked toward another rack.
From that rack, she retrieved a small, exquisite treasure chest, lavishly decorated with inlaid gems and gold.
Bai Shi was greatly surprised. Another unexpected delight?
He had truly misjudged Ranni before, even thinking she couldn't afford a dowry in the future. He felt quite apologetic.
Looking at her now, she was a bona fide rich lady.
Ranni walked up to Bai Shi and opened the chest.
A brilliant golden light spilled out from the cracks of the chest, and when it was fully opened, it illuminated more than half of the cave.
The box was filled to the brim with resplendent Rune Arcs.
At a rough estimate, there were at least thirteen or fourteen Rune Arcs inside.
"You have already defeated Godrick and claimed his Great Rune."
"To fully utilize the power of a Great Rune, Rune Arcs are indispensable."
"I also collected quite a few during the Shattering."
"After helping my two brothers fill their Great Runes, these were what I had left. I don't know if it's enough to fill that Great Rune of yours."
Bai Shi estimated that his Great Rune, having already been filled with quite a few Rune Arcs, was close to completion.
Even if it required slightly more than he expected, the Rune Arcs here would definitely be enough.
With these arcs, Bai Shi could now completely fill the Great Rune and unseal its true function.
Bai Shi took the treasure chest of Rune Arcs from Ranni's hands.
They were both in the same boat now.
An increase in his strength would benefit them both, so he had no need for hesitation or politeness.
"Excellent. I was in dire need of Rune Arcs."
"I had already filled most of the lower arc, but there was still a small gap left that I couldn't complete."
"With these Rune Arcs of yours, I should be able to fill it completely."
Ranni smiled.
"In that case, nothing could be better."
"I look forward to seeing the power your Great Rune holds once it's unsealed."
Bai Shi crushed the Rune Arcs one by one, allowing them to merge into his body.
As the Rune Arcs from the chest were absorbed into the lower curve of his Great Rune, the massive arc gradually became whole.
Finally, after the ninth Rune Arc was absorbed, the Great Rune within Bai Shi reached its complete state.
The central anchor rune of the Elden Ring was thus unsealed.
The hidden function of this Great Rune was completely revealed to Bai Shi.
However, after learning the true purpose of this Great Rune, Bai Shi's expression became complicated.
Seeing this, Ranni felt a bit strange.
In her experience, the true powers possessed by unsealed Great Runes were all immensely formidable.
This was because the essence of a Great Rune was a fragment of the very laws that constituted the Elden Ring.
Each Great Rune carried a portion of these laws.
Even before being unsealed, they could grant their wielder a huge boost in attributes.
Once unsealed, they each had their own unique effects.
There was no such thing as a weak Great Rune.
Ranni was very curious. What could the unsealed power of Bai Shi's Great Rune be, to make him wear such an expression?
"What is it? What is the effect of your unsealed Great Rune?"
"...If you'd rather not say, it's fine."
Bai Shi shook his head. It wasn't something that couldn't be said.
After all, he had only managed to unseal it thanks to Ranni's Rune Arcs.
The power of the Great Rune was indeed very strong, just a bit awkward.
"It is a blessing."
Ranni was taken aback.
"A blessing... Is it the blessing I'm thinking of?"
Bai Shi nodded.
"It should be the very same blessing you're thinking of."
"I can bestow blessings, just like how Queen Marika blessed her warriors."
After hearing this, Ranni could no longer maintain her composure, her eyes widening in surprise.
The reason the Golden Dynasty was able to vanquish all its enemies, unify the Lands Between, and implement the Golden Order to reach its zenith...
...was precisely because, in battle, the warriors blessed by Queen Marika were invincible.
Not only could it allow common soldiers to use Grace to recover from their injuries, but it could also push the power of heroes to an even higher level through blessings.
"It's actually a blessing..." "That is truly, a quite incredible power."
"It's no wonder, then. Godrick's Great Rune seems to be the central one."
However, Ranni quickly understood why Bai Shi's expression was strange.
Because while the ability to bestow blessings was powerful, for Bai Shi, it might not be that useful.
One had to remember that the one backing Queen Marika was the Erdtree, which showered down grace.
What was the grace that living beings in the Lands Between possessed? It was the grace of the Erdtree.
Once, the bounty of the Erdtree was abundant.
Using the Erdtree's bounty, Queen Marika could sprinkle the light of blessings upon every single soldier in her army.
As for the heroes who received additional blessings, they possessed an unimaginable power.
But without the Erdtree to provide its bounty, one could only spend one's own Runes to bestow blessings.
But as a Tarnished, how many extra Runes could Bai Shi possibly have to bless others?
This was precisely Bai Shi's predicament.
Were blessings powerful? Of course, they were.
Bai Shi could spend Runes to bless any race, any individual under his command.
As long as they didn't harbor the Frenzied Flame, which conflicted with the blessing, they could receive it.
Tarnished who could not see Grace could see it once more.
Those who were not Tarnished could also become able to see and use Grace.
If Bai Shi was willing, he could even pour a massive amount of Runes into a single individual, instantly turning them into a stat monster.
It was even possible to elevate the Storm Knights to become a heroic legion on par with the Night's Cavalry.
The extent to which this could be done depended entirely on how many Runes Bai Shi could produce.
As of now, aside from being unable to directly create sites of grace across the Lands Between, Bai Shi could be said to have mastered the vast majority of the abilities related to blessings.
But all of this came with one prerequisite: Runes.
If he had enough Runes, this would be the most powerful of all Great Runes.
Because Bai Shi could completely replicate the process by which Marika and Godfrey conquered the Lands Between, blessing warriors along the way and overwhelming any enemy with sheer numbers.
It could be said that both the Golden Dynasty and the Golden Order owed their rule over the Lands Between to the power of blessings.
The fact that sites of grace are scattered all over the Lands Between, present in every corner, is proof that the Golden Order considers Grace its foundation.
Blessings were the foundation of the Golden Order, so it was no surprise that this ability appeared in this most central Great Rune.
But the problem for Bai Shi was:
He needed Runes to level himself up; he might not even have enough for himself. How could he have so many to spare for strengthening an army?
Marika was able to bless such a vast army in the past because of the Erdtree's bounty, which provided her with a massive amount of resources to use.
But where would Bai Shi get so many Runes to bestow blessings?
After all, there wasn't a second Erdtree in the Lands Between for him to use.
Therefore, to utilize the power of this Great Rune, he would first have to take control of the Erdtree.
But by the time he took control of the Erdtree, Bai Shi would have surely defeated Radagon and the Elden Beast.
At that point, what use would the power of blessings be?
To bless his army and then sail across the sea to fight factions outside the Lands Between?
If he had to wait until he took control of the Erdtree to use this Great Rune, it would be somewhat of a letdown. It wouldn't be of much help to Bai Shi's journey.
And without relying on the Erdtree, even a fivefold Rune multiplier wouldn't be enough.
Instead of blessing his subordinates with a few scraps, he might as well use all the points on himself and just slaughter his way through the Lands Between.
So, until he could solve this problem of expenditure, Bai Shi would only use this Great Rune's effect on a few of his close confidants.
Allowing them to see Grace would be an extra means of survival, and it would also make their movements more convenient.
Unless he could find something like the Erdtree, something that could shower down blessings, Bai Shi wouldn't spend a large number of Runes on this.
But that was unrealistic, at least based on Bai Shi's knowledge of the Lands Between from his past life. Such a thing didn't exist.
Ranni seemed to recall something.
Based on her research on her two brothers' Great Runes, coupled with the information revealed by Bai Shi's Great Rune now...
Many questions that had once troubled her were now answered.
"Bai Shi, since the power of your central Rune is a blessing, then the other Great Runes adjacent to it might have similar effects."
"An effect as important as blessings shouldn't be entirely contained within a single Great Rune."
"During the Shattering, a mysterious 'King of Blessings' suddenly appeared in Leyndell."
"Since he was able to rule Leyndell, his Great Rune is most likely also an anchor rune."
"I suspect the effect of his Great Rune is similar to yours."
"Because after he took control of Leyndell, the Leyndell armies on the battlefield grew increasingly powerful."
Ranni thought back for a moment.
"And during the Shattering, a contingent of Night's Cavalry suddenly appeared."
"Their power was truly at the level of heroes, yet we had never known of such a unit within the capital before."
"I never understood it before, but now that I know the effect of your Great Rune, I can probably guess what happened."
"If that 'King of Blessings' within Leyndell also possesses a Great Rune with the power of blessings..."
"Then even if the function and effect of his blessing are inferior to yours, because he is backed by the Erdtree, he would be able to achieve such a feat."
Bai Shi frowned.
Hearing Ranni's explanation, it did seem to make sense.
It was indeed somewhat unrealistic for the entirety of the blessing's power to be encompassed by his one Great Rune.
The Great Runes possessed by Morgott and Mohg were also anchor runes, so it was normal for them to have a part of this function.
Morgott's massive army of Night's Cavalry did not seem like something that could have been created through ordinary training.
Moreover, at the time, the besieged Leyndell was on the verge of collapse, but after his appearance, they quickly found the strength to launch a counterattack on Volcano Manor.
With Morgott's strategic command and Mohg's bloody conspiracies, defending Leyndell was not a problem.
But for the army, which had suffered heavy losses, to quickly grow stronger after a brief respite—that was clearly not something that could be achieved through strategy alone.
And Mohg also had a method of blessing his followers with cursed blood, transforming their bodies and causing Omen horns to sprout.
Although this was likely more related to the Formless Mother, the original power of the Great Rune could not be ruled out as a contributing factor.
"Ranni, how much do you know about the Great Runes?"
Bai Shi hoped to learn more information about them.
Ranni, who had been in contact with multiple Great Rune bearers, was clearly an excellent person to ask.
Ranni thought for a moment.
The Great Runes were considerably complex. Although she had studied them for a long time, Bai Shi might not understand.
Once she had organized her thoughts, Ranni explained to Bai Shi in the simplest, most common terms she could:
"First of all, the Great Runes did not come into existence only after the Elden Ring shattered."
"The so-called Law is composed of the principles inscribed upon the Great Runes."
"What kind of world that Law ultimately manifests depends on the Great Runes that constitute it."
"For instance, during the rule of the Golden Order, your Great Rune was the most central part."
"But when other Laws rule, it is not certain which rune will be the central one."
"And the Great Rune in my mother's hands, and the Rune of Death in the hands of the 'Black Blade,' are both outside the Golden Order's Elden Ring."
"After the Elden Ring shattered, the various principles reverted to the state of Great Runes, which is their current state."
"The Greater Will and the Two Fingers, unwilling to see the Lands Between fall into disarray, distributed the Great Runes among the various demigods of that time, hoping that the next Elden Lord would arise from among them."
"However, their actions were merely in vain."
"In the war of the Shattering, no one became king..."