Ranni was not the first to hear the news.
Bai Shi's name spread throughout the Lands Between on the newly stirred winds of a storm.
From that day on, all the powers of the Lands Between began to pay close attention to him and his Stormveil.
The various factions began to act, some openly, some in secret.
Morgott's Night's Cavalry dispersed, hunting Tarnished in their respective regions to prevent them from assembling as much as possible.
The Academy of Raya Lucaria established a dedicated post to observe Stormveil, and hot air balloons carrying marionette soldiers rose into the sky over the lakes.
The remnants of Volcano Manor dispatched more recruiters, hoping to find new hands among the Tarnished and rise from the ashes.
The assassins of the Mohgwyn Dynasty were already prepared, waiting to gradually devour Bai Shi's domain.
Only in Caelid, an old warrior in strange armor burst into laughter upon hearing the news.
"Excellent! Excellent! A truly powerful warrior.""A fellow like Godrick the Grafted should have been killed long ago. His very existence is a blasphemy against the demigods."
"Such a mighty warrior is truly inspiring."
"I hope to see him at the coming combat festival."
"If he's there, then General Radahn might finally be able to find release with honor."
—
After returning from the Roundtable Hold, Bai Shi immediately set out for the Divine Tower.
He couldn't wait any longer. He was intensely curious about what secrets the Great Runes of this world held.
And the Rune Arcs—he didn't know what their current relationship was to the Great Runes.
In the outer bailey of Stormveil Castle.
Flanked by Crucible Knights, Bai Shi walked toward the path leading to the Divine Tower.
The guardian lion was lying at the entrance, resting. It yawned upon seeing the group but didn't move.
Bai Shi stepped forward and touched the severed horn on the lion's head, confirming it was indeed a hardened horn, a symbol of the Aspects of the Crucible.
He entered the great hall connecting Stormveil to the Divine Tower. Several suits of Stormhawk Knight armor were displayed in kneeling positions, their halberds held at an angle as if to welcome their new master.
These suits were just like the Stormhawk Knight armor Bai Shi had found in Castle Morne, relics left behind by the knights whose legacy had been lost.
Only four suits of armor were kept here; the rest were stored in the armory.
Passing through the hall, he was met with a long flight of stairs and a magnificent, massive archway.
This great gate was somewhat similar to the triumphal arches of his past life, but far more majestic and splendid.
Especially being built atop the long staircase, it forced one to look up in awe.
On either side of the gate, a tall tower extended outward, its peak wreathed in roaring flames.
Carvings of the Erdtree and sages on the gate were covered in moss and vines, exuding an ancient and weathered air.
Beyond the long staircase and through the archway, three golems lay collapsed on the bridge to the Divine Tower, sleeping peacefully.
The golems on the Divine Tower Bridge had already had their identification altered and would no longer attack Bai Shi.
These three golems were not just guardians of the Divine Tower.
The bridge also served as their storage area; they could be mobilized whenever needed.
The golems were immensely powerful. Aside from being somewhat cumbersome, they were formidable weapons.
However, because of their enormous size, they were completely unusable within the city walls and would only cause collateral damage. Thus, their strength could only be brought to bear when defending against an attack.
This time, Bai Shi's group had entered the city too quickly for the three golems to be mobilized. But because of this, they were preserved, and now they all belonged to Bai Shi.
The path to the Divine Tower was long. As Bai Shi walked, he listened to Andre's report.
Andre was the Crucible Knight who had come to Stormveil with Red.
Although he also had his objections to grafting, he had always held out some hope for Godrick.
So, unlike Red, he hadn't strongly opposed it, merely patrolling the outermost edges of Stormveil Castle, out of sight and out of mind.
As a Crucible Knight who had accompanied them from the Royal Capital to Stormveil, he was also one of those who had escorted parts of Godwyn's body. Naturally, he knew that the body parts Godrick ultimately grafted were Godwyn's.
After that, he completely lost faith in Godrick and sided with Bai Shi.
"There are currently 32 Stormhawk Knights in the castle."
"There are four to five hundred storm soldiers, but the vast majority of them have lost their minds."
"As for Godrick's forces, only four knights and fewer than a hundred soldiers remain."
Bai Shi couldn't help but fall into deep thought.
He had very few soldiers now, barely enough to maintain order just within Stormveil Castle.
And how many Tarnished would come to Stormveil or Castle Morne in the future? Perhaps thousands.
This was definitely not going to work.
As gathering places for Tarnished and other races, Stormveil and Castle Morne needed a large force to keep them secure.
In the early stages, conflicts and incidents would surely occur frequently, and order would be fragile.
If there weren't enough people to maintain it, and chaos frequently erupted, then no one would believe it was the ideal city he had advertised.
Even with Bai Shi's power as a backstop, the plan might not be implemented as expected.
"What about training soldiers?"
Andre recalled the situation in the castle and shook his head.
"The situation isn't very optimistic."
"Many of the residents have also lost their minds, so they're not an option."
"As for the residents who are still sane, the number of fighting-age individuals is very small. Including the people in the outer territories, we could probably scrape together an army of about five hundred at most."
"But with only short-term training, their combat effectiveness can't be guaranteed. I have my doubts whether they can handle this important task."
"Lanslet also said he would find candidates to learn sorcery and form a squad of sorcerers, but that will likely take even longer."
Bai Shi stroked his chin. The current situation was indeed not very optimistic.
The number of Tarnished was bound to be high, and training soldiers was a lengthy process.
"Hmm... It's alright. Let's start the training for now."
"This can't be rushed. Rather than a crash course, I'd prefer them to have genuine combat strength."
"I hope they can assist me on the battlefield in the future, not just serve as city guards."
"As for managing the city..."
"The initial work won't require many people. We can designate an area in the city as a trial zone first."
"If too many people come, we can recruit and select some from among the Tarnished to help manage."
"We'll teach them skills and sorcery as payment."
"With the opportunity to learn skills and sorcery, I believe many will come. After all, the Tarnished are descendants of warriors."
As they talked, the group quickly reached the end of the bridge.
The bridge was broken in the middle; there was no path ahead.
"This bridge broke a long time ago. Repairing it would be a massive and overly complex undertaking, so a portal was built to connect the two ends."
This time, it was Red who spoke.
The bridge had broken very early on, long before Godrick even came to Limgrave.
He was the one who had flown to the other side to leave the portal marker back then.
Bai Shi looked at the stone portal before him, which emanated a magical glow, his interest piqued. This was the first portal he had seen since he arrived in this world.
Bai Shi was eager to try it, wanting to experience the feeling of using a portal.
"What do I do?"
"Just place your hand on it and channel your magic power."
Bai Shi did as instructed. Soon, with a flash of light, the space around him was enveloped by a force.
The next second, the scene before Bai Shi's eyes had changed.
Looking back, he saw Red and the others still on the other side.
Bai Shi savored the sensation of teleportation; it felt somewhat familiar.
Since increasing his intelligence, Bai Shi's perception of magic had become much keener.
That feeling was like... Grace.
Yes, although it was very different, he was sure of it.
The principle of the portal must have borrowed, to some extent, from teleporting via Grace.
Red and Andre didn't use the portal; they simply spread their wings and flew over.
Bai Shi couldn't help but feel a little envious. Having wings would not only be much more convenient, but more importantly, it was incredibly cool.
Unfortunately, Bai Shi had already asked Red and Andre. Without the Aspects of the Crucible, he couldn't use those incantations.
They all possessed the blessing of the Aspects of the Crucible, allowing them to release the power within their bodies when casting incantations.
Bai Shi pushed open the heavy doors of the Divine Tower.
The Divine Tower was beautifully constructed, carved from complete monoliths without the slightest trace of joints or assembly.
Both the interior and exterior of the tower were carved with exquisite patterns.
Such a massive, yet perfectly intricate structure truly seemed like a gift from the gods.
Who had built the Divine Towers remained unknown.
But at the very least, this was certainly not a structure that could be built by human hands.
Rays of light streamed through the small windows encircling the tower, but the interior was not lit by them.
Braziers emitting a warm, orange-yellow glow illuminated the inside of the Divine Tower, and the stone walls that formed it even gave off a faint light of their own.
Bai Shi walked onto the circular platform in the center of the tower. As he stepped on the floor tile that controlled the lift, the entire platform began to rise slowly.
Bai Shi peeked over the edge of the platform but saw no mechanism lifting it from below, nor any trace of magic.
In other words, the platform was rising by some completely unknown, mysterious force.
Bai Shi's expression grew grim. A completely unknown power was not good news.
Did this mean the power of the Greater Will was still influencing the Lands Between?
But he had no time to ponder further, as the platform had already delivered them to the top floor of the Divine Tower.
'Regardless, I'll activate the Great Rune first.'
Following the stairs on the outer wall, Bai Shi reached the top of the Divine Tower.
At the open-air summit, a dead Two Fingers lay in the very center of the area.
A phantom Great Rune, identical to Godrick's, floated between the fingers.
Bai Shi walked forward and reached out to touch the phantom Great Rune.
The phantom immediately shattered, dissolving into points of light that converged into Bai Shi's body, merging with the Great Rune in his mind.
As the Great Rune in his mind solidified, Bai Shi's consciousness finally formed a connection with it.
Bai Shi's eyes widened as he processed the information transmitted from the Great Rune.
He had considered that the Great Rune might be different from in the game of his past life, but he had never imagined the difference would be this great.
First of all, the ability to enhance his physical attributes was just a basic function inherent to the Great Rune.
With the Great Rune officially activated, he could already feel his body growing stronger once more.
He could even control his physical size, making himself slightly larger if he wished.
The true power of this Great Rune did not end there.
It allowed Bai Shi to use all kinds of powers without any 'rejection.'
For instance, with incantations involving insect threads or the Crucible series, one could not activate the power without the corresponding organs or bloodline.
If someone else wanted to release insect threads, they would have to fuse the organ that releases them with their own body.
Just like with Dragon Communion, one had to make it a part of oneself to use it.
But this Great Rune, acting as a foundation, allowed Bai Shi's body to use these powers without rejection.
He didn't need to perform Dragon Communion; he just needed to use the power of the Great Rune to completely analyze and absorb the power contained within a Dragon Heart.
The same principle applied to other powers. The Great Rune, as a foundation, was sufficient to bear and accommodate their might.
No wonder. No wonder Godrick could use the incantations and sorceries of others after grafting.
In a sense, the function of this Great Rune was quite suited to grafting.
However, if he didn't graft and just used the Great Rune on its own, it seemed he would be stronger and more versatile.
Compared to the Great Rune's function, grafting offered nothing but a minor physical boost and simply couldn't compare.
Perhaps Godrick was too weak to fully unleash the power of the Great Rune.
In addition, the Great Rune also conveyed the function of the Rune Arcs to Bai Shi.
Bai Shi took out a Rune Arc and crushed it.
A small arc simultaneously appeared at the bottom of the Great Rune in his mind.
With the addition of the arc, the physical strength granted by the Great Rune increased further.
Bai Shi was pleasantly surprised. The enhancement from the Great Rune wasn't fixed; it could be improved.
He crushed the Rune Arcs in his hand one by one, and the arc at the bottom of the Great Rune grew more complete.
The power granted by the Great Rune also continued to rise.
By the time Bai Shi had crushed all thirteen Rune Arcs and absorbed them into the Great Rune, the increase in power had become enormous.
The initial boost was +2 to all attributes, but after absorbing so many Rune Arcs, it had become a +6 boost to all attributes.
Looking at the arc at the bottom of the Great Rune, which was now more than halfway solidified, Bai Shi felt a little regretful.
It seemed that once this arc was completely filled, the power enhancement from the Great Rune would reach its limit.
This also led Bai Shi to ponder the function of the Rune Arcs.
Rune Arcs were fragments from the shattered Elden Ring.
In the past, the lower half of the Elden Ring had an arc at its base, symbolizing a vessel that held the Ring's grace.
Rune Arcs were fragments of that very part.
And now, when a Rune Arc was crushed and used, its placement beneath the Great Rune was likely meant to imitate the arc of the Elden Ring.
The more complete the arc, the more grace it could hold, and the stronger the power the Great Rune could unleash.
Moreover, Bai Shi had a premonition.
Once the arc completely filled out the bottom of the Great Rune, it seemed the Great Rune would reveal something else.