"Wah—!"
Mia jolted upright from the ground.
The cave. The shallow water. The golden sapling.
The moment she sat up, she grabbed her head.
She had jumped into the Cave of Knowledge… and died on impact?!
That embarrassing?!
She swallowed awkwardly.
Hopefully no one else knew about that…
(The spirit seated on the chair quietly glanced back at the lively girl, then quickly looked away before she noticed.)
Her first experience of death hadn't hurt at all.
No—counting the truck, this was the second time.
Both times had been instant. No pain whatsoever.
It made Mia feel strangely buoyant.
"With Marika's grace… is death really this trivial?"
Once again, she walked to the edge of the Cave of Knowledge.
No more humiliating herself this time.
She looked down carefully. As expected, there was a safer path. A protruding ledge jutted from the cliff wall. She could jump there first, then drop the rest of the way.
That should be safer.
Before the thought fully settled, she was already moving.
Thud.
Her bare feet landed on the rocky outcrop.
"Hissss—"
The shock made her legs go numb, teeth clenched from the vibration.
But that was all.
For some reason, the girl who used to tremble walking barefoot on pebble paths could now leap down two or three meters onto jagged stone, and the pain was… manageable.
In fact, she hadn't even realized she was barefoot until the pain registered.
Was this the constitution of a Tarnished?
She lifted one leg behind her and examined her sole.
Aside from some dirt and a faint redness, her foot was smooth and soft—no calluses, no cuts.
Then down she went.
"One, two—"
Splash.
The cave floor was covered by a thin layer of water, just brushing over her feet. In this sealed cavern, the water was surprisingly clear.
She glanced around. Scattered stone coffins lay broken, pale skeletons exposed within.
Mia didn't feel afraid.
After all—
She was someone who couldn't truly die.
She looked up at the cave entrance. From below, she felt like a frog at the bottom of a well.
Then she stepped forward into the depths.
Ahead of her shimmered golden Grace.
A floating light.
Warm. Gentle. Like early morning sunlight weaving through gauzy mist.
The moment she saw it, Mia reached out without thinking.
Her slender fingers touched the light.
A strange tingling spread through her body. She shuddered involuntarily.
Then—
A powerful wave of dizziness flooded her mind.
That sensation… it came from the Grace.
She was inexplicably certain of it, as if the feeling had traveled up her arm straight into her brain.
When the haze cleared, her hand was still touching the warm light.
Clarity returned.
Her body brimmed with energy. The hollow ache in her stomach vanished, replaced by a sense of fullness.
Grace flowed through her limbs, bringing with it a familiar, almost nostalgic comfort—
She shivered.
"Alright. Time to move."
Her right hand extended—
A short spear appeared in her grasp.
She spun it once, the butt striking the ground with a crisp tap.
Enough random thoughts.
From here on out, it was time to properly clear the tutorial.
…Wait.
Mia stared at the spear in her hand.
It had come from somewhere.
Some kind of space.
And the way she handled it—fluid, practiced—
As if she had done so countless times.
When had those memories appeared?
Was it from that dizzying moment just now?
Had the Grace implanted that knowledge into her in an instant?
Mia's mouth parted in disbelief.
"So… like this?"
Her left hand formed a loose grip and flipped over.
In her palm, a holographic pattern appeared—suspended in the air.
She recognized it immediately.
The spectral Sacred Seal of the Erdtree.
It flickered once before fading from sight.
It had no physical form—
But she knew, instinctively, that it would manifest whenever she cast an incantation.
Shouldn't the Prophet's starting equipment be the Finger Seal?
This was—
Well.
No harm in trying.
Following the memory transmitted through Grace, Mia focused. She faced the open patch of shallow water where she had landed, concentrating.
The Sacred Seal reappeared in her hand, glowing gold.
In her mind, she uttered:
"Catch Flame."
She thrust her left hand forward.
Boom—
A burst of blazing fire erupted, fanning out in a cone several meters wide.
Flame swept over the shallow water, vanishing almost instantly, leaving behind a surge of steam.
Heat rushed against her face.
Instead of fear, Mia felt exhilaration.
What else could she cast?
"Urgent Heal."
Though uninjured, she felt a refreshing surge of vitality after casting it.
These were the Prophet's starting incantations.
But clearly—
The knowledge Grace had given her contained far more than just these two.
Several supportive incantations from the Erdtree's lineage lingered in her mind.
Excited, Mia wanted to try them all.
She gripped the Sacred Seal.
Step one.
She would cast according to the method imprinted within her by Grace.
"Golden Vow!"
An incantation that strengthened allies, boosting attack and defense.
She raised her hand.
A phantom Erdtree sigil appeared above her head, golden light cascading outward.
It worked!
"Blessing of the Erdtree!"
The highest-tier Erdtree incantation—one that granted comprehensive protection.
This time, a massive Erdtree sigil formed upon the ground. Rising golden radiance enveloped her.
There were more!
Blessing's Boon! Erdtree's Favor! Wrath of Gold!
She was just about to continue when—
"Guh—"
Her chest suddenly convulsed.
Her heartbeat spiraled into chaos.
"It hurts…"
Her limbs stiffened.
Trembling, she dropped to one knee, using her spear for support, gasping for air.
For a moment—
She thought she might actually die.
"Hah… hah…"
Her mind registered it.
Her FP had run dry.
No wonder Blessing of the Erdtree was considered top-tier.
Staggering, she made her way back to the Grace and touched it.
Under its warm glow, her discomfort quickly faded.
"Ugh…"
She lay down on a flat stone beside it.
Her body felt fine now—
But her spirit was a little tired.
Running out of FP felt awful.
Wait.
Didn't she have Crimson and Cerulean Flasks?
She had completely forgotten.
She reached into her storage space and pulled out two bottles.
One red.
One blue.
Both partially filled.
The liquid inside wasn't much.
If she wanted to reallocate uses between them, she simply had to transfer the contents from one to the other.
In the game, flasks had fixed charges.
Here—
She eyed the gently sloshing liquid.
She didn't yet know how potent they were.
Better not waste them carelessly.
After admiring the beautifully crafted flasks for a while, she stored them again.
This beginner's gift package was truly generous.
Aside from the spear and the flasks, there was something else in her storage.
She focused inward again.
This time, she retrieved a necklace.
The moment she saw it, information surfaced in her mind.
"Marika's Scarseal. An eye engraved with an Elden Rune. One of the legendary talismans. Said to bear Queen Marika's mark."
The phrase "legendary talisman" alone indicated it was something usually obtained much later in the game.
The engraved eye resembled polished jade.
Its rotted pupil was unsettling.
The eye was wrapped in vine-like strands resembling tangled membranes, threaded through by a plain golden chain.
"Am I secretly Marika's illegitimate daughter or something? Giving me a gift like this…"
Mia tilted her head as she held it up.
After all—
The Tarnished were warriors recalled by Queen Marika of the Lands Between.
Then—
A stray gust of cold air swept beneath her robe.
Her legs snapped shut instantly, her expression darkening.
"Marika, you absolute menace… you dragged me here and didn't even give me proper undergarments…"
She sighed.
"Whatever. I'll cross that bridge when I get there. Might as well wear it."