Elden Ring, building a legion of ashes

Chapter 87 A Bouquet of Flowers

The ruins of Yizhan Street, including an underground secret room.

"My apprentice, where have you been these past few days? You haven't come back to properly study magic."

Without looking up, Teacher Seren said, the quill pen in his hand still rustling on the scroll.

"Hmm? What's this smell?"

She suddenly smelled a delicate fragrance.

Only then did he lift his head from the scroll and look at Xia Tong.

She noticed that the latter was looking at her with a smile and slowly took out a large bouquet of flowers from behind his back.

Inside were orange-yellow sunset flowers, golden golden grass, and rare blood roses obtained from Hyde Fortress.

And some other unnamed flowers and plants.

Right in the center was a bunch of pale purple water lilies, one of the ones Xia Tong had bought at great expense.

A large, colorful bouquet that looks especially beautiful.

These were all woven by Xia Tong herself.

He then took out an empty wine bottle.

The wine bottle was none other than the crystal bottle left over from the wine Miss Elena had given us last time. This bottle was originally a gift from the royal city, and it was extremely exquisite, beautiful, and crystal clear.

It's a perfect match for Xia Tong's bouquet.

Xia Tong gently placed the bouquet of flowers into a vase, filled it with water, and placed it on Teacher Se Lian's desk, which was piled high with scrolls.

"Why...why do you bother with all this useless stuff?"

"...This is ridiculous."

Although Teacher Selian was muttering and complaining.

But Xia Tong clearly saw that the huge pyroxene mask trembled slightly.

She was still very happy.

She stretched out her fair fingers and gently touched the delicate petals.

He then made a hand gesture, and a soft blue light shone on the flowers.

Instantly, the flowers became even more vibrant and beautiful, as if time had stood still for them.

"Teacher, what kind of magic did you just use?"

"Oh, this."

Seren said casually:

"It's a simple little magic trick."

"It can temporarily lock their vitality, and then add some potion to achieve an effect of almost never withering."

"Of course, it will only last for a year at most."

That's amazing.

Xia Tong thought to herself, "Is this the romance of magic?"

"Teacher, do you have any more magic spells suitable for me to learn? I'm so eager to improve!"

"Really? Then come with me!"

……

The next day, Xia Tong studied until midnight and didn't get up until the sun was high in the sky.

"Burke, I'll get you a bearskin rug later too."

Seeing Burke staring blankly at the warm bearskin rug on her bed, Xia Tong smiled slightly and said.

After telling Burke that it was the skin of the legendary Rune Bear, he was so shocked that he could hardly shut his mouth, and his admiration for Xia Tong reached a new level.

Then, Xia Tong led Burke to the top of the ruins of Post Station Street.

He wanted to teach Burke some basic combat skills.

But as they talked, Xia Tong was shocked.

"What? You're saying you've learned magic?"

"Yes... Lord Seren taught me."

Burke rubbed his hands together shyly:

She said I... am not actually a stupid person.

"Teacher Serenity actually teaches you magic? How is this possible?!"

Xia Tong found it hard to believe.

"One day, when I was helping Professor Se-ryeon tidy up his things, I was staring blankly at a star chart on a scroll."

"She seems to have noticed my interest in that and that I can understand a little bit about the flow of magic."

"So...she tried to give me a few pointers."

"But right now I can only use the most basic magic."

Demi-human Burke then explained, fearing that Xia Tong might misunderstand him as bragging.

He was truly insecure, even feeling a sense of presumption and fear that he was now using magic.

"That's something only the Queen is qualified to learn, something noble. How could someone as ugly and lowly as myself be worthy?"

These past few days, he has been asking himself this question repeatedly.

"Show me."

Xia Tong encouraged him.

The demi-human Burke tightly gripped an ordinary academy sapphire staff in his hand.

That was the practice stick that Teacher Seren gave him.

The slender staff exudes a subtle scholarly air.

The skinny, comical demi-human Burke looked out of place, even somewhat comical, as he held the staff.

Burke took a deep breath and then tried to wave his staff gently.

After a while, a light sweat began to seep from his forehead.

The brilliance stone at the top of the staff finally lit up.

But the light wasn't a pure deep blue; instead, it flickered like a light bulb with unstable voltage, emitting a faint blue-white glow.

It was accompanied by a very faint buzzing sound, like the buzzing of a mosquito.

A tiny, bean-sized pebble finally managed to condense.

It didn't even have a flight path.

It just made a "plop" sound.

Like a dud that fell to the ground due to insufficient launch power, it rolled twice in the mud at Burke's feet before slowly disappearing.

"That's already pretty good, Burke!"

Xia Tong applauded sincerely:

"You've completed the process from zero to one! That's a qualitative leap!"

"Brother Tong... thank you!"

It's possible that Burke had used up too much of his mental energy just now to produce that Radiant Stone Shard.

He even stutters a little when he speaks now.

He was so moved that he didn't know what to say!

While living in coastal caves.

If they did something slightly wrong, they would be humiliated, insulted, and even whipped and attacked by the strong demi-humans in the tribe.

Where else could I find such heartwarming encouragement!

After saying thank you, tears welled up in Burke's eyes.

Just as he was about to say something more, Xia Tong pulled a heavy cloth bag out of his pocket.

"Open it and see, this is a gift for you."

"Gift?"

The word "gift" was completely foreign to Burke.

He was stunned for a few seconds before realizing that the gift referred to something given to him.

Burke felt so excited that he could not even stand steadily.

He leaned against a dilapidated stone pillar and slowly opened the cloth bundle with trembling hands.

Finally, the gleaming brass dagger inside was revealed.

"Try waving it around a couple of times, it should suit you quite well!"

"Okay... Brother Tong."

The title "Brother Tong" was something Xia Tong insisted on.

Burke originally intended to call Xia Tong "My King".

But the words "My King" gave Xia Tong goosebumps.

According to Burke, the term "Our King" was used to refer to the demi-human leaders and demi-human queens of their tribe.

This form of address is usually reserved for the most esteemed and deserving of respect.

"Swish! Swish! Swish!"

Burke clumsily picked up the brass dagger and tried swinging it a few times.

For someone as thin as him, the weight of the short knife was just right, and it was not difficult to wield.

Moreover, he was much more devout than Xia Tong, and did not experience the dizziness that the latter did.

"How are you? Do you feel dizzy?"

"Dizzy? No, not at all."

Burke said with delight:

"It feels incredibly comfortable to use! And... it's the most exquisite weapon I've ever seen."

Burke gently stroked the delicate plant patterns on the blade.

You should know that this is a short sword used by legitimate royal nobles. Its exquisite craftsmanship is far superior to the rusty scrap metal that demi-humans usually carry.

Do you like it?

"like!"

"Burke, do you want to become stronger?"

Xia Tong looked into his eyes:

"That way, your tribesmen won't dare to bully you anymore!"

"powerful?"

This was a word that Burke would never have dared to even think about before.

He first lowered his head, looking at the short knife in his hand.

Then, as if he had figured something out, he suddenly raised his head, his eyes shining with an unprecedented light:

"I think!"

……