“I’ve already received enough payment, here you go. This should be an amulet that can resist some kind of power, though its effect probably isn’t very strong.”

Brandon Jenkins was a bit surprised. This guy could even say something like asking for more money, yet at a time like this, he was actually being quite generous.

Brandon Jenkins didn’t refuse either. Although this thing wasn’t very useful and he hadn’t really wanted it—just his collector’s habit acting up—since the other party offered it so generously, he accepted it.

After making sure nothing was left behind, the two of them jumped down one after the other, with the white wolf following closely behind.

When it came to the warhorse’s turn, it was a bit difficult for 疑龄气玐[飼霓⒋V轳. A horse’s legs are fragile, and jumping down from such a height could easily result in broken bones.

So the two of them reached out from below to catch the warhorse, and only with great effort did they manage to get it safely to the ground.

There wasn’t much left to explore in the remaining area. They just looked around briefly to see if there were any hidden exits, and after finding none, they returned to the entrance of the Drifting Graveyard.

The burned-out candles on both sides and the watching statue of a woman brought considerable psychological pressure to Hakann.

“This place looks like a high-standard graveyard. We’d better be careful.”

Brandon Jenkins nodded solemnly, putting on a look as if facing a formidable enemy.

Hakann stepped forward and forcefully pushed open the long-sealed tomb door.

The cold white candles burned slowly, dividing the graveyard and the outside world into two separate realms.

Cobwebs were everywhere, and scattered bones lay about.

Hakann hefted his large curved blade and moved forward cautiously.

But after walking for a while and reaching the next chamber, there were still no traps or guardian statues in sight.

In this chamber, however, there was a wall shrouded in mist, with a small gargoyle statue in front of it.

Brandon Jenkins knew this was the entrance to the Border Hero’s Grave, which required two stone sword keys.

But what was more important now was that a bonfire emitting a warm glow appeared on the ground in front of Brandon Jenkins—a site of grace.

Brandon Jenkins stepped forward and touched the warm flame with his hand.

Rather than calling it a flame, it was more like the lingering warmth under a lamp—cozy and comforting.

Brandon Jenkins felt a strange sensation, as if he had formed some mysterious connection with the grace before him.

“Brandon Jenkins, what are you… doing?”

Hakann watched as Brandon Jenkins suddenly reached out to touch what seemed to be empty air, not knowing if Brandon Jenkins had fallen under some spell.

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Chapter 9: The Lands Between

“Hm?”

Brandon Jenkins came back to himself from the strange sensation just now.

“I was just touching the grace.”

Brandon Jenkins suddenly noticed something odd.

He hadn’t fully trusted Hakann, yet upon seeing the grace, he couldn’t help but ignore any potential threat and went straight to touch it.

This strange attraction made Brandon Jenkins feel like a moth at night, drawn to the flame by phototaxis.

No wonder, in discussions about the game’s story in his previous life, there was a faction that speculated about the “Erdtree Conspiracy.”

Hakann’s eyes widened.

“You can actually see the grace?”

“Yeah… I think it’s the grace.”

Seeing there was no way to hide it, Brandon Jenkins simply admitted it.

“…You really aren’t an ordinary Tarnished.”

“I don’t think there’s anything unusual about me.”

Brandon Jenkins shrugged.

“No, you’ve just returned to the Lands Between. You don’t know what kind of ability it is to see the grace in this era.”

“Ordinary Tarnished had their grace stripped away when they were exiled from the Lands Between.”

“Those who can still see the grace now are all people with the bearing of heroes.”

“If Godrick of Stormveil found out about you, he’d definitely send troops to hunt you down.”

Hakann spoke excitedly, his words pouring out like a machine gun. Brandon Jenkins hadn’t expected this side of him.

“Is that so? It’s fine, I’m really good at running away.”

“Whew—Brandon Jenkins, I… no, never mind.”

Brandon Jenkins was completely confused. Could the riddleman please leave the Lands Between?

“It’s fine, just say it.”

But Hakann suddenly became very resolute.

“No, I’m not qualified to talk about this right now. Anyway, I’m really glad to have met someone like you.”

Hakann paused.

“Next, let’s focus on getting back to the mainland. I’ll do everything I can to get you there.”

Brandon Jenkins was truly bewildered now.

What’s with this guy? After learning he could see the grace, his attitude became so respectful.

“Let’s keep going, do you need to rest?”

“No need, I’m really full of energy right now.”

With that, Hakann hefted his large curved blade and continued scouting ahead.

Brandon Jenkins shook his head and silently followed.

“Can’t figure it out.”

The two of them made their way through coffins and jars, soon arriving before a peculiar skeleton.

The skeleton was slumped against the wall, its limbs covered in red brands, as if it were extinguished charcoal.

After a careful search by Hakann, they found two items: the Tarnished’s Furled Finger and the Severed Finger.

As before, Hakann handed them to Brandon Jenkins.

These two items, like the Tarnished’s Old Finger found earlier at the Chapel of Anticipation, were related to multiplayer in the game.

Right now, Brandon Jenkins didn’t know if these multiplayer items were still useful, or how to use them.

But it was always right to collect them first.