Chapter 842 - 841: Wasn't I the Clown All Along?

After several days of hard fighting, most players who got Elden Ring early on have either finished their first playthrough or are deep into the late stages of the story.

Ben was no different. He hadn't paid much attention to the online discussions about Elden Ring's balance.

After all, as long as he enjoyed playing the game, that's all that mattered.

Returning to the Erdtree's hall once more and defeating the 'King of Fists,' Ben felt a flood of emotions.

He knew the game's final battle was just around the corner.

Thinking back on the bosses in the game, they had truly left a deep impression on him.

In the same Grand Cathedral of the Royal Capital, he remembered facing the Elden Beast. Because of his bad experience with Margit, the Fell Omen, early in the game, he had always thought Mohg was no good. Plus, seeing him rage at his followers in the cutscenes made him seem like a frantic, pathetic clown.

But as he slowly pieced together the story, he began to understand the depth of Morgott's character. He could honestly say that Morgott was the boss he respected the most in the game.

Under the Golden Order dynasty, Morgott, born an omen, lived in darkness, bondage, and the discrimination of others. He wasn't even allowed to take his father Godfrey's surname.

Yet, despite being an omen, Morgott's love for the Golden Order dynasty never wavered.

Then, Godfrey, the first Elden Lord, was exiled as a Tarnished and left the Lands Between. Queen Marika, alongside her other self Radagon, married. Their trueborn golden prince, Godwyn, had his soul murdered on the night of the Black Knife. The Golden Order's power couldn't revive him, the Elden Ring shattered once more, and chaos erupted. The demigods with great power, Ranni, Radahn, Malenia, and others, all left the Royal Capital of Leyndell.

Forces from all over the Lands Between began attacking the Royal Capital. At this point, there were no true demigods left in the capital, and its fall seemed inevitable.

But just then, Morgott, who had been persecuted by the Erdtree era, stepped forward. The unsightly omen showed the mighty power of Godfrey's son. He alone led the remaining royal guards to repel all the invading demigod armies, defending the Royal Capital of Leyndell, a symbol of the Erdtree era.

In front of all the demigods' golden thrones in the center of the Royal Capital, he placed a fragile wooden chair as his 'throne,' mocking the other demigods. However, he never claimed the title of king himself. Instead, while internally organizing the Black Knife to hunt down the forces of rebellious demigods, he also hunted down the Tarnished who came to claim the throne after the Elden Ring shattered. He shouldered the heavy responsibility of maintaining order in the increasingly decaying Royal Capital of Leyndell as the last king.

But in the end, he was just an omen. He didn't have the strength to seize a Great Rune from another demigod to repair the Ring. All he could do was guard the entrance to the Erdtree, quietly waiting for fate to arrive, whether it be his father, Godfrey the First Elden Lord, other demigods, or unknown Tarnished.

It was just like the Greatspear remembered: not giving back because of being loved, but simply wishing to love.

Regarding Morgott, the Omen King as a boss, Ben could only say that the character's looks were his downfall.

Of course, besides Morgott, there were many other unforgettable bosses.

General Radahn, who single-handedly held back the stars. Countless heroes came to bid farewell to the madman, but who could have imagined he was actually a gentle, kind soul?

He even learned gravity magic so he could ride into battle with his beloved little horse. He was so gentle it made you want to cry.

Malenia, Blade of Miquella, a prime example of a character with great looks but actions that felt contemptible. Her declaration of being Miquella's blade and her claim to be invincible were incredibly imposing. Ben found her to be the most difficult boss in the entire game. Her three-phase sword dance, which felt like crossing a floating boat, made his scalp tingle. Fortunately, he finally managed to defeat her using the Mimic Tear and a tanky shield strategy.

However, in the game's story, Malenia wasn't so great. She lost a fight to Radahn, the Starscourage, during the Shattering. Then, she pulled out the Haligtree Medallion that suppressed her Scarlet Rot, unleashing it and turning the entire region of Caelid into a living hell.

There was also Ranni in the Moonlight Altar. The scene where she returned the Ring of Marriage and gave him the Dark Moon Greatsword made Ben feel a wave of emotions.

Besides them, there was also Fia in the Deeproot Depths, before the Deathbed Companion. It had to be said that Fia's embrace was truly amazing. Honestly, she helped the Deathbed Companion obtain a Great Rune and defeated the Death Wyrm in her dream. Is it too much to say I admire you for that?

Of course, putting those aside, what he couldn't forget was Melina, the witch who first appeared by his side.

Story-wise, Melina didn't say much. She would only appear to him a few times during rests at Sites of Grace.

But he just liked Melina. And who knows what he did for her? When he went offline to rest before, he secretly saw some spoilers. Combined with the description of a strange person at a mountain pass in the game, he immediately connected the dots: Melina actually used herself as kindling to burn the Erdtree! How could he stand that?

To get rid of the Erdtree's thorns that prevented him from becoming Elden Lord, Melina sacrificed herself?

If that wasn't love, then what was?

Therefore, to save Melina, this became Ben's goal.

To achieve this, he tried every trick in the book. He completed Malenia's quest to obtain the Haligtree Medallion, entered the Royal Capital's sewers to meet the Three Fingers and gain the power of the Frenzied Flame, and then used his own body as kindling to ignite the Erdtree.

It's just linking the fire!

He'd linked the fire so many times in Dark Souls! Melina, I'll link the fire for you!

Melina, your life is saved! No one can stop me!

As for Fia and Ranni, he could only say their questlines were pretty wild.

One was a dream come true for a pure love warrior, and the other was a dream come true for a cuckold.

In terms of looks, both Fia and Ranni were incredibly stunning and desirable.

But unfortunately for them, they appeared later than Melina.

Slowly stepping into the Erdtree's interior, Ben saw Radagon appear with his hammer. This was the game's final boss.

If he defeated him, he could become the Elden Lord.

After days of practice, he had long since adapted to Elden Ring's combat system.

In addition, the game itself had many fun and powerful playstyles. In reality, for veteran souls-like players, Elden Ring's difficulty actually decreased significantly in the later stages.

Furthermore, Ben's playstyle was heavily focused on playing it safe. His full set of the Great Horned Tragoth armor provided max resistance against holy damage, and he wielded the Greatshield with the highest magic defense, taking all the boss's damage throughout the fight.

At the same time, he had invested heavily in his stats, ensuring his health, damage, and stamina were all top-notch.

Radagon's first phase posed no real threat. It was the Elden Beast in the second phase that presented challenges. The four sword slashes from a distance, the golden wave at close range, and the tracking projectiles were a little difficult to avoid.

Of course, what was even more annoying was how the Elden Beast constantly ran away. He could barely get a few hits in before it would dart off.

But overall, once he figured out the strategy, it wasn't that difficult. After dying about six or seven times, Ben finally managed to poke the Elden Beast to death with the help of the Mimic Tear.

"Nice! Finally got rid of you!"

"Now I can live happily ever after with my Melina."

"Melina… my Melina!" Thinking this, Ben couldn't help but chuckle gleefully.

But as he walked up to the shattered Elden Ring and triggered the subsequent cutscene, the visuals completely stunned him.

This… this wasn't what he had imagined!

Wasn't I the clown all along!?

(End of Chapter)