Greg’s colossal body at this moment was as stiff as a frozen sculpture.

A reluctant sigh escaped his mouth, the skyward flame vanished, and leaves of the Golden Tree floated down from nowhere, as if witnessing his finale.

Uffie, having just gathered all her strength for a strike, now collapsed to the ground in exhaustion. 𝚏𝕣𝕖𝚎𝚠𝚎𝚋𝚗𝐨𝐯𝕖𝕝.𝕔𝐨𝕞

As she turned back, Greg’s body had already faded, slowly turning into ash, completely disintegrating into flying dust under the storm of Stoneveil, while his final words echoed in the air.

"So his goal was to return home, after all."

Uffie recalled what she had heard from Roger about Greg and couldn’t help but talk to herself.

Though this guy was a troublesome enemy, with a myriad of difficult-to-handle abilities, and his appearance could mentally scar people, and "limb attachment" was seen as vile as necromancy... listing it all was just a pile of loathed traits.

But just the dream of wanting to return home made Uffie unable to truly hate him.

It’s not because she was a saint, but because Greg is already dead, both the one in the Dungeon and the real he who existed in history, have disappeared.

Gapar taught her to be more forgiving to the deceased.

Finally having defeated a powerful adversary, Fanen sighed with relief, instantly feeling fatigue wash over him and sat against the scattered stone tablets in the courtyard.

To his surprise, there were blurry inscriptions on the tablet, as his eyes glanced over them, magic words appeared on the surface of the tablet as translations.

[It is said that the rightful lineage is the main branch, under the main branch are the subsidiary branches, the main branch is to the Golden Tree, rightful and proper]

[The omen of the abandoned king is unattainable; the immature malformed siblings, sigh in vain]

[Oh, we are the people of the Golden, the people of the rightful king, for though the land is barren and clouds overcast, a glance upward and the great tree is as lush as usual]

[Can we still return home? Return to the homeland at the foot of the Golden Tree]

[We definitely can return home, return to the homeland at the foot of the Golden Tree]

"Poetry? Who engraved this, could it be..."

After observing for a while, Fanen looked up at the sky, the gigantic Golden Tree still stood at the horizon, as if supporting the sky, always appearing so magnificent no matter when viewed.

From the courtyard, one could clearly see the Golden Tree; if the Dungeon perfectly replicated the scene from the past, did the former Greg often gaze longingly at his homeland from here?

"Also a pitiable person." He finally shook his head and sighed.

To him, the fragment war was truly not a good thing, no war is good, and that thing destroyed so much...

Why exactly break the Elden Ring?

"Ah, finally it’s over." Isha also felt relieved, she glanced at Leon and his group, who at this moment happened to look at her.

"We joined midway and still don’t quite understand what’s happening here," Leon earnestly pointed at the contemplative Fanen and Uffie and said, "If possible, could you tell us what happened here? I also want to experience the same emotions as they do."

As one of the first batch of adventurers who formed a good impression of the Sain Dungeon, Leon absolutely did not want to miss any opportunity to gain emotional value from it.

So, Isha recounted what she had seen and heard along the way, worried her eloquence might not convey Fanen and Uffie’s emotions to the Strategy Group, thus feeling slightly anxious.

However, what happened next proved her worry was unnecessary, as even the most emotionless monotone reading allowed Leon and the others to mentally fill in an emotionally stirring tale.

Hence, everyone except Isha had a contemplative and deeply moved expression, filling the courtyard with interjections like "ah," "oh," and "sigh."

Are you all philosophers who enjoy pondering, what are you sighing about... Isha clenched her fists, unable to understand these bewildering human behaviors.

But she soon no longer focused on these performance art enthusiasts and instead, a Hurricane of anticipation and excitement swept across her face, for as everyone knows, the reward settlement phase after slaying a powerful adversary is the most thrilling!

As Greg’s body completely turned to ash and dispersed, an alluring golden light suddenly emerged at the spot where he stood.

Before people could clearly see what was inside that golden light, it suddenly split into several streams and entered everyone’s body!

The next moment, a peculiar pattern appeared on the adventurers, some on the back of their hands, some on their back, some on their chest, in various places, looking like they were about to participate in the Holy O War as Masters.

["Fragment King" Greg’s Great Rune]

[Once activated at the Divine Tower, leveraging the Rune Arc to exert its blessings, it provides comprehensive power to the user]

[This Great Rune is known as the Central Magic Ring, located at the center of the Elden Ring]

["Elden King" Graveley and his descendants, the Golden Clan, are the first Demigods to appear]

The adventurers didn’t need many words to understand that this so-called Great Rune couldn’t possibly be the original one; it was definitely replicated using the power of the Sain Dungeon.

Because the fact that everyone had one of what should be a unique Great Rune explained a lot of issues.

However, everyone was positively enthusiastic, and Leon felt even happier because they had joined halfway through and could still receive rewards in the end, feeling it was a huge windfall.

"What exactly is this Divine Tower? You have to go there to activate it and also need the power of a Rune Arc to use the Great Rune? It must be incredibly powerful."

No one felt that the conditions and steps to use the Great Rune were cumbersome; instead, they found these complex prerequisites made the Great Rune seem even more impressive.

Is it that the harder something is to obtain, the more people cherish it?

"Is this the Great Rune fragment that causes disputes among the Demigods...."

With an excited heart and trembling hands, Leon, having understood the backstory through Isha’s explanation, quickly got into character. Looking at the tattoo of the Great Rune on the back of his hand, he felt surrounded by an epic aura; he was now someone with a Great Rune!

Wouldn’t those Demigods be jealous and envious to death knowing this, haha, even just imagining this gave a sense of secret delight.

Apart from the Great Rune, he could feel the runes he possessed increasing rapidly, like an unprecedented fortune, at least in the eyes of adventurers in the Warrior Country.

Elsewhere, an amorphous, dust-like object appeared before everyone, vaguely resembling Greg’s form.

["Chasing Memories" of "Limb Attachment" Greg]

[Memories of "Limb Attachment" Greg, carved by the Golden Tree]

[With the help of the Finger, one can gain the power of the master of Chasing Memories, and if crushed directly, can receive a huge amount of runes]

[A weak man utilizing terrifying limb attachment, craving power: O soldiers, someday, we shall all return home, together returning to the homeland at the foot of the Golden Tree]

"Hmm..." Leon pondered over the Chasing Memories for a moment and said, "Is it something like the Wolf Blood Soul?"

Various souls obtained from defeating bosses in the old area could grant rewards such as weapons with the help of Ember King Rudolf, so perhaps the Chasing Memories could serve a similar purpose. The introduction mentioned the Finger, which might be a role similar to Rudolf.

But what truly made Leon ponder was the thought that perhaps the Chasing Memories and souls functioned similarly in the Dungeon, but they had different names and properties and were fundamentally different.

This meant that the Boundary Land and the domain of the Ember Kings were entirely different places, and deeper elements would surely differ as well. It might even be accurate to say they were two completely different worlds.

But soon, Leon’s expression relaxed; how could there be other worlds when people have been unable to prove their existence till now?

For an ordinary adventurer like him, pondering over such matters was truly unnecessary.

"So where should we go next?" Uffie asked.

The mansion’s door had been thoroughly opened, and it seemed an even vaster world awaited exploration beyond the mansion. Even without considering potential areas beyond the mansion, Nimgefo alone contained many regions that adventurers had not yet ventured into.

"The stone tablet says that the Divine Tower of Nimgefo is near Stoneveil. Should we go take a look over there?"

Fanen was reading the words on the stone tablet one by one, but unfortunately, many of the tablets were destroyed in the earlier battle and couldn’t be read. It was truly regretful; it would be nice if someone knew how to repair spells.

"The Divine Tower is nearby!"

Maru immediately perked up, waving her hand and saying, "I want to go, I want to go! I’m really curious about what level of power the Great Rune can bring us!"

"I’m curious too, but we’ve come this far, and the mansion’s door is open. Shouldn’t we take a look there first?" Fanen suggested.

Since Leon and the others arrived here by passing through a path from Lake Lienia, would passing through the mansion lead to the Lake District? Could this be the connection point between the old and new areas?

Then Greg wouldn’t be peaceful anymore; countless people would come to disturb him every day. However, the later adventurers might feel more frightened, as just opening the door would reveal such a terrifying being, creating a significant psychological shadow.

The people all turned their gaze toward the mansion’s door, and at that moment, they suddenly noticed something peculiar, their expressions turning strange.

Greg hadn’t entirely disappeared; those bodies integrated by his limb attachment had vanished completely, but a small part of his body, along with his head, remained, resembling a thin, frail old man. He lay on the ground, devoid of any life signs, which explained why people hadn’t noticed him initially.

But the most surprising aspect wasn’t that Greg’s fragmented body remained; it was because...

"Greg, you slug, dare insult me; serves you right for ending up like this! Feel my wrath!"

The previously unnoticed gatekeeper Gedok had somehow arrived.

With one foot after another, he stomped mercilessly on Greg’s lifeless body.

Venturing his fury upon the dead.