Walking forward into the stone chamber again, a terrible suspicion was confirmed.
That Roaming Noble she had killed earlier had indeed respawned.
It was still standing in the same spot, facing the wall.
Anyone who didn’t know better would think they’d stumbled onto the set of The Three-Body Problem.
Although she didn’t know why a world that felt so realistic in every other way still kept the strange setting of minor mobs respawning, Mia had no choice but to kill it again.
This time, the backstab followed by the finishing blow had to be done in one smooth motion.
Creeping over and looking closely, she saw that the bald head of this noble corpse actually bore charred marks.
Other parts were still intact, except for the head, which looked like it had been dug out of a burnt-out fire, scorched beyond recognition.
There were even bits of charcoal falling off its shoulders.
It didn’t have such a punk look during their first meeting.
The girl immediately remembered her previous death, where she had cast the Ignite Prayer right against its head.
So it wasn’t a fresh respawn.
Was it more like recovering from injuries over time?
Did inflicting a fatal wound only cause it to temporarily lose its ability to move?
If that’s the case, it’s a bit troublesome…
Because the current Mia didn’t know how long it would take for an enemy to stand back up after being taken down.
But then, she felt relieved.
To understand such patterns, the worst-case scenario was just dying a few more times.
It was no big deal.
She’d incapacitate it first.
Sneaking behind it, she thrust the short spear directly into the back of its head.
Even for residents of The Lands Between, human anatomy was still similar to that of people from Earth; the short spear entering from the back of the head met little resistance.
The Hollow noble’s head, impaled by the spear, slumped to the ground.
To be safe, Mia twisted the spear before pulling it out.
Then she quickly stepped back two paces, fearing this Hollow would suddenly crawl up and ambush her like the first time.
But after waiting a while, there was no sign of that.
Meanwhile, she repeatedly glanced at the tunnel leading deeper in; no other nobles came out.
It seemed she hadn’t alerted the Roaming Nobles in the other chambers this time.
Looking at the now-flat Roaming Noble, Mia approached cautiously, poking the fellow with her short spear.
For now, she was certain it wouldn’t get up.
As expected, a fatal wound causes a loss of mobility.
However, Mia didn’t have the patience to research exactly how long a Roaming Noble would lie on the ground.
But looking at the Hollow noble who had fallen a second time, Mia suddenly began to think.
The short spear in her hand was too fragile; when she tried to block earlier, it had been snapped in half.
Although the saying goes “an inch longer, an inch stronger; an inch shorter, an inch more dangerous,” the size difference between Mia and the Hollow noble made that advantage disappear.
Mia also knew she lacked experience and had no idea what moves to use when facing certain situations.
Like when her spear was snapped after being parried; thinking back, she only needed to take a step back and thrust at the opponent’s chest to defeat that Hollow noble.
This was hindsight analysis; the girl didn’t have the confidence to maintain such rationality during battle.
To be safe, she should carry another backup weapon.
Mia looked down at the nobles slender sword dropped on the ground.
‘A slender sword held by Roaming Nobles.
A weapon designed with ease of use as the priority.
The entire sword is decorated with gold and is traded at high prices.’ However, before she even picked up the sword, Mia realized it wasn’t suitable for her.
In the game, the nobles slender sword is categorized as a straight sword, which can be used either one-handed or two-handed.
In the real world, its technical name should be a hand-and-a-half sword, right?
However, this longsword, originally forged for nobles, was too large for Mia.
It was practically a two-handed greatsword; when she stuck this nobles slender sword into the ground, the hilt was taller than Mia herself!
The height difference of seventy centimeters between her and the Roaming Noble also meant the weapon sizes were vastly different.
Wait, if that’s the case, wouldn’t the divine artifacts she gets from bosses later also be unusable?!!
Dammit…
For the first time, she felt indignant and sorrowful about being short.
Suddenly, a strange idea popped into Mia’s head.
She reached out and put the sword into her inventory.
Then she took it out again…
!!!
It got smaller!
Delighted, the girl held the nobles slender sword, which had shrunk several sizes, and swung it excitedly a few times.
Horizontal slash, vertical chop, upward swing, thrust.
The combat techniques granted to Mia by grace made these basic sword moves flow like water.
As expected of a longsword designed for ease of use, it felt like an extension of her own arm.
Whether used one-handed or two-handed, it was very comfortable.
Looking at the golden sword in her hand with great satisfaction, Mia strapped the shrunken sword and its scabbard to her waist.
Her left hand rested on the hilt, while her right hand leaned on the short spear.
If she replaced the short spear in her right hand with a staff…
Yeah, the aura of the strongest mage would emerge.
Well, she had a backup weapon now.
Next…
Was the issue of these respawning mobs.
She didn’t know how many more times she would die in the Cave of Learning.
But because of the nature of these mobs, every time she respawned, she had to deal with the ones in front all over again.
It’s a bit of a hassle.
Is there any way to make them permanently lose their ability to move?
So she wouldn’t have to fight them again every time she respawned.
Mia scanned her surroundings.
The Cave of Learning wasn’t a spacious Pokémon arena; the scenery here also hid fragments of the past.
Below the four walls of the stone chamber, piles of barrels, boxes, and cloth bags were scattered messily, all of which were empty.
Among a cluster of stalagmites, Mia also saw a wooden cart carrying tools.
It seemed that before these undead became Hollows, they lived here; they were once normal people.
How long had these fellows been here?
To a Tarnished, this was a Cave of Learning, but what was this place to these Roaming Nobles back when they were still lucid?
The curiosity and thirst for knowledge unique to an Elden Scholar.
She carefully looked around again.
Mia hadn’t forgotten her previous idea.
She found a pile of relatively intact hemp rope on that cart and gave it a tug.
It’ll do.
Then, she ran over, grabbed the Roaming Noble’s feet, dragged it to a wide stalagmite, and tied it up securely.
After finishing, the girl looked at her masterpiece and clapped her hands.
Although she had never studied the art of rope bondage.
Adhering to the principle that bigger is better and more is beautiful, she wrapped the Roaming Noble’s upper body like a zongzi.
This way.
Next time I respawn, he’ll only be able to watch from the side as I stroll past.
Heh, I’m a freaking genius.