Golden Runes are the residual golden afterglow of the Grace bestowed upon the residents of The Lands Between.
To put it simply, they are a form of energy combining life and soul.
They were also gifts generously bestowed upon the Golden Lineage by the Erdtree of The Lands Between in ancient times.
Now, these Runes are to be used to cultivate a new Erdtree, which can only be described as a cycle.
These thoughts flashed through Arthur's mind as one small golden orb after another appeared in his hand. These orbs were composed of tiny golden particles, and the brightness and color depth of each orb varied.
Because the amount of Grace given to each member of the Golden Lineage differed, this resulted in the Runes dropped from their bodies after their deaths also differing.
The more Grace a Rune contained, the closer its color was to pure gold.
In the distance, Gandalf was using the Ring of Fire on his finger to light the firewood he had collected, roasting the sausage Arthur had thrown to him.
However, when Arthur took out the Golden Runes from his spatial backpack, Gandalf's attention was instantly drawn, and then his eyes became restless.
He watched intently the Runes containing Grace in Arthur's hand, pondering in his mind, until the smell of burnt sausage brought Gandalf back to his senses.
Gandalf quickly moved the blackened sausage away from the fire, and with his other hand, he picked up his pipe and took a puff.
"What is that? Soul? Or magic? No, it's not like either. I've never seen such life-filled energy... Is this something from his homeland?" Gandalf exhaled smoke, the smoke obscuring his blue eyes and expression.
But the wizard did not ask, instead, he suppressed these questions in his heart, planning to ask them all once the other party finished everything.
He had originally only wanted to see what kind of person the golden star falling from the sky had brought, whether friend or foe, say hello, and then leave.
However, what Arthur had shown so far constantly filled Gandalf with curiosity and surprise.
Then he had to have a good chat with this golden star who had fallen from the sky.
At this moment, Arthur suddenly crushed the Runes in his hand. Accompanied by a sound similar to breaking glass, golden Rune particles slowly fell from between his fingers onto the Erdtree sapling.
When the golden Rune particles approached the Erdtree sapling, they were actively drawn in by it.
The Erdtree sapling's body flickered, and it began to grow again at a visible speed, extending upwards, growing new branches and tender leaves.
Seeing that the Golden Runes were indeed effective, Arthur once again took out several times more Golden Runes than before. This time, it even included Hero Runes and King's Runes, the two types of Runes closest to pure gold.
Hero Runes, as the name suggests, are the Runes dropped from the heroes who galloped on the battlefield.
King's Runes are the Runes dropped by those who bear the fate of a King, but this fate became ethereal and out of reach after the elden ring shattered.
Even in Arthur's hand, there were only a few King's Runes, which shows how rare this type of Rune is.
However, to cultivate the Erdtree, these Runes can all be consumed.
Accompanying the second wave of Golden Runes crushed by Arthur, the Erdtree's growth speed increased by several points, and Arthur also, for the last time, took out and crushed all the Golden Runes stored in his spatial backpack.
The Erdtree sapling grew from Arthur's knee height to two heads taller than himself.
The tree trunk, as thick as a person, emitted a golden light, and golden leaves covered the branches, with strands of golden silk hanging down.
The night wind blew, and the dense leaves made a joyful rustling sound, also bringing a slight smile to Arthur's face.
The Erdtree sapling finally successfully shed the name "sapling" and became a, well, "young tree."
Yes, even though the Erdtree now looks the same size as other adult trees.
But for Arthur, who had seen the true form of the Erdtree, he knew in his heart that the current Erdtree was not even one percent the size of the smaller Erdtrees growing throughout The Lands Between.
So it can only be considered a young tree.
But at least it will no longer be easily destroyed like it was in the sapling stage without protection, and it can also draw nutrients from the soil, convert them into Grace, and then give back to the surrounding environment.
Now, the Grace-infused golden grass around the Erdtree is the best proof.
Arthur pressed hard on the thick trunk of the Erdtree, feeling the hardness of the bark along its texture.
At its current hardness, it would probably be very difficult for ordinary iron tools to chip anything off it.
Arthur estimated that if the Erdtree was given about another month of normal growth time, it would likely grow to a height of about ten meters, and apart from flames with divinity, there would be nothing that could harm it.
Just like the Erdtree in The Lands Between.
However, to grow as large as the Erdtree in The Lands Between, the time required would probably be calculated in decades.
After all, no matter where you are on the surface of The Lands Between, as long as you look up, that brilliant Erdtree is right before your eyes, as if it were right beside you.
Gandalf, witnessing this scene, was so shocked that he didn't know what expression to show.
Although the Erdtree was not yet complete, its beautiful appearance already reminded him of his life in Lothlórien, the most beautiful place in the world, before he came to Middle-earth.
The golden light reflected in Gandalf's wise eyes, making his thoughts drift to the future, seemingly seeing the magnificent figure of the Erdtree, a pillar reaching to the sky.
"Beautiful, bright, brilliant, and full of vitality. The future of Middle-earth has, to some extent, been decided by you, sir Arthur," Gandalf murmured.
And the "Arthur" he spoke of was at this moment refocusing his mind on the Erdtree, connecting his thoughts with the elden ring within it.
As Arthur had expected, the elden ring, which had previously displayed a dimmed image, now lit up.
Arthur's first reaction was to look at the image of Royal Capital Leyndell. If there was any city in The Lands Between suitable for the Erdtree to grow and be protected, then Royal Capital Leyndell was undoubtedly the best choice.
However, after Arthur touched the image of Royal Capital Leyndell, a new interface appeared.
The new interface had a lot of text, including but not limited to the words to summon the entire city of Leyndell into reality.
But this option was also dimmed.
The Grace contained within the Erdtree was not enough yet, insufficient to support the recreation of the entire city of Leyndell in the real world.
When Arthur saw this grayed-out option, this thought automatically surfaced in his mind.
He continued to look down and found a new option: [First Roundtable Hold].
Several familiar faces suddenly flashed through Arthur's mind. His thoughts touched upon this option, revealing a series of names he was very familiar with:
[Fia, Deathbed Companion]
[Sir Gideon Ofnir, the All-Knowing]
[Mad Tongue Alberich]
[Old Knight Istvan]
[Great Horn Tragoth]
[Juno Hoslow, Knight of Blood]
[Ensha of the Royal Remains]
[Blaidd, the Half-Wolf]
[Witch Hunter Jerren]
And...
Arthur's gaze fell on the names of the two people at the very bottom, his eyes flickering, as if the roars of fire, lightning, and beasts echoed in his ears.
[Vyke, Knight of the Roundtable], [Bernal, Knight of the Roundtable].
The names of the First Roundtable Knights were all lit up, including Vyke and Bernal.
This meant that as long as Arthur wished, he could now summon these two Knights of the Roundtable.
After all, he had just fed the Erdtree so many Hero's Runes and Lord's Runes; there was still ample Grace to summon two Knights of the Roundtable.
However, Arthur did not believe that these two Knights of the Roundtable would obediently follow his commands after being summoned.
Unless he could summon the two Finger Maidens belonging to Vyke and Bernal respectively, there would only be a fifty percent chance of them obeying him.
In fact, the First Roundtable Hold was the same.
Except for Fia, Deathbed Companion and Ensha of the Royal Remains, whom he didn't know much about, the other Roundtable Knights had been defeated by him in certain cycles.
Although the memories of these people would reset when a new cycle began in The Lands Between, Arthur couldn't guarantee that their memories would also reset now that they had come to this world.
Arthur's thoughts retreated from these names, and he shook his head slightly.
Because he felt that instead of summoning First Roundtable Knights whose hostile relationship with him was unknown, it would be better to summon allies who had always stood by him in all cycles.
Arthur needed to first ensure the normal growth of the Erdtree; the First Roundtable Knights could only temporarily remain in the elden ring for a while longer.
And these people were all in the two places Arthur frequently roamed in The Lands Between—Nymgfor and Liurnia of the Lakes.
But Arthur was not in a hurry to look for their names in the images of Nymgfor and Liurnia; instead, he continued to stay within the image of Royal Capital Leyndell to check other content.
Sure enough, Arthur also saw the names of [Morgott, the Omen King], [Godfrey, First Elden Lord], [Radagon of the Golden Order], and [Marika, the Eternal Queen].
The names of these four were dimmed, just like Leyndell City. It was clear that the conditions for summoning them had not yet been met: Leyndell City must first be summoned into reality before they could be summoned.
Following that were the soldiers and knights within Leyndell City, who also required Arthur to summon Leyndell City first before they could be summoned.
No, then what exactly can I summon now?
And why could the First Roundtable Hold people be summoned directly, while Leyndell City required the city to be recreated first, even for a single ordinary soldier, before they could be summoned?
No, although the Roundtable Hold is within Leyndell City, its true location is not the exact same place as Leyndell City.
The true Roundtable Hold is within the Great Runes, which is not part of the real space of The Lands Between, and the Great Runes are...
Arthur thought of the Erdtree and the elden ring within it, and immediately understood.
Since the First Roundtable Hold people could be summoned, then the people he met when he entered the Great Runes upon arriving in The Lands Between could also be summoned, right?
And among these people, there was one who would pledge loyalty to him in every cycle, and whose strength was great enough to fight alongside him, directly facing the battlefront of [Godfrey, First Elden Lord].
The elden ring sensed Arthur's thoughts, and the image flipped, revealing the warrior with a well-built physique before Arthur's eyes.
As he had expected, the other party's name was brightly lit, indicating she could be summoned.
"Come, with your battle-axe, thunder, and storm, fight alongside me once more."
Arthur called out to this figure in his mind.
In reality, the leaves of the Erdtree swayed with the evening breeze, and brilliant golden light began to gather in the air, finally descending beside Arthur, transforming into a valiant and beautiful woman.
"Though I do not know where this place is, if you still need me—my eternal friend, my Lord. My wings shall unfurl for you, my thunder shall clear your path, and my storm shall destroy all enemies before you."
With shoulder-length black hair, healthy wheat-colored skin, and crimson eyes, the female warrior, dressed in barbarian attire revealing her abs and limbs, knelt before Arthur on one knee, raising the battle-axe at her waist.
"I will stir up storms to blow away the defilement in the wind. I, Storm King Nepheli Loux, am answering the Elden Lord's call, I come."