At Firelink Shrine, Ben was full of curiosity.
Because everything here looked completely different from the previous game.
Other than the name "Firelink Shrine," the only thing that looked familiar was the bonfire burning on the ground.
There were no thrones for the Lords of Cinder. The whole shrine was out in the open, surrounded by collapsed walls and broken stones.
The only thing he saw was an NPC sitting on a wooden stump, looking like some kind of mercenary.
'Hey! You came at just the right time. It's been a long while since we've had someone new.'
'I'm guessing you're here for that stuff, right? The mission of the Undead and all that… everyone comes for the same reason.'
'Once you're cursed, everything is over. Staying in the asylum is the smart choice… you've had it rough.'
'But hey, it doesn't matter. I've got nothing better to do, so let me teach you something.'
'The bells mentioned in the Undead's mission—there are two of them.'
'One of them is above us, in the bell tower of the Undead Church. The other one is far below this place, in the ancient ruins under the Blighttown area.'
"They say if you ring these two bells, something will happen, but… who knows what exactly?"
"At least for me, I've never heard of what comes after… not that it matters."
"Go on then. You came to this cursed land of the undead for this very reason, didn't you?"
"Hehehehe…"
From this short conversation, Ben immediately understood—this mercenary-like NPC was basically this game's Crestfallen Guy.
Compared to the Crestfallen Guy from the previous game, though, this one clearly had a lot more to say.
And there was another key difference: the old Crestfallen Guy was just… crestfallen.
But this one also mocked you, and his words carried a sort of sarcastic sting.
Talking about "get ready to suffer," or "isn't this all just for suffering," and that final "hehehehe"… all of it made Ben feel like he was being sneered at.
It was just like chatting with someone online and they reply with that stock "smile" emoji, or just send back a flat "hehe."
It carried a strong air of sarcasm!
For a second, staring at the knight's greatsword in his hand, Ben wanted to stab the guy right then and there.
But at the last moment, he held back.
Mainly because he remembered the Crestfallen Guy from the previous game—he thought he was a pushover.
But after attacking three times, he got beaten down hard, taught a lesson, and even trapped and killed inside the Firelink Shrine.
And in Dark Souls, there was that one rule: opening the bonfire menu or equipment screen didn't pause time.
Which meant that inside Firelink Shrine, when he tried to light the bonfire and warp away, there just wasn't enough time. He ended up hacked to death instead.
Still, from the man's words Ben picked up a few useful clues: one bell was in the belfry of the Undead Church, and the other deep underground in the ruins beneath Blighttown.
That matched what the knight in the prison cell had told him, except Ben still didn't know where exactly the Undead Church and Blighttown were.
But since it said underground, obviously he'd have to head down.
So Ben wandered around Firelink Shrine. But something felt off—he couldn't find the Fire Keeper anywhere.
And what's more, he could upgrade directly at the bonfire, without needing the Fire Keeper.
But wasn't that her role in the first place?
Could it be the Fire Keeper NPC had been cut from the game?
That didn't make sense!
After all, the Fire Keeper was one of the most popular NPCs in the Dark Souls series.
A lot of players were drawn into Dark Souls just because of her.
There was no way such a character would be removed. Impossible!
So Ben kept searching around Firelink Shrine. On the way, he picked up three Humanity and a Firebomb.
Just like in the previous game, there were plenty of paths to take nearby, along with some Hollows wandering around.
But what surprised Ben was when he accidentally stepped into a dark pit and fell down—he thought he was dead, but instead he found a stash of treasure chests below.
After his painful experience with mimic chests in the last game, he wasn't taking chances. He struck every chest before opening.
To his relief, they were all real this time.
Though the loot wasn't amazing, he still got a Red Eye Orb, a morning star, some bones, and a talisman.
Firelink Shrine wasn't all that big, but it was built almost like an elevator, split into several layers.
After wandering for a while, Ben started to feel a little lost.
But he finally found the Fire Keeper girl he'd been looking for.
Except this time, she seemed locked away in a cell, and didn't have much dialogue.
Walking around Firelink Shrine felt like circling a messy marketplace, but Ben clearly noticed how different it was compared to the first game.
The map was way more complicated now, and the next stage didn't seem to be accessed through warping.
In the last game, getting to the High Wall of Lothric was simple—just warp there straight from Firelink Shrine.
But now the warp option at the bonfire was greyed out. Obviously, he'd need to meet some condition first.
This was one of Lucas's UI tweaks—he wanted players to know the warp function still existed, but that they just couldn't use it yet.
When would it unlock? That was up to the player's own progress.
After circling Firelink Shrine for ages, Ben felt really stuck. He had no clue where to go next.
But then he noticed a path lined with gravestones—the same one he'd seen when he climbed out of the pit with the treasure chests.
As he passed, skeletons rose up from the ground, making the place feel eerie.
Carefully pulling one skeleton soldier, Ben realized these little guys had way more health than he expected.
It actually took five or six hits to kill one.
But when he switched to the morning star he'd just picked up—even though its attack stat was only two points higher than the greatsword—it did noticeably more damage to skeletons. Clearly, the weapon's strike attribute was kicking in.
"As expected, this one is harder than the previous game. The new monsters all have more health! Also, I think next I'm supposed to head to Undead Town and the Underground Ruins. From the names, they sound like they have to do with death and underground places, so maybe this path leads to Undead Town?" Ben looked at the path and made a guess in his mind.
But no matter what, taking a look wouldn't hurt.
Besides, as an old fire-linker, what storms and waves hasn't he seen before?
(End of The Chapter)
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