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Chapter 120: Cutting Melons and Vegetables
In the entire sacrificial ground to prevent fires, Mike had only seen three people so far: a mysterious blindfolded girl next to the extinguished fire. An old man sitting on the throne and a man crouching on the stone steps next to him with a sword and shield on his back.
Naturally, Mike went straight to talk to the girl in the middle. It was not because she was an NPC or because of her good figure. Even with a blindfold, it was easy to imagine her face. Simply because this NPC appeared in the promotional trailer, nothing more!
"Welcome to the bonfire. Lord of Cinder without fire, I am the Fire Keeper, specializing in maintaining the bonfire and serving you. If you need help rescuing the kings who abandoned the throne, do not hesitate to give me your orders."
The words were very tempting, but after seeing the interface after the conversation, Mike practically understood. This thing is simply a tool that allows players to level up and gain points.
After a brief conversation, Mike discovered that defeating Gundyr had granted him a total of 3000 souls, including those obtained by eliminating enemies along the way.
With three levels to his name, he calculated and added up all his health points. While his stamina bar was crucial, he felt that health was still crucial in the early stages of the game, at least to increase his tolerance.
After a brief walk around the Firelink Shrine, Mike's attention was drawn to the small, old man sitting on the throne. After talking to him, he learned that his name was Rhoads and that he was actually the Lord of Cinder.
The empty thrones nearby were the former thrones of the Lords of Cinder. He also discovered a crucial clue during the conversation: for the flame to continue, the Lord of Cinder must burn himself.
"No wonder the other four thrones are empty; this Lord of Cinder is really burning his own wood!" Mike exclaimed, unable to help but sigh.
He also understood the game's main story. The protagonist, as mentioned in the previous trailer, is classified as an incombustible trash, or rather, ashes! The world is about to end and plunge into darkness. To survive, it needs a flame, and that flame needs the Lord of Cinder as fuel. This is its destiny.
But, apparently, no one wants to be fuel, so the Lords of Cinder flee, leaving only the old man, Rhoads, sitting there, burning for unknown reasons. The protagonist's task is to capture the remaining four pieces of firewood and bring them back to continue the burning.
This is Mike's current interpretation of the Dark Souls plot. As for whether there will be unexpected twists, Mike is not sure.
Next, in the corner of a staircase, he talked to the man sitting with his head down, with a sword and armor on his back.
"...Ah, are you also a guy who can't die?" he asked.
"I am one of us, an unkindled ash, a useless and naive creature that can't even die."
'How ridiculous! A group of people who can't die are looking for the Lord of Cinder and trying to return him to his moldy throne? Those are the heroes who passed away! How could we, worthless people, achieve that?'
"You think so, don't you?"
[Stance: Frustrated]
After the conversation, Mike also adopted a new stance of frustration.
'But what's wrong with this negative energy?'
Is the purpose of this NPC's existence to spread negative and discouraging news?
He walked around the sacrificial ground a few more times, and there he found a blacksmith and an old woman selling things. The blacksmith can strengthen weapons and distribute healing talismans.
Mike directly replaced the pulsing thing that increases concentration, that is, the blue bar, with the healing talisman that adds blood, so the three original healing talismans became four.
As for weapons, two stone fragments are needed. Mike currently only has one, so he can't strengthen it. There seems to be a way to get to the roof, but unfortunately the door is locked and he doesn't have the key.
Outside the sacrificial ground, Mike saw a path beyond the motionless zombies sitting on the ground. At the entrance there was a ragged NPC with a katana.
"What a beautiful katana! I wonder if killing this monster will give you the weapon. Is it a monster that gives away weapons? After all, this game doesn't allow you to conquer the world with this knight's sword, does it?" Sarah, who was nearby, reminded him.
Although he had already found a broken longsword on the way to the sacrificial ground, its stats were not as good as the chicken drumstick stick in the useless person's hands.
"Don't tell me, it's very possible!" Mike not only felt tempted, but he also took action.
In typical action RPGs, players start with equipment that is usually obtained by defeating a boss after leaving Rookie Village. Killing Gundyr before granted a coiled sword, but it was just an item, a teleport point.
The guy with the katana in the corner was clearly the NPC who could give away equipment. Or maybe the small room behind him hid new equipment for players.
Looking at the katana guy in front of him, Mike bravely lunged.
"Ah!"...the painful 'aaa' of the game character exclaimed from the headphones. After three consecutive Iai slashes, his health bar became small. Instant death!
"How is this more powerful than Gundyr?" Mike exclaimed, completely stunned.
'Now he's a knight! He's wearing armor! Although Gundyr attacked him three or four times, his movements were still relatively slow. Even if he kept rolling, he could only take one hit at most. But the katana guy in front of him, a series of Iai slashes made him drain his health bar before he could react.'
Looking at his character, who had been resurrected at the newly lit bonfire of the Firelink Shrine, Mike said nothing.
Sarah, sitting next to him, said after a brief silence: "Let's continue with the story. This monster could be an elite one like the Crystal Lizard, one of those very difficult to defeat. The main story afterwards might be a piece of cake."
'Really?'
If Mike had not received a lesson from the Crystal Lizard and the Sword Master, he would have undoubtedly believed him and been brimming with confidence.
'But now?'
He was a little skeptical.
Upon passing the bonfire of the Firelink Shrine, Mike was transported to the stage of the subsequent story: the Lothric Walls.
Upon opening the door, the sight of Lothric filled Mike and Sarah, sitting next to him, with excitement. They had already seen the concept art and the previous promotional press conference. But controlling a character and seeing it was something completely different.
In the distance, through the gray haze, the magnificent royal city stood. It was truly magnificent.
But after a brief moment of awe, Mike's heart began to falter.
He still hadn't found the supposed map.
'Did this game not even have a map?'
After lighting the bonfire at the gate, Mike began to explore the Lothric Wall with some unease.