C55: Chalice Dungeon Climb PT2
This will be the last chalice dungeon for a while as I know that they can be fairly boring. Due to that I will reveal that we will primarily cover Lower Pthumeru before switching over to something else that needs our attention.
4/1/2026
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[Jumping has leveled up: level 3 -> level 5]
[Bad Singing has reached max level. Level 9-> level 15. Would you like to evolve the skill?]
[Skill Pet has leveled up: level 4 ->level 6]
[Dual Handed Mastery has leveled up: level 3-level 4]
[Soliloquy of Power has leveled up: level 1-> level 2]
[Advanced Agility has leveled up: level 5-> level 7]
[Darkness Mastery increased: 2% comp -> 4%]
As I enter the third chalice dungeon, I'm bombarded with a few bundles of notifications that I didn't expect. It seems my various usages of skills was delayed for some reason or the system was busy accumulating the supposed xp for all the skills and said fuck it and released them all now of all times. Also why did darkness increase when I haven't used it since a few teleports I did over in Rom's arena. Was her special sight or my multitude of usages of chaos step that impactful?
Im left with only more questions so i voluntarily choose to shut my brain off and simply enjoy the sensation of notable growth in me.
"I know I don't know all the damn lyrics to that dancing frog thing from the old cartoons[1] but it's not like I butchered the first line of it or anything. Besides, pumped up kicks is a banger and there are no school shootings around here to say otherwise" I try to argue with the system but inevitably just select yes to evolving it while still shocked that I had actually reached a supposed max level on any skill ever.
[Bad Singing has evolved into [Egregious] Banshee's Cry level 1.]
"Fuck you!" I curse the system then think for a moment before taking a few steps forward in the chalice dungeon until I spot a possible target. I walk past a early side path that ill explore later before lighting the next lantern and finding my first actual target.
Nothing.
Thats right, I found nothing in the first roombecause it's a tiny room with only a wall dart trap before me. I need to climb a ladder first… then walk down a hallway before finding my actual target. It's another Rake, otherwise known as a pale man, that is standing around with a knife that immediately spots me and gets to work on trying to cut me up.
I return the favor and cut him up in return. Im actually surprised that it takes more than three normal attacks to take him down. Im actually a bit hyped up now since my stamina bar gets an actual workout for once.
In the next room im atttacked by a red summoned spider and I spot 5 normal giant black spiders hanging on the ceiling above me. I lure the summon towards me as and take it down. Getting 221 echoes from just the summon which only gave me about 80 in the central dungeon.
"Ahem." I clear my throat before putting for a performance of 'lifetime' for this group of arachnides.
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1510 +
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"Maya-HEEE, Maya-HAAA, Maya -WHOOO, Maya-HAHA" I finish my brief song to see the results and already halfway through I spot bleeding from the eyesockets before the bubble like heads pop like grapes. Though not before spazzing out midair and landing on their backs.
[+662 echoes x 4] I hear multiple other popping sounds at the same time but I guess those guys already died before their heads exploded. I spot the other spiders in the room fall down before more popping a distance away in the next room which I find the summon alone with her 'brood' that have also fallen over and spazzed out.
[4662 echoes gained + 221 x 3]
"Im still offended, but I certainly work with this. Hmm, I'm certainly curious on what that skill would be like if I figured out how to have my mana enhance my lungs or throat or whatever." I accept the blessing in disguise as I ponder how to weaponize 'row row row your boat' or any other nursery rhyme of my youth.
For now, I go go backwards to explore the side path as other than the switch to open the way forward to the boss, there is nothing here.
The side path was pretty barren as well, a spider or two and then a few rakes, most surprising was having my foot slam down on a kidnappers head as for once, I wanted to slide down a ladder, like a professional gamer that i am. And well whoospy, kicked him in the head. Upon moment of contact, activated chaos step which turned him into a small normal but dirty pig.
I bring down my blade upon the great porkulonus of the third, greatest of his name. A true treasure to his homeland of before as well as his future home of my stomach. He also gave me hefty 5k echoes from him alone. That was the same amount as the summoner lady i just beat up.
Not much else here, just a random knight with bandaged face. But he has a cool big sword, similar to ludwigs holy sword that I pocket straight from his hands only to find that it is in fact, a normal great sword.
Yea im keeping this.
The knight tried to make a fuss but I put him to sleep with my angelic singing. Though I do think the whittle baby pooped his pants at that time so I quickly scampered away and opened the chest to get ritual blood 3. Just one.
"Well, except for the echoes ill get at the end, this floor was a bust. Though I should check up on my gear for a moment." I say and use a hunters mark to return to the last lamp I touched before using that to return to the dream.
Fixed up my gear, changed out a few gems, I did get an adept blood gemstone (4) from that knight guy who shit himself to death but it's only effective for thrusting damage. What was he doing with that on a weapon that he swung at me instead of thrusting.
"Whatever" I huff as I change out the tempering stone 2 on my saw cleaver into a 3 of the same type which seems to give me a near 5% boost and then an additional 3.9% increase for the second gem which was simply a transition from one tempering 3 to another that was just better. The slow poison effect disappeared, granted I never saw it proc thus far, even on bosses so it was essentially worthless since I outkill most things anyways with pure damage.
I repeat the same process with the Tontritus, the 1st slot had a 3 to 3 transition for only more blunt damage while basic physical stayed the same, but then 2nd slot, I had nerfed the basic in exchange or nearly doubled the actual loss of that damage into pure blunt. Transitioning from a tempering 2 into an adept 2 for that damage type.
The third slots remain the same for both even though I could get a bit more damage but im far more focused on the passive health regen both weapons give me.
I then return to the dungeon and finally approach the boss door. Pushing it open, I find another group of three fat bitches in my way.
"God these stalkers can't give my luscious ass a rest." I bemoan my situation as I dash in and swipe at one. Finding that I do good damage but far less than it's actual health bar, im impressed how much they got scaled up, especially since there is three of them.
They could be an actual threat to a regular hunter. But im not regular. Of course I could cheese them by simply stunning them and riposte them over and over again but id say it's time for me to play whack a mole again with one of them. Or two as it turns out, dual weapon mastery extends to using even multiple 'creatures' held by me as my weapons.
Im essentially just spinning in place as the last watchman tries to get to me but only ends up being slapped by his buddies spinning bodies.
"Come on, Rorchach, come at me. I'm not trapped in here with you, you're trapped in here with me." I joke as I begin taking small steps forward whilst spinning until the last watchman is pinned to a corner and getting smack after smack of flesh against flesh from his two fat ass buddies.
"Hallelujah, Hallelujah. Hallelu-jaaaaaah" I sing in quick composition as all three wiggle about, their minds surely overjoyed from my brief show as all three soon fall to my devious tactics.
[Hunter Tactics has leveled up. Level 8 -> level 9]
'The system agrees with my methods. Oh what a devilish imp it is' I chuckle to myself as I get the standard floor clear reward which boosted my 47.8k echoes into 478k instead. I also got another tempering blood gemstone but of the (4) quality. Oh also a blood stone chunk.
Delicious.I'm gonna need 50 more of those to upgrade my gear. Let's hope they're in the rest of this dungeon.
The second floor was more interesting, they had such innovations like ritual blood 4 dropped by a kidnapper with a rake possy, tomb mold 3 dropped by rats. And best of all.
[You Died]
Me dying to a god damned sneak attack whilst fighting off a watchman because another nicked me with his flaming baton to the point that even after healing and the time between the two encounters ,I still got one shot.
Of course there was also the haze extractor and my near death to a mounted cannon by a large bridge because I underestimated its explosive power and specifically it's range.
It sucked. But I got through it, 70k echoes richer and with plenty of ritual blood and tomb mold
I finally arrive at the boss gates and opening it up reveals a looong tunnel that serves as the boss arena for another undead giant. Except instead of two detachable chain blades, it has one blunt stick as its right hand and the other is a sickle. Of course there are also the balls attached to chains stuck to its back. Like skewers.
I actually started by targeting it's left arm, the sickle until I chopped it off and then used that to fight against it's club arm ,though it did try spinning a few times to shake me off. It did not work and soon I plunged that sickle arm into it's own chest and through. The beast squirmed and flailed about for quite some time, even going so far as to expel blood from it's body like a small fountain before finally falling over and dying. Though not before I shattered it's limbs as well as the pulsating mass on it's right hip.
An odd adept gem stone, along with the another blood stone chunk…. How nice but not quite what I expected as this is the second level thus far and it should have given me the root chalice but it didn't.. Though not as weird as the 'odd tempering damp blood gemstone' I found earlier.
The third floor was quite barren except for plenty of echoes and a few ritual blood 3 and a single ritual blood four. The greatest mystery to me was the room with no enemies but four chests in it. There was also the whole wide open area that had multiple celestial centipedes that immediately started shooting fireballs at me which I barely diverted or just hid behind a few pillars.
I did get irritated for a moment when the summoner on this floor kept summoning the same guys over and over again to the point of annoying me while there was already a bundle of other 'summons' not bound to her somehow.
Most of my annoyance was factored around the fireballs launched at me as I was suddenly feeling bored due to the previous fight against the Undead giant. I distinctively remember that he was a hard enemy for me way back when in my gamer days. As such, it was quite a disappointment when I met it in my current state.
On the other hand, I used this as my training method to better familiarize myself with my newfound magical powers.
As i spent a solid few hours redirecting fireballs at other celestial centipedes, they finally stopped sending them as they realized that it was either being sent at their buddies who died or back at themselves. I got a nice level up for Cosmologist and then my wonderful singing voice took care of the summons as well as the summoner and the copy paste bandaged knight with a great sword. Underneath the elevated platform were some hellhound style dawgs along with the lady hunter, keeper of the old lords that I easily smacked upside the head when she tried to wave her sword at me and I sent the fire back at her.
There was little else there with the exception of the aforementioned ritual blood 4 before I encountered a side path in the preboss area. It was quite the loop there but nothing of substance was found as the primary rewards was the echo. I then found myself before the boss door and I spot the second set of summons for this floor. The first being the madman Wallace, whoever that is and this is prospector Olek.
For the Hell of it, I summon Olek for the cost of one insight.
"That's weird. It's as if my connection to my powers has weakened by a bit ... .Does that mean that insight is akin to an int boost to my spells?" I think of it in DND terms since that was the easiest association for me.
As the apparition gets up from underneath the floor. I lift open the door only to reveal a giant spider.
"I did not hit her, I did not, that's bullshit. Oh hi Rom" I say with a certain mocking tone as I eye the spider.
Though im quite confused at what happens next as the boss squirms in place even though it is still in it's first phase. Magic meteors come down from the ceiling, yet it's target is not me nor Olek.
But itself.
I see it's healthbar dipping with each blow as it squirms the exact same way to keep summoning meteors on itself until it dies.
"Well. this is why you don't do drugs kids. Spiders kill themselves by summoning magic meteors on themselves" I joke and light the lantern as I get the rewards which includes the lower Pthumeru Root chalice. I also see a new path leading downwards that I didn't before.
Olek disappears from here, without actually having done anything.
"Hmm, i think ill take a small break. I want to explore something else now. Something thats been on my mind for a while" I say and use the lantern to return to the dream before making my way back to hemwick.
Since I already had the way forward unlocked. I clear out the executioners in the area before waving the Cainhurst summons/invitation around until a carriage driven by decrepit old man pulls up. The horses look cool as I pet them before getting on.
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Word Count =2756
[1] Warner Bros Looney tunes short, Michigan J Frog of Cartoon One Froggy Evening (1955) is the song and animation I'm talking about. Hello Mah Baby, Hello my Darling, hello My Ragtime Gal.