[No way, is Jenny actually climbing that wall this smoothly?]
[Jenny is going too hard!]
[Playing like this, are Jenny's biceps really that jacked?]
The chat were shocked. Jenny clearly looked like a pale, skinny girl, yet she could rock climb so effortlessly.
"Huff, huff, it really is hard!" Jenny said through gritted teeth. Her voice came out in disjointed gasps, showing she was struggling heavily. "But so you guys can see the rest of the story in Sekiro, how could I drop the ball now? No matter how ridiculously hard New World makes their games, I have to push through for you guys!"
[Not bad, You're not a pretty vase afterall!]
[So touching, i'll stroke my meat for you Jenny!]
↳ [Ey yo wtf? Chill out.]
↳ ThousandLargerThanTheSun has been muted for 1 month!
[Damn, why am I actually getting emotional over Jenny right now?!]]
Seeing Jenny working so hard for her viewers, the audience was moved. For a moment, the stream's chat was flooded with unanimous cheers.
Finally, with great effort, Jenny successfully scaled the cliff face and set foot on solid ground again.
"Phew, I finally made it past!" Jenny wiped non-existent sweat from her forehead. "Chat, I did pretty well there, right? I didn't embarrass you guys!"
The chat was spammed with rows of Ws, and some touched viewers even started sending gifts.
After successfully showing off twice in a row, Jenny was in a great mood. She pressed forward, only to find another cliff. This one was about thirty-three feet away from the opposite side, but this time, there were no walls to climb.
A prompt appeared on the left.
[Use your agility and jump straight across.]
"Got it!" Jenny signaled her understanding. She took a few steps back, got a running start, and leapt with all her might!
Whoosh!
Everyone watched as Jenny practically flew through the air, instantly crossing the thirty-three-foot gap and landing steadily on the other side!
[Holy crap, that jump!]
[Jumping thirty-three feet in one go? That's insane!]
[Duh, he's a master ninja. Do you guys even know what a master is!?]
Just as the viewers said, this was the tutorial stage. Next, Jenny experimented with jumping into wall climbs, double jumping into wall climbs, and running long jumps into wall climbs. Places that originally seemed completely impossible for a human to traverse were suddenly places she could reach with ease.
Jenny and the audience were now roughly familiar with Wolf's agility. All the gamers watching couldn't stop marveling. This was the game of their dreams.
It wasn't just about controlling a character with a controller or keyboard. You could actually physically play the role of a master in the game, running up walls and leaping across roofs, capable of anything!
Soon, Jenny was getting closer and closer to the Moon-Viewing Tower built right on the edge of the cliff.
She climbed all the way up the steep cliff face, soon reaching the edge of the tower. Through a hole in the wall, she made her way inside.
A dim room greeted Jenny's eyes. It looked incredibly messy, with all sorts of books scattered across the floor.
In the center of the room, a young child had lit an oil lamp and was sitting on a table, carefully reading a thread-bound book.
The child had blunt bangs and looked to be only eleven or twelve years old. He was wearing an oversized, somewhat elegant purple robe, but his small feet were entirely bare.
[Hmm, this kid must be Wolf's master!]
[Big dark eyes, a round chin, he actually looks pretty cute!]
[Is Wolf's master a boy or a girl?!]
[Can't tell, they're too young. But they're definitely adorable!]
↳ [I'm watching you!]
↳ [Fuck is that supposed to mean?]
↳ [Just remember this, I'm watching you!]
The moment the child appeared, the viewers immediately began to praise him. The character design system in New World was flawless. With this kid's looks, he could easily play a little prince or princess in a fairy tale movie.
The next moment, the child also spotted Jenny intruding. A joyful expression crossed his face as he hopped down from the table and trotted over.
But soon enough, the child seemed to remember his status as the master. His posture became dignified once again, and his trot slowed into a measured walk.
"It has been a long time, Wolf." Coming to a stop in front of Jenny, the child spoke with a mature tone. His voice was high and delicate, still making it impossible to determine his gender.
"I have come to receive you, my lord." The Wolf that Jenny was roleplaying replied in a low, solemn voice.
Unlike Subnautica, because Sekiro was an action game rather than a purely open world, Lucien had disabled the feature for players to freely converse with NPCs. This was to ensure players focused more of their attention on the combat.
"Mhm." The child nodded, then turned and walked to the corner of the room. From a chest in the corner, he pulled out a sword box.
Next, holding the box in both hands, he returned to Jenny and opened it.
Inside the box, wrapped in yellow cloth, lay a dark, heavy katana. "Wolf, this is your blade, Arashigiri. Please continue to honor our iron code, and pledge your life to my service."
"As you command," Wolf's deep voice sounded.
"Whoa, I got a sword, chat!" However, Wolf's actor, Jenny, shouted excitedly. She immediately took the blade, drew it with a sharp ring, and inspected it closely in her hands.
The blade was about three feet long, radiating a cold, mirror-like aura. The edge reflected the distant lamplight, and its surface seemed to be coated in a layer of flowing frost, making it look incredibly sharp.
At this moment, another prompt popped up in her vision.
[Arashigiri: A katana bestowed by your master, the Divine Heir of the Dragon's Heritage. It is a family heirloom of the Hirata estate, a cadet branch of Ashina.]
You may place the sword on your waist or back as you see fit. You can also customize the weight of the blade for easier handling.
"Holy crap, you can even customize the weight of the sword!" Jenny gasped in amazement again.
[Tsk tsk, New World really thought of everything!]
[Yeah, when New World isn't emotionally destroying us or intentionally jump-scaring players, They are actually super considerate!]
[As someone with zero arm strength, I have to leave a like for this!]
The viewers also voiced their praises. Sigh, New World was such a brilliant game developer, so why was are they such a psycho who loved playing with players' emotions?!
Jenny immediately opened the customization feature. On a whim, she drastically cranked up the weight of the sword right off the bat.
Instantly, Jenny felt Arashigiri's weight skyrocket. Unable to hold onto it at all, the sword slipped from her grasp and clattered loudly against the floor.
The Divine Heir standing in front of her was startled, his small body involuntarily taking two steps back.
[Pfft, Jenny, what are you doing!]
[Jenny, you scared your little master!]
[Haha, look at the panic in the Divine Heir's eyes!]
"Wolf, what is the meaning of this? Why can you no longer even hold a sword steady?" the Divine Heir asked, a look of complete bewilderment on his face.
"..."
"My bad, that was an accident." Jenny said, hurriedly reducing the blade's weight before she could pick Arashigiri back up.
She sheathed the sword and placed it at her waist. Arashigiri automatically magnetized to her body, which was incredibly convenient.
"Wolf, it seems you are injured, to the point of being unable to wield a blade. Take this." At this moment, the Divine Heir handed a gourd to Jenny. "This gourd contains medicinal water. Use it to heal your wounds."
Jenny took it and checked the item prompt.
[Healing Gourd. A gourd filled with medicinal water that restores health. Resting will refill the gourd's contents. It was crafted by a disciple of the peerless physician, Dogen.]
"Oh, so it's a healing potion." Jenny understood. In the bottom right corner of the gourd's icon was the number one, representing how many times it could be used.
Not holding back, Jenny immediately brought the gourd to her lips and mimed taking a drink.
The next second, a refreshing coolness spread through her entire body. Jenny watched as her health bar instantly shot up from critical to completely full.
"Not bad, not bad at all. This is great stuff, it's just a shame I can only use it once," Jenny said excitedly.
Just then, the Divine Heir's voice sounded again. "By the way, Wolf. After that night, is your body alright?"
Jenny and the entire audience froze. Wait, why did that line sound so weird?
[Hold up, what the hell is 'that night', and why is the Divine Heir asking if our bodies are okay, yikes...]
↳ [That phrasing is a little sus. Is Lucien into little kids?!]
↳ [You fucking animal! What's wrong with your fucking mind huh? He's a child!]
↳ [Don't let me catch you in my blocks, I'll put a fucking bullet in your head! Fucking peds!]
"To what night do you refer?" In the game, Wolf asked, equally confused.
"Do you not remember the events of that night?" The Divine Heir's surprised voice rang out. "Never mind. We can discuss the details later. Our immediate priority is escaping Ashina Castle."
"Lord Isshin once told me that there is a secret passage leading out of the castle, beneath the bridge by the moat. I need you to find that passage first. Once you have found it, use a reed whistle as a signal. I will follow the sound and find you."
"Understood."
"I didn't realize our little master was the Riddler." Jenny muttered a complaint. "Well, if that's the case, he wants me to go find some secret passage. Alright then."
Action followed words. Jenny immediately pushed open the main doors of the tower. Her field of view instantly widened, revealing a path straight ahead.
However, just a short distance away, a soldier armed with a large sword was patrolling back and forth along the path.
"There's a soldier guarding the way." Jenny furrowed her brows. She looked left and right but couldn't spot any tall grass to sneak through.
Clearly, since she now had a sword, it was time for the real deal!
[Go for it!]
Encouraged by the viewers, Jenny nodded seriously. She swallowed hard, drew her sword with a metallic scrape, and walked toward the soldier.
To say she wasn't nervous would be a lie. The games developed by New World were as realistic as ever, blurring the lines between game and reality. Right now, Jenny felt only one thing: she was holding a sword, walking toward a living, breathing person who was also holding a sword, and the two of them were about to engage in a deathmatch with actual weapons. Going from a female streamer to a swordsman expected to kill enemies on the battlefield was a massive leap in identity. It would be strange if she wasn't terrified!
As Jenny approached, a yellow exclamation mark lit up above the soldier's head the next second. It quickly turned from yellow to red!
This meant the soldier had spotted her.
"Where did you come from? Die!"
The soldier glared viciously at Jenny. With a furious roar, he raised his sword and charged at her aggressively!
An intense combat soundtrack erupted into the previously quiet scene.
Forget about the viewers, seeing the soldier's twisted face and raised blade as he sprinted toward her made Jenny's heart skip a beat. Subconsciously, she turned around and bolted.
She perfectly utilized Wolf's incredible speed, sprinting rapidly back into the tower. With a loud slam, she threw the doors shut behind her, then pressed her body weight against the wood, terrified that the soldier would bust the doors open and rush in.
"Huff, shit, the way that guy charged was way too scary!" Jenny continued to rant frantically.
[She hasn't even fought yet and she already bolted!]
↳ [You can't really blame Jenny. Actually fighting someone with swords in VR is pretty hardcore!]
↳ [Yeah, you have to remember that most people wouldn't even dare to kill a chicken in real life!]
↳ [To be fair, if I saw a huge dude charging at me with a sword, I'd run too!]
↳ [I'd drop my clothes, my swords and run naked across the fields just so i can outrun him.]
The viewers chimed in one after another. Just from watching the stream, they could tell that Sekiro's hardcore factor was likely even higher than Subnautica's.
After leaning against the doors for several seconds, Jenny still hadn't heard the sound of the soldier crashing against them. At the same time, the intense combat music slowly faded away.
It seemed the soldier didn't plan on breaking the door down. Jenny instantly let out a sigh of relief.
Immediately after, Jenny seemed to realize something. She snapped her head around, only to see the Divine Heir standing off to the side, staring at her with a mix of horror and complete bewilderment.
At this moment, the Divine Heir, Wolf, and Jenny were all totally silent.
Right as the viewers were roasting her, the Divine Heir suddenly spoke up, asking a very serious question: "My Wolf, have you been possessed?"
[Pfft.]
[The Divine Heir has been reading too many novels, bringing up possession!]
[Haha, this is obviously an easter egg designed by Lucien, used specifically to mock players who are too scared to fight!]
The stream's viewers were dying of laughter. Jenny also felt that both her and Wolf's dignity had been completely wiped out. That bastard Lucien programming this specific line was just adding insult to injury!
"Okay! Let me try that again. This time I'm going all in, I absolutely will not wimp out!!!" Jenny declared. She took a deep breath and threw the wooden doors open once more.
Holding her breath and focusing her mind, she marched toward the soldier in the distance again.
The exact same thing happened. Upon seeing Jenny, the soldier let out a bizarre yell, raised his sword, and charged.
"I'll take you down with me!" Jenny roared to boost her own courage. This time she didn't run away. Instead, she raised her sword and met his charge!
It's fake, it's all fake anyway. The sword in front of me can't actually hurt me!!!
Just as Jenny thought this, another prompt appeared on the left side of her vision.
[Your attacks will reduce the enemy's vitality while also building up their posture meter. When the enemy's vitality drops to zero, or their posture meter is completely filled, you can execute a one-hit deathblow.]
Jenny had no idea what any of that meant, but she was already rushing in blindly. Gripping Arashigiri with both hands, she swung her sword down!
Squelch!