Chapter 113: Found a Great Treasure
Chapter 113: Found a Great Treasure
With bold words on his lips and hands resting on the keyboard and mouse, Zhang Yi officially began his Firelinking journey.
Right now, he was extremely excited.
Nebula Games was one of his favorite game developers.
Although the games they released always had a way of tormenting playersâlike making him wash dishes endlessly in Overcooked, or shedding countless tears over Valiant Hearts: The Great War not long agoâyou had to admit, these games truly touched the players' hearts.
This Dark Souls, Nebula Gamesâ first blockbuster, was something he had been eagerly anticipating.
Spreading the fire of hope through a world of despairâjust thinking about it made him thrilled.
Sure, it might make him cry buckets again, but what did that matter?
He was ready.
On the path ahead in the game, there were many strange symbols left behind, resembling splattered blood.
Zhang Yi wasnât unfamiliar with them. During the recent Online Live Broadcast Press Conference, Chen Xu had already introduced this special system.
Players could also leave messagesâcalled âin-game messagesââon various scenes across the game map.
This was one of Dark Soulsâ defining characteristics, essentially functioning as a public message board.
Of course, these messages had certain format restrictions, and the content would undergo dedicated Censorship.
Leaving inappropriate remarks would result in warnings, and repeat offenders would lose access to online features.
Looking at the current in-game message system, Zhang Yi followed the prompts and tried out various operations.
Rolling, regular attacks, heavy attacksâŚ
Unlike other games with flashy combat styles, Dark Souls gave him a heavy, weighty feeling.
The rolling, the slashing, the feedback from striking stoneâall of it felt powerful and grounded.
The only thing Zhang Yi found slightly uncomfortable was how quickly the stamina bar depleted.
One roll, a few swings, and it was gone.
Even running consumed stamina.
It was a bit unsatisfying!
But Zhang Yi didnât mind. He figured that leveling up or acquiring certain gear later might increase his stamina.
After all, right now he was just a blank slate character.
Soon, on his path forward, he encountered his first mob.
A creature known as a Hollow Soldierâresembling a Skeleton Soldier.
But it was extremely easy to deal with. With the Small Club in hand, he swung twice.
The enemyâs health bar was emptied instantly.
"This mob is way too easy! But waitâthis game doesnât have a mini-map?" Wang Han, sitting beside him, casually shared her thoughts.
Zhang Yi, focused on playing, was also slightly puzzled.
Although he had just started, he could already sense how different Dark Souls was from other games.
No difficulty setting before entering, and these mobs were way too easy to beat?
Zero challenge.
As for the mini-map, though inconvenient, he had a guess.
"We probably havenât reached the story point yet. Later, weâll meet an NPC whoâll give us a map," Zhang Yi explained his theory.
Continuing forward, at a spot resembling a fountain, he spotted a corpse. From it, Zhang Yi picked up a blue potion.
"Estus Flask? Orange for healing, blue for manaâso basically Fruit Pulp Orange Juice and pulse for focus," Zhang Yi commented, reading the item description.
"Who lets you just randomly rename things like that?" Wang Han replied, speechlessâthough admittedly, the names were kind of catchy and fitting?
Pushing forward, along the path were more in-game messages teaching players how to raise a shield and other basics.
Essentially, it served as a new player tutorial.
Weapon arts, dual-wielding, fundamental operationsâthese were all learned here.
Along the way, only minor mobs appeared: slow-moving, stiff in their actions, and extremely fragile.
The Small Club that came with the Deprived class could kill them in two hits, and the Small Wooden Shield provided excellent defense.
"What kind of 'Hardened' difficulty is this?" Wang Han muttered, watching Zhang Yi effortlessly slaughter Hollow Soldier mobs, slightly depressed by the 'High Difficulty' tag sheâd seen earlier in the store interface.
Didnât she just sit here all afternoon for this?
Hearing his girlfriendâs complaint, Zhang Yi chuckled. "Canât help itâmy skill levelâs just that high. Canât even die if I tried!"
After clearing all the mobs, the souls counter in the bottom-right corner kept rising.
He wasnât sure what souls were for, but Zhang Yi guessed they were either in-game currency or experience.
Still didnât know their exact use yet.
Pressing onward, cold sunlight pierced through as the rugged mountain path split into two.
One path led straight to a cliffside, with a massive stone gate half-open. The surrounding structures were collapsed, clearly ancient.
The right-side path was a narrow, winding sheep trail.
"The cliffside must be the main quest route. This winding trail probably hides collectible items."
As an experienced game player, Zhang Yi quickly analyzed the distinct characteristics of the two paths.
Years of gaming hadnât been wastedâhe had the experience to back it up.
"My gut says thereâs definitely a great treasure hidden inside!" Zhang Yi said proudly, glancing smugly at his girlfriend.
Wang Han rolled her eyes. "Rare treasures are usually guarded by guardian spirits. With your scrawny arms and legs, youâll probably die on the spot."
"No way! Even if there is a monster, it canât be much stronger than those Hollows we just fought," Zhang Yi replied confidently. His earlier dominance over the Hollows had given him immense confidence.
Venturing deeper, the rough trail was overgrown with dry vines. Ahead on the ground, Zhang Yi spotted an in-game message.
He interacted with it. It read three words: 'Turn back!'
Turn back?
Turning back was out of the question. Heâd come this farâwasnât he supposed to take a look?
Ignoring the warning, Zhang Yi pressed forward.
Crossing a small pool of water, he entered a cave-like area.
Not far ahead, a massive Crystal Lizard lay sprawled on the ground.
When Zhang Yi saw the giant Crystal Lizard, his eyes widened.
This thing was enormous.
"You really did find a great treasure," Wang Hanâs voice chimed in perfectly.
At that moment, the Crystal Lizard seemed to sense an intruder in its territory. It slowly rose from the ground, glaring menacingly at Zhang Yiâs character.
"No big deal. This is probably just a minor elite monster. Look at that health barâitâs so short. Watch me smash it to death with two hits of my Small Club!" Zhang Yi took a deep breath, and as he spoke, he started to believe it himself.
Rightâthe health bar was so short!
It definitely wasnât a boss. Maybe it was all bark and no bite?
With that thought, Zhang Yi, clutching his Small Club and broken wooden shield, bravely charged forward.
(Sigh, I'm really short... but I'll still shamelessly ask for recommendation votes and Monthly Pass...)
(End of Chapter) <