Chapter 182: My Current Situation Is A Bit Awkward! (Requesting Subscriptions, Monthly Pass)

Chapter 182: My Current Situation Is A Bit Awkward! (Requesting Subscriptions, Monthly Pass)

At the graveyard, Song Ren discovered a narrow path leading straight downward, which excited him greatly.

"Sure enough, this path should be the right one! Though it doesn't look much like the Undead Burg mentioned earlier—more like some kind of underground RUINS?"

Staring at the path extending downward, Song Ren muttered to himself.

But right now, he didn't care too much. Anyway, moving forward was the only option.

The souls he'd carried had already been spent on leveling up. At this moment, he had fewer than three-digit souls left—what was there to fear?

The burden had been shed. Now, he was a free little bird.

Running swiftly down the steps, Song Ren spotted a dark, gaping opening and immediately crawled straight into it.

At the same time, a name for the new area appeared at the top of the screen: Catacombs.

"NICE! Definitely correct! Once I pass through these Catacombs, I should reach the underground RUINS!"

Seeing the newly displayed area name, Song Ren was visibly thrilled.

After all, "underground RUINS" and "Catacombs" shared two identical characters!

And weren't both located underground? They must be somehow connected.

As for Blighttown, which Crestfallen Warrior had previously mentioned, he had unconsciously ignored it.

"The damage is so high! Indeed, the new work isn't just an upgrade in map and level design compared to the previous one—there's also a slight increase in Numerical Design!"

On the staircase leading to the Catacombs, Song Ren encountered two skeletons wielding knives. He accidentally took a hit, and his health dropped by half.

Due to being overweight, he hadn't worn his knight armor. Watching his health bar, he performed several quick rolls to Create Distance, then drank an Estus Flask to restore the lost health.

"If it were a stubborn rookie player, they'd probably inch forward, fighting every enemy. But alas, as a battle-hardened Chosen Undead who has lit the flame countless times, I understand the world of Dark Souls far too well!" Looking back at the two skeleton soldiers swaying unsteadily toward him, Song Ren let out a mocking chuckle, once again embodying the sharp intellect he'd shown in the Undead Asylum when he'd seen through the traps.

At this moment, he wasn't fighting alone! Zhang Zifang, Guan Yiwu, Liu Bowen—countless wise figures from history seemed to stand behind him.

The deeper he went, the lower the visibility became. Fortunately, the background audio wasn't too creepy, and torches on the walls provided enough light; otherwise, this would instantly turn into a horror game.

And along the way, there were even three intimidating-looking skeleton heads. Luckily, he ran fast enough to avoid them.

Using nimble positioning to dodge the phantom soldiers on the path, he reached the staircase and rolled down—but Song Ren didn't dwell on it and simply pressed forward.

There were a few sword-wielding skeleton mobs along the way. Adhering to the strategic policy of avoiding combat whenever possible, Song Ren chose to bypass them.

Then, with sharp eyes, he spotted a small hole in the left wall.

He rolled inside and found himself face to face with a Lantern Hollow, who was conjuring a large fireball in its hands. Beside it stood an unlit bonfire, and next to the Lantern Hollow was a clearly visible switch.

Seeing the incoming large fireball, Song Ren quickly rolled aside, then rushed to the bonfire and chose to ignite it.

After lighting it, finally free of worry about respawning, Song Ren grabbed his hammer and charged forward, furiously smashing the lantern-wielding mage.

Its movements were stiff. Aside from seemingly high health, it posed little threat.

"Sure enough, this game is filled with sheer malice! First, the giant rolling boulder in the Undead Asylum, and now this Lantern Hollow with its fireballs!"

"A bonfire, and right next to it, a Lantern Hollow hurling large fireballs! An unprepared player gets hit in the face with a fireball while seeing a bonfire so close by—how utterly hopeless would that feel?"

"What a devastating blow to a rookie's Mindset! Only because I've played the previous Dark Souls and lit the flame multiple times would I survive this. Most players would probably die instantly from a fireball to the face and suffer complete mental Collapse, wouldn't they?" Song Ren gazed at the now-lit bonfire, feeling an overwhelming warmth, and sighed with emotion.

Unfortunately, he was playing this game alone, with no one watching or cheering for him.

Thinking of this, Song Ren pulled out his phone, opened his Friends list, and sent a message: "Old Zhang, how's your progress? The difficulty increase in this game isn't just a little—it's massive!"

Meanwhile, Zhang Yi, who had just arrived at the Undead Burg Outskirts and been surrounded by phantom soldiers, was sent back to a bonfire. He now noticed Song Ren's message. Staring at the screen's "YOU DIED!" message, Zhang Yi wholeheartedly agreed and replied: "Yeah! The damage from the mobs is way higher than in the previous game! And it's easy to accidentally aggro a bunch of them. Their aggressive intent is much stronger too."

On Song Ren's end, while playing and replying: "Right? And it's especially sneaky—the first bonfire actually has a Lantern Hollow throwing large fireballs at you."

"????????? Lantern Hollow? Isn't the first bonfire at the Undead Burg Outskirts, guarded by a group of Hollows and an Archer on a balcony?" Zhang Yi was taken aback.

Meanwhile, deep within the Catacombs.

"Shwip! Shwip! Shwip! Shwip!...!"

After being hit by a relentless three-hit combo from two sword-wielding skeletons, Song Ren was sent back to the area near the Lantern Hollow. Seeing Zhang Yi's message, he froze completely.

Undead Burg Outskirts!?

Not the Catacombs!?

Song Ren suddenly realized something terrible. Even as the lantern mage launched two more large fireballs at him, making him witness "YOU DIED!" once again, he didn't even notice.

Meanwhile, Zhang Yi continued messaging: "Old Song, did you maybe go to the wrong map? I messed up too at first—I ended up at a place called New Londo Ruins."

"Let me tell you, that place is simply unbelievable! At the entrance, there are a few non-resistant Hollows, just like on the High Wall of Lothric in the previous game. But deeper inside, Ghosts appear—each one hits like a truck, and the craziest part is I couldn't even hit them back! They really are like ghosts!"

"I think this installment must have placed high-level maps meant for the late game right next to the Firelink Shrine."

"Old Song, are you okay?"

Zhang Yi asked again, still not receiving a reply.

Looking at Zhang Yi's text messages on his phone, then glancing back at the Lantern Hollow, which was tirelessly pelting him with fireballs,

Song Ren's hand trembled slightly as he typed his reply: "Not great. My current situation is a bit... awkward!"

A bit awkward!?

This was far more than just a bit!

Song Ren realized an even more critical issue.

He had entered this Catacombs by rolling down a flight of stairs.

And as everyone knows, the Undead have no knees—so retracing his steps was impossible.

Even more crucially, he had just lit this bonfire.

Unlike the previous game, this installment's bonfires lack teleport functionality.

This meant that upon death, he would continue to resurrect right in front of this bonfire.

To return to Firelink Shrine, he would need to find another path entirely!

Staring at the Lantern Hollow, which kept relentlessly killing him with fireballs,

Song Ren's Mindset underwent a slight, yet significant, shift.

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