Chapter 190: The Script Wasn't Written Like This! (Requesting Subscriptions, Monthly Pass)

After confirming his selection, Song Ren saw the game screen plunge into darkness, followed by the loading screen skipping.

At that moment, he appeared before a fog gate.

Instead of immediately aggroing the boss, Song Ren first checked his equipped gear.

Right now, he was wielding the Guandao in one hand with the Silver Knight Shield.

Previously, he had been carrying the Grass Crest Shield to recover stamina, dual-wielding the Guandao.

But now, for Death Mode, he chose single-wielding with a shield to maintain a higher margin of error.

After all, according to the previous update description, bosses in Death Mode weren't just enhanced in AI—they'd also received buffs in certain numerical design aspects.

The reason he previously dual-wielded the Guandao was mainly to achieve better poise break.

As for bosses in Death Mode, although it wasn't explicitly stated, Song Ren sensed their corresponding poise would likely be increased.

So he opted for a more cautious playstyle.

Standing before the white fog gate, Song Ren completed all preparations, took a deep breath, and stepped through the Conduit.

At this moment, he felt a slight excitement—what if, just what if, he managed to take down this Death Mode version of Artorias on their very first encounter?

It wasn't impossible! Song Ren mentally visualized the battle scene.

As the white mist before him dissipated, Song Ren fell momentarily silent upon seeing Artorias.

Undoubtedly, as described in the Death Mode introduction, the player was facing the character in their prime.

The Artorias he had fought before was already completely consumed by the Abyss—his left arm rotten and useless, his shield gone, his blade broken and worn, his armor tattered and torn, his mind driven to madness, fighting purely on instinctive sword techniques.

Yet even then, he was terrifyingly aggressive—any misstep meant getting brutally beaten.

But what about this Artorias?

Song Ren fell slightly silent.

Cloaked in blue with full knight armor, wielding a great sword in one hand and a shield in the other.

This was the prime-era Four Knights of Gwyn—the Blue Knight: Artorias!

No health bar or UI elements appeared. Artorias simply stood there, motionless, as background audio suddenly began to play.

Instantly, Song Ren felt his entire body tense up.

A sense of oppression filled his heart.

The battle arena was the same one from the original Artorias fight, but whether it was an illusion or not, Song Ren felt this arena was significantly larger than before.

Taking a deep breath, Song Ren looked at Artorias and performed the Knight's Bow—the "Praise the Sun" gesture.

To his surprise, after performing the gesture, the Artorias in front of him actually returned a Knight's Bow as well.

"I'm aggroing the monster now!" Song Ren said nervously, gripping his mouse and glancing at Zhang Yi beside him.

Hearing Song Ren's words, Zhang Yi couldn't help but give a speechless expression: "It's you who's fighting the boss, not me. Why are you asking me before aggroing? Just go ahead—after all, you definitely can't beat A-da."

"Damn it!" Song Ren spat, then controlled his character to advance.

At the same time, Artorias's health bar and name appeared at the bottom of the screen.

Although combat mode had now begun and the background music had grown intense,

the opposing Artorias simply began slowly circling around Song Ren.

Back when he fought the original Artorias, the boss had extremely high aggressive intent, relentlessly using thrusts, jumping slashes, and other moves without pause.

Now he was just standing still? It was as if two real players were engaging in PvP—after all, in Dark Souls, defensive counterattacks held more advantage than initiating attacks.

"Fine then, I'll make the first move!" Seeing Artorias move as slowly as an old lady crossing the street, Song Ren could wait no longer.

He stepped forward and swung his Guandao, landing a hit on Artorias.

Glancing at Artorias's health bar below, he clearly saw it drop by one segment.

Clearly, the Guandao's damage was quite substantial.

Judging from the total health bar, that single strike had dealt about one twenty-fifth of Artorias's total health.

Theoretically, continuously slashing 25 times should be enough to take down this Artorias.

Based on the damage calculation, Death Mode Artorias's total health was likely around 10,000.

After landing the hit, Song Ren didn't get greedy—he immediately rolled to create distance.

But in that very instant of his roll, Artorias suddenly leapt into the air, bringing his great sword down hard on Song Ren's position.

Seeing Artorias's move, the rolling Song Ren remained calm—he was already back on his feet.

He rolled again to avoid Artorias's attack. But this time, Artorias also performed a roll on the spot, seemingly using the roll to cancel the jump-slash's flinch/stun, immediately chaining into a sweeping slash.

This time, Song Ren's roll was too slow—he hadn't anticipated this at all.

Because in the original version, after Artorias performed a jump-slash, there was a noticeable animation flinch/stun.

But now?

This bastard can roll!?

Isn't that the signature skill of the Undead!?

When did you learn that!?

And this time, Song Ren had no chance to dodge—he was struck clean, his health bar dropping significantly, forcing him to quickly pull out an Estus Flask and drink.

"Damn it, is this boss even beatable??"

Although he confirmed the boss's damage couldn't one-shot him, the real issue was that the boss's reactions were completely different!

It gave him the feeling that the boss had become sentient. The attack methods were still Artorias's original moves.

But now they were far more fluid—for example, chaining a jump-slash into a sweeping slash. In the original version, every attack had a brief flinch/stun afterward.

But now, it was seamless.

Even more shockingly, the boss could now roll to dodge. That Great Barrier Shield in his hand wasn't just for show—it could actually block Song Ren's attacks effectively.

The moves were still the same moves—apart from rolling and blocking, Song Ren hadn't discovered any new skills yet.

But old moves or not, the increased attack frequency, combined with combo chaining and rolling maneuvers,

had drastically increased the difficulty.

Previously, whenever Artorias charged up for a thrust or a jump-slash, the dodge pattern was formulaic—dodge, then counter.

The fight felt like a turn-based system.

But now?

It felt like real PvP—this bastard could even roll and follow-up with attacks!

"I refuse to believe it! Is this boss really that overpowered!?"

After restoring his status, Song Ren patiently observed the boss's movements.

Soon, he noticed a key characteristic—the boss's attack patterns, though repetitive, now adapted much better to real-time situations.

For example, the original Artorias had a brief stun lock after a thrust, but now he'd immediately roll after thrusting, canceling the recovery frames.

The same applied to skills like the jump-slash.

"Stay cautious—this is the moment!"

Song Ren maintained his steady principle—dodging with rolls whenever possible.

When dodging wasn't feasible, he used his shield to block, as long as his stamina bar wasn't depleted.

Chipping away damage bit by bit, absolutely refusing to get greedy.

Slowly, he reduced Artorias's health by about one-fifth.

At this point, Song Ren sharply felt the pressure intensify.

Artorias's attack frequency seemed to have increased, and his aggressive intent had grown stronger.

Although the damage per hit remained unchanged, the rate of attacks appeared to have accelerated!

Seeing the boss initiate a move, Song Ren raised his shield—this was a straight thrust, a move the boss had used before.

He could block it directly with his shield, after which the boss would follow up with a sweeping slash.

But that sweeping slash couldn't be blocked—it had to be dodged with a roll, otherwise his stamina bar would be emptied.

But in the next moment, to Song Ren's taken aback gaze, Artorias performed a roll, appearing behind him.

Then, his great sword scraped across the ground, sending sparks flying, and struck Song Ren who was completely unprepared.

【YOU DIED】

The familiar three words appeared once again.

However, the souls on his body weren't lost.

Clearly, this mode didn't impose penalties—except for consumed items.

"This boss plays hammer!"

Respawned at Firelink Shrine, Song Ren was utterly stunned.

This boss can change tactics!?

Wasn't the script supposed to be: block the boss's attack on his shield, then roll to dodge the second attack?

Why did the boss just roll to avoid the frontal assault and sneak attack from behind!?

The script wasn't written like this!

More coming tonight. Also, played mahjong at noon today—actually got Nine Gates by fifth turn. Feels like I've used up all my luck for the month~

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