“So this must be the weapon. Mr. Chen is truly full of malicious intent! If a new player didn’t know this, wouldn’t they have to fight the werewolf for three hundred rounds?” Song Ren, like a protagonist in a detective anime, revealed a smile that saw through everything.
What is called intelligence? What is called talent? What is called a veteran Firelinker?
He was speaking as if he was precisely such a person.
With a smile, Song Ren walked towards the glowing spot in the courtyard.
He bent down to pick it up, and a prompt appeared in the middle of the screen.
[Quicksilver Bullets * 10].
Seeing the UI Pop-up Window, Song Ren was slightly stunned.
Bullets? But he didn't even have a gun. What the heck use are bullets to him?
After circling the courtyard, Song Ren ran to the iron gate. The first gate prompted that some device was needed to open it.
However, at the second gate, Song Ren successfully pushed it open.
“Indeed, my judgment was absolutely correct. All that’s left is to find the weapon! So the light on this corpse must be the weapon, right?”
“Very scientific. The early-game weapon is left behind by a previous Hunter, not appearing out of thin air. It’s quite realistic and gives players a stronger sense of immersion.” Song Ren’s spirits lifted as he saw the white glow of an item shimmering on a corpse in a long corridor outside the gate.
He ran over quickly and picked it up: four Blood Vials.
“That shouldn't be right! Where’s the weapon?”
Song Ren felt a bit bewildered. Why were there no weapons?
“Could it be that there are no weapons in the early game of Bloodborne?” Song Ren felt very strange.
Driven by curiosity, Song Ren took a couple of steps forward and then saw a tightly shut door.
He tried to open it, but it was locked.
Song Ren wasn't surprised by this design.
Souls series games often had such designs. The maps were interconnected, and as players progressed, they would find specific passages that led back to previous areas.
This was one of the biggest characteristics of Souls series games.
Just as Song Ren was feeling baffled, a Yharnam villager, wielding an axe and a torch, suddenly shambled up behind him, letting out an incomprehensible roar, like a zombie, and charged at Song Ren.
A nimble backstep dodged the axe. Looking at the axe in the villager's hand, an idea formed in Song Ren's mind.
Could it be that the first weapon isn't picked up from the ground, but has to be dropped by a monster?
Thinking about it that way, it didn't seem entirely unreasonable. The opening werewolf wasn't meant to be fought directly by the player.
Players were supposed to go around it, and then encounter the first monster. Players would instinctively remember the werewolf and naturally wouldn't attack. Instead, they would continue to explore further, meaning they wouldn't find a weapon.
In that case, players wouldn't know how much hardship they'd endure in the early game.
Mr. Chen's trap design is truly malicious!
Song Ren's mind raced, and he quickly mentally pictured a series of possible scenarios for the current situation.
Then, Song Ren attacked the Yharnam villager, but his brows quickly furrowed.
Because the attack power was too low, wasn't it?
The damage dealt to the opponent was only single-digit. If he had to slap it to death, wouldn't that take several minutes?
“No, I get it!”
“Just like in Dark Souls, when a new player first encounters Teacher Gundyr the Ash, the most efficient method is a Perfect Guard. And in Bloodborne, there’s a Visceral Attack system that should be similar to the backstabs in Dark Souls, capable of dealing massive damage directly to enemies.”
“Coupled with the Blood Vials obtained earlier and the Rally mechanism, this already provides a high margin for error in combat.”
“So, this enemy looks like a normal mob, but it’s actually designed with the rhythm of a BOSS battle in mind?”
Song Ren’s eyes gradually lit up. Initially, he wasn't very confident, but the more he thought about it, the more assured he became.
By the time the Yharnam villager charged at him again, he had completely convinced himself.
Thinking carefully, before this, the player had just obtained a full six Blood Vials.
Two from the clinic, and four from the corpse below the central Yharnam area.
This also gave players enough room for error, along with Bloodborne's unique Rally mechanism.
So, dealing with the Yharnam villager in front of him wasn't difficult, as long as he paid attention to the rhythm of the battle.
Furthermore, in previous Dark Souls games, Teacher Gundyr the Ash was considered a Perfect Guard tutorial for players.
And this Yharnam villager in front of him, might he be for players to practice Visceral Attacks?
Although he didn't have a gun yet, so he couldn't perform a Gun Parry.
But he could get behind them, charge up, and then perform a Visceral Attack; it's to help players practice positioning!
Although it sounded a bit unreliable, it was indeed very much like Mr. Chen’s style.
After all, before the appearance of Dark Souls, who among players or designers could have imagined a game that made the difficulty so exaggerated?
After all, which game designer would kill the protagonist, supporting characters, and female lead without warning, and on a day like Halloween, claim to be giving players a surprise by making a horror game?
It was like when he copied homework in elementary school: he'd chosen C for a multiple-choice question, then glanced at his deskmate who had chosen B, and the more he thought about it, the more he felt his deskmate was right. Now, Song Ren had completely convinced himself.
He didn't even bother exploring further, simply stood his ground and started fighting the Yharnam villager.
After engaging in combat, if he was 90% certain before, he now felt it had risen to 99.9%.
Why?
Because the Yharnam villager in front of him wasn’t particularly strong.
Its main attack methods were a single powerful overhead slash and a torch flurry at close range.
As long as he didn’t stand still and get hit, it was almost impossible to be killed in a one-on-one fight, and the Yharnam villager’s attack rhythm was also very slow.
Why was it designed this way?
It was precisely to allow new players to practice!
“Is that all? Is that all?”
After a grueling battle of about three minutes.
Finally, when the villager had about one-sixth of its health remaining, he successfully landed a charged attack, followed by a Visceral Attack.
The visual effects were maximized, and he only consumed two Blood Vials throughout the process.
The difficulty was much lower than he had imagined. It was just that he was too focused on wanting to get behind, perform a charged attack, and land a Visceral Attack; otherwise, it wouldn't have taken so long.
However, speaking of Visceral Attacks, they were indeed much more difficult than backstabs in Dark Souls.
The main issue was timing. A charged attack would have a brief recovery animation, and at that moment, you needed to quickly close the distance to the enemy; otherwise, it wouldn't trigger.
He had caused four flinch states in between, but only triggered it once.
“Indeed, the weapon dropped! Just as I expected!”
Seeing the white light that appeared after the villager died, Song Ren couldn't help but smile.
White light was a signature of Souls series items.
When an item was pick-up-able, it would appear as a blob of white light on the ground, and players could obtain it by picking it up.
What did the appearance of white light after the Yharnam villager's death mean?
It was the dropped weapon!
“Just the design of the game’s opening already reveals Mr. Chen’s profound intentions.”
“First, it's the characteristic opening challenge of the Souls series, telling players that Souls games are not that simple. Second, the werewolf tells players that sometimes, facing powerful enemies, there can be better ways to deal with them.”
“And this villager tells players that there are no unconquerable enemies, only whether you persevere enough.”
Song Ren sighed with emotion and admiration in his heart.
Then he stepped forward and picked up the item.
‘Blood Vial +1’
???????
“Where’s the weapon? Why is it a Blood Vial! Where’s my weapon!”
Song Ren, who had just finished a lengthy analysis, looked at the Blood Vial he picked up, and he was a bit dumbfounded.
Just then, a voice notification from Old Zhang came through.
“Old Song, what weapon did you choose in Hunter's Dream? Saw Cleaver, Hunter's Axe, or Threaded Cane? I'm telling you, this Threaded Cane is super awesome, especially when it switches to whip mode. Whips in Dark Souls felt like toys, but this Bloodborne whip feels incredibly powerful!” Old Zhang's voice was full of pleasant surprise in the voice channel.
Looking at the Blood Vial in his hand and the defeated Yharnam villager, Song Ren suddenly felt that something was amiss at that moment.
Hunter's Dream? Weapon selection?
Weapons aren't dropped by monsters?
Was he battling wits and courage against thin air?
(End of Chapter)
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