Chapter 790: The Legendary Life of Dovahkiin

Chapter 790: The Legendary Life of Dovahkiin

With the arrival of this massive Black Dragon, whose wings blotted out the sky, perched atop the Guard Tower.

The Imperial soldiers and mages inside Helgen launched arrows and spells into the sky, attacking the airborne dragon.

"This dragon is seriously awesome! Will I have to fight dragons in the late game too? I wonder if the game allows dragon riding—could I become a Dragon Knight?"

With the dragon's appearance, Song Ren was now free to move.

Ralof beside him shouted, urging him to flee immediately.

But Song Ren didn't rush to follow. Instead, he stood still, fantasizing about his future gameplay experience.

After all, the current scene was simply too spectacular.

In terms of visual presentation, the open-world game The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim didn't quite match the intensity of a thread-based game.

Yet this scene—a dragon descending from the heavens, magical spells flashing all around—was undeniably captivating.

Though World of Warcraft had also been impressive, it was an MMORPG, so the camera perspective was adapted accordingly. The same scene could evoke vastly different emotions under different angles.

At least right now, Song Ren found himself rooted to the spot. Even though a blatantly obvious mission prompt had appeared directly above his viewpoint on the screen, he still wanted to stay and watch a little longer.

But this moment of hesitation led to disaster.

The circling Black Dragon opened its jaws, unleashing an endless torrent of flames that instantly engulfed him.

Pain-filled cries erupted from the protagonist's mouth as the UI health bar in the lower-left corner plummeted.

In the next instant, Song Ren's game screen turned black and white, and the loading screen with the UI interface appeared.

"So this dragon wasn't here to save me? Did I seriously overthink it?"

One area-of-effect attack, and Song Ren instantly realized: this dragon had absolutely nothing to do with him. It wasn't here to rescue him.

Was I the clown all along?

After reloading and reviving, he returned to the moment the dragon descended from the sky and Helgen was plunged into chaos.

This time, Song Ren had learned his lesson. The moment he regained control of his character,

he immediately dashed into the nearby Guard Tower and began following the mission prompts to proceed with the game.

He jumped from the rooftop, narrowly avoiding the dragon's fiery breath mid-air.

The entire Helgen had been reduced to collapsed ruins by the dragon's rampage.

Everywhere he looked, flames burned fiercely, and Imperial soldiers lay charred and lifeless.

Yet, under General Tullius's command, Imperial soldiers continued fighting the dragon in the sky while also protecting the civilians within Helgen.

Witnessing this, Song Ren's impression of the Empire improved slightly.

Following the NPC stealthily, by the time he reached a plaza,

Song Ren was quickly faced with his first in-game choice: should he flee with the Imperial soldiers or escape with the Stormcloaks?

"Faction choice—so here I choose between the Stormcloak path or the Imperial path?"

Faced with this decision, Song Ren instantly understood.

Clearly, the game featured two distinct main quests: one supporting the Stormcloaks, the other the Empire.

It was probably similar to the Alliance and Horde factions in World of Warcraft.

After thinking for two or three seconds, Song Ren decisively followed Ralof.

"Though that Imperial general seemed decent and cared for the people..."

"...that female captain earlier still wanted to chop my head off. Can't blame me for siding with the Stormcloak bros now, can you?"

Without hesitation, Song Ren followed Ralof, sprinting toward the guard tower on the right.

Though he hadn't officially entered the story yet, and knew little about the Empire or the Stormcloaks,

how could he side with the Empire when they tried to execute him on sight?

I'm coming for you, Empire!

Inside the hall, Song Ren guided his character through a dialogue with Ralof,

then followed the prompts to loot the armor and weapons from a nearby dead guard.

"Can I interact with everything in this game?"

Staring at the corpse now stripped down to just its undergarments, Song Ren couldn't help but feel surprised.

Looting gear and seeing corresponding feedback on the NPC's body wasn't what amazed him.

What stunned Song Ren was the interactivity within The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim.

Keys, gold coins on NPCs—these could all be taken.

Even items in the dungeon—alleyways, cups, watermelons—could all be interacted with.

The content in Helgen Keep was purely a new player tutorial.

After acquiring the equipment, the very Imperial female captain who had earlier tried to behead him burst in with her subordinates.

Without a word, Song Ren followed Ralof into combat.

Combat in The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim was straightforward:

light attack, heavy attack, and blocking.

Beyond that, there were hardly any flashy moves.

There were none of the flashy combo attacks like in God of War,

nor the intricate sword dances seen in The Witcher: Wild Hunt.

Song Ren didn't see a trace of such mechanics in Skyrim.

If he had to compare, the combat style reminded him slightly of Dark Souls—

a duel reminiscent of Medieval knights.

Of course, the game's difficulty was far simpler than Dark Souls.

Moreover, he could feel this was a pure RPG game, where numerical design still played a significant role.

Compared to him, Ralof beside him was clearly much more formidable,

quickly dispatching the two Imperial soldiers in just a few moves.

"Damn, bro! Are you the Dragonborn, or am I?"

Seeing Ralof barely lose any health while standing in place looting corpses, Song Ren sighed with emotion.

Kill Imperial soldiers, eliminate the grotesque Frostbite Spider that dropped from above, sneak past a large brown bear dozing off—

this segment of gameplay posed virtually no challenge.

Ralof alone could clear the entire area.

The main goal was to guide players through basic operations:

using consumable items, defeating enemies through blocking and attacking, or stripping loot from fallen foes.

There were even mini-game elements, like lockpicking that required some skill.

When facing seemingly invincible monsters, going prone and sneaking past.

Yet there were also aspects that made Song Ren feel satisfied—such as directional attack control.

If he attacked an enemy's weak spot, there was a chance to trigger an execution attack.

Regardless of how much health the enemy's bar showed, a sharp blade would pierce through their chest, or other brutal execution effects would play out.

With bullet time slow-motion and actions full of violence and aesthetic flair, it looked incredibly cool.

Following Ralof for about five minutes,

Song Ren passed through the underground fortress of Helgen.

At the dim cave entrance, thick vines covered the opening.

Faint light filtered through the gaps in the foliage.

At the entrance, Song Ren controlled his character to push aside the vines. The outside sunlight was slightly blinding.

Then, the scenery of Skyrim unfolded before him.

Dense green forests, distant elk faintly visible in the woods, squirrels darting through the treetops.

Farther away, a snow-covered mountain range glistened in silver white.

Hazy white mist and thick clouds filled the sky. A winding mountain path led downward, and through the fog, he could glimpse a rushing river.

This breathtaking beauty left Song Ren utterly stunned.

This was a tried-and-true technique in games: emerging from a cave in The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild, passing through narrow ruins in Uncharted to see the legendary Pirate's Haven, or climbing the bell tower of a cathedral at night in Assassin's Creed with Ezio and his brother...

"Looks like that dragon isn't coming back. We're safe for now."

As the Black Dragon roared and flew away from Helgen Keep, Ralof beside him exhaled deeply.

Multiple dialogue options appeared—conversations about the dragon, about the Stormcloaks, about the Imperial soldiers.

Clearly, these were designed to help players better understand the game's lore and background.

In addition, Song Ren received two quests:

Find Ralof's sister Gerdur in Riverwood, a town not far from Helgen Keep,

and decide whether to join the Stormcloaks.

"Are these two main quests? Probably similar to The Witcher: Wild Hunt—one personal main quest, one faction-based main quest."

Speculating wildly, Song Ren glanced at the map.

The quest marker for joining the Stormcloaks was too far away, and the rest of the map was completely shrouded in fog—clearly meant to be explored manually.

Thus, Song Ren's immediate goal was set on Riverwood.

Though the game's story hadn't yet mentioned the identity of the Dragonborn, Song Ren, having watched the promotional video, naturally understood that the protagonist very likely was the Dragonborn.

"Riverwood—this must be the newbie village."

"Alright, the great Adventure of the Dragonborn officially begins now."

"Let the legendary life of Dovahkiin begin right here, at this first stop—Riverwood!"

Swinging the Imperial soldier's longsword in his hand, Song Ren felt full of confidence.

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