Chapter 797: This Is the Dragonborn

Chapter 797: This Is the Dragonborn

Inside the game, Song Ren had advanced the main quest to its final stage.

After completing the Greybeards' Trial, he was bestowed the title of Ismir by the Greybeards.

He then met two Blades warriors whom Song Ren believed were merely cleaning toilets for the Blades. With their help, he uncovered the true reason behind the dragons' resurgence.

The legendary world-eater Alduin was resurrecting dragons to restore their dominion over humanity.

After deciphering the message left by ancient Blades warriors on the Wall of Alduin, the Dragonborn journeyed to the Throat of the World. With the guidance and assistance of Paarthurnax, leader of the Greybeards, he obtained the Elder Scroll (Dragon).

Using the power of the Elder Scroll (Dragon), the Dragonborn traveled through time, learning the dragon shout "Dragonrend"—the technique capable of countering Alduin—from Hakon One-Eye, Gormlaith Golden-Hilt, and Felldir the Old. Together with Paarthurnax, he confronted Alduin atop the Throat of the World and temporarily drove it back.

After repelling Alduin, Paarthurnax informed the Dragonborn that the wounded Alduin would retreat to Sovngarde—the realm of Shor—to consume the souls of fallen Nords and restore its strength.

Determined to pursue Alduin, the Dragonborn defeated and tamed Odahviing, one of Alduin’s loyal dragons, and with Odahviing’s help, reached Skuldafn Temple in search of Sovngarde’s entrance.

Upon entering Sovngarde, he faced the challenge of Shor’s Shield-Bearer and entered the Hall of Valor, where he met the spirits of legendary Nords like Hakon One-Eye, now honored as eternal heroes.

Of all the places in this journey, Sovngarde left the deepest impression on Song Ren.

A place resembling heaven itself, with rainbow-like rays of light and a star-studded sky, floating rocks above an endless sea beneath the Hall of Valor, lush green mountains, and dreamlike background audio—this scenery reminded Song Ren of Toussaint from The Witcher: Wild Hunt.

Of course, prior to reaching Sovngarde, the journey to obtain the Elder Scroll (Dragon) required passage through the Blackreach map via the Cathedral of the Ebonmere. That experience nearly killed Song Ren.

Bizarre mushroom-like plants, pitch-black game scenes—everything instantly transported him back to the nightmares of Bloodborne and Dark Souls. Even worse, the Blackreach map was enormous, and as someone hopelessly bad with directions, Song Ren had no idea which path led forward.

"It’s all over now. Finally, the final battle with Alduin is about to begin!" Song Ren sighed with emotion, gazing at his weapon.

After such a long gaming journey, various playstyles had already been discovered and shared online by players.

The most powerful among them was widely recognized as the "Three God Loop"—maxing out Alchemy, Smithing, and Enchanting, skills most players considered mere support. By refining weapons, players could craft high-damage arms, high-defense armor, and gear with powerful enchantments.

Though Song Ren understood this strategy, he never pursued it—too much grinding for materials and levels.

Alternatively, one could play as a Mage early on, switch to an Archer mid-game, become an Assassin later, and finally transition into a Warrior in the late game—a jack-of-all-trades, master of none. But on easy difficulty, this "all-rounder" approach was still smooth and enjoyable.

Three God Loop? Shield Warrior? Blacksmith? Illusion Assassin? What were those? Did any of them beat Lego blocks as fun as his all-purpose warrior?

On easy mode, who needed specialized builds? Even bare-handed, he could punch Alduin to death.

As the Three Heroes unleashed their dragon roars, dispelling the mist, Alduin descended from the skies.

"The endless wait ends in battle! Alduin’s judgment day has come—either it dies, or we do!"

"You won’t escape this time, insect!"

"Your end is here, insect!"

Amidst the roars of fury, the world-eater Alduin clashed with the three heroic Nords, now spirits of the afterlife, and the legendary Dragonborn in Sovngarde. A monumental battle was about to begin.

Of course, this grand scene existed only in Song Ren’s mental visualization.

The actual situation in the game was indeed a monumental battle.

But the main combatants were Alduin and the three Nord heroes. Song Ren, the so-called legendary Dragonborn destined to save the world, stood far away, occasionally shouting a dragon roar to knock Alduin out of the air and constantly drinking potions while fleeing from falling fireballs.

"Alduin truly deserves to be the final boss. That health bar is massive. Looks like these three old heroes will need a few more minutes."

Song Ren looked perfectly at ease. Before the fight, he had felt a bit nervous.

But on easy difficulty, the game was incredibly forgiving. He didn’t even need to attack directly—just stand aside, use a dragon shout now and then to prevent Alduin from flying, and let the three heroes do the rest.

As long as he kept his distance from Alduin, his biggest threat wasn’t the dragon, but the fireballs raining from the sky.

Even on easy mode, one direct hit from a fireball drained about a fifth of his health.

With a final arrow shot, Alduin’s last sliver of health vanished.

A piercing roar echoed from the dragon’s maw.

With the aid of the three spirits, Alduin’s physical form was finally destroyed.

Yet its dragon soul returned to the world.

"Finally took down Alduin!"

Song Ren wore a look of deep satisfaction.

Sure, he had slacked off—landing only six or seven hits total—but what did it matter?

This was the Dragonborn: a hero who could save the world even while slacking off.

After defeating Alduin, Song Ren didn’t exit the game.

Because Skyrim still held so much more to explore.

Especially since Chen Xu had integrated all the DLC content from the previous life’s Skyrim into the base game.

In the Dragonborn’s story, players are attacked in a city by a group of mysterious cultists.

By searching the letters on their corpses, the player learns these cultists serve a man named Miraak.

Traveling to the island where the Temple of Miraak stands, the Dragonborn explores the ancient ruins, reads a dark magical book, and is transported to another plane, uncovering Miraak’s true identity.

During the era when dragons ruled mortals, Miraak was a Dragon Priest on the island of Solstheim and the first-ever Dragonborn.

The Black Book itself was an artifact of Hermaeus Mora, Daedric Prince of knowledge and fate.

Using it, Miraak mastered the power to bend others’ wills with dragon shouts and betrayed the dragons, fleeing to Solstheim.

There, he fought an epic battle against Vahlok, who had come to capture him.

Though ultimately defeated, with the temple reduced to rubble, Miraak escaped into Mora’s realm, waiting for the right moment to return.

But just as his return to the real world neared completion, he was slain by the Last Dragonborn and Hermaeus Mora alike.

Completing this series of quests grants the player a new dragon shout, "Bend Will," and three Word of Power runes.

With "Bend Will," the Dragonborn can force dragons to become their mounts, soaring freely across the skies of Skyrim.

Additionally, unique shouts like "Dragon Aspect" can only be obtained through these quests.

……

The other major storyline, involving the Dawnguard, is equally rich.

However, in this questline, the protagonist isn’t the Dragonborn—but a Vampire.

After the Hall of the Vigilant in Falkreath is destroyed by a vampire attack, the Dragonborn learns of the Dawnguard, a vampire-hunting guild.

To stop the vampires from threatening Skyrim’s people, the Dragonborn joins the Dawnguard.

Deep within the Forgotten Caverns, the Dragonborn discovers a female vampire named Serana, sealed within a sarcophagus for a thousand years.

This vampire also possesses an Elder Scroll.

Serana belongs to an ancient and powerful vampire bloodline in Skyrim.

Her father, Harkon—the leader of this vampire clan—offers the Dragonborn the power of the Vampire Lord and an invitation to join their ranks as thanks for returning his daughter.

Here, the player can choose to transform into a vampire.

Later, the Dragonborn and Serana learn of Harkon’s plan to blot out the sun. If successful, eternal darkness would fall over the world.

Other races would never forgive the vampires for such an act. To stop Harkon, the Dragonborn and Serana read three Elder Scrolls.

They then retrieve Auriel’s Bow from Vingalmo, a Snow Elf archmage who has become a vampire, and ultimately foil Harkon’s scheme.

The most exciting reward in this questline isn’t a legendary artifact, a new dragon shout, or becoming a vampire.

It’s gaining a new follower—Serana, the vampire noblewoman. She was the real driving force.

As the most beautiful female character in all of Skyrim, Serana’s appeal was undeniable.

To be fair, her looks might only score an 80 out of 100, but beauty is relative.

Compared to the deformed, unattractive characters scattered across Skyrim, she was unmatched—truly, not a single one could stand against her.

Besides these two DLC storylines,

there were numerous rich side quests.

The four major guild quests: Companions, Dark Brotherhood, College of Winterhold, and Thieves Guild.

The romantic Bard’s Legacy questline.

Choosing between the Empire or the Stormcloaks in Skyrim’s civil war.

Giants, Blades, Dragon Priests… and home base progression.

Despite being a single-player game, The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim was truly just beginning if you only completed the main quest.

This was precisely why, even now, Chen Xu and his team had not released MOD-related tools.

The base game’s content alone was enough to keep players immersed for an incredibly long time.

(End of Chapter) <>