Chapter 831: Did I Play the Game Wrong?

Song Ren explored the small room but found nothing he could pick up.

Since he was among the first to enter the game, there were no in-game messages or similar things on the ground yet.

However, he did see many white shadows in the surroundings.

These were clearly other players who appeared in the same scene as him, generated randomly.

This was a major feature of the game; of course, this option could also be disabled in the system settings, but Song Ren chose not to.

Because there were significant benefits to it. The simplest and most direct advantage was that sometimes, when lost, he could follow other white shadows. Who knew, maybe they would find the way?

With a sigh of emotion, Song Ren pushed open the tightly shut door. Outside was a landscape of ruined desolation.

‘Lord's Chapel’

The current location description appeared before Song Ren’s eyes.

He continued to explore the surroundings. There was another tightly shut door that he currently had no way to open.

He guessed that he might acquire some items later and then return to this place to open that door.

After all, this was a common trope in most games: doors or areas that couldn’t be opened early on would require specific items to access later.

And Souls-like games generally had similar settings.

“This capital city is truly magnificent! It’s just a bit too foggy.” Song Ren looked at the majestic capital city faintly visible in the distance through the heavy fog, and the towering Erdtree, and couldn't help but exclaim.

The overall game controls felt largely similar to Dark Souls and Bloodborne, except that the character in this game now had the ability to jump on the spot and jump attack, which brought tears to his eyes: We Undead finally have knees!

He followed the stairs down. However, at the edge of the cliff, facing the Erdtree, Song Ren habitually left an in-game message: [Amazing view ahead]

Song Ren himself wasn't particularly interested in interacting with strangers.

Even when he played Dark Souls and Bloodborne before, aside from occasionally pushing through maps and fighting BOSSes with Zhang Yi, or engaging in PVP duels and item exchanges, he never invaded other players.

But leaving in-game messages was different, as it could bring some convenience to his early-game progression.

Aside from being visible to subsequent players, the in-game messages had another very important function.

That was, when a player commented on your in-game message, your character in the game would recover half of their health bar.

Imagine, you're being ganged up on by a group of mobs or left on the verge of death by a BOSS, with no Potions left. Then suddenly, a prompt appears in the center of your screen: Your message was liked.

At that moment, your health bar sharply rises, and you become full of vigor again. What kind of feeling is that?

And now, in the early stages of the game, as a pioneer, if he left many messages, wouldn't his health bar keep rising non-stop from all the likes later on?

Wouldn't that greatly reduce the game's difficulty?

Song Ren explored happily, making his way forward, and soon arrived in front of a goddess statue.

Then, a gigantic, spider-like monster descended from the sky and appeared before him.

[‘Grafted Noble Scion’]

The BOSS’s name appeared on the screen.

Clearly, this was a BOSS battle, but Song Ren wasn't flustered at all.

He didn't even bother to resist, letting the BOSS kill him directly.

“Indeed! I knew it! A definite story kill! There’s no way I could have beaten that.”

Looking at the cutscene-filled screen, Song Ren’s face showed an “I knew it” expression.

He had already guessed it when the spider BOSS appeared earlier.

After all, at that time, he didn't even have a Potion.

Moreover, a series of combat systems like Attack, Defense, Perfect Guard, and so on, had not yet been explained to the player.

Although for a veteran player who had played Souls-like games like him, it was already second nature.

But it's important to remember that a game is not only for veteran players but also for countless new players.

In such a situation, how could players be forced to fight a BOSS head-on?

Considering the werewolves, Genichiro, and the big-butt demon from Bloodborne, Sekiro, and the Dark Souls prequel.

There could only be two possibilities: either bypass the BOSS, or it was a story kill.

And when he first entered the courtyard, he noticed that all the accessible doors were blocked by yellow fog gates, so the answer was obvious.

Looking at his character, who had just obtained a Potion, Song Ren wore a triumphant expression.

This was his experience, the wisdom of a veteran Firelinker.

“So next, there are two paths: leave directly or jump down to learn the new player tutorial?” Song Ren scanned the surrounding environment and quickly found two paths.

According to an NPC who looked like a spirit sitting on a chair, jumping down into the cave should lead to the new player tutorial, while taking the stairs above would lead directly out.

After some thought, Song Ren decided to check out the new player tutorial first.

After all, Elden Ring wasn't Bloodborne, Sekiro, or Dark Souls; it was a brand-new game, and with the addition of a jump mechanic, there might be some aspects he didn't know about.

Grace, Light Attack, Heavy Attack, Jump, Lock-on, and weapon art — these points were not much different from Dark Souls' combat system, except for the added jump attack.

Soon, Song Ren arrived at the center of a wide pool of water.

The path behind him was blocked by a yellow fog gate, and in front, a heavily armored soldier appeared.

At the same time, a prompt appeared in the middle of the screen: Counterattack.

It wasn't the so-called Perfect Guard, but rather, after the enemy attacked him while he was blocking with his shield, he could press Heavy Attack to perform a counterattack.

“So this is a playstyle for shields with 100% physical defense?”

Song Ren pondered the counterattack mechanic.

After all, in Dark Souls, the importance of shields was undeniable; how many Undead completed the game by cowardly relying on a greatshield?

So, was the counterattack very important in the new game?

Was this soldier Gundyr the Ash?

A BOSS specifically designed to teach players how to counterattack?

Looking at the BOSS named [Godrick's Soldier], Song Ren’s expression grew serious.

This reminded him of Gundyr the Ash when he first started Dark Souls.

Back then, as the players' Perfect Guard teacher, that BOSS had put him through countless hardships.

Now, was this Godrick's Soldier a similarly powerful entity?

Seriously, he raised his shield to block, then counterattacked.

With one strike to the BOSS's body, its health bar, as if an artery had been severed, dropped by half.

That wasn’t all. A muffled ‘clang’ sound echoed in his ears, and the BOSS in front of him swayed unsteadily, losing its balance and kneeling on the ground.

Instinctively, he pressed the Attack button, and his character in the game plunged his sword through the BOSS's chest, instantly emptying its long health bar.

Then, he kicked the BOSS's corpse away, which then dissipated into ash, floating into the air as golden Runes flowed into his body.

Song Ren stood still for a long time, unable to utter a word, still somewhat bewildered.

That’s it?

Am I the BOSS, or is this guy the BOSS?

Did I play the game wrong?

(End of Chapter) <>