Chapter 832: You Really Are a Genius!

Song Ren was utterly frustrated at that moment.

Defeating a BOSS in a Souls-like game should be an incredibly joyous occasion. But now, he felt none of that. Because this soldier was simply too weak!

“This must be Mr. Chen's wicked sense of humor again.” After a moment of bewilderment, Song Ren thought about it and relaxed.

After all, such situations weren't uncommon. For example, in Sekiro: Shadows Die Twice, didn't players encounter the very weak Mist Noble BOSS in the mid-game? And since that BOSS also served as a new player tutorial BOSS, it was understandable for it to be weak.

Moreover, although Elden Ring was a Souls-like game, it also had the tag of open-world elements, so Mr. Chen clearly hadn't gone all out on the difficulty.

“Judging by this, the early BOSSes in Elden Ring should be relatively simple. Even the earlier Noble Scion, when I think about it, wasn't particularly special; it was just hard because I didn't have Estus Flasks.” Song Ren continued his exploration forward, returning to the starting point. A slight smile appeared on his face after acquiring a gesture.

As a veteran Souls-like player who had journeyed from Dark Souls to Sekiro, he couldn't claim to be a master, but he certainly had some experience. Upon reaching the second Site of Grace in the game, Song Ren remembered that he had chosen the Golden Seed as his starting item, which allowed him to increase his Estus Flasks, and he also converted his Cerulean Flask into an additional Estus Flask.

After all, he chose the Knight class; there wasn't much need for mana. Although there was the Weapon Art system, Song Ren completely disregarded it.

After all, in Souls-like games, who among normal players would bother with those flashy Weapon Arts? In the early Dark Souls, most people just relied on basic attacks, and even in Sekiro, with its more distinct skill features, the Mortal Blade was the most commonly used. Other skills were mostly for showing off and were impractical in BOSS fights.

As he walked, Song Ren also left messages he deemed useful: 'Precious scenery ahead,' 'Long live Elden Ring,' 'Lift ahead.' These would later receive likes from other players, aiding him in map progression.

Taking the elevator to a tightly shut door, Song Ren pushed it open and finally saw the outside world: Limgrave.

Walking forward to the first outdoor Site of Grace, after conversing with a sarcastic White Mask, Song Ren quickly understood his current situation.

In the game, he played the role of a Tarnished, roughly equivalent to a Hunter in Bloodborne or an Undead in Dark Souls. And every Tarnished should have a Maiden to guide their strength, similar to a Fire Keeper.

But his Tarnished had no Maiden, so he couldn't level up for now.

“So, next, I need to follow the light of this Site of Grace to Stormveil Castle to find my Fire Keeper?”

“And this White Mask guy, he doesn't seem like a good person.”

Song Ren pondered, recalling the recent conversation. Although the other party said he had no Maiden, Song Ren didn't believe it at all, because after being killed by the Noble Scion at the beginning, there was also a mysterious woman with an obscured face beside him in the cave.

And as a Souls-like game, how could it not have a Fire Keeper?

After a simple conversation, and once the White Mask began repeating the same phrase, Song Ren prepared to head in the direction of Stormveil Castle, following the light of the Site of Grace.

At the same time, compared to previous Souls games, Song Ren found that the changes made in Elden Ring were simply enormous.

Not to mention other points, the most direct one was that there was a map. Not a paper map like in Sekiro, which only showed general place names, but a detailed map.

However, one needed to go to the obelisks on the map and acquire the corresponding map fragments to unlock it. It was much like Link climbing towers to unlock maps in The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild.

“Wait! What is that!?” Just as he finished the conversation and prepared to explore the unknown ahead, Song Ren's eyes suddenly widened.

What did he see on a small path not far away? Puddles of fresh red bloodstains, and below them, some white souls were continuously rolling around in place.

Then, in the next second, Song Ren saw the white souls fly directly into the sky, fall down motionless, and then disappear.

Another pool of blood appeared on the ground that was previously empty.

Meanwhile, on the distant path, a knight, fully clad in armor and holding a golden halberd and shield, was patrolling back and forth.

“So, this is the first BOSS that players truly encounter?”

Even as a veteran Souls-like player who was mentally prepared, Song Ren still fell into silence, looking at the blood-soaked scene. It was simply too oppressive!

“But it might not necessarily be that powerful. After all, every installment attracts many rookie players, and this time Elden Ring is an open world, which draws in even more casual players.”

As an open world, this was clearly not a story BOSS; it was the type of field BOSS that could be bypassed. But he wasn't just any player; he was a veteran Souls-like player who had fought his way through Dark Souls, Bloodborne, and Sekiro. He had his pride.

Setting aside the Noble Scion, a story-kill, and the tutorial BOSS Godrick's Soldier, this golden knight was clearly the first BOSS players would encounter in the game.

Moreover, BOSSes in Souls-like games were never unbeatable; it was only the player's skill that was lacking.

Furthermore, as a BOSS positioned prominently at the main entrance, its health and stats wouldn't be overly exaggerated, nor would it require players to reinforce their weapons to a certain level to deal damage.

In this situation, what reason did he have to avoid it? Facing the golden knight, he bravely initiated an attack.

“Tree Sentinel? That health bar isn't that thick!” Seeing the BOSS health bar appear at the bottom of the screen, Song Ren's wary heart relaxed slightly.

Because his attacks still dealt considerable damage to the BOSS, two slashes took off about one-twentieth of the Tree Sentinel's health.

But in the next second, his thoughts changed. After two slashes, the magnificent steed beneath the Tree Sentinel let out a whinny, then slammed into him. His already meager health bar immediately plummeted by a third.

More critically, after that charge, the Tree Sentinel, as if Lu Bu reborn, swept him away with a horizontal swing of his golden halberd. Luckily, he had chosen the Knight class; his armor and high health saved his life, leaving him with only a sliver of health, which made him quickly chug two bottles of Fruit Pulp Orange Juice.

Then he began his journey of suffering. Despite being massive and riding a steed, its movements were surprisingly agile.

Following the usual Souls-like strategy of targeting its vitals and fighting from below, the Tree Sentinel, however, knew an Iron Mountain Tackle. It would charge him on horseback, followed by a horizontal sweep of its halberd, almost always hitting.

And using his shield for defensive counter-attacks, even with a shield offering 100 physical defense, he wouldn't take damage. But his stamina bar simply couldn't withstand it.

An even more crucial point was that Song Ren discovered the Tree Sentinel could actually use fast-slow attacks.

“No! How can you be so awesome, you guard!?” Seeing the Tree Sentinel's halberd only strike down after his roll, Song Ren erupted in powerless rage.

Yet, this was just the beginning. After reaching phase two, he found that the Tree Sentinel became even less 'human.' Its galloping maneuvers, shield charges, high attack power, and incredibly wide range meant he was killed by splashing dirt even ten paces away.

“Holy cow! What the heck am I fighting!?” Song Ren had battled for nearly an hour, and despair washed over him.

He never expected that, as a veteran Souls-like player, this first BOSS would directly provide him with that authentic 'suffering' experience.

“No, I need to find some comfort from Old Zhang.” After dying miserably once again under the Tree Sentinel's fast-slow halberd, Song Ren decided to seek some solace for his mind.

As for Old Zhang having passed it? Impossible! Didn't he know Old Zhang? If he hadn't, then they were in the same boat. If he had 'cheesed' it by running away, then Song Ren would have an excuse too.

“Old Zhang, have you beaten the Tree Sentinel yet? This gatekeeper BOSS is just too strong!” Song Ren voice-messaged Old Zhang, filled with emotion.

“Tree Sentinel? I'm already at Stormveil Castle. I even slaughtered that dragon in Dragon-Burnt Ruins.” Zhang Yi's voice came through the voice channel, but he didn't sound particularly happy.

“What the heck!? You cheated!?” Hearing Zhang Yi's words, Song Ren was utterly shocked. He even completely forgot about being spoiled that there was a dragon in Dragon-Burnt Ruins.

This isn't logical!

“I didn't 'cheat' per se, it's mainly the message mechanism in the game. All my messages have reached 9999 likes publicly, and people are still liking them frantically. My health just never stops regenerating, it's like I have infinite health; I can't die unless I get one-shot. It's no fun at all, but if I start a new save, I'd be reluctant to give up these sky-high liked messages, so I'm playing in offline mode now,” Zhang Yi said, a little depressed.

“There's such a thing!? Did you make a shady deal with Nebula Games!? How come my messages never get liked!?” Song Ren was stunned by Zhang Yi's words.

He instinctively opened his message system, looking at the one with a paltry maximum of 10 likes, utterly frustrated.

Especially listening to Zhang Yi's depressed tone, he felt even more stifled.

Although if their positions were swapped, Song Ren guessed he would probably also turn off the online features. After all, he wanted the messages to give him a bit of ease with healing, but if, as Zhang Yi said, there was no challenge left, it wouldn't be fun either.

But the key point was, all his likes combined didn't even exceed 30!

“The messages you leave must be problematic. I'll tell you how to get high likes. Switch out, and I'll send you a screenshot.” Zhang Yi's voice came from the other end of the call.

In less than a moment, Song Ren saw several images sent by Zhang Yi in the text chat window.

At the initial spawn point, near the corpse holding a finger, Zhang Yi's character was kneeling before the corpse, and the message he left was: ‘It's an old woman... but if there's a hole...’

Behind the spirit in the wheelchair, in a bowing posture: ‘Gestures, gestures... still full of stamina, oh...’

By the stone next to the White Mask, kneeling with his back to the White Mask and head bowed, accompanied by the message: ‘Therefore... buttocks are very useful.’

Looking at the string of messages, Song Ren couldn't help but fall silent.

Compared to his previous life, Chen Xu had made quite a few changes to the Souls-like message system. For example, negative reviews wouldn't grant players healing, and messages with a certain number of negative reviews would be deleted.

So, messages like 'Hidden path ahead' on any wall, or 'Light jump required' in fatal spots, usually wouldn't last long. Thus, not many players deliberately used such memes to trick newcomers.

But now, looking at Zhang Yi's messages, Song Ren could only say one thing: You're a damn genius!

(End of Chapter) <>