Chapter 182: My Current Situation Is a Bit Uncomfortable!
Near the cemetery, Tom discovered a path that led directly down, which excited him.
"Of course, this must be the right path! But it doesn't look like the Undead Parish I mentioned before, but rather underground ruins," Tom muttered as he watched the path that extended downwards.
But for now, he didn't care much and simply kept running.
His souls had been consumed by leveling up, and now he was only left with less than three digits. What was he afraid of? He had been freed from a weight and was now a free little bird.
Running down the stairs, Tom saw a dark opening and decided to dive in. At the same time, the name of the new scene appeared at the top of the screen: Underground Cemetery.
"Great! It's true! If we go through this underground cemetery, we should be able to get to the underground ruins!".
Seeing the name of the new scene, Tom was very excited. After all, the underground ruins and the underground cemetery share two characteristics! And since both are underground, there must be some connection.
As for the sick village that Brother Dixin mentioned before, he unconsciously ignored it.
"What a powerful attack! It's true that the new game not only boasts of map and level design, but also of small improvements in stats."
On the stairs that led to the catacombs, Tom ran into two skeletons armed with knives. A careless blow shattered his health, instantly reducing it by half. After all, due to his weight, he wasn't even wearing knight armor. He rolled several times, looking at his health bar, to distance himself. Then, Tom took a drink of his talisman to replenish the lost health.
"A normal and battle-hardened novice player would have defended himself slowly, but unfortunately, as an experienced Firelink Bearer, I know the world of Dark Souls too well!". Seeing the two skeletons that were following him, Tom chuckled, as if he were returning to his astute search for traps in the Undead Asylum. At that moment, he was not fighting alone! The historical wise men and warriors of yesteryear seemed to be behind him.
As he descended, the visibility on the map became increasingly scarce. Luckily, the background music was not too unsettling and the walls were lit with torches; otherwise, it would have instantly become a horror game.
In addition, three formidable-looking skeletons were found on the way. Luckily, he ran fast.
With skillful maneuvers to dodge the skeleton soldiers, Tom reached the stairs and collapsed, but he didn't give it much importance and continued moving forward.
Some skeleton soldiers with long swords crossed the path, but Tom, following the strategic principle of avoiding confrontation if possible, decided to go around them. Then, with his eagle eye, he spotted a small hole in the wall to his left.
He rolled forward, only to find a zombie holding a lantern and rubbing a large fireball in his hand. Next to it was an unlit bonfire. There was also a visible switch next to the zombie holding the lantern.
Upon seeing the fireball being thrown at him, Tom quickly moved away, ran to the bonfire, and lit it.
Once lit, Tom, finally free of worries, grabbed his hammer and charged at the lantern wizard, hammering furiously.
His movements were rigid and, except for the appearance of having too much blood, he did not pose a great threat.
"Of course, this game is full of deep malice! There was the big iron ball in the Undead Asylum, and now there is this lantern zombie!".
"A bonfire, and a lantern zombie wielding a fireball with an increase! A normal player would be surprised and get a fireball in the face, looking at the bonfire so closely. How hopeless would that be!".
What a blow to the mindset of new players! Only I have played the original Dark Souls, and I have even played it several times. Otherwise, most players would have died from this fireball and their minds would have collapsed, right?.
Tom looked at the lit bonfire, feeling a deep warmth, and he couldn't help but sigh with emotion.
It was a shame to play alone, without anyone to see him or cheer him on.
With this in mind, Tom took out his phone, looked for his friends list, and sent a message: "Mike, how are you progressing? The difficulty of the game has increased significantly!".
On the other hand, Mike, who had just arrived at the Undead Parish, on the outskirts of the city, was being surrounded by a group of ghost soldiers and sent back to the bonfire, also saw Tom's message. Upon seeing the message "You're dead!" on the screen, Mike nodded and sent a message: "Yes! The damage from the monsters is much greater than in the previous game! It's easy to attract many, and their aggressiveness is much greater."
Tom continued playing while responding: "Really? And it's particularly insidious. In the first bonfire, there is a lantern zombie that throws fireballs at you."
"Lantern Zombie? The first bonfire in the Undead Parish, on the outskirts of the city, isn't it a group of undead soldiers and an archer guarding an attic?". Mike was stunned.
Meanwhile, in the cemetery.
"Swish, swish, swish...".
Tom, who had been cut three times by two skeletons with swords and sent back with the Lantern Zombie, was stunned by Mike's message.
'Undead Parish on the outskirts of the city!? Not the catacombs!'.
Tom seemed to have thought of something sinister, and he didn't even realize it when the Lantern Wizard threw two huge fireballs at him, making him repeat "You're dead!".
Meanwhile, Mike's messages continued: "Tom, you didn't go to the wrong map, did you? I also went to the wrong map at first and ended up in a place called the Little Londo Ruins."
"That place is terrible! The zombies unable to resist at the entrance are like the Walls of Lothric from the previous game. And then, further inside, ghosts appear; their attacks are incredibly powerful. The most important thing is that I can't even hit them. They're like ghosts!".
"I guess in this game they have put all the high-level maps, accessible only in the advanced stages, next to the Firelink Shrine."
"Tom, are you okay?".
...Mike asked, waiting for Tom's response.
He looked at Mike's response on his phone and then at the Lantern Wizard, who was still tirelessly attacking him with huge fireballs.
Tom answered with a trembling hand: "Not very well. I feel a bit uncomfortable right now!".
'A bit uncomfortable?'.
It was more than uncomfortable!.
Tom discovered an even more crucial problem.
He had rolled down the catacombs stairs. As we all know, the undead have no knees, so there is no way to go back the same way.
More importantly, he lit the bonfire in front of him. And unlike the previous game, the bonfire in this game does not have a teleportation function. This means that, after his death, he will continue to resurrect in front of it. If he wants to return to the Firelink Shrine, he will have to find another way!.
Upon observing the lantern zombies that continue to throw huge fireballs at him tirelessly, Tom's mindset has changed a little.
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