Doubted His Very Existence

Looking at the runes he had picked up, Song Ren was just about to battle the Sword and Shield Knight in the Black Cage for three hundred rounds when he noticed the number of runes in his view and froze.

Including the runes he had earned on the way up from the Site of Grace, he only had a little over 9,000 after recovering the runes he had dropped earlier.

Compared to when he had died before, he was short by more than 3,000!

He had died several times before, especially when he had been teleported by the trap in a chest beneath the Dragon-burnt Ruins to that mine.

But his previous deaths had basically been identical to the death penalties in Dark Souls and Bloodborne. After dying, the runes would be dropped where he died or somewhere nearby, and as long as he did not die again along the way, he could retrieve them.

But what the hell was this!?

Why had he recovered nearly 30% fewer runes?

In Sekiro, losing a percentage of your money upon death could at least be explained as protection money paid to the Sculptor's Idol.

But what the hell was this?

Not only had his money been left where it fell, they had even charged him a transaction fee?

Was that even fair!

While Song Ren was suspicious and unsettled over a few thousand runes, the hype and discussion surrounding "Elden Ring" had already exploded online.

Soulslike games and the Open World—these two elements combined had attracted countless curious players.

And after entering "Elden Ring," many top-tier Dark Souls veterans were likewise being beaten half to death. It could be said that misery was everywhere.

On livestreaming and video platforms, you could click into practically any stream or video and enjoy the