So Torture Has Another Name?
Du Shu considers himself to be a person with extremely strong emotional control, and he can basically face anything calmly.
Even when he suddenly heard his father say that he was adopted, he was able to face it calmly and even took the initiative to ask about his biological parents.
Moreover, he already knew a bit about Lu Xiu's story and was mentally prepared.
But at this moment.
However, due to the malice of the dungeon, his blood boiled and he almost got high blood pressure!
No way! Isn't this a bit too outrageous?!
How far is it?!
How far have they even gone?!
First, a stunner appeared in a dark corner! Then, a rat bit my butt! Finally, I saw the light again! And then, damn it, another stunner appeared!
How could the malice be so great!
How could you Constructed Instance like that!
"Ah----"
Du Shu had dealt with the monster and was still thinking about it.
He instinctively went to the white door not far away, and another monster appeared behind him and stabbed him again.
His health bar, which he had just fully replenished, has dwindled again.
He turned his head sharply and discovered that there was another room behind the white door—the monster was inside that room.
You f***
Again!
Come again!!
That's the trick the mouse used just now!!!
After Du Shu defeated the monster, he saw that half of his health bar had been depleted, and he felt a surge of blood rushing to his head.
For a split second, he almost broke down and started cursing.
But in the end, he held back.
"Calm down, calm down."
Du Shu took a deep breath, constantly telling himself that Lu Xiu was, after all, the only Architect in Nine Provinces who could build an SSS-rated dungeon, and she couldn't possibly be torturing players just for the sake of torturing them.
This unconventional design must have deeper tactical considerations and underlying mechanisms!
Du Shu took a final, deep breath, forcing himself to calm down as he cautiously passed through the white door in front of him.
Just then...
Hold head high!
A colossal dragon, its size so immense it blotted out the sky, suddenly roared past over the city wall.
The swirling wind whipped up dust, and the grand, Epic scene instantly captivated Du Shu.
He was deeply shocked by the sudden and spectacular performance and couldn't help but look up.
"Wow----"
However.
As the giant dragon flew by, Du Shu turned his gaze away in amazement.
He then discovered that the zombie, who had been standing there in a daze, had suddenly charged at his face with a weapon raised.
At the same time, two whooshing sounds.
On a distant tower, several arrows pierced his chest.
Du Shu:
[YOUDIED]
Du Shu was so angry he laughed.
"Fuck you, dragon!"
I entered the instance again and returned to the original location.
Du Shu cursed angrily. This time, he focused intently on the front and refused to look up at the sky even once.
Because he was prepared, he was able to eliminate the zombies and archers without any major incident this time.
Continue moving forward.
We reached a high point with a wide view.
A pile of ashes with Coiled Sword stuck in it came into view.
A new Bonfire!
Instantly, Du Shu's tense nerves relaxed, and a sense of relief, as if he had finally found a safe haven, welled up within him.
But he didn't know that this brief reassurance was the beginning of his real nightmare.
Du Shu sat by the Bonfire, and the soul he had forged with his own blood and sweat leveled up.
"I've leveled up again, it shouldn't be that hard anymore, right?"
This time he added [Vitality], and seeing his health bar increase slightly, Du Shu felt a little more confident.
The subsequent progress went quite smoothly.
At least things went smoothly at first.
Until he saw the three shield-wielding guys from Undead Burg.
Those three shield-wielding guys were like three iron towers, completely blocking his rolling direction and teaching him a lesson once again.
[YOUDIED]
As it turns out...
In Dark Souls, having a slightly longer health bar is completely useless.
If you're surrounded, you'll still get stabbed to death if you're meant to be.
Enter the instance again and stand by the Bonfire.
Du Shu's breathing had become noticeably rapid.
and.
He also discovered an outrageous underlying mechanism in despair.
When he is forced to return to the Bonfire to rest and replenish his Estus Flask because he has lost too much health to the enemies along the way, all the monsters he has painstakingly killed on this path will instantly revive!
This means that there is absolutely no easy way to play this dungeon – just slowly clear the map and grind monsters!
That's fucking outrageous!
Looking at the undead wandering aimlessly outside the Bonfire, Du Shu stood still and took a deep breath for a while before raising his shield and advancing.
He began to become increasingly cautious, even bordering on neurotic.
When they encountered those three shield-wielding guys, they proceeded with extreme caution, using very sneaky positioning to lure their aggro one by one before taking them down one by one.
Watching the three formidable shield-wielding men fall.
I am still unharmed.
A sense of accomplishment welled up within Du Shu.
To be honest...
Although this instance is gruesome, the positive feedback after overcoming the difficulties is indeed strong.
However, this extremely precious sense of accomplishment did not last more than two minutes.
Soon, Du Shu turned a narrow bend and suddenly saw a treasure chest. He instinctively walked towards the chest, but it was high up and out of reach.
Looking at the treasure chest.
As Du Shu stood below, racking his brains to see if there were any hidden mechanisms, he caught a glimpse of a very well-hidden stone staircase leading down to the side of the treasure chest.
"Could it be that they went up from below?"
He instinctively followed the path down.
I just turned the corner.
He then saw a tall knight in heavy black armor standing not far away.
The moment I saw the Black Knight.
Du Shu's scalp tingled, and without any hesitation, he turned and ran!
But it was too late.
The Black Knight had already spotted him and charged forward with his shield raised.
The giant sword slashed down with terrifying wind pressure.
[YOUDIED]
Du Shu:
I'm not going! I'm not going!
I only take the right path! I won't take any side roads!
Eat shit!
Du Shu grew increasingly agitated. He re-entered the instance, progressed to the original location, and then, without going anywhere else, directly stepped onto the upward staircase.
Go up, turn the corner.
We've only gone halfway.
Du Shu looked up and saw a living corpse standing on the high platform above.
The zombie saw him too.
But instead of charging down like the other monsters, it pulled out a torch and lit the wooden barrel in front of it, which was almost half a person tall.
Then, he kicked it down.
Rumble!
The burning gunpowder barrel tumbled Extreme Speed down the narrow steps.
Du Shu didn't even have room to roll over.
Finally, the burning barrel of fire smashed directly onto his head.
He screamed and fell to the ground.
At that moment, the zombie above leisurely charged down, knife in hand.
[YOU DIED]
Du Shu:
I don't want to finish the game!!!
Du Shu was kicked out of the instance, and seeing YOUDIED again really made him lose his temper. His mentality was about to collapse!
He clearly came out of the Northern Undead Asylum.
And they're all YOUDIED!
His last glimmer of hope was shattered—clearly, it wasn't just the Northern Undead Asylum! The entire instance was in this terrible state!
He reached out and clutched his head tightly.
pain.
It's very painful.
What the hell is this?!
We haven't even seen the BOSS or any elites!
Little monster!!!!
Why is everything so difficult?!
"Try again! Try again! I don't believe it! I can't see the BOSS!"
Du Shu was unwilling, extremely unwilling!
He cleared his head, straightened his back, mentally prepared himself, took a deep breath, and entered the instance again.
soon.
He dealt with the monsters blocking his way, took down the shield-wielding guy, dodged the rolling fire spears, and then took down the monster at the very top.
finally.
Du Shu arrived in a completely new place.
The spiral staircase winds its way upwards and looks quite safe.
But Du Shu was already terrified; he had died so many times, he couldn't take it anymore.
So even though there seemed to be no danger, he was cautious, looking back every few steps.
However, to his surprise...
He encountered no problems going upstairs.
At the end of the stairs was a white door.
Is this what they call showing mercy to the players?
The moment I saw the white door.
Du Shu even felt that Lu Xiu was pitying the players.
He arrived at the white gate and walked straight through it.
Behind the gate was a long stretch of city wall, which appeared to be empty.
But after Du Shu ran forward a short distance, arrows suddenly flew from behind him.
There was a monster on the tower behind him just now.
Oh shit!!
Du Shu was shot by an arrow. He glanced at the exit not far away, then turned his head and stared at the monster with bloodshot eyes. He quickened his pace and drank from the Estus Flask, intending to ignore everything and run straight there.
As the distance increases.
Finally, the arrows behind him could no longer reach him.
The exit leading to the next area was also within sight—
Du Shu's tense nerves finally relaxed a little, and he felt that he was finally going to get through this difficult period.
However.
Bang-
A deafening roar shook the earth.
A colossal object suddenly descended from the sky and landed right in the center of the city wall!
The immense impact caused the entire thick stone city wall to tremble violently.
Next.
Ta-da!
An exciting melody accompanied by a background music track with subtle singing begins.
A terrifying minotaur, even larger than the demons of the Asylum Demon, covered in stiff, long hair, stood prominently in the center of the narrow city wall, wielding a huge wheel axe.
[Taurus Demon]
This city wall is so narrow that it's difficult for even three people to walk side by side.
The boss battle has begun!
"?????"
Du Shu looked at the Demon that suddenly appeared in the middle of the road, almost blocking the entire way, exuding an overwhelming sense of oppression.
----The boss, I did see him.
However, we encountered this situation when monsters were shooting arrows from behind, leaving us with no room to maneuver in front.
Du Shu burst out laughing.
The enormous creature snatched the huge axe from its hand and swung it down on his head.
Next.
A sweeping victory!
Then----
[YOU DIED]
I was kicked out of the instance again.
Du Shu stood in his bedroom.
He tilted his head back, let out a long sigh, and the light shone on his face, outlining his distorted features.
After a full minute of silence.
"I!!!!"
A heart-wrenching curse, as if venting all pent-up frustration, rang out.
What deeper considerations are involved?
Lu Xiu is disgusting!
Exactly! Disgusting!
Lu Xiu!!
Lu Xiu!!!
at the same time.
While ordinary players are still helplessly raging in the Undead Asylum.
While the core players were still on the city wall, they were being repeatedly rubbed into the ground by the Taurus Demon.
Those Chosen Player, representing the pinnacle of combat power in Prison Rock and Nine Provinces, are progressing even faster. With their meticulous skills, exceptional willpower, and talent, they have already broken through the Undead Parish and rang the first Bells of Awakening.
At this moment, filled with the hope that ringing the second bell would bring them a glimmer of victory, they followed the map of the underworld downwards.
Finally, we arrived deep within the map.
Blighttown.
As a top player in Prison Rock, Gallagher has tackled countless high-difficulty dungeons throughout his life.
What hell hadn't he seen, mountains of knives and seas of fire, Abyss hell and purgatory?
But less than two thousand minutes after entering this area known as the Blighttown...
This renowned player from Prison Rock felt an urge to immediately exit the dungeon.
If we were to choose the most captivating map in Dark Souls, Blighttown, with its sweet, inviting atmosphere, would undoubtedly be the top contender.
This place features a complex, three-dimensional wooden structure where one step could lead to three fatal falls. A single misstep could send you plummeting into an Abyss, making it both thrilling and dangerous.
The local people here are extremely warm and hospitable. Those blowgun wielders hiding in the shadows will greet players with the warmest greetings anytime, anywhere.
There's also a clingy local ecosystem here; mosquitoes in the air will undress you, and if you get tired, you can go to the soft ground and feel Mother Earth's kiss. There are even hospitable little Witch who come to greet you before you even have time to put on your clothes.
In short, everything can be summed up in one sentence: Blighttown welcomes you.
And at this very moment.
Gallagher received a warm welcome from the Blighttown. He was standing on a rickety wooden plank, looking at his almost empty health bar and the [Violent] status on his body, trembling all over.
I'm so angry!
Ahead of him were three monsters charging towards him, and above him were mosquitoes circling, searching for him.
It was pitch black all around.
Beneath his feet lay a bottomless Abyss, where falling in would surely mean certain death.
"What am I even doing?!"
The top player from Prison Rock, looking at the scene before him that resembled hell on earth, completely lost his luster.
He did not resist, nor did he drink from the empty Estus Flask.
Instead, he slowly lowered his weapon, raised his head, and shouted, "Nine Provinces! Are you all insane! Are your Architect insane?! Is this a map even humanly designed?!?"
On this day.
Whether it's Nine Provinces or Prison Rock.
Whether you're a beginner or a top-tier player.
Everyone in [Dark Souls] is suffering terribly.
----I'm going crazy.
Nine Provinces, Coordination Bureau.
Yan Fushou sat behind his desk, looking at the initial battle reports of the dungeon submitted by the Strategy Group members, and fell into a long silence.
Next.
He pointed at the strategy guide on the table, and asked with surprise and doubt, "Are you guys writing a strategy guide or a torture illustration manual?"
--
The Strategy Group members looked at each other.
Then.
"So there's another name for torture?"
Yan Fushou: "----"