Immersion

At the same time, the Nine Provinces Forum...

Resentment filled the air.

It's all a tearful accusation against the underworld instances.

But as time went on, more and more players like Lin Yi and Jiang Qiu emerged, struggling out of the mire of despair and inadvertently touching upon a corner of the true nature of the dungeon.

Gradually, new posts unrelated to the accusations began to appear.

Initially, it was just a few posts that were amazing about map shortcuts.

But soon, players discovered that the shortcut was merely a tiny, insignificant detail that Lu Xiu had planted in this dungeon.

[This is outrageous! The variety of weapons in this dungeon is ridiculous! Straight swords, greatswords, spears, halberds—each weapon has its own independent hit detection and recovery time. Lu Xiu's previous dungeons were already ridiculous enough, but I never expected this one to be even more outrageous. It really feels like playing another game in a gamified world—how did they even come up with this?]

[I still think the map is more absurd. Look closely at the scenery in the distance; it's not a blurred background at all! Wherever you can see, those walls, towers, and sewers are all real places you can walk on—what you see is what you reach!]

[This dungeon, despite having so many basic attributes, is completely balanced, and there's even that stamina bar management! Although it's painful, it's also astonishing. It's truly genius, and to maintain such balance, along with all sorts of dazzling attribute modifiers—how did Lu Xiu come up with this underlying logic? Unbelievable!]

[This dungeon is really difficult—but I don't know if you've noticed, but every time I die and return, my character's feedback gets stronger. It's not that the character's stats get stronger, but rather that our control over our bodies gets stronger!]

[I definitely felt it! This is the first time I've known there's so much to it about rolling. Although there's a speed boost in dungeons, I just tried it in real life, and I really feel a significant improvement in my control and coordination of my body's center of gravity!]

[Does extreme suffering lead to the ultimate refinement of combat skills? This is truly in Lu Xiu's style.]

After the initial amazement and shock, some hardcore discussions began to emerge in the forum.

For example, this one.

[The world inside the dungeon is truly despairing—yet everything is terrifyingly logical; it's just too powerful.]

[For example, why do the wandering spirits we encounter on the road also have Estus Flask? Were they, before this, also like us— Chosen Undead with unwavering resolve?]

[Immortality would normally only have advantages, allowing for endless respawns, but this instance's setting is that the more you die, the less humanity you retain—endless torment and constant death push those initially determined immortals to the brink of collapse and despair, ultimately turning them into mindless zombies.]

In some ways, isn't this similar to us players entering a dungeon?

[The dungeons are incredibly difficult. Saving a world on the verge of destruction is just too hard. Everywhere you look, there are malicious and abhorrent monsters. We keep dying; are we just repeating the experiences of those who were never truly dead? And when we're so tormented that we give up on the dungeon, aren't we essentially becoming one of those monsters, those mindless zombies?]

Anyway, I have to say, Lu Xiu's design of dungeon themes is becoming more and more impressive.

Instead of dry preaching, it naturally weaves the exploration of life and death, and the questioning of perseverance versus giving up, into the most basic resurrection mechanics and background setting. It's incredibly powerful.

I don't know what to say -- I suddenly really want to know the ending of this instance, because this instance is completely different from Lu Xiu's previous instances.

Heavy, oppressive, yet possessing a profound Epic quality.

This post was published.

moment.

Countless players who read the post felt a chill run down their spines.

Because they had all entered the dungeon, and they had all seen those monsters drink Estus Flask to heal.

"Really."

"This explains why the dungeon is so malicious; without such great malice, so many undead wouldn't have gone insane, right?"

"Wow, they even managed to exonerate Lu Xiu from this angle, but you have to admit it makes a lot of sense."

"But the dungeons are really difficult. If it weren't for the huge amount of Survival Points I earned from the arena, I wouldn't dare go back."

"Me too, but I'm definitely going to beat the game. Who wants to admit they're a lost soul who gives up at the first sign of trouble?"

Not to mention racing against Prison Rock!!

"Yeah, guys! Share your strategies!"

"That's right, clearing this dungeon isn't just about the individual."

"Okay, I'll go first. The Gold Pine Resin enchantment will greatly increase damage against Demon."

"Um?

"That indiscriminate fire-breathing Hellkite Drake on the bridge, go to the refuge steps under the bridge, take out your bow and arrows, and shoot its drooping tail! You can sever the Hellkite Drake's tail! Then you'll get a weapon called the [Drake Sword]."

"Um???"

""

soon.

The pressure of the two-way race, coupled with the suffocating difficulty of the dungeon, and the fact that players, after reading the post, were eager to know the outcome of the dungeon—not wanting to be among those who gave up—made them wanting to escape.

The players in Nine Provinces united.

Many people began to share their strategies and hidden mechanics, which they had discovered by risking their lives, without reservation.

And then, one after another, unbelievable pieces of intelligence were released.

All the Nine Provinces players who saw the post were completely dumbfounded.

Players who knew about the increased damage from the resin enchantment were shocked that it could also sever tails; those who knew about severing tails were also shocked that a thief could actually be killed.

Holy crap?!

You can do that?!

Is it even possible to do that?!

Even with the extreme malice of the dungeon, there are still so many details?

Is this a way out for players who are willing to use their brains and observe?

On the other side...

Prison Rock, Forum.

The same situation is also occurring among the players of Prison Rock.

The content of their discussion was largely the same as that of Nine Provinces.

But their mindsets are completely different.

While players of Nine Provinces may find the dungeons challenging, they are still amazed by their ingenuity.

On Prison Rock's side, all that remained was a profound sense of powerlessness and shock.

"What kind of monster is that Architect on the other side?"

"This is so amazing!"

"Although the dungeon is extremely grueling, the Architect on the other side managed to bury so many vast and intricate interactive logics under such pressure—this isn't just building a dungeon! It's practically constructing a world."

"This is outrageous—no wonder the players in Nine Provinces are so strong. With Architect like these creating dungeons for them, how could they not be strong?"

"On the other hand, Lord Helag ----"

The entire forum was filled with sighs.

Meanwhile...

Helag, the chief Architect of Prison Rock, has once again returned from the dungeon after dying.

[YOUDIED]

Previously, Helag would have definitely cursed and accused the opposing Architect of deliberately trying to annoy people.

But at this moment.

Helag sat in the chair, looking at his slightly trembling hands, but his mind was filled with the ingenious design of the dungeon.

Maps, enemies, weapons, etc.

All aspects.

Everything amazed her!

Yes.

Amazing.

Because she simply couldn't do it, and couldn't even understand how that Architect named Lu Xiu from the opposite Nine Provinces managed to do it, or how he came up with the idea.

The 3D maps that send chills down her spine, the underlying logic of the combat, and the world that perfectly fits the theme—the more she experienced the dungeons, the less she could bring herself to curse them.

Because no matter which dimension you analyze it from, she couldn't find any flaws—this is no longer a gap, but a complete and utter crushing defeat.

Helag clearly understood at that moment----

This is a copy that she could never have imagined, much less replicated, even if she spent her entire life racking her brains.

The room was deathly silent.

a long time.

The usually proud and arrogant chief Architect of Prison Rock slumped back in his chair, looked up, and let out a long sigh.

"My skills are inferior to others----"

Helag closed his eyes, his voice weak with despair. "How on earth did they do that?!"

at the same time.

The heart of all storms.

Lu Xiu was standing in front of the refrigerator, holding a freshly unwrapped ice cream. She was casually wearing a loose T-shirt and simple hot pants, which made her long, straight, snow-white legs even more eye-catching. The smooth lines of her legs shone with a warm, porcelain-like luster under the soft indoor light, revealing a faint pinkish-white hue.

After Shen Nian and Jian Li entered the instance, she followed them in immediately.

But as soon as she landed, she awkwardly realized that she had forgotten to change her clothes.

She could only rush back in a panic.

However, after this minor incident, she still progressed through the dungeon very quickly.

At this moment—she sped along at breakneck speed, and her progress had already reached the Anor Londo.

Since this was her second time clearing the dungeon, she wasn't in a hurry to finish it all at once. Instead, she simply sat down by the Bonfire in the Anor Londo and logged out of the dungeon to rest.

Just then...

With a soft Bai Guang flashing by, Jian Li, her long, flowing silver hair swaying slightly in the air, emerged from the instance.

"Jian Li? You're out too?"

Lu Xiu, biting into her ice cream, turned her head, somewhat surprised.

Jian Li didn't speak immediately. Her exquisitely beautiful face, so flawless that it was impossible to find the slightest imperfection, remained expressionless as always.

She slowly walked to the refrigerator and looked at Lu Xiu —the oversized T-shirt looked exceptionally soft on Lu Xiu, and her long, snow-white legs, without any covering, were particularly eye-catching in the soft light of the living room. Her whole person exuded a gentle and quiet feminine beauty.

Casual and relaxed.

Jian Li quietly looked at Lu Xiu, her gaze shifting from the half-eaten ice cream in Lu Xiu's hand to Lu Xiu's beautiful and refined face.

A sudden, intense sense of unreality arose within me.

Lu Xiu felt a little uneasy under her gaze and stopped eating her ice cream. "What's wrong? You didn't fight? Did you die and come out? Are you going to accuse me too?"

Jian Li gently shook her head. "I fought my way to the very bottom of Blighttown —and met the Chaos Witch, Quelaag."

Upon hearing the name, Lu Xiu was taken aback.

Then, seeing Jian Li's hesitant expression, she realized what was going on.

In Dark Souls, the Chaos Witch Quelaag, who dwells at the bottom of Blighttown, has the upper body of a stunningly beautiful woman, but the lower body of a terrifying and grotesque spider.

If you just beat it and forget about it, you'll only think of it as a visually stunning boss.

But Jian Li clearly met Quelaag's sister and learned the plot.

The reason Quelaag stayed in that dark and gloomy place, frantically hunting down passing undead and stealing their humanity, was not because she was inherently bloodthirsty.

All she did was to alleviate the suffering of her sister, who had gone blind and whose body was festering from swallowing all the plague to save the Blighttown.

No wonder it was strange.

Lu Xiu looked at Jian Li.

It seems that Jian Li truly has a deep-seated attachment to the identity of being the older sister, or rather, to the bond between sisters.

I actually felt empathy because of the dungeon's storyline.

What on earth happened?

That's just a copy.

Seeing Jian Li's slightly lowered eyes and hesitant expression, Lu Xiu blinked, then naturally offered the ice cream to Jian Li's lips. "Don't bring this into reality, okay? Want some? Here, have a bite."

Jian Li was slightly taken aback.

She looked up, her gaze passing over the slightly chilled ice cream and landing on Lu Xiu's stunningly beautiful face, which was so close to hers. Because she had just eaten ice cream, her already moist lips were now even more so, glistening with a faint sheen.

The air fell silent for a moment.

Jian Li lowered her head slightly, her silver hair falling gently from her shoulder, covering half of her cheek, but unable to hide the earlobe that was exposed on that side.

A blush had already crept onto her fair earlobes.