The Nun
At the same time.
Within the Construction Space.
A massive dome enveloped the entire church, with dim light filtering through the stained glass windows on either side, casting dappled shadows on the shattered pews and cold stone slabs scattered across the floor.
Snow seeped in through the gaps in the doors and windows, spreading a thin layer of white frost on the ground.
This is a church.
At the far end of the church stood a tall, slender figure.
She was a Sister Friede wearing a long gray-black robe with a hood that concealed most of her face in shadow, revealing only her snow-white chin.
The moment I saw Lu Xiu.
The Sister Friede slowly raised the enormous scythe beside her, which was almost as tall as her, gently ran her hand over the sharp blade, and then, barefoot, stepped onto the cold floor tiles and began to move forward slowly.
Beyond the Sister Friede's slender figure, behind him, sat Father as massive as a hill, resembling a deformed crow-man.
He was bound to a huge chair, his withered hands cradling a golden Lordvessel resembling a brazier.
Within the golden Lordvessel, blazing flames are rising.
The Father bowed his head, whimpering incessantly, as if he were suppressing something.
"----It's so cold here."
Lu Xiu looked at the familiar scene before her, then turned her gaze from the Father to Sister Friede nun's bare feet on the floor, and made a teasing remark.
But the Sister Friede clearly ignored her.
The white mist suddenly exploded inside the church.
Sister Friede moved.
She swung her scythe sharply, then glided forward with a light step, leaping high into the air, the massive scythe slashing down fiercely towards Lu Xiu's location!
Boom!
The sharp sickle slammed heavily onto the floor tiles.
The moment she landed, the biting cold exploded, and a huge fan-shaped ice explosion spread wildly outward along the ground. Sharp ice spikes pierced through the ice like blades, instantly covering the spot where Lu Xiu was standing.
But Lu Xiu had anticipated this. The moment her opponent jumped, she suddenly rolled backward, deftly creating distance between them.
"That feeling of lightness—that's the feeling you get from the bosses in Dark Souls III."
Lu Xiu stood up, praised it, and then raised her right hand with her five fingers spread.
Buzz!
Amidst the thunderous roar, dazzling golden lightning surged wildly in her fair palm.
moment.
The originally dark and cold church was completely illuminated by a dazzling and sacred golden light.
Sunlight Spear!
The moment the Lightning Spear took shape.
Lu Xiu twisted her slender waist slightly and leaned back a little, her whole body like a fully drawn bow. Then she swung it forward and hurled the dazzling Lightning Spear in her hand!
The golden spear transformed into a destructive streak of light, instantly piercing through the frost-covered sky, and appeared before the Sister Friede had just straightened up, carrying a violent kinetic energy capable of tearing everything apart.
The Sister Friede was taken aback.
I haven't reacted yet.
Bang!
The Sunlight Spear struck Sister Friede's slender body, exploding with lightning.
Before the Sister Friede could even finish her dodge, her health bar was instantly emptied, and she was sent flying like a kite with a broken string, crashing helplessly onto the cold stone slab. The scythe slipped from her hand, and she was lifeless.
Instant kill!
Lu Xiu was slightly taken aback when she saw this, then a satisfied smile appeared on her face.
As expected of the Sunlight Spear.
Even bosses can be killed instantly.
But thinking about it, it makes sense.
This isn't a miracle from a dungeon, but rather a skill inherent to her.
The high bonus from Atypical Courage resulted in high damage output.
Combined with the skill's inherent strength, instant kills are to be expected.
On the other side...
He saw Sister Friede die instantly.
Father Ariandel, who sat deep inside the church, as massive as a hill, seemed to pause for a moment.
His painful whimpers abruptly ceased. His withered hands stiffly clutched the golden Lordvessel as he stared blankly at the Sister Friede's corpse lying in the frost, as if he hadn't yet recovered from this sudden, instantaneous death.
But just one second later.
He realized what was happening, and his massive body began to tremble violently, completely losing control.
"Iii Keke Tuke, he let out a desperate and furious roar, and struggled violently, the thick iron chains binding her were stretched taut."
Next.
With a chilling roar, he raised the enormous golden Lordvessel in front of him and slammed it heavily into the ground.
Next.
The Lordvessel shattered.
The surging flames of sin poured forth, spreading and flowing wildly, as if possessing a life of their own, rushing directly towards Sister Friede's cold corpse, completely engulfing her in flickering firelight—
When ashes are paired, fire is ignited.
In the flames.
The Sister Friede stirred slightly, then slowly stood up.
Then, as she swung her scythe, rousing orchestral music began to play, and her health bar reappeared.
Behind her stood Father Redel, who had risen to his feet, chair in hand, and was now in a state of frenzy.
A coexistence of gentleness and madness.
It has a strong visual impact.
but.
The Sister Friede did not rush to attack, but slowly raised her head, her eyes under the hood seemingly looking at Lu Xiu.
"----King of Sunshine?"
However, her voice wasn't loud, and since the BOSS had background music, Lu Xiu didn't hear it at all.
certainly.
Even if I heard it, I wouldn't care.
At this moment, her attention was completely focused on the extremely oppressive scene before her.
It has to be said.
He's so handsome.
One ice, one fire; one stillness, one movement.
Lu Xiu thought it was really cool when she played the game.
To actually witness this scene in person would be even more captivating.
This time, it won't be possible to kill it instantly.
The Sunlight Spear needs to cool down.
So she simply pulled out the Nameless Blade.
"Come on, let me experience the second phase."
An excited smile appeared on Lu Xiu's face, and then she transformed into a streak of light, fearlessly rushing forward.
Nearly two hours later.
He defeated Sister Friede for the fourth time.
"Call----"
Lu Xiu let out a long sigh of relief, then plopped down on the floor without any regard for her image, her face beaming with exhilarating satisfaction. "Finally, I've had my fill."
She tilted her head back slightly, calming her breathing.
This time, she didn't follow the role-playing mode approach as she had done before, nor did she deliberately suppress the numerical values.
Instead, all restrictions were lifted.
Since it's not real instance content, but just a one-time scene, it's really hard to balance in a role-playing mode.
So she simply built the BSS based on her own values without any restrictions.
This method worked quite well.
In just over two hours, she experienced firsthand the thrill of dancing on a knife's edge.
Incidentally, I also took the opportunity to test out my newly acquired skill.
In each and every confrontation.
She became familiar with the judgment, pre-cast animation, and combos of the new skills.
"I haven't encountered any problems four times, I can submit it now."
Lu Xiu took a deep breath.
After confirming that the BOSS is fine, only the last and most crucial step remains.
Lu Xiu braced herself on the floor, stood up, and then summoned the System Panel, opening the Architect's backend.
soon.
The three-dimensional map of Dark Souls appeared before her.
Where should the Ariandel Chapel be placed?
Lu Xiu rested her chin on her hand, her gaze sweeping over the map in front of her. "Nowhere else is suitable. This scene belongs to the Painted World in the game—so let's put it in the Painted World."
Although not many players might participate in group battles, other areas do seem too out of place.
Lu Xiu hesitated for a moment, but finally opened the separate map of the Painted World.
Then, after a quick glance, he decided to place the Ariandel Chapel, where the Sister Friede and Father were located, near the iconic tower in the Painted World.
All that's needed is to add one new area.
Moreover, it looks quite spectacular when paired with the tower.
Perfect!
At the same time.
Dark Souls dungeon, The Painted World.
Gallagher stood panting in front of the tower where the Crossbreed Priscilla was, his nerves finally relaxing a little.
"Call----"
He breathed a long sigh of relief, "This should be the last area of this wretched place, right?"
Recalling his previous experience of clearing the land, Gallagher felt a wave of nausea and palpitations.
The rolling wheels that resemble meat grinders, the deformed undead that spray poisonous blood upon death, and the crow people that appear and disappear mysteriously in mid-air—the exploration here is yet another ordeal.
but.
After enduring the most painful initial encounter and killing countless times, and thoroughly understanding the map structure and monsters of this area,
Gallagher understood the Prime Minister's intentions.
This place is a completely isolated and closed area, with narrow and treacherous terrain, blind spots, dead ends, and cliffs everywhere.
And the monsters are disgusting.
In the ensuing group battle, the Nine Provinces players, who weren't very familiar with the area and were rushing through the main storyline, barged in— Prison Rock could easily use his familiarity with the map to turn this place into a battleground against the Nine Provinces players.
It is easy to defend but difficult to attack, and riddled with traps.
"You know what."
Gallagher muttered to himself, "This place really is suitable as Prison Rock's base camp in group battles."
Just as Gallagher was envisioning a bright future for collective warfare.
Prison Rock.
Holy Mountain, summit.
Glug glug.
Several huge bubbles suddenly rose from the surface of the scalding, viscous lava lake.
Then, a head cautiously emerged from the magma, which was powerful enough to melt any steel in an instant.
His eyes darted around furtively, scanning the surroundings. Only after confirming that there wasn't a single Prison Rock player in sight did he finally let out a long sigh of relief.
That's right.
He is Zhang Chongshan, a former player of the game "Nine Provinces" and now a traitor in Prison Rock".
After confirming it was safe, Zhang Chongshan climbed out of the lava and deactivated his abilities.
As the skill was deactivated, the strange, shimmering light that enveloped his body like ripples on water gradually dissipated.
He wiped the sweat from his face somewhat awkwardly, then opened the forum on Prison Rock's side.
Looking at the [Dark Souls] dungeon, which had become incredibly popular, and seeing all the players in Prison Rock discussing it, Zhang Chongshan's face turned pale and then red. He couldn't help but mentally slap himself twice.
"Fuck you----"
Zhang Chongshan was filled with deep regret.
I wish I hadn't chosen to betray them!
Nine Provinces is so great! The Architect are so amazing! The dungeons are so awesome!
Now I'm in a bind, pleasing neither side.
Nine Provinces considers him a traitor, while Prison Rock is hunting him down all over the world.
That's for the best.
He has the ability to ignore any high temperatures.
Otherwise, he might not have been able to hide until now.
Zhang Chongshan closed the dungeon database and stared at the countdown to the end of the speedrun phase on the panel. He gritted his teeth, and hope rekindled in his eyes.
A chaotic, large-scale battle is about to begin.
There is still hope.
"Big Sister----"
Zhang Chongshan gazed at the horizon, pleading in his heart, "Once the collective war begins, you absolutely must find a way to help me return to Nine Provinces!"