Lu Xiu!!!
[Completing packaging 1]
The main framework of the replica is running stably with no major defects.
[Should we release a dungeon?]
[Note: This is a special Class Contest Instance. Architect cannot currently place instances in this dungeon. Furthermore, this dungeon has an extremely high rating in the simulation. Architect who confirm its release agree to the system subsequently modifying it as Berserker advancement dungeon.]
[At the same time the dungeon launches, the Architect will enter as a mentor. If the Architect is defeated, it will not affect the dungeon's launch, and the Constructor will still receive all the dungeon's rewards, but will not receive the completion reward.]
Construction Space.
Lu Xiu looked at the instructions in front of her and was somewhat surprised. It was just like the Versus Instance, where you could log in directly without needing to verify completion.
If she wants to get the rewards for clearing the dungeon... she still has to participate in the dungeon herself as soon as possible.
The last time she participated in the Dungeon Fighter Online dungeon as a player, this time she's participating as a mentor. This means she can't hold back at all... regardless of whether the person opposite her is a familiar friend or not.
Otherwise, the reward will be gone.
Perhaps this is the purpose of the system.
If Lu Xiu first verifies and obtains the dungeon reward, then when the mentor encounters Shen Nian and Jian Li, they might actually go easy on her... "They really know how to guard against me..." Lu Xiu muttered, shook her head slightly, and then pressed confirm.
soon.
A new window popped up.
[Should I act as a mentor and enter the instance for real-world verification?]
Lu Xiu clicked "Yes" again.
[Entering the instance...]
You will be playing the role of a career mentor.
[Please take this seriously! Select the most suitable players!]
[Entering Waiting Space...]
A flash of Bai Guang.
When Lu Xiu opened her eyes again, she found herself in a familiar pure white Waiting Space. There was nothing around her except a huge countdown timer floating directly in front of her. There were still nearly three hours before the instance would open.
[Current Matching Players: 0] This was a three-hour preparation time that Lu Xiu deliberately left, so that no matter what other players were doing, they would have a chance to participate in the dungeon. After all, she had launched this Class Contest Instance in a rather rushed manner.
Let's wait and see.
As Lu Xiu pondered this, she opened the forum.
Sure enough, the forum was quite lively.
[The Class Contest Instance are finally here!!! They even launched ahead of schedule! Awesome! Berserker, here I come!]
[I wonder if this is related to what happened in Sea City... otherwise why would Lu Xiu suddenly appear earlier? So what exactly happened in Sea City? Does anyone know? The Dark Souls Anor Londo has appeared, this seems like a big deal, right?]
[Who cares! If the sky falls, the tall ones will hold it up. I just want to switch to Berserker now, and then I'll be Lu Xiu too [doge].][Seriously, you guys are making it sound like you can get Berserker Profession Certificate just by entering the Class Contest Instance! Have some respect for the difficulty of the dungeon Lu Xiu designed, okay? Not to mention Lu Xiu will even make a cameo appearance in the dungeon... You've seen the trailer, right? Weren't you scared of that figure at the end? And the announcement also mentioned that we'll be facing the class progenitor.]
[A doting mother spoils her son! Spare the rod and spoil the child! The dungeon is difficult! It's a test for the mother!! Facing the progenitor of all professions! It's our chance to prove our filial piety! Don't harbor any ulterior motives!]
[Hahaha, still using this meme? Be careful Lu Xiu holds a grudge. I wanted to say this last time: if you call her that and she really gets rude, we're all doomed... I was sweating buckets watching the raid trailer last time; this raid looks really difficult.]
[Lu Xiu's dungeon is never easy, it's just a case of making the best of a bad situation! That's what it means!]
Aren't you afraid of running into Lu Xiu and getting a severe lesson?
[How could that be! Frequent beatings and scoldings can easily make children insecure and rebellious! They might even learn to use violence to solve problems! The parent-child relationship will also deteriorate! Lu Xiu must know this!] [Wait... brothers, I just checked the matchmaking, and it seems this dungeon also has Mental Strength attribute requirement. Those with Mental Strength attribute below ten points cannot participate!]
[Huh? Really?]
[That's where Lu Xiu went wrong! A mother doesn't dislike her son for being ugly! Nor does she dislike her son for being poor...]
[Where did the person upstairs learn that idiom? Also, is Lu Xiu really not mistaken? Berserker has a requirement for Mental Strength? Is that even possible? It doesn't make any sense at all.]
[This dungeon doesn't seem to have anything to do with the Berserker...]
...]
Lu Xiu scrolled through the forum posts one by one, finding the players' chaotic discussions somewhat amusing.
The players' interest in the Berserker class is far greater than expected.
Also, the Title "Mother of Berserkers" really did her a lot of trouble...
Silly gamer!
At the same time.
More than one player noticed that the [Bloodborne] dungeon had a Mental Strength requirement; the vast majority of players noticed it and found it strange. After all, the Berserker class name doesn't seem to have anything to do with Mental Strength. "What do you think?"
Red Tide.
Ulysses looked at Xia on the other end of the communication window. "Why would such a profession require Mental Strength? Lu Xiu definitely wouldn't be doing this to filter players; she's not that kind of person. Even if she really wanted to filter, she would use a high level of power."
Xia, on the other end of the communication window, said directly, "You've been to Nine Provinces and faced her directly, but I haven't. Why are you asking me?"
"I've only faced Lu Xiu once, and she was chasing me... Do you think I have a chance to ask? Besides, you have more authority to speak on dungeons than I do." Xia shook her head helplessly, and after a moment of silence, said, "Since you say it can't be a screening method, then there are only two possibilities: either the dungeon mechanics require Mental Strength, or the Berserker class requires Mental Strength. I tend to think it requires both."
"How is that possible! Why would Berserker -versus -Berserker Class Contest Instance require Mental Strength?"
"... Sometimes I really get annoyed by people like you!"
Hearing this, Xia said irritably, "You're the one asking for the answer! And now that I've given you the answer, you're going to argue with me!"
"Does your Mental Strength meet the requirements? If it does, don't ask! You'll find out once you enter the dungeon!"
Ulysses was bombarded with a barrage of criticism. This Supreme Leader, who had just crawled out of the Corpse Mountain, Blood Sea in the Red Tide, was speechless for a long time.
But he still couldn't understand it!
It wasn't just Ulysses. As the matchmaking countdown ticked away, countless players stuck outside the requirements were lamenting, while those who did meet the criteria were also puzzled by the dungeon's requirements.
Because this is indeed quite counterintuitive.
Why would a Berserker, which sounds like it focuses on melee physical damage, need to prioritize Mental Strength attribute?
But no one could answer them.
If anyone had a vague idea of the purpose behind the requirement for Mental Strength, it would probably be Rosalind.
Franca.
The Imperial Palace.
Rosalind had already changed out of her elaborate and gorgeous court dress and into a simple set of clothes.
She glanced at the dungeon's requirements for Mental Strength, her pale fingertips unconsciously tracing patterns on the window. Lost in thought, she murmured, "Mental Strength required... Lu Xiu wouldn't be trying to teach players how to Blood Control, would she...?"
Regardless of what the players think.
Three hours.
It passed in the blink of an eye. Lu Xiu closed the forum, looked up, and at the moment the countdown reached zero, the number of matches on the window in front of her began to surge, the number that was originally 0 kept jumping up.
[Current number of matched players: 150,000]
[Current number of matched players: 310,000]
...]
The numbers are growing exponentially, at a rate that increases every second.
After all, it's a dungeon open to the entire Vast Firmament. Not only are players from the Nine Provinces region flooding in, but the leaders of countries like Franca, Red Tide, and Canaan are also sparing no effort to squeeze all eligible players from their respective countries into the dungeon.
Lu Xiu watched the number of people being matched soar, then slowly straightened up and stretched.
"The time has come, come on, Hunter."
Red Tide.
Ulysses took a deep breath, looked at the matchmaking screen in front of him, and pressed confirm.
Just pressed it.
A system notification popped up: [Entering the instance...]
[You've been assigned to the Top-Tier Instance. Good Luck! ]
As soon as Ulysses saw the prompt in front of him, a strong feeling of weightlessness suddenly overwhelmed him.
His vision went black, and his body turned into Bai Guang and vanished.
Top-Tier Instance dungeons.
Ulysses' vision slowly returned, and he found himself lying down, surrounded by a strong musty smell and a pungent smell of blood.
He seemed to be lying on a bed, the touch on his back was cold, and above his head was a shelf with an IV drip hanging from it, but the contents of the IV drip appeared to be blood...
"What kind of crazy start is this..."
After realizing his situation, Ulysses tried to get up, but found his body as if it were filled with lead, completely out of his control, and could only barely turn his head.
He forced his neck to turn and look to the side where the faint sounds were coming from.
The room was dimly lit.
A figure in a wheelchair was quietly watching him. Noticing him looking over, the figure chuckled and spoke. "Ah, yes... the Pale Blood... is right here."
"Yes, you've come to the right place. Yharnam is the land of Blood Ministration; you just need to unveil its mysteries."
"But where should outsiders like you begin to understand?"
"Simple, you just need to give yourself some Yharnam Blood."
As the figure spoke, it pushed the wheelchair, the wooden wheels creaking against the floor, and slowly approached Ulysses.
The kerosene lamp hanging behind the wheelchair flickered.
Ulysses finally got a clear look at the figure in the wheelchair.
It was an old man with a withered face, wearing a wide-brimmed hat, a tattered overcoat, and a stubble beard. He was fiddling with something that looked like a blood transfusion needle in his hand.
What are you trying to do?
Ulysses looked at the old man leaning closer to him and felt a chill creep into his heart.
What the heck?! Are you trying to shoot something at yourself? Explain yourself!
He wanted to question them. But...
He opened his mouth, but found that he couldn't make a sound at all.
"Let's start the blood transfusion... Oh, don't worry."
The old man seemed to sense Ulysses ' resistance, suddenly smiled, then pressed the transfusion needle against Ulysses ' arm, his voice low and menacing. "No matter what happened... you'll only think it's a nightmare..."
The moment the words left his mouth.
Ulysses felt a sharp pain in his arm as the needle pierced it. A cool sensation followed, and his vision blurred, the dim kerosene lamp appearing as if stained with blood.
The old man's faint laughter came again as he slowly stepped back and sat back in his wheelchair.
Ulysses felt his eyelids getting heavy, and he felt like he was about to fall asleep.
But the next moment...
In a daze.
He seemed to hear the heavy breathing of some wild beast...
Ulysses was startled. He bit his tongue, forcing himself to stay awake, and opened his eyes again. Then, he found that the old man was gone, and where the old man had been, only a pool of thick, dark red blood was spreading. Immediately afterward, a bloodied and mangled wolf-like beast emerged directly from the pool of blood.
It was dripping with blood as it slowly crawled toward Ulysses... getting closer and closer, until the stench of blood filled the air, until Ulysses could clearly see its hideous face.
The monster let out a roar, extending its sharp, blood-dripping claws toward Ulysses, who was lying on the bed.
Ulysses was momentarily dazed again, and he vaguely heard a voice telling him, "Grasp that claw; if you grasp it, the beast will become your strength."
Accept it.
Accept the power!
"Roll!"
Just as the claws were about to touch him.
Ulysses suddenly realized what was happening and shouted in his mind.
Call!
As he refused, the beast that emerged from the blood spontaneously combusted without warning, engulfed in flames, struggling madly until it turned into Ember.
But before Ulysses could even catch his breath... out of the corner of his eye, he saw countless eerie little figures, about the size of infants, pale and hideous, crawling out from the edge of the bed. They were like pale ghosts, climbing up the bed legs and then crawling along Ulysses ' body, getting close to his eyes and stretching out their pale little hands.
Looking at the pale little man so close to me.
Ulysses shuddered, trying to struggle, but his eyelids became heavy again uncontrollably.
In the last second before being completely swallowed by darkness.
Ulysses was left with only one thought: he finally understood why this damned Berserker Class Contest Instance had an entry requirement of a Mental Strength score above 10!
Because if Mental Strength is insufficient...
I felt like they couldn't even hold on at the start.
What the hell is this...?
"Ah, so you've discovered you're a Hunter..."
A gentle, ethereal female voice rang out.
This was the last thing Ulysses heard before he was completely plunged into darkness.
Whoosh! After an unknown amount of time, Ulysses suddenly gasped, opened his eyes, and sprang up as if from the dead. He panted and subconsciously looked around.
Everything was exactly the same as before he fell into a coma.
However, the old man in the wheelchair was gone, the wolf-like beast that had turned to Ember and the pale little people had also disappeared, and even the pool of blood on the floor seemed like an illusion.
After pausing for a moment and confirming that there were no enemies around, Ulysses carefully rolled out of bed, then clenched his fist and gently swung it to feel his strength.
All his high stats have disappeared...
"A role-playing dungeon... a bizarre start..."
Ulysses scratched his head...
To be honest, he's still completely baffled.
only.
soon.
He no longer had time to let his mind wander.
As he threw the punch, he suddenly felt a surge of violent, scorching power within his body. It was as if something was rampaging through his veins, bringing a sense of power, but also making his heart beat abnormally fast, each beat like a drumbeat.
At the same time, he also felt a strong urge to tear something apart.
"... What the hell?"
Ulysses realized something was wrong.
Although he was reckless, he didn't have a bloodthirsty appetite!
And just then... a system notification popped up in front of him.
[Your body has been infused with the Yharnam Blood.]
[Next, you will teeter on the edge of reason and madness. The Yharnam Blood within you will grant you superhuman explosive power and regenerative abilities, but at the cost of relentless erosion.]
[Current Beasthood Erosion: 15%]
[Mechanism Explanation:]
Every attack and injury you take will accelerate the boiling of your blood and qi, increasing the Beasthood Erosion.
The higher the corruption level, the higher all your attributes will be, and the more efficient your Rally will be. However, when the Beasthood Erosion exceeds the sanity threshold, you will completely lose your sanity and transform into a beast that only knows how to kill.
During this period, you need to constantly use your Mental Strength to suppress and control the Qi and blood in your body.
The system will currently assist and guide you in suppressing your Qi and Blood, but once your Insight reaches 50 points, the system will no longer provide assistance. Now please follow the guidance to suppress your Qi and Blood...
Look at the instructions in front of me.
Ulysses stood there, stunned.
"Controlling Qi and Blood?!"
Before Ulysses could react, a strange sensation washed over him. He found his Mental Strength seemingly being guided into his body, entering a kind of internal vision. He vaguely saw his own blood vessels and his own turbulent blood and energy...
He subconsciously began to chase and touch the turbulent blood and energy within his body.
System assistance activated.
The turbulent energy within him gradually calmed down.
soon.
Ulysses pulled himself out of that strange state and found that his Beasthood Erosion had decreased by ten percent. "... This works?" Ulysses thought for a moment, and based on his previous feeling, tried to enter that strange state again.
It was a success.
This time... his pursuit and contact with the raging blood and energy within his body was even easier.
This is probably because the Beasthood Erosion is lower.
"Suppressing the blood and qi within the body... using the degree of erosion to gain attack power, while constantly guarding against turning oneself into a monster, is this how the dungeon is played?" Ulysses looked down at his hands, feeling the calming blood and qi within his body, and had some understanding.
Berserker.
Qi and blood.
Mental Strength.
It's obvious.
The Berserker created by Lu Xiu requires players to learn how to control their internal energy and blood...
And the requirement for Mental Strength is precisely for this purpose.
No wonder! But... players have to suppress their rampaging blood energy during combat. Is this gameplay really okay? Can players really manage that? And what happens after transforming into a beast? Do they lose control of their body?
Ulysses, recalling his recent bloodlust, looked at the prompt before him again, unsure of what to do.
and...
What is Insight?
Just as Ulysses was thinking this, a new prompt popped up.
This explanation is much simpler. In short, Insight is the level of a player's madness. The more bosses you've defeated and the more knowledge you've gained from other madmen, the higher your Insight will be.
The higher the player's Insight, the lower their resistance, and the higher the enemy's combat power. Enemies that were previously invisible will also appear.
Ulysses looked at the brief explanation of Insight on the panel, a hint of seriousness flashing in his eyes.
The higher one's Insight, the lower their resistance, the stronger their enemies, and they can even see things they couldn't see before...
Given the absurd beginning of the dungeon, he had reason to believe that the unseen things within were definitely not good. He had to suppress his boiling blood and qi during battle to prevent beastification, while also being wary of attracting even more terrifying enemies due to his excessive Insight. The dungeon hadn't even started yet.
Ulysses sensed something was wrong.
Judging from the current setting of this instance... it's practically walking a tightrope! One wrong step and you're dead! "No wonder it's called Bloodborne..."
Ulysses murmured, "So it really is related to the blood curse."
However, although he sensed something was wrong, he wasn't particularly angry. Ever since watching the trailer for the dungeon, he'd been somewhat prepared. Lu Xiu's dungeon was definitely not going to be easy...
And to be honest...
This dungeon is somewhat complex and quite challenging... but I think it will also be quite fun.
"Then let me see just how good Lu Xiu 'Lu Xiu Berserker, and how powerful his Class Contest Instance really is." Ulysses took a deep breath, turned off the notification in front of him, and strode towards the closed wooden door of the clinic.
Open Gate.
A dimly lit corridor appeared before Ulysses.
There was no P to greet them, no weapons crates, only an even stronger stench of blood than inside the clinic.
Faintly, the sound of chewing could be heard coming from the end of the corridor.
Ulysses subconsciously slowed his steps and moved slowly forward down the corridor.
As he reached the exit, Ulysses, in the dim light, finally saw the source of the chewing sound.
A wolf-like beast, the size of a bull and covered in tangled gray fur, was lying on the mangled corpse with its back to him, frantically devouring it.
It looked up.
Blood dripped from its fangs, pooling on the floor in a small puddle.
Ulysses' breath hitched, and he slowly backed away.
But just then, as if sensing something, the wolf-like beast stopped chewing and slowly turned its head.
Not good!
Ulysses's expression changed.
"Roar!"
The moment the wolf-like beast saw Ulysses, it let out a howl and pounced on him with all its might!
Wow, so fast!
Even faster than the Mutation on the front lines in reality! When Ulysses saw this, he instinctively tried to draw his sword to block, but his hands met empty air.
This is Roleplay Instance!!!
No weapons!!!
He now only has a set of clothes on him, and not even an iron rod.
Oh no!! No way!!! Am I going to die right at the beginning?!
Lu Xiu!!!
Where are my weapons???
Bang!
Unable to dodge in time, Ulysses was pounced on by the werewolf and knocked to the ground. Sharp claws easily tore open his chest, and blood spurted out.
Then, before Ulysses could react, everything went black.
The feeling of weightlessness returned.
Ulysses opened his eyes again. He found himself neither back in the clinic nor kicked out of the instance.
He was in a quiet new area shrouded in mist. Not far away stood a building, and beside the steps leading to the building, a life-sized, exquisitely detailed doll sat quietly.
"I'm not dead? This is... a respawn point? Hunter's Dream? I knew Lu Xiu wouldn't just give away a player's weapon without giving it to him..." Ulysses stood up and breathed a sigh of relief.
Then I looked at the system notification in front of me.
He grew increasingly incredulous. "Wait... this dungeon doesn't count as a failure if you die? Only failing to suppress your beast form counts? Doesn't that mean anyone can clear it easily?!"
Yes.
In the Bloodborne dungeon, no matter how many times a player dies, they will never fail and will always be resurrected in the Hunter's Dream.
This was completely unexpected by Ulysses.
Why? Was Lu Xiu doing this on purpose? To get more people to switch to Berserker?
Ulysses muttered to himself, then thought for a moment and decided to put aside his doubts for the time being and explore the Hunter's Dream.
Soon, he discovered several objects emitting an eerie Bai Guang on the ground of the steps. Upon closer inspection, a group of tiny, pale figures, no bigger than infants—the same kind that had covered him at the beginning—raised several weapons and poked their heads out of the ground, seemingly offering him treasures.
Ulysses stepped forward and touched it. [Please select your starting weapon.]
A selection window pops up.
Three strangely shaped weapons appeared before him.
A folding Saw Cleaver, a heavy axe, and a Threaded Cane that can transform into a whip.
Ulysses grabbed the axe almost without hesitation.
In addition to melee weapons, there are also two pistols available.
Ulysses randomly picked one.
Next.
He explored the dream again, and took the opportunity to familiarize himself with the weapons.
"Cold weapons can transform, and firearms can interrupt actions... Lu Xiu's dungeons, at least in terms of weapon gameplay, never disappoint."
Five minutes later.
Ulysses returned to his starting position. After exploring the area, he found nothing but a bunch of riddles.
He got nothing.
However, I'm already familiar with the weapons.
It seems we need to continue progressing through the dungeon first.
[You have obtained your starting weapon: Hunter Axe.]
[As a candidate for Berserker, you are ready to face the real hunt. Go, through the tombstone, return to Yharnam.] Ulysses looked at the prompt before him, weighed the battle axe in his hand, felt the weight of the axe, and then stopped hesitating. Instead, he followed the system prompt, walked to a tombstone that emitted a faint glow, and reached out to touch it.
A flash of Bai Guang.
Ulysses returned to Yharnam.
This time, however, he did not return to the cramped clinic, but instead appeared in the Graveyard outside the clinic.
Graveyard shrouded in mist.
Ulysses gripped his axe, wary of any potential enemies, but when his gaze swept across the Graveyard, he froze. Because in the open space of the Graveyard ...
Accompanied by flashes of Bai Guang, figures wielding strangely shaped weapons appeared around him. This all happened in just a few seconds.
In the Graveyard, more than a dozen players appeared around him!
Above these players' heads, besides the "i," floated prefixes representing their respective countries, such as [Nine Provinces], [Franca], and [Red Tide]. "... This isn't a single-player instance?!"
Ulysses stared wide-eyed in disbelief at what he saw.
at the same time.
The other players, who had just experienced their first encounter with the werewolf and had also resurrected from the Hunter's Dream after receiving their weapons, also noticed the people around them. They looked at each other, then silently distanced themselves, and the atmosphere became tense.
After all, everyone is here for the Berserker's Profession Certificate, and no one can guarantee that someone next to them won't stab them in the back to eliminate a competitor.
Ulysses also distanced himself, and as he looked around, he suddenly spotted a familiar face in the crowd.
"Gong Yu?"
Ulysses greeted him in surprise.
That's right.
The familiar face he saw was none other than the son of the Prime Minister of Canaan, whom he had matched with in the Dungeon Fighter Online instance. Gong Yu had obviously also spotted Ulysses; he dropped his defensive stance and strode over. "Supreme Leader Ulysses, I didn't expect you to be matched with this game too... Don't worry, I won't make a move at this stage."
"I know."
Ulysses also put away his axe.
There's no point in taking action now that we haven't figured anything out.
Seeing that Ulysses had lowered his guard, Gong Yu breathed a sigh of relief and then said, "I didn't expect the Class Contest Instance to be a multiplayer mode. I thought it was single-player from the dungeon trailer. Does Lu Xiu still want us to kill each other?"
"I don't know either..."
Ulysses was about to answer.
But he hadn't finished speaking.
On the other side.
Suddenly, a player shouted, "There's no friendly fire!"
"... No friendship injuries?"
Ulysses was stunned by what he heard. Gong Yu was also stunned for a moment, and then the two looked at each other in disbelief.
Then, to verify, Ulysses raised the Hunter Axe in his hand and gently tapped Gong Yu's chest with the handle.
As expected, although the axe handle touched Gong Yu, there was no actual damage assessment other than the impact feedback.
It wasn't just the two of them.
The other dozen or so players in the Graveyard also started trying it out.
Then, gasps of surprise echoed throughout the Graveyard.
Holy crap! There really is no friendly fire!
"Wait, you all died in that clinic too? And then you resurrected from the Hunter's Dream with weapons, right?"
A Franca player suddenly realized something, his eyes lighting up instantly. "So, in this instance, we can not only resurrect infinitely in the dream world, but we also won't damage each other?! As long as we can control our health a little according to the system's guidance, we'll never die?" As soon as these words were spoken, the atmosphere in the Graveyard changed dramatically.
The initial wariness, suspicion, and tension vanished instantly.
"What's there to be afraid of!"
Another player from Franca, brandishing Saw Cleaver, shouted excitedly, "I was worried about being ambushed, but since there's no friendly fire, we can totally group up and push through!" "Yeah! Not only is there no friendly fire, but we can also resurrect infinitely and try again! As long as we manage our health well, we can grind the monsters down!" "Is Lu Xiu being merciful? Knowing the dungeon is difficult, is he just giving everyone in Vast Firmament a freebie?"
"No matter what it is! A dozen of us together, each with an axe, could chop the monster into mincemeat!"
"Great! This is to encourage more people to switch to the Berserker!"
Lu Xiu, I love you!
Listening to the excited conversations of the players around me.
Ulysses, however, did not laugh.
Gong Yu glanced at him and asked, "You also think things aren't that simple, right?"
Ulysses nodded. "Yes, although I'm not a native of Nine Provinces, based on my understanding of Lu Xiu, the instance she's created can't possibly be some purely welfare-oriented scheme, but the mechanics are right in front of us..."
A dozen or so top elite troops from various countries, possessing unlimited resurrections, plus the advantage of being immune to friendly fire...
This is more than enough to kill any monster!
Gong Yu hesitated for a moment, then suggested a possibility. "Could it be that the dungeon monsters are too difficult?"
"No... even if it's difficult, we can overcome it through endless trial and error." Ulysses shook his head, then said, "I think the problem might lie in the beast-transformation corruption setting..."
Gong Yu replied, "But we're not sure what we'll end up like once the beastification progress bar is full... And I have a feeling that, as some players have said, Lu Xiu might be trying to get more people to switch to Berserker."
"That's possible..."
Ulysses thought for a moment, but still had no clue, and said, "Guessing like this is useless, let's just go outside and take a look?"
"Okay." Gong Yu had no objections.
"Everyone."
Seeing that Gong Yu had no objections, Ulysses immediately shouted something.
Other players looked over.
He explained briefly, then suggested they go outside for a look.
"OK!"
"Fight your way out!"
"There are over a dozen of us, what are we afraid of!" With Ulysses and Gong Yu taking the lead, the dozen or so players who were originally wary of each other instantly reached a consensus.
After all, there are quite a few players from Red Tide and Canaan among them.
Full of confidence, the group pushed open the rusty iron gate of the Graveyard with great momentum, embarking on their journey to Yharnam with wonderful dreams of endless resurrection, ready to make a big splash.
After leaving the cemetery.
Ulysses, leading the way, looked around and found that they seemed to be on the high ground of the town. Looking ahead along the street, they saw Gothic Architecture shrouded in mist on both sides, with countless spires pointing to the sky.
He circled around and found that only the road on the right was passable.
Let's go that way.
Ulysses gripped his Hunter Axe and walked at the front.
The others followed closely behind.
A group of more than a dozen people turned the corner in a grand procession.
They had only taken a couple of steps when three figures suddenly emerged from behind the abandoned carriage.
They were three hunched-over humanoid enemies, dressed in tattered trench coats and wearing wide-brimmed hats. They held burning torches in one hand and dragged weapons in the other, and almost instantly pounced on Ulysses and his companions upon seeing them. "Just three monsters?"
A Red Tide player, carrying Saw Cleaver, saw this scene and excitedly shouted, "Brothers, charge! Chop them up!"
"Dry!"
"Go! Go! Go!"
Relying on their superior numbers, the absence of friendly fire, and unlimited respawns, these players, already seething with anger from the high pressure at the start, were like hungry wolves spotting a flock of sheep. They raised their weapons and charged forward without hesitation.
Ulysses also felt stifled, charged forward with his axe.
Clang!
Weapons clashed.
They had just exchanged blows.
Ulysses immediately sensed that something was wrong.
These three humanoid enemies possess astonishing strength and agility... and their attack methods are also counterintuitive, characterized by wide, sweeping movements, each attack carrying a sense of mutual destruction.
The players' damage output didn't seem very high; a dozen or so weapons struck the enemy, yet they couldn't kill them instantly. But... it wasn't too bothersome.
After all, there were many players, and because they knew they could resurrect infinitely, many players gave up dodging and blocking, and instead adopted a reckless fighting style where they traded health bars for each other's, hacking and slashing wildly.
At least the imposing presence of the house is in no way inferior.
"Is this all there is to this dungeon?"
Ulysses dodged the swinging Saw Cleaver, then swung his axe at the monster's shoulder, thinking to himself.
Just then...
He suddenly realized that something was wrong with Ziqian's body... His heart was beating faster, and the blood and qi that he had suppressed at the clinic not long ago were boiling again and starting to surge wildly.
"Oh no, the Beasthood Erosion..."
Ulysses suddenly realized what was happening and was about to take a few steps back to suppress his qi and blood.
"I... I feel like something's off about the lead..."
But at the same time.
One of the Canaan players, who was charging ahead and exchanging blows with the monsters as if in a fit of rage, suddenly stopped swinging his weapon. It clattered to the ground, and he stood frozen in place. "Dude, what's wrong?" a nearby player asked in surprise.
The man didn't answer, but his expression slowly twisted into a pig-like contortion, and he slowly opened his mouth.
A large amount of thick saliva dripped from his mouth.
Next.
He began to breathe heavily, his mouth opening wider and wider until it tore open at the corner of his mouth, and his face began to contort, stretch, and deform... hiss.
At the same time.
The sound of clothes tearing rang out.
The player's body also began to deform, his bones twisted, and gray-black fur sprouted from under his skin like weeds. His ten fingers also suddenly transformed into sharp claws that gleamed with light.
In just a few seconds.
A living, breathing player was transformed into a wolf-like beast right before everyone's eyes.
The green marker above the player's head, which originally indicated they were on the side of the enemy, instantly transformed into an enemy marker the moment their clothes ripped apart.
Ulysses' eyes widened suddenly. "Roar!"
The player who had transformed into a beast roared, abruptly turning his head to look at the player closest to him, and lunged forward with his claws! "Lie down!!!"
"What the hell is going on?! How the hell are monsters popping out of the ground?!"
"Wait! That's that Canaan guy from before! He's turned into a monster?!"
"What the hell???"
"Get down! It's charging! Get out of the way!"
"Ah!!!"
The players who were originally ganging up on three townspeople suddenly disappeared.
Faced with their teammates who suddenly transformed into beasts and whose attributes skyrocketed, several players who were close to the boar were caught off guard and had their chests torn open by its claws, dying instantly.
The player, transformed into a beast, continued its frenzied attack! Like a tiger among sheep!
Watching the beast-like players go on a killing spree.
At this moment, Ulysses finally understood why there was no friendly fire in this dungeon! Why there were infinite resurrections! He ran backward, pulling Cheng Li aside, while cursing, "Lu Xiu!!! Are you even human?!"