Rising Insight (Two-in-One)

The sky above Yharnam seems perpetually shrouded in mist, making the entire city resemble a giant snow globe.

This feeling is even more pronounced when viewed from a sufficiently high altitude above the city.

Above the city of Yharnam, shrouded in mist and blood.

Lu Xiu was floating quietly in the air, a hundred meters above the ground.

Her figure seemed to blend completely into the surrounding gray mist, and she was staring blankly at the snow-like scene below.

Below the dungeon, neither the Franca players, who had just Outlast and were on edge, nor the dungeon monsters, who were extremely sensitive to health and mana, could detect her presence.

Lu Xiu lowered her eyes, lost in thought.

Since the start of the instance.

She started running around in various mirrored instances, mainly because she had nothing else to do.

She cannot participate in the dungeon process; she can only act as a mentor and wait for the players to arrive. However, it will probably be quite a long time before the players see her... As for other things, such as bringing apocalypse to certain players, the system does not allow it either.

Let alone offering any help.

All she can do is watch and see if there are any promising talents. If so, after the players complete the game, she can disregard the system's evaluation mechanism and designate certain players to become Berserker. This is also a privilege of the class progenitor.

The problem is that the players' progress is too slow right now... You can't tell anything from it; they're all still suffering with Fat Brother, either getting beaten up by Axe Fat Brother or Brick Fat Brother.

Lu Xiu found it quite boring.

Besides.

Even if you know some players are talented, it's all for nothing if they can't clear the dungeon.

So Lu Xiu quickly lost interest and randomly found a dungeon to play as a cat.

"This player needs at least..."

Lu Xiu was about to complain, but before she could speak, she suddenly realized something, gave a strange "hmm," and looked down. Her gaze pierced through the layers of mist and landed on Rosalind.

Then, Rosalind, facing the leaping attack, advanced instead of retreating, confronting the Fat Brother head-on—she witnessed the entire process. "The Ancestral Bloodline of Franca..."

Lu Xiu floated in mid-air, her fingertips gently lifting a wisp of gray mist. She wasn't particularly surprised, just smiled and said, "You figured it out so quickly?" Of course, she knew how Rosalind had achieved that stunning attack.

Actually, she was aware of this cheating method when she Constructed Instance, but after weighing the options, she ultimately decided against adding restrictions. After all, this was part of the Frans's inherent bloodline; she couldn't intentionally target them just because of their bloodline, could she?

To make the Frans transform into beasts the instant their Mental Strength touched their Ancestral Bloodline? That's certainly possible...

This means she has to remind all Franca players before the dungeon starts, otherwise who knows how many Franca players will accidentally trigger the button and be eliminated.

But the modified dungeon description is already excessive... and to add that specifically mentioning that players from Franca are not allowed to touch the Ancestral Bloodline makes it seem like it's targeting Franca players, which is really unnecessary.

Rosalind did contribute to the development of the Rampage, and to avoid unnecessary trouble, she ultimately did not set harsh conditions, only stipulating that the blood energy ignited by their Ancestral Bloodline would be even more difficult to calm down.

That's enough.

Just as Rosalind suspected, if they dared to play like that in battle, they'd be doomed...

Rampage and Blood Frenzy Art are two completely different things.

The former is Mental Strength constraint, a controlled tightrope walk, keeping the qi and blood at a state of near-ignition. Once it can't hold on any longer, the qi and blood can be suppressed to calm it down.

But the latter is a life-or-death struggle, directly igniting the blood and then ignoring everything else, relying purely on physical endurance.

There was absolutely no skill involved; it was purely a matter of luck.

That's not all; they can't even fully stimulate the body with qi and blood to maximize its enhancement.

Lu Xiu couldn't understand how the Frans could be so cruel to her... "However... Rosalind's ability to sense her Ancestral Bloodline so quickly, bypassing the stage of Mental Strength control and using the bloodline as a trigger to unleash a Rampage, is truly unexpected."

"One can only say they truly live up to the reputation of the Franca royal family."

"By the way... is it possible for them to revert to their ancestral forms?"

Lu Xiu, resting her snow-white chin on her hand, suddenly had a guess.

If they can truly hone their Mental Strength in this instance to the point where they can perfectly control the raging Ancestral Bloodline within them... then wouldn't the so-called Blood Frenzy Art backlash cease to exist? Wouldn't their Ancestral Bloodline be fully activated?

Could they then transform into beasts in reality, while retaining their sanity?

Um...

It really seems possible!

"If only we could really achieve that..."

Lu Xiu looked down at Rosalind, who was still patiently instructing her teammates, and couldn't help but smile, "If the Frans can achieve this, then the Berserker is indeed suitable for them. They won't even need to use blood energy to condense blood magic for their second awakening skill; they'll be beasts themselves, just charging forward."

Thinking about it that way is actually quite exciting.

However, this is just speculation. Whether the Frans can completely control their Ancestral Bloodline through the Berserker class mechanics remains to be seen, depending on how far Rosalind goes next.

Although she was able to keenly perceive in such a short time that the Beasthood Erosion was not only a negative curse but also a source of power, and decisively used her Ancestral Bloodline to successfully unleash her Rampage, her combat comprehension was indeed quite good, enough to make her stand out among the top players in the outer region who were still being used as balls by the Fat Brother.

However, without the dungeon system as a safety net, Rosalind would still get out of control if she relied solely on herself.

Let's wait until Rosalind learns the most difficult step —the Mental Strength technique—to ignite her blood.

We've reached this point.

Only she has the right to talk about taming the Ancestral Bloodline.

Furthermore, it's still unknown whether the Ancestral Bloodline can be completely tamed, or whether they can revert to their ancestral state...

"Practice slowly, Your Her Royal Highness the Princess."

Lu Xiu stretched, losing interest in continuing to observe Rosalind's match.

Since it relies on card-based animation, its visual appeal is somewhat lacking.

She just hoped Rosalind wouldn't try to take shortcuts from now on.

Otherwise, the consequences could be dire... As for what's next, she wants to check out some of the more unconventional players, just for fun...

After all, she knew the process all along, and seeing players in despair was pointless.

Um.

As Lu Xiu pondered this, she brought up the System Panel, preparing to find a game session where players were more unconventional.

But just before she was about to jump...

"Huh?"

Lu Xiu paused, then abruptly turned her head, her gaze piercing through space to look at one of the mirrored instances of Oedon Chapel Graveyard. "This scene..."

Looking at the empty cemetery and the giant Father beast slowly dissipating into Bai Guang, Lu Xiu was somewhat surprised. "So they just threw Father Gascoigne away?!"

Someone actually killed the first main story boss?!

So fast?

Lu Xiu was a little curious. Her figure disappeared instantly and then reappeared above the Oedon Chapel Graveyard.

"Jian Li?" Lu Xiu looked down at the cemetery and immediately spotted the silver-haired figure sitting on the steps, slightly out of breath.

It turned out to be Jian Li.

And it seems to be a solo run?

As Lu Xiu pondered this, she pulled up the record for this match and discovered that Jian Li had been matched with players normally, but all her teammates had died and she hadn't been rematched, so she had managed to kill her way to the graveyard all by herself.

There were times when they were in a sorry state.

But all of that was too much. Even when the Father turned into a beast, a mad dog rampaging around the field, he still managed to kill the Father with three consecutive Gun Parry, without anyone restraining him, relying on his terrifying combat instincts and at a zero-tolerance distance.

That's impressive.

Lu Xiu turned off the record, then looked at the beautiful figure below, sitting in the void, resting her snow-white chin on her hand, and sighed.

As expected of the strongest player in the Strategy Group.

When Jian Li used his Mental Strength to control his qi and blood to leave his body and suspend it in the air, Lu Xiu's beautiful eyes were filled with amazement.

She had discussed the Liberation Skill with both Jian Li and Shen Nian before.

But neither of them made any progress... She thought it would be really difficult for others. Unexpectedly...

Her teaching methods are problematic...

Her verbal explanations were incomprehensible to Jian Li, but with systematic guidance and instruction, Jian Li quickly grasped the basics.

It seems that when we discover new mechanics, we'll still have to rely on dungeons to teach us...

certainly.

This might also be related to the fact that Jian Li's Mental Strength attribute is not high in reality.

"This was a huge surprise for me..."

Lu Xiu watched as Jian Li stood up. Her silver high ponytail shone like moonlight in the gloomy cemetery, swaying as she walked, looking exceptionally beautiful. At this rate, Jian Li would definitely have no problem clearing the level.

In other words...

In the final stage of the dungeon, Jian Li will definitely be among the players facing them directly.

Having known each other for so long, Lu Xiu had never actually fought Jian Li without holding back.

In this instance, the two might face off for the first time. That's something to look forward to...

"Jian Li, keep going! Don't panic even if your Insight improves."

Lu Xiu stared at her quietly for a long while, then murmured something before her figure vanished silently into the gray mist.

And in that very instant Lu Xiu murmured...

Jian Li suddenly stopped, raised her head slightly, and looked up at the swirling gray fog in the sky.

But I saw nothing.

On the other side.

After leaving the Oedon Chapel Graveyard, Lu Xiu naturally thought of another person.

Shen Nian.

Since Jian Li's progress is so incredible, Shen Nian's performance can't be too bad, right?

Holding onto this expectation.

Lu Xiu went directly to the area where Shen Nian was. And then... and then she saw Shen Nian fighting with a pig.

Yharnam sewers.

The enormous man-eating pig, its hind hooves pounding in knee-deep sewage, briefly gathered its strength before launching a deadly charge.

"Prepare!"

Shen Nian shouted a warning to his teammates, and then, facing the charging man-eating pig, he performed a wall jump, narrowly avoiding the pig's side. The man-eating pig suddenly turned around.

"Now!"

Seeing that he had attracted the man-eating pig's attention, Shen Nian fired and retreated while shouting, "Hurry up and grab it!"

"Boss! Are you sure?"

"I'm sure! What are you all being so dramatic about! You think you're hyenas?! Gouge them out! If you don't, I'll have pigs gouge you out!" "No, no, no..."

Upon hearing this...

One of Shen Nian's teammates immediately came up behind the man-eating pig, his right hand forming a chopstick with his five fingers together, then he roared, closed his eyes, and with all his might, stabbed it in hard!

Pfft!!! "Awoooooo!!!"

With a deafening scream and a spray of blood, the cannibal pig's body stiffened abruptly and collapsed into the sewage.

Visceral Attack!

But soon...

Another scream rang out.

"Aaaaaaah! Why is it so realistic! Why is it so realistic! There's even poop!!!! There's even poop!!!" The player screamed in despair, waving his arms wildly. "It's ridiculous enough that there's a pig in the sewers! Why does Visceral Attack also produce poop!"

"Meaning..."

"Look! It's the boss!"

"Get away! Don't come near me, and don't ever use that hand to give me the Blood Vial again!"

"You said you didn't want to be so dramatic!"

"That's you, so I'm being dramatic."

In mid-air, Lu Xiu saw this scene and covered her face with her hands.

All right.

It seems there are still differences between people.

Jian Li follows a technical approach.

Shen Nian seems to be taking the comedic route...

"Never mind, let her be..."

After a moment, Lu Xiu slowly lowered her hand, shaking her head helplessly. Although the scene was somewhat amusing, Shen Nian was ultimately using a tactic that had its merits.

And it was quite fun too...

As Lu Xiu pondered this, she looked away, and her figure disappeared once more.

Time passed slowly.

As it turns out...

That Fat Brother stumped countless players was truly just a minor obstacle at the entrance to Yharnam's starting village. As most players learned to Gun Parry, most teams began to advance... only to be thoroughly entertained by the hospitable people of Yharnam who were having Bonfire party. This was arguably the most difficult part of the dungeon's opening.

There were just too many monsters—dogs, people, and the old man who sniped at people all gathered together.

Goodness!

It was utter chaos... and another large wave of players transformed into beasts and were wiped out.

After all, most players are not capable of getting through this situation on their first try. They can defend against groups of Hunter, but not against hounds; they can defend against hounds, but not against snipers shooting from the shadows.

Countless players have died and been resurrected here.

After finally getting past the Bonfire, you'll encounter Fat Brother with a brick behind the door, as well as various monsters hiding in the corners...

The players are having a really tough time.

However, after this first wave of eliminations, the remaining players experienced initial outrage, frustration, and frantic death resets.

I've finally gotten used to the rhythm of the entire dungeon.

They learned to Gun Parry interrupt monster attacks and to suppress their raging blood with Mental Strength during lulls in combat. More advanced players have experienced the benefits of Beasthood Erosion, and they begin to deliberately retain a certain Beasthood Erosion during combat in order to gain higher attributes.

This is undoubtedly a risky choice. But it's also forced upon us by the dungeon's difficulty; the monsters are just too heavy, and without finding a way out, you'll either die endlessly or transform into a beast.

This zero-tolerance experience, where every second is a brush with death, is enough to transform many players' combat styles. Ulysses and Gong Yu's team have already fought their way through the main road filled with hospitable Yharnam people.

They began to advance, although they were wiped out several times along the way.

But as they played more, they became more and more skilled.

Everything seemed to be moving in a positive direction.

"Call..."

In front of the residence by the bridge.

Ulysses, Gong Yu, Zhao Heng, and the other players leaned against the cold stone wall, slumped on the ground without any regard for appearances, and were resting.

"This instance is way too malicious!"

Gong Yu wiped the blood from his face, looked at the monster lying on the ground not far away—the one that had suddenly jumped out from the corner and slashed him—and cursed, "They're everywhere! A Fat Brother at the end of the street, a guy throwing a party on the street, and a guy with a brick behind the door! Monsters are hiding everywhere. It's one thing for them to suddenly jump out from around the corner, but there's even a monster standing behind a box! It's outrageous!"

Ulysses shook his head helplessly.

Even someone as accustomed to the combat style of dungeons as he was, was finding it hard to bear the omnipresent Red Tide of the dungeons, even for someone like him who loved the thrill of combat... Let alone the other players.

If they hadn't improved their Gun Parry skills and gained some understanding of the monsters' counterintuitive attack methods during this time, they don't know how much longer it would have taken them to get here.

Even so, during the recent advance, several members of the team were unable to concentrate on controlling their qi and blood, causing their Beasthood Erosion to explode and directly transform into wild beasts.

Of course, it also resulted in the team being wiped out...

You'll get used to it.

Zhao Heng didn't seem to care. "These are minor issues. You'll get used to them after playing a few Lu Xiu dungeons."

No one else wanted to talk to him.

This person has been corrupted.

Gong Yu didn't want to think about it either. He just glanced down at the consistently high level of Beasthood Erosion on his panel and asked, "Are we really okay in our current state? Not suppressing the Beasthood Erosion feels like fighting on our last breath, just a hair's breadth away from instant Mutation. It's too dangerous..."

"It's definitely not going to be anything good, or at least it can't all be good."

Ulysses replied, "To compensate for the attribute difference, we deliberately maintained a high level of corruption during the battle. Although the system didn't give any notification, I just glanced at the panel, and my [Insight] has increased. My Insight is now at 8 points."

"Me too." Gong Yu glanced at it and nodded. "Me too, it's already nine o'clock."

It's eight o'clock here too.

So it can't all be a good thing.

Ulysses frowned and said, "And I remember that the instructions at the beginning of the dungeon mentioned that the higher your Insight, the lower your resistance, the stronger the enemy, and you can even see things that you couldn't see before... Lower resistance can solve the problem, as long as you don't get hit. I haven't seen the enemy become stronger yet, they all seem to be just as strong."

What I'm most worried about is the last one, seeing things that I couldn't see before... I have a feeling that this thing is going to be very bad.

"Misfortune and fortune are intertwined."

Zhao Heng then spoke up, "Or rather, Lu Xiu designed this system so that we'd be walking a tightrope. There are too many monsters, and their stats are ridiculously high. If we don't maintain a high level of corruption and don't have attribute bonuses, we simply won't be able to clear them all, let alone make any progress."

"Furthermore, improved Insight isn't all bad. Have you forgotten? When we just died and returned to the Hunter's Dream, the doll next to the stairs came back to life because our Insight had reached the required level. Now we can use the Blood Echoes we've collected to get stat boosts from her."

This means that Insight is also a key growth resource in this dungeon, but it can't be too high, and you must learn to Blood Control before Insight reaches level 50.

Ulysses and Gong Yu nodded silently.

The doll awakens and can be upgraded with skill points, which is a real and tangible improvement.

"I'm rested enough, let's go." Zhao Heng stood up, dusting himself off. "No matter what malice the Insight System harbors, we have no choice but to keep moving forward. Let's continue and find the next Lamp (save point). I don't want to end up back here after making some progress." "Okay, but let's not go down the main path yet. Let's check out the house ahead first."

Ulysses, Gong Yu, and the other players also stood up, and the group walked into the dwelling in front of them.

The group had developed some resistance to the malice of the dungeon, and there weren't many monsters in their dwelling, so they were quickly cleared out.

The fact that this residence had a second floor was something no one had expected.

The group exchanged glances and then ran up together.

What surprised them even more was that after defeating the monster guarding the gate, a large bridge appeared before them.

"Bridge?"

Gong Yu peeked around and looked at the bridge in front of him. Gothic statues stood on both sides of the bridge, and abandoned carriages and debris were everywhere on the bridge surface, obscuring his view.

Be careful.

Seeing this, Zhao Heng remarked, "This bridge is so wide, yet it's covered with abandoned carriages and debris, completely obstructing the view. It's practically a natural ambush zone."

"Let's proceed slowly."

Ulysses thought for a moment, then picked up his axe and led the way. Just as they rounded the abandoned carriage ahead, they saw two enormous wolves turn their heads. At the same time, a Fat Brother also turned his head.

Holy crap...

Zhao Heng shouted.

At the same time.

The two giant wolves suddenly exerted their strength and pounced directly on them.

The Fat Brother also roared.

"Grass!"

Ulysses held the Hunter Axe horizontally in front of him.

Five minutes later.

After everyone's health was depleted and their Beasthood Erosion was nearing the critical threshold, they finally killed the two giant wolves and the Fat Brother. "Huff... huff..."

On the bridge surface.

Everyone was covered in foul-smelling black blood, their health bars all dropping to the danger zone, looking extremely disheveled. Gong Yu, while channeling his Mental Strength to suppress his blood and qi, which were on the verge of spiraling out of control due to the continuous high-intensity combat, said, "In an environment like this, having two dogs that look like ghosts, and an elite Hunter along with them, there must be some good items coming up, right? Otherwise, I'm going to get angry! We can't have come all this way just to be bitten by dogs, can we?"

Zhao Heng said, "Actually, that's also possible..."

Gong Yu: "... Are you kidding me?"

The other players also turned their heads sharply.

Zhao Heng said, "I'm not joking. This bridge definitely can't just have dogs, and it's unlikely we were brought up here just to be bitten by them. But what's behind it is anyone's guess. It could be props, or it could be characters from the story, or it could be a path leading to other areas..."

"As long as it's not completely empty, that's fine."

Gong Yu breathed a sigh of relief, "I was afraid that after we finished fighting, there would be nothing left, and then we would have come all this way just to get bitten for nothing..."

"Alright, let's push it forward and see if there's a road ahead."

After Ulysses fully recovered and controlled the Beasthood Erosion within a reasonable range, he stood up and looked ahead. "If there's nothing else, we'll go back and take the main road we just came downstairs."

The other players got up, and the group walked around the giant wolf's corpse. After killing a few crows lying on the ground, they finally saw the end of the bridge. "It seems there really is a way!" As they approached the end of the bridge, Ulysses narrowed his eyes slightly after seeing the distant view.

Have we found a hidden area?

Gong Yu saw it too, and he quickened his pace excitedly, saying, "We came up from the second floor of that dilapidated house, and we even fought a bunch of elite monsters. Normal players wouldn't even come here to clear the game, right? But there's a path here! And it's so well hidden, there must be something ahead..." However, he didn't finish his sentence.

A dark figure leaped from behind the building at the end of the bridge and landed right in the middle of the bridge!

Bang.

Gravel flew everywhere.

The ground trembled.

A monster several times larger than the Fat Brother appeared before them. It stood several meters tall, but its body was extremely thin for its height, with its ribs clearly visible in the air. Its body was covered with long, gray-black fur, and it had a pair of strangely shaped horns on its head.

Just looking at it makes one feel twisted and uneasy.

"Aaaaaaaah!!!"

The monster stared at Gong Yu and the others, then suddenly spread its deformed arms, letting out a sharp, piercing cry that sounded like a painful wail. At the same time...

The top of its head.

A name and a long health bar appeared.

Simultaneously, a mournful lament, a grand and tragic melody, appeared, as if someone were singing a dirge for this monster. [You have faced the Cleric Beast.]

[Insight +1]

Listening to the melody that intertwines sacredness and sorrow, and looking at the enormous, oppressive creature before me.

Gong Yu's mind went blank, a complete void.

He finally understood... why Zhao Heng was so certain that the Fat Brother who could beat them up like balls wasn't the boss in the alleyway. Because compared to this monster, the Fat Brother looked like a malnourished younger brother!

Their entrance and the sense of oppression they exuded were utterly pathetic.

On the other hand, the other people's thoughts were much simpler.

They were thinking...

What kind of devil is Lu Xiu?!

Behind that trial of two hounds and an elite Hunter— enough to give any team a run for their money... wasn't a save point, nor a treasure chest, but a fucking boss!!!

We came here full of expectations, and this is the first thing you do to me?

Is that right? "Roar!"

Ulysses and the others stared blankly at the boss, whose imposing presence was palpable from the moment he appeared.

The BSS had already begun to move. Accompanied by an Epic melody, the deformed behemoth swung its unusually thick left arm, its long, gray-black fur swirling as it rolled over them like a dump truck!

"Quick! Back off! Pull them apart first!"

Zhao Heng was the first to react, immediately running backward while shouting at the top of his lungs:

"And Gong Yu too! Did you see him?!"

"I told you that fat guy in the alley was just an elite monster! See?!"

"... This is what a real boss is!!!"

Gong Yu did an awkward roll, narrowly avoiding the giant claw that grazed his scalp, and snapped, "Damn it, can't we at a time like this be more interesting?! I'm not blind!"

Boom!

The Cleric Beast's massive left claw swept across, grazing Gong Yu, before slamming into two abandoned carriages on the bridge. The carriages shattered instantly, as if made of paper, sending wood chips and metal fragments flying everywhere.

"Scatter! Try Gun Parry first!" Ulysses commanded as he rolled backward.

The others realized what was happening too.

But when Ulysses got up, he found that there was still one player who hadn't hidden.

Ulysses was stunned for a moment, then immediately shouted, "Donovan!!! What are you doing?"

But the player from Canaan named Donovan paid no heed.

He didn't snap out of his daze at Ulysses ' roar, nor did he panic and run away in terror at the approaching boss; instead, he remained standing there, stunned.

But it doesn't seem like he's been scared out of his wits.

Because he didn't seem to show any fear, he just stared blankly ahead, his pupils unfocused, as if he had suddenly fallen into a nightmare.

At the same time.

The boss, which seemed poised to tear every living thing on the bridge to shreds, abruptly stopped when it reached Donovan. It slowly lowered its massive left arm, then slightly drooped its head, and stared directly into the eyes of the Canaan player.

It was as if a certain resonance had formed between them that no one else could understand.

Then, the dazed Canaan player spoke, as if in a dream:

"I see the pond... I see the pond... I see the pond..."

Chi Zheng is looking at me...

"And wolves..."

"So many wolves..."

"They're not dead..."