Unlucky souls and speeding up
At the same time.
Rosalind has already hit the Father.
Because she reached the threshold of self-control of Mental Strength earlier than Ulysses, after all, she had unleashed Rampage by chance using her Ancestral Bloodline.
And that is precisely why.
In battle, she no longer had to retreat and create distance after a few hits, unlike other players, and rely on the system's guidance to suppress her health.
That would be a huge benefit.
This means that she can stand in front of the BOSS most of the time.
Although this is a Roleplay Instance with limited stats, the players who manage to get into the Top-Tier Instance are all of high quality.
Even if players outside the instance are roughly the same level—in terms of combat experience, combat intuition, and even learning and adaptability—there are still differences between High Sequence players.
Having a regular Franca player tank in front of the BOSS is completely different from having Rosalind tank in front of the BOSS.
Although the former also has a high ranking outside of instances, they can still fail due to poor judgment, lack of experience, or simply...
Being intimidated by the BOSS's massive size, they suffered many unnecessary attacks, and their Beasthood Erosion would spike frequently—under such circumstances, the teammates' situation was predictable.
The latter, however, can rely on superior combat skills and experience to dodge all attacks as much as possible, buying more time for their teammates behind them.
Many times.
Whether or not you have a player who can withstand the BOSS's attacks to stand in front of you is the key to whether or not you can defeat the BOSS.
After Rosalind learned to Blood Control, she fulfilled her duty of standing in front of her teammates very well.
In addition, although Rosalind's team did not have a Nine Provinces player like Zhao Heng, she was meticulous and equally happy and good at finding the weaknesses of monsters.
Therefore, the Father did not hold her for too long.
However, because she didn't hear the singing from the windows near the Fountain Plaza, she didn't rely on the Music Box that Ulysses and the Father had obtained, which could cause the BOSS to be severely stunned, to pass the priest's level. Instead, she relied on the simple and unadorned Qin King circling the pillar.
After figuring out the characteristics of the Father in his three stages, Rosalind began to direct her teammates to use the tombstones in the cemetery as cover, and to circle around the Father, eventually wearing Father down to death.
The sense of accomplishment from this is obviously much greater than that from Ulysses and the others defeating the BOSS.
After all, she relied on her own brains.
That moment.
Rosalind truly felt invincible; nothing could stop her now!
After all, besides defeating the BOSS with her brain, she also discovered that her proficiency in controlling her Mental Strength was increasing after the two fierce battles between the Cleric Beast and the Father.
The speed at which the manic energy and blood are being suppressed is getting faster and faster.
In this situation, what is there to be afraid of?
Rosalind felt there was nothing left to fear!
But as it turns out...
She was too happy too soon.
After beating the Father, she was not greeted with a bright future, but with endless suffering and torment.
It was truly an endless torment!
The new area appears immediately after the Father.
It's just beginning.
Rosalind found the new area alright, even though the monsters in the Healing Church were much larger, and she encountered more Fat Brother with strange weapons.
But she could still fight them, albeit in a sorry state.
until.
Snap
That area.
Old Yharnam appeared before Rosalind.
For the first time, she broke down—completely broke down, because of this map. In her mind, Lu Xiu's always beautiful and charming face even became repulsive.
How could anyone design something so perverted?!
Their group had barely stepped into Old Yharnam when they sensed something was wrong, but they weren't sure exactly what it was at the time.
All they knew was that a voice kept warning them.
They were on guard during that time, really on guard.
I never expected this.
The final thing that will happen is—machine gun fire.
As soon as they cross a certain area, someone on the central tower of Old Yharnam will operate machine gun-like weapons to continuously suppress them with firepower!
That's right!
Machine gun!
Continue to suppress!
High-stakes, low-stakes!
If exposed in an open area, they'll be instantly wiped out!
Even more outrageous is that during this time, they had to do more than just dodge bullets! There was also a whole van full of monsters on the road! They barely managed to dodge machine gun fire.
They were met again by narrow alleyways, dim visibility, and meticulously positioned enemies.
For example, the most representative example Dogs and Riflemen.
Several aggressive dogs, moving with incredible speed, rushed up and harassed the player, while crossbowmen in the distance continuously fired stray arrows. There was little room to dodge, and once the player stepped out of the house, machine gun fire would inevitably follow.
One can imagine how desperate they were.
They're not giving us any chance at all!
And this was just one example. The entire Old Yharnam was teeming with monsters, and ganging up on them was everywhere. Although the player group seemed to have more players in some areas, the sheer number of monsters on the map gave Rosalind the feeling that she wasn't ganging up on the monsters, but rather that the monsters were ganging up on her.
Combined with the atmosphere of Old Yharnam, the dim streetlights, the dilapidated streets, the incessant howls of wolves, and the groans of the residents, well...
And there's psychological attack too!
This combination of psychological attack, monster mobbing, and machine gun fire!
Rosalind and her teammates died and died, died and died, died and died! By the end, Rosalind had lost all confidence.
They've started talking nonsense.
"How did I ever hit Father before?!"
"Wait, did I hit Father? Did I really hit him?"
"Red bean pastries are delicious—but Lu Xiu isn't allowed to eat them! She was definitely laughing when she designed the machine gun—definitely laughing!"
"A princess cannot swear—a princess cannot swear— Lu Xiu, you—"
"Whoever can go and kill that machine gunner—I'll kowtow to him."
at last.
He actually said something like "I'm bowing down to someone."
One can only imagine how desperate Rosalind must have been.
Finally, a Franca player couldn't stand it anymore and suggested a solution: have someone carry a shield forward, which might block the bullets.
After all, they found a shield as soon as they arrived in the new area.
Although the shield was made of wood and didn't seem very sturdy—but what if? What if it was a tool specifically designed for this place?
If it's not specifically targeted, why would you place a useless shield in such a conspicuous place?
This player was able to make such a suggestion.
He was clearly delirious.
But Rosalind hesitated for a moment before agreeing, because she had no other choice.
Then, Rosalind's group began to line up, with one player holding up a shield at the front and the others forming a long, single file behind them, and they started to move forward.
And the result...
It's easy to imagine.
The moment the machine gun fire came, the wooden shield was as fragile as paper.
Not long after.
The Lamp's seat at the Oedon Chapel.
Distinguished guests gathered, young and old alike.
Everyone who died came back to life, looking like they were about to ascend to heaven.
Only the player who had just suggested using a wooden shield to block bullets, and then led the way by holding the shield at the front, slowly stood up.
The others looked over.
The player silently raised his shield, then slammed it down with all his might.
Smack!
The crisp sound of wood cracking echoed in the empty chapel.
"What a lousy shield!"
The player with the broken defense cursed, "The description says it's the best shield in Yharnam! What's so good about it?! What's so good about it?!"
It can't stop a monster's normal attacks! It can't stop a monster's charged heavy attacks! One shot from a crossbow and it'll fall apart! It can't stop bullets either! It's completely useless! Why is this shield described as the best shield in Yharnam?! Lu Xiu, tell me, what's so great about it?! And why is it placed at the entrance of the cathedral?!
Her furious roar, breaking her composure, echoed beside the Lamp.
The other teammates, who had just been riddled with bullets by machine gun fire because they were lined up in a long, straight line, silently turned their heads away, feeling ashamed.
They can even come up with such a stupid idea.
And they did it—
It has to be said.
That's truly shameful.
"Alright----"
Rosalind closed her eyes, took a deep breath, and interrupted the shield-wielding player.
I also felt ashamed.
Her chest heaved violently a few times as she forced back the vulgar words that were about to spill from her mouth. Although she had broken down, the good manners she had cultivated since childhood did not allow her to act as undignifiedly as her teammates.
Although she had just lost her mind for a moment----
That area— Old Yharnam.
Rosalind opened her eyes, looked at her Blood Echoes that had been completely drained by repeated deaths, gritted her teeth, and said, "We're not going! Let's not fight for now! There's no way we can fight right now!"
"Huh? Then where are we going if we don't fight them?"
The player holding the shield was taken aback upon hearing this, and forgot all about breaking through the defenses. "Except for Old Yharnam, all the other doors are locked. If we don't go that way, we'll have nowhere else to go."
Who says there's no way out?
Rosalind turned to look at the Lamp in front of her. "Have you forgotten that item worth 10,000 Blood Echoes we saw in the Messengers' Shop in Hunter's Dream?"
Upon hearing this...
The player holding the shield was taken aback again.
The other players were also taken aback.
"You mean—[Chief Hunter Emblem]?! The item described as being able to open the gates of the Cathedral Ward?"
"That's right. I just checked the scene description; the place we can't enter right now is the cathedral."
Rosalind took a deep breath. "We're not going to Old Yharnam for now! Even if that machine gunner drops a divine weapon, I'm not going."
"From this moment on, everyone, go grind monsters in the Oedon Chapel and the previously cleared blocks—grind those Healing Church members, grind those beasts, grind those Yharnam people!"
By constantly using the Lamp to return to the dream world and refresh the monsters, we quickly accumulated 10,000 Blood Echoes, bought the [Chief Hunter Emblem], and Open Gate with the money! We'll never go to Old Yharnam again!
Speaking of which...
Rosalind clenched her fists and declared as if making a vow, "In short, even if I, Rosalind, have to pick up trash on the streets! Even if I have to grind through hundreds of monsters! Even if I have to jump off a tower! I don't want to go back to Old Yharnam and become a live target for that machine gunner!"
The other players looked at each other in bewilderment.
After a moment of silence, they all raised their hands in agreement.
That concludes the discussion.
Rosalind also began to take the wrong path.
And as it turns out, although escaping is shameful, it is indeed effective.
They quickly farmed enough Blood Echoes, bought the Chief Hunter Emblem, and successfully entered the Cathedral Ward.
And the Cathedral Ward —well, how should I put it—was also torturous.
But at least there was no machine gun fire.
Rosalind and the others stumbled and bumped their way into the BOSS room.
And with the experience gained from killing the Cleric Beast on the bridge, and the level he gained from killing monsters.
Rosalind's forces finally defeated the boss, Vicar Amelia, after being wiped out three times, ending a brutal battle that could only be described as Shura.
That's why they were able to win on their third try.
The main reason is that this boss is also weak to fire.
This was a huge advantage for them, who had already defeated the Cleric Beast. They had accumulated their echoes by grinding monsters together, but only needed one key to Open Gate, so overall everyone's strength had been improved.
Even so.
Vicar Amelia still left a deep impression on them, managing to defeat them three times, which shows the power of the BOSS.
but.
It's finally over.
Rosalind sighed and looked ahead.
Before her, a BOSS with its face covered by tattered cloth, huge antlers, and covered in fur, resembling a giant sheep, let out a final roar before its massive body collapsed and turned into a sky full of Bai Guang.
"We won!"
Rosalind wiped the warm blood from her cheek, and seeing the system notification that [prey has been slaughtered], her tense body slowly relaxed and began to tremble.
"We've won!"
Behind her, the three remaining Franca players cheered and then collapsed to the ground.
The damage was severe.
If the Father is a battle of skill, then the Vicar Amelia is a war of attrition that purely tests the player's psychological limits and recovery ability.
That terrifying attack range, the desperate mechanism that allows you to heal yourself, and that piercing scream—if I didn't know that fire was a weakness, I don't know how much I would have been tortured.
But at least they fought!
Rosalind looked away and forcefully covered her blood-stained face.
No longer will they have to be like a stray dog on the roadside, running for their lives in Old Yharnam, only to be indiscriminately shot down by machine guns.
She could accept dying three times at the hands of Vicar Amelia.
But she couldn't accept dying under such frustrating suppressive fire and insidious siege.
And after the fight...
Her confidence has finally returned!
She was once again convinced that she wasn't a failure!
Although I died three times, my efforts still paid off.
It was indeed the right decision not to reconcile with the Old Yharnam.
Instead of forcing yourself, let yourself off the hook.
"I'm still very strong."
Rosalind lowered her hands from her face, repeated the sentence, and her eyes regained their resolve.
Next.
She stood up, gently brushed the dust off her trench coat, regained her usual composed princess demeanor, and looked at the remaining players. "Let's go, let's go back to the Dream Realm to level up, resurrect and rejoin the other fallen teammates, and then—keep going! Keep pushing through the dungeon! Don't let little Old Yharnam corrupt our resolve! We'll definitely win next!"
If we find anything we missed later, we can just go back to Old Yharnam when we're a higher level!
"Yes, Your Highness Rosalind!"
The remaining three players, who had been lying on the ground, seemed to have found their backbone again. They immediately responded in unison, then got up and touched the newly lit Lamp next to the altar.
A flash of Bai Guang.
The group returned to their respective Hunter's Dream.
As usual, Rosalind walked straight to the beautiful puppet girl and converted the huge amount of Blood Echoes she obtained from killing Vicar Amelia into a level.
"Call----"
After leveling up, Rosalind stretched her wrists, adjusted to the bonuses from the newly added attributes, and breathed a sigh of relief.
The higher the dungeon level, the closer the attributes are to reality. Coupled with her increasingly proficient self -Blood Control of her health, she felt that no matter what monster she encountered next, even if she couldn't defeat it in one go, she would definitely not be helpless. No matter what map she encountered, she could face it with composure.
Except for that godforsaken place, Old Yharnam!
As Rosalind pondered this, she was about to touch the tombstone to re-enter Yharnam.
But at this moment...
She suddenly realized something was wrong.
Beside the puppet, on the steps leading to the Hunter's Workshop, several more withered and pale messenger figures had appeared, seemingly out of nowhere.
Unlike the messengers who sold goods, these little figures held their hands high, as if they were holding some precious offering, waiting for her to pick them up.
"What's this?"
Rosalind walked over with some curiosity.
She remembered very clearly that when she came back from Oedon Chapel to buy the [Chief Hunter Emblem], it was definitely not on the steps.
Is this reward triggered only after defeating Vicar Amelia?
With a hint of anticipation, Rosalind reached out and touched the orb of light held up by the little messengers.
Bite!
With a system notification sound, a dark red, eyeball-shaped object fell into her palm.
At the same time, a pop-up window appeared in front of her.
[Blood-Drunk Hunter's Eye]
[The bloodthirsty Hunter's eyes, the pupils dilated and chaotic, signify the onset of a beastly calamity. Hunter drink too much blood are said to be trapped in nightmares, destined to wander in them forever.]
[The Blood-Drunk Hunter's Eye can summon the Hunter into their Hunter's Nightmare. Outside the Oedon Chapel, a deformed creature will stare at the Hunter; it will lead the player into the nightmare.]
"The Blood-Drunk Hunter's Eye? The Hunter's Nightmare? A place similar to the Hunter's Dream?"
Rosalind frowned slightly as she looked at the dark red eyeball in her hand.
Her intuition told her that this was definitely not an ordinary plot prop.
Outside the Oedon Chapel ----
Rosalind whispered the instructions from the item description, put it away for the time being, and then touched the tombstone to return to the Oedon Chapel.
A flash of Bai Guang.
Her teammates have come out.
Rosalind had just come out.
His teammates immediately surrounded him.
"Your Highness, we have obtained something."
Rosalind wasn't surprised, and they exchanged information.
really.
Everyone received the same item.
"Shouldn't this be a reward?"
After exchanging intelligence.
The player who had just thrown the shield said, "Just like the Messengers' Shop? Lu Xiu prepared this reward for us outside the only way? Hunter's Nightmare —something like Hunter's Dream? Only more combat-oriented?"
"Very likely."
Another player replied, "It can't be an even more difficult map. We just finished the third boss, so we shouldn't be in such a hurry. This kind of item, which only appears after defeating a specific boss, and it appeared directly in the Hunter's Dream, must contain a weapon even stronger than the Kirkhammer, right? Princess Rosalind, shall we go take a look?"
Rosalind watched her teammates regain their fighting spirit and felt the surge of power emanating from her own body after leveling up.
The pride that belongs to top players began to beat again.
All right.
It was mainly out of curiosity.
As long as it's not a disgusting place like Old Yharnam.
She's still willing to go and see.
"Let's go see what's outside. I saw in the item description that it mentioned outside the Oedon Chapel, isn't this the outside?"
Rosalind made a decision.
A few minutes later.
Rosalind led the group out of the church and into the small square outside, where there were tombstones and skeletons.
The guide says there's a deformed creature staring at Hunter outside the Oedon Chapel.
Rosalind looked around: "There isn't one here either—"
She hadn't finished speaking.
Then it came to an abrupt end.
Because she saw that deformed monster.
Of course, other players saw it too.
The exterior of the small chapel is high up on the building's facade, reaching into the clouds.
A massive monster with multiple segmented limbs, a head shaped like an almond cage with dozens of huge eyes and octopus-like tentacles hanging from it, was perched on the wall.
From a distance, it looks like part of the building.
But the moment your gaze truly focuses and you see the whole thing clearly.
Rosalind's breathing stopped.
Her confidence, which had just been restored by defeating Vicar Amelia, plummeted once again.
Is this a deformed monster?
Rosalind suddenly lost interest in the Hunter's Nightmare and its hidden rewards.
Because it really does cause a loss of sanity.
Not only her, but all the remaining players froze in place, not daring to even breathe.
Everyone stared at the monster clinging to the wall, fearing that even the slightest movement would trigger a boss fight.
One second.
Two seconds.
A good ten seconds or so passed.
The enormous monster perched on the wall remained motionless, its dozens of eyes on its head gazing down at the crowd below.
"Call----"
Finding that the monster seemed to have no desire to attack, but simply stared at them like a statue, the player at the edge of the group who had previously suggested using wooden shields to block bullets finally breathed a sigh of relief.
"Your Her Royal Highness the Princess ----"
As she called out to Rosalind, she instinctively took a small step back, just to be safe, to the edge of the square, as if to keep her distance from the monster.
But it was this very movement that caused the trouble.
She happened to be near the teleportation point.
The deformed monster, which had been motionless, suddenly reacted.
Its enormous arm, which had been gripping the outer wall, suddenly rose and reached down to the plaza below.
"!!!"
Rosalind instinctively wanted to back away.
But it was too late.
That giant hand scooped all the players, including Rosalind, into its palm!
Immediately afterwards.
Raise your arm.
Rosalind and the others were forced into the air and faced the monster.
Then.
A deep, guttural female voice, like a nightmare's whisper, echoed in their ears, "I will cast a curse upon his son—"
"Descended upon his grandsons----"
"And even to later generations----"
This chilling curse was uttered as it fell.
The monster suddenly exerted its strength!
Pfft!!!
Blood spurted out.
Rosalind didn't even have time to react before everything went black, and she exploded into a bloody mist.
The door to DLC has officially opened for her----
The Hunter's Nightmare.
"Well----"
Rosalind suddenly opened her eyes and immediately touched her body instinctively.
Intact and undamaged.
The crushing sensation, as if my very soul had been squeezed and crushed by that giant hand, felt like a dream.
Bai Guang appeared.
Her teammates appeared one after another beside her, collapsing to the ground in shock and panting heavily.
"I thought we'd all been wiped out again—"
The player who triggered the teleportation clutched his chest, his face pale. "What kind of monster was that?"
"It was definitely scary, but we're fine, and we've arrived at a place similar to the Hunter's Dream —which proves that's the entrance to the hidden reward! It was the cursed monster that was scary."
Another player from Franca looked around, glanced at the church they were in, and continued, "But at least we arrived safely."
"Wait a minute—don't you guys think this place looks a bit like the Oedon Chapel?"
"They do look somewhat alike."
Rosalind then stood up.
Although the way he was captured was brutal and caused him to lose sanity.
But now, sitting peacefully beside the Lamp, her heart, which had almost stopped, began to beat again.
Even with the illusion that surviving such a calamity meant good fortune was on the horizon, the confidence she had just regained from Vicar Amelia returned once more.
"It's quieter than Oedon Chapel, truly like Hunter's Dream, except there are no NPCs—I wonder if there are any outside. Let's go out and see what this new area has in store for us."
The others, of course, had no objections.
The group filed out.
However.
The moment I stepped out the door.
Rosalind suddenly stopped in her tracks.
The smiles on the faces of the others in the group also froze.
The interior of the church does indeed resemble the Oedon Chapel, and it is indeed tranquil, like Hunter's Dream.
But it's different outside.
Although it resembles the Cathedral Ward of Yharnam in general, it is a nightmarish version, much more dilapidated and desolate, as if it had been forgotten for a long time.
The sky was an unsettling gray-yellow; the rivers that once flowed were no longer water, but crimson blood; most buildings were twisted and tilted, many structures replaced by smooth rock walls; the original city layout was fragmented; the cathedral and the circular square were abruptly torn apart, like a nightmare brutally stitched together.
"This----"
The shield-wielding player swallowed hard. "This place doesn't look like it has any rewards. It's even scarier than Old Yharnam."
"Don't panic."
Another player, unwilling to believe it, encouraged, "Nightmares are abnormal, that's normal. Otherwise, how would you distinguish them from Hunter's Dream— "
As he spoke.
She looked around.
Soon they spotted several figures, dressed in distinctive Hunter's tricorn hats and trench coats, carrying all sorts of strange weapons—weapons Rosalind and her companions had never seen before.
"It's Hunter! A normal Hunter!"
The player immediately exclaimed in delight, "Your Highness, look! They're wearing clothes similar to ours! And they're carrying new weapons we've never seen before! This must be the Yharnam Hunter ' stronghold! We can get even more powerful and handy new weapons!"
"Hmm, maybe—"
Rosalind was uneasy, but also unwilling to believe it.
"Let's go take a look."
After hesitating for a moment, Rosalind tentatively took a short distance forward, wanting to try to start a conversation.
"Excuse me----"
But before she could finish speaking...
On the side slope.
The Hunter, who had been facing away from them and carrying various transforming weapons, suddenly turned around.
Although there is some distance between them.
But Rosalind clearly saw that the Hunter ' eyes held no trace of human reason, only a frenzied crimson.
"Roar!!!"
The next second.
The five Hunter roared in unison, showing no intention of exchanging words, and charged straight at them, dragging their various strange weapons!
at the same time!
Further away, the other Hunter who had been wandering around seemed to have been drawn by the commotion, and with their eyes red, they surged forward like a tide!
"!!!
The Franca players, who had just been full of anticipation, suddenly felt a chill run down their spines. "Aren't they NPCs?!"
"Prepare for battle!"
Rosalind was the first to react and immediately drew her weapon.
On the other side.
The player with the shield also reacted. Although his defenses had just been breached by the best shield in all of Yharnam, he instinctively raised his shield and stood at the forefront in the face of the humanoid monster's charge.
Snap!
The fastest Hunter rushed forward and swung his strange weapon around!
What appeared to be a cleaver suddenly separated and extended in mid-air, transforming into a barbed metal whip several meters long, which then lashed fiercely at the shield!
Bang!
The moment it was drawn.
Yharnam's best shield disintegrated instantly.
The player with the shield was sent flying, shield and all, and instantly vaporized.
It was done in a flash.
Rosalind's eyes widened suddenly.
And then...
Beast Cutter, Boom Hammer, Beast Hunter Saif, Church Pick, and Hunter wielding the Gatling Gun that Rosalind had been longing for—all began to display their unique abilities, ganging up on Rosalind and her companions.
They're usually one at a time.
This moment.
The nightmare of Old Yharnam is repeating itself.
Her Royal Highness the Princess Franca was finally forced to acknowledge a cruel truth.
She thought she was safe once she escaped the machine gun torture of Old Yharnam.
She thought that by defeating the bishop, she had gained the power to do whatever she wanted.
She thought this was a hidden bonus level that Lu Xiu had given to the players.
But in reality----
It's all fake!
I dodged a cesspool.
There's a cesspool behind that!
And the latrine was right there!
Rosalind's hard-won Dao heart shattered once again the moment she stumbled into the DLC area and faced Hunter who was like a god of war.
The poor girl finally couldn't hold back anymore. She suddenly looked up, tears welling in her eyes, almost spilling out her cheeks. "Lu Xiu! I'll be your maid from now on!!! I'll add salt to your tea every day!!!"
Who is this person?!
What a terrible place this is! It's even worse than Old Yharnam!
At the same time.
In mid-air.
"What an unlucky guy, hahahaha----"
Lu Xiu looked down, laughing so hard her ample bosom jiggled, "Why were you so focused on the monsters after coming out of the church? I even added a black hole animation to the entrance, couldn't you even take a look? Did you really have to rush to the DLC area after defeating the Aries woman? What level are you? You can't even beat Old Yharnam, what are you doing here?!"
The girl's clear laughter echoed in the air.
After a while.
Lu Xiu managed to stop laughing.
The reason she gave players the DLC vouchers at this stage was because she was afraid they would miss out. After all, it's difficult to make major changes to the game if the dungeon is released in a hurry, and it's also difficult to postpone the DLC to seamlessly connect with the main storyline, since she, as the mentor, still needs to step in.
As for why a certain level of player requirement wasn't set for entry— Lu Xiu had considered it, but it was really difficult to implement.
In this instance, the ability for players to control their Mental Strength is sometimes far more important than their level.
After all, this is Class Contest Instance.
Therefore, after much consideration, she decided not to set any rigid requirements such as ranking.
But this seems to lead to a problem: those unlucky souls who accidentally wander in end up in a terrible situation—even though they can get out.
I'll have to be more careful next time.
Lu Xiu completely suppressed her smile and made a mental note of it.
However, this setup isn't all bad, is it?
Because some players actually went on to play the DLC after defeating Vicar Amelia, and they actually persisted and seemed to have gained quite a bit from it.
As Lu Xiu pondered this, she glanced in one direction and vanished.
The next moment.
She then arrived at another mirrored copy.
Jian Li remained alone, because no one was progressing at the same pace as her.
Right now, she's at the Astral Clocktower!
Yes.
The player who challenged the DLC after defeating Vicar Amelia was Jian Li.
She fought her way through Ludwig and the Living Failures, finally standing atop the Astral Clocktower.
Lu Xiu felt that Jian Li must have guessed that this area would be easier to fight later on, since Ludwig was clearly not on the same level as the previous three bosses, but she still went for it anyway—it can only be said that, to some extent, Jian Li was quite competitive.
but.
This time, Jian Li Si Ping encountered trouble when facing Lady Maria of the Astral Clocktower.
The main point is that Lu Xiu turned Ms. Maria into Blood Draw Mentor—the so-called Blood Draw Mentor is actually a Bloodtinge build Master, whose purpose is to allow players to advance and learn to guide their own blood and qi out of their bodies, and then use blood and qi moves to attack enemies.
But this is no easy task.
With a casual swing, Lady Maria channeled her blood and qi into the sword, unleashing a blood-qi attack.
But it's difficult for players to do that.
Jian Li has challenged her many times, but still can't beat her. This is because Lu Xiu has modified the boss, Lady Maria. Not only have all of her moves been changed, but her resilience has also been increased to an extremely high level. Without Blood Draw, it's basically impossible to win using conventional methods.
now.
Jian Li seemed to have failed again. She was sitting with her knees drawn up to her chest at the entrance of the clock tower, her head slightly lowered, looking somewhat dejected.
When Lu Xiu saw this scene, she wanted to laugh as she had laughed at Rosalind, but looking at Jian Li, who was hugging her knees and all alone, she couldn't laugh.
She pursed her lips, then landed beside Jian Li.
"Are you stupid? Go and advance the main storyline first!"
Jian Li, of course, couldn't hear it, and Lu Xiu had no way to interfere with the player's choices.
only.
A few seconds later.
Jian Li suddenly raised her head, but instead of looking in Lu Xiu's direction, she raised her Cane and struck her left hand with the tip before closing her eyes.
The next second.
Lu Xiu then witnessed firsthand how the blood and qi overflowing from Jian Li's palm were drawn away, transformed into blood qi, and guided to attach to the Cane.
It collapsed very quickly.
But in that brief moment, Jian Li did indeed succeed.
She glanced at her Cane, then at the wound on her palm, pursed her red lips, and tried again, unwilling to give up.
Failed again.
Try again.
It was another failure.
She angrily slammed her Cane to the ground, but picked Cane up two seconds later and continued trying.
Seeing this, Lu Xiu remained silent for a moment before smiling.
While I felt relieved, I also had some mixed feelings.
So Jian Li has this side to her?
And at this time...
"Um?"
Lu Xiu discovered something new again, turned her head to look into the distance, and saw that someone had triggered the little girl's storyline.
The storyline of this dungeon is not only fragmented, but also tied to class competition. Lu Xiu is concerned about players' focus on the storyline.
I've given up hope.
After all, in this situation, who would be interested in learning those things? This isn't a real game; it's already quite an achievement for players to understand the main storyline, let alone the side quests.
Many players probably don't even want to understand the main storyline; they just want to kill their way through and be done with it.
The line with the little girl.
Since you'll get tools later at the Oedon Chapel, almost all players just remove the gem from the brooch and call it a day.
As for returning the little girl's mother's gemstone brooch, let's set aside whether it's worth it for now.
Many players gave up because they thought about having to go back and fight the monsters again.
This is only human nature.
In the game, going back to the starting point is just pressing buttons on the controller, but in the dungeon, it's a real-life experience where you have to fight monsters in close combat.
Furthermore, the conditions for triggering this task are not very clear, and the rewards seem mediocre. In fact, the brooch is the reward, so many players lack motivation.
Lu Xiu understood this, but she still added all the storylines in the end, mainly to enrich the dungeon's setting and respect the original game.
But unexpectedly...
Some players actually pay attention to this, and it will trigger a replay.
"They even have the leisure to trigger side quests now; it seems players are becoming increasingly familiar with dungeons."
Lu Xiu sighed, "I reckon players will be progressing through dungeons much faster from now on."
Ultimately...
This dungeon is definitely difficult, but as long as players aren't complete idiots, they'll gradually get used to its difficulty and speed up their progress as they defeat the Father and Cleric Beast they've encountered before.
certainly.
This doesn't mean that the later stages of the dungeon aren't more challenging; they still are. Rosalind is a case in point; even against powerful bosses, her defenses will still be breached.
However, it's an undeniable fact that she defeated the third boss after three team wipes.
The further they advance, the higher their level and the stronger their attributes become in the dungeon. Once they all learn to Blood Control, they will only fight faster and faster.
As for those who can't keep up or keep pace, they will soon be eliminated for various reasons.
Great waves sift through the sands.
Ultimately, the strongest survivors will continue to team up with other strong individuals, further accelerating the progression of the game.
certainly.
The "strongest" here doesn't refer to the top players outside the instance; it has nothing to do with a player's ranking or talent skills outside the instance.
"Looks like I need to start preparing too."
Thinking of this, Lu Xiu stretched and prepared to change into her Hunter's outfit.