Pushing forward (two chapters in one)

Central Yharnam, near the Fountain Plaza.

When Gong Yu stood in front of that dimly lit window again, his heart was heavy.

He never expected that finding a specific item in the dungeon would lead to this kind of turn of events.

Should we really give it to her?

Ulysses looked at the Ruby Brooch in Gong Yu's hand. "She's just an NPC—we can easily take the brooch, get the ruby, and enhance ourselves; she won't even know."

What if there's some hidden plot twist?

Gong Yu shook his head and replied, "Or some other reward or something?"

Ulysses thought for a moment after hearing this, and then remained silent.

He certainly guessed Gong Yu's thoughts; in a way, this son of the Canaan prime minister was quite empathetic.

Zhao Heng and the other players naturally had no objections.

After all, it's just a ruby.

Seeing that no one else objected, Gong Yu immediately stepped forward and gently knocked on the window.

"Hello, Mr. Hunter? You still can't find my mother?"

A little girl's expectant voice came from inside the window.

Gong Yu fell silent, standing outside the window, hesitating about how to begin.

In front of him.

A system window suddenly popped up.

[Please select your response method:]

[Ruby Brooch is given.]

[No.]

"Huh? They can actually choose to hide it?"

Gong Yu was taken aback, somewhat surprised.

He originally thought that this kind of linear task only had one option: handing over items. He didn't expect Lu Xiu to have set up a branch here.

Gong Yu looked at the warm light shining through the window and listened to the little girl's expectant voice.

I decisively chose not to give it to them.

Since the dungeon mechanics allow lying, even white lies, he simply couldn't bear to shatter the little girl's last hope with his own hands.

And the moment the choice is made.

Another new window popped up.

[You hid the truth from her, but the little girl remains in a dangerous situation living alone, and her parents will never come back.]

Please choose a safe zone and tell her:

[Iosefka's Clinic]

[Oedon Chapel]

[Silence, saying nothing.]

"Iosefka's Clinic?"

Gong Yu knew this place; it was the starting scene of the dungeon. The door to the top was closed, but you could talk to the doctor inside who said she was afraid the beast-transformation curse would infect her patients, so she refused to let players in.

As for the Oedon Chapel, he had just been there. According to the NPCs there, it seemed that incense could be used to ward off wild beasts.

The third option is excluded.

If you have to choose one of the two...

Gong Yu leans towards the latter.

So he said directly, "Little girl, we haven't found your parents yet, but Yharnam is too dangerous right now. Aren't you scared? We just found a place called Oedon Chapel in the Cathedral Ward. It has incense that can ward off wild beasts and is very safe. You can go there to take refuge and wait for your parents."

The words had barely left his mouth.

Immediately, a little girl's delighted voice came from inside the window.

"Really? That's wonderful! Thank you, Mr. Hunter!"

The little girl's voice was filled with gratitude, even a hint of joyful excitement. "I love you, Mr. Hunter, just like I love my mom, my dad, and my grandpa!"

After saying that.

No more sounds came from inside the window.

The little girl seemed to have gone to pack her things.

"Call----"

Hearing the little girl's response.

Gong Yu breathed a long sigh of relief and tossed the brooch to Ulysses.

Ulysses took it and breathed a sigh of relief.

Zhao Heng and the other players were in similar situations.

I wouldn't say I was particularly happy.

But the oppressive feeling has indeed dissipated considerably.

After all, most people in real life have normal values. Even if they know the child is just an NPC, they wouldn't want anything to happen to her because of universal values. So now that they've done this simple good deed, they can still feel a little comforted. Her parents are dead, but at least she can live.

"I hope she survives and never finds out the truth before she grows up."

Gong Yu looked at the window in front of him, where no sound was coming from anymore, and sighed silently.

Then, he turned to the group and said, "You all saw the options just now, right? Since we can send this little girl to the Oedon Chapel for refuge, does that mean we can send all the other survivors there?"

"So, should we take a walk around the streets of Yharnam? Call over all the NPCs whose doors and windows still have lights on? Saving a few more people might yield some hidden rewards, or even affect the ending."

Ulysses thought for a moment, then nodded and said, "We can give it a try. Anyway, our stats are high now, so fighting those mobs won't be too difficult. We can just treat it as farming Blood Echoes along the way."

Zhao Heng had no objections.

So the group ran around the Central Yharnam for a long time.

They went from house to house knocking on doors and windows where the lights were on.

Unfortunately, the people of Yharnam are indeed very hostile towards outsiders.

"Get out of here! You filthy Hunter!"

"I'm not going anywhere; my home is the safest place!"

"Despicable outsider!"

After running one lap...

Aside from ridicule and rejection, very few people were willing to believe them.

More than ten minutes later.

The Ulysses squad, slightly out of breath, used the Lamp to teleport back to the Oedon Chapel.

A flash of Bai Guang.

Gong Yu immediately looked around.

He found an old woman in a gray dress in the corner of the church. She was the only NPC who was willing to believe them, or perhaps she was seeking refuge there because she was too afraid of being alone.

besides.

There was no one left.

Gong Yu searched the entire chapel but couldn't find the little girl.

"The little girl didn't come?"

Gong Yu frowned, a hint of unease flashing through his mind.

Don't overthink it.

Zhao Heng patted him on the shoulder and said, "She's just a young girl after all. There are wild beasts outside. She'll definitely have to hide and move around, or wait until dawn before setting off, right? It's much faster for us to use Lamp to teleport her."

"Too."

As Gong Yu pondered this, he shook his head, banishing the unease from his mind. "Maybe I'm being too sensitive. She's an NPC with both parents dead and protected by the environment; she seems like an important figure. She shouldn't be dead—let's go, let's continue with the main storyline. We should go check out the cathedral."

Ulysses nodded, picked up his axe, and led the way out of the church.

And very soon.

When they stepped into the area known as Old Yharnam.

He also encountered the same desperate situation as Rosalind—

As Lu Xiu had predicted, things did indeed turn out as they did.

Players are progressing through dungeons faster now.

The first major challenge in the dungeon, and also the point where a large number of players are eliminated, is the main boss, the Father. He will force players to master Gun Parry, positioning, and utilizing the terrain.

Players will also be required to learn how to navigate the map.

Once you get past the Father, most players, at least, won't have to use all their skills to fight even a small monster.

Players who complete this have barely achieved the initial transformation from prey to Hunter.

The second challenge lies in Old Yharnam and the Forbidden Woods.

The former goes without saying; Rosalind has already proven just how insane the machine gunner on the tower is.

His continuous barrage will cover a large area, and combined with the monster hordes in narrow alleys, players can easily be surrounded Deadly. Most importantly, if you are not familiar with the map, you won't even know where the safe spots are, which puts a lot of psychological pressure on you.

However, this map is relatively simple to handle. Although the machine gunner is strong, he can still be dealt with, and the map structure is not particularly complex.

The Forbidden Woods that follows is the real heavyweight.

The map is ridiculously long and the routes are incredibly complicated. Even if there are shortcuts, it takes a lot of time just to find them, which really tests your patience.

Not to mention there are some really annoying monsters along the way, with ridiculously high attack power, which puts a lot of psychological pressure on you when you encounter them around a corner.

Twisted basilisks, dimly lit environments, and the anxiety of getting lost—unlike boss battles that rely on sheer power and elaborate presentation to torment players, the torment of the Forbidden Woods is slow and continuous. The lengthy exploration and repeated getting lost will greatly deplete the player's patience and energy, leaving them physically and mentally exhausted before even encountering the boss.

But once you get past this point, there won't be any maps that will pose a challenge to players.

Meanwhile, the dungeon will gradually shift from being a challenge overall to one that is challenging in specific areas, such as when encountering a powerful boss. As for the monsters encountered along the way, they will have little impact on the players.

The third challenge is the DLC.

Most players are currently on their way to overcoming the second difficulty level, and many have already succeeded.

That's right—the road to overcoming it was incredibly difficult.

To be honest, many players are completely unable to handle Old Yharnam and have basically chosen to skip it, directly buying the Chief Hunter Emblem and choosing not to go to Old Yharnam.

But this came at a heavy price for them.

Skip Old Yharnam.

This would definitely save them from having to face the machine gunner.

But the Forbidden Woods that follows, that dark, three-dimensional maze, is absolutely not to be skipped—many players don't even have experience dealing with these haunted maps.

You can imagine how terrible it was.

"How did anyone even come up with this?! Is this something a human could think of?! A human head exploded into a snake!!! I thought it was just an ordinary villager!! What the hell is this?!"

"Watch out! There's a snake ball—damn it! Am I in hell? Do dungeons have to be this terrifying?!"

"This is supposed to be Berserker's class dungeon! Why! Why is there such a disgusting thing here?!"

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"I'm having nightmares! Why can a semi-transparent, tentacle-like mouth protrude from a person's head?! Ugh—ahhhhh, it's even pierced into the captain's skull and is sucking out his brain!"

"Help! What the hell?! The captain's going to be sucked dry and become an idiot!"

Who am I? Where am I? What am I supposed to do?

Countless players were shouting and screaming in the Forbidden Woods.

This map is truly torturous; it truly lives up to its forbidden name.

The map is vast and complex, making it difficult to distinguish directions. The monsters also become incredibly diverse from here on out: the head-bursting snake monster's instant fright, the snake ball's long-range venom harassment, the centipede monster's troublesome nature, the fly monster's vampiric frenzy, and the soul-washing monster's mindless mechanics. Players who step into the Forbidden Woods are constantly being bombarded with both mental and physical damage.

And that is precisely why.

The Mutation rate among players here has reached a terrifying peak.

Many players who might have managed to survive in the earlier areas simply can't survive here.

This is especially true for players who cannot Blood Control and whose combat skills are not strong.

The Forbidden Woods became a bloodbath. When a team first entered the forest, it might include ordinary High Sequence players of varying strengths. However, as they progressed, after getting lost and being attacked by various monsters, those with poor mental fortitude and combat skills were the first to be eliminated.

If a player is eliminated from a team, they will be re-matched with a new player the next time they return to the Lamp.

If they die again, we'll replace them!

There are fewer and fewer slackers in each team.

At the same time, because the monsters don't give them any time to breathe under high pressure, and rarely give them the chance to hide in the back and slowly suppress their health, more and more players have learned to Blood Control on their own.

Players who habitually rely on the system's guidance to slowly suppress their Qi and Blood are gradually being eliminated.

This actually allowed many teams to advance faster.

Especially when you reach the middle section of the Forbidden Woods.

For example, Ulysses's party arrived at the latter part of the Forbidden Woods.

The faces in the team have changed countless times.

When Ulysses and Zhao Heng were wiped out again due to their team members turning into beasts, they had no choice but to return to the Lamp.

A flash of Bai Guang.

This time, those appearing beside the Lamp were no longer panicked or looking around anxiously from other regions.

Instead, they were two calm-looking players from Nine Provinces.

As soon as they appeared, they asked Ulysses directly how many people in the team could Blood Control. After learning that three people could Blood Control, they...

The two nodded and immediately got up to leave.

Ulysses was certain that if his answer hadn't met the requirements, the two newly matched Nine Provinces players would have committed suicide and then been rematched.

----Won't we end up being matched with people from Nine Provinces?

Having previously cleared Lu Xiu's dungeon, will it have that much of an impact?

Thinking of this...

Ulysses couldn't help but glance at Zhao Heng.

Zhao Heng guessed what Ulysses was thinking, but said nothing.

To be honest, in terms of this particular dungeon, players from other regions are indeed a bit weak.

The group set off again, and when they ran into three snake-headed men at a corner, Ulysses didn't need to take the damage, nor did Zhao Heng need to give orders.

The two newly matched teammates from Nine Provinces immediately rushed in, attacking, rolling to dodge, Gun Parry, and delivering Visceral Attack, while suppressing their berserk health during the battle!

The operation is incredibly smooth----

Gong Yu and Ulysses exchanged a glance, both seeing a hint of shock in each other's eyes.

Holy crap, the difference seems pretty huge.

And once this team, composed of purified and powerful individuals, takes shape...

The Forbidden Woods could no longer stop their advance.

The same was true for Ulysses' squad; their progress in the Forbidden Woods also saw a qualitative leap.

but.

Although they have become more adept at combat, the terrain of the Forbidden Woods and the frequent hostility displayed by the dungeons still give them a headache.

They still had to be patient and clear out the massive maze bit by bit.

About half an hour later.

The group arrived at a slightly open hillside.

There were several iron cages containing Mutant Hound scattered around, and a few villagers wandered around in the distance.

"A swift and decisive victory."

Ulysses and his men spread out in unison, and with swift strokes of their knives, quickly cleared the area.

But just as Ulysses was about to continue exploring, the newly joined Nine Provinces player suddenly called out from behind the dog cage at the deepest part, "Come here for a second."

When the group went over to take a look, they discovered a hidden, inconspicuous path through the weeds behind the dog cage.

"Another fork in the road? Could it be another dead end or a trap?"

Gong Yu looked at the passageway and rubbed his throbbing temples.

There are so many forks in the path in this forest, it's almost despairing, which is why players easily get lost.

"See? Anyway, the monsters don't pose a threat to us now."

Zhao Heng said directly, "My opinion is that we should check out all the possible routes."

The other two Nine Provinces players shared the same opinion.

Look at them, they're all like that.

Ulysses didn't say anything, and the group followed the hidden passage forward—they thought it would be like other forest forks, winding their way to a strangely familiar place.

But unexpectedly...

It wasn't like that at all. At the end of the passage was a huge underground cave, and the ground was a cesspool like in the Blighttown, the kind that would poison you if you stepped on it.

The only constant is the abundance of malice.

Fortunately, this pool of poison wasn't very large.

Moreover, Zhao Heng and the other two players from Nine Provinces seemed to be quite experienced.

So very quickly.

They waded through the poisonous pool, and at its end, they discovered a hidden cave entrance.

After crawling into the hole.

What appeared before them were two incredibly long vertical staircases embedded in the rock face.

"Climb!"

The group exchanged glances, then, filled with anticipation for the unknown reward, began to climb the ladder.

Because the ladder was so long, and there were no monsters around during the climb, only the monotonous sound of friction.

This eerie silence, ironically, fueled even greater suspense in the minds of Ulysses and his companions, who had just endured the oppressive environment of the Forbidden Woods.

What exactly is up there? Is it a hidden boss? Or a new area?

With this thought in mind, after climbing for quite a while, Ulysses, who was leading the way, finally reached the end.

"Call----"

Ulysses flipped himself up, stood up, and looked around, somewhat surprised.

Following closely behind, Zhao Heng, Gong Yu, and others also climbed up one after another.

"Here it is----"

Gong Yu was about to ask where he was, but after seeing the scene before him, he froze and stopped talking.

They were in a small cemetery.

But that's not the point.

The key point is...

Those buildings in the distance... why do they look so familiar?

They continued forward, and once they reached the rooftop, the sense of déjà vu intensified.

And the sense of déjà vu reached its peak after arriving at a certain place.

Hospital bed.

Medicine bottle rack.

Scattered debris.

Everything felt so familiar.

Because this is where they begin their journey into the instance.

"Iosefka--Shaking Clinic?"

Gong Yu stared in disbelief at the familiar scene before him, at the hospital bed he had lain on when he first entered the instance. "So this is Yharnam? We... we've returned to Yharnam?!"

Ulysses and the other players were also completely bewildered.

On the contrary, Zhao Heng and the other two Nine Provinces players, while surprised, mostly expressed that they had expected it.

The group followed the path they had taken, exiting the clinic. Outside lay Yharnam, a place they knew intimately, the Yharnam from the very beginning of the instance.

silence.

Ulysses and the other players stood at the clinic entrance, speechless.

The Forbidden Woods felt like a distant place to them—because they had truly traveled a long way. They had been to the Cathedral, visited Old Yharnam, explored the Hemwick Charnel Lane, defeated the Archbishop of the Healing Church, and now they had gone to the Forbidden Woods.

How can I put it? We're already 18,000 miles away from the starting point of the instance.

But what I didn't expect was...

After climbing a ladder and pushing open a door...

They found themselves back where they started.

That sense of disorientation—"So this is where I've been going around in circles all along"—is even more impactful than facing a massive boss.

"So... we've been going around in circles all along? So everything is interconnected? Is that even possible?"

Ulysses muttered to himself, this sudden map reveal completely shattering his understanding of dungeon map design. "So dungeon maps can be designed like this?"

This was the first time he had experienced what a miniature garden was like.

Gong Yu was equally amazed by what he considered to be an incredible map design.

He turned to look at Zhao Heng and the two Nine Provinces players, and couldn't help but ask, "You can actually do that?! What's wrong with your brains, you Nine Provinces people?"

"Don't look at us."

Zhao Heng shook his head helplessly. "You're asking us? Who are we supposed to ask? Also, don't generalize Lu Xiu's individual behavior to the whole clan; she's an exception—besides, she already demonstrated this ability in the Dark Souls instance, so you'll get used to it."

The other two Nine Provinces players nodded seriously in agreement.

Gong Yu, Ulysses, and other players were even more shocked. How could they get used to this?

After a brief moment of shock.

The group then began to explore the clinic, which had previously only had a partial open area.

There aren't many monsters on the first and second floors of the clinic.

Moreover, they were all just regular soldiers, and not even regular soldiers who would attack on their own initiative.

The group searched through the various rooms, collected some props, and then prepared to head to the upper floor of the clinic.

I had just Open Gate.

They then heard the NPC's warning.

Upon hearing the warning, the group immediately pulled back their steps as if electrocuted.

The painful lessons of Old Yharnam are still fresh in our minds.

They had also accidentally wandered into a DLC area—they figured it was better to take advice and check back later.

As they pondered this, they returned to the first floor.

I started thinking about where to go next.

"Now that we're back in the Central Yharnam— "

Looking at the familiar streets, Gong Yu suddenly had a thought and suggested, "Why don't we go see that little girl? I wonder if she's still at home or has already gone to the church."

When Gong Yu mentioned that side quest, Ulysses and Zhao Heng were taken aback for a moment before they remembered it.

They had all forgotten about it.

After all, under such high pressure, who would care about the life or death of an NPC?

But now that we've unexpectedly returned to where we started, it wouldn't be a problem to take a look along the way.

"Alright, since we're already here."

Ulysses slung the axe over his shoulder. "Let's go take a look; it's not far anyway."

The two Nine Provinces players inquired about the reason, but ultimately did not object.

So the group followed the route they had come from, running easily towards the Fountain Plaza.

The experience along the way gave everyone a subtle feeling.

Whether it was the Fat Brother had previously broken their defenses, the Yharnam people huddled around the Bonfire, or other monsters—they had always had to be extremely careful when dealing with them.

But now.

They easily overcame all difficulties, whether it was a one-on-one fight or a group brawl, without any pressure whatsoever.

Ulysses stared at the monster's corpse lying beneath the axe. The fact that his formidable foe was dead made him pause for a moment, then he couldn't help but laugh.

It's such a strange feeling—it's the same instance, we haven't even finished the instance yet, and not much time has passed.

But he has already truly experienced his own growth.

It's not just a simple increase in level and attributes; it's a comprehensive improvement after enduring so many setbacks.

Lu Xiu's storyline is truly agonizing.

But it really does make players stronger—visibly stronger, even if they don't clear the dungeon.

I wonder what kind of transformation will occur after clearing the level----

The other players were similar, their expressions were all quite subtle.

With this wonderful sense of growth.

The group made their way through the streets and arrived safely near the Fountain Plaza.

However.

When Gong Yu strode to the window he remembered, he found it was dark and empty.

"The lights are off?"

Gong Yu leaned closer to the window and gently knocked. "Little girl? Mr. Hunter has come to see you. Are you inside?"

There was no response.

"Looks like he's really gone."

Looking at the dark window, Gong Yu didn't think the worst; instead, he breathed a sigh of relief, "They should have already left for the Oedon Chapel. Let's go, we'll go see her at the chapel when we get back."

"Hmm... since he's gone, let's continue with the main storyline and head back to the Forbidden Woods."

Although he had made a wasted trip, Ulysses was not particularly dissatisfied.

After all, experiencing a sense of growth is worthwhile.

"Then how do we get back? Through the Lamp system in the Central Yharnam?"

Gong Yu turned his head and looked in the direction of the Lamp in the Central Yharnam.

"Forget it, let's just keep going forward."

Ulysses glanced at the path they had come from, recalling the subtle sense of accomplishment he had just felt, then turned back to look ahead. "Anyway, pushing these monsters won't take much effort now, so let's just head straight ahead and clear the path we came from again. Consider it a good stretch and a chance to farm Blood Echoes; I'm almost at leveling up."

"Returning home in glory, is that it?"

Zhao Heng made a joke.

However, most people didn't have much of an opinion.

then.

They started pushing forward along the street, deliberately avoiding the elevator and taking a long detour.

Soon, they returned to the sewers and saw the man-eating pig again.

The enormous, blood-red man-eating pig was gnawing on something.

Ulysses was somewhat surprised, but didn't think much of it.

Gong Yu didn't think much of it.

until.

The Boar died.

Item dropped.

At first, the group didn't take it seriously, assuming it was just a common Blood Vial.

But after picking up the item, they discovered that it wasn't what they expected at all.

It was a blood-stained ribbon.

After reading the item description...

"Lu Xiu!!!!"

Gong Yu's scream suddenly rang out.