Meanwhile.
At Firelink Shrine.
Above the long, dark chute leading to Midir's lair.
Gallagher leaned against a stone wall, watching the communication panel before him as Zane reported in from the Painted World.
After a while.
Zane finished his report.
Gallagher reached out and closed the communication panel. His expression was odd—almost disbelieving.
"What is it?"
Finn stood beside him, his eyes bloodshot. "Where's the last Core Bonfire Zane captured?"
"Right beside Priscilla the Crossbreed."
Gallagher sounded as though he could hardly believe it himself. "At the top of the tower in the Painted World. And just like in the dungeon, this boss didn't attack players at first. She urged them to leave.
"Even when they forced her into a boss fight, her attack patterns were exactly the same. Nothing had changed. Even her invisibility worked the same way—you could still see her footprints clearly in the snow. She was incredibly easy to fight! Every team that comes after us can rush straight for that Core Bonfire."
"We can reliably secure one Core Bonfire!"
At those words.
The Prison Rock core players, battered and covered in grime, froze. Then their faces lit up with the wild joy of people who had found a way out of a desperate situation.
Finally!
After one ordeal after another, they had found an easy target!
"That's great!"
"We finally got our first Core Bonfire!"
"It's two to one! We haven't lost yet! If we take one more Core Bonfire and hold on to enough ordinary Bonfires, we can win!"
"We know the Painted World better than the Nine Provinces players do! The teams after us can secure that Core Bonfire too!"
But while the players around him celebrated.
Gallagher merely let out a breath of relief before turning to Finn. "Two to one. Which