Soul Eater Must Be an Incomparably Powerful Expert, Right?

Strategies for conquering the Zane Dungeon are still being developed in full swing.

Many adventurers from other places rushed over after receiving the news. This was a good opportunity for those who wanted to etch their names in history, as the first clearer could be recalculated after the dungeon incident.

Of course, Leon and his team's contributions will not be erased, and a new first stele will be erected next to them.

Caravans also sprang into action upon hearing the news, and all the inns in Bede City were fully booked, forcing newcomers to set up temporary camps outside the city.

This time, the current Earl of Bede Ka Rong, did nothing, except to send some guards to help maintain order.

That's strange. Foreign caravans should be a source of wealth for him, so why is he acting so negatively?

To put it simply...

He then divided the related profits among the Val City.

Count Philip left behind a mess, and in order to quell the trouble, Ka Rong has been bleeding money dry, cutting flesh from the Bede Family to feed the wolves that are eyeing him covetously.

The deepest grudge was with Val City. For safety reasons, Ka Rong had to cede a number of assets to the other side, cutting off bits and pieces here and there. In the end, the only things the Bede Family still firmly controlled were Bloodstone mining and Blood Therapy Potion.

On the surface, Ka Rong was all smiles and obsequious to Val City, but in his heart, he was contemplating killing Val's entire family.

Anyway, the point is that Bede City is quite lively right now.

After three or four days, the adventurers' strategies gradually diverged.

Everyone has a general understanding of the anomalies that have occurred in the Zane Dungeon, and also has some information about the situation in each area.

At this point, adventurers begin to think about what they are good at and which areas they are suited to explore, and spontaneously head to areas with high compatibility.

Adventurers' Guild often see people recruiting teammates, clearly stating the area to be explored, the required skills for teammates, etc.

Everyone's professional skills are gradually improving; novices are becoming experts, experts are becoming elites, and as for those who were already elites—

For example, Da Er comes to challenge the Zane Dungeon every day.

Without fixed teammates, he would randomly find some passersby to explore the dungeon with. He would not refuse if someone invited him to team up, and he did not mind being a lone wolf if he could not find teammates.

Faced with a variety of maps, he always went to only one area, without a doubt, the Farron Keep.

But he had already run away from the Old Wolf of Farron, so why did he return to this place that would remind him of bad memories?

Surely he can't be a masochist.

"Gah!"

The Ghrū roared fiercely and charged at Da Er, brandishing their weapons.

But he was already familiar with the Ghrū's attack methods, and while dodging left and right, he successfully crossed the monster's defenses and arrived directly at the top of the hill.

"Bang!"

Da Er skillfully parkoured his way to the first beacon tower, extinguishing the fire in front of Gwyn's statue with a single slap of his hand.

The familiar image of the loose gate appeared before my eyes. I couldn't even skip over this thing; I was so tired of seeing it.

While waiting for the cutscene, Da Er thought about the latest walkthrough.

With adventurers flocking out in droves, even though the difficulty of Farron Keep was a level higher than that of the Swamp Area, their progress in clearing it still increased slightly every day.

Correspondingly, the story of Fran gradually became known to the public. People deduced the general plot from the fragmentary descriptions of Green Blossom, Black Bug Pill, and even the weapons and equipment dropped by monsters. The Hunting Handbook played a crucial role in this.

A thousand people will have a thousand different interpretations of Hamlet. Although there are many versions of the story, and everyone's version of the Farron Keep story is different, there is one plot point that everyone agrees on—

Extinguishing the three beacon towers is the test to join the Undead Legion. Successfully accepting Wolf's Blood makes one a member of the Undead Legion.

Adventurers believe that the final boss of Farron Keep will be the entire Undead Legion, which will be a massive army!

An army from an unknown era—how exciting that sounds! Some are already researching how to efficiently fight an entire Legion.

However, even if the research were successful, it would probably be of little use because...

To this day, no one has ever actually been able to enter the Fortress gates.

In the Zane Dungeon version of Farron Keep, extinguishing the three beacon fires allows you to penetrate the Fortress and encounter the Old Wolf of Farron. Exploring all the way to the deepest part will lead you to the final battle against the boss.

Da Er is likely the only adventurer to have seen the Old Wolf of Farron so far; there is at least no word of a second person who has seen the Old Wolf of Farron.

A hidden rule has been discovered: the difficulty of Farron Keep increases with each beacon fire that is extinguished.

Specifically, this manifests in increased monster strength, new traps appearing along paths, and even subtle but deadly changes in some terrain features.

For example, a section of road might collapse if walked on again after a fire is extinguished, with a dozen or so wild dogs lurking underneath.

Almost no one can survive the siege of Dog Sunlight King!

Da Er's best achievement so far was reaching the edge of the third beacon tower, but he was killed by the monsters that caught up with him before he could extinguish it.

It is said that the Strategy Team once managed to extinguish three beacon fires, but before they could even enter the gate, they fell to the enhanced monsters.

Malu furious and kept saying that when Leon came back, he would make sure the monsters here suffered a terrible fate.

If even the Strategy Team is struggling, you can imagine how slow everyone else is. Some people have been driven to give up and are spending their days enjoying life in the Gourmet Area.

Da Er is very demanding of himself. He does not allow himself to accept an overly comfortable life, and even when choosing a commission, he deliberately selects the more difficult ones.

"Gah!"

The instant the video ended, he quickly dodged to the side, avoiding Ghrū's relentless attack. Ghrū's head slammed against the wall, letting out a strange cry.

Without stopping for a moment, Da Er took off running.

Through meticulous calculations, he figured that if he could unleash a certain speed, he could create a safe enough distance between himself and the Ghrū before leaving the hill and entering the Swamp that would slow him down. This would allow him to reach the next piece of land almost unharmed and then engage the Ghrū in battle.

Knowing the roads by heart, he was still thinking about the task he needed to complete that day while he was on his way.

It mainly involves collecting certain items or monster materials from Farron Keep, and you can collect some along the way while traveling.

"Puff puff puff—"

Suddenly, a large amount of mud-like stuff was thrown at Da Er from behind. He just showed a disgusted expression but did not dodge, because these things were just mud.

When Ghrū was given some distance, these disgusting things would dig out clumps of mud from the Swamp and throw them at him, which were not very lethal but extremely insulting.

Wait, it seems there's a request that requires me to collect Swamp material from Farron Keep.

Da Er immediately took out a container, filled it with water from the Swamp, and stuffed it into his pouch without caring about the dirt, thinking to himself:

"Now the wolves can have an extra meal."

The wolves in the farmhouse were the same ones who raised him, but only a portion of them.

As Silver Rank adventurer, his life should have been quite comfortable, but he always spent his money to buy good food for the wolf pack. Even though the wolf pack could hunt in the forest on their own, he still felt that what he bought was better.

Besides food, if a wolf is injured or sick, he also has to pay for its medical expenses.

Perhaps this is his way of repaying the wolves for raising him.

The wolf pack was his spiritual anchor and his motivation to be an adventurer.

Da Er would do anything to protect them!

"The second one is just around the corner,"

After a fierce battle to defeat the monster, Da Er hesitated for a moment before the beacon fire, but ultimately extinguished the flames.

This time, the hunter did not invade; his system was designed not to invade those who already possessed the Hunting Handbook.

Patch's summoning symbol did not appear, and those who wanted to beat him up were likely to be disappointed.

Since the hunters didn't appear, the monster horde wouldn't be attracted by the gunfire.

So why does Da Er look so tense?

"Call"

He took a deep breath, and just then, he heard footsteps coming from below the hill.

Unlike the hunter's voice, this time the footsteps were more viscous, as if their owner was oozing pus, with each step sticky and stringy.

Da Er's hand holding the sword trembled slightly.

When the visitor finally reaches the summit, we will be able to know his identity.

Soul-sucking demon!

When the second beacon fire is extinguished, these monsters from the abyss will appear!

Da Er has died at the Ghost Hand several times already.

Each time he was defeated, he would be resurrected at the Firelink Shrine and then immediately Three-hundred-and-sixty-five-mile road to continue fighting the Soul Eaters, only to fail each time.

Today is his last time entering Sien this week. His Spirit Power has reached its limit. He will die this one more time and then leave to rest at home for a few days.

No, why should I fight with the assumption that I will die?

He assumed a swordsmanship stance, bracing for the impending attack; cold sweat was already beading on his forehead.

Although he had never defeated a Soul Eater, and the Hunting Handbook contained no additional information besides its name, it was easy to guess that this guy must be from the Abyss Faction.

Da Er had witnessed the Dementors fighting the Ghrū. Since the Ghrū were described as allies of the Undead Legion, the Dementors must be enemies.

"Bring it on!"

He launched the first attack, but a bright red magical effect lit up in the Soul Eater's hand.

"That trick again!"

Once caught in this trap, Da Er will feel something being continuously drained from his body, causing his physical condition to decline drastically and his spirit to become listless.

You have to get out of there!

A few seconds later, Da Er was pinned to the ground by the Soul Eater, and crimson magic continued to drain his spirit.

"Hateful."

After being resurrected at Firelink Shrine, Da Er's face clearly showed a hint of sorrow.

"I clearly dodged it, so how could he still catch me? This shouldn't be happening."

He sat in front of the campfire, dejected and talking to himself, truly resembling a disheartened figure.

"The Undead Legion have been fighting this kind of enemy all along. I'm getting more and more impressed with them."

"The Soul-Sucking Demon is so powerful that it must be a unique leader among the Abyss Faction. My defeat is inevitable."

It's simply because he always dies too quickly and never encounters a second soul-devouring ghost.

Da Er sighed and thought:

I really should find a teammate.