Flames roared, and the Imps below leaped and capered like a tribe of cannibals throwing a feast.
And I was their pitiful sacrifice-would I starve atop this stone pillar, or tumble into a hell of blades and fire to be finely minced...? Neither sounded pleasant.
I silently watched the flames billowing like a dragon's breath and carefully recalled the entire map of these catacombs.
Suddenly, inspiration struck. "Huh? Wait, I think I've got an idea!"
It involved a bit of a gamble, but it was definitely worth a try!
I hurriedly slung the Large Leather Shield onto my back and prepared to sprint with everything I had.
The problem was that I couldn't reach the fire-breathing imp halfway down the pillar... Got it! I untied the thin cord from my loincloth. With my life on the line, this was no time to worry about dignity!
I tied it to my straight sword's hilt, then swung the sword down hard.
Clink!
Yes!
The stone pillar trembled slightly. Gears whirred beneath it, and it began to descend.
The Imps clearly noticed too. They raised their heads, bouncing eagerly and waving their weapons.
"Come on, you idiots! Let's settle this!" I watched the Imps intently. The instant they sprang toward the top of the pillar, I leaped backward, turned, and sprinted down the passage I had come from.
This was my only opening-after all, flames had been blasting in this direction just moments ago, so none of the Imps had wanted to approach it.
But soon, the creatures that had collided atop the pillar and knocked themselves senseless came shrieking after me again, like rabid dogs.
Rumble-
But you aren't the only things chasing me. There's fire, too!
Behind me, I heard the pillar rising again. After all, real Imps had considerable weight. I had deliberately lured them onto the descending pillar precisely so they would trigger its mechanism and send it back up!
Boom!
The next second, scorching flames came surging after us.
Burn, damn you!
"Gah-"
"Aaagh! Hot, hot, hot, hot-" I scrambled and tumbled out of the flaming passage.
Ah, half the cloak Meimei had given me was scorched. I had already battered it into tatters, but it still hurt to see.
There was no time to dwell on that, though.
The Imps tumbled out of the fire right behind me, wisps of smoke curling from the cracks mottling their bodies. Sure enough, their stone nature gave them better fire resistance than ordinary monsters.
But-
"Hello there, you little bastards~"
The moment they spotted me, they charged again with undiminished energy.
Just as expected, their tiny brains hadn't registered the approaching danger. This T-junction had two fire traps!
I stomped hard on the top of the pillar. Just as the Imps were about to reach me, it rose, and blazing fire swept through the entire passage!
Then five streams of golden light flew out of the flames, one after another, and flowed into my body.
Heh heh. Just as planned. I had made short work of those five mighty "newbie killers."
Time to head back to that spot and search for the loot~
-"Smoldering Butterfly."
I took a deep breath, a stampede of curses thundering through my mind. Damn you, Hidetaka Miyazaki! After all that trouble, you give me this cheap, dime-a-dozen item? I hope Smoldering Butterflies come flying out of your bed tonight!
Whatever. I was used to it by now.
Although the level's map was deeply engraved in my mind, I could never quite remember the items inside.
After all, back when I played the game, I had even installed an "all items randomized" mod to spice things up. Situations that left me unsure whether to laugh or cry had been even more frequent then.
That had only muddled my memories of the relevant items further.
The rest of the catacombs posed almost no challenge. As long as I stayed alert for nasty surprises around corners and checked carefully, I could avoid ambushes from sneaky Imps.
Repeated encounters had also confirmed that the Imps in this real Elden Ring world reacted more readily than their game counterparts. I would have to keep that in mind when exploring higher-level catacomb labyrinths.
In the deepest burial chamber on the third level, I also collected the "Wandering Noble Ashes"-better than nothing, though I didn't have the Spirit Calling Bell yet.
I successfully activated the mechanism, and a dull, hollow boom echoed throughout the catacombs.
The boss room's doors had opened-if I remembered correctly, the boss inside should be the Erdtree Burial Watchdog, essentially an oversized stone gargoyle.
The creature looked like a lanky beckoning cat, but it held a greatsword in its right hand. Its attacks were relatively slow and heavy, and not particularly frequent. As long as I got the rhythm right, I could handle it easily enough... At least, it would be easier than getting mobbed by those five mighty warriors.
Still, there was no rush to head straight in.
I returned to the Site of Grace at the entrance and touched it lightly. My strength rapidly returned, and my flask was replenished as well.
Oh? The Imps in that first burial chamber had respawned too.
That was just like the original Elden Ring: touching a Site of Grace respawned the monsters throughout the world.
But how did it work?
I couldn't figure that out yet.
What mattered most was clearing the entire catacomb-sending the Erdtree Burial Watchdog back to the Erdtree for real, and letting it experience this supposedly proper death!
I took a deep breath and entered the boss room.
Heaps of bones filled the chamber. The towering Erdtree Burial Watchdog sat upright against the far wall.
At the sound, its head whipped around as though spring-loaded. Its face, as horrifying as a bloodsucking demon's, let out a piercing screech. "Gah-"
Then, as though an invisible hand had lifted it, the monster rapidly flew toward me-a slam attack commonly seen in the game!
This move really tested your roll timing. Roll too early, and you wouldn't escape the shock wave when it landed; too late, and you would take the crushing blow head-on.
But I had long since mastered it. The instant the Erdtree Burial Watchdog flew above my head and was about to slam down, I rolled well backward and easily avoided it!
Then, while it was locked in its recovery animation, I sprang up and slashed hard at the statue's neck.
Clang-
"Damn, that's hard!" My wrist tingled from the impact.
Just then, the Watchdog stood up.
This was one of its usual melee moves-the ultimate delayed swing! As a newbie, I used to panic at the sight and roll, roll, then roll again. And that was exactly when the Watchdog would slyly bring its blade down between rolls and lop off my Tarnished's foolish head!
The right response was to raise my shield and quickly circle around its left side.
For one thing, the Watchdog had little offensive reach on its left. Even if it brought down the sword in its right hand, I could dodge quickly. For another, I could sneak in some damage-just like now!
Gripping my sword with both hands, I slashed fiercely at the Erdtree Burial Watchdog's frail lower limbs.
The creature immediately lost its balance and collapsed, unable to move for the moment!
Huh? Staggered and open for a critical already? Beautiful!
Without a second thought, I raised my straight sword and quickly landed several more blows.
The fallen Watchdog suddenly began twitching wildly, and crimson light burst from its eyes.
Looks like fire breath is next.
I hurriedly put some distance between us.
Sure enough, scorching flames rushed toward me. But the Erdtree Burial Watchdog's fire wasn't all that powerful. Retreating four or five steps was enough to avoid it completely, and I could even use the opportunity to replenish myself.
While the flames forced me back, the Erdtree Burial Watchdog sat upright again.
But before the last of the fire had died out, I was already charging toward it in long strides.
The Erdtree Burial Watchdog leaned forward slightly, winding up for a sudden thrust.
I hopped to the right ahead of time, dodging while continuing to close the distance.
When that move failed, the creature slammed its sword into the ground, clearly preparing a spinning slash! But-
"Too slow!" I leaped forward, cleared the first low sweep of its spinning slash, and gripped my sword with both hands to hack hard at its neck once again.
Bam!
"Heh heh. You might be tough, but even dripping water can wear through stone. As long as I keep hitting roughly the same spot, I can cut through a measly rock, right?"
[Enemy Felled]
Before the second spinning slash could reach me, my straight sword cut through its neck and sent the Erdtree Burial Watchdog's head flying.
As expected of a starter-area boss, it was only hard enough to make me work up a sweat~
Watching the Erdtree Burial Watchdog's body dissipate in the wind like smoky ash from dying embers, and a mass of golden runes flow into me, I let out a quiet breath of relief-my first dungeon run in the real Elden Ring world was complete!
The bonus reward was the "Aristocrat Sorcerer Ashes."
Great. Another thing that was merely better than nothing.
I tidied up briefly and was about to leave.
For a moment, I thought I heard faint, feeble sighs. Were they coming from the far end of the burial chamber?
There, tangled roots extending down from above had tightly entwined one shriveled corpse after another, seemingly squeezing them dry for nourishment.
-Was this the so-called proper death? Returning to the Erdtree?
An unbidden thought crossed my mind. Perhaps the Erdtree Burial Watchdog wasn't guarding the door against intruders at all, but watching these corpses to make sure they couldn't escape?