C179: It's too Natural to Die!

The bosses that seemed difficult to fight in earlier versions of the game are, in retrospect, rather predictable.

Take the ancient flying dragon, for example. Climbing to the top, stabbing it midair, and executing a clean takedown became second nature. Or consider the giant king, Yhorm. Once the storm controller was obtained, five charges were all it took to defeat him.

Standing before the demon of the undead Prison now, the strategy must be similarly straightforward. Surely there's a method to handle this, rather than flailing around with a blade like some amateur.

Re-entering the gate, something different finally stood out. Near the pillar at the center of the room, a piece of advice glimmered faintly on the ground.

Clicking it revealed a single, chilling word 'Run'.

However, to even access this advice required taking two steps forward. In those two steps, the boss leapt down from above, completely stealing attention away from the ground's warning.

Still, there was something peculiar about the demon's behavior. After jumping down, it paused—stood there motionless—for about two seconds.

Clearly, those two seconds were designed for the player to read the message or make a decision. Yet like most players, the immediate instinct was to attack the boss, rushing in without a second thought.

After all, boss fights in Dark Souls typically demand defeating the enemy to progress to the next area. Exceptions like the ancient flying dragon, where the UI bar appeared and escaping became the goal, are rare.

"So this is where they got me! But the skill of a master fire-bearer isn't just in reflexes—it's also in strategy!"

With this realization, stepping into the passageway, the gates closed behind, leaving a faint smile on my face.

"New Dark Souls? That's it? That's all?"

Lighting a bonfire at the entrance of the passage, confidence returned like smoldering embers fanned with bravado.

Continuing down, a knight's weapon came into view—a sword and shield.

"This is where they finally show up!"

Despite the gear, frustration wasn't far behind. A narrow corridor with an archer ready to ambush made things tricky. A misstep led to being shot twice. Half health bar drained instantly.

Half-health felt unsettling. In the Dark Souls, that was as good as standing on the edge of a cliff. One mistake, and death was inevitable.

"Where's the estus flask? Don't tell me they've scrapped it?"

Pushing forward, another difference became apparent. In the past, fog doors signaled a boss fight.

Seeing one now raised alarm bells. Facing the undead Prison demon at half health, without a single estus flask, seemed suicidal.

But crossing fog revealed something unexpected—a new scene instead of a boss battle.

The fog door, was simply a tool for obscuring vision, hiding what lay beyond.

It's strange. Why is the game designed like this? Isn't it superfluous?

Muttering to himself, Song Ren found a knight locked in prison—the one who rescued him earlier.

"How do I open this? Is it by defeating that demon from before? Does it have the key? But wait, that doesn't make sense! Didn't I choose a master key? And where's the lock for this thing?"

Puzzled by the sight of the imprisoned knight, I tried attacking the lock, but it didn't work. There seemed to be no choice but to explore elsewhere.

Descending the narrow staircase, I discovered something unexpected. The previously inaccessible gate led back to the courtyard of the earlier boss battle. Through the gap, the burning bonfire was visible.

"So, after passing through the boss's small door, I can return here?"

This discovery surprised him. In fact, in the earlier Dark Souls, there was a similar-interconnected map design, though it had been simpler.

In this undead Prison, however, traversing a long sewer-like passage brought him to a stairwell door that connected back to earlier areas. This top-to-bottom spatial connection was a delightful surprise. After all, this was only the starting area—essentially a tutorial map.

After recovering from his initial excitement, Song Ren decided to take a different staircase leading upward.

Perhaps another way out awaited there.

As he climbed, halfway up the stairs, a sudden boom echoed through the corridor. Without warning, a massive iron ball came rolling down toward him.

Caught completely off guard, there was no time to dodge. Already weakened from earlier fights with the archers, Song Ren's health was barely at half.

And then…

The familiar words appeared on the screen.

[You Are Dead!]

"Damn it!"

Suppressing the urge to curse out loud, Song Ren fumed. The trap was infuriating!

Mechanisms and traps are a signature of Dark Souls—treasure chest monsters, hidden triggers, and more. Yet in earlier games, such surprises typically appeared later, like after defeating Guda and reaching the High Wall of Lothric.

But here? The very first area? Before even defeating the first boss?

And this iron ball—it felt reminiscent of the bone balls from the Catacombs.

What a brutal start!

The only difference is the cliff.

But this feels too natural to die!

Although death occurred, there was a new discovery: the large iron ball had directly smashed through the wall of the knight's cell.

"So, was the previous fog door warning me about danger behind it?"

After reviving at the bonfire, I reviewed the scene again. Because the shortcut was opened earlier. I resurrected at the bonfire in the corridor with all my equipment intact.

Once revived, I trotted back to the point of death and spoke to the knight in the cell.

"Ah, you... you're not a wandering soul. That's great..."

"I'm dying, and once I die, I won't be sane anymore. I have a thing to ask of you. Since you are the same kind as me, please accept my request and listen to me..."

An option appeared: Yes or No.

It seemed to be part of the main story mission, so I chose "Yes."

The knight continued speaking:

"I'm ashamed to admit this, but I need your help to fulfill my mission."

"I want to entrust this to you, someone I have never met before..."

"In my family, there is a saying: immortality represents mission. With this immortality, one must journey from the Undead Asylum to the Land of Ancient Kings to ring the Bell of Awakening and uncover the mission of the undead."

"Thank you… With this, I can finally die with hope."

"Ah, one more thing—I entrust these items to you as well."

After this simple conversation, I received a familiar bottle of Estus and the key to the east side of the second floor of the Undead Asylum.

"Five Estus Flasks? My God, that's a lot!"

I was astonished as I examined the bottles I had just obtained.

In my previous game run, during the fight against Guda, there were only three. Even at the Fire link Shrine, when converting the blue flask into fruit-orange, there were only four. But now, there were five!

"Still, good knight, have you forgotten something?"