C181: Haven't Seen Any Storms?

At the fire shrine ground, curiosity bubbled up. Everything around was glaringly different from the familiar settings of the previous work.

Apart from the name Fire link shrine, nothing else remind of the past. The bonfires, dimly lit, faintly hinted at earlier memories. Yet, without the thrones of the kings, the entire area felt empty. It was an open space surrounded by crumbling ruins, almost desolate.

Sitting on a wooden stake nearby was an NPC, dressed like a mercenary.

"Yo! You came just in time. It's been a while since I saw someone new," the NPC remarked in a playful way.

"You're here for the usual stuff, right? Missions for the undead and all that Zealot trials... Same as everyone else."

He paused, his tone tinged with mockery.

"When you're cursed, everything ends. Staying in Undead prison would've been wiser. You're suffering here, aren't you?"

"But it doesn't matter. I've got time to kill, so I'll teach you."

He began explaining.

"There are two bells of awakening mentioned in the mission of the undead. One is above this place, in the bell tower of the Church of the Undead. The other is deep underground, in the ancient ruins beneath the Village."

"It's said that tolling these two bells triggers something. But who knows what? No one's ever tolled the bells. Not that it matters."

He chuckled, a hollow, mocking laugh.

"Go on your way, isn't that why you came to this cursed land of the undead?"

"Hehehehe..."

Something cracked up from behind, it was the background chuckle from the mercenary which gave me some chills.

The NPC's words lingered. His tone resembled a defeated elder brother, but this one was distinctly different. Unlike the mere discouragement of the predecessor, this NPC's sarcasm cut deeper, laced with cynicism and mockery.

And at the end this stung like a subtle insult, as if mocking one's ideal. It felt as if someone sent an emoji dripping with passive aggression or replied with a dry haha in a text conversation—indifferent yet mocking.

Frustration simmered within. The knight's broadsword was a bit cold, the thought of driving it through this mercenary's chest was quite nice. Yet, at the critical moment, restraint won over.

At this moment, thoughts of the disheartened brother from the previous version surfaced.

However, after enduring, the situation quickly escalated. Being ambushed at the Fire link Shrine, there was no escape. Despite attempts to light the bonfire and teleport to safety, the game's mechanics—where neither the bonfire menu nor the equipment bar pauses time—meant that escape was impossible. Ultimately, death came swiftly with a random strike. (He remembers his experience from the past version of soul's game)

Still, some valuable information was gained.

The mention of two bells stood out:

One located in the bell tower of the Church of the Undead and the other in ancient ruins beneath the plagued village.

This aligned with the details shared by the knight in the cell earlier. However, the exact locations of the bell tower and the plagued village remained unclear. Given the hint about the ruins being underground, it was obvious that exploration would lead beneath the surface.

Wandering around the Fire link Shrine, a peculiar absence was noted—the Fire keeper maiden had disappeared. Upgrading starts directly at the bonfire without her presence seemed odd and distasteful. Her original role was not only for leveling but also healing -healing player mind and body, after all.

Could it mean the Fire Keeper NPC had been removed? That didn't seem plausible. The Fire Keeper has an iconic figure in the Dark Souls series. Many players were drawn to the game because of her. Such a beloved character couldn't possibly be eliminated.

Further exploration of the Fire link Shrine yielded some items: 3 Humanity and a Firebomb. Much like in the earlier installment, there were multiple paths to take, some inhabited by hollowed enemies.

An unexpected turn of events occurred when a misstep led to falling into a dark pit. Expecting death, But relief set in upon discovering a stash of treasure chests below. Remembering the painful lessons learned from mimic chests in the previous game, caution prevailed over willfulness.

Each chest was carefully struck first to confirm its authenticity. Surprisingly, all the chests were genuine. While their contents weren't particularly impressive, the discovery itself was reassuring.

I got a red eyeball, a mace, a few bone fragments, and a talisman.

As I moved my character forward, I ended up in Bone graveyard, as the name on screen signify. 

Bones started to fly, and before I knew what happen.

A skeleton as big as an elephant was behind me, and I was one shorted.

I revived back at fire link shrine. I venture forth around the shrine, returning to the same path. 

The entire Fire link Sacrificial Field isn't very large, but it's divided into several floors like an elevator. Wandering through it, I felt a little lost.

Eventually, I found the fire girl I had been searching for earlier. However, she appeared quite wretched, malnourished, and was imprisoned, with no dialogue possible.

Roaming around the fire shrine ground, which felt oddly like a vegetable market, I noticed a stark difference compared to the previous game. The map this time was much more intricate, and progressing to the next stage didn't involve teleporting via a campfire.

For instance, in the earlier game, you could directly teleport from the Fire Shrine to the first Lothric Wall. Now, the teleportation symbol on the bonfire is grayed out, clearly requiring certain conditions to unlock it.

This new feature in the UI seemed like a deliberate addition. It gives players the hope that teleportation is still a function, but 'You got to earn it'.

When it becomes available? That entirely depends on how much effort the player puts in!

After wandering aimlessly for what felt like ages, I finally returned to the chest area and stumbled upon a path lined with tombstones, painted ceramics. I had noticed this area earlier when retrieving a treasure chest. As I passed by, the skeletons scattered across the ground began to gather again, creating an eerie atmosphere.

Carefully I started luring a single skeleton soldier, I discovered that its health was unusually high. It took five or six hits to defeat it. However, the hammer I acquired earlier proved helpful—despite only having a slightly higher attack panel than the broadsword, its blows against the skeleton felt significantly stronger, likely due to the weapon's attack attributes.

"This game is definitely tougher than the previous one," I thought. 

"The monsters have more HP now. Judging by the setting, I might be heading toward an Undead church or some underground ruins. The name alone– underground—suggest that this path should lead to Undead Town."

With that thought, I decided to press on. After all, as an experienced fire bearer, what storms and challenges haven't I faced before?