Chapter 688 - 688: I'll Beat You Crying Later!

After bypassing the warrior he'd just encountered, Zack felt a surge of energy.

As an old "undertaker" (a seasoned player of difficult games), he was practically battle-hardened. This trap? It just needed a quick look to figure out.

Most players, faced with the warrior and the gate beyond, would immediately think of defeating the warrior and heading through the main entrance.

But Zack, being a Soulslike player who liked to use his brain, clearly spotted the side path without any mist.

Thinking about it, this was exactly like the setup in the Undead Asylum in Dark Souls!

Ben, you shouldn't have!

Remembering Ben's voice from earlier, Zack, who was now below the broken bridge, couldn't help but sigh.

Then, he called Ben on the voice channel.

"Fame without fortune is like wearing silk to a night march."

And his brilliant discovery of Boss Lucas's trap and scheme? He had to brag about it to someone!

"Did Ben get past? I've already beaten this boss." Zack said with a hearty laugh into the phone.

Meanwhile, Ben, who had just managed to knock off the first health bar of Yamauchi Shigenori only to be cleaved to death by one strike, was stunned to hear Zack's voice on the call.

"Holy crap, Zack, you beat it in one or two tries? Are you cheating?" Ben was utterly shocked.

Honestly, he felt the current BOSS wasn't that difficult.

After dying six or seven times in a row, he had pretty much figured out the boss's attack patterns. It was a simple three-hit combo, and the openings were easy to spot.

The first move was a vertical slash, the second was a left and right horizontal sweep, and the third, when the boss created distance, was a plunging attack like the "Oldest Elder" (Gael) from Dark Souls.

There were no extra moves beyond that. Even the Ashen One's Soul of Cinder had a second form after losing half his health, not to mention the Firelink Shrine Guardian.

This guy was just a lazy bum, with such slow attack animations, as if afraid people wouldn't dodge.

But if this were in Dark Souls or Bloodborne, Ben wouldn't have found this mini-boss difficult at all.

However, under the combat system of Sekiro: Shadows Die Twice, Ben felt the playstyle and strategy were completely different.

At first, he was using tactics from Dark Souls and Bloodborne.

That is, he'd attack twice and dodge twice, but he found the damage was incredibly weak.

Just by chipping away at the health bar, he had no idea how many times he'd have to hit, and he only had one healing gourd.

When he clashed with the boss directly, the boss's posture gauge filled up quite quickly.

But there was also a significant advantage: there was no stamina bar in the game. While it made combat flowing and satisfying, it made him instinctually want to attack more. This unique combat system, paradoxically, made the game feel harder.

However, there was something else he noticed: the sense of frustration in Sekiro: Shadows Die Twice, compared to Dark Souls and Bloodborne, wasn't as strong.

The main reason was how satisfying the combat felt. The 'clink-clank' sounds of parrying and clashing swords, the enemies' posture gauges filling rapidly during a perfect parry, and the brilliant sparks that flew – it was incredibly satisfying.

But now Zack was telling him he was already past it?

After all, in their previous chat, Zack's progress had been lagging behind his own!

"Cheating? I'm a legitimate player. I'm not talking to you anymore, I'm pushing forward. Ask me if you get stuck later!" Zack said with a cheerful laugh before hanging up.

He then walked forward and, by accident, fell off a bridge. He panicked for a moment at first.

But he quickly realized his health hadn't decreased. Clearly, in Sekiro: Shadows Die Twice, the damage from falling from a great height was very forgiving.

This height would have killed several Undeads and Geralt, but for Wolf, it didn't even take a sliver of health. After defeating two lizards in the water, Zack used a double jump off a nearby wall to return to the city wall he was on before. He followed the edge of the wall all the way to the secret passage entrance mentioned when he spoke with Kuro.

Upon reaching the secret passage entrance, Zack triggered a game cutscene. Wolf took out the young lord's whistle from his pocket and blew it.

After two or three seconds, Kuro appeared at the agreed-upon underground entrance.

They passed through this tunnel-like passage and emerged outside.

They entered a field of white reeds, with various weapons planted in the ground. In the distance, a samurai stood with his back to them, gazing at the full moon.

"It's been a while, my Lord."

"We haven't met since we parted at my uncle's grave, have we?"

The samurai beneath the moon slowly turned, his gaze falling upon Wolf and Kuro.

"Lord Genichiro... I..."

Wolf stopped Kuro, who was about to step forward, and stared as Genichiro placed his hand on his sword hilt.

"Leave it to me."

"Are you going to interfere, Lord's Shinobi?"

As their eyes met, the game's UI appeared in the next second, marking the official start of a BOSS battle.

"Genichiro Ashina... engaging..."

"This BOSS looks like the one from the promotional trailer? The one Wolf easily defeated, forcing him to call out Isshin Ashina?" Zack smacked his lips, not paying much attention to this BOSS named Genichiro Ashina.

As the battle began, Zack immediately felt a difference.

Those previous regular enemies could be called "idiots."

They walked like old ladies crossing the street, and their attacks were slow and sluggish.

But the Genichiro before him perfectly embodied "sword lightning, body like the wind."

A charge, followed by a two-hit combo and a sweep, left him no time to react before Genichiro's sweep depleted his health bar.

In the next moment, Zack saw in the cutscene as Wolf's arm was severed by Genichiro's blade.

"So that's how Wolf got the prosthetic arm in the promotional CG trailer?"

Zack smacked his lips, but he didn't feel any frustration, as it was clearly a story-driven event.

He had been a little curious earlier about how Wolf's left hand, which was fine, had become a prosthetic in the game.

Now he had his answer.

After severing Wolf's arm, what annoyed Zack was that this guy still managed to taunt him.

"Is this all a ninja is capable of?"

"I'm taking the Lord with me."

"You haven't won yet, have you? When I get stronger, I'll beat you crying!" After being harshly taunted, Zack gritted his teeth.

After a brief black screen, the scene reappeared, showing Wolf in a ruined temple, having been rescued by someone called the Sculptor and acquiring a prosthetic arm that could launch a grappling hook.

After resting at the Divine Candle and meeting a doctor named Emma, by talking to her, he obtained so-called Gourd Seeds, which increase the healing gourd's capacity.

Clearly, this was Sekiro's Firebase Maiden.

It was a classic Soulslike game setup.

However, it couldn't be upgraded yet, nor could he learn skills or shop.

This obviously required some prerequisite conditions to be met, much like how the Doll in Bloodborne needed Insight to revive.

Besides that, on a small path nearby, he saw an undead warrior with whom he could practice his moves.

This was probably equivalent to the "Discouraged Ones" or Gerhman character. After confirming there was nothing else, Zack prepared to officially begin his exploration.

"The next stage, it's time to show my skills!"

"Rest assured, Kuro, I'll beat up Genichiro and rescue you!"

Grasping his Kusabimaru, Zack said with great immersion.

(End of chapter)

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