Chapter 1142: Who's the Spy (Second Update)
Just as these two players were puzzled, a gameplay hint appeared in the upper right corner of their field of view.
"Casual Mode: Who's the Spy"
"Each casual mode match will involve three players: two playing as adventurers, one playing as the spy. Adventurers must follow the game process to adventure; the spy can freely switch between monsters and NPCs."
"Adventurer victory conditions (choose one): Find and kill the spy once; or, by the end of the 40-minute game time, have fewer than 30 deaths and defeat 3 bosses."
"Spy victory conditions (choose one): By the end of the 40-minute game time, the adventurers have more than 30 deaths; or, within the game time, the adventurers fail to defeat 3 bosses."
"The spy can possess any boss in the process during non-combat states, each boss only once. Once killed, the game is lost."
The two players stared at this explanation, with only two thoughts in their minds.
First: What the hell is "Who's the Spy"?! Couldn't you come up with a proper name??
Second: You're telling us this crucial gameplay info NOW?! That's toxic!!
If we'd known Gundyr might be played by a player, we wouldn't have died so many times at the first boss...
The two players quickly figured it out: that Gundyr and the Chosen Undead were definitely fishy—turns out they were both controlled by the same bastard...
No wonder he knew to move all the NPCs away. What the hell...
Thinking it over, the time limit was pretty reasonable.
Although most players start Dark Souls slowly, if you're just aiming to speed-kill three bosses, 40 minutes is more than enough. Plenty of pros use parkour to speed-run all bosses in just over an hour; 40 minutes for three bosses, with two players working together, is actually quite generous.
The key was how to achieve that goal under the spy's interference.
The two players conferred: no way they could go head-to-head.
No wonder they'd beaten Gundyr—not because they'd gotten stronger, but because the spy had voluntarily switched from Gundyr to the Chosen Undead...
And now that bastard was controlling the Chosen Undead's body, which was even tougher than Gundyr. Gundyr couldn't roll, but the Chosen Undead could roll freely, had no stagger, and could chug estus to heal. How were they supposed to fight that?
The knight player thought it over: "We don't have to fight him head-on! We've already taken down Gundyr. If we just go kill the Dancer and the Vordt, don't we win directly?"
The deprived player slapped his thigh: "Right! Kill the Dancer and Vordt and we win! Wait, is the Dancer the third boss? I haven't played this game in ages—don't screw with me..."
The knight player scratched his head: "Really? Did I remember wrong? Then maybe it's the second?"
The deprived player squinted: "I seriously suspect you're in cahoots with the spy. This feels like playing Landlords and running into a rigged game..."
The knight player: "Ahaha, how could that be... It's just that in those pro videos online, they fight the Dancer as the second boss, the Champion as the third, then parry Champion Gundyr to death with a small leather shield, grab the slab, get a +10 weapon, and go chop up Vordt..."
The deprived player was stunned: "What the hell?! Using a +10 weapon to chop Vordt?! You're insane!"
After a brief discussion, the two players decided to skip upgrading at Firelink Shrine and just push forward through the game.
Even without upgrades or gear enhancements, it would be slow, but there were two of them. The game was only really tough when the spy was playing as a boss; regular mobs and bosses were still normal difficulty.
Plus, a player-controlled boss wasn't all-powerful. All bosses were big targets with blind spots. Once the players knew the boss was the spy, they'd change their tactics and might even wear the boss down.
The two players headed straight for Vordt.
Old Qin sat in Firelink Shrine, waiting and waiting, but the two players never came.
"Looks like they're going for Vordt. Damn, not good—they'll take him down."
Seeing the grayed-out boss name on the panel, Old Qin panicked. He'd built up a huge advantage, but now that the players knew the rules, the game didn't seem so fun anymore.
If this kept up, the two players would cooperate and quickly take down the Tree, and he'd lose outright.
"No, I can't stay as the Chosen Undead. I need to switch."
Possessing an NPC had a downside: you couldn't actively attack players or other NPCs. Otherwise, Old Qin wouldn't have gone to such lengths to provoke them.
Now that the players weren't coming to Firelink Shrine, Old Qin had to change his strategy.
"Possess the old lady and not give them the Small Lothric Banner? Damn, no—what if they chop me down in two hits? I can't even fight back..."
"Hmm, got it."
Old Qin made up his mind and left the Chosen Undead's body.
The Chosen Undead looked back in confusion at the Fire Keeper and blacksmith he'd trapped in the hole, scratched his head, and was completely bewildered.
...
The two players took down Vordt without much trouble and arrived at the Undead Settlement.
The gate to the Undead Settlement was as usual. A few one-hit-kill hollows were wandering in front of the portcullis, trying to get in. Normally, when a player approaches, the gate opens, and the hospitable residents of the Undead Settlement release three dogs to give a warm welcome.
But when the two players arrived, they felt something was off.
Why wasn't the gate opening...
They took out the few fragile hollows at the entrance, sensing something strange.
Peeking through the gate, the three dogs were also confused.
The two players and the three dogs stared at each other through the gate, as if saying:
"Come out!"
"Then open the gate!"
"You should open it from your side, idiot!"
Then they looked at the villager who was supposed to open the gate. He was standing right in front of the mechanism, maybe glitched, with no intention of opening it.
"No problem, we can open it from our side."
The knight player walked to the mechanism outside the gate and pulled hard. The portcullis rose with a clank.
But just as they were about to go through, the villager inside pulled the mechanism on his side, and the gate slammed shut again...
The two players: "???"
The knight player froze for five seconds, then snapped to: "Damn! That guy's the spy! He left the Chosen Undead! Kill him! Kill him and we win!"
The deprived player was also pumped: "Yeah! Kill him! The problem is... how do we kill him through the gate..."
The knight player: "..."
Seems... they were completely helpless...
Every time the knight player pulled the mechanism to open the gate, Old Qin pulled it on his side, and the gate closed again...
The three players started messing around with the gate. Up it went! Down it came. Up it went! Down it came...
The poor three dogs were in total mental chaos.
Gate opens! Oh, time to bite someone!
Hey, why'd it close?
Gate opens! Oh, time to bite someone!
Hey, why'd it close again...
Every time the dogs bared their teeth and snarled, ready to tear into the intruders, the gate silently closed again...
One dog raised a paw and scratched its head. What the hell??