Chapter 540: The New Game Is So Fun!
In fact, Gundyr was indeed one of the easiest bosses to parry, which is why many people called him Teacher Gundyr—because a lot of players learned parrying from him.
As Qiu Hengyang kept up his relentless assault, Gundyr’s health quickly dropped to half.
But just as Qiu Hengyang was smugly thinking this boss was about to fall at his hands, a massive mass of black, unknown substance suddenly erupted from Gundyr’s body, coiling around him like a grotesque black serpent!
“Holy crap! What’s going on? This boss has a second phase??”
Before Qiu Hengyang could react, the giant black snake lunged down and bit him, instantly emptying his health bar.
Qiu Hengyang: “…”
Screw this!!
...
Many were still suffering at Gundyr’s hands, while others had already made it to the Firelink Shrine.
Zou Zhuo was among the fastest players, already exploring the High Wall of Lothric.
After defeating Gundyr, Zou Zhuo’s confidence had swelled to unprecedented levels. He thought, “If I’ve beaten such a tough boss, the rest should be a cakewalk, right?”
But upon arriving at the High Wall of Lothric, he realized it was indeed a cakewalk—except the minor enemies were the ones doing the slicing, and he was the cake...
Zou Zhuo discovered that aside from those pathetic kneeling figures praying and not even fighting back when hit, every other moving minor enemy seemed capable of killing him.
Moreover, many enemies were cunningly hanging on the outer walls, waiting for him to walk by before suddenly appearing behind him for a sneak attack.
Zou Zhuo was having a miserable time. It felt like a pure horror game—you never knew where a monster would pop out and scare you half to death!
Midway through the game, Zou Zhuo encountered the Lothric Knight from the earlier promotional footage.
“Oh? Isn’t this guy supposed to be a pushover? In the video, he was beaten without taking damage. Just parry him to death!”
Zou Zhuo was extremely confident in his parrying skills. If even Gundyr had fallen to him, what was a mere little knight?
Full of confidence, Zou Zhuo raised his shield and charged forward.
He parried with absolute confidence.
He parried again with absolute confidence.
Zou Zhuo, dead.
“What the hell? What’s going on?”
Zou Zhuo was completely thrown off. He had confidently raised his knight shield to parry the Lothric Knight’s attack, but his first parry failed. The knight chased him down with three slashes, and his health plummeted.
Unwilling to accept it, Zou Zhuo raised his shield and tried again, only to fail the parry once more. The Lothric Knight finished him off with two more strikes...
“Unbelievable! Even a minor enemy can one-shot me! How are you stronger than Gundyr? If you’re this tough, why aren’t you linking the fire?”
Zou Zhuo was speechless. He thought it was a mistake in his technique, so he respawned and came back for another try.
The result was the same—the knight ground him into the dirt...
Not only that, but Zou Zhuo noticed that when he raised his shield, the knight would bash him with its own shield. After one hit, Zou Zhuo’s stamina was completely drained, leaving him staggered. The knight followed up with a combo of slashes, leaving Zou Zhuo utterly helpless.
“Damn it, I can’t mess with this. Time to run...”
Zou Zhuo decided not to be stubborn and chose to avoid this enemy.
Thinking back, Chen Mu had hinted at this in the Crystal Lizard area of the starting zone—many monsters in the game weren’t meant to be fought yet and could be bypassed. So Zou Zhuo decided to avoid the knight and move on.
After wandering through the map and narrowly dodging the fire-breathing dragon, Zou Zhuo entered a room.
A tempting treasure chest sat quietly, waiting for a player to open it.
“A chest!”
This was the first chest Zou Zhuo had encountered in the game.
Obviously, there had to be good stuff inside—wasn’t that common sense in games?
Zou Zhuo happily walked over and opened the chest with both hands.
But suddenly, the chest leaped up, opened its gaping maw, and bit down on Zou Zhuo’s head!
“What the hell?! What’s going on?!”
Zou Zhuo was so startled he nearly jumped out of the VR pod!
In first-person view, Zou Zhuo clearly saw the chest suddenly reveal a long tongue and two rows of razor-sharp teeth, biting his head!
Then the camera pulled back to a third-person follow view, and Zou Zhuo saw his situation clearly.
It was a terrifying monster with long arms and legs, its head being the giant chest. It was now savagely tearing at Zou Zhuo’s character, blood splattering everywhere!
“Holy crap, what do I do now?”
Zou Zhuo was panicking. His character struggled but couldn’t escape the mimic’s grasp. Eventually, his health hit zero, and he collapsed dead...
Zou Zhuo: “...”
“What kind of trick is this? Why are the chests in this game so shady?”
Zou Zhuo was in despair. The very first chest he found was a fake. Could this game even be played?
Unwilling to give up, Zou Zhuo respawned and prepared for revenge.
After an arduous journey, he returned to the mimic’s room.
Without a word, Zou Zhuo charged in and started slashing.
But the mimic suddenly stood up, lunged forward, and bit his head again!
“What the hell? What’s going on?”
Zou Zhuo was stunned. The mimic’s combat power far exceeded his expectations, and his second attempt ended in failure...
Still refusing to give up, he tried a third time, but he died again!
“How is this monster even tougher than the knight?!”
Zou Zhuo was at a loss. He felt like Chen Mu had played a huge joke on him, and it was a chain of traps!
At first glance, it looked like a chest, and opening it killed him.
After dying, he thought, “Okay, just a little trap. I’ll just kill it!”
But after one hit, he realized he couldn’t win...
If the mimic had inner thoughts, it would probably be: “This idiot with an IQ of five wants revenge? Hah, even in a direct fight, you’re no match for me!”
And the most frustrating part for Zou Zhuo was that whenever he rested at a bonfire to restore his status, most of the minor enemies in the area respawned!
Even the Lothric Knight that had given him so much trouble was among those that respawned!
“I can’t even get past the first wall, and I’m supposed to defeat the mighty Lords of Cinder and link the fire? Link my ass!”
Zou Zhuo instantly doubted his life. What was the point of beating Gundyr? The High Wall of Lothric was more terrifying than any boss!
...
After two hours of struggle, by noon, many players had reached the High Wall of Lothric.
But they all faced the same problem as Zou Zhuo. After defeating Gundyr, they were brimming with confidence, but once they fought the minor enemies, they realized they were still too naive...
Chen Mu was absolutely right. The difficulty curve for bosses and minor enemies in this game was perfectly balanced. In short, bosses just had longer health bars, but practically any minor enemy could one-shot you...
Qiu Hengyang was also getting wrecked on the High Wall of Lothric. After dying countless times, he finally decided to exit the pod and grab some lunch.
Just then, Qiu Hengyang noticed messages in his phone chat group: “Hey, Old Qiu! How’s Chen Mu’s new game? Fun? Having a blast mowing down enemies?”
Qiu Hengyang’s feelings were a mix of emotions. After a moment’s thought, he replied: “Yeah, the new game is really fun. It’s a true lawnmower game. I recommend everyone buy it when it releases...”