Chapter 590: Pioneering, the Ruins of New Londo!
"Damn it! These hollows have such good moves, you're so amazing, why don't you go link the fire? You're even more badass than a Sword Saint!"
Back in the Catacombs of Carthus, there were some small skeletons with incredibly fast attack animations, jokingly called "Skeleton Sword Saints" by players. But compared to these two hollows, the difference was like heaven and earth!
Zou Zhuo highly suspected that even a Lord of Cinder would be dead or crippled by this six-hit combo, let alone him, now just a ragged young lady...
After respawning again, Zou Zhuo carefully lured enemies one by one, finally clearing all the small fry upstairs.
In front of him was another white fog gate. Zou Zhuo entered and found himself on the upper floor of the previous room. [A very few chosen undead can leave the Undead Asylum and embark on a pilgrimage to distant lands.]
The cutscene was still playing when suddenly, a massive black crow flew up from the cliff below, extending two giant claws and grabbing Zou Zhuo!
"What the hell!!"
In first-person perspective, this scene was terrifying, especially since the black crow flew so fast. Before Zou Zhuo could react, it had grabbed him and soared into the sky, leaving only a few black feathers drifting down.
The black crow swooped past, heading toward the layered mountains in the distance. [That is the land of the ancient lords... Lordran.]
Zou Zhuo was almost scared shitless. This game just couldn't tell a story properly without startling the player...
But it seemed similar to the "Didi Call Ghost" of the Lothric Small Banner, so after the initial scare, Zou Zhuo calmed down.
The giant crow carried Zou Zhuo through the sky. In the distance was a magnificent, enormous city, but the crow didn't drop him there. Instead, it dove sharply and tossed him beside a ruin near a cliff edge.
"Phew, scared the crap out of me."
Zou Zhuo felt his heart racing. This aerial trip gave him a sense of weightlessness, but it was pretty thrilling.
When the words "Firelink Shrine" appeared on the screen, Zou Zhuo was almost in tears of joy.
"Finally back to where the dream began!" Zou Zhuo sighed.
However, compared to the previous Firelink Shrine, the prequel's version was much simpler. In the center was a bonfire, surrounded by collapsed ruins, and it was an open-air scene, making one worry about what to do when it rained.
There were no thrones for the Lords of Cinder either. Everywhere he looked was desolation.
After sitting at the bonfire, Zou Zhuo walked toward the only NPC nearby.
"You're just in time. Haven't seen a new face in ages. I suppose you're here for that business, right? The undead's mission and all that?"
"We're all the same. Once you're cursed, everything's over. Staying in the Undead Asylum was the wiser choice. You're in for a rough time."
"But whatever, I've got nothing better to do, so I'll teach you a thing or two."
"The Awakening Bells mentioned in the undead's mission—there are two of them. One is placed above here, in the bell tower of the Undead Church; the other is deep below, in the ancient ruins beneath Blighttown."
"They say ringing both bells will trigger something, but no one knows if it's true. At least, I've never heard of anyone actually ringing them."
"But it doesn't matter. Get going. Isn't that why you came to this cursed land of the undead? Heh heh heh..."
Zou Zhuo exchanged a few words with him, but it was all sarcasm and mockery. Clearly, this guy was the "Crestfallen Warrior" and "Quit-Encourager" of this game.
Having experienced it in the previous game, Zou Zhuo knew that entering Firelink Shrine always meant a hopeless loser would lecture you on how hard linking the fire was, how it was a suicidal journey, trying to make you quit and refund.
But this game's quitter didn't seem as impressive as the last one. In the previous game, the quitter was a member of the Undead Legion of Farron and even made a strong cameo. This guy, though, was a true underdog...
After expressing his disdain for this NPC, Zou Zhuo continued exploring. But to his shock, where the hell was the Fire Keeper?
Most players played this game for the beautiful Fire Keeper, but after looking around, Zou Zhuo found she wasn't even on this floor!
Had they removed the Fire Keeper in this game?
Zou Zhuo had a bad feeling. He'd noticed earlier that you could level up at the bonfire, with the Fire Keeper's exclusive upgrade function moved there. Was she gone?
First, Zou Zhuo wandered around Firelink Shrine.
There were plenty of items nearby—many hidden pots and jars contained special loot, and others were far away, requiring skilled parkour and jumps to reach.
But Serent's schemes were still hidden here. Zou Zhuo saw a graveyard with lots of goodies and rushed over excitedly, only to get beaten to a pulp by the skeletons inside, completely defenseless...
"Damn, this feels like a monster meant for later in the game!" Zou Zhuo winced. He thought the skeletons were weaklings, but it turned out he was the weakling...
There were also many chests around Firelink Shrine. Zou Zhuo carefully inspected each one before opening, expecting mimics, but surprisingly, there were none.
All the chests were real, which made Zou Zhuo almost weep with gratitude...
After being tormented by mimics in the previous game, Zou Zhuo had a habitual aversion to all chests.
"Unbelievable! The shopkeeper actually grew a conscience!" Zou Zhuo remarked.
Additionally, Zou Zhuo found the Fire Keeper downstairs, but she was locked up and had no dialogue, which annoyed him greatly.
Soon, Zou Zhuo encountered a new problem: he was lost!
Firelink Shrine was enormous, completely different from the previous game. The prequel's Firelink Shrine was a vast area with many hidden paths.
Zou Zhuo wandered around and finally found an elevator going down, eventually arriving at a pitch-black place.
Several words appeared on the screen: Ruins of New Londo.
Zou Zhuo felt a bit creeped out. Why was this place so dark?
"Okay, it's underground, but darker than the Undead Asylum? Fine, it feels similar to the High Wall of Lothric."
"I'm coming! Let me show you what a true veteran undead can do!"