Chapter 601: The Suffering of the Big Shots
After activating the "Accept Death" mode, each boss would have a special record, ranked by the number of players and the time taken to defeat it. The "Accept Death" mode didn't offer any special rewards—just random drops of rare in-game items. For these big shots who had already cleared the game eight times, most of the items in the game were already in their possession. They were playing this purely to show off and climb the rankings.
However, climbing the rankings was far more important than the items. The names of the first-kill teams and record-holders for each boss would be recorded in a special area of the Firelink Shrine. This meant that all *Dark Souls* players could look up to these names. For many veteran players, this was an unparalleled honor.
Old Qin and the others arrived at the entrance to the boss room for the Abyss Watchers. As the organizer, Old Qin drew a special summon sign on the ground. This sign could only be seen after activating the "Accept Death" mode. Team members could use this sign to send a request to join the team. Touching it required the team leader's approval before they could enter the team.
Soon, the other eight team members touched the summon sign left by Old Qin and entered the host world. Each player had their own role and equipped different gear based on their preferences.
Old Qin himself was equipped with a medium shield and the Dark Sword. Sun Knight Wang Laji, as always, was naked, with an Ancient God face, a muscular build, and a greatsword strapped to his back. Gu Sanguang wore a full set of Havel's armor. The others had varied equipment—some were naked, some wore heavy armor and carried greatshields, and some wore light armor with daggers.
If this were a speed kill, the optimal strategy would be to equip the Red Tearstone Ring, lower your health to critical, and then use a greatsword to bully the boss. But this was the "Accept Death" mode, and they were still in the early stages of exploration. These big shots didn't dare to mess around with naked runs. Remember, everyone only had one life. Wearing heavy armor might allow you to survive one extra hit, but going naked would likely result in instant death.
Moreover, without a time limit, there was no pressure to output damage. The key was to wear the boss down slowly.
Old Qin said, "Alright, everyone, hurry up and enchant your weapons, apply your buffs, get your gay setups ready, and then do a gesture."
Soon, all nine players began synchronously enchanting their weapons and consuming items. The whole process was quite lengthy, as this was an exploration run—they had to gather every buff they could use. Once everything was ready, they all performed the "Praise the Sun" gesture in unison.
After confirming that everyone was prepared, Old Qin entered the white fog door, and the other players automatically entered at the same time. It was still the familiar cutscene: the Abyss Watchers slaughtering each other. But this time, these big shots, who had cleared the game countless times, felt a hint of tension in their hearts. They even recalled the days when they were still newbies, being taught a lesson by the Abyss Watchers.
The boss arenas in *Dark Souls* were generally quite large. In the "Accept Death" mode, the arena seemed even bigger. So, even though nine people entered the arena, it looked lively, but once they spread out, it wasn't that crowded.
"Here they come. Everyone, don't slack off, don't get greedy with hits, and don't embarrass yourselves. This boss will probably two-shot you. This is a nine-man team," Old Qin reminded them.
Gu Sanguang, wearing a full set of Havel's armor, was the first to step forward. Although the boss in this game didn't have an aggro system—who it attacked was entirely random—it generally prioritized the nearest target in front of it. Only in specific cases would it use jumps or special skills to attack distant targets.
These players had considered not using greatshields and relying entirely on rolling to fight, but after analyzing it, they decided the plan was too risky. In the "Accept Death" mode, it was possible to roll through an entire stamina bar and still not escape the boss's attack range. It was better to stick to their roles and play it safe.
Gu Sanguang charged forward with Havel's Greatshield raised, while the others scattered around, waiting for an opportunity. Unlike in normal mode, the boss didn't immediately roll and rush toward the players. Instead, it moved forward slowly.
Wang Laji, carrying his greatsword, was speechless: "Damn, is this a chill boss? It's pretty patient, not rushing at all."
The boss's unhurried attitude actually annoyed the players. Everyone knew that in *Dark Souls*, playing it safe meant waiting for the boss to make the first move.
Gu Sanguang stepped forward with his greatshield, but instead of charging straight at him, the boss began circling around him.
"Whoa, is this boss this smart? Damn."
The others were a bit stunned. The boss seemed like it was being controlled by a human—way too sneaky!
In the end, it was the players who couldn't hold their patience first. Gu Sanguang advanced with his greatshield to pressure the boss's positioning, while Old Qin circled around to the boss's back, aiming for a backstab. But just as Old Qin's Dark Sword was about to strike, the boss suddenly leaped into the air, slamming its greatsword heavily toward two players standing on the other side!
These two players were wielding a pair of knives and an ultra greatsword, respectively. Seeing the boss charging at them, their first instinct was to roll to the sides, dodging the strike. After the boss slammed into the ground, it had a brief moment of stagger. The surrounding players quickly circled behind it, aiming for a backstab. But before the backstab could land, the boss rolled forward and slammed its greatsword into the ground again!
Although the players dodged this slam as well, they could feel that the boss's attack frequency and speed had significantly increased. Skills that they could easily dodge before were now barely avoidable.
Just then, more Undead Legion members stood up. In multiplayer mode, these members had far less health than the boss, but they were still a headache for the players. In normal mode, the strategy was to let the red-eyed members aggro the boss while the players focused on dealing damage to push the boss into its second phase.
In an instant, two normal Undead Legion members appeared in the arena. These members, like the boss, only attacked players and didn't harm each other. Only the red-eyed members attacked indiscriminately.
Old Qin was stunned: "Damn, where are the red-eyed members?"
Normally, after one normal member appeared, a red-eyed one would spawn. But what did it mean that no red-eyed members were spawning?
The boss and the two normal members didn't attack each other, resulting in utter chaos. These big shots, who could easily slaughter bosses in normal mode, were now being chased around by a few Undead Legion members...
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