As a Soulslike game, players write 'suggestions' in the manual.
Ben had always been very meticulous, taking a very accurate and official approach.
But if you think about it, there must be countless players who do the same as him.
In that case, how would later players find his messages among so many suggestions?
Besides, after seeing so many official messages, players get tired of liking or commenting.
In contrast, after reading Zack's suggestion, it was like seeing the sky after parting the clouds.
So this suggestion could be so lewd! So intense!
Especially seeing the part about the useful backside, combined with the corresponding physical actions, he couldn't hold it in.
Honestly, faced with such a suggestion, could he resist not liking it?
He asked himself three times, and the conclusion was the same: he definitely couldn't resist!
However, after his initial awe, Ben didn't just copy Zack and leave a message.
After all, looking at Zack's situation, it wasn't good for a suggestion to be too popular.
And compared to offline mode, online mode was still a little more interesting, as you could see messages left by others.
Being able to see other players' white souls made him feel like he wasn't alone in this world.
Of course, the more important point was being able to see the bloodstains on the ground.
Why could he challenge the Tree Sentinel for two hours straight?
One reason was that as an old Soulslike player, he was used to the feeling of learning from constant death and then defeating the final boss.
The other reason was that the countless red bloodstains on the ground gave him confidence.
Just looking at at least a hundred bloodstains on the ground gave Ben an indescribable feeling of satisfaction.
He wasn't fighting alone!
How many Tarnished had died under this Tree Sentinel!?
He was definitely not the worst!
Ben gradually became more familiar with the BOSS's moves, and he also became smarter through constant combat.
That is, the knight starts with three weapons.
These are a sword, a halberd, and a medium shield.
If he had a halberd equipped, his weight would definitely become "heavy," making his rolls delayed and very clumsy.
The Tree Knight's attacks could deplete his full stamina bar in just two hits, and getting close could also lead to a "mountain-collapsing shoulder bash," which could instantly deplete the shield's stamina.
As for parrying, so far Ben could only succeed two or three times out of ten.
So, in summary, Ben had started using a two-handed halberd, becoming a disciple of the "poke poke gang."
After hitting the Tree Sentinel, he would poke once and then pull back to create distance, waiting for the opponent's openings.
Honestly, this move was incredibly effective.
Carefully avoiding greedily attacking too much, combined with the knight's starting armor and high health, even if he was hit by the shield slam in the second phase, as long as he wasn't hit dead center, he wouldn't be instantly killed.
Including the golden seeds he started with, the five Flasks of Crimson Tears provided a very high margin for error.
He and the Tree Sentinel had been dancing around in this open space for about ten minutes, and the BOSS's health was almost depleted.
"Die!"
Ben plunged the halberd in his hand into the Tree Sentinel's body, taking away the last bit of its health.
Looking at the Golden Halberd in his inventory, Ben felt incredibly accomplished.
This was the greatest fun of Soulslike games: the satisfaction that comes from finally overcoming a difficult boss after constant death.
He took a screenshot and silently sent it to Zack.
Although Zack had already passed this part from their previous conversation, he hadn't done it through his own skill.
So Ben felt he could definitely brag a little.
"Heh heh, just not replying is fine?"
Although Zack hadn't replied in his friend list, Ben was sure Zack had seen the message he sent.
So he silently opened his item inventory screen and sent the stats of the Golden Halberd dropped by the BOSS.
Although based on its stats, Ben thought this thing would probably become a toy-like weapon, he could still show it off now, after all, it was the symbol of his victory over the Tree Sentinel.
After sending two screenshots to Zack, Ben didn't bother with the unresponsive Zack anymore and continued to explore.
After all, judging from the maps that hadn't been unlocked yet, the map for this Soulslike game was huge.
As for the so-called Dragon's Breath Ruins that Zack had mentioned, he didn't know where they were now.
However, he wasn't planning on wandering around. He intended to first proceed with the main story, at least find the Finger Maiden, otherwise, he wouldn't be able to level up, and losing all his Runes after dying would be too much of a loss.
You know, the most tragic thing in a Soulslike game isn't being beaten to death by a BOSS.
It's dying with your money unspent.
Although in the later stages, players might not care about losing hundreds of thousands or even millions of souls after one death.
Losing a few thousand or tens of thousands of souls in the early game could definitely make a player feel terrible.
"However, in this installment, you can also collect materials to craft items?" At the Site of Grace in the ruins of the Church of Elleh after defeating the Tree Sentinel, Ben felt a sense of novelty after talking to the merchant and seeing the newly unlocked feature.
This was something he was familiar with from traditional ARPGs, but it was quite novel in a Soulslike game.
However, he didn't dwell on it for too long.
Instead, he continued to progress through the game. Following the light from the Site of Grace, Ben soon arrived at the second Site of Grace, near the Stormveil Castle Gate ruins.
Each ruin had a Site of Grace around it, and these ruins were roughly equivalent to the "strongholds" in most open-world games. Each ruin contained a basement with a BOSS or a treasure chest, and defeating or opening them would yield special rewards.
"This area is not much different from most ARPG-like open worlds, but the lineup..." Ben felt a pang of annoyance recalling the scene he just witnessed.
As soon as he entered the ruins, the guards on watch spotted him.
Ordinary guards would just charge at him and attack, but some guards holding torches, upon seeing him, directly pulled out a large horn from behind.
They blew it into the sky, and immediately all the enemies around the ruins charged at him like dogs seeing shit... No, it was like they saw some great treasure.
Wolves, ordinary soldiers, elite soldiers with shields, they were all there.
He was forced to run for his life, but thankfully, this installment was an open world, so he could run around the map as he pleased.
After running far away and breaking combat, they didn't pursue him relentlessly.
"Why does this Soulslike game feel like Assassin's Creed!?" Crouching and assassinating the small enemies one by one, Ben soon found the basement of the ruins and obtained a "Storm Stomp" Ash of War from the chest.
"Besides special weapon skills, you can replace a weapon's skill with an Ash of War!?"
Seeing the new feature, Ben was surprised.
As an old Soulslike player who had played through Dark Souls, he had a basic impression of skills: flashy and overdone.
Even in Dark Souls, weapons were mostly for slashing and stabbing, and skills were completely unused.
However, with the Ash of War system in Elden Ring, Ben saw some hints, and in this installment, weapon skills might play a more significant role?
But this thought didn't last long, as there was something more exciting in the game that diverted his attention.
At the Site of Grace before Stormveil Castle, after Ben lit it, what he had been anticipating finally appeared.
In the darkness, a mysterious woman in a black cloak appeared.
"You who have come across the fog..."
"My name is Melina..."
"I want to make a deal with you..."
She slowly approached Ben, and the black hood that covered her face was lowered.
The moment he saw the face beneath the hood, Ben understood something.
A new wife had appeared!
Pink hair was a bonus. The mystery brought by her closed left eye and the petal-like pattern above it was also a bonus. Her gentle voice was a bonus, and her stunning looks, of course, were a bonus.
"It's a pity, though. I prefer white hair to pink hair," Ben sighed.
(End of Chapter)