Chapter 190: That's Not What the Script Says!
After making his selection, Tom saw the game screen go dark, followed by a loading screen. He appeared at a door with fog.
He did not rush to face the boss immediately, but first checked his equipment. He was wearing a Silver Knight Shield and a Guandao. Previously, he wore a Grass Shield to recharge energy while using two Guandaos.
But now, for Death Mode, he chose to use a single Guandao with a shield to maintain his tolerance. After all, according to the previous update, bosses in Death Mode had not only seen improvements in AI, but also in some stats.
The reason he had used two Guandaos was mainly to achieve a greater resistance reduction. Although it was not explicitly mentioned, Tom felt that the bosses' resistance in Death Mode would increase accordingly. So he opted for a more cautious approach.
In front of the White Fog Door, Tom completed all his preparations, took a deep breath, and crossed it.
At that moment, he felt a pang of excitement. 'What if he could really defeat this Death Mode Artorias in his first encounter? It wasn't impossible!'. Tom imagined the battle scene in his mind.
As the white fog dissipated, Tom paused for a moment upon seeing Artorias before him. As the Death Mode's introduction had clearly indicated, the player was facing a character in his prime.
The Artorias he had fought had been completely eroded by the Abyss, his left hand completely paralyzed by rot, his shield was missing, and his sword was in tatters, his armor was in tatters. His mind was completely deranged, relying solely on instinctive sword handling. Even so, his frenzy was immense; the slightest mistake would have resulted in a brutal beating.
But what about the current Artorias?.
Tom paused for a moment.
The blue cape, combined with the knight's armor, was imposing, a majestic presence. He was holding a greatsword in one hand and a shield in the other. They were the Four Knights of the King in their prime: the Blue Knight: Artorias!.
The boss's health bar, as well as its interface, did not appear. Artorias simply stood there silently, accompanied by the sudden background music. This instantly tensed Tom.
A sense of oppression came over him.
The battle scene was the same as Artorias's, but whether it was an illusion or something else, Tom felt that this arena was significantly larger than before.
Taking a deep breath, Tom looked at Artorias in front of him and made a gesture of praise to the sun. What surprised him was that, after this gesture, Artorias returned the greeting.
"I'm going to activate the monster!" Tom said nervously, grabbing the mouse and looking at Mike next to him.
Hearing Tom's words, Mike was speechless. "It's not me who fights the boss, why are you asking me to start the monster alone? Go ahead, you can't beat the great Artorias anyway."
"Shit!" Tom blurted out, and then controlled his game character to face him.
At the same time, Artorias's health bar and name appeared at the bottom of the screen.
Although the battle had begun and the background music had become exciting, Artorias, on the other side, simply circled Tom at a leisurely pace. You know, when they fought Artorias before, he had been incredibly aggressive, launching stabs, jumps, slashes, and other movements without stopping for a moment.
'Now, completely motionless? It was as if two normal players were locked in a PvP encounter.'.
After all, in Dark Souls, defensive counterattacks were more advantageous than active attacks.
"Okay, let me go first!". Seeing Artorias, who was crossing the street like an old lady, Tom couldn't resist. He took a step forward, brandishing his Guandao and attacking Artorias. Artorias's health bar went down noticeably.
After the first hit, Tom didn't want to be greedy, and rolled to create distance. But the moment he rolled, Artorias suddenly jumped into the air and hit the sword hard in the position where Tom was.
Seeing Artorias's action, Tom, who was rolling, did not panic, because he had already stood up at that moment. He continued to roll to dodge Artorias's attack, but at that moment, Artorias also rolled on the spot, as if he were using the turn to counteract the stiffness of the jump slash, and directly received another sweep.
This time, Tom rolled slowly, as he didn't expect this situation at all.
'Because in the original game, after a jump and a slash, Artorias felt stiff? But now? He could even roll! Isn't that the Undead's famous secret weapon? When did you learn that?'.
Tom didn't have time to dodge and was stabbed by the sword, with his health bar plummeting. Terrified, he quickly took out his talisman and took a sip.
"My goodness! Can this boss be played?".
Although he knew that the boss's damage would not be enough to kill him instantly, the key was in his reactions! He seemed like a spirit. These attacks were still Artorias's old methods, but now they were more coherent than before, like a jump and a slash followed by a sweep. In the original game, each attack was followed by a brief stiffness.
But now, he was as smooth as water.
The boss even rolled to dodge. The great shield he was carrying in his hand was not just for show; in fact, he could block his attacks.
The movements were still the same. Apart from the somersaults and blocks, Tom had not discovered any new ones.
But the old movements were old, and the change in attack frequency, plus the combination of movements and somersaults, suddenly increased the difficulty.
Before, every time Artorias charged with a straight lunge or a jump slash, it was basically a dodge and a predictable counterattack. It seemed like a turn-based game.
But now?.
It looked like a real PvP, with somersaulting and chasing.
"I can't believe it! This boss is really amazing!".
After recovering health, Tom patiently observed the boss's movements. Soon, he discovered a unique feature: the boss's attacks were essentially the same over and over again. They simply adapted better to instant analysis.
For example, Artorias's straight lunges used to be followed by a brief stiffness, but now he rolled immediately after, canceling the movement. The same happened with jump slashes and other abilities.
"Watch out!".
Tom kept his composure, dodging the attacks he could by rolling. He used his shield to resist them if he couldn't, as long as his stamina bar didn't run out. He cut Artorias's health one by one, determinedly avoiding any additional damage.
Gradually, he reduced his health to approximately one-fifth. At that moment, Tom felt the pressure increase. Artorias's attacks seemed to increase in frequency, his desire to attack more forcefully.
While the force of his attacks remained the same, inflicting the same damage, the frequency seemed to have increased!
Upon observing the boss execute a movement, Tom raised his shield. This movement was a direct stab, similar to the one the boss had used before. He could block it directly with his shield, and then there would be a sweeping attack. However, that sweeping attack could not be blocked; he had to roll to avoid it, otherwise his stamina bar would run out.
But a moment later, as Tom watched bewildered, Artorias rolled and landed behind him. Then, the greatsword threw a spark to the ground and knocked him down helplessly.
"You're dead!" The three familiar words reappeared.
But the soul in his body was not lost. Obviously, this mode will not lose anything, except for the accessories used.
"This BOSS hits hard!".
Tom, who resurrected in the fireproof sacrificial field, was completely stunned.
'Can this BOSS also change his movements? Shouldn't he defend himself by hitting with his shield and then rolling to avoid the second movement? Why did this BOSS roll directly to avoid the front and attack him from behind? The script is not written like that!'.
- - - - - - - -
Hello everyone!
Thanks for reading this chapter.
This week, we'll have 2 daily chapters for you to enjoy. This is possible thanks to all your support with Power Stones.
To keep increasing our chapters, I'm asking for your support. For every 150 Power Stones we collect across all novels this week, I'll add an extra daily chapter for next week.
If you want to catch up and read even more, you can find over 150 advanced chapters of my novels on my Patreon.
Your comments and Power Stones are what make this possible. Thanks!
@Patreon/iLikeeMikee