C115: Damn Oppression!

Wang Han stood in a circular courtyard. To the right was a towering cliff, while the left side was littered with tombstones and lit candles.

At the center stood Guda, the Judge of Ashes, motionless like a stone sculpture. But what truly drew Wang Han's attention wasn't the figure of Guda, but the bloodstains scattered across the ground.

Beside the Ash Judge, at least twenty to thirty pools of blood were visible.

In Dark Souls, whenever a player engages in online play, their gameplay data is automatically uploaded to the server. What set this game apart from others was its unique feature: along with advice and warnings from other players, the scenes of their deaths would also manifest in other players' worlds.

These death echoes appeared randomly, with the most recent ones taking priority. The reason for these ghostly apparitions around Guda was simple—to provide a peculiar kind of solace. They reminded players they were not alone in this unforgiving, desperate world.

Wang Han wasn't exempted from this harsh reality; Uncle Guda had already educated many who has entered the game. Now, the bloodstains before her suggested a grim truth—twenty or thirty players had already perished here.

"My God! How many people have died!" Wang Han's unease deepened, a gnawing sense of foreboding creeping up her spine.

Taking control of her in-game character, 123, Wang Han moved closer to one of the pools of blood and pressed the interaction button.

The blood shimmered, transforming into a crimson shadow. It tumbled on the ground twice, then was hurled skyward as if stabbed by an unseen force. Afterward, it crumpled and struggled futilely before fading away.

Curious, Wang Han examined more bloodstains nearby. Each revealed similarly grim spectacles—one figure was sent flying, another flattened entirely, and some were pierced through violently. Yet, all the shadows shared one thing in common: their deaths were preceded by frantic, desperate rolling on the ground.

"It's over. I have a bad feeling about this Ash Judge Guda. He seems ridiculously powerful," Wang Han muttered anxiously.

Zhang Yi, observing the scene beside him, felt the tension rising but tried to rationalize the situation. "You're overthinking it," he declared. "Why do you only see the exact moments they die? It's all part of game design—a psychological trick! Showing deaths this way messes with the player's mind. The fear of the unknown is far more terrifying, just like in Escape."

Wang Han considered this. "So, you're saying Guda might actually be weak, but Chen Xu made him seem terrifying by hiding the full picture?"

Zhang Yi shook his head. "Not exactly. What I mean is, stop overthinking and start the boss fight. If you die, I'll take over."

"Go away!" Wang Han retorted, annoyed but unable to shake off her anxiety.

Summoning her courage, Wang Han took a deep breath, gripping the controller tightly. She directed her character forward, triggering the sequence to face the boss.

The in-game character approached Guda and grasped the spiral sword embedded in the Judge's chest with both hands. Slowly, they began to pull it free.

Puchi…

A dark stream of blood erupted from Gouda's chest as the spiral sword slid out, inch by inch, its gleaming surface stained with blackened crimson.

When the entire spiral sword was pulled out, the screen trembled. Guda, who had been kneeling like a stone statue, suddenly stood up with his long sword.

In the previous video from the online press conference, Wang Han had seen the boss, Ash Judge Guda. However, watching a video and facing the challenge in person are two completely different experiences.

The massive gray-white figure stood tall, towering over the game's "123" characters combined. Guda's immense body blocked the cold sunlight, casting an intimidating shadow.

As Guda rose, the game's background music swelled with low, resonant singing. The atmosphere became infused with a sense of epic grandeur, and an indescribable excitement surged within Wang Han.

At the bottom of the screen, along blood bar appeared, accompanied by the BOSS's name: Ash Judge Gouda.

Even though this was the first boss battle in the game, it carried the weight and intensity of a final boss confrontation in other games. From the perspective of atmospheric immersion, this Dark Soul installment was already exceptional.

"It's going to be a life-and-death struggle! Don't stop me from spreading fire!" The vast, magnificent background music seemed to ignite Wang Han's fighting spirit. The urge to play surged irresistibly.

As Guda, the Ash Judge, awoke, he launched the first attack. The enormous figure took one measured step toward Wang Han, raising smoke and dust with each movement.

The massive halberd in Guda's hands moved with surprising speed and precision, sweeping across in a wide arc. Wang Han instinctively rolled backward twice. The small, fragile shield in hand didn't seem capable of withstanding Guda's terrifying halberd.

Having watched Zhang Yi's first gameplay attempt, Wang Han already understood the importance of managing the energy bar in this game. Depleting it completely would leave one extremely vulnerable. Rolling seemed like a safer option, offering a higher fault tolerance.

However, Gouda wasn't letting up. After his initial sweeping attack, he leaped toward Wang Han again. This time, luck was not on Wang Han's side.

The strike landed cleanly, cutting deep. The blood bar dropped drastically, almost as if an artery had been severed—half the bar disappeared in an instant.

"My God! This attack is way too strong!" Wang Han gasped, stunned by the sheer power of the blow.

This time, I finally understood why all the death scenes I had seen before showed players rolling and dying miserably.

Is the BOSS in front of me really a novice BOSS?

Rolling on the ground in embarrassment, a single question filled my mind.

Before, when I watched Zhang Yi battle the crystal lizard, I could casually offer commentary from the sidelines, pointing out every move like a seasoned expert. But watching and playing are two entirely different things. Once I took control myself, it became painfully clear—there was something seriously wrong with this game!

The crystal lizard, at least, had a turn-back prompt at the entrance, giving a fair warning.

But what on earth is this Ashen Judge Guda?

This oppressive feeling… How can it be so overwhelming?

That's right—oppression!

As someone encountering Dark Souls for the first time, this BOSS fight was pure intimidation. The massive, towering Guda, armed with a colossal halberd, moved with an unrelenting force. Every swing swept across the field with a domineering presence, his attacks mighty and decisive.

When his halberd struck the ground, the combination of sound effects and rising smoke created a bone-crushing atmosphere. It was suffocating.

I could only cower defensively most of the time.

Once, I mustered enough courage to strike while Guda was mid-attack. But my limited stamina betrayed me—I couldn't roll away in time and ended up grazed by the halberd.

That single hit cost me half my health.

Now, all the flasks I had were gone, every bit of recovery exhausted.

Out of ammunition, out of options, and at the end of my rope, I stared at Guda. He had lost only about one-tenth of his health. Meanwhile, my character was clinging to life with just a sliver of health left.

I steeled myself and decided to give it one last shot.

Controlling my game avatar, '123,' I rushed forward with reckless bravery.

A perfect massage for Guda's feet.

Surprisingly, I managed to deal a fair amount of damage—his health bar visibly dropped by another tenth. My chicken-leg-like attacks had actually worked!

But before I could celebrate, the halberd came down like a thunderbolt.

My character flew through the air, accompanied by a blood-curdling scream of "Ahhh!"

Then, three chilling words materialized at the center of the screen:

"You're dead."

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please forgive me for the in discrepancy in name of Ash judge Guda/Gouda