Chapter 87: Cleric Beast

Having obtained a cane as a weapon and chosen a sprayer for ranged attacks, Welt, after casually exploring the Hunter's Dream for a while, decided to return and reclaim the area from the werewolves.

The cane had two forms: one resembling a simple dagger and the other transforming into a long whip, capable of delivering wide-range and long-distance slashes.

The most significant advantage of the whip form of the cane was its ability to inflict very high stagger values on most small enemies.

However, the drawback was that the stagger time caused by attacks was much longer compared to other initial weapons.

If one continued swinging the weapon, with enough stamina, facing groups of small enemies wouldn't be as difficult as it would be for users of other weapons. It emphasized elegance.

Welt was very fond of this weapon, especially after returning to the original location and eliminating the werewolf.

However, upon returning to the area where he first entered the game, he found the door to the operating room tightly locked, preventing entry.

Conversations were possible inside, and through them, Welt learned that a doctor named Iosefka was inside.

The entire clinic belonged to her, and to prevent the negative effects of external infections on patients, she chose not to let hunters enter the operating room again.

However, she gave Welt a special blood vial that, when used, increased Insight.

"It seems that besides our runes, there's another more important currency, which is Insight. Perhaps our characters will discover more secrets on the map based on different insights, which is consistent with the usual Cthulhu setting. The more you see, the easier it is to lose your sanity."

Although this didn't have much to do with Iosefka's blood vial, Welt made a little analysis upon seeing the words "insight" and "observation" being somewhat similar.

"Hmph, weak in offense and defense, although these Townsfolk have turned into monsters, they're still manageable. It's just that this gun has a bit low firepower. Is this really a firearm, not a rock launcher?"

Welt tried to use the gun against these small enemies but found that the damage dealt was truly minimal, making him doubt whether the gun was even real.

However, after reading the bullet description, he realized that being able to cause damage was already good enough.

What more could you ask for?

Welt just didn't quite understand the significance of this gun's design.

Since it didn't do much damage, wouldn't nobody use it?

Would Haxxor Bunny design such a weapon? Of course not.

"This is a bit strange... and there are quite a few monsters on this road. What are they doing here?"

On the main road, flames rose high into the sky, and countless bodies were piled together, as if a ceremony was being held.

As he approached, the Townsfolk surrounded him, wielding various weapons.

His graceful posture gradually became awkward, rolling twice and starting to use blood vials, but he was quickly beaten back.

At that moment, Welt was at a loss.

"The difficulty of this game seems to be slightly higher than Elden Ring's, even after undergoing the Blade of Miquella's trials in Elden Ring, it's quite difficult to regain that feeling. And most importantly, this game doesn't have jumping."

In Elden Ring, some moves could be used to dodge attacks through jumping, which occasionally had a miraculous effect against some bosses. Even the final gauntlet of bosses has an easy-to-dodge attacks thanks to jumping.

So Welt subconsciously wanted to try it.

"Is it possible that the gun is actually a substitute for shields and parries?"

Seeing this comment, Welt was slightly stunned.

Respawning from beside the lantern, Welt tried the feel of the gun again.

"Perhaps it's really possible? Bullets can even be exchanged with blood. This kind of thing should be a very important consumable."

Saying this, Welt found an old townsfolk to test it out.

Fortunately, the gun had many bullets, the gun's parry judgment time was long, and the damage benefit of visceral attacks was very high. No small enemy could withstand such a devastating attack.

Seeing the familiar stun posture, Welt became excited.

Then, watching his controlled character directly kill the opponent, Welt instantly understood the role of this gun and why bullets were limited but could be exchanged for blood.

"I have to say, starting from Elden Ring's execution actions, they really provide a lot of positive feedback. Although the gun's power is slightly lower, the returns from counterattacks are very high. It seems that in this game, dealing with bosses and small enemies will test your parrying skills... It's like gun-parrying?"

Cool execution actions, satisfying impact, and if using a controller, you can even feel the vibration.

Welt instantly understood how to play this game.

"Hey, I'll flank, huh, I'll charge up, huh, execution!"

At first, the residents of Yharnam Street were very hospitable, but as the saying goes, two fists are no match for four hands. Upon realizing that he could choose not to engage in direct combat and instead had to run past them, Welt chose not to linger here. There was no other way; every time he entered the Hunter's Dream, monsters would respawn.

The initial map was as complex as a dungeon; some paths were hidden by debris. If it weren't for messages left by other players, Welt might not have noticed the concealed paths. Following these hidden routes, after opening a tightly shut door, Welt was surprised to find himself seemingly back in front of the original lamp!

"Well, in the world of Elden Ring, Haxxor Bunny has demonstrated her formidable dungeon-building skills; she even uses two similar dungeons to constantly deceive players. I didn't expect the same to be shown in this game. After all the twists and turns, I've actually circled back to the original starting location. It seems that even if I die next, I won't have to travel too far."

Welt walked his character back and forth a couple of times, finally understanding the spatial structure of the area.

He almost got dizzy!

But it was indeed interesting. After arriving at the sewer, every corner had to be cautious of Haxxor Bunny's malice. You never knew when a slightly tougher small enemy might suddenly appear and send you back to the Hunter's Dream.

After finally obtaining a Hunter set and the Madman's knowledge in the sewer, Welt returned to the Hunter's Dream once again. He should have enough blood echoes to level up, but he couldn't find the person who could facilitate the process every time he returned to the Hunter's Dream.

So Welt guessed that he might need insight to proceed with the next level up. And his judgment was correct. After gaining insight and returning to the Hunter's Dream, Welt found that the mannequins that were originally placed on the roadside had come to life.

Looking at the mannequin, Welt fell silent.

"Could Haxxor Bunny have a liking for mannequins and dolls? In Elden Ring, there was also a mannequin that could be proposed to. This time, the one in charge of leveling up is also a mannequin."

...

Upon hearing this, Bronya also looked at Bronie.

"Sister Bronie, do you like mannequins?"

"Well... Don't you think a soul bound by a doll has a longing for freedom, creating a fantastic contradiction? .....Okay, I do quite like mannequins..."

Thinking back to Bronie's pastime with anime, the one that really captivated Bronie was Ikaros, the artificial angel in the anime Heaven's Lost Property. Within her cold, emotionless exterior, she harbored emotions hotter than anyone else's. This contrast fascinated Bronie.

Of course, the fascination with mannequins stemmed from Miyazaki's works too. Bronie was just an enthusiast, but it had to be said that Miyazaki's works resonated with Bronie.

Whether it was the Doll or Ranni, they left a deep impression on Bronie.

"Bronya remembers that Sister Bronie likes mannequins, huh... But why doesn't Bronya see any of these in Bronie's office?"

"Cough, because having these things in the house is actually quite scary at night when the lights are off. So, to avoid scaring everyone at night, I didn't make any mannequins. Do you know about the valley of terror effect? When making horror games, using these things can always scare quite a few people."

"If all the people in a dimly lit room were lifeless mannequins, it would indeed be quite creepy, but it wouldn't scare Bronya."

"It's just that it doesn't scare you!"

Hearing Bronie say this, Bronya thought of the many horror medias that included dolls and mannequins.

Hmm, perhaps she could try making a doll house for Bronie?

But before making the doll house, she had to consider the cost of materials, and even making games required quite a few materials.

So what was the fastest way to make money?

Bronya wasn't sure for now, but she believed she would find it. There was so much information on the internet; there should be plenty of opportunities to make money.

Bronya had some thoughts, but they were still in the budding stage.

...

"Very well, let's increase our HP first. Although it may not seem very obvious, HP in Elden Ring is quite high. At least it can withstand one more hit from small enemies. The aggro of the werewolves encountered on the bridge was really too strong. With two werewolves, it was like dealing with rabid dogs!"

Welt was traumatized by the werewolves.

Compared to Elden Ring, it felt like dealing with a Grafted Scion after even receiving training to fight it.

The key was that the werewolves were relatively small, and the surroundings were relatively narrow.

Suddenly, Welt thought of the ambush traps in the Hero's Graves.

It had to be said that Haxxor Bunny was very skilled at creating disgusting monsters.

Walking in the center of Yharnam, every exploration faced death. Fortunately, the game provided plenty of initial blood vials; otherwise, it would be unbearable to be ambushed every few steps.

But what made Welt speechless was the dogs in Yharnam.

Seeing himself being swarmed by the rabid dogs and the familiar death scene, Welt fell into silence.

"Viewers, don't compare these dogs with the ones in Elden Ring. What are these dogs in Yharnam eating? Why are they even crazier than one another?"

Dealing with one dog was still manageable, but when the second and even third dog appeared, followed by various Townsfolk and a distant sniper, Welt's mentality began to crumble.

It seemed like a difficult test exam, but it also seemed like there was an easy solution.

But when the solution is about to be made, the exam was finished.

This reminded Welt of the game 'Getting Over It With Haxxor Bunny'.

"[Haxxor Bunny: Every monster has specific weaknesses, even the dogs, you can try the gun.]"

Seeing Welt struggling back and forth with the dogs, dying and resurrecting, Bronie couldn't bear to watch and quickly left a conspicuous message.

"The gun's attack power is only..."

Welt was about to say that the gun's attack power was even lower than punches, but with one spray, the dog instantly fell to the ground, like a sheep waiting to be slaughtered.

"Well, it seems that it's just that the other monsters have higher defensive values against firearms, but the gun is not useless. Next should be the boss, right? In the previous plot, it was mentioned that the clergy sealed off the bridge, and Yharnam is almost completely overrun by monsters. Besides me, there's only a Father Gascoigne and a hunter lady with a bird beak mask in the whole town. If I want to end this nightmare, I need to explore deeper."

Welt analyzed from the fragmented information that, for the sake of a bit of plot, the main goal of the protagonist was to end this disaster, hunt for the Paleblood, and it probably started with the Healing Church. The only way to the Healing Church was a bridge in Yharnam.

There were two werewolves guarding it!

And there was a huge brick brother behind them.

But with the training from Elden Ring, Mr. Welt quickly got the hang of this game.

Except for the three dogs in Yharnam, they really raised one's blood pressure.

Welt slowly approached the bridge, and a desolate groan broke the tranquility of Yharnam.

A huge humanoid monster suddenly descended!

The mournful background music played, with a bit of the church's solemn hymn, and the singer sang in Latin, sounding like a beast roaring out the lyrics.

It seemed like a prayer, yet it seemed like a persuasion.

[Cleric Beast]

The health bar appeared at the bottom, and Welt was shocked by the scene before him.

"Sure enough, how could Haxxor Bunny possibly create a simple boss in terms of boss design? A clergyman turned monster. I heard that hunters gradually lose their sanity during hunting. It seems that this monster in front of me was once a hunter as well, and you can even hear it from the background music..."

Welt silently observed the monster's actions.

Compared to  Margit the Fell Omen, the attack methods of this Clergy Beast were even more erratic, meaning there was no fixed pattern, nor would it observe the player's actions.

It was like a true mindless beast, only attacking the protagonist frantically!

An extremely oppressive monster, and a hunter who was weak and fragile.

Welt controlled his character, elegantly dodging with his cane, while silently observing the monster's attack behavior.

Generally, the first monster served as a teaching and testing role, and the difficulty would definitely not be too high. Moreover, this was not an open world game, and you wouldn't be unable to progress due to insufficient stats.

"I didn't expect Haxxor Bunny to even compose music in Latin. The sanctity of the clergy combined with the madness of the beast, together they open up a tragic Bloodborne world for us. Let's go and hunt down this monster next. We had no choice!"