Survival in the game world begins with Biochemical 2

Chapter 509 Bernal Roderica and the Blacksmith Andre
"Okay, okay, let's go now?" V was excited. "It's the castle in front, right?"

"Yes, but let's not rush to go." Li You replied.

V: "?"

Who just said Greg was the first target?

"Even if it is the shame of demigods, it is still a demigod." Li You said, "We are new here, so we should not underestimate the enemy. So before going to Stonewell City, we can make some preparations."

"...Alright, then where are we going to rob?"

"No, let's not rob this time. Let's go find a few people." Li You replied.

Regarding the early preparations, Li You had a clear roadmap in his mind, but that was the operation when the game was opened. For him now, most of the items that could be obtained in Nimgefu in the early stage were not of much significance for improving his strength, and only a few functional auxiliary props would be useful.

Therefore, Li You has re-planned the preparations he needs to make based on the current situation, and intends to complete them before going to Stonewell City.

"Qiang."

Li You then pulled out the sword skeleton. This heavy sword showed obvious signs of age, and the rough sword body embedded with countless sword blades was also covered with rust, which obviously had nothing to do with sharpness.

In the game, this sword is one of the main weapons for exchanging damage for damage. The main feature is to rely on its powerful combat skills to reduce damage and increase endurance for yourself, and then use charged heavy attacks to exchange blood with the enemy.

Apart from that, it is mostly used to add buffs, after all, it can provide a +5 gain to all attributes for a short period of time.

To Li You, this sword actually means little. Even after experiencing so many worlds, Li You still follows the swordsman style. Generally speaking, exchanging injuries for injuries is not a tactical option for him.

Therefore, it was obvious what he would do with this legendary weapon.

"laugh--"

Li You threw the Sword Skeleton Sword directly into the Spiral Sword's campfire. The sword made a loud noise, as if a red-hot iron block was thrown into warm water. The sword body trembled constantly, as if making its last struggle.

But the flames of the spiral sword had completely enveloped it, and the legendary sword that had just been acquired was soon burned by the flames and turned into ashes that faintly glowed with golden light.

Li You then looked at the panel of the spiral sword, and his eyes lit up.

The Sword Skeleton Greatsword is indeed a legendary weapon. Just by burning this sword, the Spiral Sword's fire level will increase from +2 to +3, which means that not only its power will be enhanced, but it can also ignite a more vigorous flame.

At the same time, the unlocking progress of the Greatsword/Extra Greatsword increased by ten points, becoming (32/50), which is a big step closer to unlocking.

Even the Sword Skeleton Greatsword's combat skill "Oath of Vengeance" was perfectly inherited by the Spiral Sword.

"This is the weapon that has been accumulated over thousands of years in the Dark Soul World. It is so powerful. Is there such a powerful weapon in your world?"

Li You said casually, and pulled up the spiral sword, swinging it in the air a few times. The spiral sword raised a large piece of dark flame, and the flame even stagnated in the air, not dissipating for a long time.

"From another angle, this sword is very similar to Pandora, right?" V said suddenly, "Maybe Pandora was made using a similar method?"

"Maybe." Li You was not very interested in the origin of Pandora. The flame on the spiral sword faded away, and it shortened slightly, turning into a short staff.

The fire-patterned short staff spun a few times in his hand and hung it back on his waist. Li You then said to his companions, "Let's go to the next place."

As he spoke, he called to Yuzu who was studying the golden twigs outside the cabin, then turned to the back of the shack and walked towards the other end of Storm Hill with his companions.

Going deeper into the eastern part of Storm Hill, you can find another dilapidated cabin among the lush trees and bushes. It is called "The War Practitioner's Shack".

The owner of this wooden house is Bernard, a knight who is proficient in many combat skills and is happy to share and communicate with others...at least that's what he seems to be saying.

When Li You arrived at the door of the dilapidated house, he saw a man wearing gorgeous silver heavy armor, holding a two-handed sword and posing with a sword.

The man had his back to Li You and the others outside the dilapidated house, and he remained motionless in the posture of leaning over with his sword in hand, as if he had turned into a statue.

Although the man did not move for a moment, he was not unaware of the arrival of Li You and his group. He maintained his posture and spoke slowly:
"I just saved a little girl from the Faded One who had long lost her will to fight on a whim, but I didn't expect to be entangled to this extent."

After the man finished speaking, he stopped holding his sword and slowly turned around. With this movement, his body stretched out from the originally curled up thrusting posture, and his aura rose sharply, and he seemed to be taller in an instant.

His bones crackled and he swung the giant sword in the air before stabbing it into the ground. "You have come to disturb my rare leisure time time and time again. If that's the case, then you should... hm?"

The man finally saw the appearance of Li You and his companions and was stunned: "You are not Greg's soldiers? Then who are you?"

Li You: "......"

So you started memorizing your lines without even looking at who was coming? You must have prepared for this performance for a long time, right?
And where's your momentum just now? Please recover. I still like the way you act like a hermit.

At this time, a head wrapped in a red hood quietly poked out from behind the dilapidated house. Under the hood was a weak girl with short golden hair. She looked at Li You and the others, then said softly, "Mr. Bernal, I don't think they are enemies..."

Obviously, this middle-aged man with a mustache and black hair hastily tied behind his head is the Knight Bernard, and he is also the combat skills instructor of the newcomers in the game.

He looked at Li You's face carefully again, then nodded: "So he is not an enemy... I am really sorry, there are too many wandering soldiers who came to cause trouble today, and I misunderstood."

"You don't look like a Faded One, do you? Then what are you doing here? As you can see, this place is not peaceful right now, and I won't stay here for long. You look like powerful warriors, but it's best not to stay here."

Li Youze looked at him, then looked at Little Red Riding Hood behind him, and he understood.

No wonder he found nothing in the hut on Storm Hill where there should have been someone there. It turned out that Little Red Riding Hood was hiding there. It sounded like Bernard had helped her?
This little red-hooded girl is named Roderica, and she is a key character in the game.

How critical is it? She has a protective aura, so even if a player wants to attack her, they can't do it.

In short, Roderica is a traveler who became a Faded One and came to this land with her companions, but suffered a disastrous defeat in Stonewell City. Her companions were captured by the Grek soldiers and turned into materials for "limb grafting". Only she was lucky enough to escape, but she also completely lost the will to fight.

However, although she cannot become a warrior, Roderica possesses a rare talent - the ability of a psychic. She can communicate with the remaining souls and make them more active.

To put it bluntly, she is an NPC related to the key ash system in the game. The old thief is kind-hearted and has given her a protective aura to ensure the player's gaming experience.

Li You had also wondered in the past how Roderica could escape from Stonewell City when all her companions were killed. However, after listening to the conversation just now, he could at least find the answer to the question in this world - it was Bernal who helped her.

Li You glanced at Bernard next to him again, and was a little surprised that he would lend a helping hand to Roderica. After all, judging from Bernard's true identity, he was not the kind of model knight who would help others.

Fortunately, there was no need to dwell on this. Li You immediately said, "Actually, I came here to look for this warrior. I heard that you seem to be proficient in combat skills, and are you willing to share them with others?"

Bernard glanced at him and said, "It is true. So that is why you came here. But unfortunately, I am leaving soon. I have been here for too long. I am afraid I don't have time to teach you anything."

Li You said: "It doesn't matter, I just need..."

...Not long after, Li You and his companions returned to the front of the checkpoint. He held a few small pockets in his hands, each of which contained a handful of inconspicuous ashes.

This is "War Ash".

In terms of gameplay settings, the world of The Ring is very similar to Dark Souls, but in terms of combat, it has a more complete system.

Not to mention that the Fading Man has an extra pair of knees compared to the Undead and the Non-combustible Garbage, there is another difference in combat, that is, the existence of "War Ashes".

Battle ash is a special type of ash that stores the memory of battles. It can be attached to weapons using special tools or by a blacksmith to give the weapons new combat skills and attributes.

Although the granting of War Ashes also has limitations, compared to the fixed combat skills of Dark Souls’ weapons, this new system is naturally much more convenient.

What Li You obtained from Bernal were the battle ashes of several common combat skills, including "Upward Arrow", "Patience", "War Roar", "Whirlwind Slash", "Storm Blade", "Block" and other simple but useful combat skills.

After he bought the war ashes, Bernal left without any reluctance and didn't even care about Roderica anymore.

According to Bernal, he saved her from being chased by Greg's soldiers because he couldn't bear it for a moment, but it was impossible for him to take care of a defeated Faded One.

Roderica was naturally a little frustrated, but she had no intention of pestering Bernal. She seemed to have accepted her fate.

"Thank you for your kind help, Mr. Bernard..." When she thanked Bernard, Bernard did not react much. He just looked at her indifferently and then glanced at Li You.

Li You was thoughtful.

When Bernard left, before Li You opened his mouth, Aiji had already asked about Roderica's condition with concern. She was very familiar with Roderica's expression, which she had seen on many of her companions in the resistance organization in the past.

The resistance organization outside Harlan was already a distant memory for her, but Edge still did not forget her original intention and provided care to Roderica.

However, Roderica's condition seemed very serious. Even though Aggie asked very patiently, she only trembled and answered:

"Everyone had their limbs reattached. Those who came to the border with me and fought for me...their hands, feet, and heads were all cut off and turned into parts of spiders."

It seemed that Roderica had witnessed something extremely horrific - it was not difficult to guess what it was.

Judging from the text on Roderica's red hood in the game, she should also be a girl of noble birth. Not long after arriving at the border, she encountered the situation where all the people around her had their limbs transplanted. It is normal for her to be frightened and shocked.

However, in fact, according to the game setting, even if the player ignores her, her plot will automatically advance after the protagonist, the Faded One, arrives at the next large area, and nothing will happen to her. But the game setting cannot be applied to reality all at once.

So Li You thought about it and suggested to her: "How about this, I'm going to Ningmu Gefu, I'll take you to a safe place for the time being, you can rest there and think about what to do next."

For Li You, Rodlika's biggest role at the moment is that she may be able to find the way to the Round Table Hall.

The Hall of the Round Table is equivalent to the Firelink Shrine in Dark Souls in the Ring of Magic. It is a place for the Faded Ones to rest and prepare, and some key figures also stay there.

The Round Table Hall does not exist in this world. To get there, one needs the help of the Finger Witch or the little wooden Melina. Obviously, Li You can't find either of them.

He had no witches, nor did he meet Melina, and after all, he was not a fader at all.

But Roderica, in the game, can find a way to reach the Hall of the Round Table on her own after the plot progresses. Logically speaking, she doesn't have a witch (even if she does, her limbs have been transplanted), so she should know how to get to the Hall of the Round Table, or at least have relevant clues.

This is the greatest help Roderica can provide to Li You at present. As for soul tuning, she herself has not yet learned this skill, and Li You has not obtained the ashes that host the soul, so there is nothing much to say about this.

Some ashes with souls can be found in the underground cemeteries and caves of Nimgefu, but again, they don’t mean much to Li You. The only thing he is interested in is the final answer to the ash system.

Li You then escorted Roderica all the way back to the Ailey Church where Kale lived.

However, when they passed the checkpoint again, the soldiers who had previously relied on Edgar's facial recognition for authentication suddenly turned their backs on them. The sentry blew the horn, and the others surrounded them with swords and spears in hand.

It seems that these soldiers are somewhat rational, but not much.

So Li You naturally would not be polite to them. He fought back without hesitation and took care of them all.

When the knight Greg with the spear and big shield fell in the raging flames, the road ahead was smooth.

Of course, Li You did not forget to take away the special props stored in the basement of the ruins in front of the level, the whetstone knife, and a piece of war ash called "Storm Foot" before leaving.

The whetstone knife is also a key item. It is the tool mentioned earlier that is needed to attach war ash to weapons.

After sending Roderica to the Airey Church, she was both moved and puzzled: "Why do you want to help a coward like me? I can't be with my companions. Even if I want to become a 'pupa' like them, I don't have the courage..."

Li You did not persuade him any further: "You can rest here for a while. I will go to Stonewell City next to find the limb-removing Greg and kill him. By then, I will have avenged your companions."

Roderica was incredulous: "You... are obviously not a faded one, you don't have a mission or a blessing, so why do you want to challenge the demigod? Why... are you so courageous?"

Li You thought for a moment and replied, "Maybe it's because I consider myself a warrior. But you are different, so you don't need to hold yourself to such a strict standard."

He finally left a few scattered runes for Roderica: "Just take a good rest here."

Aggie whispered a few more words to comfort her, then left with Li You and the others. Roderica looked at the group's backs with a very complicated expression on her face.

Instead, Kale came over to greet her and said, "Little girl, do you want to listen to a song? It's only 5 runes."

……

Li You still did not go to Stonewell City immediately, but activated the system's teleportation function, taking everyone directly back to the companion space, and switched the map to his old base, the Firelink Sacrifice Site.

It has been a while since the last time I returned, but the time inside this sacrificial field, which is connected to the companion space, is almost frozen. So for the people in the Chuanhuo Sacrificial Field, Li You and his companions have only been away for a moment.

"Master Li You, and everyone else, welcome back."

Next to the steps of the sacrificial field, the Fire Keeper stood up and greeted everyone with a gentle voice that had not changed in the slightest.

Li You nodded to her and went straight to the blacksmith Andre without any delay.

"Grandpa! I brought you some local specialties!"

Li You carelessly placed the war ashes and whetstone knife obtained from the Magic Ring World in front of Andre.

"Try to study it. Can you understand how to use it?"

[Author's Note: In the official (funny) comic The Golden Tree Road updated this month, Lani gave the Sword of Night and Fire to Tufu, so the author specially marked it here in advance. The outline of Lani's line in this volume was drafted before this comic was updated. Orz really]

(End of this chapter)