Chapter 62 - Elden Soul is supposed to be difficult, right? (2)

The first starting location of the game, ‘Elden Soul,’ was a cemetery that also served as a tutorial. However, given the series' reputation for difficulty, this tutorial was different from those in other games.

“I can’t understand why there are so many traps in a cemetery.”

Lee Kyungbok looked at the broken arrows on the ground and spoke. The traps were set up in the passage that had to be crossed, blocked by fallen stone coffins.

“Were they made to catch tomb raiders? It seems they were designed to kill.”

That said, the traps weren’t so weak that they could be easily endured. The arrows that flew at Lee Kyungbok aimed precisely for his head, heart, and then his chest with a slight delay.

If you didn’t react, you died. That was the basic principle of the Elden series.

-But you didn’t die, did you?

-How do you see and dodge those flying arrows?

-It’s really dark, so you can’t see anything, hahaha.

-Oh, you can tell just by the sound?

-Fact: Even pros die when they know about it.

-When you experience this, you always put up a shield in the next attempt, hahaha.

-You’ve learned well, hahaha.

Lee Kyungbok smiled at the chat. As he took another step forward, the dead behind the stone coffins attacked, their eyes glowing.

Complacency was forbidden.

And Lee Kyungbok.

“Look.”

He had never been complacent from the start.

The red, broken longsword pierced the dead’s forehead.

“Just like that, right?”

The dead, now lifeless, collapsed. Lee Kyungbok kicked the corpse lightly, pulled out his sword, and shrugged.

-Oh, that won’t work, hahaha!

-You’re just going to get hit again, aren’t you?

-Oh, the dead are so angry they died, hahaha!

-Really, you get hit by a breath attack and die.

The viewers joked as if this situation was normal. However, some were genuinely confused.

-How do you pass this?

-You must have practiced this, right?

-Really, if you don’t know, you’ll die for sure.

-Even Eclipse, who only plays the Elden series, died three times here.

These were new viewers who had just watched the meta-gamer interview. They were still unfamiliar with Lee Kyungbok’s skills, so they were skeptical.

But Lee Kyungbok didn’t need to explain.

-Oh, passing traps is the fundamental skill of a pro.

-Really, how could he be the world’s best?

-What’s the world’s best, anyway?

-The world’s best is the one with the best capsule tutorial record, hahaha.

-Can you believe it? I didn’t believe it either, hahaha, but there’s proof.

-You’ll understand if you watch the anatomy of mastery.

-If you’re Korean, read the guide thoroughly first!

The existing viewers already knew this and had even created related content.

The few skeptical comments were quickly buried.

Meanwhile, Lee Kyungbok continued his progress. After passing through a dark corridor, he arrived at a new room.

‘What is this, a gift set?’

Spikes that rose when stepped on, arrows that flew, flames that rained from the ceiling, and a spell that bound you for a certain time—this room was a trap-filled maze of all the traps he had encountered so far.

And that wasn’t all.

‘There are even more dead hiding.’

Not only were they hiding behind obstacles, but also in the stone coffins and among the dead who had fallen into the traps.

The layout, designed to catch players off guard, felt like the work of a malevolent developer.

-Oh, hahaha!

-This is the real challenge.

-Spoiler alert!

-Oh, hahaha, be quiet!

-Okay, let’s see how the pro handles this.

The viewers seemed to know how vicious this room was.

“Looks like this is a bit difficult, doesn’t it?”

Lee Kyungbok laughed at the chat, which revealed the viewers’ thoughts.

-Oh, the pros exposed it!

-Is the bot broken, hahaha?

-Oh, this isn’t a spoiler, hahaha.

-Oh, it’s broken!

The viewers didn’t hide their disappointment.

‘I have to pass this first.’

Not only threats but also a sweet feeling was detected by his senses. Perhaps the developers had prepared a reward for overcoming this challenge.

Just as he was about to move, a message appeared.

[‘InThisSituation’ has proposed a quest!]

[Condition: Do not use weapons until you pass this room.]

[Reward: 50,000 won]

One of the viewers had set a quest, apparently wanting to see Lee Kyungbok struggle.

-Oh, no weapons?

-Go on a date with Yudahee!

-This is a perfect [Black Company] idea, isn’t it?

-Really, they don’t even provide proper equipment, hahaha.

-Is this the personality of a pro, hahaha?

-This is science.

-Oh, hahaha, everything he learned from the pro!

The chat was filled with amusement, and Lee Kyungbok readily accepted the quest.

“Thank you for the quest. Then...”

Before he could finish his sentence, a message appeared.

[During the quest, the ‘No Coaching’ function will be activated.]

[You can see the chat again after the quest is completed.]

“Oh, no coaching. You must really want to see me fail, huh? Could it be you, Cudari?”

Lee Kyungbok remained calm, even smiling more.

“Let’s go, then.”

He put away his weapon and loosened his hands. The chat disappeared from his view, but the viewers were still actively chatting.

-Cudari, hahaha!

-He just got slapped, hahaha!

-No coaching, hahaha, he planned it.

-Oh, this will be so much fun.

-This section is really vicious and has no solution.

-Even if you pass, it’s still ridiculous, hahaha.

-You have to find a way out, not just pass.

-Didn’t Anatomist count once?

-Yes, there are 941 patterns, hahaha.

Unlike other rooms, this one reset every time you tried, so simply increasing the number of attempts wouldn’t help you pass.

As the viewers anticipated, Lee Kyungbok moved. He smoothly avoided the raining arrows and rising spikes. Despite this, the viewers weren’t disappointed.

-Oh, he’s insane!

-He’ll pass this on the first try, won’t he?

-But even if he passes, it will be ridiculous, hahaha.

-Really, you have to find a way out, not just pass.

-This is to show that what you see isn’t everything.

In fact, the solution wasn’t to break through the traps. Before entering the room, there was a breakable wall in the corridor, and bypassing it was the correct approach.

And most importantly.

-But someone has passed this, right?

-Yes, hahaha, a foreign streamer, I think it was on Reddit.

-Yes, they struggled a lot and passed with a low health bar, but then they saw a dead end and got so angry, hahaha.

-Really, FromSoftware must be a Satan worshiper, hahaha.

Even after overcoming this challenge, there was nothing to gain.

But Lee Kyungbok thought differently.

‘What’s the point of going to such lengths?’

The sweet feeling grew stronger as he progressed.

He took a deep breath and crouched. A hidden dead lunged at him but was caught instead.

“Hold on.”

As he spoke, flames fell from the ceiling. The dead, held by Lee Kyungbok, shielded him from the flames like an umbrella.

-?????

-What the, dead shield?

-You can’t imagine using the dead like this!

-Tip: If you can’t use weapons, use traps.

-Being a pro in a [Black Company] is daily life.

-It’s the first time the dead are used like this, hahaha.

The layout, which felt like the developer’s obsession, was useless to Lee Kyungbok. Instead, he used the traps to defeat the dead and moved forward.

“Quest completed, right?”

[‘InThisSituation’ has donated 50,000 won.]

As Lee Kyungbok reached the end of the corridor, the completion message appeared. The viewers were amazed.

-He really passed this on the first try, hahaha.

-Oh, I tried to reach the middle and it took over 20 attempts.

-Really, videos of clearing this section are usually over 30 minutes.

-Is it an edited video? Live streams usually take an hour.

-The pro took about 3 minutes, hahaha.

-Oh, I should use this clip as a ramen alarm.

-Oh, are you crazy, hahaha?

Lee Kyungbok checked the chat and casually picked up his weapon.

“Now, let’s see what’s at the end.”

His words made the chat burst into laughter.

-This is so exciting.

-Clip ready!

-It’s already so much fun, hahaha.

-Let’s find the edit point!

-You’ve been trolled by YouTube, hahaha.

-Let’s make a compilation!

-Compilation!

But they all seemed to be aware of each other and kept quiet.

Finally, at the end of the corridor, and beyond it, was...

“...a cliff?”

A deep abyss stretched out, as if the ground had collapsed. After all the effort to get here, he had to turn back.

Many streamers and players had felt frustrated, and the viewers expected Lee Kyungbok to feel the same.

But their expectations were wrong.

‘There’s something below.’

He was certain. His intuition and senses pointed to a specific spot.

As he stepped to the edge of the corridor,

“Gah!”

A hidden dead lunged at him. It was the developer’s final trick.

If you relaxed and fell, you would die and restart from the beginning.

But Lee Kyungbok was different.

“Oh, it’s noisy.”

He stabbed the dead’s ribs with his red, broken weapon and threw him over the cliff.

The ragged clothes of the dead were engulfed in flames and disappeared into the darkness.

-?????

-You reacted to this?

-You’re perfect, even here!

-Even FromSoftware couldn’t handle the pro!

-Pro, Pro, Pro, Pro!

-This is why games are easy, hahaha!

-(GameTalk)(GameTalk)(GameTalk)

-For pros, this is hard mode, hahaha!

-Oh, I get it, hard mode is the problem.

-Really, for the pro, who comes from hell, this is perfect!

The viewers had hoped to see Lee Kyungbok struggle, but their last hope was dashed, and they quickly gave up.

However, Lee Kyungbok was frowning, looking at the cliff.

As question marks spread in the chat, he picked up the shield on his back. His next action was even stranger.

“Oh, it works.”

He stabbed the wooden shield with his red, broken longsword. The shield began to smoke and slowly catch fire.

The viewers were confused, but Lee Kyungbok explained.

“I saw something when the dead fell.”

-?

-You saw something?

-What?

-Oh, no way;;;

Before the viewers could react, Lee Kyungbok quickly returned to the corridor.

The burning shield made the surroundings slightly brighter.

Lee Kyungbok sprang forward and ran towards the cliff. He threw the burning shield to clear his view and then took a running start.

-It’s a bear hug! A bear hug!

-Aaaaaaaaah!

-Oh, no, this isn’t how you die!

-Hold on! You’re falling!

Everyone sensed death. But Lee Kyungbok had no intention of dying.

He grabbed the hand axe at his waist and opened his eyes wide.

‘Now!’

The shield he threw hit the wall and shattered. The broken longsword and hand axe then embedded into the wall.

Lee Kyungbok’s body jolted but didn’t fall further.

“Phew.”

He exhaled and looked down. The broken pieces of the shield briefly revealed the ground below.

There, the bodies of countless dead were piled like a mountain.

-Oh, I was scared.

-This is terrifying in a different way.

-Even just watching, my legs are shaking, hahaha.

-There must be a reason for this, right?

-You’re catching the YouTube angle strangely.

The viewers couldn’t understand why Lee Kyungbok did this. He moved without further explanation.

Surprisingly, Lee Kyungbok soon climbed into a small cave.

-What?

-Where is this?

-Oh, you saw this when the dead fell?

-You have the eyes of a god.

-Is this a hidden area?

-There are hidden areas in the tutorial area!?

-This is a first-time reveal, sharp, hahaha.

The chat flooded with messages. Lee Kyungbok put away his hand axe and nodded.

“