Chapter 6: The Respite

"And that's how you properly repair a Hunter's weapon"

I wiped a sweat off my face. Beneath me, the newly repaired Hunter's Axe and Hunter Pistol look as new as when I got it. A few more polish and oil soaking will wash off whatever is left on it

Gehrman, despite being an old man, is still sharp when it comes to teaching Hunter skills. His experience as a craftsman allow me to make leaps and bounds in improving my gears using various techniques lost to time

I learned how to maintain them so that they took twice as long to break. I learned to fortify with only three fourth of the blood gemstone required, which has been useful against enemies on recent hunts as they now appears to be tougher than normal

"I think its finished" I hid the weapon back into my coat after the final inspection "Thank you, master Gehrman. You've been a great help so far"

"Oh, no need. I am only doing my duty as a Hunter. If anything, I have to thank you. Our training had made me felt less...dull in here"

I only nodded, before turning my eyes toward the garden once more. The white lilies gently swayed in the wind under the Dream's eternal moonlight, reminding me of the Presence watching us from above

Since I've cleared out the Cathedral Ward in the boss fight with Amelia and is preparing to traverse to the other entrances, I have decided to take a little break in the Hunter's Dream

That means training myself. Honing my skill usage and generally just spend my time with the people here instead of going on another hunt immediately. This is, after all, a respite from all the madness from the outside

For some reason, the voice in my head doesn't seem to be able to manifest within the Dream, so that was a plus too

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[Gale Force II]

- The Hunter becomes the wind. Increased Mobility in combat

+90% Movement Speed

+90% Attack Speed

[Quickening III] (Maxed out)

- The Hunter has complete mastery over their body movement. Allow for short, controlled bursts of speed in battle

+160% movement speed after every use

I've recently upgraded some of my skills using the abundance of saved up Blood Echoes from my inventory. They were improved quite substantially, so I need time to get used to them

I poised the Saw Cleaver to the front, watching as the world slowed before my eyes as my foot shifted forward, propelling me forward and bringing the weapon downward with all my strength

The air ripped from my attack as it creates a gust of wind that launched forward from my strike. That slash alone would have sliced a normal human in half due to my enhanced body, but against a beast?

Well, no. This would injure them, but to kill those things in one hit is asking too much of me

Thanks to distributing all my points into DEX, I can move at speed where even Gehrman would have trouble tracking with. But as a downside, all my other stats are subpar. My strength is shit, and I can barely tank two hits from a single beast before kneeling over and started coughing out blood

That's why I'm currently training alone in the garden. I've decided to take the time to master each individual skills and combine them into a chain of combo that can be used to take my prey down more quickly, increasing the effectiveness of my movement in battle

Spinning on my foot, I dodged to the right and used Quickening immediately after causing me to flashed to the left, my blade slicing through the air where I'd just been in a bait-and-switch maneuver

That's exactly it. I don't know how to fight a Hunter, someone who has been trained so similar to me. These attacks won't fool them one bit

"No, no. Let's try that again. Imagine Gascoigne, what would he do if I attack him?" I closed my eyes and thought of the old hunter. He was obviously a Strength fighter with a tendency to take the initiative during battle. 30% chance he would parry, 56% chance he would execute a light attack and intercept my strike, 14% he would simply roll to the side

The air in front of me rippled as the hunter's outline began taking form in my head

I've memorized most of Gascoigne's techniques in our previous battle. By analyzing his movement, I can now perfectly replay them in my mind as I see fit. How he would react to each strike, how he would adapt to my attacks, and in turn attack me...

The Gascoigne in my imagination grinned and raised his axe. In response I readied my Saw Cleaver and lunged toward him, swinging my weapon in a wide arc that almost mirrored his movement

Our weapon clashed. I spun around and pinned his axe under my foot, while the cleaver slashed upward and lodged into his neck . Not taking the risk, I quickstepped to the side and avoided his Hunter Blunderbuss's ammo, rolling back in the next moment and sliced off his ankle. The  imagined Gascoigne fell to one knee, opening way for a Visceral Attack that drains a noticeable part of his health

And so we battled under the moonlight. I learned as much as I can from my nonexistent opponent. Replicating his moves, understand how his mind works, and finding the best way to counter them.

Just like that, over a few hundred simulation ran through my mind, each time refining my skill to a noticeable degree. I shifted my stance just a little bit slower, like a coiling snake before its attack, and lunged forward. My weapon cleaved away a large part part of his flesh

As the Fifteenth Gascoigne fell dead, I stood over his imaginary corpse with a grunt as I wiped his blood off my blade

Training while visualizing your opponent in your mind probably isn't healthy, but it's the only safe method that I know. It's not like I can ask the Doll for combat tips, right?

Or rather, since Gehrman designed her in Maria's image, does that mean her skill and fitness as a hunter are also transferred? Is the Doll actually a badass under that deceptive gentle demeanor?

The possibility is unlikely. But the thought is...interesting to say the least

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"Ah, the little ones...speak words they do not. But aren't they sweet?"

The Doll's gentle voice brought a smile to my face

"Indeed...they are like puppies. Grotesque, spectral, nightmarish-looking puppies. Yet they are still cute in their own ways" I softly whispered, hugging a Messenger to my chest and patting its head. The other of its kin swarmed me in jealousy, eliciting a small chuckle from me as I picked them up and set them all on my lap

The Doll stood next to me on the stone steps. Her posture is always so demure, so subservient, a far cry to the Lady Maria in the Nightmare. Though they shared the same appearance, Maria seems to be the strong and resilient type of woman, completely contrasting with the Doll's gentle nature

Yet it is also beautiful in a way

"Why don't you take a seat here, Doll?" Setting the Messengers from my lap, I patted the stone next to me. She went still. When the Doll spoke again, it's in a strangely high-pitched voice

"M-may I? Then if you'll excuse me" The Doll's voice returned to normal as she sat next to me. Her posture ramrod straight in a perfectly noble way of sitting, though a little too stiff from my point of view

"Had nobody told you to sit before?"

"The Good Hunters before you used me for guiding of their Echoes and sometime to take their frustration out, but few had treated me like this" She admitted, dull eyes staring at the beam far in the distance "But I am the assistant to this Dream, it is my duty to care for...and love them. After all, I have been built that way. Even if they are distressed, they need only vent it out on me, for that is my purpose"

I only nodded helplessly, knowing such thoughts had went across my head before every time I returned covered in blood

"Eileen. She mentioned you when we first met, talked about "saying hello to the little doll for her"" I looked at her "Do you remember that name?"

In response she pointed at a hanging rope in the distance. It looked old and worn out, and there was the remains of dusty bones lying underneath it

"I remembered all their names, the ones I buried" The Doll replied "The young crow, she is the queer one, preferring to be hanged instead of buried like many others before her. She is in the waking world now"

Somehow...I doubt that

"They called it the Sky Burial. Most Hunters of hunters are like that" I shrugged "But this reminds me...you did not have a name, do you?"

"I do not need one, good Hunter"

"Nonsense. If you value something , put a ring on it. You want to remember somebody, you put a name on it. I don't want to mistake you with other dolls. I want you to be the one Doll. My Doll"

That came out wrong. Judging from the subtle shift of her facial feature the Doll knew it too

"Ahem. Well?"

"It is up to you to decide, good Hunter. I am yours after all"

"Maybe the name "Lady Maria" would suit a person of your elegance..."

That had been said as a joke, but her reaction almost made me felt guilty

I looked at the Doll's dainty porcelain hand nervously shifting around mine, fingers twitching erratically in contradiction to her calm face. Yeah, it seems this isn't a good option

"What does the name Mary sounds to you" I calmly placed my hand atop of hers and held it up

"Good Hunter, that is...a fine name" Mary looked at me and smiled. It was not her polite, faint smile she always held as she greeted me from my travel, but a genuine one

"Good" was my only reply as I slowly lowered her hand to the grass. The Dol- Mary looked away, while I tipped my tricorn hat down to hide my face

We both looked up at the fog lying on the other side of the Dream's boundary. Far away on the hunt. I relaxed. My eyelids slowly closed as I leaned back, my conscious fading into blackness

The Blood Moon loomed in the sky. Reveals all that there was, and will be

"Remember...no one must know about this place...even him..."

The distant cry of two Infants atop the lullaby, overlaid by the sound of the sea

"I'm sorry"

The Presence always watching. The Nightmare ends. A new Childhood's beginning

My eyes snapped opened as I sat up, Saw Cleaver gripped tightly in my hand to the point of drawing blood from my palm

"Good Hunter?"

I tried closing my eyes, only to hear the distant sound of the lullaby once again. That piece of music I used against Father Gascoigne. Mergo's Lullaby. The way it rhythm with my frantic heartbeat only makes me all the more on edge

A sigh escaped my lip. I was naive, ignorant. How did I think taking a nap would let me escape this madness?

I must hunt. I need to hunt. Else this Nightmare will never end

"Thank you for your time, Mary"

Ignoring the doll's voice, I got up and walked toward the gravestone. The light enveloped me one last time as I readied my weapon

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From the Cathedral there will be entrances that branched put from different areas in Yharnam. The order in which you chose to go to each of them is optional, but eventually some of them will simply disappear if the cycle progress too far, so it is often advised to talk to them before you miss the chance

That said, after sending the Lonely old woman to the Chapel and once again talking to "Iosefka", I walked from Central Yharnam back to the Cathedral Ward to start Eileen's quest line.

My speed as a Hunter is superior due to the original Quickening that only consumes stamina and skills that made me traverse the terrain as easily as walking. Both of them enable me to travel between the two locations within less than five minutes

I landed on the ground next to Eileen, who turned her head toward me

"Well well, if it wasn't the outsider? Fancy seein' you here again"

I nodded in greeting

"I must warn you...not to go near the tomb below Oedon Chapel in the Cathedral Ward" She warned "Henryk, an old hunter, has gone mad. And he's my mark...Don't go near the tomb below Oedon Chapel in the Cathedral Ward"

So following normal game logic, I should definitely go near the tomb below Oedon Chapel in the Cathedral Ward

"I have business there first..."

"Of course. But the problem is that I'm also having business here. That means I can't help it if I accidentally ran into him" I tilted my head "How about we both look for this Henryk?"

Her neck snapped toward my direction

"Careful. A Hunter should hunt beasts. Leave the Hunting of the Hunters to me"

"I disagree" I turned around "A Hunter must hunt, regardless of their prey. If Henryk is a human, shouldn't it be all the more reason for us to hunt him down and put his weary body to rest?"

She hesitated, clearly pondering about my words. There was clearly conflict in her body movement, but the old woman eventually accepted when taking a look at my form

"Fine, but you can only stay behind and support me"

"Aye aye miss Eileen"

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The mist became ever so foggy as we traversed through the old tomb. The

smell of dead bodies could be seen lining up to the entrance just ahead, indicating of a Hunter who cut them down without mercy

"Be careful, that old man is agile. He's also able to throw out poison knives at a moments notice, so make sure to stay alert against him in battle"

"Yes, I know. This is the fourth time you've told me that, miss Eileen"

"Then you better be listening. I don't want you to die and become deadweight"

I have the Hunter's Dream. You do not. Aren't I supposed to be the one worrying for you?

"I think you are worrying too much" I smiled, jumping forward and hitting the waiting beast with a quick slash. Eileen immediately dashed in after me and decapitated it with a swing of her sharp blades "Is there any reason for your insistence on my safety in an overprotective manner?"

"Consider it an outsider's concern to another" She growled "And no, I'm never too protective" The crow said this as she pushed me behind her "Merely cautious"

Had I not known she was keeping an eye on me I would have sighed in exasperation

We stalked in the shadow of Yharnam. Eileen proved to be a little slower than me. Probably due to her old age. However, her movement in return is extremely efficient, wasting less stamina and body movement than your average Hunter is, thus preserving most of her strength

I analyzed the way she scaled the building. It's rare to get a chance to observe a DEX-based character moves in real life, so one always have to pay attention to it

Unconsciously, I began to mirror her style. We sprinted through the tomb with not a sound from either of us

"Weird, this is the place where I battled Father Gascoigne" I noted "Just a bit to the right and up the ladder, then into the graveyard, that's where I fought against him"

"You've fought Gascoigne, then? I guess that can explain your confidence. Just don't underestimate Henryk. The man will parry so fast you won't saw it coming from a mile" The crow silently mused with a hint of nostalgia, before snapping back to her serious self

"Miss, did you know the two of them?"

"Once upon a time we were a close group, along with Djura" She grunted "Then we went our separate ways. Henryk  returned to his family, and Gascoigne became a part of it. Those two had always got a strange dynamic. It is thanks to the latter that the former had a tragically long life up until now"

"Then I think I know why he went mad" I remarked, but Eileen didn't reply. Instead she only sped up ahead of me and silently scaled the ladder with soundless swiftness

I followed afterward by jumping to another building and propel myself upward, landing on the stairs just as Eileen climbed up. We nodded to each other

"This is the place"

"Let's enter"