Amelia is someone who was born into the church's inner circle. Her parents were devout followers of the Blood Church whom are strict when it comes to performing your delegated duty. A trait that had been drilled into her at a young age
Even when the beasts overtake the ward, she does not neglect her duty. Even when Hunters started going mad, she does not neglect her duty. Even when her parents were taken in by the scourge, she does not neglect her duty
And what did she get in the end?
Her hands trembled. The Gold pendant shook in her palm as the Vicar had her eyes closed in resignation
She could feel it. Feel the beast struggling underneath her skin, digging through every corner of her body. Just a momentary loss of restraint is enough to send it barreling off control
And yet, as her sanity wavered and the thought of ending herself crossed her mind the shadow flickered. Another person stepped forward tame care of her misery
A Hunter clad in black. His garb as dark as the eternal night of Yharnam. Underneath the bloodstained tricorn hat, crimson eyes stared back dispassionately at her
"End me"
His eyes, for a moment, showed pity to the beast he's about to kill
<><><><><><><><><>
Vicar Amelia opened her eyes wearily
She is still alive? Had the Hunter failed and left her to this accursed state?
What's that light? It was bright, a contrast to the dark Grand Cathedral she'd gotten used to. The immediate thought she has is that this may be heaven. That thought, naturally, was quickly discarded
No, Heaven does not exist. The Orthodox Church had lost its influence over Yharnam a long time ago to the Healing Church. Instead of a place where good and faithful people reside in the afterlife, The current Church's closest comparison would be the twisted version of "heaven" where one is ascended to the same plane as the Great Ones and be able to converse with them
"Finally awake, are you? We've been waiting"
She looked up, only to meet the gaze of a couple. Blinking in confusion, Amelia's brain short-circuited as she tried to decipher this hallucination. Naturally, she is attempting to make sense of the situation she's in
With her senses returned, the Vicar opted to inspect her surrounding. They were standing in a pitch black space with nothing in sight. Yet strangely enough, she can just make out everything in here despite the blackness of the space she's in
"Am I really in heaven?"
"Admittedly. I did not expect a Vicar to know of the concept. But I did not think that's the case" The burly man looked around, and it is only then that Amelia has a glimpse at the rest of his body. He is wearing a Hunter's outfit "For once, there aren't the angel choir, the shining halo, nor the visage of Our Lord embracing us in the afterlife for our piety"
"Who are you? A man of the Old Faith perhaps?"
"Indeed I was until I came to Yharnam" He chuckled "I am Father Gascoigne, and the person sitting next to me is my wife Viola"
<><><><><><><>
"It's foggy here"
As we made our ways through the countless stone graves and chained up coffins, Eileen and I carefully stalked our ways through the interweaving tree roots that may hinder our movement
"Look. There's a trail"
Indeed. Several beast corpses littered on the side, some stacked carelessly upon each other like a butcher would a cattle, and seeing the brutalized state of their body the comparison seems to be even fitter. We quickly advanced while watching put for any stray enemies in the vicinity
The air grew ever colder as we approached the area where I remembered Henryk is in my first play through. I gestured for Eileen to stay on guard. She nodded and readied her blade
New Quest Created
- Cooperate with Eileen to kill Old Hunter Henryk with her not taking a single hit
Reward: 4,000 [Blood Echoes], [Henry Hunter Set]
Suddenly, the darkness in front of us split apart
A poison knife was thrown toward me, stopping only by me deflecting it back at the assailant. His pained grunt is the indication that I've hit the mark before the old hunter moved in the shadow again
The next moment, Eileen's talon blades snapped through the air and clashed with his Saw Cleaver. Henryk disengaged and dashed in again, breaking her guard with a quick forward charge and seek to impale the female hunter. She flipped back, feathered capes fluttering in the air, and made several quicksteps to the side, expertly dodging all his attacks
My pistol roared out, intercepting him mid strike and staggering him
"Eileen"
We both moved in and Visceral attacked the hunter, each of us ripping him in one direction thus doubling the damage done to him
All of us are DEX hunter. This is merely a battle of speed and reflex
In that situation, the both of us held an advantage over him. We can overwhelm Henryk from both side and simultaneously support each other. One clash on the front, the other flank from the hind to wind up their weapons and deal stagger them. When one exhaust themselves they can change position and start over again
Sparks flew in the air as our Saw Cleaver clashed against each other. Serrated edges grounded, creating high-pitched screeching noises. I twisted my blade, sending his to the ground and slammed my foot on it to prevent him from striking. My cleaver snapped to its transformed mode as it descended down on his head
However, he reacted in time. His own pistol hit me in the gut, causing me to lose my balance.
Ah shit. Saw Cleaver. Hunter Pistol. High Mobility. It's like fighting against a more experienced version of your doppelgänger
It was then Eileen thankfully interrupted his intended visceral and saved me from the nick of time. I regained my balance and quickly joined back in the fight
I see. Utilizing mobility and stealth against your target, all the while rapidly advancing your attacks whenever you get the chance to. It was a dangerous, yet highly efficient tactics against crazed human
This is how you hunt other hunters
I swapped my cleaver to the axe. Gascoigne's weapon let out a sharp clang as I shifted it to two-handed mode and charged up a heavy attack while dashing around the two veteran combatants
"Dodge!"
The crow moved with minimal reaction time, dropping on her knee to avoid the overhead swing from my axe.
The first swing hit Henryk at point blank range, drawing fountains of blood from him. However, he used his cleaver to block the second swing, sending him crashing into the stone wall to our side
We didn't wait for the debris to settle. Both of us jumped in the moment he crashed, hoping to end the man's life before he could get up. Unfortunately, he proved more resilient in his maddened state than we thought
Eileen was forced to deflect a hail of poison throwing knives, while I grunted as the mad Hunter immediately dashed out from the crater and lock blades with me. From behind the crow immediately jumped upon him with both her blades drawn for the kill
My eyes widened. For I saw the man's action for what it was. A feint. He was only exposing his back to one of us to lower our guards down
The Saw Cleaver almost hit Eileen before I use Quickening and pushed her out of the way
In return, the blade lodged inside my abdomen instead. I hissed in pain, eyes instantly zeroed on the Saw Cleaver impaled inside me as my fingers curled tightly around it, preventing him from pulling his weapon out
"Now!"
The blades of mercy pierced through Henryk's chest. From behind, Eileen ripped them out in an exceedingly brutal manner which results in a fountain of blood spraying in the air. A perfect execution
I dropped to the ground, panting hard with blood pouring from my wound
Curse my abysmal Endurance. Curse myself for not paying attention to his attack
"I'll be fine. I'm fine" I held out a hand to stop Eileen from running up to me. My other hand went around my pocket and pulled out a Blood Vial which I injected into my bloodstream, healing the deep injury on my side "See? It's all well and new"
Considering the rare occasions of me getting hurt before, this attack is surprisingly light. I only lost about 30% of my HP due to that stunt
"That wasn't necessary of ya" She hefted me up by the shoulder as the sudden loss of stamina and injection of blood had me a little bit dizzy "But ya have my thanks. We made it without getting hurt too badly. You're quite good at this, don't you?"
"I simply learn from the best"
We chuckled as we walked into the night. Eileen and I soon parted ways with a much more lighter air between us. Though I ended up giving her a warning
"Oh, miss?"
"Yes?"
"If you ever found yourself at a disadvantage, Don't be afraid to get some help
It's only a foreshadowing disguised as some advice from a young hunter. Eileen had a choice to either ignore or listen to it
Preferably, I hope she'll escape from this Dream soon
<><><><><><>
Quest Completed
- Cooperate with Eileen and kill Old Hunter Henryk without her getting hit
Reward:
- [Henryk Set]
+4,009 [Blood Echoes]
You have defeated Old Hunter Henryk
+3,000 [Blood Echoes]
Since Henryk is not a boss he doesn't drop any stat points after his defeat. However, the fact that I progressed the quest with Eileen is fruitful in itself
Now with us having parted ways, I silently returned to the area where we fought and arrived at Henryk's corpse, which has now been strung up on the tree for a sky burial. Blood was dripping from his wound to the ground and forming a pool of it at his feet
With a sigh, I knelt down and extract all of it
13/700
It seems like taking blood from a hunter fill up 3 unit of blood instead of the usual 1 from Beasts. It seems like I'll have to start changing my prey soon
I stood up and walked closer toward his corpse. Aside from his outfit, the man was stacked full of Hunter equipment which means it hasn't been long before he turned mad. All the better for me since I can continue his job using these
+15 [Poison Throwing Knives]
+4 [Quicksilver Bullets]
I then picked up his weapons and analyzed them. The Saw Cleaver was of standard quality and wouldn't bring many benefits compared to my current one. The pistol however...
[Iron Sight]
+60% maximum range
I picked out its sight and attached the gun parts to my own one. Who know the world of Bloodborne would have an iron sight of all things?
"Thank you, Henryk" I clapped my hands and prayed to the Hunter "Your life and death may be tragic, but rest assured that I'll continue your job to the very end"
I picked him up and pulled him toward a nearby tree, where he was hung just above Gascoigne's and Viola's decaying corpses
It's the least I could do for him
<><><><><><>
With Henryk already taken care of, I immediately progressed back to the Cathedral Ward and marked one of the next area of this city
The fog split in front of me, revealing a single rocky path that lead toward a sealed entrance
Hemwick Charnel Lane
<><><><><><>
Compared to other areas inside Yharnam, Hemwick is considerably smaller. Consisting of a linear rocky path, this place includes many branching side roads that one need to explore in order to advance
I don't actually need to. My advanced Dexterity and [Terrain Traversal] enable me to bypass most obstacles on my way here with ease, but that won't fill up the Blood Gauge, give me Blood Echoes, or will let me collect materials for my own weapon
My plan is simple. Kill the beasts. Kill the crow. Kill the Witch. Kill everything that moves and take what they have to offer
It took me a moment later to realize I'm missing something
The Witch, or rather Witches of Hemwick has eyes. Just like certain enemies in the game, the more Insight one has the more troublesome killing her will be.
At 15 Insight the Mad Ones will appear, which means I have to empty mine under that completely. It is then I thought about one of the things I was told at the start of the Hunt related to this
You can allocate Stat points in a specific stat by buying them with Insights
Unlike the Blood Gauge, each stat requires the same amount of Insight to purchase. However, the higher the statistics went the more Insight you will have to spend to upgrade them
With my current 20 Insight, I can spend them into a maximum of four stats to raise them to level 1, or two of them to level 2, or one of them to level 3 and one to level 1
I spend the next few moments of travel thinking
Insights are a better alternative since they will boost my other stats in late game, as filling the Blood Gauge then would be extremely tedious and should be reserved for higher stats
Well then...I may have excellent mobility, but it's high time I start investing in other areas. The fight with Henryk had taught me speed won't always be the best way to go
Strength (1/10)
A new skill had been learned
[Martial Arts]: A Hunter must always be prepared for all situations, even that of a broken weapon
+200% Damage when fighting unarmed
My mind wandered toward the massive health loss I suffered from Henryk's single blow. I clicked my teeth in annoyance and invest it to durability
Endurance (1/10)
A new skill had been learned
[Vampirism]: A Hunter must preserve at all costs, even with the blood of his prey
- Rally lasts 100% longer
Now I can still invest in another one with my remaining 10 Insight. Without hesitation I put another one into Endurance. Because right now I'm a glass cannon and I want to change that
Endurance (2/10)
A new skill had been learned
[Unnatural Recovery]: A Hunter's constitution is not to be underestimated
- Without the use of Blood Vials, you can heal at a slow pace when under 50% HP
The Insights have now reached zero. Just as I was about to turn it off, another bloodied parchment appeared before me
New Quest created
What?
- Beat Hemwick Charnel Lane with no equipments on (no outfit, weapons, guns, or consumables)
Reward
+10,000 [Blood Echoes]
+1 [Insight]
+1 stat point
...
I'm doing this for the reward, aren't I?
<><><><><><><>
"Away, away!"
As the mad Huntsmen approached me, I wondered why I'm even doing this
Here I am, naked aside from a pair of boxers to preserve my decency, with my upper body stained with blood, attempting to take on a hoard of enemies with my Bare. Bloody. Fists
I dodged the first overhead swing from one of the men and used the overextension to my advantage, attacked him with a flurry of blows.
"Right jab. Left Jab. Repeat. Uppercut" I weaved under him and crushed his jaw with a punch from underneath, then immediately sprung back in time to dodge a butcher knife aiming at my head
Seems like unlocking the skill also gave me a gorge of knowledge on real martial arts. It feels almost too instinctive when I instantly know how to efficiently counter, evade and predict enemy's attacking pattern with barely a glance at their body language
Good. At least this will make it easier
I cracked my knuckle and joined back to the fray
<><><><><><><>
Blood Gauge: 50/50 => Blood Gauge: 0/60
+1 Stat point
It was painstakingly slow to get all the way here
In the end, even with the damage boost my fists still doesn't take away as much health as a real weapon, which forced me to rely on backstab and Visceral to fill in the speed I normally do
It doesn't help that I'm not allowed to use Consumables, which means no Blood Vials, no Quicksilver Bullets, no nothing. I can't heal if I get hit and the Rally bar was depleted after
Which fortunately it didn't thanks to Endurance skills
I took a deep breath to regain my bearings as I stood over the last of Hemwick's enemy. My fists are stained with their blood and my knuckles are sore with the constant punchings. I flexed them to shake off the numbness creeping up my palms
The boss area is just up ahead. I stepped through the archway, ready for an intense combat session. Goosebumps appeared on my skin as the air grew colder. Arcane energy filled the air, foretelling of bloody ritual done in this town of the dead
As soon as the first Witch came to view I was already upon her. Her notable danger is in her Arcane attacks, so as long as I stayed close and stun locked her with repeated blows she won't be able to retaliate
Grabbing the eyeball-covered monstrosity by the head, I slammed her against the wall which made it crack. I backstabbed the Witch and did a Visceral, ripping into her and drain a large part of her health
The fight seamlessly transitioned to it's second phase
I backstopped as I twisted to the side, using the Witch as meat shield against her sister's spell. As soon she dropped I was in front of her. My fist pierced through her chest as I tore through the beast's guts with ferocity, knocking her on the ground
Before she could get up I raised my foot and slammed it down, crushing her head underneath my steel-tied boots. It was a brutal finishing, but it was somehow...satisfying
"Prey Slaughtered" I sucked in a deep breath through my nose
Before with the Hunter's mask I can't smell a thing, but now it was gone...I could feel the sweet scent of blood permeating through my nose
Satisfying indeed
<><><><><><><><>
Author's Note: Due to the different System, Hunter does not receive Insight until after he had killed his enemies, which means him gaining 1 Insights after meeting the Witch and the Mad One being summoned has been accounted for