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Within moments of entering the room, I already ascertained everything inside
The bound Iosefka to my right. The research notes and Kin corpses on my left, and the imposter Iosefka in front of me, warily getting up from the crater of a table she'd crashed in
"Son of a beast!" She snarled "You Hunters and your damned blood! Always there to ruin our progress aren't you?"
Her voice was crazed, yet an underlying hint of frustration could be heard. Whoever the imposter is, she'd clearly lost it in the pursuit of Eldritch knowledge.
Ignorance is bliss, and some knowledge should not be touched by the fragile minds of men
"I am not of the Healing Church" I stated, Saw Cleaver still resting comfortably on my back, ready to be drawn at a moment's notice "Merely a Hunter who dreams"
"Then will you kindly leave me and little Iosefka here to our own devices?" She walked around the table with a coy smile on her face, her hands trailing around the desk and secretly grasping the weapon underneath her
"No. Sadly, doctor Iosefka is...of a valuable acquaintance to me" I took a step forward, while the imposter scowled "So please. Leave here quietly or I won't guarantee your life in the next thirty seconds"
"As if you can take down a Hunter that easily"
The next moment, she lunged at me with her Threaded Cane. I sidestepped the thrust and leaned back, letting the blade sails harmlessly through my head. I backpedalled to avoid her next vertical slash, raising my foot to stamp on it, ending the three strike combo with a punch to her face
Good for a normal Hunter, but inferior to those I've fought against
With a twist of the handle, the cane's body loosened, revealing a wicked-looking whip with serrated edges outside. Fake Iosefka continued raining down whip strikes which I easily evaded. The infused gem with Slow Poisoning might be a problem since I have low health, but that is only a real concern when I get hit
As it is, such a thing is unlikely to happen
She's not as strong as Gascoigne
Not as deadly as Henryk
And certainly not as dangerous as Gehrman
This imposter's just a casual who'd never played a single Souls Game in her life. Someone who has not suffered at the hand of the entity known as Miyazaki. Had never came to be killed again, again, again, again, again and again by an Orphan of a Great One
Evading the lightning-fast quip, I used [Quickening] to appear behind imposter Iosefka and riposte'd her with my bare fist. My hand ripped through her internal organs, easily making her health go down by three fourth of it's original. Two consecutive shots rang out as she tried to parry me, but I already pulled back behind her in that amount of time
Using the chance, I grabbed the doctor by the head and slammed it against the pavement, breaking her nose with the impact. Before imposter Iosefka could raise her Threaded Cane, I kicked her to the ground and slammed a table on her back. Wooden splinters flew in the air as she screamed bloody murder
"You bloody moron!"
Dozens of tentacles sprung forth from her hand to intercept my flurry of barehanded strikes. Finally deciding that it's time to get serious, I pulled out both of my weapons. The Saw Cleaver snapped into motion as I diverted her strike to the side. The pistol on my other hand were shot at point blank range, stunning its wielder momentarily.
Not letting the chance goes, I brought my arm upward and dig the cleaver deep unto het flesh. With another twist of my wrist, the blade dislodged and spraying me with the woman's blood, bringing her health down to less than a half within seconds
Imposter Iosefka soon recovered from the stagger. The woman backpedaled and hastily healed herself. The wounds I inflicted disappeared as she clasped her hand together. An act that got my eyes widened momentarily
A halo of light burst forward, signifying the use of a Hunter's tool many dreaded in their first playthrough.
A Call Beyond
"Die!"
The space around us darkened momentarily, revealing the spinning cosmos around us and the multitude of glowing projectiles that is coming at me at the speed of a falling meteor. For a moment, previous memories flashed before my eyes
My thought process accelerated at that moment. Everything around me almost slowed into a standstill, allowing me to process my next move
A Call Beyond is a highly potent mean of offense when your enemy is at a distance from you. An Arcane user can easily deal a load of damage with this. Not only that, the shots themselves have a homing function, so once cast one really only have a split second to react before it hit them
If I die here, I'll fail. There won't be a second chance to save Iosefka and making a good change for once. So...I'll have to dodge them all
Time slowly crawled back to normal. Everything speeds up at a nauseating pace, with the projectiles now mere inches from my face. The floor underneath me cracked as I launched myself forward
I rolled, dodging the first shot and continued dashing toward the imposter. I could feel the second and third homing back on me. They were deftly evaded by two consecutive sidesteps that were too fast for the human eyes to see
The ground exploded beneath us, spraying chunks of wood in the air. Craters made from previous failed shots had smoke coming out of them. Further proof that getting in contact with them is a bad idea
I used Quickening repeatedly, dodging among the rain of meteors like a skilled dancer. Blasts of light trailing in my wake as the stars failed to reach their targets while I leaped forward as the last star exploded behind me, propelling me forward at an absurd speed
Our blades clashed in tandem. I twisted around her grip, grabbed her by the neck and threw her into her own experimenting tables. Blood shards fell on the desk along with her pained scream as the window's glass impaled deep into fake Iosefka's skin
The imposter weakly pulled out the Repeating Pistol in a last hope of injuring me, but I easily evaded the twin bullets with a sidestep
Twenty four seconds
She lasted long enough
I tossed an oil churn down. It broke, splashing her with the foul smelling liquid
"Wait, w-what are you doing?"
In response, I pulled out a Molotov Cocktail. Before she could say anything more I smashed it down on her head. I tossed another one down, fanning the flame bigger. And another one, that exploded into a ring of flame surrounding her
Fires blazed in the air, creating mesmerizing embers of a bright orange shade. Only when the corpse had stopped twitching and the screaming had ceased did I halted in my unaesthetic execution
Wasting Molotovs on non-beast enemies is against my code of conduct
But thirty seconds is thirty seconds
I turned around and walked toward the wide-eyed real Iosefka. With a flick of my Cleaver, she was set free from her restraint. The doctor fell to the ground, it was only a moment before the situational awareness kicked in and she covered her eyes
Grief wrecked through Iosefka's body. It started with a few droplets of tears, before she started sobbing on the ground
Not knowing what to do, I kneeled down to the former Healing Church member and gave her shoulder a firm squeeze
"Good Hunter..."
What I hadn't expected is for Iosefka to lean forward and hug me by the waist
"T-they were all killed" She sniffled, tears staining my coat. I don't mind. Worse things have stained them "I tried to save them, and they were all killed"
"There, there..." I patted the doctor's head "It's not your fault, doctor Iosefka. You were just the victim in this. Please, stop crying..."
We stayed like this for a while. I cannot understand how she felt when losing the people she'd literally poured blood into curing, but I can understand how this woman is distressed enough to be like this
The image of Gascoigne's daughter crying after seeing his beast corpse lingered in my mind. I suppressed a sigh
Eventually, the tears dried out and grief turned into mourning. I helped her stood up. Shaky as she was, we both knew now that the patients has all been exterminated. There's no point in her staying here anymore.
"Come with me to Oedon Chapel" I told her, cold wind outside the broken window ruffling our clothes "There's some people currently in need of you there, and the dweller is a kind man who will provide you a safe place to stay for the night"
"Just let me collect my research first and we can meet up outside later" With that said Iosefka walked back into the back of the clinic, a strange determined glint in her eyes. The sound of papers shuffling could be heard soon after, so I could only assume those papers were of value to her
As for me, I walked to the to the fake Iosefka's corpse and started searching it
By now looting dead corpses have become second nature to me. Anything goes if it benefits me
+1 [Threaded Cane] (Slow Poisoning)
+1 [Repeating Pistol]
+2 Insight
+2,000 Blood Echoes
+1 Numbing Mist
I collected the Echoes and mist. The Threaded Cane and Repeating Pistol was tucked in my coat, adding yet another weaponry to my arsenal
Counting off them. I now have a Saw Cleaver, the Hunter Axe, and a Threaded Cane for melee weapon. My modified Hunter Pistol now have another gun as its spare contender. Already I could feel the collective weaponry weighing me down
After bout a minute or so Iosefka finished with her business. The doctor arrived back with the white church outfit and her own Threaded Cane in hand. Faintly, the memory of their attire's description surfaced on my mind
special Church doctors.
These doctors are superiors to the black preventative hunters, and specialists in experimentally-backed blood ministration and the scourge of the beast.
They believe that medicine is not a means of treatment but rather a method for research. and that some knowledge can only be obtained by exposing oneself to sickness."
I shook my head to discard of unnecessary thoughts and turned away from her
"Let's go"
We departed, leaving the dark clinic behind us
<><><><><><><><>
"I want to apologize"
"About what?" I replied, strolling through the empty street I've cleared away moments before. Since both of use are Hunters it won't be as slow as with the girl I escorted to Oedon Chapel
"About my earlier behaviors" Iosefka looked away and...blush? "It was indecent of me to do that"
I remembered about the hug
"There is no shame in taking comfort in others" I assured her, the torch in my hand illuminating the dark alleyway of central Yharnam "Fear, as well as grief, are a part of being human. Without it we are no different than beasts ourselves"
"Well, I'm relieved you did not take it the wrong way"
"How else am I suppose to think of it?"
Iosefka's mouth clicked shut suspiciously fast. However, I let it slide. We continued traversing past the Tomb of Oedon and directly to the Chapel. The tolling of the bell in the distance echoed all throughout the Cathedral Ward, signifying another hour of the night had passed
"Here we are" The dim light illuminated our figure as we walked through the dark, yet warm space of the now only safe place in Yharnam. The Skeptical man grumbling's as he listened to Gascoigne's daughter talking with him can be hear nearby. In the corner, the Old Dear cackled as she talked to herself
On the front was the hunched form of the Chapel Dweller, looking quite happy at the arrival of a new visitor in his place
"Ah, mister Hunter. Welcome back, is that another survivor with you?"
"That she is" I drew close to him and whispered "She is a Hunter from the Church, but don't be telling this to the others, lest they lose their calm"
Although the prospect of having someone decently strong with them to ward off against the beasts is reassuring, those who lives in Yharnam has a strong prejudice against the Hunters. Chances are the people here, Skeptical Man and Old Woman included, would leave upon learning of her identity
After another moment of conversing with each other, Iosefka left toward the pair of survivors on the left isle. I turned toward the Dweller, whose face turned to concern and hesitation as he addressed me
"I understand that you trust her not to become blood-drunk?"
"It is unlikely. Iosefka is more a scholar type with minimal abilities as a Hunter of the Church. She spends most of her time treating patients of the Scourge, so at the very least her presence won't cause much harm" I shook my head, before casting a look in her direction
"But...should she become lost, you have my words to deal with her accordingly"
The Dweller acknowledged my words, his worries slightly dissipate.
"Good...good...perhaps a doctor is exactly what we need in this perilous time..." He shook his head "Sir Hunter, since you are now here, how about taking some needed rest before continuing on your Hunt? Not that I doubt your ability, but I can't imagine fighting beasts all night long would be the best of experiences"
"You are right. Thank you for your consideration" I inclined my head as I walked toward a desolate spot beneath the arching stone building "Certain events had had me quite fatigued. I need some time to think"
I slid down the wall, into a sitting position by the Chapel's high window. The distant moonlight shone through the glass, illuminating the space to my side. An indication that the night hadn't even reached the peak of its cycle yet
I took a moment to collect my thought
So far I have only progressed through one third - perhaps even less than that - of the entire game. It'll be a long way until this nightmare was over, so I'll need to plan accordingly until then. Simply put, I am at an impasse between rushing the Hunt as fast as possible so that I can defeat the Orphan of Kos, thus retaining my dwindling sanity, or going through all of Yharnam and level up every single stats so that I grow stronger
Subjectively, I am leaning toward the latter. If I'm careful I won't die as much and in return my chance of survival is increased. I may not be same by the end of the Hunt, but who needs sanity when they will forget about it eventually
Right now in my inventory I have two stat points along with 8 Insights. I should do something with them
After a moment of thinking I decided to dump one in Dexteriry, as it is my highest stat
Dexterity (8/10)
A new skill had been learned
[Deflection]: Using the prey's strength against themselves had always been a favored tactic of the old hunters. Allows the Hunter to deflect enemy attacks back to them
- Deflected attacks deal 40% of their original damage
The other into Strength. It will be an excellent secondary stat when paired with Dexterity. Also good for an assassin-esque Hunter build
Strength (2/10)
A new skill had been learned
Spend it on Wisdom
The presence of the voice in my head echoed for several moments in the silence after, before my finger tightened around the gun
'What the hell?' I tensed up 'You're not gone'
Miss me aren't you? No worries, I was having a little slumber while you go on your hunt
Different from the previous one-sided communication, the voice now appeared more sentient, more...self-aware. It seem to have achieved a higher speech figure with how it uses sarcasm in the sentences. But as of now it had not been hostile toward me. In fact it seems to be giving me advice
This fact calmed me down. For once, maybe I should try listen to it
'Why Wisdom?'
'As already explained at the start of the Hunt, Wisdom is an indication to one's connection with the Great Ones. The higher you go, the more supernatural abilities you possess'
"So what exactly does these abilities do?"
'They break the rule' Is its only response, before the voice disappeared to an unknown part of my mind. Call out to it, I did, but no answer is heard
Hesitantly, I began to mull over the revelation. I had not given much though to this stat before, but the description the system gave me indicates it's just as overpowered as the voice said. It won't hurt to try
Thinking so, I sacrificed the 5 Insight I gained into a level of Wisdom
Wisdom (1/10)
A new skill had been learned
[Gravity Manipulation]: Arcanes of the Great Ones are unfit for human to handle, however the Hunter can still replicate them with enough effort
- In a radius of 3 meters around you, you can alter the strength and direction of gravitational forces on your enemies
Not bad
Ten minutes later, I got up and silently walked out from the Church. My shadow cast under the distant moonlight as I prepared to go on another Hunt
Next destination. Old Yharnam
<><><><><><><><><>
In the tales Gehrman used to tell me, the Yharnam of old is a beautiful place
Not that the city itself is neat and organized in some way, but it is in its crowded structure that made the charm of a Victorian era city. Tall buildings made of wood and stone cobbled together, with chimneys of the highest building being over 30 meters in height. Standing here in this place, I could reimagine the lifestyle the people here used to have before the scourge of the Beast took over its inhabitant, and the land was razed to the ground in one night
Strangely enough, this reminds me of the Great London Fire in 1666. A single fire that sets the city ablaze for days, leaving behind a clutter of ashes and burnt corpses in its wake. Perhaps there are some resemblance of this to the real world
I took my first step past the tomb entrance, and was immediately assaulted by two Scourge Beasts like those back then. I Quickened past the first one and Visceral attacked it. Jumping back to avoid the second's claw swipe, I transformed the Threaded Cane and rained whip lashes on both of them. The damage dealt is minimal, but the slow poisoning eventually finish them off
Left alone, I swiped the blood off my blade by brandishing it to the side. Ever since I leveled up movement speed, the ease at which I can evade their attacks increased.
But what if I don't need to do so?
As I opened the gate that lead to the city, the bonfire warmth greeted me in its homely embrace. The scent of beasts filled the air. But that did not made me miss the Wandering Madness that immediately turned to flee the moment it saw me
"Gravitational Pull"
In a moment, reality's law was rewritten as the Hunter uttered those words. High authority from the cosmic Great Ones passed through the lips of a mortal caused the gravitational forces around me to change direction. The creature soon flew into my palm and was crushed in between my hand
+2 [Twin Blood Shard]
I raised my hand and reverse the surrounding gravity field, causing the second beast to be blown backward before it can reach me. The third beast collapsed as I increased the gravity around him. With a tightening of my fingers, both were slowly choked until they stopped moving on their spots
With the nuisance taken care of, I made my way deeper into the ashen city
<><><><><><><><>
The Hunter did not know it
But that night, something was born
Not of Beast. Nor of Kin
Simply a Nightmare given form
As the Moon watches, the Formless smiles
At the birth of its dark child
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