C8: Back to Yharnam
----------------------------------------------
KAH haahuu
I woke near the lamp, clutching my throat as I still felt the slicing sensation. I hyperventilate as it takes me some time to ensure my entire neck is actually connecting my head to my body.
"Three hits. I have to avoid all of them at all costs." I mutter to myself as I walk outside and quickly collect my pitiful amount of echoes that were luckily on the ground and not attached to the very huntsman that gave me the Idle Hands decapitation treatment [1].
I actually sit down, not from the pain but to actually plan. I am far too weak. Even the previous supposed power I had felt when wearing my clothes has faded, as if it was never there or was a lie in the first place.
It's not as if I was confident going in here but to see myself so outmatched so easily. It stung.
Decisively, I turned around and left this nightmare realm. I returned to Yharnam and began my hunt. This time around, I didn't choose to stay in the beginning area around the fire pit. Instead I killed around 8 huntsmen and ran past the remaining 10 or so there. I then broke off the side path, some boxes blocking the way to the kennels. I still have body aches so I slowly dropped down to the sandbags and cages underneath.
WOOF
"Oh shit." The dog in the cage I step on nearly bites my foot if not for the iron bars themselves blocking it. I still panicked and directly hopped off the wall, wincing as I landed.
In my annoyance, I take out the threaded cane to get between the bars with ease and take the 2 caged dogs up here down before going down the stairs to find a dog escaping his cage. I put it down with my new hunter saw cleaver, changing it up a bit until I get my original axe back.
I then use the cane to take out the remaining 2 caged dogs to net myself quite a few echoes 649 echoes but this time my luck was up as I got the increase in 1% for a good 713 echoes instead. Leaving me with 1,216 in total up till now.
Turning around, I head down a side path from the path I just dropped down from. It leads to a building that I open from my end. I know this route as a shortcut back to the central Yharnam lamp.
I'm about to walk confidently in the building until I remember there are enemies here and quickly spot the huntsman simply standing just a foot away from me. The only reason he didn't spot me was that he was facing in the direction of the door opposite from where I came from.
I quickly take him down with my saw cleaver and collect the blood vials off his body. I then take down the old huntsman who is locked to his wheelchair but he has a gun. I collected the 2 bullets off him before collecting the item next to him which was more vials.
I then opened the other door I was initially going for. It leads to a staircase leading up in front of me and another on my right leading a bit downwards.
I take care of the standby huntsman who doesnt take kindly to me approaching him at the top of the first set of stairs. I get another vial from him before heading up the second set of stairs that leads me back to the lantern proper.
"Wait, wasn't there a switch here, like a lever?" I ask confused as I look around but find nothing. I facepalm as I realize that I could have just 'cheated' to open the door like last time around. I unlock the latch and then head past but I find a barred window lit up with a red lantern next to it.
I knock on the bars to get it's owner attention if they even give me any.
"Oh you must be a Hunter, Seem local enough do you. I'm Gilbert, an outsider." I am about to respond but he doesnt give me a chance as if he feels like I am an angel here to grant him a Therapist here to grant him a lifeline for his anguish.
"You must have had a fine time of it. Yharnam has a special way of treating guests."
"That it certainly does, they're pretty vindictive and grouchy if I do say so myself, and I was born here." I finally got a word in.
"Haha, cough cough. I don't think I can stand it if I wanted to, but I'm willing to help, if there's anything that can be done."
This town is cursed. Whatever your reasons might be, you should plan a swift exit. Whatever can be gained from this place, it will do more harm than good. "
"I appreciate the good sentiment but I have a duty to fulfill. I've been told to seek something, PaleBlood mind you."
"Hmm, Pale Blood, haven't heard of that before but Blood is the domain of the healing church. You should try your luck there, though they have been closed off for all for quite some time now."
"Yea, the healing church, have old friends there, not sure how well they will welcome me after so long but it's worth a try. " I dryly comment, knowing how their practices had been the whole reason for this entire beast problem.
Cough cough
"By the By, what's your name, friend?"
"Friend? I um. Im Gilbert, Safe travels to you"
"Thanks. And here, something to help tide you over for a bit but try not to rely on it too much" I hand over some of my newly collected vials to help with his cough. Blissfully unaware of the ashen blood disease and how it works.
"Why, what's this? Are you sure about this? You must know its value? ...Thank you... It was never my intention to impose upon you, but your kindness is most welcome. You don't know how much this will help. Thank you, really..." The vials disappear and then I head off.
I travel to the lamp and then return once more to reset, waving at the doll for a brief moment as I make my way back down. I take down the staircase huntsman and then clear out the 4 huntsmen in the house before dealing with the final one up top. But then I head back down. I walk down the previously mentioned right side path that leads me to a long alleyway with two of the brutes.
I feel this is as good a time as any to test out how well my new guns work. I throw a pebble at one of the nearer brutes as the second is currently walking away from me, but he will return in a few seconds.
The pebble grabs the first brute's attention as he stumbles towards me with heavy steps. What looks like a brick in hand is really just his heavily bandaged mutated hand. As it lifts it's hand, aiming to bash my head in, I lift my gun.
BANG dong
I luckily get the timing right as the brute falls to his knees. Neither in my original life did I ever try to parry all that much as I wasnt skilled enough to do it consistently. I would always do it early or too late and then just get smacked around in all the soulsborn games i've played. It's why I prefer to be a spellcaster where I am not worried about that.
Yet that is not an option and now I have the second set of memories that actually has the viable experience, even if it's not this specific brand of creature, the hunter's mind is adaptable.
As I stand in front of the kneeling brute. Im get a strange sensation flow through me as I reel my right hand back, thrusting it forward into the brutes chest. I grab at something and then pull that something out.
"UGH" A burst of blood is ejected from the chest of the beast as I look down at my hand and find a wiggling centipede covered in blood. I panic and drop it, just to crush it a moment later in disgust as I wipe my hand on the nearby wall. A guttural sound escapes my mouth as I feel my hand has been violated.
[Warning: Skill-Visceral has reached level 2]
"Oh right. I still haven't checked my skill section since I got caught up with my dads bs" I say but don't have the chance to do anything about this yet as I then repeat this process with the other huntsman minion (brute). No level up this time around and no insects either.
This time it was like I ripped out a chunk of its heart before it fell over and died. I found a set of 3 vials from one of the two brutes. It is on the other end of this path that I find an elevator leading somewhere but it's blocked off.
"Might as well check the list now. Shouldnt be very long if it's related to this world.
[Skills]
[Hunter Tactics level 3
Visceral Attack level 2
Hunter Blunt Weapon proficiency level 1
Hunter Gun Proficiency level 1
Hunter Blade weapon Proficiency level 5
Crafting level 1
Knowledge level 10 (fragmented)
Pain Resistance level 2 (weakened)
"System, can you show me what each of these does?"
[Hunter Tactics: Level 3- User has accumulated tons of experience over time which allows them to better fight against all manner of beasts. Current bonus: +10% damage to all enemy types with all weapons. +5% chance for higher riposte chance when shooting (doesnt work by simply shooting whenever but can increase the range of when the riposte would typically activate if the enemy was already mid attack.)]
[Visceral attack: level 2- A technique to jam your fist into an enemies chest when they are stunned. Otherwise known as Critical Hits. Current Bonus: +5% bonus to maximum visceral damage.]
[Hunter Blunt Weapon proficiency: level 1- Determines how well the user is able to wield blunt type weapons in combat it can be used. Current Bonus: +2.5% blunt weapon damage.]
Hunter Gun Proficiency level 1 -2.5% gun damage
Hunter Blade weapon Proficiency level 5- +12.5 with bladed weapons.
[Crafting: level 1- User has figured out a method in creating something by merging or dismantling other items. Current bonus: 50% chance for any new insight to be doubled]
[Pain Resistance: level 2- The passive ability to negate the power of your pain receptors. Allowing you to fight harder and better while ignoring your bodies condition. Current Effect- -10% damage sensation. Warning: By the passive effect of the Cursed Title: all damage sensations are doubled.
"Well all these skills are nice. Certainly explains why it feels like I'm so much stronger than I'm supposed to be with my stats." I state but take note that it seems this also accounts for my pre-coma experience too.
Though I pause as I read the last skill and then tug at my neck to loosen my clothes a bit as I can still remember the sensation of my throat being torn apart by the serrated blade. "That…that certainly explains it. Doesnt feel like it's actually working but it is. The very fact im not suffering from double pain is how I know it works. But also since my pain is technically doubled. That means that 10% is actually 20% since my new base is 200% sensitivity."
I rationalize the math and I wish I could get rid of this curse but I wouldn't know how since it's a total gap in my knowledge. There is no magic in bloodborne, the closest would be hunter trinkets that allow me to use my arcane state more effectively.
I think back to a few trinkets I was never able to use since I never put any levels in arcane. I wondered what they actually did. I know about one of them, the Augur of Ebrietas, the same thing a certain boss uses later in the game but I never found out how effective it actually was.
I sit down, lingering in my imagination when i finally notice the stench of blood in the air and shake my head. Returning to my skills again and making an executive decision on how to proceed.
'Should I focus completely on my new axe or continue with the saw cleaver?' I ponder whether it is more effective but I just feel like I would be unfaithful to my original axe to use a new one and pour resources into it if I just dump it later.
"Screw it, I'm sticking with the cleaver." I say but it's a rational decision as I do now have the system or more specifically the title which grants me extra xp for skills. I've never jammed my fist into a beast's chest before but it's already level 2.
I walk backwards, heading up the stairs and into the house before climbing it's stairs and ending up back on the bridge but past the area where the two scourge beasts i killed before to reach the sewers are. I look down the other way. A few statues and overturned carriages block my view. So I just choose to head down that path.
Around the carriages, I find another brute with his back to me as well as 4 carrian crows surrounding it. Taking out one of my homemade cocktails. I light it and throw it in the direction of one of the back crows. That luckily gets three of the crows and the brute but the last crow and the brute are aggroed to me.
Thankfully the last crow was at least singed a bit from the fire spread and so two well placed shots with my pistol took it down even with my obscenely low blood tinge level.
That just left the brute and me. He charges up a series of attacks and I just shoot him in the middle of his streak which knocks him down with great ease. Shoving my hand into his chest reveals another chunk of heart and he collapses from the accumulated damage.
I find 2 more pebbles and 2 vials on the brute before I continue forward when the system stops me.
[Ding]
[Warning: The system proposes a challenge to the user.
-------------------------------------------------------------
Word count is mid average this time around.
Whether you like the chapter or not, drop a comment. I can't be letting myself get complacent in my writing. I still have plenty of growth in all forms.
Usual reminder (take out hyphen): patr-eon.com/Xanok
discord channel still has the next chapter preview like usual: https://discord.gg/rE6gtg28XH
[1] idle hands is a 'comedy' horror movie about some schmuck who got his hand possessed by a demon. Said hand threw a buzzsaw blade at his body and he got his neck slit and died but came back as a zombie.
I never saw the movie myself but I had seen a single scene of this dude tape up his own neck while the sentient chopped off hand continued to kill. Honest to god, Always thought that hand itself was the one from the OG Left For Dead cover art.
I only learned the truth when I made this reference to make sure it was accurate. Also im fairly certain that the same cut off hand is the one shown in mammoth (2006) but it was described as a transmitter for a group of aliens and not demons like Idle hands claims. So idk.
Haha.