With the release date getting closer and closer…
Nebula Games' ad spending was starting to show.
Game media sites were full of Dark Souls features and reports.
Streaming and video platforms also had related Dark Souls events.
And the most direct move—Nebula Games' discount event for Dark Souls.
The 9 dollar coupon could only be used on the Nebula Games platform.
Giving players real money savings like this was very effective at attracting them.
After the event was announced, Nebula Games gained about 150,000 new users.
And the number was still going up.
But for most players, the biggest thing…
…was that they could finally play Dark Souls.
On major game forums and communities, you could feel the players' excitement from their posts.
After such a long wait, it was finally time to link the fire!
......
In a neighborhood in the capital, Zack and Hannah were discussing plans for the National Day holiday.
"How about Nine Glories Mountain?" Zack suggested.
"Why go to Nine Glories Mountain? People go there to burn incense. Besides, can you even handle the hike? Last year at Nine Glories Mountain you took the cable car the whole way, and for the remaining steps you walked a few and were already complaining." Hannah rolled her eyes.
They tossed around a few other ideas, but each had its flaws.
Either it was too tiring, too crowded, or people said it wasn't fun.
Finally, they came to the same idea without even saying it: "How about we just play games? I heard Nebula Games' Dark Souls is out."
"Great idea!" Hannah, also a gamer, agreed.
Mainly because there wasn't anywhere worth going for a trip.
Especially thinking about all the tourist spots during a holiday like National Day—packed with people. That's not a vacation, that's torture.
This way was better.
Stay home with the AC on, eat ice cream, and enjoy the pure fun of gaming.
That's life.
"Eh, it says 'Hard.' This game seems like a hard one!" As the frugal ones they were, the two of them naturally chose the Nebula Games platform. When they entered the store page, Hannah noticed something.
Dark Souls on the Nebula Games platform had four official tags: ARPG, Dark Fantasy, Exploration & Adventure, and Hard.
Hearing Hannah, Zack, who was scanning to pay, casually replied, "Real players don't look at tags. They're all just for show. How hard can it be? We both watched the online showcase before—it didn't look that bad."
"Alright, I bought it. Time to link the fire!" Zack stretched.
"But I heard playing this game in co-op is a bit of a hassle," Hannah said to Zack. Lucas had mentioned this during the online showcase when talking about multiplayer.
"Let's just share one save and one computer. Whoever dies passes the turn to the other." Zack thought for a moment and suggested.
"Alright!" Hannah agreed.
Life needs some variety, and playing games together sounded great.
The game was pretty big, so after paying, the two of them chatted while waiting for it to download and install.
Once it was ready, they started the game.
Right as they entered, a voice of an old woman played along with the visuals.
"Yes, this is Lothric…"
Familiar lines, familiar scenes.
Seeing this, Zack and Hannah exchanged a glance and joked.
"Isn't this just the same trailer they showed at the expo?"
"Yeah, Nebula Games is really taking shortcuts here."
Still, even while complaining, they didn't skip it and watched again.
The whole CG cutscene was really well-made.
It must have cost a lot to make—otherwise Lucas wouldn't have reused it in the game.
After the cutscene, the character creation screen appeared, which didn't surprise them at all.
A lot of ARPGs start this way, letting players make their own character.
The name was simple and easy to remember—just "123."
Then came the face customization.
Zack naturally took over this part.
"Let's go with old age—old ginger is spicier, after all. No beard means no credibility, so let's add a beard. For hair, give him twin tails in silver—old but young at heart.
"Make the eyes narrow—narrow eyes always look like a villain. Give the lips a bit of crimson to show a thirst for blood."
After a flurry of adjustments, a very strange-looking character appeared on the screen.
Hannah stayed quiet for a moment. "I feel like you're asking for a beating."
"Ahem, enough of that. Looks like we can also choose a class and starting gear—you decide." Zack coughed and changed the subject.
"Let's go with 'Deprived.' The stats look really balanced—like a jack of all trades, which should be strong. For the burial gift, let's pick this white branch. The last one on the list should be the strongest, right? From the description, it sounds like a time-limited transformation card that makes your character super strong." Hannah summed up from her gaming experience, then picked Deprived with the White Branch.
Once everything was set, the screen went black for a moment, then the game loaded in.
The camera slowly zoomed in, locking onto a desolate graveyard.
From one of the coffins came a rattling sound.
A hand reached out from inside, and the Deprived named "123" they had created slowly climbed out.
At the same time, the game UI appeared.
In the middle of the screen, the name of the area popped up—Cemetery of Ash.
Zack looked at the UI layout.
In the bottom left were a small broken wooden shield, a wooden club, and something called an Estus Flask—probably part of the inventory.
The top left had the status bars. As a gamer, Zack could guess easily: red for health, blue for mana, green for stamina.
Most ARPGs and action games had layouts like this—nothing surprising.
It's basically common knowledge among players.
No developer would be so bored as to swap the colors of health and mana just to be different.
In third-person view, Zack slowly moved the mouse, looking at the surroundings.
A bleak, ruined graveyard with white ash-like mist in the air.
Thick clouds completely blocked the sun, and the dim, gray light felt heavy and oppressive.
"Quit admiring the scenery and figure out the controls. That red thing on the ground should be one of those messages Lucas mentioned at the showcase. I'm still waiting for you to die so it's my turn," Hannah urged.
"Tch, you underestimate me. For all you know, you'll be sitting there all day." Zack refused to admit defeat, but still walked over to the message and interacted with it.
(End of The Chapter)
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