[You Died]
That same familiar death screen, with those two big words.
And at the same time, Hannah's happy voice came from the side.
"That's it?"
Seeing that Gundyr's HP had only dropped by about one-third, Hannah couldn't help but laugh.
In front of the computer, Zack's face was blank.
He had realized that reality was very different from his imagination.
In his head, dodging attacks with rolls and countering with perfect parries should have been smooth, just like the gameplay demo from the online showcase.
But when it came to actually playing, it wasn't much different from when he used the useless guy before.
Facing the massive Gundyr, an inexplicable pressure came over him as soon as the fight began.
Even though he told himself to fight while retreating and keep an eye on his stamina bar…
When the battle actually started, he completely panicked.
Facing Gundyr's raised-arm attack, the only thing he did was mash the roll button like crazy.
The worst part was, sometimes he rolled too early—wasting stamina and still not dodging the hit.
As for parrying, the cost was two swigs from his Estus Flask… and he still failed.
He turned to look at Hannah, who was grinning. Zack silently stood up from his chair, smiling too.
"Your turn!"
Hannah's smile froze instantly.
One life each, the two of them took turns challenging Gundyr.
In between, Hannah boldly suggested an idea.
Since close combat against Gundyr felt way too oppressive, why not try long-range?
So a class called Sorcerer entered their sights.
They made the character and checked the skills: one Soul Arrow, one Great Soul Arrow.
Just from the names, they sounded powerful.
And the damage really was high—each hit took a decent chunk out of Gundyr's HP.
But… the accuracy aside (at least there was a lock-on button), the casting speed was ridiculously slow!
And while Gundyr looked huge and his swings seemed a bit sluggish, once you put some distance between you, his gap-closing ability was insane.
A massive leaping smash, a quick dash-and-sweep—these moves taught the casting Sorcerer exactly what it means to be rushed down by a warrior.
That's when Hannah realized why, even though the Sorcerer is a magic class, they still start with a short sword and a metal round shield.
There was also a Pyromancer class. Throwing fireballs looked stylish, but the same problem remained—casting was slow.
And they were just as fragile. More than once, Gundyr sent her flying to the grave mid-fireball with a single leaping smash.
Hannah and Zack tried every class one by one and found that the Knight was still the most practical.
At least it had more room for mistakes, and its attack power wasn't bad either.
As for starting gifts, the ones they found most useful so far were the ring that boosts max HP, the Goddess's Blessing that fully restores health, and the Black Firebombs.
The rest might be useful later, but for now, they did nothing to help defeat Iudex Gundyr.
After more than ten combined deaths, they also came to understand one of Dark Souls' golden rules:
Don't get greedy!
One of the most important things in the game is the stamina bar.
No stamina basically means you're a sitting duck.
In the game, almost every action costs stamina—normal attacks, parries, running, rolling, blocking.
If you drain it completely, it refills even slower than usual.
So when attacking, you have to keep the right rhythm.
If you get greedy and empty your stamina bar, when the boss counterattacks, you'll have no choice but to take the hit.
When it came to burial items, they both agreed on one thing: pick the Black Firebomb.
It was hard to hit Iudex Gundyr with it, but once it hit, it dealt 120 damage in one go.
You started with five Black Firebombs. If all of them landed and you added a slash or two, you could take away half of Gundyr's HP right away.
After being taught a hard lesson by Gundyr many times, Hannah and Zack finally felt like they had found the right way to beat him.
Fight while backing away, make full use of items, and keep the stamina bar in check.
When facing attacks that were hard to dodge with rolls, just block them with a greatshield.
This time, they managed to cut Gundyr's HP in half while only using up one Black Firebomb.
Zack still had three Estus left.
"Victory's right in front of us! Come on! Play it safe!" Hannah, watching from the side, couldn't help getting a little excited.
"I know!" Zack replied, eyes locked on Gundyr's moves on the screen.
But the next second, Gundyr suddenly crouched down and stopped moving. Zack stared in shock.
A huge mass of black, unknown matter suddenly burst out of Gundyr's body.
The black stuff twisted and flowed like tar, weaving together into vine-like shapes.
The vines spread and tangled across Gundyr's back, finally turning into a horned, clawed monster that looked part dragon, part snake.
Its scarlet eyes locked straight onto the player character. The transformed Gundyr was even taller than before.
Second phase!
Why does the very first boss have a second phase?!
Before Zack could react, the beast swung a claw, cutting away one-third of his HP.
Before he could back off and heal, it charged at him, wiping out the rest of his health. The second-phase Gundyr not only had new moves but was way more aggressive.
"Damn you, Lucas… is this even meant for players?!"
"No wonder in the online demo they only showed half the fight — this starting area boss has a second phase!"
Zack's voice came out of the room, filled with despair. In short, his guard was broken.
The truth was, Iudex Gundyr ranked near the bottom of Dark Souls bosses.
In terms of difficulty, he wasn't even on the list. Some tough normal enemies were stronger.
His attacks were very clear and easy to read, and he didn't have any tricky patterns.
That made his moves easy to dodge and easy to parry, which is why he was called "Parry Teacher Gundyr."
But for players completely new to Souls games, this guy was definitely unforgettable.
Because damn it, he was just too hard!
You came in fired up, ready to help with the grand mission of linking the fire, and ended up getting schooled by the old gatekeeper Gundyr for half the night. Who could take that?
The only comfort for players was that in online mode, whenever you went to fight the Crystal Lizard or Gundyr, you could see bloodstains on the ground showing that countless others had died just like you.
(End of The Chapter)
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