Strategy game? Then I'll have to control you properly.

"It's a monster!"

The two walked together along the ancient forest path, but before they had gone far, the deathly silence was suddenly broken.

The humus on the ground churned and rose up wildly, and several [Wandering Soldiers] burst from the earth—the most basic and weakest low-level monsters in Dark Souls.

Wielding their rusty, broken weapons, they roared and pounced on the two like madmen.

Simultaneously with Lillie's instantaneous tense body and sword-wielding stance, Lin Miao, holding the mouse and keyboard in front of the screen, also instantly entered a state of high concentration.

He knew all too well that, unlike Minecraft, where resurrection is possible indefinitely and death penalties are minimal, Dark Souls never showed the slightest leniency towards death.

Moreover, the one entering the game now is a living, breathing Lillie, not a string of data that can be reset.

"Speaking of which, is fighting monsters here actually useful?"

Lin Miao's fingers never stopped, controlling the red-cloaked knight to parry the wandering soul's slashes, but the doubts in her heart lingered.

Even though the art style of Minecraft is completely out of place with reality, the goal is very clear: mine resources, build shelters, strengthen the tribe, and every step brings tangible rewards.

But the core gameplay of Dark Souls is about strengthening characters and defeating bosses, and he really couldn't figure out what tangible benefits this game could bring to real-world villages.

While in the previous game, the items dropped by defeating bosses could awaken villagers and enhance their traits, this game, which cost more than twice the achievement points to unlock, shouldn't only offer this much.

Moreover, at the moment, the only two people qualified to enter this game are Lillie and Attila, who just awakened the [Mage] trait yesterday.

"Let's take it one step at a time. First, let's move the plot forward; we'll eventually find a way."

Lin Miao gathered her thoughts, maneuvered her character to the side to avoid the wandering spirit's thrust, and pointed with the tip of her sword at the two monsters flanking from the left.

Lillie reacted quickly and immediately understood his intention. She spun around and slashed horizontally to block the enemy. The two of them cooperated perfectly from the left and right, saving a lot of effort.

As a hardcore action game known for its high difficulty, the door-opening kill in the tutorial has always been a standard feature.

"Is everything alright?!"

Even though the ghost soldiers in the tutorial were the lowest-level monsters in the game, Lin Miao didn't dare to let her guard down at all.

The combat systems of the two games are worlds apart. In Minecraft, melee combat only requires punching and slashing with a sword, but in Dark Souls, stamina, blocking, parrying, and resilience—every detail can determine life or death.

To his surprise, Lillie seemed to be a natural fit for this combat logic.

Even when facing these hideous, realistically terrifying monsters, her face only turned slightly pale, and the movement of her longsword did not falter in the slightest. Every slash and block was precise and ruthless, completely unlike her first encounter with this combat system.

After all, back in Minecraft, those simple monsters made of blocks would mutate into lifelike and terrifying aliens when they came into contact with real villagers. She had already developed an instinct to face monsters directly through countless life-and-death battles.

Unlike Lin Miao, who relies on keyboard and mouse controls and is always subject to delays, in the blink of an eye, the two wandering soul soldiers who pounced on her were cut down by her fluid sword skills and turned into scattered black mist.

Just then, a soft white halo suddenly emanated from Lillie, enveloping her entirely, and the warm light dispelled the chill of the forest.

"No way? It's upgraded already?"

Lin Miao had just finished off the two enemies on her side and saw the "Gained Soul Points x42" notification pop up on the screen, and instantly realized what was happening.

The enemies in the tutorial levels are not very strong. Even in Dark Souls, which is known for its hardcore gameplay, the beginner stages are not too difficult for players.

Defeating enemies to gain Soul Points, accumulating experience to level up, unlocking attributes, and changing jobs to learn skills are the core progression paths in this game.

Previously in Minecraft, Lillie would gain new insights into power every time she slew a monster.

Lin Miao immediately turned to look at the girl on the screen. She saw that the girl was staring wide-eyed, hurriedly looking down to check her body. Then she suddenly raised her head, her eyes shining like starlight, and looked straight at the red-cloaked knight controlled by Lin Miao.

Perhaps because she was a tribal warrior, she usually had a cold and composed demeanor, but her expressions in private were surprisingly vivid and lively.

Even though they couldn't understand each other's languages, Lin Miao instantly understood the joy and surprise in her eyes.

"Can I really just copy the online guides?"

Taking advantage of the fact that no enemies were respawning, Lin Miao switched out of the game and opened Bilibili to search for beginner guides for "Dark Souls". As a classic game that has been popular for over a decade, there are countless guides online, covering everything from skill point allocation for beginners to item collection, from boss strategies to story analysis, in great detail.

But his doubts grew deeper and deeper.

The original game was meant to be played solo, but now he's playing with a living, breathing, and autonomous special character, as the system has completely distorted the game.

Since the underlying logic has changed, blindly trusting the original guide is tantamount to courting disaster.

"We can only use this as a reference and figure it out slowly."

Lin Miao finally made up her mind. Her primary goal right now was to complete the tutorial and break through this forest.

According to his memory and the walkthrough, after completing the tutorial level, players will obtain their first basic combat skill, and after conquering the first scene of the high wall, they will be able to unlock job advancement.

While combat skills are important, what Lin Miao is most curious about is the game's job change system—in what form will it affect Lillie?

"How come there are still so many?"

As Lin Miao pondered this, she controlled her character to lead the way. After only a few steps, the ground beneath her feet began to undulate again, and more wandering soul soldiers burst forth from the earth, their rusty weapons all aimed at the two of them.

The battle resumed instantly. Lin Miao and Lillie, as always, worked together to take down half of the enemies. Amidst the flashing blades, the approaching wandering spirits vanished into black mist one after another.

But Lin Miao's brows furrowed even more. He suddenly realized a crucial problem: when he sat in front of the screen, playing games with a keyboard and mouse, even if he lost all day, he would at most feel sore hands and mentally exhausted, but Lillie was different.

She was truly risking her life in a high-intensity life-or-death struggle, using her own flesh and blood.

Even in a battle against minor enemies, the physical and mental strain would make it impossible for her to fight all day without sleep, like a game character.

How should I tell her?

Lin Miao stared at Lillie on the screen, who had just finished killing the last wandering spirit and was panting heavily while leaning on her sword, and was at a loss.

He wanted to tell her that they should finish the tutorial level today, that there was only one more step left, and to hang in there a little longer.

Just like in the beginning of "Minecraft", there was an insurmountable language barrier between the two. Lin Miao couldn't understand her words, and Lillie couldn't understand Lin Miao's meaning either, which made them anxious and frustrated.

"Does this also require other procedures...? Ah!"

Just as Lin Miao was staring at Lillie on the screen, who was looking at him with a puzzled expression, a sudden inspiration struck him.

Dark Souls has a complete animation and facial expression system!

Players can control their characters to perform specific actions to convey emotions and intentions.

This feature was originally mostly used by players to tease NPCs or create mischief during online play, but now, it might be able to help them achieve the most basic communication with Lillie.

Lin Miao immediately adjusted the character's angle and used one of the currently unlocked emotes on Lillie.

"?"

Lillie was startled by his sudden stop and instinctively gripped the hilt of her sword.

The next moment, the red-cloaked knight stepped forward, his right hand, clad in an iron glove, gently resting on her shoulder, while his left hand gave a thumbs-up—a positive gesture in the game to express approval and encouragement.

"Now you understand, right?"

Lin Miao watched as the girl on the screen froze instantly, frantically trying to twist her shoulders but not daring to make any big movements. She couldn't help but smile.

Although unsure if she had fully understood, Lin Miao still stopped making any facial expressions or gestures, then pointed the tip of her sword at the end of the ancient road ahead, and repeatedly squatted down twice to indicate that the road ahead was not far.

Watching Lillie go from being completely at a loss to gradually understanding, and finally unable to suppress a slight smile, Lin Miao knew that she understood at least seven or eight parts of it.

"Once you get past this section, you'll reach the campfire save point halfway through the tutorial."

Lin Miao watched the strategy video in the small window while controlling her character to move forward.

Crossing the clearing in the woods ahead, he would reach the first campfire save point that players, in his memory, encountered in the game.

Just then, the sound of a bowstring being taut rang out again from the forest, and several arrows pierced the air.

Lin Miao immediately controlled her character to raise the shield to block, but the wandering archers and sword-wielding soldiers once again flanked from both sides.

He and Lillie exchanged a glance, gritted their teeth, and swung their weapons to meet the oncoming monsters, cutting them down one by one.

"How do players perceive the NPCs they encounter for the first time in the game? Ultimately, after being personified by the system, do these NPCs truly still exist?"

Lin Miao shot the last wandering archer in the head with an arrow, his eyes fixed on the clearing in the woods that had finally been revealed at the far end of the screen, his fingers tightening slightly.

◆◆◆

"Thank you all for your hard work. The two new little ones who arrived today are adapting very well."

While Lin Miao and Lillie were fighting a bloody battle in Dark Souls, Attila and the villagers had been working and fighting in Minecraft for several hours and finally decided to end their mission for the day.

Two new villagers joined the portal team today, one of whom successfully awakened the [Porter] trait.

So far, out of the eight villagers participating in the game, six have successfully awakened their corresponding traits.

What pleased Attila even more was that, with more and more experienced predecessors, the newly joined villagers adapted faster and faster, no longer as helpless as they were at the beginning when faced with the blocky world.

"Miss Lillie...hasn't she returned yet?"

"Yes, Chieftain, the portal has remained silent."

Upon returning to the village, Attila had barely put down the ore in his hand when he heard from the villagers guarding the portal that Lillie had not yet returned, and his heart sank instantly.

Even though he remained calm and composed in front of the villagers, worrying about his daughter was a father's instinct.

"What kind of world is this that she has to venture out alone..." Attila couldn't help but turn her head and look at the empty black rift in the center of the village, her fingers unconsciously clenching into a fist.

Even though his daughter was the most outstanding warrior in the tribe, in his eyes, she was still that immature child who would secretly hide in the tent and cry.

"Chief! Look! What is Maureen holding in her hand?!"

Just then, a villager's shocked shout interrupted his thoughts.

Attila looked in the direction of the sound and saw Maureen, who was accompanying him today, carefully holding a piece of wood no bigger than a child's head, standing nervously in the middle of the crowd.

Feeling flustered by everyone's gaze, Maureen quickly put the wooden block on the ground.

The moment the wooden block touched the ground, it suddenly expanded wildly at a speed visible to the naked eye, and in the blink of an eye, it became a complete log, as thick as two people could hug, lying alone in the open space of the village.

This is precisely the ability of the [Transporter] characteristic – it can directly compress and manipulate blocks in the game, and even bring these blocks back to the real village intact.

This means that from now on, villagers will no longer have to leave half-mined ore and felled timber in the wild, and every bit of work will bring tangible rewards.

"Just how many incredible powers are still hidden in that world...?"

Attila stared at the log before him, his Adam's apple bobbing as he swallowed hard.

During this period, his understanding was being challenged almost every day. Just when he thought these characteristics were powerful enough to surpass his imagination, new abilities would always break through the boundaries of his understanding again.

"It's Lady Lillie! Lady Lillie is back!"

At that very moment, a joyful shout broke the hustle and bustle of the village.

Attila whirled around and saw a brand new black rift rippling like water next to the village portal, frantically eroding the surrounding space.

Immediately afterwards, Lillie's figure staggered out of the crack.

She had no obvious wounds, but her face was pale and her steps were unsteady. Anyone could tell at a glance that she was extremely exhausted.

"Lillie!"

Attila rushed over almost instantly and reached out to firmly support his daughter's shoulder.

Still somewhat dazed, Lillie relaxed instantly upon recognizing the person before her, managing a weak smile: "Father..."

"Lillie, where did you go? What happened?" Attila half-supported, half-carried her, walking quickly towards home, his voice filled with barely suppressed worry.

"Father, it was that person who took me to a new world," Lillie said softly, leaning against him for a while before finally speaking.

He told his father about his day's experiences in detail, "That world is much more dangerous than the block world, but it's essentially the same—you can gain power by killing enemies."

"As I slay monsters there, my magic power is increasing, but that's not all. Father, look at this."

Upon entering the courtyard, Lillie stopped and grasped the hilt of the sword at her waist. Attila then noticed that his daughter was wearing two swords side by side on her belt.

One was a wrought iron longsword she had used for many years, while the other, with a narrower blade and a sharper edge, was a brand new straight sword that he had never seen before.

Lillie drew the new sword, and the next moment, dazzling golden energy suddenly ignited on the blade, the intense light dispelling the evening chill.

"Lillie, when did you learn this power? Could it be..." Attila's pupils shrank, and he took a half step back in shock.

"I learned it in that world just now."

Lillie nodded to Attila, then turned and swung her sword at the millstone-sized, hard rock in the courtyard, unleashing the first basic combat skill she unlocked after completing the tutorial—[Heavy Strike].

After a deafening roar, the hard rock shattered, leaving a clean, smooth fracture, with rubble flying everywhere.

This is something she could never have done, even if she tried her best.