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

"To be honest, Chapter 1 is like a tutorial, with few traps and low difficulty. It's designed to familiarize first-time players with the controls, but it might be a bit boring for experienced players."

The content creator that Lin Miao referenced commented on his and Lillie's ongoing playthrough of the first chapter of Dark Souls: "New players find it friendly, but veterans find it boring."

Because the difficulty level is not high, it only requires repeating basic combat operations, and there are no skills or complicated mechanics.

While that's true, it doesn't apply to Lin Miao.

"We must be in top condition for the boss battle. Today we need to at least advance to the boss battle inside the castle."

After confirming with screenshot software that Lillie was in good condition, Lin Miao decided that today's goal was to clear the path to the BOSS battle.

Of course, those irrational monsters wouldn't let him have his way.

After operating one of the three city gate opening devices, which resembled giant levers with unknown principles, the two passed through the underground passage to the northern part of the town.

The two men brandished their weapons and slashed at the wandering ghost soldiers who were making strange noises.

Lillie is very good at fighting, but now even Lin Miao is gradually getting used to controlling the game character to deal with these monsters that move randomly and without any pattern.

"After the battle, we still need to go to the tallest house to loot the elemental bottles."

The next step was planned in advance before the battle ended. According to the guide, this was the most efficient route to collect items and advance quickly.

"Um?"

But Lin Miao suddenly stopped, because Lillie, whom he thought would follow, was standing still, looking in a certain direction.

I've always skipped all of Lin Miao's side quests. They don't give any useful equipment anyway; it's purely for story-driven players.

The person who wrote the guide also skipped this part. Lin Miao learned from the system prompt that the side quest that could be accepted here was called [Nameless Ghost].

Lin Miao slowly walked to Lillie's side, turned her gaze to the direction Lillie was looking, and saw a blurry ghost.

Since it was a game world, Lin Miao didn't care, but Lillie seemed to care a lot. She was staring at the ghost that seemed to have had its soul taken away and was in the form of a boy.

"Let's go."

Lin Miao made the gesture that Lillie usually uses to indicate "keep going," but as she reluctantly turned around, she kept looking back as if she was concerned.

Should I answer it?

Lin Miao did a quick check and found that the task wasn't too difficult. The ghost boy simply wanted to collect his mother's remains.

In the end, Lin Miao decided to give it a try. The game activated through the system was definitely different from the games she knew, and there might be some changes.

"—!"

As soon as Lin Miao approached, the ghost turned around and began to move in a certain direction.

This is guiding the players. The original plot should be that the boy's mother was crushed to death by the debris of a collapsing building while holding the boy, and there were ghouls lingering nearby.

A short while later, Lin Miao arrived at a place with a collapsed house, and in front of the house, a ghoul was growling and pacing, trying to devour the corpse.

The ghoul bared its teeth as soon as it saw Lin Miao. Lillie, who knew the situation, seemed very angry. She bit her lip, picked up her sword, and charged at the ghoul first.

Before Lin Miao could even make a move, she had already inflicted a sword wound on the ghoul and suppressed it.

Thanks to this, Lin Miao, who was quietly watching the battle, was stared at by the ghost boy, and her body, which was holding the mouse and keyboard, trembled involuntarily.

Lin Miao shrugged with an emoji, indicating "What do you want?" The boy simply turned his head slowly.

Ahead, Lillie dodged the ghoul's claws and slashed diagonally across its face.

She was panting heavily as she watched the ghoul, who had died instantly, collapse to the ground. But contrary to Lin Miao's expectations, the mission was not over.

Elite Monster - Abyss Skeleton

Beneath the ever-present, gloomy clouds, an aura darker than the clouds themselves was gathering. The figure appearing below was a skull draped in a black robe.

This is an elite monster that should only be encountered deep within the castle.

The ghost boy was not asking to save his mother's body, but rather to take back his and his mother's souls from it.

"How did the plot connect like that?"

Lin Miao, on the other side of the screen, stared blankly and muttered to herself.

According to the setting, the boss of the first chapter is a necromancer who manipulates souls. He attacks this territory to harvest souls and uses his subordinates to absorb the souls of the victims, turning them into deformed monsters and his own power.

In the game, this is just background story that hasn't been implemented and only exists in the text. But right now, this story is becoming a reality here.

"—!"

As the Abyss Skeleton reached out to extract the souls of the ghost boy and his mother, Lillie, who witnessed this, cried out incoherently to Lin Miao.

Even though words cannot convey the full meaning, the will to fight immediately still penetrates clearly.

◆◆◆

"They're the enemy!"

Moreover, it is a powerful being that none of the enemies encountered so far can compare to.

The moment Lillie saw that elite monster, she felt her instincts and senses surge wildly. This was the warrior's instinct that only awakens in life-or-death situations.

Didn't we experience something similar this morning? Although it couldn't compare to the malfunctioning creatures that the villagers had eliminated together, the Abyss Skeleton that appeared before her now was a formidable opponent in Lillie's eyes.

"We must fight!"

Even so, she still shouted out her battle declaration with an anxious expression.

Because the skeleton in the black robe was reaching out and sucking the souls of the helpless mother and child into its sleeve.

She couldn't stand idly by. They were complete strangers, living in different worlds and of different races, but witnessing the scene of a mother and child who had died tragically, their souls being defiled, deeply affected her.

At that moment, images of her mother and brothers, who had to leave before she could give them a proper burial, flashed through Lillie's mind.

【Chance……】

But just then, in the tense silence, a chilling voice rang out.

It's not a shout produced through the vocal cords, but a kind of telepathy projected directly into the brain.

Her eyes widened, and she began to tremble involuntarily.

[I'm giving you a chance. Nameless knights, leave now and we won't pursue you.]

The Abyss Skeleton emitted a sound that could freeze souls, its eyes flashing with a scarlet light.

When Lillie heard the voice, she was terrified to find herself frozen in place.

No matter how hard I gritted my teeth and strained, my completely frozen body wouldn't budge.

Although her frantically beating heart was trying to channel magic throughout her body, the magic refused to flow, freezing like her body.

"W-Why?! Get moving!"

Lillie was gripped by unprecedented panic. It was hard for her to believe that a battle-hardened warrior could be so terrified that she couldn't even move her body.

Actually, this is the effect of the passive skill "Fear Infusion" of the elite monster Abyss Skeleton, but this still immature female warrior has only fought against grassland monsters or hostile tribes so far.

After being transported to the game world, although I encountered various monsters and even alien beings like the Corruptor, this was the first time I had been so overwhelmed by such power that I was unable to resist.

[You're ignoring warnings, aren't you?]

Although the Abyss Skeleton was expressionless, it seemed to Lillie as if it were mocking her. She tried to squeeze out a reply, but her teeth chattered loudly.

The Abyss Skeleton raised the giant scythe it had summoned with one hand and slashed at her. Completely stunned by the chilling aura, she couldn't even raise her sword to block.

"Ding!"

However, the Abyss Skeleton's scythe did not ultimately fall on Lillie. Someone broke through the surrounding aura of fear and charged straight at the Abyss Skeleton, swinging their sword in a slash.

Lillie stared blankly at the figure and muttered to herself, "It's Lin Miao's usual forward roll followed by a jump, and a powerful slash in mid-air."

Faced with the terrifying skeleton's attack, Lin Miao's actions were without the slightest hesitation, as if declaring that fear could not stop her at all.

While the fear injection may slightly slow down the movements, that's about it.

[How dare a mere human knight defy fear! How is that possible!]

The Abyss Skeleton, struck by Lin Miao's skill, let out a piercing scream like fingernails scraping iron, and staggered backward with its wounds.

But Lin Miao did not stop attacking. Mistaking the Abyss Skeleton's stiffness for being wounded and not fear, Lin Miao continued to swing his sword as if he did not know what death was.

If this were a real battle, it would be impossible to defeat the Abyss Skeleton with the current strength.

Even so, Lin Miao continued her relentless attacks in an effort to inflict as much damage as possible.

[presumptuous!]

The roaring abyss skeleton swung its giant scythe, and although Lin Miao raised his sword to block, he was still knocked into the air before crashing heavily to the ground.

Lin Miao hurriedly took out a healing potion, but the Abyss Skeleton, which had broken free of its movement mode, launched a continuous attack even faster than she could drink the potion.

[Come, mortal, witness your death!]

As the Abyss Skeleton swung its scythe to strike, it let out a sneer at the gap in its mask.

As an elite monster, it was unaware that this statement was indeed true for Lin Miao, who was bound by numerical values ​​such as skills, level, and equipment.

But this statement only applies to Lin Miao.

Distracted, the Abyss Skeleton was a fraction of a second too late to realize that someone was shattering the ground and charging toward it.

"Die, you evil spirit!"

Lillie bit her gums until they bled, then leaped several meters into the air, slashing her glowing blade at the monster that turned its head in panic.

The so-called precise HP value doesn't exist, and the heart-shaped health bar and program-calculated damage formulas are utter nonsense. If you can't block, you'll get injured; if you're hit in a vital spot, you'll die instantly.

"No……"

The abyss skull, which was about to say something, was struck by a sword and exploded.

The elite monsters, the Abyss Skeletons, who should have been active within the castle, were instead suppressed in the village by these guys who hadn't even gathered enough basic equipment.

"Ugh... Are you alright?"

Lillie, who had fallen to the ground, twisted her leg and limped along, ignoring the pain as she hurriedly ran towards Lin Miao.

Lin Miao had already stood up and was looking at her, appearing completely unharmed.

"what……"

She blankly accepted the bottle of elements handed to her, then understood and unscrewed the cap to drink it.

This incomprehensible potion could heal injuries and restore strength. An irresistible warmth spread through her body; she closed her eyes, savoring the warmth, and then a smile bloomed on her face.

After being hit by an enemy's skill, she was able to move again due to her terrifying and ugly state, all thanks to the fighting spirit shown by Lin Miao in silence.

Lin Miao was merely manipulating her character to rush over to save her, but for Lillie, this was more effective than any medicine.

Where are we going?

At this moment, Lin Miao walked past Lillie towards a certain place, and the girl who was following his gaze suddenly widened her eyes.

The boy who summoned them here and the female spirit who appeared to be their mother were watching them.

"...May you rest in peace."

The two bowed to them as if in gratitude, then vanished completely in a burst of bright light. Lillie watched this scene, a faint smile on her face, and murmured softly.

In the end, it was nothing more than killing one enemy and saving two souls, but for Lillie at this moment, the fact that she, who had been struggling on the edge of her limits, had finally accomplished something with her own hands was enough.

"Um?"

However, the matter did not end there. Lillie, who was basking in her sense of accomplishment, suddenly noticed that Lin Miao was repeatedly squatting and standing up in front of her at an astonishing speed, and she rushed over.

This super-fast squat is so fast that even doing it for just one second will cause your thigh muscles to explode. Based on my experience so far, this move is usually used to get attention or to express approval.

"What...what is this?"

Lillie was surprised to find, in the direction he pointed, two orbs of light were floating where the two souls had disappeared.

A vow as firm as gold and stone

Lillie's current knowledge is insufficient to know the name of this item that shouldn't exist, and she can only wait for Lin Miao's reaction.