Why the bug I wrote became a core gameplay mechanic?!
Chapter 457 - 440: Newbie Boss, But Not Discouraging

Chapter 457: Chapter 440: Newbie Boss, But Not Discouraging

The good news is that this defensive action seems to be an independent move, meaning that even if the character is in the middle of an attacking action, the defense can still be effective.

But the bad news is also this!

Zhuge Jun had initially thought the defense, like in other games, would involve using a weapon or an off-hand shield.

So according to the common game settings, defensive actions and attacking actions could not be performed at the same time; one couldn’t defend while attacking, or attack while defending. Of course, exceptions aside, such as special routines like shield pokes.

In some games where shields do not exist, players can use the weapons in their hands to perform defensive actions.

However, "Blood of Lies" is slightly odd in that its defensive action is merely placing the puppet prosthesis of the left hand in front of oneself, nothing more!

This means the defense action, LB, does not conflict with the attack actions X or RB, but rather with the actions of the puppet prosthesis, LT.

Players could completely defend themselves with the puppet prosthesis in front while simultaneously wielding a weapon in the right hand to attack.

Of course, the character’s attack module would change during this; one could not perform two-handed weapon attack modules but only single-handed right arm attacks, and the attack speed would be slightly affected since the actions were transformed.

The problem, however, is that this defense is not very useful, as its specificity is somewhat mysterious; some enemy attacks can’t be blocked, and each hit received also causes the puppet prosthesis to lose a significant amount of durability, which not only affects the subsequent damage reduction rate but also the original function of the prosthesis.

Once the prosthesis is damaged, it cannot be used again; it needs to be repaired with a specific tool by a gas lamp just like before, consuming a crystal in the process.

According to the initial demonstration, the crystals can also be considered as blood medicine to heal the player, so it doesn’t seem cost-effective in any way you look at it.

Therefore, Zhuge Jun didn’t really want to use this defense function; he felt that dodging or using Transformation Slash GP was much more reliable.

Aside from that, LB has another use: to unleash martial techniques.

When players hold LB to make the defensive action, they can also press a combination of buttons to release martial techniques.

Like the purpose of LT with the prosthesis, the LB button can combine with the light attack, heavy attack, and Transform Slash buttons to execute three different martial techniques.

Depending on the type of weapon, the effects of the martial techniques also vary.

At this time, the weapon Zhuge Jun held was the game’s default weapon called "Hunter Sword Spear."

As the name implies, it was both a sword and a spear.

Zhuge Jun was quite satisfied with this weapon, as both its forms had very comfortable attack modules.

In the sword form, the weapon’s module was similar to the common longsword module, mainly consisting of slashes with short recovery time fore and aft, and apart from slightly short reach and slightly lowered damage, there was nothing wrong with it; whereas in the spear form, the module mainly consisted of thrusting, with long attack range and not slow attack speed, though the damage was still slightly low, but it was sufficiently user-friendly for newcomers.

Beyond that, its transformation slash module was also quite outstanding.

It’s worth mentioning that "Blood of Lies" internal trial demos also featured a similar weapon, but in fact, it was not the same one. Although both were a combination of sword and spear, the demo version’s weapon was a greatsword, officially named in the final version as "Holy Sword," while the size of this one was a one-handed sword, the official name being "Sword Spear."

In comparison, this Sword Spear was more newcomer-friendly.

Because the Holy Sword’s handle was foldable, transforming with extension and retraction, while the Sword Spear’s handle was typically mounted on the left-hand puppet prosthesis, transforming through a combination.

The sword-to-spear transformation slash had the character slashing down with the right hand holding the handle, and as the slashing action ended, the handle was combined with the spear handle on the left arm, punctuated by a thrusting action once the combination was complete.

Conversely, the spear-to-sword transformation slash had the character rotate the long spear around their back for a full circle, and during the rotation, separate it, with the spear handle snapping onto the prosthesis, and the right hand grasping the sword handle, returning to the conventional ready stance.

The former is a smooth combo against a single target, and the latter even comes with a decent AOE effect.

In the process of using it, Zhuge Jun also discovered why flicking the trigger paddle down, and flicking it up would result in completely different key travel distances?

Because they correspond to different transformation slashes, and the speed of these slashes, one fast and one slow, was also reflected in the paddle’s key travel.

The left-side paddle did not have this setup; flick it down, and it would automatically spring back, functioning just like the left trigger.

But so what?

Zhuge Jun was still puzzled because, looking at the few minor monsters, there was absolutely no difference between using the trigger for a transformation slash or the paddle; either way, the minor monsters were being strung up and hit, pretty much all triggering the GP effect anyway.

Speaking of which, Zhuge Jun was puzzled again: Was GP really that effective?

Feeling that something was off but not dwelling on the issue, he continued forward, pushing open the large doors ahead, facing the game’s first boss.

...

"You’ve beaten your last time by three minutes and seventeen seconds.

"Do you even remember how many times you’ve been here?

"Well, that doesn’t matter.

"Because this is the last time."

As Zhuge Jun expected, the cutscene CG started right after he pushed the door open. At this time, the character he controlled had entered the inside of a church, and in the spacious hall ahead, at the far end were a deity statue, candelabras, and various appropriate arrangements, all looking solemn and sacred.

A figure was kneeling in front of the statue, seemingly in prayer, and those previous lines had indeed been spoken by this person.

But unlike those desperate supplicants, his silhouette appeared cold and merciless, even vaguely exuding a sense of steadfastness.

As the character moved forward, the viewpoint gradually zoomed in, allowing Zhuge Jun to start making out the full appearance of this individual.

It was clear that he was tall, possibly close to two meters, but his slender and lean build, coupled with the tight-fitting hunter’s garb, did not give off the impression of a heavy-set strongman. Instead, there was a unique sense of oppression.

What surprised Zhuge Jun even more was that this person had all sorts of weapons stuck all over his body.

There were huge scythe blades, longswords, spears, and also axes, sawtooth knives...

These jumbled weapons were all over his body, some piercing from the front and some from the back. If there had been a few more, his silhouette would have been akin to a hedgehog.

However, it was very clear that the amount of these weapons was kept at just the right level, giving off a sense of horror rather than being comical.

Then, the man gradually stood up and turned around, facing the approaching hunter.

Zhuge Jun noticed that many of the weapons had actually pierced through his vital areas, such as the heart and abdomen, and even daggers were thrust through his thighs. If it were a normal person, they would have been long dead, but he moved without any hindrance, and the weapons would clang against each other with faint noises as he moved.

"Come, let me see what lies you’ve told this time, what you’ve lost again," said the mysterious man while he casually gripped the handle of a scythe stuck in his right ribs, pulling it out slowly in an eerie manner.

The scythe had entered from his right rib area and exited through his left shoulder, with its long handle extending diagonally upwards, looking quite terrifying.

As the mysterious man held the blood-stained scythe in his hands expressionlessly, the battle officially began.

Seeing the boss’s long blood bar appear on the screen, Zhuge Jun felt a bit of panic.

He noticed that this boss was named "Lie Hunter - Daniel."

Obviously, this creature was going to be a formidable boss in the game. Zhuge Jun also had the suspicion that the whole boss fight might be a scripted loss, but the tense atmosphere and the grand BGM still made him subconsciously anxious.

As the large scythe swung towards him, Zhuge Jun didn’t think much and instinctively squeezed the controller’s trigger.

GP!

After all, no matter what the monster, it was better to GP first; winning is temporary, but being cool is forever.

Zhuge Jun hadn’t anticipated much from his Transformation Slash GP, but to his astonishment, right when his longsword transformed into a spear, it clashed with the large scythe!

The next second, not only was Daniel’s scythe deflected, but the blood holes in his right ribs and left shoulder from where he had initially drawn the scythe spurted out a large amount of blood!

Zhuge Jun’s GP motion continued, and the spear’s upward thrust hit Daniel’s chest, visibly chipping off a chunk from the boss’s blood bar.

Daniel charged again, and this time Zhuge Jun chose to dodge. Unfortunately, this attack seemed to be a slow swing, and his sidestep was slightly early. He was hit by the boss.

But the health loss was not significant and was within an acceptable range.

Zhuge Jun immediately retaliated with thrusts from the spear, causing a cloud of blood to envelop Daniel’s figure, and his health bar was restored by a noticeable amount.

"Seems it’s not a scripted loss; can I win?"

Zhuge Jun couldn’t help feeling a bit of joy, as according to general game design, early bosses are there to help players familiarize themselves with the controls and are often set with high stats, with the plot moving forward after a scripted loss.

The protagonist would face the boss again after some trials.

But "Blood of Lies" did not set this gatekeeper boss’s stats too high; it was entirely a normal difficulty.

If it were a beginner, they might still lose, but it should be winnable for anyone skilled in action games.

Zhuge Jun couldn’t help but steel himself and continued the fierce battle.

Soon, the first challenge ended in failure.

It was clear that this boss would not only use a scythe as a weapon. As the fight progressed, his scythe would break, and then he would pull another new weapon from his body, changing all his attack patterns.

This made Zhuge Jun quite uncomfortable, and he was ultimately defeated when the boss’s health was still at one third.

However, the game did not transition to a cutscene, and Zhuge Jun was reborn under the gas lamp.

It seems one must indeed defeat this boss to move on to the next stage.

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