The strange sound was nothing more than the wind passing through the broken windows of the church.

-It was just the wind…

-So… What are we expecting to find here?

-People. If we don't find any we will leave immediately, no need to risk looking for supplies, we can barely carry what we already have.

-Reggie is right. What we are doing is already too dangerous…

Kyu stopped talking because we saw something rather gory…

It was a man trapped inside a cocoon, his head still outside.

He was breathing.

-A hunter? Are you alright? Can you tell us what happened?

-Urg… B-B-b...e…

(E)

-We will take you out of here, hold on.

I don't like where this is going… Which creature leaves a cocoon in the middle of a church? Not like beasts can differentiate a church from anything else but…

-This is strange. Why is there a single cocoon in the middle of the church?

/Creeak/

-! x2

The moment I finished saying this, both Kyu and Reggie jumped back.

-Guards up everyone! Said Kyu

What was happening?

…

Seconds passed but nothing happened.

-What happened?

-...Shut up, kid. Just keep your eyes open.

He is serious, overly so...

I picked one of the pebbles from my inventory and threw it towards the back of the church.

/KNOCK!/

The rock crashed against something, creating a loud sound.

/Creaaak...CRACK!/

Something was making its way to us… It was heavy enough to break the wood on the ground just by walking.

From the darkness, a large spider-like creature appeared.

It had a grotesque face, but one could notice a Human face sticking out of its neck.

-Isn't that?! Master Hunter Silva?!

Reggie prepared himself for the brutal fight.

-... So it wasn't a monster that escaped… A Hunter became one…

/Clang!/

Kyu morphed his spear into a strange long fork.

/Glug glug glug/

The creature made gurgling sounds as it went towards the body on the ground.

It made sure everything was alright with the body before moving in our direction.

Now we could better see its body.

It looks like a large spider but is very "meaty". It doesn't have an exoskeleton. There are several long arms on its back that seem to be holding onto something.

-There is something on the ceiling! Look at its arms

I was quick to point this out in order to help the other two.

-Shit… We are in its environment! We need to retreat!

But it was too late.

/Plink!/

/Crong!/

The creature used its back arms to pull several blood-red silk lines and several big wooden doors fell. Blocking all exits.

-Tsk! We are trapped!

-I noticed that Reggie!

The creature is smart enough to arm a trap… We need light!

I picked a large oil urn and threw it at the creature.

/CRACK!/

Then the Molotov…

/Crack!/

/BOOM!/

The oil immediately ignited, lighting the room.

I could now see with detail the entirety of the room. Including the ceiling…

/KUHHHHHHH!/

The creature released a deep scream that shook even my bones.

After calming myself I looked around and noticed the ceiling.

-Oh God…

[Mind fort Lv 6 -> Lv7]

Body parts, guts, and all sorts of things were hanging from the ceiling.

-So this is what happened to everyone… They must have been taken by surprise.

While I thought about this, Reggie and Kyu jumped into the fight!

They each gulped down a Beast Blood Pellet and ignited a fire paper on their respective weapons.

Kyuu to the left and Reggie to the right. They aimed at the creature's legs first.

-HAA!

Reggie made a horizontal cut, completely severing one of the legs.

-Hup!

Kyu aimed at a joint, penetrating it with his fork. He twisted the spear causing a "Cracking" sound.

There were eight pairs of legs though… 1 down I guess.

/KUOHHHHH!/

The creature opened its mouth to scream once more.

/BANG!/

I took this opportunity to shoot right at its mouth, succeeding!

It was my first time shooting for real though… Beginner's luck?

/PLOFT!/

The creature got disoriented and fell to the ground.

Hum? How was that enough to bring it down?

The two didn't miss the chance.

They ran towards the creature's head and struck down!

/SPLURGE!/

/BOOM!/

Reggie and Kyu penetrated the head of the creature, disfiguring it. The creature flinched in pain and crashed against the church back wall.

It was a Riposte attack!

/Tremble!/

The impact was so strong that some of the things hanging on the ceiling broke from the web and fell.

Multiple bodies and things fell from the roof.

-Be careful with the ceiling!

Hearing my warning, both of them turned into mist and disappeared from my vision.

I was far away so the impact wasn't enough to make the bodies in my area fall.

/Crackle/

The fire on the beast's body started to spread to the rest of the church.

If we stay here any longer this place might collapse!

I picked another oil urn from my inventory.

But I was too far away to throw it.

-Huf huf…

I ran with all my might while avoiding the debris on the ground.

-Watch out!

I threw the urn at the monster.

/BOOM!/

/KUOHHHH!/

It screamed in pain.

The creature was being beaten down to a pulp!

-Good work kid!

Suddenly, I felt a feeling of dread coming from behind me.

Behind me!

Instinctively, I used Quickening and evaded to the side.

/Fwush/

I heard the sound of wind being cut.

A large blade cut the area where I used to be.

-What?...

All around us. Several of the limbs and bodies started to "awake".

-It is controlling the objects through its strings?

-Be careful everyone! Screamed Reggie

I guess this is phase two…

…

/Clang clong clink!/

-Fucking hell!

I used everything I had to evade and parry the multiple attacks made by the controlled weapons.

But I was still very clunky. It was my very first real fight! Of my whole life, even!

Don't get me wrong. I got into fights in my childhood, but this is a REAL fight!

One where your life is at stake!

I had to use Quickening every so often to evade it because I was still getting the hang of this.

If it wasn't for my trait. I would have probably already collapsed on the ground from fear.

Every time I evaded, I would cut down one of the strings.

[Hunter's combat sense Lv2 -> Lv3]

-Are you two alright?!

-Arg!... Worry about yourself kid! Screamed old Kyu

The number of strings was terrific.

/BANG!/

Kyu was hit by one of its arms and sent flying to the side

-KYU!

Reggie tried to save his companion but he was tied down by the many attacks of the beast.

I have to think of something, else we aren't getting out of here alive.

There must be something…

[... Pungent blood cocktail.]

That's it!

-Look out Reggie!

/Splash!/

The bottle containing the blood was thrown to the side of the beast.

Smelling the pungent blood, the creature stopped and turned its attention to the blood pool.

This gave Kyu and Reggies time to recompose and recover a little of their stamina.

Good.

The fight continued…

…

Reggie and Kyu cut yet another pair of legs.

Although both of them were doing well. I could see they were tired, very tired.

During the fight, I tried throwing more Oil Urns and Molotovs on it to prolong the fire. But I already ran out of items on my inventory.

I can use the backpack…

There are still several Urns and Molotovs inside. Together with everything else pretty much.

If I use the backpack, I would lose everything inside… Almost all of our supplies.

-Fuck it! I can deal with this later.

Art of Quickening!

Using everything I had. I ran across the church.

[Art of Quickening Lv3-> Lv4]

With difficulty, I picked the backpack… Was it always so heavy?

/Clang!/

I evaded a large ax while I ran towards the monster.

-GET DOWN NOW!

I threw the backpack to the monster, pulling my Blunderbuss in the process.

Time seemed to slow down.

The backpack in the sky and the Hunter pulling his pistol.

I pulled the trigger.

/BANG!/

/BOOOM!/

A massive explosion hit me and threw me flying to the front of the church.

(Front is close to the door, back is opposite direction)

I lost consciousness.

…

/Whispers Whispers.../

/GASP!/

I opened my eyes while gasping for air.

-Shh… It's okay kid, everything is fine now.

-I feel like crap.

-It's because you are… Your body was punctured in 6 different places and cut many more times… You weren't lucky with your fall, falling right on top of some broken glass... Thankfully it isn't anything permanent.

-That isn't fun Reggie...

-And the monster?

-Couldn't be more dead…

/Puff/

My head fell back towards the cloth on the ground.

-Take a rest now kid, you will need it.

-We will continue on our way in half an hour, luckily, the rain will stop until then.

Do I even have time to rest?

-Rain?

-It started raining soon after you lost consciousness, it extinguished most of the fire on the Church. But some parts are still burning.

-Where are we right now?

-On a small cottage right outside of the church.

-Understood... I will rest for now…

-Go on, we will take care of things on this side.

And I closed my eyes

But what greeted me wasn't darkness, it was a window instead.

Show me everything that happened after I was knocked out.

[Opening notifications]

{Prey slaughtered}

[You gained 20K Blood Echoes]

{+1 Insight}

{Key to the Church's basement}

[DING!]

[You have slain a powerful beast!]

[You have completed the Hidden quest, Death road!]

[You have gained the Ability, Riposte]

[All of your Class stats rise by 1!]

[All of your Hunter Skills have gained a Great amount of proficiency!]

[Hunter Ballistics Lv6 -> Lv7

Art of Quickening Lv3 -> Lv4

Old Hunter's combat techniques Lv5 -> Lv6

Hunter's combat sense Lv3 -> Lv5

Riposte Lv0 -> Lv3

]

(Some skills Level up harder because they are "better" or they just need more "xp")

[You have achieved the minimum requirements to complete your Subclass]

[Military veteran (Incomplete) has changed into Military veteran]

[Readjusting Status...]

[You may leave the Memory at any given moment. May you choose to stay, the Host will experience harder and harder challenges the longer he prolongs his stay.]

Harder challenges...

This isn't good… But I will remain as long as I can… I just want to rest a little, I am truly tired...

Show Status

[

Name: Philip Vinten

Class: Old Hunter

Subclass: Military veteran

Caryll Runes: None

Insight: 1

Blood echoes: 26920

Level 0

Vitality: 12

Endurance: 12

Strength: 16

Skill: 15

Bloodtinge: 9

Arcane: 8

Abilities:

Hunter Ballistics Lv7 (8) (Passive)

Art of Quickening Lv4 (5)(Active)

Old Hunter's combat techniques Lv6 (7)(Passive)

Hunter's combat sense Lv5 (6)(Passive)

Riposte Lv3 (4) (Active)

Skills:

Summon messenger Shop Lv0 (Active)

Traits:

Old blood infusion

Inventory(+)

]

(I removed the "passive" from his Trait, I decided that Traits will not be classified in that regard.)

(These are the stats of a Military Veteran, plus the 2 points he gained by doing some quests.)

I became strong so fast! That's what I like to see.

[ZZZzzz]

…

Time passed and half an hour later Kyu woke up Philip.

-It's time to go recruit.

-Just… Five more minutes…

Kyu picked a smelly sock and put it on my face.

/Sniff.../

/GASSP!/

-Cough cough!.. What the fuck is this shit?!

-Get up recruit, we are leaving.

-Feww…

I got up and put on my things.

My body is stiff as fuck… But it's mostly healed. Do Hunters have such a fast rate of regeneration?

The other two still seemed rather weak, many bandages were still strapped around different parts of their bodies.

Perhaps it's just me...

-Can we go to the Church for a moment? I want to see something

-That was out of nowhere, but I guess we owe you one for following us into danger…

…

We walked into the Church… The place looked like a warzone. Everything was somewhat broken and scorched.

-Did you guys…

-Yes, we already scouted this place and looted for items. It's on Reggie's backpack.

/Crackle!/

Some parts of the Church were still burning.

-Let's get out of here before this place falls apart.

There weren't any "White flames" on the ground though.

-Ur-Urg…

-Hum?

I heard the faint sounds coming from the rubble.

Carefully removing the wooden boards, I saw the man trapped in the Cocoon.

He is still alive? Say a level of tenacity…

-Is of no use, he is a goner. I am sure there are many of that creature's eggs inside of him. We found many of its offspring in some of the Church's rooms... There isn't anything we can do to help him.

The man looked at me with an empty stare.

-...

I lifted my gun.

One thing was to kill a beast, another was to kill a man.

It might seem the same, but for a University student until one/two days ago…

-AAHH!

I screamed as a way to boost my confidence and pulled the trigger.

/BANG!/

-Hurf… Hurf…

Both Reggie and Kyu patted my back, trying to comfort me a little.

[Mind fort Lv 7 -> Lv8]

-Le-Let 's continue…

There was a white light above the body's chest.

{Bloody spinneret}

?

Open details

[Bloody spinneret-Hunter tool

Description: Remnants of a growing embryo. It continually spills silk.

"My greatest creation, my daughter"

When activated, it shoots forward a net of strong and durable red silk.

]

A Hunter tool? Unexpected.

I made my way to the back of the church.

-There isn't anything of value left kid. We cleaned everything…

In front of me was a large coffin.

There was a large lock in it.

I picked the key from my inventory and opened the lock

/Clang/

The lock fell on the ground

/Crunck.../

The ground below Kyu and Reggie started to move. Startled, they quickly moved to the side.

-What did you do this time?

-What? Why are you two looking at me like that?... During the fight, I found a key so…

-Sigh… I think I know what this is. Said Kyu

-The armory right? Complimented Reggie

-OH? So what are we waiting for?

-Stop right there… It's against the law to steal equipment… They all have seals on them for identification. I guess we can use them until we reach the gate, but they will most likely be confiscated afterward.

Not like that matters to me… Can I even bring items from this place back?

Shouldn't this place be a memory?

… I did bring all sorts of items here…

-Let's go either way. Better items are still better than nothing.

Better than our scrapped gear at the very least.

...

We went down the stairs, making our way to the bottom.

There was no light in the path. But we still had our lanterns.

(They got more lanterns obviously)

After a minute, we found ourselves inside a large basement.

There were many weapons and armors hanged and stashed everywhere.

-Loot!

-It isn't "loot" Recruit!

Yeah yeah.

I went to a very obvious Sword hanging on the wall.

I checked its info

[Ludwig's Holy Blade +3

Description: "A trick weapon typically used by Healing Church hunters. It is said that the silver sword was employed by Ludwig, the first hunter of the church. When transformed, it combines with its sheath to form a greatsword.

It exhibits several departures from the workshop's design, suggesting that the Church anticipated much larger inhuman beasts."

]

Jackpot.

Wait... Am I a healing church Hunter?... That doesn't matter right now.

I looked to the side to see if they were seeing. Confirming they weren't looking at me I…

And failed miserably… I forgot I cant stash the item in my fucking inventory…

But I still picked it up.

I dropped my old rusty Hunter's ax and strapped the sword to my back.

And no. I know what you are thinking about. In real life, there aren't any weapon stats, so this choice is pretty viable.

(Although the sword was pretty good in-game right?)

I saw several closed chests around the place. Perhaps if I open them, I will receive an inventory item?

And so I did, towards the first chest.

/Creek/

{Sword Hunter Badge}

A badge? Well, if the description of my Skill is right, then this is useless.

(He is talking about his Summun messenger shop)

The chest had many extra items, I will check them later.

Second chest

{Sword Hunter Badge}

… No fucking way…

The contents of the chest were the same as the previous chest.

Third chest… Fourth…

-...

I am depressed…

The same shit, multiple times…

You can't even do that in-game.

(Since there is only one badge)

-Hey kid. Use this.

Kyu gave a set of clothing. They looked similar to my current clothes but they looked "better". Some metals here in there, the cloth looks more durable...

{Old Hunter set +6}

Damn!

I immediately took my old bloody clothes off and put these new shiny clothes on.

-I even feel bad for dirtying these.

-Leave these problems for the people of the administration. Did we get everything?

-Wait.

{Ludwig's Rifle +3}

-I am ready.

-You took two pretty heavy things... Do you think you can handle them? Asked Kyu

-It's pretty heavy but... I think I can make do.

Both of them rolled their eyes...

After filling our backpacks we left.

...

I was quite surprised about this venture, in both ways.

I didn't expect to find "+" gear in here, but I also didn't expect to find… Nothing.

Well… I expected to find rare stuff like Hunter's tools since I will need them but...

One can dream.

…

After taking the head of the beast from the ground, we made our way out of the district.

We were way too strong now for any random monster to stop us.

…

It took around an hour for us to reach the gate.

We were not the only ones there.

-We are here, recruit.

-Yeah… I guess I owe you two months of dinner? May today be the first. Said Reggie

-Can we take a bath first?

-You do smell like the sewers…

I rolled my eyes towards his unnecessary comment.

The Hunters looked at us carrying the massive head of the beast, but they also noticed our numbers.

-It seems the words for evacuation were relayed on time. I can see several teams here. Said Kyu

/Slap!/

Reggie slapped my back and said:

-Come with me! I will show you a good bar.

…

After passing through a rigorous check, we were escorted to a waiting house where we took baths and fed ourselfs.

We then met with a representative of the higher-ups and reported our mission. Handling the beast head in the process.

Although our story was crazy, three Hunters… No. Two Hunters and one recruit, getting from a despairing situation to killing the beast. It was hard to believe.

But we had more than enough proof.

Kyu and Reggie were promoted while I was immediately promoted to Honorary Captain. A rank reserved for those on trial.

If I do well then I might immediately become a Captain and gain a small team.

But I chose to remain under Reggie's wing since Kyu was going into temporary retirement.

He will stay at HQ to train new recruits.

Not only that, I was allowed to keep my new clothes, weapon, and pistol.

They may be too good for me, but I will prove my worth.

Since I want to bring them with me to the other side… Although I may find something better later.

But there is still the problem as to how… Since I can'T store them in my inventory, how do I bring them back?

I used two weeks to solidify my base. Training under both Reggie and Kyu. And used the many resources available to me in the base, such as the training grounds and almost infinite ammunition.

I also learned how to properly condense my blood into a bullet. Unfortunately, even after training this ability over and over, I didn't gain a "skill" for it. Meaning it might be too insignificant to be classified as one. Or that it needs some kind of special trigger.

It's obvious to say my skills rose considerably right?

[You have completed a round of training under the tutelage of...]

[Hunter Ballistics Lv16 -> Lv17]

[...]

…

The first month after killing the beast.

In the next three weeks, I went on several missions together with Reggie.

My fame quickly rose among the Hunter's, and as such, my current military rank became pretty solid under my perfect mission record.

Although I still work mostly alone or with Reggie's new team.

I finally used my Summon messenger Shop Skill, and as I expected, it worked exactly like I expected.

It's a shop with a big range of items from the game, and the range of items increases depending on the skill Level.

The shop was also where I Leveled up. In Bloodborne, you need to use Blood echoes to Level up, depositing a single stat point into your desired stat.

That's all. It gets more and more pricey as your Level increases, but considering that I was being sent to harder and harder missions, I guess I won't have money problems.

Second month

I started to delve into the Chalice Dungeons after gathering the necessary ritual items over a period of a month.

As for what Chalice Dungeons are… Let me give you the explanation from the System interface:

["In Yharnam's underground, runs a wide and long expanse of ruins. Frighteningly old, it is believed to have been made by something not human, perhaps a grave, even maybe a resting place. Moreover, it is said that the ruins changes its form depending on its passersby."]

It's pretty much a large array of Dungeons and ruins.

I could explore them by hand, but they are simply too hard to get into. So the best way is through Chalice rituals.

These rituals allow me to bypass space and reach a Dungeon deep underground.

And I must say… They are hard. Very hard.

The enemies there are too… Mystical in a sense.

I feel as if I am being constantly watched in there. The feeling can sometimes be… Tangible.

But I managed to progress nonetheless.

Unfortunately, the shop doesn't sell "+" weapons. So I was having difficulty cutting some monsters' skin and flesh.

This isn't like the game where monsters have health bars. Here, if I cut a monster's head it may, or may not die.

But my stats were slowly rising to compensate for that…

Today I have quite the dangerous lone mission… But I will survive.

…

-Hurf… Hurf… Fucking Hell. I did it.

{Prey slaughtered}

Below my feet was a rather big monkey-like creature, its body was furry and instead of hands, it had massive blade-like appendages.

[Hunter's combat sense Lv 19 -> LvMax]

[...]

-Another Max skill?

During these two months, I gathered quite the amount of "skill" Levels, maxing several skills in the process.

I tried my best to gather as many Abilities as I could, but they were harder to gather than I thought. Very hard in fact, but I kept all of the skills since I know I will probably receive help from the Beginner help info when I leave.

Beginner skill fusion never activates… The chance is truly minuscule.

After many tries, I actually managed to evolve one of the Skills into a higher version. Or at least I think it is higher.

With these skills, I managed to survive the second month.

-But this place… I am slowly going crazy… Sigh… Hunting beasts in the middle of sewers and facing off against living nightmares takes quite the toll on your mind…

I tried gaining access to the Hunter's dream but that proved to be a futile endeavor. I looked everywhere but couldn't find a way to access it.

I will just go back to grinding my skills and hunting monsters...

Third month

A breakthrough!

After many days of hunting and killing beasts. I was finally given the chance to go to the Hunter's dream!

It was strange, one day I went to sleep and when I woke up, I was there.

But strangely, Gehrman and the doll weren't there when I got there.

So I went towards the Workshop.

It wasn't just any workshop, it was a Hunter workshop fully equipped with all sorts of tools.

-Phew… For a moment I thought I would have to explore the world for these tools...

I finally could spend my hundreds of materials on enhancing my equipment.

There was a workshop back at the surface, but I couldn't use it because of some diplomatic bullcrap.

Every time I wanted to use it I would have to submit a request to the HQ and wait for a craftsman to get in contact with me… And most of them were not capable enough to enhance some of my shit to higher levels. And it was pricey as fuck!

So with this workshop, the equipment problem was resolved.

-Oh? I didn't notice we had a visitor… How rude of me. Welcome, young Hunter.

An old man sitting in a wheelchair while being pushed by a rather beautiful woman.

Too beautiful in fact, her "skin" looked rather… Fragile?

That was because she was a doll. A living doll? I don't know how to explain what she was.

-Welcome to the Hunter's Dream. This will be your home, for now. I am... Gehrman, friend to you hunters.

-Gerhman? The first Hunter?

I obviously knew who he was.

-Oh? So you are more knowledgeable than the others… You do look quite equipped. You're sure to be in a fine haze about now, but don't think too hard about all of this. Just go out and kill a few beasts. It's for your own good.

-Before that. Can I ask for some tips?

Please accept...

-Of course of course. Let this old me be of some help…

Yes!

...

And so I received help from Gerhman in various "skills". Boosting their rate of growth by several times.

I also noticed I seemed to be trapped!

-Looks like I am now a member of the Hunter's nightmare… Sigh. Goodbye, Reggie and Kyu. May we meet again if you two still remember me.

And so I went back to training.

In the Hunter's Nightmare, the only thing you can do is Hunt and Hunt and…

Until you either go mad or Gerhman sends you back into reality with no memory.

(The lore is deep, but this is pretty much a parallel reality, every Hunter comes here eventually. This place seems to be a more broken and nightmarish version of the world.)

I trained with German in the Hunter's dream and Hunted for resources in the Nightmare. A never-ending cycle began.

Since the monsters are really never-ending.

I collected everything I could because I noticed that there are some things that can only be acquired from this memory!

Like some Hunters tools. Most aren't sold in the shop, even after I Leveled it up several times. The price to Level it up is getting more and more absurd… So I just stopped.

So I can only get these special items in the wild or by doing special missions.

I also talked with Gerhman from time to time about my many findings, as a way to liven up his mood and to learn more things.

He is very knowledgeable and his expertise in tinkering and craft has allowed me to create several Unique Hunter tools and equipment.

Unfortunately, he suffers from severe depression. He is trapped in a dream that he can't escape, nor can he kill himself.

/Whispers whispers.../

Again?

After killing many monsters, I gathered an unhealthy amount of insight. This has allowed me to see and hear the Great ones.

(Insight grows naturally in-game, you receive some by doing certain actions, like killing powerful prey.)

And this has slowly made me mad… A normal Human shouldn't be allowed to be in contact with such eldritch knowledge.

To counter this, I spent my insight buying any items that I could from the shop. But this was akin to using a small cup to extinguish a fire.

But it's not like I only got mad from this. Hearing them allowed me to slowly understand their language… But the toll on my mind… No wonder my Trait is already maxed.

I don't know what will happen first, me getting mad, or me dying to some nightmarish beast.

I should try hunting a Great one… Once my stats are higher.

…

Fourth month

I looked towards the blood-red pale moon in the sky and thought:

It's time to leave...

But it's not because I can't survive.

...In fact, I could still survive in the memory.

I have to leave mostly because the mental pressure on me has already surpassed my Trait's protection.

So before going fully mad. I have to leave...

But before going back to the real world, let me explain what I did this month.

I finally decided to fuse my Abilities that looked similar. Leveling up my "Beginner Skill fusion" all the way to Intermediate Skill fusion.

It was sad seeing some skills disappear… But it's for my development.

I also learned that you could reacquire them after they disappear. But it's a pain to train them back to their previous state.

It's easier to get the skill again when you fuse it, but the difficulty of raising its Level is still the same. Only being slightly faster due to the fact that I still retain some of their "proficiency".

If I train for several months in swordsmanship and gain a skill, fusing it later, I will still maintain some memories of the skill. Allowing me to progress easier. But not by much.

Muscle memory, reflexes and such would all disappear. But the overall insight would remain.

I didn't do much more than that, just the eventual Hunting. I did manage to gain some tips from the strongest Hunters in the Nightmare.

They were few, but they were out there, scattered, but just like me, they eventually came back to the Hunter's Dream.

Most were already mad, without even knowing how to go back to the Hunter's dream. But some were still capable of teaching me… If I did something for them first.

I didn't recognize most of them, but that might be my poor memory. I played the game many years ago after all.

I also ventured into the harder Chalice Dungeons.

This allowed me to get access to an unlimited supply of materials and currency. While also training my skills.

I fought and fought and fought… I did so for so long that I actually lost the sense of time.

In the end, I just clashed against several giant monsters… And continually won… Somehow.

This brings us to the present.

-I think it's time to leave…

And so, I went back towards the Hunter's Dream. Just to say goodbye.

But I couldn't find Gerhman.

/Whispers.../

I heard faint voices coming from behind the workshop.

-Oh, Laurence... Master Willem... Somebody help me... Unshackle me please, anybody... I've had enough of this dream... The night blocks all sight... Oh, somebody, please... "

-...

It seems… There was still one thing to do.

Gerhman wasn't my friend, nor my family. But he was someone who I owed a lot to...

/Clang!/

I unleashed my blade.

-It's time to Hunt.

I went back towards the menssagers bell. It was time to go back to Yharnam and kill some Nightmares.

…

{Nightmare Slain}

{+3 Insight}

{...}

-I did it… This was fucking crazy…

My head hurts…

/Whispers.../

SHUT UP! GET THE FUCK OUT OF MY HEAD!

...

-Harf… Harf...

After sitting on the ground for some time, I went back to the Hunter's Dream.

Gerhman was waiting for me below the Great three.

-Friend… you've done well, the night is near its end. Now I will show you…

-Cut the crap Gerhman… This isn't over yet.

I pointed my blade at him.

It was very similar to Ludwig's Holy Blade, but there seemed to be a strange mechanism hiding inside the sword Hilt. This sword was made after analyzing the Holy Moonlight Sword.

It doesn't have its magical properties though...

Yes, I went to the far ends of the World to find all kinds of stuff...

-Hehehe… I knew you would do something like this from the moment you asked me for advice…

Gerhman got up from his chair.

-May this be my final lecture for you, young Hunter.

/CATHENG/

The doll came carrying a large Scythe. It was the Burial blade.

-... If even for a little while, you made me remember why I was here in the first place… So I will make this quick... Tonight, Gehrman joins the hunt…

/Dash!/

Gehrman disappeared from his location. Showing a level of speed simply inconceivable for an old man.

Let's do this!

…

/Splurge/

This is… Fucking crazy.

Gehrman was simply too strong!

But I still got him.

While he died due to blood loss. Gehrman looked at me.

-Thank you… The night, and the dream, were long…

{Prey slaughtered}

{+3 Insight}

{...}

I ignored the prompts, since "that" thing is coming.

For a brief moment, I gazed into the dark red beast descending from the crimson-red moon.

/Whispers whispers.../

-Arg...

-Moon presence… This feeling… It's as if ants are crawling into my brain.

This is a true GOD... A great one

"God"... It did create these separate dimensions and... Well, if I learned something from fighting these creatures is that their powers seem to be heavily limited.

Can I defeat it?

I didn't even use any of the Umbilical cords… Mostly due to fear of the side effects.

My greatest fear is to become too crazy while facing it and end up permanently scarred. Even when I leave this place.

-If it wasn't for my Trait… I might've gone insane. It has been maxed out for a while now…

I picked Gerhman Scythe from the ground.

{Burial Blade +9

Description: "Trick weapon wielded by Gehrman, the first hunter."

"A masterpiece that defined the entire array of weapons crafted at the workshop. Its blade is forged with siderite, said to have fallen from the heavens.

Gehrman surely saw the hunt as a dirge of farewell, wishing only that his prey might rest in peace, never again to awaken to another harrowing nightmare. "

}

Rest in peace friend.

…Now...

-It's time to end another Nightmare.

[Title, Killer of Nightmares has been equipped]

...

/GASP!/

I opened my eyes. Several people were talking and laughing in a great, immaculate Hall. This place was…

Am I back?

The whispers… Are gone?

Where was I again?

[Welcome back]

No bloody smell, no feeling of being watched, no…

[Detecting severe PTSD, activating soothing mechanism...]

???

I blacked out

…

-Urg...

I woke up one minute later.

-What?... Who am I…

[Long term exposure to the memories, followed by the activation of the soothing mechanism has caused slight memory fragmentation. Reshuffling memory and deleting unnecessary knowledge… Filling memory gaps...]

My memories… I remember now.

[Welcome back Philip]

What did you do?

[Summarizing.

The host has suffered severe psychological damage from doing the previous Subclass mission.

Hence, the Beginner help info has taken action to help the Host by deleting all unnecessary memories while keeping all of your "benefic skills" untouched.]

-Huh. I didn't realize I was so fucked up…

Show me what you did if that's possible.

[Showing notification tab...]

[... Memory clean, reshuffle, and filling have been completed.]

[Bloodthirsty Trait has been removed]

[Cynical Trait has been removed]

[Sadistic Trait has been removed]

[Eldritch corruption LvMax has been removed]

[Heretical knowledge LvMax has been removed]

[Abyss Gaze LvMax has been removed]

[Caryll Runecraft Lv7 has been downgraded back into Caryll Runecraft Lv0]

[All Caryll Runes have been removed from your mind]

[Several Titles are being removed...]

[Mind fort LvMax has been fixed by an outside force!]

[Mind fort LvMax has accumulated enough proficiency to evolve!]

[Mind fort LvMax has changed into Mind Bastion Lv0]

[Mind Bastion Lv0 is securing your mind! Cleaning all remaining corruption, shining light into your thoughts!]

I … Damn… I was fucked up, wasn't I?

My mind was severely corrupted… But why were my Caryll runes removed from my mind?… Are they a source of corruption? I need to confirm that later...

Open Secondary Status.

[

Name: Philip Vinten

Class: Old Hunter

Subclass: Military veteran

Caryll Runes: None

Insight: 26

Blood echoes: 22376920 (707617 for next Level)

Level 278

Vitality: 99

Endurance: 90

Strength: 99

Skill: 90

Bloodtinge: 50

Arcane: 40

Abilities:

Lady Maria Gun skill Lv6 (9)(Passive)

Gehrman Footwork LvMax (10+3)(Hybrid)

Ludwig combat techniques Lv4 (7)(Passive)

Super Human senses Lv8 (11)(Passive)

Greater Riposte LvMax (15+3)(Passive)

Perfect Throwing technique LvMax (Hybrid)

Stealth Mastery Lv1 (4)(Passive)

Caryll Runecraft Lv0 (3)(Passive)

Handcraft LvMax (Passive)

Butchering LvMax (Passive)

Medicine Lv8 (Passive)

Tinkering Lv7 (Passive)

Smithing Lv5 (Passive)

(...)

Skills:

Summon messenger Shop Lv7 (Active)

Predator's presence LvMax (Hybrid)

Combat Genius Lv9 (Passive)

Critical strike LvMax (Active)

Multi-Task LvMax (Passive)

Blood manipulation Lv1 (Active)

Traits:

Old blood infusion

Hardworking

Unyielding

Inventory(+)

]

(Passive "skills" are those that the Mc can do without needing to "activate", but that doesn't mean they have some sort of passive effect.

As an example, the protag may know how to fight in close combat, gaining the Ability, "grappling". The Ability only reflects his overall proficiency in that.

Active ones need a certain "trigger", normally having a cost. Most of the time being Stamina.

Hybrids are those that have both characteristics.)

(If we take Bloodborne as a base, the stats may be "wrong". That's because the Mc gained many extra stats doing hidden missions and other things. 22 per stat to be exact. The calculation may be wrong since I did this at night and I am tired. Remember to make the calculation based on the initial fact he was level 0 and his subclass stats.)

Okay. I am pretty strong.

Blood manipulation? And Lv1 at that? Normally "skills" start at Lv0.

I tried remembering what happened at the very end… But I only remembered my fight against Gerhman.

Was the Moon's presence so scary that I lost all of my memories about it?

What did I gain?

Open the rewards tab

[Opening...]

{Nightmare Slain}

{+10 Insight}

{Red Moon shard}

[Disclaimer! Hidden quest complete! Long Hunt!]

[You have gained a new Trait: Unyielding]

[Killer of Nightmares has changed into Exterminator of Nightmares]

[You have gained a new Skill! Blood manipulation Lv0]

[Your Vitality increases by 1, your endurance increases by 1, your...]

[All of your Hunter Skills have gained a massive amount of proficiency!]

[Blood manipulation Lv0 -> Lv1]

[Your discovery increases by 25!]

[Intermediate Skill fusion Lv1 has detected a fusion opportunity!]

[Fuse Lady Maria Gun skill Lv6 with Blood manipulation Lv1?]

Wait wait wait… You are going a little bit too fast.

The rewards I gained were just as big as I imagined… Let me first deal with my Statuses before going over my items.

Intermediate Skill fusion...

This is the first time that damned Skill was triggered. I can't waste such a chance.

Fuse!

[Fusing… Fusion complete]

[Critical Fusion!]

[You have acquired a new Ability, Lady Maria Combat Technique Lv0]

[Proficiency is being recalculated...]

[Lady Maria Combat Technique Lv0 -> Lv 5]

[Intermediate Skill fusion Lv1 -> Lv3]

What? Not only did it activate, but was also a critical fusion? Finally, my luck has been positive! It even leveled up twice… Looks like this new skill is quite decent.

Show info

[Lady Maria Combat Technique Lv5

Description: Maria's combat art was elegant yet deadly, beautiful yet gory, refined yet brutal.

Active Effect: Activate the technique to add your Blood into your attacks. Greatly increases their range and efficacy, while draining your blood in the process.

Greater proficiency allows for greater control over all sorts of Blood while engaging in the technique.

Extra effect, Blood fire: Your blood burns hot, burning your foes. Boost's the range of your attacks even further while adding a burning fire to scorch your enemies. Has a severe Stamina cost.

]

My second "magical" Ability, the first being Gehrman Footwork.

Good, with this, one of my big problems, range, was been slightly mitigated.

Previously, my only form of long-range attack was through Pistols and consumables like Molotovs… Not really efficient against giant monsters.

I did have a sniper rifle… But it isn't as strong as I hoped.

But now I should be able to stay far away while engaging enemies…

Back to the Status, first, look at those sweet stats!

All of that hard work was truly worth it!

Something that greatly helped me was the Hidden quests I did, which normally rewarded me with 6 stat points, 1 to each of the stats.

My inventory is also pretty stacked… Will I ever be able to use this?

Items and more items… How many stacks of 99 are in here?

(In bloodborne, you can't stack more than 99 items at the same time.)

Those Abilities and Skills… I had to fuse a lot of things and train madly in order to get what I currently have. There are so many useless ones… Hide it all.

Things like "Cleaning" and "Cooking". They may be useful, but their use may be heavily situational.

At least in the previous World… Was it even a World? Or was it a fabrication…

Thinking further isn't going to take me anywhere. I have questions to ask.

First things first. My gear, is it here?

I looked in the inventory.

-Phew… It is.

I was afraid some of my equipment might not carry over because I could store them in my inventory.

That was rather important. I don't know when I will be able to get more materials, much less a workshop.

I did lose a lot of stuff, pretty much everything I kept stored outside of my inventory. But some things like weapons and armor came with me for some reason.

Since many bits and pieces of my memories have been removed, some things might have been left behind.

My Caryll runes were still here as well. Good. I can reequip them later… After I reassess their danger that is.

As you saw by my stats, I am focused on my physical capabilities rather than my magical ones, that's due to the nature of the Magical abilities of the Bloodborne world… It's not pretty.

That's why I avoided it.

-.. What can you do?

-Me? I can create this illusory sword…

-Wow! What's your class like?

-Me?... It says I am a "Fading Swordsman", whatever that means… I even have a Title! "Last fading sword practitioner"?... Doesn't seem that great to be honest...

-That might be the reason for your skill! As for me, I am even worse! I don't even have a Title!…

These people… They are still so excited about everything…Perhaps it's because their skills are more magical in nature while mine are purely physical. White the exception of the Art of Quickening(evolved to Gehrman Footwork) and the recently fused Lady Maria combat technique.

It's good for me at the end of the day. Since I have more time to think and recompose myself… I am still quite disoriented...

There are still many things to go over. But first things first. What is this about drop items?

This was an old question I had been asking myself ever since I entered the Memory.

[Drop items are a special mechanic that all Class holders have. It allows a creature to drop an item apart from its body when defeated. Although uncommon.

In Host's case, his Skill changes his drop system every time he switches Classes, changing it into a drop pool suitable for your current equipped Class, this is a trait shared by all "Heroic roles" though. So Host does not need to hide it.

This makes you unable to acquire "normal" drop items from other creatures until you remove your Class.

"Normal" being the Drop items every Human in Eden is familiar with]

One of my big questions has been answered.

Next on the list, how do I acquire a new class?

[Unknown, this information is not in the database.]

Okay… Will some of my "skills" or more complicated abilities still work in this world? Like the parry and riposte?

[Your class shapes your reality making the impossible possible.]

That… Wasn't the answer I was looking for. But it's good enough I guess.

Next, can you help me with some of the "skill" fusions?

[Processing...]

[A rather large repertoire of "Quality of life" Skills has been detected. Host can proceed in three ways.

One, fuse them.

Two, hold onto them for the future.

Third, break them down and fuse their remnants into other "skills". The system recommends the third option]

Break? Explain.

[Breaking a "skill" consists of dissolving it into pure proficiency and adding this raw proficiency into another "skill". The efficiency of this process may vary]

… I will lose many Abilities but… And it's not like I will forget them forever or anything.

Do it

[Breaking...]

I looked in sadness as many trash Abilities slowly went away… There was something about seeing your hard work disappearing just like that.

Just like when you take a massive and perfect shit and have to flush it away...

There were some pretty strange things in there… Sculpting? Painting? When did I get that?... If I forgot, it's because it was something pretty dangerous...

I remembered one particular Ability:

[Caryll Runecraft Lv0 (3)(Passive)...]

Break this as well… I can't Level it up without going insane. It's a useless ability for me right now.

[Breaking… Done.]

[Where would you like to deposit the extra Proficiency?]

Hum… Can I use it on Traits?

[Yes]

Alright!

Mind Fort proved to be of immense importance to me, protecting me and helping me improve faster, and it's a Trait that exists between Classes.

Dump everything you can in Mind Bastion!

[Processing...]

[Mind Bastion Lv0 -> Mind Bastion Lv15(Max). Would you like to keep adding?]

(He broke several LvMax abilities, so this value makes some sense, trust me, I won't make him Op)

I still have left? I thought the conversion would be so low that I would Level it up by several Levels… If I dump the rest, there might be a chance to overflow it and Evolve it right?

[Correct, although it's not recommended. In order to improve Potential, looking for possible Abilities to fuse with it may prove to be better than straight out Evolving it]

-...

Dump the rest into combat Genius, if there is any left, use it on Ludwig combat techniques.

[Combat Genius Lv9 -> Combat Genius Lv10(Max)]

[Ludwig combat techniques Lv3 -> Ludwig combat techniques Lv10Max]

[DING!]

[Congratulations for being the first Human Hero to Max out an Ability!]

[Congratulations for being the first Human Hero to Max out a Skill!]

[Congratulations for being the first Hero to Max out a Trait!]

???

Didn't I already do that before?

[After the Beginner help info was deactivated, many achievements were not counted properly. This includes special rewards tied to such achievements. Titles, "skills"...]

I see… That's a shame, no wonder I gained a very small amount of system prompts while I was there.

So what do I gain?

[Due to the nature of your achievements. You may choose one of three rewards!

1-Proficiency

2-Title

3-One Random Skill]

Three achievements but I can only choose one?

[The overall reward has been boosted to match the Level of the achievement.]

Hum…

Proficiency could be good. Like evolving Intermediate Skill fusion… If it is enough for that.

A Title is a Title, I only hope it's good.

And a Skill… I think the ones I have are already good enough… Unless, It's a Skill for my main Status!

… Titles are incredibly rare to get, normally requiring something rather unbelievable to be done in order to gain one.

I gained several, but most were deleted; the few I had left are proof of just how hard it is to get a good Title.

Although I have a few, I still wonder why the old man told me to gather as many as I could, since I can only equip one at a time.

I choose Title!

[You have gained a new Title, Number 1]

[Number 1

Description: Even though you refuse to admit it. You are the best. You can only be the best! Even if you don't try, the end result can only be one.

Effects: Massively increases learning speed when learning something for the first time and when under some sort of pressure.

The effect can be boosted or decreased depending on your feelings.]

Cool. Would have been pretty useful in the Memory.

Oh yeah! I wanted to ask. What was that Memory? Was it truly only a Memory?

[Unknown, this information is not in the database.]

-Sigh...

I figured.

I think this finished my Secondary Status… There are still the two Traits

[Hardworking

Type-Trait

Description: If someone puts in 10% of themselves into a task, you put in 100%. You live by the code, "if I can't do something with 100% of myself, then I shall use 110%"

Effects: Greatly increase motivation and willpower, maximizing your efficiency to any given task.]

[Unyielding

Type-Trait

Description: Even if the enemy is an Eldritch being, you aren't going to wield! Rise again and again! Until the barrier in front of you is defeated. Or at least, you try...

Effects: Increases your stats when doing challenging tasks, the more impossible they seem, the stronger the effects.

]

It seems quite… Good? It can be used in and outside of combat. A very solid Title

Now for the main Status...