Louise gulped "you can do this Vallière" she took a deep breath, 'just grasp the knob, and go from there'
She reached out, grabbed the knob, twist and click. Taking one final breath she threw the door open.
There stood the beast, even larger than she thought it would be. Its head was thin covered in pale white tightly stretched skin, resembling a malnourished rat, the left side of his face was covered in white bandage like fur, only a single eye was visible. The rest of its body was some demented retardation of a human, with to long limbs, his ribcage visible, the left arm and leg covered In the same bandage like fur.
'it probably can't fit through the door.'
"I can take advantage of that, assuming it doesn't regenerate faster than I can shoot it." She aimed her gun and pulled the trigger, pressing the reload button immediately after.
The beast felt the bullet hit its skull, barely breaking the skin. It looked towards Louise then it charged at the pinkette in some half crouch.
It rammed straight through the masonry.
"FUCK!" Louise yelled as she turned and sprinted trying to get some room between it and her.
She sprinted a few seconds then heard a pound behind her *click* she stopped turned and came face to face with the beast, its one visible feral eye glaring at her.
'its so close, if I was half a second to slow I would have been crushed' she stood paralyzed for a split second. Then she lifted her gun and fired straight into its eye, it flinched back "HGRYAAAAA!" the sound that split from its throat sounded like a whole crowd of dying beast's. it lowered itself again, once more looking close in her face, where one eye was crushed two more, one above and one below, had opened.
She expected a click, there was none 'shit forgot to reload' she swung her cane, the blunt object barely bruising the thin layer of skin over its thick skull.
Remembering to press the reload button she jumped back, but not far enough as one of its claws carved a large gouge in her chest. Luckily it only scratched a rib, but hadn't broken anything.
'I'm gonna die aren't I,'
The beast leaned forwards, some demented growl rolling between its clenched teeth and pulled back lips.
'o right the healing solution.'
She swung her cane once more, this time managing to break the skin and dent the skull. She turned and ran, the wound slowing her down but not as much as she would have thought.
'crap wall' unable to turn her momentum she twisted her body and booked into it with her shoulder.
"Crap!" "HRYAAAAGH!" She saw the beast charge at her from the corner of her sight, she ran to the right along the wall as fast as she could. Managing to barely escape the range of its attack, the beast was stunned for a few seconds, it's head hitting the wall first 'dumb beast'.
She held her pistol with her right hand, reaching for one of her pressure injectors. Adrenalin fueled she jabbed the needle in her leg, through the cloth of her pants.
She felt her wounds heal immediately, the skin on her chest was paler than the rest of her fair skin.
She turned around, putting her gun back where it belonged she noticed the beast was finaly coming back into focus, just as it was about to swipe at her she fired a bullet at its head, nearly hitting another eye. Nonetheless the beast flinched, interrupting its attack.
She capitalized by getting in close 'its skull is to this so I'll have to try something else' she pierced her cane into its throat, the whole rod going in up to the hilt. twisting the handle the cane turned into its whip form while inside, and then Louise pulled it took more strength than she knew she had, but the barbed edge of the whip painfully sawed open nearly half its neck, one of its most important arteries bleeding masses.
This time the beast didn't scream this time, perhaps she damaged its vocal cords? One hand covered its throat wound.
*click* huh, she didn't even notice pressing the reload button.
Then its truck again, its hand impossibly fast, like a spear its claws pierced through her stomach nearly bifurcating her.
She couldn't feel her legs, and o god the pain
Then Louise died. Again.
"Greetings fair hunter." She once more stood in the place where she met the old man Gehrman.
This time around the odd doll stood straight, it talked too, assuming the voice she just heard belonged to the doll.
"who are you" Louise asked, somewhat suspiciously.
The dolls expression remained neutral. "I am the plain doll, I offer my services to the many hunters and huntress's before you, and now I offer my services to you." She bowed slightly, before standing straight and impassive once more.
Louise lifted a brow "what can you do?"
"I can reinforce your body and spirit, using the blood echoes you have collected from re-killing the infected host's"
Louise looked pensive for a while "I died"
"you did" the doll remained forever impassive as she spoke
"aren't the dead supposed to stay dead"
The doll tilted its head ever so slightly "but that is a hunter's greatest boon, no matter how many times they are killed, they will never perish until their duty is complete, and even then some hunter's choose to refuse death long after their sacred quest has ended"
"my sacred quest huh" Louise was silent for a little while longer. "what is this 'source' anyway, some kind of portal to hell?"
"you will know what it is once you meet it"
*pfff* "well whatever, you said something about reinforcing my body and spirit."
"yes, I can increase your constitution, make you stronger, empower your magic, and even increase your skill with a weapon"
"improve my magic! What do you mean"
The doll looked almost surprised by Louise's enthusiasm. "the ritual increases the quality of your blood, and empowers your spirit, which in turn increases the effectiveness of your spells. Once you gain more insight and find the proper relics you will know how to cast them"
Louise nodded, still exited but more restrained, she could do magic, or at least would learn to do so.
"you said something about reinforcing my body and spirit, how does that work" she inquired.
"I will use the blood echoes you have gathered to enhance your body and empower your spirit. This is a hunters second most powerful boon"
"I'm going to have to fight that thing again aren't I" she let out another sign, more tired than scared.
The doll didn't know what Louise was talking about, but considering what hunter usually face "yes presumably, unless there is a way around"
"thought so, so speaking of reinforcement, do you think I've got enough blood echo's to get a little beefier, I could use extra strength against that thing, besides I don't think a little extra muscle mass would hurt my looks" she said, half grinning towards the end.
"well I can reinforce you if you wish, however I can only enhance you as a whole, if I improved only a single aspect the rest would suffer." *1 the doll remained impassive as it explained, its odd accent only now making itself known to Louise.
"can you do so now" the doll nodded impassively,
"lend me your hand, good, now close your eyes"
White consumed Louise's vision and she felt something drain out of her, when the plain doll let go of Louise's hand she stood up, a warm feeling filling her.
"now go hunter, you mustn't dawdle"
Louise nodded, and turned, walking towards the gravestone that had a lamp in front of it, said lamp also being clutched by more little grey messengers.
She kneeled, reaching out for the lamp and her world faded to black.
When she awoke again, she stood once more in the court of the academy. Cautiously she moved on, finding the entrance still held the corpse of her first victim *2
Moving on she found the rest of her kills where also dead, and why wouldn't they be.
She chuckled at her own stupidity.
Moving on she stood in front of the door that would lead into the alvis hall, to where the beast now stood.
'well if I die again ill just return to the hunters dream, so there's nothing to fear right'
Taking a deep breath she once more burst through the door, it stood there all its wounds now healed.
Within swiping range it swung at Louise with its foot long claw, Louise fired her gun into its eye just before it could build momentum. The beast flinched back and Louise moved forwards, stabbing her cane into its eye handle deep she pulled the same trick as before, now tearing a gore clogged whip out of its head and presumably its brain, "ghryaaaa" its yell was more subdued now, but despite having a giant freaking hole in its brain it continued to attack, though in a clumsier manner.
*click* just in time, Louise fired the freshly reloaded bullet into its other eye, just as it was about to pounce.
Repeating the same trick again, this time going for the throat like original she saw the beast drop limply to the floor, spastically clutching the neck wound that nearly decapitated him. Then finally it died, leaving a giant puddle of red, a blood covered Louise, and a rather large amount of 'blood echo's.
Then to add a cherry on top it exploded, showering the area with gore and a literal rain of blood.
"hugh that was easier than I thought it would be." Louise moved on to the kitchen, eager to tell siesta the good news.
Once there she knocked on the door, which burst open as siesta bashed Louise over the head with a frying pan.
"OW What the hell!" she half yelled.
"your alive!" she heard the pan fall to the floor and siesta wrap her arms out Louise in a bear hug.
Then she let go looking Louise in the eye "wait how are you alive? I could hear him run you through on those massive claws from here."
Louise smiled a little sheepishly "it's a long story"
So yeah, new chapter, I decided that leveling up increased all stats little by little, in order to keep things simple. And for the sake of plot progression enemies don't respawn, but blood echoes aren't lost after death either.
As for insight, well its kind of like knowledge is shoved into a human brain that wasn't meant to be processed by a human brain, but its actual use is more like this:
1look at abstract painting, you don't understand crap right.
2 read book about abstract painting symbolism
3 now all the weird sh*t make's sense.
Insight is kind of like that book, however for the sake of conserving its own sanity, the human brain completely blocks out any information that originate's from the source of the infection. Insight allows the human brain to better understand these things without actualy giving it any knowledge.
As such if you don't have enough insight to understand something its just completely invisible to you, such as ghost's the whispers of the dead, and certain monsters. Note that insight allows Louise to do extra damage to certain enemies, as well as grant her a limited protection from magic that monster's use.
There are three ways to get insight: 1 seeing a boss for the first time, 2 killing a boss and 3 crushing a 'madknowledge' skull
Louise doesn't notice it when she gets more insight, and as for madknowledge, well my logic is any human that dies whilst it has insight in its brain decays at a retardedly stupid pace, until only the skull is left, certain monsters (such as carrion crows) are attracted to these skulls, and crushing them will give Louise a tip or info about a secret stash of items/weapons, this works as incentive for Louise to get these skulls, whilst also loading her brain up with insight.
Note the knowledge gained from madknowledge, and the insight itself are completely separate.
