Chapter 791 - 791: Just Killing Your Chicken!

With anticipation for the continuation of "The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim," Ben followed Ralof along the mountain path.

Ben's excitement for "The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim" was at an all-time high, especially after the earlier quest where a giant black dragon attacked Helgen Keep.

Nebula Games had developed quite a few fantasy games, such as "Dark Souls" and "The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt."

While the former was epic, it wasn't open-world. Although the map was cleverly designed with many shortcuts that gave players a sense of freedom, it lacked the immersive feeling of an open-world game.

As for "The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt," though it was open-world, the main story revolved around Geralt searching for his daughter and getting entangled in the conflict between the Northern Kingdoms and the Southern Empire. It felt more like a political power struggle. Even the invasion by the Aen Seidhe didn't present particularly stunning visuals.

But "The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim" was different. From the game's lore of Daedric Prince Mehrunes Dagon and the Dragonborn Emperor, Ben's expectations were sky-high.

Coupled with the opening sequence of the black dragon attack and the resistance from Imperial soldiers with magic and arrows, Ben saw elements in the game that suggested there would likely be dragon-slaying combat later on.

All these factors combined to fill him with immense anticipation for the rest of the game.

As they traveled, Ralof spoke about the Stormcloaks and the Empire.

This further deepened Ben's understanding of the background of "The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim."

Reaching a spot halfway up the mountain, Ben saw three peculiar statues.

With Ralof's explanations nearby, Ben pretty much understood the purpose of these statues.

They were similar to the outdoor experience points in "The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt," allowing players to gain experience faster for their chosen playstyle.

In the game, he understood it was about different character roles, but the unique aspect was the freedom to invest in the skill tree, with icons resembling constellations.

"There are so many skill branches!"

Ben opened his skill tree, looking at the various types of spells and specialize skills.

He instantly felt a bit lost.

How were these roles defined?

Could a mage also wield a greatsword and go dragon-slaying?

If before, Ben's impression of "The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim" was mostly the magnificence of its scenery, then now, looking at the in-game skill tree, he felt a unique aspect for the first time.

Because he realized that "The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim" didn't seem to have strictly defined character classes.

You could invest points however you wanted, and it was unclear how to learn these skills.

This was completely different from other games where you typically had a default class and then directly invested in skills.

After a bit of research, even though he didn't fully grasp the mechanics, the one thing he was certain of was that as an open-world game, "The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim" offered extremely free gameplay.

There were no limitations on character classes or class-specific equipment.

It gave Ben a feeling similar to "Dark Souls."

Why should mages only wear cloth armor and not heavy armor with a sword and shield?

Why couldn't a berserker use a staff to attack from the rear instead of rushing in to hack?

A priest could also learn stealth and apply poison to a dagger!

As Ben pondered, a voice prompt suddenly popped up. Through the platform's voice chat feature, Zack called him.

"What's up?" Ben, still wondering how to allocate his skill points, asked curiously.

"Ben, what race did you pick, and what kind of playstyle are you planning on using?" Zack on the other end was clearly experiencing some indecisiveness.

"Still not sure, can you?"

"I don't know. Hey Ben, why don't we have a competition to see whose playstyle is more powerful?" Zack suggested, having an idea.

"How would we do that? This game doesn't seem to have online multiplayer, so no PvP!" Ben was a bit confused.

"We can just match gear and levels, then find the same monster and see who kills it faster," Zack said.

Hearing Zack's words and looking at the skill tree that was causing his brain to overload, Ben decisively refused, "I'm not competing with you on this, because I've already decided what playstyle I'm going to use."

"What playstyle?" Zack sounded curious.

"The 'Useless Pawn' playstyle! To experience the regret of being incompetent when facing invincible enemies; to be able to pick up a sword but not kill anyone, cast fireballs but not deal damage, and spend all day picking locks, exploring, and sightseeing, only to save the world under such circumstances." Ben, combining his own skills, tried to beautify the potential scenarios he might encounter in the game.

Zack: "..."

After a bit of nonsensical chatting with Zack, Ben casually put a point into a combat skill and then headed towards Riverwood.

Moreover, Ben noticed that unlike the open world of "Red Dead Redemption," "The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim" was more akin to the openness of "The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild."

While there was a main quest, it wasn't restrictive, allowing for free exploration.

After walking along the mountain path for about ten seconds, Ben saw a small town.

'Riverwood. This is my sister's village. However, as it's close to Falkreath, Whiterun hasn't stationed any soldiers to guard it.'

'For the villagers, livestock are very important, especially chickens, as they lay eggs.'

As they approached Riverwood, Ralof spoke to Ben's character.

Upon arriving at the main entrance of Riverwood, Ben saw a prompt indicating he had discovered Riverwood.

"The great Dragonborn is about to embark on a journey to save the world. Let's explore this town first." Ben watched Ralof slip into the village and head straight for his sister Gerdur. He didn't rush to follow, instead taking a careful look around the village.

The surrounding NPCs were all friendly and could be interacted with.

Whiterun, and the dragon at Helgen. By talking to the NPCs in the town, Ben gathered a lot of interesting information.

After all, a large part of the enjoyment of open-world games comes from exploring the game world.

"This chicken is so big and fat!"

After having a friendly chat with a few NPCs at the village entrance, Ben, who was about to look for Ralof, suddenly noticed a large, fat chicken walking back and forth in the middle of the road in front of the Giant's Hearth tavern. Its arrogant strut was incredibly conspicuous.

"Escaped from Helgen Keep and ended my status as a prisoner."

"Stepping into Riverwood officially begins the Dragonborn's legendary life. But the Dragonborn hasn't eaten yet, so you'll become my meal."

Although many NPCs had alluded to chickens during previous conversations, Ben hadn't paid much attention.

Plus, he had just invested a skill point, and this chicken was indeed rather conspicuously arrogant. Instinctively, Ben drew his Imperial sword, approached the large, fat chicken, and with a swift slash, ended it.

'Riverwood's hostility towards you has increased!'

Accompanied by the chicken's piteous cries, a message popped up at the top center of Ben's screen.

"What's going on? Why is Riverwood's hostility towards me increasing!?"

Looking at the dead chicken on the ground, before he could react, a shout reached his ears.

'What are you doing!'

'You scoundrel!'

'You must pay for your actions!'

"Pay up! Is this chicken made of gold or silver?" Ben was shocked as villagers approached him and he was offered options to pay or go to jail.

So, the chicken was private property?

"Facing the great Dragonborn, can't you just pretend this didn't happen?" Ben looked at the money in his inventory, feeling reluctant. After much hesitation, he chose to refuse.

Upon making his choice, the next second, as soon as he exited the conversation window, an arrow flew from somewhere, striking Ben in the chest.

The game's vision suddenly turned red, and his health bar below the UI dropped by a quarter.

The villagers Ben had just had pleasant conversations with at the village entrance were all filled with rage.

Armed with daggers, axes, and rakes, they charged at him.

"What's going on?"

"I just killed one of your fat chickens, why are you so angry? Stop, stop! I'm sorry! I'll pay, just stop hitting me!"

Seeing the villagers swarm towards him, Ben was completely bewildered.

What had he done?

He just killed that plump rooster in front of the Giant's Hearth.

Why were they so furious?

They were so friendly to him earlier, but now it was as if they had an irreconcilable hatred for him!

And where did Ralof run off to?

Help me out here!

Facing the villagers, Ben hadn't thought about fighting back.

But he awkwardly realized a problem: he couldn't beat these villagers.

Unlike "Dark Souls" and "Bloodborne," where skill alone could defeat powerful bosses at level one, "The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim," while an open-world game, also had RPG elements.

In RPGs, stats are the most critical factor.

If your stats are high, you can easily defeat enemies.

If your stats are insufficient, no matter how great your skills, you'll just be chipping away at their health.

In "The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim," like in games like Dark Souls, attack and defense stats are primarily derived from equipment bonuses. But he had just left Helgen Keep, so he had no decent gear.

Facing the villagers' attacks, Ben parried with his sword.

Then, their single strike drained two-thirds of his stamina bar.

What the heck!

"Forget it, forget it, I won't resist anymore. Just take me away."

Watching the Riverwood villagers chase him for eight blocks, Ben sighed and stood still, surrendering.

He couldn't fight them, and he couldn't escape. What else could he do?

As the protagonist in the game wailed and his body lay in a pool of blood, Ben felt completely dejected.

What about being the legendary Dragonborn? What about "Dovahkiin" and "The Last Dragonborn"?

How could killing a fat chicken lead to such an end?

(End of chapter)