I don't think I've ever beat a Bell Bearing Hunter legit. I always have to use some kind of cheese.
On the other hand, I no longer fear the Axe-headed Crucible Knights. I can consistently parry them lime 80% of the time, and I am really bad at parries.
Battered iron armor from a foreign land. Worn by Elemer of the Briar.
The winding, rusted iron briars are a mark of the guilty, and typically indicate a sentence of death. Elemer murdered numerous instructors and merchants, and was known as the Bell Bearing Hunter.
Mighty and Ray: They would be Sonic's friends and/or members of Team Chaotix.
Bean and Bark: They'd be independent antagonists, but they'd be more mischievous than dangerous.
Trip and Fang: Trip would be Sonic's friend from the start and Fang would be a recurring independent antagonist, serving as Trip's Arch-Enemy as well as rivals to Knuckles and Rouge.
Honey and Heavy King: Honey would be a recurring ally to Sonic and friends while Heavy King would be an ally to Eggman.
Silver and Blaze: Silver would be a rival at first, but would go on to be a friend and ally while Blaze's story would be like the Rush Games. They would only appear for a single story arc in the New World Sagas, but would come back as a main characters during the Metarex Saga.
Metal Sonic and Sage: They would be Eggman's prized creations and surrogate children like in the Games. Sage would serve as a counterfoil to Chris in regards to their parentage.
Sticks and Omega: Sticks would be a friend of Amy's that joins around the time Vanilla does. Omega would be built around the time the Sonic Adventure Adaption story happens, but like Gamma, he would rebel out of not being used to his full potential. Team Dark will be formed in the Metarex Arc.
Chip and Mephiles: Chip would be a friend of Sonic that stayed due to amnesia, but his identity as Light Gaia would be revealed during the Metarex Arc. Mephiles would have a backstory change. In this idea, Mephiles would be Dark Gaia and a recurring antagonist, especially during the Metarex Saga where he approves of the Metarex's genocidal schemes to kill all animal life.
Tangle and Whisper: Sonic and friends would meet them after being warped to Chris' world. They would remain as friends and allies to Sonic and company. Whisper's backstory would be altered slightly since Sonic Forces doesn't occur in Sonic X.
Jewel and Belle: Jewel would be a supporting character and ally to Sonic and company. Belle would have a backstory change where instead of being built by Mr. Tinker, Chris' grandfather Chuck would build and create her.
Surge and Kit: Like in the IDW Comics, Dr. Starline would create them. By the time the show happens, Starline is killed off trying to kill Sonic and overthrow Eggman. The Imposter Duo are recurring antagonists. They possibly reform later on in the series after experiencing praise of heroics by accidentally stopping a crime or stopping Eggman before Sonic.
Rough and Tumble: Like in the IDW Comics, the Skunk Brothers would be recurring independent antagonists, causing mischief than actual harm.
Heading east again, I passed by Bernahl's shack and decided to check his wares again. I sat at the Grace for but a moment, but when I stood up, he was gone. Intrigued, I went to investigate.
I was suddenly attacked by a towering figure in thorn-wrapped armor. He appeared out of motes of red and a red glow suffused his entire body, just like an aggressive spirit jellyfish or the handful of times I've been invaded by hostile Tarnished. If the red glow wasn't enough, his body language was all I needed to know: This man was a killer, and I was his target now.
He moved slowly and deliberately, as if each motion cost him something. An asthmatic rasp echoed from within his helmet... was it hollow?
A predator hat moves slow doesn't need to move fast, and I quickly found out why. His massive sword was enchanted to dance through the air, leaving lurid red streaks in the darkness. I could hear the air hum as if the sword was burning it and I smelled lightning tainted with brimstone. My ability to maintain distance didn't matter half as much against someone who could cut me in half at range.
I quickly learned that he did in fact have limits, and that I was capable of attacking from beyond them. Or within them, when I lunged in with my sword. Once I figured this out, it was only a matter of endurance. I had to outlast him, avoid getting trapped by trees or the cabin, and gradually wear him down until at last he dropped to a knee and vanished. I would've thought it a dream, were it not for the shiny bell bearing he dropped on the ground.
Concerned about Bernahl, I looked back to find him right back where he typically stood, just as confused by my sudden appearance as I was his. Clearly, there was unfamiliar magic at work here. Perhaps it was akin to an Evergaol, only inside out and backwards, trapping the target in an empty world while you invade them? I'll have to pay more attention if I run into this guy again.
Bell bearing of an unfortunate bone peddler who was slain by the Bell Bearing Hunter.
So that's how merchants around here store their wares. A bell, much like the spirit caller bell, and they use individually attuned clappers/bearings to access it. Sound as a key. I use a method not dissimilar, though I use a series of one-handed claps to store my equipment as spirit. I can see the advantages of a bell...sometimes it takes a few tries to get the sequence right.
This man, the Bell-Bearing Hunter, is hunting merchants to take their wares. He must've come for Bernahl and I got caught instead. Lucky me.
okay, so because I kept trying to find walkthroughs and no one knows how to write a spoiler-free walkthrough anymore apparently, I gave up on being unspoiled for Elden Ring and just. resigned myself to my fate.
The problem is I have run out of stuff to do in the game because I am procrastinating about making a major plot decision that I wouldn't be agonizing over if I hadn't been spoiled for it.
this is absolutely a self-inflicted problem but I still can't decide what to do.
oh and one thing I forgot to mention in my prior ER post is the result of this feeling of the game being weighted so heavily against you, and that’s the demoralisation. when you feel the game is not giving you a fair shake, you just kinda stop engaging with it, which can cause people to stop appreciating even the parts that are actually good, and well designed! a certain Warrior spent a grand total of about 30 seconds on my screen, because after several attempts I got tired of being exploded by an AoE every time the first phase so much as scratched his beard, and summoned Tiche to help me out, and this meant that the second phase (which looks cool as shit) ending up melting almost before I could see anything he did, which I actually regretted.
it’s the difference between a player attempting a fight for the 20th time going “man this is tough, but I think I’m getting close! I just need to keep it together long enough to take the win” and a player walking into a fight for the 5th time going “this looks like it’s going to be as difficult and frustrating as the other fights up to now, so I’m just going to save myself the agony and use the most overpowered tools I have just so I can get it out of the way.”