As soon as Hanbei finished speaking, two choices appeared before Natalie, [Accept] or [Reject].
Natalie immediately understood. "Ohhh, I get it now! This guy was specially put here just so we can practice sword fighting!"
"New World actually being kind for once!"
The chat instantly agreed with her reasoning. Even though most hadn’t played the game themselves yet, just from watching, they could see how brutal the combat was. Having an immortal sparring partner for practice was very reasonable.
Naturally, Natalie chose [Accept].
The training began, divided into four lessons: Attack, Defense, Parry, and Dodge.
Attack was the simplest, just swinging your blade. Easy enough.
Defense was trickier, requiring her to block incoming strikes from all directions.
Parrying, however, was far harder. It demanded precise timing, deflecting the enemy’s weapon at the exact moment of impact. This was clearly the core combat mechanic of the game.
Dodge was equally important. With well timed sidesteps or rolls, she could avoid damage entirely and set up devastating counterattacks while the enemy’s momentum faltered.
Of course, all of this was enhanced by the game itself translating her movements into smooth, elegant swordplay.
For over twenty minutes, Natalie sparred tirelessly with Hanbei. Strike after strike, block after block, until her movements became crisp and natural. By the end, she could perfectly dodge or parry every one of Hanbei’s attacks with confidence.
Finally, she sheathed her blade. "Alright, training complete. Next stop, Ashina Castle! Genichiro, wait for me. I’m coming for revenge!"
Her voice rang with heroic spirit. At this moment, she felt unstoppable. If she faced Genichiro again right now, she was certain she would not lose.
After thanking Hanbei, she sat once more at the Sculptor’s Idol to restore her health, then left the bamboo forest behind.
Beyond the trees stretched a massive suspension bridge, nearly a hundred meters long, but it had collapsed, leaving a yawning chasm between the cliffs.
As she hesitated, a system prompt appeared:
[Grappling Hook: Use the prosthetic hook installed in your left arm to reach places otherwise inaccessible. Watch for grapple points such as rocks, eaves, and tree branches.]
"Holy crap, my ninja arm has this function too?!" Natalie exclaimed, eyes lighting up. She quickly scanned her surroundings and spotted a rocky outcrop above the cliff.
Without hesitation, she thrust out her left arm. The grappling hook shot out, locked onto the rock with a metallic clink, and with a sharp pull.
She soared across the abyss, landing firmly on the opposite cliff.
"WAHHHH!!!" She screamed mid-flight, heart pounding, before bursting into laughter when she landed safely.
"Fuck, this is a 3D maneuver gear!!!"
"Spider-Man vibes!!!"
"The dev actually put THIS in?! Damn, that’s too cool!"
"With this, Natalie can fly to the heavens, dive into the earth, there’s nowhere she can’t go!"
The chat exploded with excitement.
This mechanic was instantly recognizable. It reminded them of certain scenes from anime, or even the jet propelled Sea Mantis from Subnautica. But those required machinery and vehicles. Here, she was doing it with nothing but her prosthetic arm, swinging through the world like a low budget Spider-Man.
"Haha! I didn’t expect I could actually fly!!!" Natalie laughed in delight. She spotted tree stumps and jagged rocks around her, and for a while she was soaring freely through the mountains.
Because the system automatically locked onto grapple points, she didn’t even need to worry about missing her mark and falling to her death.
With the scenery rushing past and the wind howling in her ears, Natalie shouted excitedly, "Guys, this is way better than that stupid Sea Mantis! That thing was too clunky, my Wolf moves as light as a feather!"
"Same, only Natalie gets to play this early, I’m dying of envy!"
"Tomorrow, guys! It comes out tomorrow!!"
The chat couldn’t hide their awe. This was just too cool.
From what they’d seen so far, Sekiro was undoubtedly a pure action game. And in terms of action? It was overflowing. Not only did you get fast, precise sword combat, but you could also experience the thrill of leaping across rooftops and soaring through the air.
Natalie swung through the rocks like Spider-Man. After a few minutes, wooden houses finally appeared in the distance.
A system prompt appeared.
[You have arrived: Ashina Outskirts – Town]
It was called a town, but in truth it was only a cluster of weathered wooden houses. The tallest was barely two stories high, nothing impressive. This was a small nation in ancient times, after all, its towns couldn’t be expected to look grand.
Nestled in the mountains, the settlement was rugged, with houses scattered at uneven heights. From above, it looked like a maze.
At the town’s entrance stood another Sculptor’s Idol. Natalie activated it, healed up, and pushed on.
She climbed a small hill and grappled onto the roof of a nearby house. Looking down, she spotted a lone soldier patrolling below.
"Quick, Natalie, assassinate him!" someone in the chat urged.
Natalie considered it, but then grinned mischievously. "Assassination? That’s too boring. Watch this, real warriors fight face to face!"
She leapt straight down in front of the soldier.
"Intruder!" the man shouted in shock, eyes wide. Recovering quickly, he charged at her with a blade.
But Natalie’s smile didn’t falter. With two swift parries, she deflected his strikes and cut him down in a single counterattack.
"Too weak! Too weak!!!" Natalie cheered as the soldier fell, dissolving into light. A prompt appeared.
"Hey, I can even earn money from this!" she laughed.
But before she could relax, distant shouts echoed from all directions.
"Don’t let them escape!"
In the blink of an eye, three or four more soldiers rushed toward her, drawn by the noise.
"Perfect timing!" Natalie shouted, rushing in with excitement, only to realize her mistake.
Against one foe, she was fine. But with several attacking together, she was quickly overwhelmed. One soldier kept her occupied, while the others flanked her and slashed from the sides.
Among them was even a strange warrior wearing a wide hat. His techniques were completely unfamiliar, unlike anything she’d practiced against Hanbei.
"Wait, wait, this isn’t right! Medicine! I need to drink medicine!!!"
But before she could sip from her Healing Gourd, their relentless blades interrupted her. Half her health vanished in seconds, and with one last strike, her bar emptied completely.
"Aaaghhh!!!" Wolf collapsed, and Natalie screamed in frustration.
"Hahaha! Natalie got shredded like paper!"
"See what happens when you act cocky?"
"This is the dev teaching us: teamwork is deadly!"
"LOL, Natalie faceplanted again!"
"Why would you try heal in front of enemies? Run first, then heal!"
The chat erupted in laughter.
But Natalie froze. Something was different this time. The screen didn’t show the usual [DEATH] prompt. Instead, two options appeared: [Die Here] and [Resurrect].
"Wait... I can come back?!" she gasped. Without hesitation, she selected [Resurrect].
A soft voice whispered in her ear, "Wolf... live with my blood..."
In an instant, Wolf jolted back to life, standing upright once again.
"WHAT?!" Natalie was stunned.
"Natalie can resurrect now too?!"
"No way, is Wolf also some kind of chosen one?!"
This sudden twist stunned both Natalie and her viewers. She blinked in disbelief. Wait... if I can resurrect, does that mean I also have some worm living inside me? That would be disgusting...
Before she could spiral further, a new prompt appeared at the edge of her vision.
[Rebirth: The bloodline power of Dragon Heir Kuro flows within you. You may revive once upon death. The number of revivals will be restored when you rest at a Sculptor’s Idol.]
Natalie’s eyes lit up. "Oh! So it’s not some parasite, it’s Kuro’s bloodline power!"
The chat instantly exploded:
"No wonder Genichiro was chasing after Kuro!"
"Resurrection itself... that’s broken beyond belief!"
"Finally makes sense why the game is called Sekiro: Shadows Die Twice!"
The battlefield froze.
Even the soldiers who had just cut her down staggered back in shock, their faces twisted with fear. "He’s still alive?!"
"A demon! A monster!"
The attention to detail amazed the audience, every soldier’s reaction was lifelike, as if they themselves couldn’t believe what had just happened.
Taking advantage of their panic, Natalie instantly flung her grappling hook. The rope latched onto the roof beam of a nearby house, yanked her skyward, and she escaped the encirclement in a flash.
Of course, the poor soldiers could only glare from below. Without her mobility skills, they had no way of following.
A few moments later, Natalie returned to the Sculptor’s Idol. Sitting down, she restored her health, her revives, and refreshed the area. The soldiers she’d killed earlier now stood resurrected once again.
She sighed with admiration. "So it’s thanks to Kuro’s bloodline... with this, I have two lives. But still, I can’t just waste them carelessly. I’ll have to take them out one by one, through assassination."