I’ve made a huge mistake in Elden Ring

theverge.com:

In Elden Ring, it’s killed or be killed — brutally. The game is designed to put you ever on the defensive, ready to lash out before you yourself can be lashed. But that shoot first, ask questions later mindset led to an event I truly and deeply regret. I killed a dragon, and I feel really awful about it.

In Elden Ring, even the damn flowers are dangerous, but contrary to the game’s reputation, not everything in the Lands Between wants to kill you. There are those cute rodents that scurry about and delightful little donut-rolling sheep that exist only to bleat at you as you zip by them on Torrent. I’ve had so many peaceful moments sitting on the edge of a cliff, gazing in wondrous awe at the golden Erdtree with a convocation of eagles for company. I’d never think to kill any of these creatures because, for one, they’re worth a pitiful amount of runes, and secondly, they’re harmless. (Editor’s note: killing the calm, wise old tortoises should be punished by a full game restart, even if it’s an accident.)

Dragons inspire no such reverence. Dragons are assholes. So when a friend told me there were lots of runes to be had for an easy dragon kill, I was all ears. He told me to bring a weapon that’ll cause the bleed status effect, showed me the place on the map and sent me off. I found the dragon sleeping in Caelid, the closest place Elden Ring has to a living hell. It was a huge creature, five times bigger than the smaller dragons that prowled around it. I had to be very careful, deathly afraid that aggroing one of the smaller ones would wake the big one. As instructed, I snuck around to the dragon’s tail and started wailing on it.

The dragon didn’t move. It didn’t seem to register the tiny human astrologer with the samurai