It was an adorable fawn, which was well known in the game. It was one of the few herbivores that one could get up close to and observe. Very few were so hard-hearted to attack it the first time they saw it, to ignore its large bright eyes, those of an adorable pleading puppy.
It instilled a desire to protect it, to pamper it, even to take it home. More than one would have done it, if they could have gotten it out the computer screen.
However, this time, a shadow was looming over it, stalking it, approaching from the sky, almost invisible.
Suddenly, two daggers appeared, next to the silhouette of a vampire, who didn’t seem charmed by the tenderness of the harmless and innocent fawn. One of them dug into its neck, with Backstab. The other did it in its tongue, and pierced it and the jaw.
To any player who saw something like this for the first time, it would have seemed an extremely cruel and ruthless scene. However, to anyone who had approached that being before, the scene would have seemed even benevolent, since that innocent fawn wasn’t as innocent as it seemed.
A swift shadow lunged at Gjaki, a long, stinging tail that had been hidden under the fawn until now, in the hope of taking its victim by surprise. However, she had attacked first, seriously wounded it, and was waiting for that counterattack.
Perhaps she had no skills for it, but her dexterity with the shield was enough to stop the stinger. It dug into it, even piercing the wood, but was hold embedded.
The vampire pushed the dagger and twisted it to enlarge the wound, thus increasing the effect of Bloody and Dark Touch. Meanwhile, the other dagger prevented the dangerous tongue of the fawn-scorpion from taking action.
Many rookie vampires had died from the tongue or the stinger, in part because they weren’t warned by the other players. Most wanted to see how they fell into the same trap and laugh, at them. Some players, like Gjaki, had informed themselves before entering the place.
Without a doubt, it was the most hated creature at those levels. They all abhorred it, and acted with resentment towards those beings if they saw them, without an iota of pity. After having been deceived and betrayed by its cuteness, and having been eaten by the non-herbivore, they vented their fury on them out in revenge.
It was at level 10, and the experience brought her a little closer to that same level. The most important thing was that, due to its size, it contained a large amount of blood, which a nurse-assistant was in charge of extracting.
“I’ll have to fix it again,” she put the shield away after examining it.
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However, she was in no rush to return. She still had another shield, and this one wasn’t that damaged either. She wrapped herself in Darkness and climbed a tree branch, while her attendants did their work.
The vampire was acting with caution. It didn’t seem as dangerous as it had been in the past, but it wasn’t a harmless place either. She was also carefully inspecting the tree, for she did not know what could be found there. In the game, she couldn’t get on branches that easily, so she lacked experience.
The vampire didn’t stray far from the entrance. She intended to be near an escape route, at least until she leveled up once. Afterward, perhaps Gjaki would go a little deeper if she didn’t find preys at her level.
The main problem was how to locate her targets. In the game, it wasn’t a problem, it was full of them, but the reality was different. Prey hid so as not to be captured, and predators hid to ambush.
The fawn-scorpion was one of the few exceptions, since, as it was able to kill beings even two levels above, and used itself as bait. In fact, there were deer in that forest, but fearful and elusive.
One option was to use herself as bait as well, to wait to be attacked. Without a doubt, a very dangerous one.
Another was to wait or walk through the forest in silence, while hoping to find a prey.
The one she decided was to wait there, and leave some remains of her victim. She was confident that the smell or noise of the fight would attract other animals.
A spotted coyote appeared from the trees. It seemed to her that it resembled a dog, perhaps a wolf, though smaller. Its skin was brown, with numerous black spots. Each of them was poisonous, capable of slowly killing whoever bit them. The contact wasn’t deadly, but extremely painful. It burned.
The coyote approached the corpse with extreme caution and mistrust. It could hardly smell the blood, but the meat was fresh. It was extremely strange. However, the beast didn’t detect any other presence, and its companions were near.
It kicked the corpse with one leg and leaped away. Nothing happened. It came closer, smelled it, licked it. There was no trace of poison. Finally, it took a small bite, chewed it, and checked that there was nothing strange about the meat, except for the lack of blood.
Therefore, soon more coyotes approached. Slowly. They were keeping an eye on their surroundings. Although few predators would dare to attack the pack, the forest was always dangerous.
They were all between level 9 and 11, a pack of ten. Five guarded the perimeter while another five were eating. Little did they know that the danger didn’t come from outside, but from above.
Hidden among the branches, she finally decided to act, while shrouded in Darkness. Her first target was a level 9 coyote which was on the perimeter. It was a bit isolated, and she wanted to test how effective she was against those beasts. So, she started with one at her level.
With Dark Touch and Bloody Touch on her daggers, Blood Overload activated, and attacking with Backstab, Gjaki executed the most powerful attack combination she had available at the time. Perhaps, her blood expenditure was a bit high, but the fawn-scorpion had provided her with enough reserve for now.
It died almost instantly. Her skill and the Blood Overload bonus caused her attack to penetrate deep into its throat, while the other dagger failed to reach her heart.
“I need slightly bigger daggers for these beasts,” she told herself.
However, she had no time to waste. Despite her withering victory, now nine pairs of eyes were fixed on her. She might be able to escape, but it wouldn’t be easy for her to attack again by surprise.