[Status effect: Bleeding.]
No shit, Sherlock. And an arrow sticks out of my leg.
One's in the armor, and only a few more until I turn into a porcupine.
Tank taught how to block attacks in a melee, but what about ranged weapons? The sword might work for a Jedi but not with these reflexes.
It hits harder than the Trainer's mace: there is a fucking shield in the inventory, how could I forget?
It was in the way in the tight basements so it didn't make sense to use it against the rats.
That doesn't apply here though, that's the best defense against arrows.
Wait, it has five Resistance too. It might break their bones without getting a scratch.
The sword is useless, so why not put it away and equip the shield in the better hand?
Thank God the swap is instant, the items appear and disappear disregarding reality.
That system message explaining Quick Access and its importance told the truth.
It does mean the difference between life and death in a sticky situation and saved me again.
Two arrows bounce off it a second later, although I'm still hurt.
What is it? The HP was six a moment ago, and they couldn't land another hit so why is it down to five?
Think later, Arnim, there is some Jazz to play and are four more skeletons to break.
Thank God the shield comes with steel binds, will it work as a weapon?
Let's bash it against the fuckers and find out.
Okay, one swing takes the next head clean off, and the durability remains.
Holy crap this might work. It's easy to see when they prepare to fire, so keep blocking, then attack them while they pull out another arrow.
Do they come from another dimension?
[You killed a Skeleton +30 Exp.]
Come on, two more, and no hits on me, so why does the HP keep going down? Is that the status effect?
It doesn't even hurt much, but ripping the arrow out would.
Give a damn hint on how to stop the bleeding before dying, please.
These remaining fuckers go down easy.
Wow, this is the first time that loot litters the ground.
Even if there's a more urgent problem, being poor my entire life won't let me leave all this behind.
Grab everything and run. The next stop is the Pharmacy anyway, there's no better place to go.
[Welcome to the Origin Pharmacy!]
Shit. The HP bar is down to two throbbing hearts before reaching the door.
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The sun also dips below the horizon, let's hope I won't go under like that.
It's funny how torches light up without anyone touching them, this night cycle still freaks me out. And so does the bleeding.
Nobody in the shop except the two smiling pharmacists.
Cool, they won't even flinch when someone enters drenched in blood.
For some reason, the first reaction is to show the flower. The girl's face lights up, she dealt with me last time too, yet she won't say a thing.
Of course, they are merchant NPCs and can't start a conversation.
This is so stupid, yet it feels important to finish their task even while out of breath.
Let's say the same as last time, and get on with it before the character passes out.
"Here... the poisonous plant..."
She has no fucking sense of urgency. Okay, the mission is complete, what now?
Five coppers are in the inventory, and the reward puts me over the threshold. There's another system message.
[Congratulations! You reached level 5.]
Great, but the bleeding isn't stopping, so it won't matter much.
What are these tiny arrows above the pharmacist's head? They all point up, it's not me seeing stars, right?
She smiles like there's nothing out of the ordinary. Well, bleeding out might be normal here.
"Thank you for bringing this plant, traveler. Since you are trustworthy enough, would you take these potions to the Guild for me?"
Oh, hey, exactly like Selena predicted. And look at those vials!
What would happen if I stole one?
No, no, only borrowing it, no stealing.
One silver is a hefty price, all this fortune still couldn't afford them, but this is urgent.
She still doesn't flinch when it goes down my throat a second after accepting the errand.
It happens in the last moment too, the HP bar shows one last little heart jumping all over.
It all fills right up, and the pain disappears. The arrow is still in the leg though, and the bleeding doesn't stop.
How the hell are you supposed to deal with it? Won't the system ever say anything useful?
Screw it, this is a pharmacy, she must know something, right?
"Uh, sorry to bother you, um, as you can see I'm bleeding."
If she ignored it until now, not even pointing at it will help, but here we go.
Glancing at the tiny arrows over her head reveals how our standings went up, but what does that even mean?
"Oh, Noob, you're hurt." Wow, don't you say?
She isn't even a random-generated NPC for a one-off job. She should be better programmed than those rat-infested villagers.
"Since you're a regular patron who helped us, let me treat your wound, free of charge."
Oh? Is it because the standings went up?
Holy crap, that's a lifesaver.
It takes away from her heroism when she clips through the counter to treat the wound, but whatever.
These glitches are acceptable in this case.
She yanks out the arrow and it doesn't hurt at all.
The status effect disappears the moment she wraps a cloth around my leg.
It's too bad she doesn't have a name, I'd even write a poem for her right now. Was she this pretty before treating the leg too?
"Feel free to come back whenever you're hurt. It would be a shame to lose such a great customer. And for your help, I can offer you a small discount on the healing potions, how does that sound?"
Considering how she didn't even flinch a moment ago, now she's a true angel.
"It sounds great, um, Pharmacist Lady." Why doesn't she have a name?
This is awkward.
The inventory opens and the discount materializes immediately.
She didn't joke when she said small though. It's still ninety coppers, so the money can't replace the one I took.
Shit, that was close. It would have sucked if I had to start over right when the character reached the fifth level.
Okay, it's less than a tenth of the experience needed, and the next takes more than all the previous ones combined. And still.
[Government Issued Quest: Reach Level 10 within 3 days. Importance: Utmost. Difficulty: Average. Progress: 5/10, Exp to next level: 63/1600. (41/72 hours left).]
How many more rounds will it take to fulfill this mission?
Let's make sure to get no more arrows in the knee.
If anything goes wrong, stick close to the pharmacy so they can save my life.
Too bad it's at the center of the village, and the spawn points are on the outside.
"See you soon, Noob!"
She doesn't have to yell, she sure will.
She definitely will.