The skeletons can take better potshots when only one zombie remains.
With an eye glued to the minimap, even these easy opponents can be challenging.
Where are those guys? And what's more important, who are they?
If the range on this thing is twenty-five meters they should be in sight already, unless they try to sneak up.
Damn it, if they do, I could have killed the remaining monsters then get the heck out of here.
Does this area still count as part of the village?
If it does, and they go for an ambush, they should realize soon that there is nothing worth stealing and move on.
Why would they throw away their lives for nothing?
The Guardian Angels would murder them regardless of the loot.
Except if this is already outside the settlement. Then there would be nothing stopping them from killing for fun.
So which one is it? My heart beats so fast and loud that I'd still miss the sound even if they were behind.
Concentrate, Arnim, three more of them left.
A stab and a shield bash correct that number.
[You killed a Zombie +30 Exp.]
While pretending to dodge an arrow, kneel to scoop the crystals, then rush the skeletons.
They are hopeless in a melee, so this fight should end in seconds.
Taking their loot will only last one more, then sprint straight for the village fence. It's about a hundred meters from here.
It almost makes me forget not to attack these mobs with the blade, it's already in shambles.
The swing turns into an elaborate feign and the guard breaks the skull of the first one.
He gets a knee into his ribs and the message pops up.
[You killed a Skeleton +30 Exp.]
One left, come on, if you didn't ambush so far, wait one more second.
Let's hope there's no panic status effect from this intense heart rate or a stroke to stun me.
The skeleton releases his last arrow before he gets a taste of the shield too, and it's over.
[You killed a Zombie +30 Exp.]
Quick, grab the bones, and to hell with this place.
Of course, he dropped his bow again, and the most arrows they had done so far, as if trying to slow me down.
It's impossible to resist, even if it costs a few extra moments.
One eye remains on the minimap, and the numbers don't change.
Something else does though. A red dot appears dead ahead, and glancing up, there's a glint in the moonlight from the woods.
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Is that a sword? An arrow-head? Wait, a red dot? That means it's an enemy NPC right?
Bandits. They have to be human mobs, ready to ambush.
It's a split-second decision since I'm looting them already.
With the bow in hand and a plus-two arrow appearing from the inventory, this has to be the worst idea.
Without considering the chances, the string stretches and the arrow is loose.
They waited for the perfect opportunity to attack, and they missed it.
Could they think that looting distracted me, and became careless?
Or did they underestimate me?
The missile hits dead on, in fact, this is the first to see that message pop up.
[Critical hit! You killed a Bandit +100 Exp.]
A hundred?! I'm not supposed to fight these guys for sure.
And what is a critical hit? If the bow does 4 damage, how could it have killed them in one shot?
No, idiot, this isn't the right moment to think about it, another arrow is on the string and it's easy to spot the next target.
They realize their mistake and dash at full speed, one from both sides and a red dot appears from behind.
Yes, they took their sweet time to set up this ambush, and the one ahead revealed himself too soon.
This is bad, it's two shots at most before they get here.
And one of those goes into space.
The Trainer was right, it's easy to hit a stationary target, and when you're in the thick of it, it's all different.
Their movements and the nervousness work against my aim, and the second arrow only hits the legs.
Well, a shot like that almost killed me before, so that's fine.
With a quick swap back to the blade and the guard, let's brace for impact.
The first strike's easy to block but the second hits from the side as they flank. It's some hefty damage too, half the HP is gone.
If the armor still has two Resistance, these guys are no joke.
Thank God the third slows down from the shot, buying a few extra moments.
Can the wooden stick even make a dent in their mail?
Wait, they aren't wearing any. No shields either, so there has to be a chance.
This hope disappears when the bandit blocks the strike, almost breaking the weapon.
Shit, don't bash a stick against steel, it was already damaged.
The shield bash surprises the fucker, yet he remains standing.
His comrade uses this to strike and misses by a hair's breadth.
This is not a winnable scenario against all three of them at once.
Another push against the previous opponent adds a stun status effect.
It appears over his head with big letters, giving hope.
The third can't run fast enough and he's stunned.
It means only one could catch up in a chase.
It's much better than three, and the woods where the first one died to that critical are pretty close.
The poor talking out of me thinks that grabbing his stuff on the way would be worthwhile.
Greed will be my downfall one day.
A dodge and another shield bash slows down the pursuer.
The stunned bandit won't move and the other is busy with the bleeding.
This last guy tries to follow, but if there's one thing this avatar excels at, it's running.
The corpse of the first attacker already disappeared.
He left some items scattered on the ground, and the character scoops them up without slowing down.
An arrow zips by my ears as the bandits switch to ranged weapons, but it should be safe beyond the trees.
Equipping the bow again to duel them from a distance is tempting, even if it seems suicidal.
The survival instinct wins out.
Reaching the fence this fast could qualify for the Olympics' hundred-meter dash. Even while carrying some stuff.
Check them after reaching the busy streets.
It seems unlikely that they'd follow me here, without knowing the bandit mechanics of the game.
No matter how you look at it, it's a win.
Phew, that was a close one though.
Human mobs are a thing too, huh?
And they are tough, paying way more Exp than the others; apart from a lucky shot, they took it like a champ too.
Okay, not as tough as Tank was, but they're still above my pay grade.
Let's keep to the rats and zombies, the Guild quests are waiting.
And sure enough, there's a mustache and a straw hat that's easy to recognize.
The rat-infested villager and his four clones stand in front of their houses.
This game's a roller-coaster.