"Ouch!" That was a magnificent strike, except it left me open too long, and the second zombie didn't hesitate. He was sloppy in his attack, but that rusty blade is as efficient in their hands as it would be in mine. If they're lucky, that d12 minus one roll could kill in a single strike.

Their max roll should be eleven, and this padded vest can only block one damage of that. It was way too risky to take on two opponents with such weapons when the character has only ten HP, but here we are. Oh, and what if they can land critical hits too?

Like, the rusty sword shouldn't deal forty damage at once, and it still did, shattering the guard of the first guy. It was a heavy swing and the system called it an assault, which could stack even more bonuses on top. It almost broke the blade though.

This one swing while I beheaded his friend took out half my hit points, and it could have been worse. Chewing on some food before engaging them was a great idea, so at least the recovery will be faster. And there are healing potions on me too, if things get hairy.

Let's hope they won't, he's alone now, so things should become easier.

[Status effect: Recovery (food): +100% Regeneration Speed 3:53.]

Now that this combat turned into a proper duel, Tank's words echo in my mind. The Trainer freaked out from all the struggle during the melee and archery parts of the tutorial. It took hours to land a hit on him or get a proper shot out of the bow.

When he realized I was a lefty, things turned around fast. He explained how much of an advantage it gives to embrace it, rather than trying to force the weaker hand. As most people are right-handed, fighting me would confuse them, and now it's clear why at a glance.

Our weapons meet, sending sparks into the night, and he pulls back.

The zombie foot soldier has a comparable gear to mine, we even sport the same swords and shields. It's the best defense in the game, covering more than half of one's body from attacks. It protects the left side in normal circumstances so it's enough for them to hold it up.

That way when a right-handed opponent strikes, it lands on the guard facing their weapon. It's efficient and more passive, so it won't tire you out as much as trying to fence. Even though things are more complicated for a lefty, this saved my skin in many situations.

He blocks an over-head strike which forces him even further back.

The fact that the board hangs on my right makes a huge difference though, and it takes more than holding it up to use. It must move around and cross in front to intercept each strike. You can't hold on and forget about it, but with some practice, things worked out great.

Heck, I even used it on the offense to much effect.

Bashing against his shield, he's on the back foot now, and it's easy to follow up with another strike. No one can bypass these defenses unless outnumbered and flanked from all sides. Especially not some low-level mob like this zombie.

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Not even Tank could hit me early on with the guard up in a one-on-one duel, though it didn't take him long to break it. That's what happened with that lucky first strike, saving me a lot of trouble trying to take out the first zombie.

His counter-attack is sloppy again, easy to knock it to the side. Standing toe to toe with two opponents wearing shields and swords for too long would have been a pain. And dangerous too, even with my usual mail. Facing the second one, things got interesting.

The clashing metal sends sharp sounds into the night, and we are so close that his smell of rot twists my nose. This is how Tank taught me. Get up close and personal in a melee, and don't leave breathing room to your opponent. Do zombies even breathe?

We should be a perfect match, but we use our tools in the opposite hands. Our stance is the mirror image of each other's. This means his guard faces my shield, rather than the blade, and if all he does is holding it up, he'll be at a disadvantage.

Bashing my shield against his is the perfect example.

This also blocks his while striking at the more vulnerable right side. If I tried to compete with him using the same hands that are weaker already, we'd come to a stalemate at best. This way, getting around his shield is easy, and he has no countermeasures, NPC or not.

While this leaves my left side vulnerable too, he's way slower. He blocks the next attack, but the second goes through, and he has no answer. The way he uses his guard doesn't help him at all. I can push him around, even though he's an advanced mob that caused much trouble earlier.

It's too bad those shield bashes are so costly in stamina. The first strike against his friend demanded a lot from me. The endurance is somewhere halfway now, so my strikes are less aggressive than they should be.

The fact that my mind already wanders shows that I'm in the lead though. When I was desperate to fight for my survival, it was easier to concentrate, haha. Here it's more challenging to focus on this lone zombie than blocking his slow attempts.

Well, that was a different situation. On that hill, surrounded by a horde of his kind, exhausted and without a shield, they almost killed me. That tight cave leading into the dungeon saved my skin. And that glitch that threw everyone around like a ragdoll helped me disarm him.

Oh, and remember that healing potion that melted the zombie's face. Haha, a single drop landed in my mouth to heal me from near death; this situation is much simpler. While it's dark, the moon provides enough light to see what's going on.

He can't rely on backup, and how I use the shield confuses him. It'd be nice if the system displayed the enemy's health bar too, since landing this many strikes still won't do him in. He's not wearing armor like the previous guy, though my attacks are cautious.

Didn't zombies have six HP? Well, he's a footman. Even if there were no signs of armor, it would make sense if he had the same gear as his comrade. He took three hits apart from the one that broke his guard, so the next one, for sure.

[You killed a Zombie Footman +50 Exp]

And bam, that did it. Wow, this was a fun fight. It was reckless, the hundred Exp weren't worth the risk, but it was also satisfying. Sure, it came down to a lucky first attack. But keeping a cool head and exploiting their weaknesses decided the fight.

It must be my lucky day, as the second shield is intact and ready to pick up, with one of the swords. Not the armor though, which is a shame. And it's also a problem how some rusty loot can distract me enough to forget about the midnight respawn.

Thank God they aren't archers at least, only four of the basic undead. It still scares the shit out of me when I'm alone one second, and they're all over me in the next. At night, while prone. Yikes.