Some situations don't look bad at first glance but the more you think about them the more dangerous they get. Others give you a jumpscare, yet once you push through the initial heart attack, they're not as bad as they seem.
Surrounded by zombies pump the blood faster until you realize they won't make the first move. This game mechanic is so dumb, I'll never get used to it. Of course, having a skeleton with them would make a huge difference. Hell, imagine only archers spawning and even six.
That duel and the victorious looting party distracted me from the clock by the minimap. This could have been a disaster since I wasn't looking at the counter in its corner either. If bandits, or worse, real players snuck up on me during the fight, I'd be dead already.
It's good to have these reality checks and to thank the system for these little scares and luck. The hitpoints still didn't regenerate. Since the undead only idles around, I could grab another bite to help with that. Even better, I could walk away, easy as that.
Why leave behind these walking, stumbling hundred and twenty experience points though? While there are twice as many as in the previous fight, and the payout will be better, they can't measure up to those guys. They won't drop any useful loot either, which is a shame.
Okay, despite the horrible smell and weird situation, grab a bite, and step out of this rotten flesh circle. The loot is secure, so take a deep breath to calm this heart rate, and treat them as usual. They are no match, even if the stamina still didn't recover.
A light touch with the blade on the chest.
[01:01:41. Light Stab with Rusty Sword on Zombie. You lost 0.1 Stamina. It's a Critical Hit! +12 Damage. You Killed a Zombie +30 Exp.]
There, it's that easy. The others turn to face me but the second loses its head before he can do anything. The third scratches the battered shield and bursts into pixels from the counter-attack. The last one wastes his remaining lifetime to stumble closer to me, then die to a stab.
Day and night, the difference between these basic mobs and the footman is insane. It took less than ten seconds to dispatch them all, and the reward, well, let's not talk about that. The more of these cheap ass crystals I collect the more lame it feels.
They pay three coppers, like come on. I'd have to turn in over thirty of them for a single silver. It's like picking pennies, but being poor sucks, both in the game and the real life. When you can't afford a blade that's not rusted like this one, or buy a decent armor, don't be so picky.
Okay, the fact that these guys spawned means the rats did too. Not so fast though, if I run straight back, they'd give less Exp than what's needed for the tenth level. It would be close, but still shy. Let's check the spawn nearby then following the same route back, slice up some mobs.
[Government Issued Quest: Reach Level 10 within 3 days. Importance: Utmost. Difficulty: Average. Progress: 9/10, Exp to next level: 20064/25600. (11/72 hours left).]
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So close, I can almost feel it. Let's run the math. The two quests with the thirty-six Plague Rats each will give me thirty-six hundred Exp. The contracts will earn another thousand, which leaves nine hundred points to collect.
The character made eleven hundred on the way here, so it's perfect. Whether it's the energy drink or the excitement, I can't stop shaking en route to the next spawn point. Too bad they're skeletons, now the trip feels wasted, but it would be stupid to risk fighting them.
No, they are much worse than those footmans. Six skeletons can dish out quite the damage, can surround me, and won't wait for the first strike. Not in this padded vest, no, they would make me bleed out, let's head back.
Nine hundred points are thirty zombies, and there are six spawn points. Counting with the average spawn rate, it should be the exact amount I need. Well, unless they have more skeletons waiting, let's hope not.
Going the other way around would take longer with fewer potential enemies to kill. It would make sense to drop off the loot at my stash too. Okay, boneheads, you can live, I can't bother taking you on. It's the luxury of being this close already, oh, the decadence has begun.
It's a few minutes of light jog back to the previous clearing, and sure enough, it has six zombies waiting for me. Excellent, that's a hundred and eighty Exp in the bag. The HP recharged too, and the stamina is still halfway because I was careful with my tempo.
[You killed a Zombie +30 Exp]
Nice and easy, let them come, and cut down the closest one. Approaching at a crawling speed without a shield and a weapon, they don't stand a chance. Before they push me to the edge of the clearing the last one falls, and none of them gets through my guard.
The next clearing has the added challenge of having one skeleton with them to spot and lay down fire. I used up all my luck on the way here, though this is still doable. Circling the clearing enables me to take out that bonehead first, so it's one less thing to worry about.
It costs me an extra minute of shaking, so it'll take longer to finish the ratting jobs, but they were so boring anyway. This little trip around the village was so revitalizing. Without it I would have fallen asleep, energy drink or not.
[You killed a Skeleton +30 Exp]
He noticed me too late. Now the zombies follow the same pattern and go down one by one without inflicting any damage. After the side trip to the stash to drop off all the junk, I can jog without worrying about stamina.
It takes five more minutes to clear the next two spawn points, without skeletons in sight. All had the max zombies too, so that's already seven hundred points from the nine hundred needed. My heart rate keeps getting higher, I've got this, so close.
It doesn't matter that I unloaded all my coins and the crystals by accident, there is no turning back now. I came too far, and the Textile Worker's NPC didn't notify me about the mail anyway. There is no need for money to kill those rats, only the antidote, and that's still here.
After that, time will no longer matter, I can celebrate, and get a long good night's sleep. Well, if the energy drink allows it, haha. I'm more pumped than ever in a long time. Three days' worth of suffering, and it will be finally over. The last pair of spawns bring me back to earth though.
One of them has four zombies, that's easy, but the other is four skeletons, damn it. It's tempting to skip them and find those missing Exp somewhere else. The return trip gave me eight hundred and forty so far, two, no three skeletons are all I need, then the rats, and it's over.
Fuck it, let's break some bones. It's only four, not six, it should be fine if I can sneak up on them. It's still only ten past one, it's so close. I can taste the victory, and won't miss the chance to rub it under Baldie's nose.