These weapons are terrifying, even while looking at them on a display hanging from a wall.

Seeing them in the hands of an experienced opponent is worse.

And this guy swings it around without a pause, faster than the revolving red light, which must be the worst.

The heavy steel blade whistles and wooshes as it spins so close to the ears.

Of all the scary sounds of this dungeon, this has to be the deadliest melody.

Add the wielder's plate armor, which is way thicker than mine, and you reach an impasse.

Whoever strikes first, wins. Whoever misses the rhythm dies. And don't forget, there are four of these fuckers.

One with a crossbow somewhere in the room, and who knows where the other two are, or what they have in store?

This counter is the best and worst feature of the game.

It's as if the system said, you're in danger, but we won't tell you what kind, and where it will come from.

Keep your heart rate up and your eyes peeled, what else do you need in the horror genre?

Unbeatable opponents? CineMraft has plenty of those too.

And, well, make one mistake, and anything can kill you at any moment in time.

The most basic mobs or a simple glitch could do it too.

It's understandable, this is a brand-new game, but it has quite the stakes.

Isn't this supposed to be a fun little crafting title?

While that part is behind a paywall, it lets you experience all kinds of anxieties.

And come on. One swing with this axe costs the avatar one and a half stamina points, how doesn't he get exhausted from all this?

It must be tiring, holding up this stupid thing alone is a challenge, and it should be a kilo lighter than his blade.

This dude isn't stopping for the last five minutes, while his friend takes potshots at us.

And there is nothing to do about it, which is annoying. There's no turning your back on a two-handed sword.

Would it be easier to go up against him if the auto-combat was on?

What kind of counters does the system have against his tactics?

No matter how terrifying, getting close under the shield's cover worked.

Still, the gladius couldn't scratch him, not even his exposed face.

The same won't work with this long axe, besides, it needs plenty of space to gather momentum.

And then he can reach me too, so it's too risky to rush in head first.

Can this thing block at all, or is it too cumbersome? What if he hits the wooden shaft? Would it break?

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"Can't we talk this out?"

There's no response. Well, it was worth a shot.

Can these mobs speak in the first place? They can shoot for sure, as another bolt zips past the avatar.

This is their first miss, and the Brigandine looks like a porcupine's armor by now.

Thank God I bought this one and didn't go cheap on it, this adventure would have ended otherwise.

"Okay, I take this as a no."

Fighting with an axe this huge isn't my Jazz.

It's heavy and slow, and you have a tiny lump of metal on a long stick you must hit your opponent with.

If it comes short or overshoots, it does nothing. His blade is deadly from the hilt to the tip, and that's not fair.

Although, if this thing hits, it should rip straight through those plates.

Why can't the regular, one-handed axe do the same?

It's much more convenient, and the perfect size to use in tighter places.

It'd allow the avatar to wield a shield with it, get in close, and chop the fucker up. That'd feel much safer, a fair tradeoff for the sacrificed reach.

There's one in the inventory, and a pick too, but this stupid game is adamant that they're tools, not weapons.

They get a hefty debuff in combat which is disappointing.

Hey, devs, if you're listening to your coerced playtester forget this stupid mechanic.

It's too bad the tutorial only had spears and swords, and nothing this size to practice.

If Tank taught something, it was not to underestimate two-handed weapons.

His mace could smash anything to pieces or knock all the air out of my lungs.

So looking at this Merc play hurricane with his blade, it's hard to find the courage to move into its range.

He's reluctant to attack too, most of his moves act as a deterrent.

He's in the dark about how proficient the avatar is with the axe, and well, I pried it out of the cold dead hands of his comrade.

These guys have much better self-preservation instincts than the zombies.

For some reason, the heart rate is faster during this face-off too.

Our staring contest is only interrupted by that sneaky bastard with the crossbow.

It's ridiculous, how he can turn almost invisible in this small room, courtesy of the poor lighting.

His friend was in the wrong place when he jumped between me and the axe, so that's one less thing to worry about.

If he manages a lucky shot and hits in the head that's not covered in the armor, I'm dead.

Although, would that be the case? The Exp boost artifacts came in four different variants.

There's a belt that doesn't look anything special, it acts like it's part of the armor set.

The ring should be on too, the icon and the boost are active, yet the avatar's hands are bare.

The amulet is below the Brigandine, I can feel it rub against the skin, and the last element is a hat.

Or helmet? It's at least not a pointy wizard hat worn by that CrimsonMage gal.

If the artifacts conform to the other parts of the equipment, it might have turned into a real helmet.

Would it also act like one? If only there were a mirror here to check it out.

Or, you know, no mercenaries armed to the teeth to try and kill me, so there was time to dissect the equipment.

And of course, this should have happened before descending into the vault. That would have been too logical.

With all the preparations and wasting time, the important bits are always easy to gloss over.

It is what it is now, there's a huge spinning sword to keep an eye on and to avoid.

A red dot shows up on the minimap, indicating the crossbowman revealed his position again.

He's closer than it would be logical for a sniping shot.

No, he's very close, right behind.

Fuck, he's trying to stab the avatar in the back. The first reflex is spinning and bashing his face with the axe, but he's too close for that.

The shaft bounces off his forearm guard, and he's holding a dagger in his other hand.

It's coming down fast.

This is why I hate these oversized bullshit weapons. Here's a trick though, the avatar isn't glued to them.

It falls to the ground once it's let go, and the Mercenary leans against nothing.

His balance is already off, and a knee into the stomach tips him over. The gladius is still on the quick-access.

Draw it, stab it straight into his face, and lift that shield as the greatsword comes down from behind.

It's his fault that I lost the staring contest, and he has to pay the price.

[You killed a Mercenary +570 Exp]