This played out better than expected.
One down, one more to go. Or three if the minimap's counter is anything to go by.
It was smart of the marksman to attempt an ambush while the plated bastard kept me at bay.
He realized no matter how sneaky he was, the crossbow wouldn't pierce the Brigandine.
Thank God, even if their actions were logical and cunning, they didn't coordinate.
No matter how fast things happened, it was all predictable once his red dot appeared on the display.
His buddy was too late to help, but I wouldn't have seen him coming without the warning.
After that, it was crystal clear what they were going for.
One attacks from the shadows, and stabs in the back.
Even if he fails, this forces the avatar to turn and deal with him, giving an opening to the other.
It was an instinct. While dropping the axe for the gladius and aiming for the sniper's throat, I knew where the real threat was.
The shield raced without looking to block the greatsword before he launched it.
He still came damn close to twisting that arm, this oversized lump of steel is ridiculous.
It was a victory regardless, as he lost both his momentum and his friend.
The most important is to prevent any future strikes.
His blade is already in the air, though it'll be long before he can bring it down again.
The initiative is back in these shaky hands and if it's up to me, he'll never have another chance to attack.
It's like in the tutorial when Tank said to land a hit on him, or rather, the opposite.
Being much weaker and inexperienced, I came up with a simple solution.
Of course, he only used his enormous mace to deflect every attempt, but the principle was the same.
It can work again. The riskiest part is to kick myself off the ground without seeing where he is.
Here goes nothing. With a large dust cloud, the avatar leaps into the air.
The back of the head bumps into his chin so the aim is perfect.
Brace the back against him to get under his weapon, and push as hard as possible until we reach the concrete walls.
After that it's all up to pin him in a corner, sneaking stabs after stabs below the arm.
While the gladius can't pierce this guy's plate, sticking close to him is the best bet to avoid that huge blade.
Leave him no ground to swing that thing around, and don't let him push the character away.
I'd be helpless if he had a sidearm for cases like this, but he's a dumb NPC.
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The dagger in the avatar's inventory could decide this fight though.
It's smaller, narrower, and could find a gap in his plate armor.
The logs are clear, the gladius can't make a dent in it, and while he's doing his best to push me away, I'm in a better position.
His gauntlets could beat the avatar into submission if he weren't sticking to that sword.
That thing is stuck between us, and there's no way I'd let it go.
The inventory is up and the dagger is the first item of the second line.
It will act like a can opener, find the right spot to get to the Mercenary's squishy bits.
The damage is low, but the logs show the first injury.
[03:26:10 Light Stab with Dagger on Mercenary. You lost 0.05 Stamina. +2 Damage.]
He will run out sooner or later, though keeping him pinned is harder than expected.
While the dagger doesn't use much force, the stamina bar nears the magic number.
The system will stack debuffs on the ability rolls below two. Will he go down before the Exhaustion modifier kicks in?
It will be close, it's below three now which makes it hard to breathe.
He changes tactics too, trying to grapple the avatar instead of yanking out his sword.
Damn it, they might not be that dumb after all. He should be down to about half HP, pushing and pulling the character.
He manages to turn and grab onto the weapon-wielding hand.
And of course, that's when the two missing NPCs finally make their appearance.
Fuck, the worst possible moment, he was getting desperate too.
It doesn't seem fair, though the system gave a warning that they're nearby.
The number didn't change from the moment the vault loaded.
One of the new arrivals stops by the door, making weird movements with his arms.
His yelling sounds stupid, but it has to have a meaning.
Don't say it's a wizard, how the fuck am I supposed to deal with that?
There is no pointy hat, yet magic runes start to form and twirl around him.
Is the Merc guy holding on so they can get a clear shot?
Kicking back at his knees doesn't do much to free me.
He tried to push away until now, why does he pull the avatar even closer then?
He's not as stupid as he looks.
The other new guy's nothing fancy, he has a simple mace and pulls it back to increase momentum on his way here.
He's not wearing heavy armor, if the shield manages to stop his first strike, it will be easy to counterattack.
Except the plated guy starts grappling the off-hand too.
Hooking under the right arm to pull down the shield is a nasty move, exposing me to the new attacker.
His face is something else. He sticks his tongue out, screaming like he's in a trance or gone crazy.
It wouldn't be surprising if he did in this place.
Anyone who came from the game's world and found himself in a dungeon like this would go mad.
His eyes are the worst part. It's clear even in the dark, how his pupils are huge, and the dagger plunges forward as a reflex to poke them out.
It's impossible with the plated bastard holding me down, it wooshes through the air and misses.
[Your opponent, Mercenary died: +570 Exp]
Wait, the stab didn't connect, so how?
The character falls back against the concrete as if the body behind it turned to dust.
What? Why? No log entry explains it, though the kill message looks different than usual.
Who did the mad guy attack?
[Status effect: Exhaustion]
Great, this doesn't help, even if the character is free.
To top it all off, a lightning bolt zips through the air with a thunderous clap.
It strikes the dagger pointing forward, electrocuting the poor avatar.
Half the hitpoints are gone, but the event logs show an interesting last entry.
[03:26:15 Insane Adventurer uses Lightning Bolt on Noob. +5 Damage +10 Stamina.]
Excuse me what? Did he recharge the character somehow?
Not only that, the dagger moves almost on its own to scrape the other mob's skin, and he's electrocuted too.
This distracts him long enough for a second stab that's more coordinated, which is all it takes to kill him.
[You killed an Insane Adventurer +228 Exp]
They are not mercenaries for sure.
It's easy to confirm the insane part too.
What's going on here?