[You killed a Plague Rat +50 Exp.]
"Phew, that was the last one." The antidote almost ran out on me. The method works, cutting off their rear end, yet it's anything but easy. Stand in one place and they will attack like devils, without a care about dodging or striking weak spots.
Try to grab them, and they go mental, bite your fingers, attempting to break free. They have dealt me five damage, which must be a new low from rats. Thank God for the food I looted from the bandit camp, it heals back up soon at least.
[Status effect: Recovery (food): +100% Regeneration Speed 4:53.]
The hundred percent sounds good, but it only means double the natural regeneration. That should be around one HP every minute, so food raises it to two. The healing potion gives five thousand percent, lasting only a few moments.
It has the potential to heal eight hit points every second though, so it's more than enough when you have ten at most. Even the high-level NPCs and DragonSlayer had less than twenty, so what gives? The Wrodditors said it's meaningless to level up, is it because of this?
Back to the rats, aiming for a specific spot is way more difficult than stabbing them. They are small, so it takes finesse, and twice as long to get them than usual, while only half dropped their tail. It's a lot of effort for a few coppers, so let's hope prices keep rising.
"One minute until they respawn, huh?" If all goes according to the plans, of course. The minimap shows a few people nearby, so I head out to see what's up. There are no players in the vicinity though, so they all must be villager NPCs in their homes.
Two more HP left to regenerate. Well, there is always the healing potion on the first slot of my inventory if anything goes wrong. It would be dumb to die to rats, even if these types carry sickness. But then, the list of things this character almost died to keep getting longer.
[Quest: Rat Ravaged Home. Importance: Medium. Difficulty: Average. Progress: 36/37. Reward: 5 Silver and 500 Exp. Plague Rats infested a villager's house, infecting him too. Cure the villager and kill the rats. The rats are in the basement, kitchen, and attic (5/6 hours left).]
Good, the mission isn't done yet, and once it's midnight in the game, the progress resets to zero. The eighteen hundred Exp remains though, and there are eighteen hundred more to farm now. Drinking the other half of that bitter blue juice gives me immunity again.
[Status effect: Immunity (antidote) 02:59]
This must be an oversight, but let's enjoy life before the devs notice and patch it too. The fog is lighter during the second run. It doesn't have the time to accumulate indoors, so visibility is better. It still smells of rot, and with the bitter taste of the potion, I want to throw up.
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The rats behave the same; they attack when you enter and scram when you try to catch them. Hitting them at the right spot with the sword would be impossible. The dagger is my best bet, and to avoid stupid injuries, I must perfect my aim without grabbing the critters.
This, and without running out of time.
[You killed a Plague Rat +50 Exp.]
The first one threw itself under my dagger as if suicide was a better option than losing its tail. Fucking monsters, they try to make my life miserable. The next one tries to bite into my default boots, yet it counts as part of the armor now, so he can't get through.
This is the perfect opportunity to slice at his rear. As the rat turns into pixels, it drops on the floor, signaling my victory. There is ten more in this room, and thirty-four to go. The timer on the antidote ticks too fast, so let's speed this up.
[You killed a Plague Rat +50 Exp.]
The more of these popups later, there are eight more drops in my inventory, at the cost of three HP lost. Am I getting better, or what? Okay, the truth is, the immunity has one minute left. Now it's either speedrunning the two other rooms or popping another potion.
The attic provides an interesting opportunity since I can stay on the ladder. This brings my arm to the same level as the enemy, assisting with my aim. They try to bite my face though, and it's all kinds of disgusting. A helmet would be nice.
[You killed a Plague Rat +50 Exp.]
Even with pain at ten percent, a rat bite on the nose is a horrible experience. It cost me two HP right away and the antidote ran out too. One sip from the next blue vial is enough to reset it, but ten body parts or not, let's never do this again.
[Status effect: Immunity (antidote) 02:59]
The next bite goes down harder as well. The nausea, rotting smell, and the potion's terrible taste don't help. The devs must have found some perverse satisfaction when they had the system simulate it all.
[Status effect: Recovery (food): +100% Regeneration Speed 4:56.]
Would the status cancel if I threw up? No, let's think of something else. There is still the basement and another errand left, so hurry up. What if instead of trying to grab or step on their body, my boot lands on the rear?
The next twelve volunteers are happy to practice this method with me. They drag their rear behind and only protect their bodies. Doing the opposite way might be the solution. Step on their tail, then stab the larger target. As long as the two separate, the item should drop.
[You killed a Plague Rat +50 Exp.]
The last critter goes down a second before the immunity runs out. There are no injuries this time, and I still got ten tails. If not for the pressure of the timer rushing me, I could have gotten the last two as well, yet it's a crazy harvest as is.
There were four tails in my inventory before this job, now there are forty. Even if the price stays where it is, that's eight silver, so time well spent. The extra antidote would cost only eighty-five coppers, so it's not wasted, and the vial is still half full. Or half empty.
It makes me so satisfied, I almost forget to heal the poor villager in the end. It's impossible to walk by him though. Thanks for the system message and his unenthusiastic sound. Would the rest of the antidote do the trick?
"You did it, adventurer, you saved my home!" He is still as thankful as that pre-recorded voice line lets him be. The sun is coming up, so this second wave took way longer than expected. With the tails and the Exp in the bank, and my health back to full, it's still a great turnout.
And this time, I didn't cover his basement in vomit, even if it was a close call. All right, next, before someone steals the five hundred Exp and the silver coins for this one. It's down one more street, and it didn't escalate, but regular rats have tails too.