These rats aren't bite-sized; this job might be more than I can chew.
In most games, monsters are territorial and won't leave a certain room. These don't care and push me out of the house, surrounding me on the street. Despite my plus-two armor, each bite they land deals one damage.
It might not sound like much, but there are twelve of them, and my character has ten HP. And these fuckers are fast. Like, very fast. This is how the zombies must have felt when they fought me, only managing one attack after every two or three of mine.
This dagger is my fastest weapon. The battered shield is also lighter than the old training one, and it's still impossible to keep up. They run circles around me and strike from every direction at once. How are you even supposed to kill these?
It's a huge step up from the previous missions. Would a better armor work? Or is it scaled for an entire party? What I wouldn't give for that Stone Skin spell DragonSlayer used on me during the bandit quest. The dagger only slashes the air, and my HP bar drops fast.
Okay, this is serious and calls for drastic measures. It's better to grab a potion if my weapon doesn't work. A single sip here and there should keep me alive while I knock them away with the shield and run.
In mere seconds, they knocked me down to two hearts despite my best efforts, so this isn't a task I can clear. Their bites aren't even that painful, there are still so many though, and they keep coming. Ratpocalypse is a fitting name for this mission.
[Status effect: Healing Potion +5000% Regeneration Speed 0:02.]
If only there were a potion that heals slower but lasts longer. For now, a quick swap for food and a few bites to lengthen the effect should do. Are they poisonous? I'm not feeling anything, though they will kill me way faster than any sickness could.
[Status effect: Recovery (food) +100% Regeneration Speed 4:58.]
It's obvious, that the meal can't heal me fast enough, yet every little helps between the sips from the potion. Focusing on the shield alone gives me a better chance to deflect their attacks. While they won't let up the chase, they can't surround me as long as I'm on the move.
[You killed a Death Rat +100 Exp.]
Finally, one down! And a hundred points? The bandits gave that much, and that was an A-class mission. This was a bad idea, a terrible one. How many hits it took with the shield to kill it? It's impossible to keep track when they all look the same and move so fast.
Even while taking one sip at a time, drinking whenever my HP bar drops too low, the first vial empties within a minute. It's not on the quick-access menu so I have to grab it from the inventory, wasting another few seconds. How far is the house now?
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The minimap shows that there are some people nearby, will they attack them too? That would be a disaster, my character's the only one to blame. I must make a last stand and kill them, no matter what.
[You killed a Death Rat +100 Exp.]
At least the rest of them didn't break out. Imagine seventy-two little devils wreaking havoc on the street! These twelve are already deadly, although two finally went down. They don't scatter, focusing on me, so it might be worth running backward instead of a last stand.
Anything, that prevents them from spilling into the village or surrounding me. And my first thought was, how many rat tails could I get from this bunch, after waiting for the midnight respawn? It's already impossible to hit them with the dagger, let alone aim for their rear.
Running was a good idea, they land much fewer hits while backing away from them, except I'm out of breath now. There is a stamina potion in my inventory too, sipping it little by little could buy me a few extra minutes. Don't they get tired though? How many hit points do they have?
[You killed a Death Rat +100 Exp.]
Screw it, the faster they go down, the fewer strikes they can land on me. Attack is the best defense and the shield can deal with them using direct hits. Once more, it becomes my main weapon and only lifeline.
[You killed a Death Rat +100 Exp.]
They run around in circles as soon as they don't have to follow me, and trying to keep up makes me dizzy. They'd bite my ass off if I weren't turning with them though, so this can't end well in any way. Come on, four is already down, the rest should be easier.
[Status effect: Exhaustion.]
Great. The stamina potion comes next then. The coffee taste, mixed with the syrupy healing potions turns my stomach upside down. It still didn't recover after all that bitter antidote and stress. With all this spinning, eruption is inevitable.
The good news is, that the potions and the food won't lose their effect even after throwing up. It would be cool if it did some acid damage to the rats since it covers them all over. This only makes the whole situation more disgusting though.
[Status effect: Food Poisoning 9:59.]
Well, that's a new one, but fair enough. So this is how the system tells me I overdid with the potions? Because the food should still be fine. It must be all this mix and match. And what does the effect mean? Will my character keep vomiting for ten minutes?
Or he won't be able to drink more potions? Surrounded by these fuckers, that would mean death. The exhaustion disappeared. There are two more minutes on the food's healing effect, but the potion only lasts two seconds after each sip.
Okay, Arnim, focus. If you are no longer tired, you can fight. The HP bar is nice and full, and even if the vomit didn't cause damage to the rats, they seem confused. Punch them with the shield, and if the system doesn't let me drink more potions, use the dagger too.
[You killed a Death Rat +100 Exp.]
The first one is an easy kill because they still aren't that tough. They are small and fast, making them hard to hit, but they will pop once they slow down. So how do I make them stop? After that punch they speed up again, dancing around me like before.
This spinning makes my symptoms worse, and my vision becomes blurry. Another stream erupts burning my throat and covering them in vomit. They stop again. That will be my new strategy, tactical throw-up!
Too bad, I have no control over it whatsoever. It gave me another free strike on them, so let's make it count, and attack two at once, using the shield and the dagger. It's funny that the first one is the better weapon since it's still in my left hand, and has an easier aim.
[You killed a Death Rat +100 Exp.]
The dagger misses, but half of them are down. Now this should be easy. Right? Right?!