It takes around eight minutes to clear each of these missions. By clearing I mean to cut off all the rat tails without returning to the Guild to fulfill the contract. Though the second one goes faster, there is still room for improvement.
The biggest find is the event log. It's not even the first time I've found it, but it slipped under my radar. It's inside the journal and shows the quests and events the character went through. It is much more detailed though, including every strike, whether it missed or not.
After two days it's a nice long list with time stamps, showing everything from effects to damage dealt. It sounds boring, of course. Still, considering the system doesn't show numbers during combat, it's worth looking into.
[20:12:31. Light Stab with Dagger against Common Rat. You lost 0.05 Stamina. It's a Glancing Hit! +2 Damage. You severed Rat Tail. You killed a Common Rat +5 Exp.]
Yes, it's this detailed. While it calls my precision cut a stab, it shows every number associated with the action. As it wasn't a full-blown attack, the system registered it as 'light'. Those cost 0.05 stamina with the dagger, half as much as normal, at the cost of less damage.
They are also faster and more precise, which is ideal for rats that don't have much HP. They can also work against other opponents since hitting the right spot triggers a Crit. It doubles or triples the damage, and can stun the enemies.
While you might lose some strength, the bonus from such a precision attack can negate the debuffs. The emphasis is on the fact that it's less tiring. After a quick test with the sword, - yes the logs also record slashes into thin air, - it can make a huge difference.
A regular attack costs 0.2 stamina with it, causing the advertised +5 average damage. This means five such strikes will cost one point of stamina and the character has ten. Below five he'll become sluggish, then lose breath, and at two the exhaustion modifier kicks in.
This leaves me with fifty efficient attacks in a battle before I need to rest or drink a stamina potion. It's no wonder it seemed like every drawn-out fight was a struggle. And to make things worse, there is a heavy attack.
It offers increased damage at the cost of even more stamina, and guess what? When I was desperate, slashing around blind at zombies, it all counted as heavy attacks. Most of them missed, using up all my breath for zero gain.
This is something to consider in future engagements. Light, precise jabs to the right place are much more efficient than brute force. As the saying goes, work smarter, not harder. I'd like to know how much stamina that heavy bow uses, but I left it in the stash.
After a few shots, my arms became heavy as lead. Those shots should be in the logs too, but it's cluttered to the death with the recent rat fights. It would take ages to scroll up, so it's easier to pick it up and test it out instead.
A case of content theft: this narrative is not rightfully on Amazon; if you spot it, report the violation.
This gives me an idea of what to do next. Midnight is still far away, so let's head to the stash and kill some zombies en route. A quick search in the settings shows an option that puts the logs into my view in real time.
It's hard to see and only shows the most recent events, but it might be useful. For example, it shows that I lost three stamina after sprinting for a minute. This is something I already suspected, running slower only costs half as much.
The weight on the character might add a modifier to that, but the backpack is almost empty now. The closest spawn point has a lone zombie waiting, and a few crystals around him. Did someone give up halfway and leave him here, or did they kill the player?
There is no other loot on the ground, and no one nearby on the minimap, so it should be safe. With the rusty sword and the battered shield equipped, let's see how precision would work on this guy. It's easier to trigger light attacks with the dagger, but how long will it be adequate?
The time before my plan comes to fruition is for practice and more practice. These zombies never react before the first attack, even if someone jumps up and down next to them. This means I can aim for as long as needed, and launch a light stab at the heart.
[20:21:51. Light Stab with Rusty Sword against Zombie. You lost 0.1 Stamina. It's a Critical Hit! +9 Damage. You killed a Zombie +30 Exp.]
Woah! Yes, this is viable. The sword only has a plus-five median damage, and the light attack should have halved it. Yet the critical hit for stabbing its weakness tripled the number, and they have six HP in total. If there was a second one here, I could test the heavy attack too.
Well, on to the next spawn, it's a hundred meters away, and there are two more before reaching the stash. It's better to slow my walking pace until the next point so my stamina can recharge. If the player stays in one place, he regains one point every minute.
Sitting provides a bonus, while a comfortable walk only gives back half a point. After running out here, there is only enough stamina for ten light attacks. It's better to go prepared with some extra in case the spawn has six enemies, or if something nasty is there.
Besides, the next thing to test is the heavy attack, which costs more. Please don't be archers, I'm not in the mood to deal with their crap. Praying doesn't work, because something much worse is in the next area.
Players. My counter warns me before I can spot them, but it means they also saw the blip on the minimap. Such a useful too, yet it works both ways. It's a good thing I chose to walk here, now my endurance is there to sprint into safety if something bad happens.
Now that there is a plan to win that cursed quest, running into players outside the village would be the worst. Especially, since there were three of them. Or there could be more further away. My immediate reflex was to pull back and hope they didn't notice me.
The trees are dense here, and I have the green bandit cloak on, that gives plus-three to stealth in the forest. Let's see if it does anything, and sticking to the shadows, circle the clearing. Combat noises drift towards me in the wind, so something is happening.
The counter remains at zero though, so they didn't fan out to intercept me. This won't stop my heart rate from jumping into the sky. This is what CineMraft does to people, the adrenaline is real, and it kicks in when you're in danger.
Even if they're invisible or only exist in my mind, the cold sweat on my temple tells this is serious. Let's hope what noise they make will suppress the shallow breaths I'm taking and the war drums of my heart.
This wish came too late, the woods fell silent. I stop, halfway circling the spawn, to listen to where they might go next. Only some muted chatter reaches my ears, but they don't sound stressed like me. They might have missed the counter.
Except it jumps up to one.