The quest area is about ten minutes from the village and the minimap's gauge still shows zero.
It doesn't count with the zombies, of course.
The nightfall caught up with the avatar, as a reminder that an hour already passed since logging in.
There has been good progress, regardless of the debacles and sleeping in.
Those near-death experiences felt like lasting for ages, yet they paid the best Exp as well.
And then there was COTTONEYEJOE's storytime, taking up only a few minutes.
Clearing the fed's mission seems possible, this next errand is a simple fetching one too.
The flower grows in a clearing far from the road, though the place is bustling with activity.
It has such a strong scent that it's easy to find without the automatic highlight.
You can feel it through the warm earthy forest smells and the rotting flesh of the dead.
Did the job description mention them?
These contracts became too repetitive to read anything other than the rewards. This should have included the difficulty.
[Adventurer Guild D-rank Quest: Poison Flower. Importance: Low. Difficulty: Average. Progress: 0/1. Reward: 5 Silver and 1000 Exp. Stealth optional. Find a Poisonous Lilly (Rare) near the zombie lair, and bring it to the pharmacy (6/6 hours left).]
Wait, it was in the average category?
That never means anything good. The Plague Rats were almost deadly, and so were the bandits.
Also, the main quest is still far from over, and yes, it does specify the monsters and one more thing. Stealth optional.
I don't know about that, this place is rather packed.
Without leaving the cover, ten undead are visible patrolling the clearing.
There must be more of them too, on the other side of this small hill. At least they have no skeletons, and it's already dark.
Sneaking between them might be viable, yet what's the point? Killing them gives Exp, so leaving them behind would be a shame.
The rusty sword should be able to deal with them in a single hit, or two if the aim sucks. While rare, even a perfect strike can result in a bad damage roll.
Stealth isn't my Jazz, to be honest. And, well, the description said optional, not advised, or mandatory.
This means it should be easy to clear them out, only unnecessary for the mission.
The avatar needs the experience points more than anything, so after coming this far, take it all.
To be on the safer side, let's chew on the looted food, that should give extra regeneration speed.
The character might be hungry too, since the real-life lunch isn't shared between him and the real deal.
Stolen from its rightful author, this tale is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.
It wasn't much anyway so he'll be better fed after this than me.
The quick-access tab has the sword, shield, and bow, in case someone tries to sneak attack.
One more practice run to grab the potions, antidote, and bandages if anything goes wrong, and I'm ready.
These are nothing more than dumb zombies, it will be fine.
"Leroy Jenkins!" Despite shouting as loud as possible, such a subtle announcement won't alert them.
Only a few even turn their heads this way, they seem blind and deaf without their spotters.
This should be easy, if they spread no disease, or have any hidden backup to help them. Famous last words...
[You killed a Zombie +30 Exp.]
The first undead loses its head and turns into pixels from a single slash.
This alerts the rest of them, and they drag themselves this way, with no sense of urgency.
The second one scratches the guard, and the structure bar is down in the orange now.
[You killed a Zombie +30 Exp.]
Right, it'll need a replacement soon. He pays for the scratch with his life, death, or whatever they have.
The third monster is so slow, standing far away, so the character has to meet him halfway.
He tries to block the slash with his arm, and now it's gone. "Well, that wasn't the smartest idea, was it?"
The second strike turns him into pixels too.
A quick look around the clearing shows that zombies approach from every direction.
The initial ten weren't all, there are at least twice as many, and they emerge from the woods too. This is still nothing crazy.
They'll be easy prey while they all come alone and don't try to flank.
Distances are smaller in their spawn points, which they use to their advantage.
This clearing is at least twenty times in diameter, so even if there are more zombies, they scatter around.
[You killed a Zombie +30 Exp.]
The first hit lands after the sword cut down half a dozen of them, and that's when I realize, they come from behind too.
There's no end to them, even if they're slow and don't coordinate their attacks.
The path is clear towards the flower though, so it might be smart to grab it.
Once it's in the inventory, retreat will be an option if playing with the undead becomes too much. If only it were that easy.
The closer the target is, the faster these mobs move, trying to swarm from every direction.
Okay, that's fair, it would make sense if their goal is to make the mission harder.
Fine. Let's see if they slow down again if the avatar takes a few steps back.
[You killed a Zombie +30 Exp.]
After three more turns into pixels, the answer is a solid no.
So with nine down, at least twice as many are still standing. They move at a normal walking pace now.
Then it makes more sense to cut them down before going closer to the flower. Nice and steady while they're still manageable.
Their second hit lands from behind again, and it's not a serious wound.
The previous one already healed thanks to the food trick. Two more minutes on the status timer, while the character regenerates faster.
No new zombies appear either, the total remains thirty-six. The system loves these numbers, dividable by six.
The spawns usually have that many, the rat missions involve twelve or thirty-six too.
Oh, and the missions tend to have six hours to clear. Once the ones appearing from behind go down, they line up like ducks.
[You killed a Zombie +30 Exp.]
"Thank God you guys aren't too smart." Whether they appreciate the taunting, they approach in a single file.
The next ten go down without landing a hit, while the avatar backs away toward the road.
Learning from past mistakes, one eye is always on the ground below the feet.
The other watches the counter on the minimap, and the swings become less well-aimed.
These guys are still impossible to miss, and it only takes two attacks to take them down even fighting blind.
That's still more than what it took to clear the rats.
They were in three separate groups too, always giving a little time to rest.
Not these folks. They all approach at once. Exhaustion kicks in after the second dozen goes down.
The shield feels heavier, even though it's the good old wooden one.
Imagine the iron guard the bandits dropped. These arms would have broken off from that one already. How many more?!