"Your rank exam will be to kill these zombies."
The Guildmaster raises his voice, tapping his staff to the avatar's back.
So we're actors now? It's easy to demolish these guys, especially once he adds a buff.
[Status effect: Steel Body +3 Res +10 HP 02:55]
That resistance makes the character invincible to these critters.
He also doubled the hitpoints for three minutes, and there was no chanting.
Whether he can hold a sword or not, this guy can use some crazy magic.
It pisses off the zombies though.
They never attack first, yet they moan and stumble towards the invisible aura.
With only four to kill, this won't be enough to impress the Trainer and Scrawny one.
Rolling with the usual choreography, the first go down from a stab at the heart.
[You killed a Zombie +10 Exp.]
What? Where's the usual thirty? Is it because of the party or the drawback of the spell?
Why would you join forces with people if they all get the same amount of Exp, whether they do something or not?
They don't stop at one spell, next Tank's eyes light up, and he adds another crazy buff on top.
Even if they are for the bandits, not the undead, this is getting ridiculous. And he's not even a wizard, so how?
Well, the name of the modifier explains it.
[Status Effect: Warrior Spirit +5 Atk +5 Def +2 Dmg 04:58]
The avatar is untouchable, making it harder to act like struggling than dealing with the mobs.
Well, they wanted a show, so they'll get a show. Wait. They won't split the five thousand Exp promised for this task, right?
Whether the Guildmaster finds the acting satisfying, the fight's over fast.
These bonuses are so high, that it wouldn't matter if you fought with your eyes closed. Do they think the bandits wouldn't notice?
[You killed a Zombie +10 Exp.]
The last two undead turn into pixels without much effort, and Tank fakes how impressed he is.
Turning to the Guildmaster he claps his hands, scanning the treeline.
My mind is elsewhere, staring at the numbers on the minimap and searching in vain for the hidden enemies.
"Aye, I can attest to how ye fought a D-rank monster and approve yer promotion."
The Scrawny claims with his terrible accent, and it still sounds like he read that from a script.
"We'll go back to the Guild now, there are other important things to do."
Stolen from its rightful place, this narrative is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.
These guys are terrible at acting but as persons trying to play a role.
How they behave is way more convincing than an AI should have any right to be.
The question is if the bandits will buy it. Are they smart mobs like these guys or dumb like the ratting dude?
"Stay sharp, we'll stay nearby. The aura should protect ye."
This comes from inside the head, and it's not the usual female sound the system uses for its messages.
It's telepathy, with the Guildmaster's voice, even the accent comes through.
It's a good thing he didn't say it out loud, that would have made the whole show irrelevant.
"Do you think they haven't seen through this charade already?"
Tank's deep voice joins in too, and since he isn't a wizard, it's a surprise.
What if it's the normal way to talk for parties, and not something special the Guildmaster cast?
That part of the system is in complete darkness.
The fact that NPCs can join and even start parties is strange.
Other than the generic merchants and cloned Ratters, the devs put an insane level of detail into this.
So does this work both ways? Or would if the system didn't mute the character?
"It seems unlikely that they'd attack after this. I couldn't be a more obvious bait. Why would you stick around?"
Let's assume they got the message since it felt like talking, except the mouth never moved.
"I don't know. Pick up the crystals, look at yer maps, sort yer inventory, get creative."
The Scrawny's message sounds impatient, even though they no longer doubt the report.
"If the bandits lost one of their men to ye, they'll go after ye even if they think it's risky."
Playing the bait isn't the best, but he's right.
Once the character leans in to pick up the crystals, a red dot lights up on both sides, and an arrow slams into the shield.
The third one will be behind, it's unnecessary to look since they used the same tactics as earlier.
This time, two strong status effects are here for protection and high-level NPCs as backup.
A magic arrow makes short work of the one closer to the village.
Before the other two realize their mistake, Tank jumps on the one behind, and system messages pop up.
[Your Party Leader killed a Bandit +33 Exp.]
No, those tasty bandit experience points! They split those too, although, the avatar didn't contribute to their deaths.
It explains how force leveling works if it's always distributed between the members.
And it also means that not partying up and killing hordes of monsters is the best.
[Your Party Member killed a Bandit +33 Exp.]
Still, standing here and doing nothing puts me in a bad light.
The remaining bandit is trying to escape, offering a perfect target to a bow.
It's great how fast it is to switch between weapons and don't have to draw the arrows out either. They appear in the hand, ready to fire.
Led by a random idea, let's aim for the legs and hope that would stop him without killing the guy.
When they first attacked, one got a stun status effect from the shield, and the other stopped to deal with a wound.
If the arrow makes his leg bleed, he won't be able to run for sure.
The boosts almost wear out, but the bow hits the intended target.
Let's hope the bonuses aren't large enough to kill him.
The arrow goes right through his calf, and it must hurt, yet it's hard to feel bad for the fucker.
Tank's over him in a split second, raising his mace ready to kill.
"Wait, ye brute, we can interrogate him."
The Guildmaster stops him in the nick of time and the Trainer lowers his massive weapon.
"Quick thinking on yer feet, Noob, ye did deserve that E-rank after all. I'll notify the Assistant to sort out the paperwork."
[Emergency Quest: Dead Or Alive. Importance: Significant. Difficulty: Average. Progress: 3/3, Reward: 1+5 Gold and 5000 Exp. The Mission is a great success. The Guildmaster agrees to a double promotion for your contribution. He rewards you with another 5 Gold.]
Holy Fuck.
Six gold is more money than everything going through these hands so far.
Unless the loot was more, it's hard to tell without the appraisal skill.
And that's it? The mission is complete, will they give zombie quests now?
How much Exp would they be?
It didn't take long at all, they would have enough time to get back if they insisted on the exam.
There was nothing to worry about and now they have a captive, which might lead to other quests in the future.
They must have dropped tons of nice loot.
"Take what you can, boy, you earned your pay today."