They Had Never Coordinated Before

The armored undead runs towards the back and tries to flank.

Could it be that it's not the gear, and he's some higher-level mob too?

He moves faster and looks smarter than standing around like the rest waiting to get cut down.

The third enemy loses its head.

[You killed a Skeleton +30 Exp.]

"Ow, motherhugger!"

He snuck a shot into the sides.

It pierces the armor and causes two damage, yet there is no bleeding effect, so it should heal soon.

He's ready for another shot while the other two act almost like a distraction.

They had never coordinated before.

As odd as it might seem, circling the other two rather than rushing the armored one is the better choice.

If they stay between us, he won't be able to shoot through them, or at least won't get a sneaky shot at the sides.

The shield is about half a meter in diameter, it can't cover everything.

Well, he's not shy about shooting his comrades in the back.

The arrows can't cause much harm to them anyway, he fires through right between their ribs.

It bounces off the shield, but it's better to keep an eye out for him. The rest are sitting ducks in the melee range.

One goes down after a well-aimed swing and drops so many arrows, that the avatar almost loses his balance.

You'd expect them to turn into pixels and the items they carried fall on the floor.

What happens is that the loot spawns right where they stood, and gets highlighted instead.

It's easy to slip if you're on the move, trying to advance toward the remaining enemies.

They spawn like a trap.

Who would have thought skeletons could be annoying even after their second death? Slipping in the system has consequences.

Most games don't have this mechanic, yet this is Deep Dive.

It's scary to tip over during a fight, the brain goes crazy and your arms will flail like an idiot to keep your balance.

It's one thing when you walk like normal and slip on some ice. There is a sword and a shield in these hands.

Forget about friendly fire, what if they poke these eyes out?

The fall causes one extra damage and while I'm this vulnerable they can shoot.

The armored guy won't miss this opportunity, the only luck is that his last comrade is in the way.

Okay, what now? Stand up and take their potshots until then, or swipe the legs of the mob in front?

No, he's the only cover from the better archer, so it would be dumb to get him out of the picture. Why is it so hard to move?

[Status Effect: Dizziness.]

Great, the character must have hit his head on the ground. Even the world itself tries to kill me.

How long does this effect last? Unlike the buffs the NPCs used earlier, this one doesn't have a timer.

The armored undead is trying to find a better position so let's not idle.

The shield remains since it's a lifeline.

The sword disappears into the inventory, and with one free hand, it's much easier to stand up.

Another arrow slips under the guard, and only half the health remains. Whenever it seems like the mobs are easy, shit happens.

Please don't bleed, then I'd have to sprint back to the Pharmacy.

Selena gave a quest to visit them, except there are things to sort out first.

The silver lining is that the status effects disappear once I'm back on my feet.

"Oh, guys you're both so dead".

The first skeleton goes down before the blade reappears in the hands.

No matter how good it felt, the guard's structure points decreased further.

The armored mob backs away fast, especially since my eyes scan the ground. No more falling over like a noob.

He is no ordinary mob and knows if I catch up, he's done for.

His armor will be his downfall, slowing him down enough to help.

Why would an archer wear it anyway? Well, there are no complaints if it kills the bastard.

The first swing bounces off his breastplate, so it's not completely useless.

The second one beheads him anyway, armor or not.

He wasn't any tougher than the others even if he caused some extra sweat. Down to five HP, this fight took more out than expected.

[You killed a Skeleton Warrior +50 Exp.]

Fifty? So he was someone special indeed.

Of course, none of his armor or gear dropped, only his comrade's arrows and a bow litter the floor.

They caused some issues on top of being useless. There's no way I'd leave them here after fighting so hard to get them.

Into the inventory they go, and grab some looted food to fix that HP bar.

The next target is further east, near the stash, so a stop there would be nice too.

These must be why people like to clear the zombie spawn points and leave the archers alone.

And what is a Skeleton Warrior anyway? This is the first such encounter.

While it gave the same Exp as the Plague Rat, they weren't in the same weight category.

Is this thanks to the new event, or is he a rare spawn that's normal to run into?

It's a bad idea to sprint while eating, so even if the inventory allows, take a nice stroll to the next spawns.

They are both empty, and while it's getting dark, there's no reason to wait for midnight, until they respawn.

The health is back to normal at least.

Enough time wasted. Let's move the extra weight into the secret stash and on to the next job.

A single villager hunches forward on that street coughing.

This is new, things divert a lot today from previous experiences.

The system message warns about the change too.

[The E-rank "Rat Infested Home" escalated into D-rank "Rat Ravaged Home".]

Oh, okay, the journal about it updated too.

[Quest: Rat Ravaged Home. Importance: Medium. Difficulty: Average. Progress: 0/37. 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 (6/6 hours left).]

Wow, five silver? That is quite the upgrade, even if the extra two hundred Exp doesn't seem like an increase.

The number of rats is the same too, so how about curing the villager?

He coughs, looking with tired eyes, seeming more realistic than ever.

"Traveler..."

He coughs some more, and won't continue with the usual dialog.

"The rats, they must have infested me. Stay away, let the Guild know it's dangerous. It... It might be too late for me already, the house is full of rats. I don't want them to make you sick too."

How generous of him.

If it's all infested rats inside, paying fifty Exp instead of the usual five, there's no way I'm skipping this.

Would a healing potion work on the old man? Or does he need an antidote?

The system gives no hints as usual.

Hmm, there are three potions left.

"Don't worry, man. I've got you covered."

What's the worst that can happen, right?