A vast strangler was terrifying.
For any solo player like me, it had been insumerable and was comparable to a mini-boss. But even so, fighting ranged could always be a notch easier than fighting close combat.
While watching the distance and looking out for the snake-like monster, I thought about how I could counter its abilities. While it was faster than me, I couldn't do much except to gable on my skills again. But since I didn't want to experience the rabbit situation once again, I had to weigh the consequences carefully and use it only when needed.
And the cooldown still had two more minutes to go. At times like this, I hated both the large size of the hunting grounds as well as the cooldown timer.
So for now I could only use my weapons to defeat the vast strangler.
Although the long range of the glaive could keep it at bay, I didn't want to endanger the glaive. It would be my backup weapon and held in my lower right hand, while my higher right hand clasped the slender longsword.
A shield and the poisoned dagger finished my getup. Although the dagger would only be able to deal a fifth of the damage the spiked mace could, it would be more suitable to pierce the soft spots in the snake's body like its mouth or eyes.
And, more than that, I had bait! Sunshine bathed the youth in a beautiful light that made his black hair seem even glossier and painted beautiful patterns on his armour out of the shadows of leaves hindering the sunlight from lighting his whole armour.
He had his two swords drawn and looked shiny and all delicious enough to attract the snake's attention to him. And no, it wasn't too low for me to sacrifice him if it would buy me enough to either run or kill the monster.
But a pipsqueak like him would mostly suffice for a small snack. If the vast strangler swallowed him whole, he would be useless. Since I only needed one decent aiming for the monster's brain, this fight could still turn out victorious.
As the timer neared the last remaining 50 seconds, movement swayed the bushes and I saw the vast strangler close in by a terrifying speed, the scaly body basically gliding smoothly above the ground. I would have found it eerily beautiful if it wasn't a monster as terrifying as this. Or if I was level 40 again and could cook it well done with one of my spells.
But now, I could only ready myself for battle. Bracing my anxiety was impossible. But since my only chance of success was low, I didn't ponder any longer. There wouldn't be another opportunity like this to test my skills.
As the snake shot through the undergrowth closing in on Firion, I flashed a smile.
[[Charming smile lvl.1] was cast.
The vast strangler is momentarily stunned by the ugliness of its food and is disgusted. It ponders if it should eat you and considers just strangling you to death instead of ever biting you. The pure thought of tasting you fills it with nausea. [0:05]
Remark: You have devastatingly stunning ugliness!]
Hey! Hey, you friggin system! Earlier it thought of me as tasty and could't wait to eat me. Why did it change its mind so suddenly?!
Lowkey insulted, I watched Firion striking the snake's scales, missing its vulnerable parts, causing me to sigh. The next second, the stun was gone and the snake slithered around the elven player, maybe breaking a few ribs and his arms in the process of incapacitating him. Judging by his screams, he hadn't dialed down his feeling of pain. This was a beginner's mistake. I also learned to dial it down through the painful kind of way. As the snake positioned him to be swallowed, I reluctantly started moving.While running towards the monster, I aimed at the closest yellow eye. The vertical pupil eyed me and it stopped eating, the head heading straight towards me.
[Cooldown:0:01]
[Cooldown:0:00]
[[Little trick lvl. 1] was activated. The snake views you as something it would consider eating again. For the next ten seconds, it will try to frantically swallow you. [0:10]
Remark: Well. Here is justice for you. Satisfied?]
Hell no! Who would enjoy being eaten by a snake or worse, be the favorite snack of one. But instead of attacking me, the snake opened the terrifying maw as wide as possible. Maybe it couldn't focus on anything else than eating me. Totally forgetting, I was armed and it would need to kill me before snacking me. The snake simply opened its mouth nicely while doctor Val casually thrust a sword into the upper side of its head.
[-68 critical damage]
[-130 critical armor piercing damage]
While the snake reeled under the steel and notifications of damage popped up, I knew this wouldn't suffice for a one-hit-wonder. So my upper left hand moved fastly, stabbing the snake's left eye in a fluid motion.
[-12 critical damage and status [slow] and [poisoned] will be affecting the target. Every 10 seconds, the target will lose 15 HP if not treated with an antidote.]
And while holding the vast strangler close to myself by the sword and dagger piercing the vulnerable soft tissue up to the monster's brain, the glaive in my lower right hand gathered momentum, to aim precisely for the brain. Even if the snake succeeded in struggling, I did my utmost to keep it steady for one more second so my weapon wouldn't miss. And as the last two seconds of the skill's duration passed, the glaive found its way into the brain of the monster.
[-400 critical damage]
Instantly dealing tremendous damage, the snake slowly turned sluggish, then limp.
[...Congratulations.] At least a status message of my victory appeared.
[You killed the [Vast strangler lvl. 2].
Your contribution 99%,
Firion's contribution 1%.
Rewards and XP will be distributed according to the contribution of the two players.
Based on the low level and power gap between the opponent, you will receive additional benefits.
Claim your reward(s)! [Yes] [No] [Later]]
The rewards are the following:
990 XP
1 rare chest
19 silver coins 8 bronze]
I instantly chose [Yes] and watched the rewards pour into my character.
My level rose from 4 to 5 and the remaining 890 XP filled the bar of level 5 more than half! The money accompanied the remaining coin as well as the money I earned from farming salamanders to a nice sum of 1 platinum 71 silver 8 bronze and 5 copper. And last but not least, a chest appeared in my inventory. But instead of opening it, I closed my status and inventory and grabbed the snake to store the corpse in my inventory as well as my weapons. After 'cleaning up' a bit, I turned to the heaped body of a certain elf. I walked closer and heard a weak moan of pain.
"What a mess." I muttered, squatting down to poke at the useless brat. While I couldn't be sure, I bet the snake snapped his spine like a twig before I distracted it with my skill. And although he was at fault for triggering it, I got all of the rewards and he was hurt fatally in the process. Without a hefty fee offered to a priest, offing himself to the other side of the respawn point was the most humane thing I could do. But considering that killing him would only give me the PK status and letting him die would last far too long, I reached for him, told him: "Don't bite your tongue." I tossed him over my shoulder like a bag of flour and headed towards Bronning, no longer hurrying along the way but striding with calm.
The three rabbits I encountered ended up boosting the count of my XP even more. Almost happy, I whistled a merry tone on my further path.