I encounter two more of such elf pairs. But this time the damage to me and my stitched is less, because I learned my lesson and started using the trees as cover. As I continue to move forward, I finally encounter a 'real ambush'.
Multiple arrows are launched at the same time towards us. "Ambush!" I shout. Though It doesn't change how the stitched behave in the slightest. The arrows come from all directions and I can't effectively use the trees as cover. After the first arrow shower, five elves with daggers rush in our direction. They were hiding behind the trees. I try to move behind the closest tree to assess the situation, but one of the five elves intercepts us and I have no other option than to attack with the staff until it dies. By the time I hide behind the tree, one of the stitched has already been killed by the arrows. "Shit! I can't get the xp bonus now!" Luckily, it isn't the Kidnapper one.
"I can't hold back anymore. Unless I want to risk getting killed by some weak mobs." I pop my head from behind the tree and see that the four remaining elves with daggers are standing in the middle of the ambush scene. If I can make the stitched engage them, they will keep them busy, and I can go look for the archers meanwhile.
"Ok, let's go!" I start moving towards the group of four dagger-wielding elves, until the stitched initiate combat, and then I stop. I receive most of the arrows since I'm in front. I then search for the closest archer. It's only a few meters away, so I immediately cast a Cold Blast and the elf takes a considerable amount of damage. It turns towards me, I'm now his target. Then we exchange two arrows and spells, and the elf is dead.
"One less!" I say. I run in the direction of the second archer. I cast another Cold Blast. This time I'm lucky, and after taking the damage the elf is partially encased in ice. It can't properly hold into the branch he is standing on, and falls to the ground. "I need to save MP for the rest of the elves." I say to myself. Then, I run to the immobilized elf and attack it twice with the staff. It is now dead. "Another one!"
Meanwhile, the stitched are fighting the four elves with daggers and being shot by arrows at the same time. I see that two of them are dead and only two stitched remain. "Shit! I didn't think about this properly!" I wanted to avoid casting Chain Lightning if possible, but I have no other choice now. "You will regret killing my gross babies!" I shout while casting Chain Lightning. They are the basic elf units, and I have very high stats, so all four elves are left with 1 hp and stunned. I see that the Kidnapper, still alive, starts to capture one of them.
I immediately hide behind a tree because now, the three remaining archers are targeting me. I got their aggro when dealing so much damage with a single skill. The problem is… that the stitched have no way to climb trees nor ranged attacks, and I used almost all my MP. I only have enough to cast three more Cold Blasts. Also, after casting so many spells and receiving so many arrows, I only have 128 HP remaining. It's about 1/4 of my maximum HP.
"And my MP is recharging slower than before, because my SOU isn't full. I know that the game uses the Soul and Stamina stats to make the experience more realistic and avoid players going at 'full force' all the time… But it really is hurting me right now!"
I pop my face from behind the tree and immediately go back into hiding. *Swish! Swish! Swish!* I see three arrows pass through where an instant before was my head. "Now!" I quickly leave the tree behind and cast a Cold Blast towards one of the archers. I keep running without stopping, and then cast another one towards the same archer. It is encased in ice and falls down, and I take this chance to strike it with the staff and finish it. Two remaining.
I turn around and glare at one of the archers. "It's your turn next!" With my last remaining MP I cast another Cold Blast. This time I'm really lucky, and the elf is encased in ice again, falling to the ground, and meeting its end by courtesy of my staff.
I wait for my MP to recover while hiding behind a tree again. I do so until I have 54 MP, the amount needed to cast Cold Blast three times: the amount of times needed to make sure the last elf is dead. I don't forget about the MP reduction thanks to my passive.
"Going for the last one!" I run towards the last elf and start an exchange of spells and arrows. The elf dies at the third strike. I didn't get lucky this time.
"Wow! This was very close! That ambush wasn't easy." I say while dropping myself to the ground. I take a look at my status.
Mad Rat (Lv 2)
HP63/484 STA21/32 SOU11/36
EP46/396 MP3/484
"Hah!" I laugh. "I'm pooped. And my status confirms it. I'm going to rest for a while." There are currently only two stitched alive. The Kidnapper and one of the Followers.
I stand up after two minutes of resting. "Ok, I'm at full MP now, and I have about 1/4 of the maximum HP remaining. I can continue as long as I don't take too many risks."
I take a look again at my status window and notice that the SOU stat has almost reached 0.
Mad Rat (Lv 2)
HP130/484 STA15/32 SOU3/36
EP396/396 MP484/484
"Hahaha! This was really close! I'm close to dying because of MP overuse!"
SOU and STA are consumed to regenerate EP and MP respectively, and you die if one reaches 0, even if you have HP remaining. That's why experienced players don't waste EP or MP when there's no need.
"I'm not an experienced player yet, but I know this from watching the videos! And because of Ricard drilling the info into my head…" That's why I didn't want to use Chain Lightning against single opponents.
After the short monologue, I start moving while being vigilant of my surroundings.
I reach a small clearing. There, in the distance, I can see three elves. They wear mage clothes, so I assume they are High Elves, the same unit as I am. And protected by the three mages, I can see the dungeon core.
"So now it's casters, huh? The only way I can win this is by attacking at melee range. In a spellcasting contest I'm going to lose, because my MP is regenerating very slowly and my HP is very low."
I move as close as possible towards the closest mage. I move through the forest so that they don't see us, until the mage enters the attack range of the stitched, and they start moving for the kill. Then I follow from a short distance behind.
The three mages start casting at the same time. Then *Fwoosh!* three large balls of fire are launched at the same time towards the stitched. *Booom!* A fire explosion later, and the stitched are reduced to ashes. This was a triple Fireball spell. "Rest in pieces, my poor babies!" I was expecting something like this, so I let the stitched move in front as a meat shield.
I pick up my pace and sprint towards the first mage. Then, I attack the elf with my staff until it is dead. The other two mages are casting smaller spells towards me. It seems they don't have enough mana for another big spell. Going towards the second mage, I cast Cold Blast on the way. It doesn't get encased in ice, but when I reach it, it meets the same fate as its comrade.
When I'm about to reach the last mage, I remember something. "I must capture at least one of them! High Elves have a very good innate passive!" To make sure I stun it when I cast the spell, I first hit the mage twice with the staff and only then cast Chain Lightning. The elf is stunned now, so I start the capturing process.
"Few!" I exhale as I swipe my nonexistent sweat from my furry forehead. "I managed to capture one! Yes! Finally a good 'body' that I can use for the creation of a Hybrid!" I celebrate while jumping around, my arms raised towards the sky. By the way, I ended up with only 34 HP.
After a few minutes, I decide it's enough, and stop fooling around. I reach for the dungeon core and break it.
ungeon Invasion Successful!
Rewards Obtained
CP XP
Dungeon completion (100 cp) Dungeon core destroyed (10 xp)
Enemies killed (62 cp) More than 90% enemies killed (20 xp)
Current cp: 170 cp XP to next player level: 50/100
Resources
3 food, 4 metal, 19 corpses
3 Scout (capt.), 1 High Elf (capt.)
1 Butterfly (capt.), 1 Chameleon (capt.), 2 Giant Ant (capt.)
Warning!You have obtained more than the 5 bodies you are allowed to bring back. Select which ones are the ones you want to keep before exiting the dungeon.
"What the heck!?" I exclaim. "Where did the butterfly, chameleon and giant ants come from!? I didn't even see them! …was the Kidnapper working overtime…?"