Chapter 7: I Stood Up (✗), One-Shotted (✓)

The paladin crumpled, and his entourage of girls scattered in a panic. 

The slower ones, or those with shorter legs, simply vanished into bursts of white light, joining their leader in a free trip back to town.

As a bystander to this chaos, Nightwish’s immediate thought was singular and sharp:
“Are these monsters’ attacks that high?”

Counter-kills weren’t unheard of—players often got cocky and tackled mobs far above their level or elite bosses. 

But this? This didn’t add up.

By Nightwish’s calculations, even at their worst, the Dark Bats should’ve shaved off half the paladin’s health at most. 

With the priestess in the back and his own healing skills, he should’ve recovered quickly. 

A five-man team was more than enough to handle ten bats. 

Yet, the bats struck first, obliterating the frontline paladin in one salvo, collapsing the team like a house of cards.

Sure, their party composition had flaws, but Nightwish realized these Dark Bats were no ordinary foes. 

If the tankiest class at their level couldn’t withstand a single volley from ten bats, her odds against one or two were shaky at best.

“Wait a second… if their attack is that high, doesn’t that mean…”

A spark of insight hit her. 

She recalled the paladin, even in his defense-lowering stance, chunking a sixth of a bat’s health with one hit. 

With her own attack power, a Backstab and Gouge combo, plus one more strike, should down a bat easily.

Gripping her dagger tightly, Nightwish made her decision in a heartbeat.

Stealth.

Her form melted into the air, breath carefully controlled as she crept toward a smaller Dark Bat lingering near the ruins’ edge. 

It looked softer than the others—always pick the ripest persimmon, right?

The bat twitched, as if sensing something amiss.

Too bad for it—Nightwish didn’t give it a chance to react. Seizing the perfect moment, she struck.

Backstab.

Her dagger carved a silver arc through the air, sinking precisely into the bat’s torso. 

It let out a shrill screech, flailing its wings to retaliate.

Eyes narrowed, Nightwish pressed harder.

Gouge.

Just then, three other Dark Bats, drawn by the aggro link, swooped toward her. 

“Three?” she muttered, catching their approach in her peripheral vision. 

She could handle one or two, but this was too much. 

Time to retreat and reset their aggro.

As she moved to pull back, she threw one last hit at the wounded bat for good measure.

A purple Lucky Strike notification flashed.

Talk about luck—a 1% chance for triple damage had procced. But as the damage number appeared, Nightwish froze.

-61

Something was off. 

That was triple damage?

Her gaze snapped to her target. 

Despite her flurry of attacks, including a critical Lucky Strike, the bat still clung to a sixth of its health.

Had she misjudged? 

Were these bats low-attack, high-defense types?

Her theory shattered as an incoming bat’s attack slammed into her.

-38

A third of her health vanished in an instant. 

Her face paled as she suddenly understood the paladin’s fate. 

With more shadowy forms diving toward her, she didn’t hesitate, activating her ace in the hole.

Shadow Assault.

A rare early-game rogue survival skill, another hard-won treasure from a chest. 

Her body blinked out of existence, the bats’ attacks hitting empty air. 

She reappeared behind the wounded bat, striking its wound with a swift follow-up.

-20

The damage popped up, and the beleaguered creature finally dissolved into experience points.

An item dropped from its corpse. 

Heart racing, Nightwish snatched it up, barely glancing at it before a surge of danger prickled her senses. 

She shoved it into her inventory just as three more attacks landed.

Three damage numbers flashed, and her health bar emptied.

Respawning in Soma Town, Nightwish hurriedly checked her gear. 

Losing only a common leather glove, she exhaled in relief—then her expression soured. 

To think she’d be counter-killed by low-level mobs, after mocking that paladin no less. 

Karma hit fast.

After that ordeal, she had little desire to return to the ruins. 

Those Dark Bats were a nightmare. 

But then she remembered—the experience from one bat was nearly as much as two Wanderers. 

That was tempting.

Curious, she checked the dropped item.

Skill Book: Iron Wall (Passive)

Description: Warriors gain formidable defensive prowess through rigorous training.

Attributes: Defense +10

Restriction: Warrior

“Not bad. Jackpot.”

Skill books in Epoch were as rare as equipment, and this one was a warrior’s dream passive for early game. 

It could easily fetch 40 coppers at auction. 

One death was a small price—below level 10, experience loss was capped at 10%. 

This was a steal.

She listed the book at the auction house, her mind drifting back to the ruins.

“No way monsters have both high attack and defense. So… some bats must specialize in attack, others in defense.”

The realization clicked. 

It explained everything.

“Whoever designed these mobs is a crafty one,” she muttered, half-impressed, half-annoyed.

A friend’s message pinged.

“Hey, I’m here, Night! Did you snag a spot at the Wanderer Camp?”

The message sparked an idea. The Dark Bat problem wasn’t unsolvable.

“Forget that place. I’m taking you somewhere else.”

“Somewhere else?”

“Just meet me here.”