Mechanical Guardians used to be a problem for me at the beginning. They do not have high defense, but a good HP pool and more than decent damage with each strike.
With the way it moves, a heavy step after another, you would think they are slow and easy to dodge, but they are not. Remember the [Rush] skill? They have it.
Did I mention they don't have a face? There is a head, but it lacks every feature.
If I am not mistaken... I should have 1 to 2 casts with my MP pool, and I can use most of my spell repertoire. Godly-level spells were out of the question until I could get in the first ten thousand MP.
In order to avoid it using [Rush] I move behind the rock from earlier. It needs a clear path to the objective, but the rock blocks it.
It is moving towards me. Each step is heavy and followed by gears and moving against each other.
Okay, two spells...
I hold Bloodless in my hand, tight. With my other hand, I place my hand over the back of the sword.
Another aspect of Ego items is that they often have hidden skills. It never appears in the item description with the rest of the enchantments and is not explained anywhere, but the dev did confirm this in a public chat when I explained that I found I could activate Bloodless in-game for a damage boost. Your only clue was that the UI gave you a prompt to activate when you pass the cursor over the item instead of equip.
Just like before, I move out from behind the rock and slide my finger through the Black Steel of the sword, feeling the sudden energy passing through me.
[Bloodless active! Damage boost activated!]
A ray of electricity comes out of me and flies directly towards the Mechanical Guardian.
[Mechanical Guardian gets hit by a Ray of Electric Shock! It affects its systems! It is moderately injured (-2178)!]
That is not going to be enough. The enemy flinches for a second, taking a step back but resuming its movement.
It is still impressive damage for being level 1 in Spellweaving and 6 in Magic. It must be because of the spell level and Bloodless.
But before I can think of my next move... It runs towards me, picking up impressive speed!
I try to evade, but I misstep and fall to the ground onto my butt. The Guardian takes its swing, but I avoided it by a centimeter.
[Mechanical Guardian swings at you! It misses! Because of its messed-up systems, it has a hard time aiming!]
The floor breaks even more after the hit. With my 100 HP, I can get killed easily with any hit this thing does!
I cannot risk casting a damaging spell, and it barely does anything!
I stretch my hand and use another spell. [Vines]!
Breaking through the ground, several vines protrude from the floor and latch onto the Guardian's arms and legs.
[Vines spawn from the floor and latch onto Mechanical Guardian! It cannot move! It cannot attack!]
Spells that give support and not only damage are useful to stay alive.
My MP is at 12%. It will recover fast, but not fast enough to count on it while fighting.
I stood up and rushed out of the way and onto the door that the Mechanical Guardian came through. If I could kill it it would be good, but you don't have to kill everything on Inns of Ellen.
I close the door behind me as I run into the dark hallway, just to break the vision with it.
Hopefully, I don't find myself with any other enemy.
The corridor is dark. It could be an advantage, but many monsters in dungeons can see in these conditions. I feel my way down the hallway, fast, and find a corner. I move into it and push myself against the wall.
"Any minute now..."
[You cannot win XP because of a curse!
XP turned into Ego experience!
+1260 XP from Spell Weaving!
+250 XP from Magic Control!
+319 XP from Dodge!
DING! Bloodless gained a level!
DING! Bloodless gained a level!
Ego level increased from Level 2 to 4!]
What the-?!
That is too much XP!
Normally, XP is given in small amounts of 20 to 100, not in the thousands!
That is when it hit me... I am a level 1 with ny skills. XP gain calculations are based on the level of the skill used and how powerful the enemy is.
And you don't win XP through killing enemies. You gain it through doing actions, attacking, and spellcasting. That sort of stuff. So if you can get clean shots into an enemy, it will grant you XP even if you don't defeat it.
But normally, the system waits for you to be out of direct combat to tell you your increase just to make sure you don't lose it.
This is pretty much an exploit at this point. If I am stuck at low levels, it means I can get massive amounts of XP with ease.
And what did I get?
[Because of the experience earned, [Increased Magic Damage] is now [Increased Magic Damage+]!
Because of the experience earned, it obtains [+2 Spell Weaving]!]
I wonder if the XP I don't get is transferred to Bloodless...
But now I do a bit more damage and have a bigger control over my spells.
I sigh, and see in front of me another door.
I walk towards it, I need to find items and-
[Hey! I told you...]
"...to not touch me that way, pervert vulpin!"
In front of me, in surprise, a spectral figure appeared. It had the form of a girl wearing a loose dress and long white hair.
"H-huh?! Who are you?!"
"What do you mean, who am I?!" She yelled and looked at me pissed off. "You have been touching me in weird ways! Stop it!"
I don't understand what she is saying. For a solid second, I thought she was a monster, but is acting like she knows me. She is crossing her arms.
"Hmph!" She makes with her mouth, closing her eyes and facing to the side.
BVRROOOOOOOOOOOM!
[Something stirs from your presence...]
"Shit! Door!" I scream and make a run for the door.
"H-hey! Don't ignore me!" She yells, but still follows me.
We must have woken up to something I was hoping not to have to deal with.