The two undead assassins give me a sinister smile as more of their kind gather behind them. Fighting two of them took all my wits to hold my ground. It will be impossible for me to fight five of them and I get the feeling that this will be game over for now. I'm ready to quit, thinking once more how broken the difficulty level of this game is. My body protests, telling me I should fight to the bitter end. Could it be that if someone dies in the real world, instead of respawning, all that awaits is oblivion? Terror gnaws at me, not wanting to believe that a game over is a permanent state here.

"Do not fret pet!" The voice of Ambrosia whispers to me from over my shoulder.

"I will protect you," sexy Elektra says as a Fire Bolt flies and hits an undead assassin in the torso, decreasing his HP by 10%.

I'm relieved now that my seductive aides are by my side and battle-ready. We should finish them off quickly before they cut us off from the rest of the adventurers. I can't shake the feeling that these masked, black-cloaked creatures look more human than the other undead we fought so far. Ambrosia can deal with them easily, but time's of the essence and we have to crush them into the dust if we are to connect with the other adventurers. Using Tier-1 could expedite things, but we're far from over and if we are to succeed in our quest, then I have to reserve them till the bitter end.

As if sensing Ambrosia's enormous Threat Level, four of them charge at her, while they leave me and Elektra only with one Threat Level 7 undead assassin to combat. The four undead charge at Ambrosia head-on, but at the last moment they change course and surround her from all sides. Compared to the mindless zombies and skeletons, these shufflers are cunning and will be hard to get rid of.

For what feels like an eternity, we stand there waiting. The Threat Level 7 assassin in front of us is studying our every move, looking for weaknesses in our defense. The other four do the same with Ambrosia as she stands ready to claw out their non-beating hearts. A part of me wonders if their blood is any good for her or deadly. From what I've seen, she has taken great care not to get any on her. The last thing she wants is to stain the white gown she's wearing. Fortunately, their blood has coagulated after their deaths, and turned into a black, gel-like substance.

Eventually, the undead assassins throw themselves at Ambrosia, ignoring the deadly wounds she inflicts on them with her claws. Cold, bony hands grab her and attempt to throw her to the stone floor, but the vampiress seems oblivious to them and stands her ground, outperforming them in every instance. In a bloody flash, she grabs one of the undead assassins and crashes its head to the ground like watermelon. Brown and green brain material litter the place.

The other four undead assassins retreat from their position to opposite sides. They take another attack stance and rush at her all at the same time. Venomous, cruel, cold eyes look at her menacingly. Ambrosia looks back at them with an even more murderous gaze and intimidates them. Frenzied from the trance of battle, she charges at the undead assassin before her and slashes him with her claws, decreasing his HP down to 20%. Black liquid oozes from the gashing wounds and the undead assassin barely stands, making a blood-curdling screech as she beheads him. The other undead assassins try to overwhelm her, but she pushes them back effortlessly.

Ambrosia is doing well, however, Elektra and I are having trouble defeating the lone undead assassin. We will need all our wits to defeat him. I turn and face my opponent and perform a vertical strike that cuts him from the top of his head to his groin. Unfortunately, the sword cut isn't deep enough to slice him in two.

You achieved a critical hit of 15 points, my NCI informs me, and I see my opponent's HP down to 40%. 

The undead assassin stands in front of us, tilting its head. I have no doubt that there is some kind of sentience controlling the creature, but I'm unsure of the mechanics behind it.

I need another cut like this to finish my opponent. Elektra supports me from behind, casting Fire Bolt and Finger of Death. The undead assassin dodges them and attacks me again with renewed vigor, thrusting its dagger at my torso. It pierces me but I manage to kick my adversary at the last moment. Fortunately, the dagger barely penetrates an inch inside my torso.

You received a 5-Point Hit, my NCI tells me.

That was close. I remove the dagger and a small stream of blood gushes out from my wound. At least I now have my opponent's weapon, for all that matters. Unexpectedly, the undead creature draws another dagger from the back of its belt and comes at me again. This time I stand my ground and just before it attacks me, Elektra casts Finger of Death. The spell succeeds and my opponent receives a 3-Point hit. It's not enough to finish it, but it's more than enough to pause its momentum. This gives me the chance I was looking for and I thrust my sword directly at its forehead piercing it and eventually coming out the back of its skull. The undead grabs the blade of my sword and tries to take it down with it, but I pull it and with lightning speed I behead it.

Ambrosia has already finished her opponents and reduced them to a pile of rotting flesh and bones by the time I had killed mine. She comes to my side smiling, with 90% of her HP bar intact.

"What are you," Elektra asks surprised. "There's no way a common warrior could handle the four of them with such proficiency."

"I have many talents," she tells her with her casual snobbish look. "There's not much time for useless blubbering. We must connect with the others before it's too late."