Pro tip: Defeating bubbles in Zelda II

In several of the castles in Zelda II, you run across these things that look like skulls in bubbles, which are called, shockingly, Bubbles.

They're particularly nasty because they bounce around all over the place, and when they hit you they drain your life and your magic. You can hit them, and they stop moving long enough for you to run past.

But what happens if you keep on hitting them. A lot? A whole lot?

They're defeated for 50 experience points! Which at the beginning of the game is a whole lot.

But when your attack is at level one, it takes lots of hits to kill the things. I stopped counting at 200 swings. So you'll have to determine whether the tradeoff is worth it to you.