When his breath and pulse finally calmed down, he sat up and looked at the dead goblin lying on the ground. Blood was still gushing out of the cut on his neck while another wound on its leg exposed the muscles and tendons beneath the skin, Bao turned around his now pale face and tried to suppress a sudden dwelling in his stomach area. Such detailed gory scenes would have never been allowed, if VR games would still be legal and controlled by the government, this had nothing to do with playing fun games anymore. Despite his reaction to the brutality in front of him, the wound on the leg picked his interest, it was fairly fresh and he for sure didn't have the weapon to inflict such damage. It could have fled from someone or even worse, something, stronger than a goblin, alerted Bao listened into the dark forest. He could hear the sound of clashing swords in the distance mixed with screams of pain and agony. It took him several seconds of attentive listening to recognize the approximate direction of the battle and who or what was the origin of the screams. Humans! That meant civilization was near and more importantly medical treatment for the wound on his chest, that already started to itch.

"Status!"

Before he threw himself in another battle, he would need a power-up or the only thing there to be found, would be his death. As said in the tutorial the status screen appeared out of thin air and displayed his newly gained attribute points, two in number, he could distribute to his own needs. It didn't take him long to decide where to put them, with his finger he slid over the window and pressed the plus button until no APs were left. Before he closed the window something else caught his eye at the bottom of the list, he already got a new skill.

David Level 1 HP 2/5 MP 0/0 Strength 3 Perception 2 Endurance 0 Charisma 1 Intelligence 3 Agility 1 Luck 1 Skills World Traveller Scuffle Level 1 Titles Weaker than a slime

A big smile showed on his face, it might have not been the best skill and definitely not the skill he would have gone for but progress was made and that was all that counted. His love for MMORPGs derived from the urge to get better and upgrade your character with unlimited potential, something that a failure like him could have only dreamed of in real life. His now broken staff would be useless in the upcoming fight therefore he did what was necessary and stripped the rusty sword from the goblins frozen grip. Equipped with a dagger covered in blood, a sword and what little belongings he had with him, he went towards the fight. But navigating through the forest with nothing but moonlight to illuminate the path proved as a major hurdle in reaching the destination, several times he tripped over roots and stones he could not see until he finally stumbled onto the street. Well trained and equipped knights were defending a small carriage from a pack of goblins, they seemed to hold their position without problems, as no knight seemed to have been gravely injured or dead, contrary to the goblins. Several of their companions paved the floor as either dead bodies or as a wounded comrade. While Bao stood still on the border of the street neither faction made a move, both were standing there, looking each other in the face, waiting for an opportunity to slit each other's throats. An ominous grin reaching from one cheekbone to the other, showed on his face, the same as in the previous fight. No one, except the knights, had noticed him, creating the perfect opportunity to sneak right behind the nearest goblin. Bao exchanged eye contact with the knights right before stabbing the goblin through the chest, cutting through flesh, bones, organs and other vital body parts, a feeling that he would never forget. Loud shrieks followed by the companions that noticed his sudden appearance but the short distraction would soon be proven fatal. Holding their shields right in front of them the knights plunged into the pack like a plough through the ground. A sudden flash distracted Bao from the scene in front of him and by instinctively ducking he could barely avoid the sword passing over his head. With a wide swing to the right, he bought enough time to stand back up and for the knights to reach his position. The fight was over in an instant after the knights made an all-out attack on the goblins leaving nothing but dead bodies behind. Standing amidst them was Bao with an incredulous look printed upon his face, wondering how he survived such massacre.

"Greetings traveller, thank you for helping us out of that pinch." A knight approached him.

"M... me? Me helping you? I can't see how I would have done that you basically eradicated the enemy from the face of this planet."

"Kakaka, no need to be so reserved boy, we couldn't let the carriage unguarded just to execute an attack, so your distraction gave us the perfect opportunity."

The knight vigorously patted his back, pressing out what little energy was left in him. His voice became quieter and the ground came towards him at an alarming speed before it suddenly stopped right before his nose.

"Wo... the... yo...."

He couldn't understand what the knights were saying, it sounded like someone was trying to speak to him underwater. The last thing he heard before losing consciousness was the robotic tutorial voice.

"Quest completed XP points will be calculated"

"Level up new AP acquired"

"Level up new AP acquired"