Chapter 2

Karin, more fortunate than Raven, had only fainted from exhaustion and was awakened by his vigorous shaking.

"Bro... What happened?"

Raven quickly and loudly explained: "The creatures that attacked us were Forest Goblins! They are nocturnal. We must leave now, or we will be attacked by the Forest Goblins again when night falls!"

Karin, still a bit dazed, saw the Golden City not far away: "We're almost at the Golden City, right? Will the goblins still come after us?"

"No! These goblins are different."

"Aren't all goblins the same?"

"Didn't you notice that the goblins that attacked us weren't just green-skinned? They are covered in black, hard fur and only attack at night. They even plan and hunt us. Isn't that enough evidence? We must leave! Now! Immediately!" Raven spoke so loudly that he was a bit out of breath.

Struggling to get up, Karin failed and her body slumped back down.

Karin's voice was tinged with tears: "Bro... I have no strength left! Maybe those damn green-skins have given up. Goblins don't have such good brains, do they?"

For a moment, even Raven himself entertained the thought that the goblins might not come back.

The next moment, Raven squashed his侥幸念头.

Life has no "what ifs."

Forest Goblins hunt most creatures that pass through their territory and are smaller than horses. When food is scarce, Forest Goblins often plan and raid the border areas of humanoid settlements, usually abducting some children before retreating.

But their behavior last night and the night before had greatly violated this common knowledge. Their frenzied attack on the people in the church was already unexpected. After the village militiaman Arnold fought to the death and killed a strong goblin leader, they should have scattered and fled. They didn't!

This only meant one thing: The leader of the Forest Goblins was a higher-level Goblin Druid Elder, and this was a large combined force of at least 60 goblins. The harvest from the past two nights was far from meeting the needs of this goblin tribe.

Raven struggled to stand up straight: "I'll say this one last time. The Forest Goblins will attack again after nightfall. They hate sunlight, so they turn into small trees or thick branches in the nearby forest when the sun rises. Once the sun sets, they will come at full speed. If we don't leave now, we will be caught within an hour after nightfall."

Karin wanted to say something more, but suddenly she saw Raven's injuries. Her nose stung, and she knew these were the injuries he had sustained while protecting her.

Her body suddenly felt energized, and she stood up, supporting Raven: "Bro, I'll help you."

Raven's body stiffened.

Not because of Karin, but because he heard a "ding" sound, as if in a game.

Raven then realized that a segment of text, both current and past, had imprinted itself in his mind.

"Legendary Skill [Self-Stabilization] Activated: Normal damage is no longer as lethal to you. If your health is negative but you are not dead, you can perform a [Self-Stabilization] check... If successful, you will not fall unconscious and can continue to act until you bleed to death or your injuries stabilize."

"Your self-treatment has stabilized your injuries, allowing you to continue acting normally."

"Personal Feat [Persuader] Activated: Your extensive knowledge has made you keenly aware of the danger. You attempt to persuade your sister Karin to leave this dangerous place early. The [Persuader] feat gives you a +2 bonus to your Persuasion skill check... You successfully persuaded Karin. Now Karin is willing to follow your lead and continue on."

The two segments of text left Raven in a daze: Am I really in a game world? Or am I still in the game?

He suddenly laughed bitterly.

However, since there was a system prompt, he should still have a system, right?

"Attributes! I want to open the attribute panel!" Raven roared in his mind.

The scene in his vision paused for a moment, and after a tenth of a second of lag, a set of pale green data cascaded down Raven's retina, forming a data panel that blended reality and illusion.

Name: Raven.

Race: Half-Elf/??

Attributes: Strength 11, Dexterity 17, Constitution 12, Intelligence 18, Wisdom 15, Charisma 19.

Alignment: Lawful Evil.

Class: 2nd Level Commoner/1st Level Assassin (Unassigned) [Black Iron Tier].

Health: -1/11 (Critical Injury, Fever, Hunger) (Self-Stabilization Active, 4 hours 7 minutes 30 seconds remaining) (All Attributes Temporarily Reduced by 50%)

General Experience: 0.

Skill Points: None.

Attribute Points: None.

Status: Healthy.

Class Skills: Stealth 30, Disguise 24, Hide 19, Bluff 12, Sneak Attack 9, Death Attack 11...

Legendary Skills: Fanaticism [Sealed].

Racial Skills: Darkvision.

Personal Feats: Stealth, Persuader, Photographic Memory.

Personal Skills: Self-Stabilization [Legendary]

Seeing his attributes, Raven felt both surprise and shock.

First, he looked at the basic attributes. The average adult human has all basic attributes at 10. This clearly indicated an elite template. The classic starting template in most games is all attributes at 8, with specific adjustments based on race or lineage, and then a few free attribute points based on your class.

In the Auctus world, there was an interesting setting: when you first enter the game, the system scans your body and gives you additional bonuses based on the data. It seemed that he had inherited the templates of both the Assassin and Shadow Master classes from his previous life. Incidentally, Raven's class skill levels were much higher than those of new players in the game.

For a 14-year-old boy to have such an elite template, Raven was already quite satisfied.

After all, in the game, only about 3% of people had a hero template with average attributes of 20 at birth.

Of course, above that, there were the so-called "cheat" templates—Saint templates. Those with such templates would be labeled as "son of a god." The descendants of the God of Literature were more psychologically balanced. If it was the son of the God of War or the God of Death, it was clear that they were combat cheats. As long as they weren't eliminated in the early stages, they were on a fast track to divinity.

Next, he looked at his class. According to the Auctus world game setting, Assassins should be a Bronze Tier (2nd level) class that advances from a Monk or Rogue. Because Raven had played Assassins the most in his previous life, it led to the comical situation in his attribute panel: an unassigned Assassin who was still a Commoner but had all Assassin skills...

Although Assassins were terrible in the late game and had many restrictions, no one could ignore their massive damage potential as a starting class.

A well-played Assassin could still create significant advantages.

However, in the early stages, the Assassin's thin health was a significant drawback when equipment wasn't up to par.

Despite his thoughts, no matter how good the attributes, he had to solve the current predicament first...

"Bro... Bro! What's wrong with you?" Karin, noticing Raven's daze, called out to him anxiously several times.

"Oh, nothing, I just got a bit dizzy when I stood up. I'm fine now. Let's go." Comforting Karin, he put his right hand on her shoulder, and the two siblings supported each other as they set off for the Golden City.

The cobblestones on the road, which had witnessed decades of storms, were now witnessing an impending tragedy.

The sun in the forest always seemed to set quickly, and the light dimmed rapidly, giving the impression of suddenly losing all light sources in the darkness.

Not long after nightfall, the wind brought the distant, piercing screams of survivors who had escaped the village but hadn't made it to the Golden City.

Raven was right.

Even knowing this, both of them broke out in cold sweat.

The Golden City was getting closer, and the ever-burning torches at night shone like beacons of hope, illuminating the hearts of the two siblings.

Closer! Closer! Even closer!

They could even hear the guards at the city gate chatting.

Just then, a series of low growls, similar to those of apes, and the sound of breaking branches came from behind them.

"Run!"

Raven panicked, pulling Karin and running frantically. However, the sounds from behind were still closing in rapidly.

"Breath... breath... breath..." Heaving heavily, the bloody breath from his lungs felt like gasoline on fire, and for a moment, Raven thought he was a fire-breathing dragon.

How much farther?

He didn't know.

But the outline of the city gate was getting larger. At the same time, he caught a glimpse of black shadows leaping between the trees behind him.

The view suddenly opened up, and they had somehow burst out of the forest.

Before them was a bustling crowd near the city gate and a dense group of Golden City guards.

His back felt hot, and Raven instinctively knew it was from the many eyes focused on his back, which could only be from those damned Forest Goblins.

No!

What was going on?

Forest Goblins were supposed to prioritize the weakest targets. Right in front of him, two meters away, was a refugee child from the village, Zak, who was only 7 years old.

Yet dozens of eyes were fixed on Raven!

Raven suddenly turned his head and looked at the monsters standing on the treetops. Their eyes were filled with unhidden greed, fervor, and regret when they looked at him.

For some reason, Raven had the feeling that he was at the top of the Forest Goblins' most wanted list.

"Thud—" An archer among the guards shot an arrow that hit a Forest Goblin's eye, piercing its brain. The creature, less than a meter tall, fell straight down.

At this moment, the Forest Goblins showed their cowardly side: when faced with a more numerous and powerful enemy, they often scattered.

"Die! Monsters!" The refugees cheered, shouting in excitement.

Infected by this vengeful atmosphere, little Zak also ran to the edge of the forest, waving his fist and shouting.

"No—" Raven suddenly had a bad feeling.