"Hmph, you can't run away." John said with a sneer, and quickly chased after him.
He was only level 3, but he had maxed out Agility, so he was way faster than Tom. He caught up with him in a flash.
He just needed to keep this guy busy.
"Damn it, get off me!" Tom shouted angrily, and fired another fireball.
Boom!
-43
The fire exploded, and John was knocked back, losing more than forty HP, but he wasn't killed.
At the same time, a group of goblins came running from behind.
Tom was shocked and angry. He was strong, but being surrounded by so many goblins was a death trap.
"Damn it, who the hell are you?" He looked at John, who was charging at him again, and shouted angrily.
He was just a new player, but his HP was way too high. Plus, he was fast.
The only problem was that his attack wasn't strong enough.
But now he was surrounded by a dozen goblins, and it didn't look good.
John wasn't doing much better either.
Goblins attacked randomly. A level 3 goblin could do 17 damage. If three or more hit at once, he'd be dead for sure.
He had to rely on his speed and keep dodging.
"Kid, I won't let you go!" Tom kept shouting. He didn't have John's speed, and he was getting beaten up badly. A single hit from a goblin did about 7 damage. His HP was only 400, and he couldn't take it.
Within seconds, his HP dropped to zero. He turned into a white light and disappeared, dropping a pale blue ring.
"Blue rare gear!" John's eyes lit up. He barely dodged a goblin attack and quickly picked up the ring.
Then, a gust of wind roared overhead. Three more goblins attacked.
Oh no!
He thought to himself. This time, he might have gone too far. Level 3 goblins were strong, and he couldn't handle them.
Boom...
-17
-19
Miss!
He didn't die?
John was surprised. He had managed to dodge, which was lucky, since his Agility was high.
Even so, he didn't let his guard down. He dodged two more goblin attacks, used his quick moves, and ran out of the circle, running as fast as he could.
If he could get out of the goblins' aggro, he'd be safe.
Thankfully, goblins weren't very fast, and they couldn't catch him.
John ran more than three hundred meters before he finally broke free from the goblins' rage. He sighed in relief and looked at the ring in his hand with excitement.
[Green Jade Ring]
[Rarity: Blue Rare]
[Requirement: None]
[Stat Bonus: HP +100, MP +100, Spirit +1, MP Recovery +1 per second]
"1 point of MP recovery!"
John let out a surprised cry, his face full of joy.
He needed magic recovery the most. Plus, the ring added 100 MP and 100 HP.
This was definitely a top-tier item for a new player. Even if he reached Stage 1, he could still use it.
Gear quality was divided into white (common), green (good), blue (rare), purple (uncommon), red (epic), and gold (legendary).
For new players, blue rare gear was already super high quality.
John quickly equipped it. His HP and MP shot up, and his MP started healing slowly.
With this gear, he didn't even need magic recovery potions.
"Keep using buff skills." John said, switching to his staff and casting Life Recovery and Physical Damage Amplification.
His HP went up to 150. The HP recovery buff should be at least 150 per second.
As for physical damage, the higher the better.
With the Green Jade Ring, he didn't have to worry about mana costs.
The skill was still on cooldown, so he turned his eyes back to the 3-level goblins wandering nearby.
Roar!
A loud roar echoed, and two goblins were drawn in. They swung their wooden sticks and charged.
John showed no fear. He got back into the fight with them again.
[Defeated a level 3 goblin, Experience +30]
…
The message flashed, and John easily killed the two goblins.
He kept drawing the goblins in while watching the skill cooldown.
As soon as it was ready, he used it again and buffed himself.
Gradually, he found it easier to fight these level 3 goblins. Even if five of them attacked at once, he didn't feel scared.
John's experience was growing fast, and he didn't seem to mind at all.
…
One hour later, the Starting Village, the Resurrection Altar.
A few ragged figures appeared-it was Macbeth and his group.
"Damn it! What the hell happened?"
Macbeth looked angry, cursing. He still couldn't figure out why a useless priest could take on their whole team, and even kill Tom while he was protecting him. Now all of them had dropped a level. Their six-month effort was wasted.
"By the way, where's Tom?" He thought about Tom. With his power, he should have been able to kill John easily.
At that moment, the Resurrection Altar shone again, and another figure appeared-it was Tom.
"Tom, you… you were also killed?" Macbeth's voice trembled. He couldn't believe it.
Tom shot him a cold look and bit his teeth. "What kind of guy did you guys mess with? Not only did I lose a level, but I also dropped a blue rare item! You all have to pay me for this!"
After saying that, he ignored Macbeth and turned around, walking away.
The others stood frozen, staring at each other, shocked.
Wasn't John the worst priest ever? And he was just a support class. When did he get so strong?
At that moment, Anna felt the most regret.
She wished she hadn't broken up with John. If he had been there to help her level up, they would have gotten more experience than if she stayed with Macbeth.
"Boss!" A warrior finally spoke up. "I just heard some news. That John killed a bunch of Karlove Academy students. The crowd is really angry. We can probably gather everyone together!"
Macbeth's eyes lit up.
That was actually a smart idea. Even if John was strong, he wouldn't survive a fight against hundreds of Karlove Academy students.
Macbeth looked at Anna and quickly said, "Anna, you handle this. I need to make this bastard pay a heavy price!"
"Okay!" Anna was in a daze. She nodded without thinking after hearing his words, but her mind was already elsewhere.
Maybe this was the perfect time to get back together with John.
She glanced at Macbeth by her side, a hint of disgust in her eyes, and secretly added John as a friend, hoping to warn him.
[Beep, Player John has rejected your friend request.]
The moment she sent the request, Anna got the notification.
She was stunned for a moment. Four years of relationship, and John had never once refused her.
"Idiot!" She cursed silently in her heart.
If that's how it is, I'll see how you deal with the crowd attacking you!
Anna had been hesitant before, but now she was determined to accept Macbeth's plan and organize the students to attack John.
…
In the wild, John had no idea about any of this. He kept killing goblins.
Plop!
-157
A single slash, and a huge number flashed above the goblin's head before it was instantly killed.
At this point, his Physical Damage Amplification had already reached a terrifying 166. A level 3 goblin had around 200 HP, and he could kill it in two hits.
[You have reached level 5. You can no longer gain experience.]
[Beep, you have been online for 8 continuous hours. Please take a break.]
The message flashed.
John was taken aback. It had already been eight hours?
The constant fighting made it feel like he hadn't even noticed the time passing.
He had no idea how many goblins he had killed-just the copper coins alone were over thirty.
"Better head back and turn in the quest." John decided. 3-level goblins no longer gave experience, and he could see higher-level player groups coming in.
They were all led by high-level players.
John used the Physical Damage Amplification skill again, boosting his physical damage by 1 point.
He opened his status panel and saw there were 4 remaining attribute points.
Agility had already reached 20, and attack speed was at 2-the maximum for a new player. There was no point in increasing it further.
"Add to Constitution. Survival is more important now." John decided, and allocated all 4 points to his Constitution.
His HP went up to 190. That was on par with a knight who had maxed out his Constitution.
He used Life Recovery again to increase his healing cap.
"Back to the Starting Village for the quest." John said, heading back. He killed any Karlove Academy players he met on the way, just to send them back to the village for free.
His bold actions didn't go unnoticed. Macbeth soon got the news, and hundreds of players were already lying in wait outside the Starting Village, ready to ambush him.