The club comes out of the blue and knocks the avatar out.

[02:06:09. A Heavy Stab with Battered Club on Noob. +6 Damage, Stunning Hit.]

If it lands a second early, that would kill me, but the potion healed enough to keep the character on one health. It's lucky that the effect still lasts.

Despite knocking me to the ground, the little hearts keep charging up.

There's only one problem.

[Status effect: Stunned.]

The shield flew off into the distance and the avatar landed on his face with no means to stand back up.

That was a solid smack, damn it, even while on the ground, this head keeps spinning.

Even if the health bar will be full again in the next second there's nothing I can do. It's all over. How long does this effect last?

Tank stunned me once during the tutorial with his mace, and the moment he stopped, it was gone.

There's no timer on it like with many other modifiers. The shield knocked one of the thugs over though, and he was running a few seconds later.

This body won't move no matter what, and the healing potion's bonus wears off.

Wait, that means at least a second passed, and they didn't attack again.

Landing face down, I can't see what's happening while they're all behind.

It seems unlikely that they decided to let me go and the Guardian Angels should still be far away.

No sound of their wings can penetrate these war drums in my ears.

The smell of dirt mixing with saliva fills my nostrils, and there is yelling, but it's hard to make out the words.

"What? Keep going."

That's the only thing I comprehend, then footsteps approach. Something happened, and there might be a chance to survive, so move, damn it.

At least five seconds passed and considering how fast they ran, they should be all over the avatar by now.

So why is only one guy coming, and why does his steps sound so uncertain?

[02:06:17. A Stab with Rusty Dagger on Noob. It's a Critical Hit! +6 Damage. You are bleeding.]

Fuck, he made up his mind.

This sharp pain between the ribs feels way different from the blunt hit of the club.

And it was critical too, holy shit.

It forces a scream out of me, and to spin around, but that means the avatar can move again.

Wait, a critical hit that only does six damage? Even if it's a dagger, that's almost half what it should be.

And if he stabbed a danger into the sides, he must be close, and I can knock him over.

The story has been taken without consent; if you see it on Amazon, report the incident.

Grabbing his legs without looking, I yank him to the ground, and my knees land in his stomach for good measure.

[02:06:19. A Stab with Knee on BurnTajiLetsGo. +1 Damage.]

Well, a roll of one is still more than nothing.

I didn't know that knees can also stab people, but what's more important is, what the fuck is a BurnTajiLetsGo?!

Looking to the side, it's that young ganker kid with the dagger.

The name above his head flashes between red and aqua and spells the same.

So this is the message you get when you PVP?

He looks surprised and almost drops his dagger, which reminds me that there is one in these hands too.

That's the only thing I didn't drop during the fall, so let's use it.

The other thugs stand a few meters away, staring at us without moving, and it's hard to tell what's going on.

Is this some weird ritual with gankers, to let the youngest member finish off the job?

Well, fuck those guys, the earlier second guesses are gone, and the blade is going straight for the throat.

Survive that, bitch.

Stabbing me while lying on the ground and can't move, what kind of bandits are you?

[02:06:22. A Heavy Stab with Dagger on BurnTajiLetsGo. It's a Critical Hit! +6 Damage.]

Are you fucking kidding?

A critical, on the throat, and only a minor injury?!

Something's wrong with this situation, but if I don't stop the bleeding right now they'll still kill me.

Potion first, it's on the first slot in the inventory, open it up, chug it down, fast and easy before he recovers.

Then the bandage, loop it tight around the torso where the kid stabbed, and the bleeding stops too.

He's on his feet again, looking bloodied and confused, backing away from me.

The other thugs sound upset, yelling at the poor guy, though they refuse to come closer.

Wait a second, they can't.

This is already part of the Training Grounds, the avatar made it!

That swing with the club sent it flying, but they screwed it up because I landed inside the perimeters.

So this kid is a newbie ganker and the only one that could follow me here?

Too bad, he doesn't seem too capable, huh?

Or he might be, but these low rolls... Oh, right, remember the tutorial, this place halves every damage.

So that's the only reason we both survived those critical hits.

The Angels are finally coming, though they descend in slow motion.

The devs must have fucked up something bad.

"Get him, for fuck's sake, he's a literal level one, dude."

The gankers try to cheer him on, and one even throws his mace at him to pick it up.

Okay, this is still not over. There is no shield or any other weapon but this dagger.

Half-damage or not, if he can land a few criticals before I can take another healing potion he will turn this around.

That mace looks way more menacing than this tiny dagger, it must be the most serious weapon in their group.

He picks it up and approaches again, and we face off on the Training Grounds.

How far is that rack with the shields and the padded vest?

Are they still there, or do they disappear when Tank's not here to conduct the tutorial? No, don't take your eyes off of him.

He might be a newbie, but so am I.

Raising the mace, he charges in, and it's difficult to block with this short blade.

Let's jump to the side and let him pass, then spin around and stab him.

He's not a stupid NPC though, no matter how inexperienced, a player is a player.

How long until those fucking Angels arrive? Can they even enter these grounds?

[02:06:32. Assault with Battered Mace on Noob. +6 Damage.]

Yikes, it wasn't even a critical hit, and it took out half the hit points.

When someone's faster and smarter than a zombie, they're more difficult to dodge.

And I distract myself with stupid shit, like looking for the backup. No, this is a one-on-one duel, focus, Arnim. He's up close now and tries another swing.

Why is the dagger in my right hand again? Oh, right, the shield was on the left, and now it's gone.

That doesn't mean my better hand can't do anything though.

How about grabbing his wrist, and stopping that attack before it lands?

There's no system message about it, but it succeeds, and his face tells me he didn't expect that.