Get out and try to stay out of the way.

“What the hell?!? Why did the event start so early?” Exclaims an annoyed man.

“They must have changed the starting time.” Comments another guy.

“Stupid monsters! Couldn’t they wait a few more minutes at least? I still haven’t had breakfast!” Complains a scantily-dressed woman.

More complaints follow but you ignore them and instead head towards the exit. Staying inside when the fighting starts is a terrible idea. Three times you have died because someone set the place on fire (and only two of those three were the work of monsters). All the other NPCs do the same – you’re not the only one tired of dying for no good reason.

Once outside you hear loud shouts and screams of pain. Sounds like the gate’s guards are having a very bad morning. You waste no time and look for some sort of cover. Unfortunately the only decent cover is the recently-made statue of some new goddess (paid by the priests of said goddess). It’s not much, but it’s better than nothing. You run towards it and kneel behind it. One of the other waitresses joins you a moment later, while the rest scatter around – some flee in an attempt to get as far away from the combat area as possible while others press against the wall and try to stay out of the way in the hope that they will be ignored.

A knight wearing heavy plate armor walks out of the restaurant and heads towards the sounds of fighting. He has a large shield in his left hand and a shiny longsword in his right. He looks rather intimidating.

After just a few steps the knight stops as the first enemies arrive – a group of over two dozen black wolves. The guy – at least you think it’s a guy – prepares to engage them… and gets a nasty surprise. Three of the wolves open their mouths and breath fire towards him, joined shortly by two more. Judging by his screams the knight’s armor is doing a poor job protecting him from the flames.

As you watch you search for anything you can use as a weapon, just in case, but all you find is a rather sharp stone on the ground near you. “Well, better than nothing.” You tell yourself as you grip it.

More would-be heroes rush out of the building and try to help the knight. About half of them change their mind and go back inside when the wolves start breathing fire at them, but the other half decide that attack is the best defense and engage the wolves. One of them – the guy that was ogling you earlier – grabs an unfortunate waitress and uses her as a living shield against a wolf’s fire breath. ‘Asshole! You’re so dead!’ You seethe with fury as the poor girl dies.

Oblivious to your thoughts – and likely your very presence – the guy engages the wolf and quickly finishes it off using his pair of short swords. Half a dozen wolves get killed as well while on the defenders’ side the losses are the armored knight and three others. For a moment things seem to be going well… then the elves arrive.

The one in the center is a woman wearing fiery orange armor, with fiery orange hair, and wreathed in orange flames. Around her are elves wearing leather armor and wielding different weapons. You count fifteen women and six men.

As the remaining wolves pull back the fire-wreathed elf points her hand at the restaurant and says something you do not hear. A moment later the whole building is enveloped in flames and you hear screams of pain from inside.

“You bitch! I’ll kill you!” A man screams in rage and charges towards the orange-haired woman. The rest of the defenders do the same, but they are outnumbered and the elves intercept them with ease, blocking their advance.

The asshole you would love to kill engages a lone elven woman wielding a pair of daggers. She quickly proves she’s the better fighter and after receiving several wounds the guy pulls back, likely intending to get away and heal. You, however, have other plans. The asshole’s retreat has brought him near your hiding spot and you seize the chance you have been given. You grip the sharp stone with both hands, rise, and strike the lower end on his unprotected skull. The guy goes from “almost dead” to “dead” in an instant. The elf that was fighting him raises her eyebrow at you and then goes looking for another target.

DING! As the sound echoes around you a wave of warmth passes through you.

“Did I… did I level up?” You wonder aloud as you call up your status screen, unable to believe this is really happening.