Bertha's front side had many large stains of blood, and a sore dagger stuck in her bloodied bumper. The bus' engine roared angrily as if it was a hunger monster. So far, some dozens of goblins had lost their lives under the heavy wheels of the bus. Joe was an experienced bus driver, therefore it wasn't difficult for him to run over so many little critters. He didn't think about them as living beings, they were just like bots in a computer game.

[Congratulations! You have earned 7 experiences!]

[Congratulations! You have earned 6 experiences!]

[Congratulations! You have earned 4 experiences!]

A few running goblins had ended up under Bertha's wheels.

Indeed, this is just like a computer game... where I'm earning experience, Joe thought, squeezing the steering wheel in his arms.

He pressed the gas pedal down, and Bertha rammed another goblin with the help of its bumper. As a result, blood splashed around. It caused frightened screams from other goblins. For sure they didn't expect that their raid would turn into a massacre; their massacre. Bertha was like a wild merciless beast in the eyes of the scared goblins.

This massacre lasted for another minute until the remains of goblins scattered. The road was finally cleared from the green critters.

Bertha stopped. Joe looked around and spotted no goblin.

[Congratulations! You've killed 64 goblins. Reward: 356 experience]

[Congratulations! You've repelled one of the raids on Evergreen City alone. Reward: 1500 experience and a skill book [Neophyte mechanic]]

[Notification! Ever gather your loot after the battle!]

The man sighed in relief.

“Good work.” Joe said to Bertha and patted the steering wheel gently. “My grandpa was right, you are a good girl.”

The man glanced at the people in the bus. They all looked scared.

Joe looked outside. The bus stop was destroyed; partially it was Joe's work. Many dead goblins – and few dead humans – lay around. The road – beside the bus stop - had bloodied traces of the bus' tires.

Unexpectedly on the road the man noticed some strange small items, which shined with a dim light. Those items looked like loot in the computer games.

Joe knew that loot was an important part of every game. For instance, you have a chance to find a useful thing, or at least sell your loot for money. Besides, he remembered about the system's notification. [Ever gather your loot after the battle]

Joe looked at his panel with buttons, one of these buttons could open the bus' doors. Frankly, he was afraid to leave the bus to gather his loot. The man didn't know any combat skills or have any real weapon, except a wooden bat that Joe kept in his bus cabin.

But I should do it. Actually, I have no choice. If this world has become a game world, it means that I need to gather all my loot to get stronger.

A little later the man – armed with a wooden bat - had left the bus cautiously. No goblin attacked him.

They all should be dead. Okay, now I need to hurry up!

The man came up to the first small item, which looked like a miniature pair of pants.

[Congratulations! You have acquired [Gray driver pants]]

The other two items were: [Gray dagger] and [Gray sword].

Huh? [Gray dagger] and [Gray sword]?

“Man, behind you!” All of a sudden the bus driver heard a male voice and turned around.

He saw a smirking goblin. The little green critter held a dagger, standing close to Joe.

The man froze. At that moment Joe realized that he was too vulnerable outside his bus.

Your bus is your fortress! The man remembered the system's words.

The goblin – yelling - rushed towards Joe. The bus driver used his Earth's control on pure instinct. A small portion of asphalt was destroyed, and a small hump of earth appeared under the goblin's legs. He stumbled and fell down.

That's my chance! Joe thought and raised his bat.

Next moment he brought down his weapon. As a result, the goblin's head was smashed into pieces.

[Congratulations! You have earned 8 experiences!]

Oh... Joe stared at the remains of the head.

He felt as his arms began to tremble. Killing a living creature by his own arms was harder to do than he thought.

Joe saw a new item – in the form of a miniature book - materialized from nowhere, next to the killed goblin. It was [Basic bat combat].

Joe put the book in his inventory and hurried to the bus.

A Chinese man – who wore a pair of combat gloves - stood in front of the bus' door. Although he was scared, he tried to look calm.

“Sorry, man... I noticed that goblin too late.”

“That's okay.” Joe nodded and smiled habitually. “And thank you for that warning. It saved my life. Now let's get in the bus. I think we need to get out of here.”

+++

After the bus stop accident the people refused to leave his bus, even the players didn't want to grind anymore. They all were too scared. Therefore, Joe – despite his tiredness - drove each one to his/her home. It lasted over two hours. Thankfully the system gave him some experience as a reward. Besides, the man was glad that they didn't encounter any other raids.

Finally Joe closed the bus' door after the last passenger. He sighed in relief and relaxed in the driver's chair.

The man said. “Menu”

He looked at a number of his experience [1594]; a repair of the bus cost [500]. Joe had done that when he drove his passengers to their homes.

Let's see what I can do... The man murmured, studying his stats. Now I can level up my Earth affinity or a driving skill to [3], and I will have enough experience to hire five goblins as a garrison to my bus. But at first I will look at my skill books.

Joe took out them from his inventory: [Neophyte mechanic] and [Basic bat combat]. He read a description of every book.

[Neophyte mechanic. You will get basic skills in mechanics. Do you wish to learn this skill? Yes/No]

[Basic bat combat. You will get basic skills in bat combat. Do you wish to learn this skill? Yes/No]

These skills look useful, Joe thought and chose “Yes” twice.

New knowledge flowed in his mind, the man sweat. The process was exactly the same as it was when he had leveled up the Earth's affinity to [2].

Unexpectedly Joe realized that he knows how to repair some minor issues of his past bus. As well, the man realized that his wooden bat can be a deadly weapon.

The bus driver looked at his stats. New skills were: [Mechanic: 1] and [Bat fighter: 1].

A level [2] cost 500 experience. Perhaps, it will be better if I level up these skills?

This idea looked sound to Joe. Therefore, he bought a level up, and a new portion of knowledge flowed in his mind.

I have 594 experience now, Joe calculated. Now I can't level up my skills. I haven't enough experience. Perhaps, I'll hire some goblins?

At first he hesitated, but - when the man imagined archers firing arrows at the enemy from the bus' windows – Joe couldn't resist a temptation. As a result, he bought two goblin archers.

Minus 200 experience.

Two green creatures materialized in the bus. Each of them had a short bow and a quiver. The goblins wore some dirty clothes.

“We are ready to serve the Great Boss!” Both nodded in unison. “Give us your command, Great Boss!”

“Just...” Joe cleared his throat. “Just take your seats and be quiet.”

The man was a little scared to see the goblins in flesh again, especially so close to himself.

“Yes, Great Boss!” They hurried to execute a command.

The bus driver looked at the [Bus garrison] stat again. Here he found a description of a goblin archer.

[A goblin archer is a quite weak monster. This monster is armed with a short simple bow. Take notice: the goblins are expendable]

Are the goblins expendable? Joe scratched his head. Does it mean that the system encourages me to use them as meat shield?

Joe found an option “Hide your garrison” in the [Bus garrison] stat. It turned out that hiding a goblin cost 5 experience per day.

Ten experiences for two per day?

It wasn't much. Thus, Joe used this option. He didn't have any tasks for the goblins right now. Besides, the man suspected that if someone notices these goblins, he may run into trouble. As a result, a pair of goblins disappeared from the bus.

The man sighed and pressed the gas pedal down. “I'm too tired. I better go home.”

+++

The bus halted. On the way home Joe had come across a dungeon, which looked like a small cave with a working portal inside. From the bus Joe could see that police officers and armed soldiers guarded that dungeon; a perimeter was barricaded with sandbags and strengthened with some machine guns.

Frankly, it was a bizarre view. In the metropolis a real cave stood right between two houses... and all the rest.

Joe could see a mob of dissatisfied players around the cave. They stood in groups, chatting. It was obvious that the players wanted to get in, but they couldn't.

One of the police officers said in his loudspeaker over and over. “This is the restricted area! Please, go home, citizens! This is the restricted area! Please, go home, citizens!”

Joe saw clearly that no one was going to comply.

Next moment Bertha continued to move forward, and soon Joe had reached his home where he took a nap.

+++

Joe woke up in the evening. The system had informed him – with the help of a message - that all raids on Evergreen City had been repelled successfully. It was a good news.

Joe went to the kitchen and ate fast food. Later he went into the living room and opened his laptop. It turned out that the government had announced that all dungeons are dangerous and no one has a right to get in without a special pass.

The official Internet channels broadcast many videos where a reporter showed the corpses of those people who had entered the dungeons before the authority closed an access there.

This is not like in computer games with a “save” button, Joe thought. If I want to explore those dungeons in the future, I need to prepare myself thoroughly for every exploration mission. Perhaps, I need a party?

The man tilted his head thoughtfully. Do I really need a party? Actually, having Bertha I can explore dungeons on my own.

Next moment Joe realized clearly that without the bus he would be dead yet, right at that bus stop.

What I shall do for sure is to earn experience to upgrade Bertha. Without a powerful bus I will not be able to protect myself in the future, Joe concluded and then chuckled. That's true. I'm weak without my bus.