Forward speed is a helicopter’s friend almost as much as it is for a fixed wing. If he were to take-off vertically he’d be putting himself right into “dead man’s curve” territory where he has neither enough forward speed or height to recover from an engine failure.
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Hvcurve.png
If you’ve ever been anywhere near an airport you’d know that houses get legally overflown below 1000’ all the time.