Nodding to myself, I confirmed that the small bottle in my hand was what I needed. I approached the counter, where the NPC clerk, with an expression as neutral as the store's neatly organized shelves, waited.

Placing the bottles on the payment counter, I waited and watched the clerk's fingers moving swiftly over a holographic panel, processing my request.

"That will be 750 Gold."

As I wanted to pay, I was prompted to confirm the deduction from my account through a short transaction menu. The shopkeeper handed me the bottles. Staring at it for a moment, again, this time not to see its description but to have it entered into [Inventory]. And the bottle in my hand dissolved into digital fragments.

A notification screen appeared before me afterward.

Inventory Updated! New item added: Enchanted Water x5

"Anything else you require?"

"That will be all. Thank you." I walked out of the store.

Opening the [Map], I discovered my next destination was deep in the eastern part of the forest. It appeared that I still needed the minimap's assistance in this situation because, let's be honest, there was a high risk of getting lost in the forest; there were no markers or anything like in the city, right?

With that, I set my [Map] onto the top left corner, then pulled out the Heart Core to ride my Mount outside Vaughan.

As the academy fell further behind, I found a high wall dividing this place from the [Open World], with a door wide open. This reminded me of the fantasy setting this game used since, in the real world, it would be fully guarded by an army before the boundary of my city-state. Here, only two NPCs wore red armbands, standing on the side of the door, indicating they were Disciplinarians.

When I got out, I thought I needed to take a specific stage, maybe another [Side Quest], or answer a quiz from the guard NPC like the games I had played. But I could pass them freely as my hoverboard moved ahead and out of the massive gate.

Outside, the greenery stretched everywhere with no one around. Nice! A little further away, the cool breeze stroked my skin, accompanied by the rustling leaves of trees apart from the chirping birds. The harmony turned my head, scanning the scenery, every detail drawing me in. For a moment, it felt like the serene beauty was a welcome escape from the weight of reality, a temptation to forget why I was here in the first place. Then—Oh? Those trees! Could it be Luminarescence? Maybe...?!

Curiosity tugged at me more than my determination to focus. It brought back memories of my time spent in the library when I was obsessed with getting to know everything, even the most minor information. I shook my head, but a part of me insisted: What was the harm in a quick check? My logical side fought, muttering cautions, but I disregarded it.

'Time to find out!'

I entered—Oh! Wait. My Heart Core was in Mount mode, so I switched it to weapon mode and walked into the wilderness. When I strolled among the trees with Floating Hourglass hovering steadily beside me, I felt small... so insignificant.

How tall were these trees, approximately? Maybe 20 meters? No, no, 60 meters? Didn't know! Just craning my neck like this wasn't enough to estimate accurately. But judging from the bark that shimmered with a soft glow, these trees were indeed Luminarescence. They said the glow of these trees wasn't constant but fluctuated within the cycle of day and night.

Chirrum...

Those chimes could be heard in the distance, albeit faintly like whispers. Curious, I approached, and it turned out to be Glimmerstags!

The sight sparked excitement, reminding me of how, as a child, I fantasized about discovering such treasures beyond the city-state's walls... because I had no idea what lay beyond that; I had never seen such animals face-to-face! Let alone see, even going into the forest was a big no-no with a death sentence!

I quickly hid behind a tree and peeked out, as they were said to be timid despite being majestic. Majestic, with antlers like twisting vines and bright blossoms that lit up. Walking on all fours alone made its height reach around two meters! How about standing?! But looking at the structure of its legs, it seemed impossible for it to stand on two legs...

'Then it won't run fast, will it?'

Slowly, I crept closer... but its small ears twitched, and its black eyes turned—Ah, it dashed away! Was it because of the rustling sound of my footsteps against the grass? I immediately ran after the Glimmerstags when realizing it was surprisingly fast! I couldn't afford to fall behind, could I?!

Jumping over rocks. Maneuvering around trees. The longer I ran, my chase slowed down because... because...

'WHAT WAS I DOING?!'

I skidded to a stop, gasping for breath, a rush of embarrassment washing over me. Reckless. Not at all me. I'd come to find answers to avoid getting caught up in useless pursuits. But why had it been so easy to divert me? Was it the familiarity of this game that had carried me away...?

I meant, for example, RPG games were exaggerated when depicting the forest, with some being short and filled with rodents. Or even having bizarre shapes altogether. But the forest in World: The Origin was like the ones I often saw online. Having grown up surrounded by the impenetrable walls of the city-state, I was always curious about jungle exploration... in any game. Could that also be what was affecting me now? Habit?

Whatever it was, I needed to stay focused. No more detours. This time, I was looking for the clearing where the [Solvent Flower] would be. I was determined to resist any more distractions.

Stolen content alert: this content belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences.

But as I moved, the nagging thought remained: Why did I feel so connected to this place?

Never mind; I quickened my pace.

Having roamed for eight minutes (and more), I eventually saw a gap in the tall trees ahead as sunlight seeped through. When I walked forward, sure enough, I came to a clearing surrounded by trees, casting a spotlight like basking in the sun's golden glow.

Right in the center, there was a cluster of white flowers.

Coming closer, I knelt down near it and checked that it was another flower that existed in the real world. But, of course, the name wasn't [Solvet Flower] but a type of Tulipa. Because of its white color, these were Tulipa Solaris. I started picking this flower. Meticulously, I parted each to measure its stem against the mental image of Cecil's hand.

Just as I found a flower that matched the desired length, the tranquility was abruptly shattered when I noticed something glimmer in the distance—

'A dagger!'

I dodged—Couldn't! My speed was inferior to that weapon's speed; curse this low-level avatar! But...

Clang!

...it bounced off right in front of my face as if a thin barrier had been placed around me.

Immortal Object Activated!

My assailant finally emerged from the shadows of the trees.

Dressed in Vaughan's academy uniform, he wore a black half-body cloak that focused on covering his upper body—shoulders, head, hair, forehead, nose, until only his mouth was visible. And his mouth gaping wide as he hurriedly approached. The closer he got, the clearer it became that he was inspecting me from head to toe based on the movement of his head.

"Wha—You... a newbie?!"

A reasonable response; encountering one when VR:Scanner wasn't produced anymore was surprising.

Fortunately, the system has protected me. But, all of a sudden, an attack appeared: a beam of light faster than the dagger! The light shot straight beside my head, aiming at the would-be Player Killer (PKer), who had already dodged by leaping sideways.

He landed gracefully a few meters away. Quickly turned his head toward the source of the light. Me as well... glanced back. Another player was walking closer with a Twin Gun in each hand. Just seeing her figure made the PKer click his tongue. He jumped from tree to tree.

But this Gunner seemed relaxed as she watched him zoom further. I could hardly see where he was going with that speed and camouflage ability. She just walked. Then, knelt down and aimed her weapon straight ahead. A massive magic circle appeared before her. When she fired an energy bullet, it was absorbed in it, transforming into light that spread before being shot straight to one point, which I concluded was where the PKer was.

A thunderous explosion was blasted strong enough in the distance to the point where heat was felt. I stretched my arms forward to block out my face from the scattered dust.

'Like a homing missile...'

After unleashing that incredible attack, instead of feeling relieved, the Gunner narrowed her eyes. She stood up, changing her weapon to become a Mount. Digital fragments crept up to her back, forming mechanical wings stretched wide. She flew towards where PKer went.

As her form disappeared from my view, I could sense other extraordinary attacks from the distance. The clash of metal. The discharge of weapons. The roar of combative spells painted a vivid picture of the chaos unfolding beyond my sight as I only caught glimpses of light and shadow dashed between the trees. But wasn't her Heart Core used as a Mount? Or has she turned it into a weapon again? Or... did she use [Additional Weapon] now? Because it felt so intense!

At one point, the forest fell silent as if it had lost its own breath before an explosion erupted, shaking the ground and sending birds flying from the treetops in panic.

And I, still kneeling amidst the cluster of white flowers with a stem in hand, could only mutter, "Well, that was crazy."

Shrugging, I stood up and walked back to Vaughan.

It had been pointed out that I got some "Newbie Protection" where I couldn't be attacked. This was common in MMORPGs to prevent harassment from other players for those still learning the mechanics, controls, and universe; the protection was most likely the same as in most games, existing until at least level 15.

There was no need to—Oh! Perhaps a newbie would panic with surprises like this? Not to mention with such a high level of realism.

But PKs were expected. Especially in this game where killing one player could earn EXP equivalent to completing a mission, with the added gaining of Gold and materials carried by the victim. Of course, the drop rate depended on the item's rarity, and killing fellow players would get a penalty that impacted the game's society—affecting reputation, alliances, and access to certain Quests or areas.

So, as I said before, I was in a favorable position... for now; without help from the system, I would be dead.

'This means I should have a high level player in my grasp.'

Leveling up, mastering skills, and so on might be beneficial. But realistically, those weren't enough, especially with me already behind. I needed at least one player who could be a medium for protection, connection, and learning if I wanted to survive while gathering answers regarding my VR:Scanner in this game.

When I was busy wrestling with my thoughts as I kept walking like this, a rustling sound was heard ahead; I lifted my head—

"Hello, we meet again."

My footsteps jolted to stop as the previous Gunner was already in front of me! I didn't even feel any signs of her arrival; maybe this was the effect of her [Passive Skill]? Were there humans who had no presence like this in real life?! Unless she was trained enough, but still...

As for her words, I quickly responded by raising an eyebrow. "Pardon?"

She appeared to be smiling quite friendly, with her hands behind her back. "We have met before, haven't we? At Vaughan main courtyard."

Of course, I remembered that. This Gunner was one of the players—that girl with silver hair and golden eyes—in the Raid group who glanced at me. So that time, she was really focusing on me, which meant she had high attentiveness to new faces.

Knowing this, I unconsciously smiled.

A smile friendly enough to make me close my eyes.