Continuing his journey along the river, he remembered he had not checked the prompt, but all previous encounters told him that he should not get distracted so easily.

After a couple of hours, he decided to recuperate his stamina and forage some berries. Sitting down, he went through the prompts.

*ALARM: You have slain a Goblin. You earn 30 experience points.*

*ALARM: You have slain a Goblin. You earn 30 experience points.*

*ALARM: You have completed a Quest.*

*Quest: Kill both of the goblins and get out of the predicament you are in.

Reward: Stealth skill (tier 0) - Goblin kills: 2/2*

*You have acquired the stealth skill (tier 0).*

Accepting all of the prompts, a rush of information came to him on how to use the skill, as if it had always been there. The feeling was surreal, unlike anything he had ever felt before.

It wasn't the first time; the same had happened before with swordsmanship. The closest description he could find was as if he had remembered something he forgot, like forgetting where he had put his key-chains and then remembering how they ended up there after finding them.

But the same didn't happen with Appraisal or Luck. Was there meaning or a reason behind it? After pondering on the idea for a bit and finding no logical explanation, he gave up and then pressed the skill button twice to see more details about it.

Stealth (tier 0) level 1: You can hide in the shadows, making you less visible to unaware enemies. Stealth is broken upon casting a spell or making an attack, whether noticed or not. The skill does not work if the enemy already sees you. The skill consumes 1 MP and 1 SP every second to keep stealth active but consumes more SP the faster you run.

"Nice, that’s a pretty good skill for ambushing, and if not for the requirement of breaking sight, it would be pretty broken in combat, just popping out to attack and then popping back to stealth again, and repeating that till the enemy is dead."

Feeling rested enough after a few hours, Kyle decided to get back to walking so he wouldn’t waste more daylight, not knowing when he would reach an inhabited village or town.

Hours of walking later, sadly, he found nothing apart from a few scares he got from a deer running in the forest or a squirrel moving in the trees. Setting a small camp for the second night now in the middle of nowhere, alone and cold, he started losing hope.

The only thing keeping him a bit sane and focused was the abundance of food, be it berries or mushrooms. At least he wouldn't starve for now, although he started missing his cup noodles, something he never thought he would experience since he got sick of eating them almost every day. Calling it a night while thinking and dreaming of every delicacy he ate on occasion and the different flavors of cup noodles.

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Kyle woke up feeling tired and cramped all over again, he ate some of the leftover berries, not wanting the bland taste of a spongy mushroom in the morning. He set out on his journey again, hoping that this would be his last day of mindless walking. A few hours in, the thick forest canopy to the sides started to dim out more and more with each passing hour. He felt like he was almost out of the forest.

Indeed, not too long after, he started seeing small fields in the distance, getting exceedingly happy by finally getting out of the forest. Kyle ran with all he had until he reached the top of the first big mound.

Standing on top of it, he saw a road with two carriages moving toward a small village in the distance. The road was filled with square plots of land surrounded by fences where goats, sheep, and cows grazed.

Combined with the clear blue sky, the scene was straight out of a painting. He almost started crying from joy, gazing at the beautiful scenery after days of forest, huge bugs, and monsters.

Getting closer to the road and continuing to take in the view, Kyle started skipping without noticing. When he got closer, he started waving to the farmers tending to their animals; some waved back, and some just shook their heads.

Upon getting close enough to the walls, Kyle observed a small wooden gate guarded by two men—one older and burly, the other younger but still exuding toughness. Waving at them, both looked at him, signaling that he should come closer. Upon remembering that he was going to talk to people, Kyle started panicking. He had no idea what to say.

"Wait, I didn’t think this through. I was going to ask to borrow a cell phone or something to get back to my city and apartment, but after all that happened in the last few days and me looking 16 again, I’m sure I’m not in my world. I should think of a lie fast before I reach them, damn it."

Upon getting close enough to the gate, the older man motioned for him to stop. Kyle stopped and put his hands up. Confused, the younger guard asked with a grin on his face,

"Hey kid, why are you putting your hands up and what is your name?"

"Uh, my hands are up to show I mean no harm. My name is Ray... Kyle. I'm Kyle."

"And what’s with your getup?"

"Oh this… it’s a... A tracksuit."

"A tracksuit? Never heard of it before. Is it some new fashion piece of those noble bastards?"

The older man, sensing his young coworker wanting to annoy the traveler, lowered his hand and said,

"Enough with it. Why do you care what he wears? It’s ok Kyle, you can lower your hands and come a bit closer. So, would you tell us where you are coming from and what you’re doing?"

"Uh… I’m here because…” Kyle's heart raced as panic set in, beads of sweat forming on his brow. Thinking of any lie he could find in the back of his head, he remembered one of the clichés he always read in manga's and books.

"My caravan got attacked by monsters while traveling. The guards, seeing we were losing, said that they would buy time for us workers and the owner to escape, but I got separated from everyone while fleeing."

"That's... I’m sorry to hear that, son, but I can’t just let you in like that. We need you to pass our check first."

"What kind of check, sir?"

"Don’t worry about it, nothing big," said the younger guy, hugging his spear. "Follow me."

While walking behind the older guard, Kyle heard two simultaneous DINGS, but he ignored them for now since it was not the time to fiddle with his guide.

They entered a small stone guard post near the gate, with three rooms. In the main room, where they stood, a small counter desk was stationed. Rummaging behind it, the guard took out a small crystal ball and put it on the counter. Kyle stood there, not knowing what to do, until the guard talked.

"Is this your first time visiting another village or town?"

Kyle, still a bit scared, nodded his head in confirmation.

Looking at him and sighing, the guard said,

"It’s the same thing as your coming of age ceremony, son. Just put your hand on this ball, and it will tell me basic information about you like your name, age, and if you have committed murder, robbery, or other criminal acts."

Feeling a bit relieved, Kyle advanced and put his hand on the ball. A blue hue started swirling inside the ball, and a hologram came out from it.