A regular town stood on the very edge of the Great Forest. Though it wasn't very large, it thrived due to its proximity to the forest and hunting.

Though it had no name, everyone called it after the fortress from which the town grew—Dark Pillar.

At the gates facing the forest, a few guards stood, allowing entry and exit to anyone coming or going from a hunt.

"Hey, did you hear what happened a couple of days ago?" one of the guards said.

"No, what?" asked the second guard.

"A few bandits got drunk and started a brawl at the 'Drunken Apple.' Even though they were beheaded, the tavern burned down completely," the first guard replied.

"Damn, the best tavern in town," said the second with a hint of regret.

While the guards were discussing the recent events, a figure resembling a human emerged from the forest and began approaching the town gates.

"What is that?" one of the guards noticed the figure.

When the figure came within a few dozen steps of the gate, the guards examined it closely and realized it was just an ordinary boy, wrapped in various plants. They relaxed, and one of them started walking toward the figure.

"Hey, who are you? Do you have a pass to enter the town?" the guard immediately asked.

The figure stopped but said nothing. This continued for almost a minute, causing the guards to tense up a bit, though they didn’t feel any danger from the figure.

"Uh, can you tell me where I am?" the figure finally spoke.

"This is the town of Dark Pillar. If you don’t have a pass, I won’t let you in," the guard replied.

"Unfortunately, I don’t have a pass," the boy responded.

"How can I get one?" the boy asked.

"You just need to pay ten gold coins," the guard answered immediately as if expecting that question.

"I don’t have any coins, but I have this," the boy pulled out a handful of various herbs from his tunic.

At first, the guard was disappointed, thinking about how to send the boy away from the town, but after examining the herbs more closely, his expression slightly changed.

"Alright, this should be enough," the guard picked a few herbs.

"To get you a pass, I need to clarify a few details," the guard pulled out a small piece of paper and began writing.

"Your name?" the guard asked.

"Ayren Davian," the boy replied.

"Where have you come from?" the guard continued.

"From a small village called Arvil. I was traveling and accidentally wandered into the forest. Barely made it out," Ayren answered in one breath, as if rehearsed beforehand.

"I see," the guard responded, seemingly unaware that the story was made up. Though in the town of Dark Pillar, there wasn't a rule that the information had to be truthful, Ayren's clumsy lie made the guard slightly uncomfortable.

He handed the pass to Ayren and let him through the gates into the town.

Ayren, holding the pass he obtained in exchange for herbs, finally passed through the gates of Dark Pillar. His heart raced with joy—he had finally returned to civilization after days of wandering through the dangerous forest.

However, the feeling was marred by the loss of rare stat points that could have been useful in the future. But it had been necessary to gain knowledge of the human language in this world and to respond to the guard with at least something.

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"Damn, finally," Ayren was glad to have left the forest after nearly a month of wandering.

Ayren hadn't seen or spoken to people for several months. He was even a bit confused during his first encounter with the guards, but now the only thing he wanted was to eat some real food, as he had grown tired of bland meals without spices.

"Now, I need money," Ayren was immediately faced with a problem.

He had nothing valuable except the herbs, for which he could at least get something. Now he just had to find a place where he could sell them, and that would be difficult in an unfamiliar town.

Walking down the main street, Ayren began scanning the signs of various shops. Although it was the first time, he'd seen the words written on them, he understood their meaning on a subconscious level, which made him feel a bit uneasy.

Wandering the streets, Ayren attracted the attention of passersby with his strange appearance. He noticed this, but there was nothing he could do about it, so he focused on finding an alchemist’s stall. After about an hour, he finally found something that seemed suitable—a small, shabby shop with the loud name "Dragon’s Herb." Taking a look, Ayren walked inside.

Upon entering, Ayren noticed that no one was behind the counter. He began to examine the shop’s surroundings. There were many shelves filled with herbs, pills, and potions, but everything looked somewhat worn out. The shelves seemed like they were several decades, if not a hundred years old.

"So, what’s this—a walking bush?" someone called out as Ayren was looking around.

Turning, he saw an old man, about seventy years old, with a white beard, who had emerged from the back room and taken his place behind the counter.

"Ahem," Ayren cleared his throat and approached the counter.

"You must be the owner. I’d like to sell some herbs," Ayren ignored the old man’s first remark and immediately pulled out a handful of herbs from his tunic.

"Well, let’s see what you’ve got," the old man grunted and began examining the herbs laid on the counter.

"I’ll give you no more than eight gold coins for this," after a few minutes of inspecting, he selected a few herbs and dismissed the rest.

"Alright," though Ayren didn’t know the real value of the herbs, he decided to act as if he was reluctantly agreeing to the price, not wanting to appear naïve.

The old man pulled out eight gold coins, placed them on the counter, and took the herbs. Without wasting any time, Ayren scooped up the coins, tucked them into his tunic, and headed toward the exit.

"If you plan on continuing your herb trade, feel free to come to me," the old man called after him.

Ayren nodded in agreement and stepped outside.

"Now that I’ve got some money, I can get myself some decent clothes," Ayren said as he headed toward the building he had noticed earlier.

Shedding the plants wrapped around him, Ayren was left in tattered, dirt-stained clothes, so he made his way to a clothing shop. He found a modest store and walked inside. The girl behind the counter changed her expression slightly, but Ayren quickly picked out a somewhat decent outfit.

"I'll take two sets of this, please," Ayren pointed to the clothes he had chosen.

"Of course, here you go," the girl quickly grabbed two sets and handed them to Ayren. He took one and headed to the fitting room.

A few minutes later, he came out, now dressed in much better attire, though his face was still a bit dirty.

"How much do I owe?" Ayren asked, satisfied with the fit and not wanting to waste time.

"Two sets will be one gold coin," the girl replied immediately.

Ayren pulled out one coin, took the second set, and headed for the exit.

"Oh, could you tell me where I can find a place to stay?" Ayren stopped at the door.

"Down the street, there's an inn where travelers often stay," she answered. Ayren thanked her and left.

Approaching the inn, Ayren took in its appearance. It was an ordinary building with the name "The Black Oak." Without lingering, he walked inside, where he was greeted by a reception desk manned by a man in his forties.

"I’d like to rent a single room," Ayren said as he approached the receptionist.

"Good day. There are two options: a regular room for one gold coin for five days or a deluxe room for one gold coin per day," the man, polite and efficient, replied.

"A regular room will do," Ayren took out two gold coins and placed them on the registration desk.

"Here’s your key, room 79," the man handed Ayren the key after taking the coins.

"Thanks," Ayren took the key and made his way to his room.

Once inside, he immediately found the bed and collapsed onto it with a sigh.

"Finally, how much time has passed?" Ayren was relieved to finally lie on a real bed, even though it wasn’t particularly comfortable. It was still the best he'd had in months.

"Ah, it feels so good to finally get out of that forest," Ayren was so mentally exhausted that he no longer felt the urge to eat, only to lie down.

"I should at least claim the quest reward," Ayren remembered the quest.

[Quest "Escape the Forest" completed.]

[Reward: 5 levels.]

[Accept?]

[Yes/No.]

"Hah, five levels, that’s great," the reward for the quest lifted Ayren’s spirits. But as soon as he accepted the reward, a new notification appeared in front of him.

[New Quest

Goal: Conquer the world and feed it to your pocket world

Reward: 10,000 special points

Time: 100 years

Failure penalty: Death by torture within one year

Accept

Yes/No?]

[The quest is mandatory, so acceptance is automatic.]

"What the hell?!" Ayren burst out as soon as he read the new quest.