Pigbeasts wandered by, rooting in the grasslands. Very few remained out this late at night. Primarily day spawns, the Pigbeasts that remained alive by the end of the day generally hid in the forests or in their dens at night. A few bats swooped through the air, nibbling at insects Vivian couldn’t see. He kept his eyes straight ahead, walking on through the knee-height dark grasses. Pigbeasts proc when you lock eyes with them. Also, NPCs don’t tend to look around as they walk. No need to draw unnecessary attention to myself.

Armor clanked in the center of the field. Vivian cut a glance over. An armored man shambled down the hunting ground. Blood leaked from the joints of his armor, leaving a shiny smear across the ground as he walked. Feeling Vivian’s eyes on him, he turned.

Vivian yanked his eyes away, staring straight ahead instead. A walking armor? Out here? Those things are level ten and up. They should only spawn near the castle, not near the Starter Town.

Frowning, Vivian walked onward. Behind him, the clank of armor grew louder.

He glanced back. The armor followed after him. The grate of the helmet hung open, revealing the formless bloody goo within.

Shit. Did I proc it? Was that too long of a glance? He sped up.

The armor sped up. Bloody strings dripping from its gauntlet, it reached out for Vivian’s neck.

Fuck this. I’m getting to the Starter Town. We can figure this mystery out later! Vivian took off at a sprint. The armor chased after him, clattering loudly in his ears. He pushed through the grasses, hopping bushes with practiced ease.

[Skill Acquired]

[Tiptoe Through the Tulips] Lvl 1

“What the hell is that skill,” Vivian muttered aloud.

[Tiptoe Through the Tulips]

You’re experienced at traversing gardens. Any grassland, garden, or other area with low vegetation is treated as flat land for your purposes. Move at full speed through any terrain with light vegetation.

“Fucking… excellent,” Vivian panted. Yeah, because it was so hard to move through grasslands in the first place!

Almost as he thought it, his steps grew lighter. He sped through the grasses. The knee-high grass no longer provided any resistance, nor did it lash at his legs. Every step landed sure, as the skill aimed his feet away from hidden stones and pits.

“And… I take that all back,” Vivian said, nodding with appreciation. He jumped a tangle of weeds and sped up, hoofing it up the slight hill.

The armor thumped along after him, splattering bloody slime all over the grasses. Wherever the slime landed, the grasses hissed and disintegrated. The acrid scent of acid and dissolving grass filled the air. Vivian lifted his shirt, choking against it. Just… a little… further!

A strange bird whistled.

Up ahead, a stone wall loomed over the hunting ground. Firmly shut gates blocked the way forward. Vivian diverted his path, racing around the curve of the wall and into a small grove of trees. Over here is the after-hours entrance. No one knows which Player dug out the stones, but there’s a little gap in the wall that I should be able to squeeze through—

Unauthorized duplication: this narrative has been taken without consent. Report sightings.

“Oh my! Do I hear the sound of a noob fleeing for his life?”

Vivian resisted the urge to sigh. He looked up, where a group of higher-level Players sat in the trees. Two men and a woman in leather armor, all grinning like cats. What are they, level fifteen? Acting all smug… Shouldn’t you head up to the second floor, already? Leave us noobs alone!

Ugh, noob-hunters are the worst. It’s technically not illegal, unlike Player-Killing, but that doesn’t make it good for high-level Players to go around threatening lower-level Players into giving up their Gold and gear. They’re basically playground bullies, but full-grown adults. Come on, aren’t you guys ashamed of yourselves?

But then again, there are advantages to being an NPC. Vivian turned to them. Smiling gently, he said, “Hello! Would you like to buy a flower?”

The man frowned. “Huh?”

“Hello! Would you like to buy a flower?” Vivian repeated. The armored slime clanked toward him, hurtling closer with every passing moment. Sweat dripped down his back. Hurry up. Figure it out! I’m an NPC! There’s no use threatening me. I don’t have the scripting! I’m not a Role!

The three of them exchanged a glance. The woman threw her hand out. “Scan!”

“So?” one of the men asked.

The woman scowled. “He’s an NPC.”

“The fuck is an NPC doing out this late?” the other man asked. He shook his head. “Where’re all the late-night noobs?”

Vivian continued to smile. The rattling armor ached in his ears. A clammy hand landed on his shoulder. Come on. Grab your damn monster before it eats me! One hand casually reached behind his back and closed around his clippers.

The armored slime leaned toward Vivian. Cold metal banged into the back of his head. Wetness brushed the back of his neck, hissing against his skin. He tensed.

“Hey, Skylar. Quick, before it fills up on NPC,” the woman said, nudging the other man.

Grunting, Skylar hopped out of the tree. He reached out, and a long-handled crook materialized in his hand with a pale green glow. Green glowed in his eyes and burned around his arms in a faint halo as he whirled around and caught the monster in the crook, pulling it back from Vivian. The armored slime’s helm smashed shut a split second later, so close Vivian felt it on the small hairs at the back of his neck.

Vivian swallowed. Holy shit. I almost died. Again.

“I’ll go reset it,” Skylar grumbled, dragging the armored slime away. It reached for Vivian, arms stretching longer than any human’s could, gauntlets dangling on long, thick strands of goopy red slime. Its helm clanged hungrily, banging open and shut as if it were jaws.

The man and the woman in the trees turned away, ignoring Vivian.

I should probably do one more. For safety’s sake. “Hello! Would you like to buy a flower?”

They continued to ignore him, chatting away in the trees. Vivian glanced around, then dropped to the ground and shimmied through the missing rock in the wall.

Looking after the vanishing NPC, Ana nudged Jacob beside her. “Hey.”

“Yeah?” Jacob asked, casually polishing one of his knives.

“Do NPCs know about the back entrance?”

“No,” Jacob said.

Ana licked her lips. “But that NPC just went through it.”

Jacob looked up. He turned and watched the last of Vivian shimmy away, his feet kicking through the hole. “I mean, you Scanned him, right?”

“Yeah. Definitely came up as an NPC. Gardener, in fact. Level five,” Ana said.

Jacob put a hand to his chin. “Something about him… it’s tickling in the back of my mind. Let’s keep an eye out for him. If he’s a Player who juked us, we’ll make him pay. There’s skills that can fake out Scan, after all.”

“Well, that’s right. He could be an NPC with weird scripting,” Ana allowed.

“I’d rather he be a Player who juked us, honestly. If the Tower knows about the back entrance, that’s bad news for Players everywhere,” Jacob returned.

“Players… near the Starter Town on the first floor,” Ana said, laughing.

A sharp whistle pierced the night.

Jacob rolled his eyes. He nudged Ana. “Alright, look sharp. Skylar says there’s another group coming.”