Julian clapped his hands together, hopping off the bed to peer out the window. The tutorial wouldn’t finish itself, and he needed to know where he was going and the fastest way to get there. For as much as he remembered of the town from last night, he may as well have been air dropped to the building. All he recalled was the surprisingly modern entrance and a vague sense of the building’s ridiculous height. Having rooms above a bar on the ground floor made sense; he expected it from a video game, although normally it was an inn, not an apartment. What he did not expect was the spotless room, clean bedding, and an absolutely phenomenal shower.

When was the last time he’d been able to spend half an hour, hell, even a few minutes, in a hot shower? It was definitely something he could get used to.

He smiled, relishing the prospect of frequent showers, and brought up his menu, flicking the golden screen down to select his map. Water dripped from his hair, tickling as it slid down his back.

To his ire, the map was little more than a grayed out blob.

“Seriously! This is it?”

What parts of the map were visible had few details. Julian could see the road to the north where he’d been stalked by the wolf. A thin gray line marked it on the map, and a cluster of green indicated the forest where he’d first arrived.

The map available for new players has limited functions. Why else do you think I got assigned to you? If you want to upgrade it, start on the Cartography quest line. No need to wait until after you complete the tutorial.

“Cartography, huh? Well, I guess I can navigate the old-fashioned way for now. I don’t feel like wasting my time to upgrade the map. Unless, of course, it will show nearby enemies?”

No, even after upgrades, the map does not have that function.

“Alright, great. It’s useless then. I’m definitely not wasting my time.”

He continued to scan over the map anyway, hoping it might prove useful in some way, but as he expected, it was not. The map provided basic landmarks, but not much else. He did not see where the trees were if there were only a few, nor did it provide information on the town. Each road was dotted with small squares, what he assumed were the location of a blacksmith and other shops, but unlike most game maps he’d used, the buildings weren’t labeled. Normally, they would at least be identified when the player was in the vicinity, but even his current location was unlabeled.

There seemed to be a manual marker function on the map, and Julian quickly marked down the abandoned mill and his current location. Ginger had said there was no way to teleport between locations, but he found it hard to believe. Even if it was not possible now he wasn’t going to take the chance. The shower alone was worth making note of the location. He could only mark places he’d already explored, as the rest of the map was grayed out, but at least those few locations would be easier to navigate.

So the cartographer quest line, how far does it go?

There are five levels to the cartographer quest line; the first three increase the number of markers you can use on the map, and the last two add new features.

“What features are those?” Julian asked, hoping she would say fast travel, or teleportation.

Limited markers wouldn’t be a problem. After a dozen jobs in the lower city, Julian had become quite good at learning shortcuts and keeping his own mental map. His home was a maze, but at least that would work for him here.

Once he was familiar with the area, he could relocate markers or save them for future exploration in Thalesium, especially if a fast travel function could be unlocked.

The last two cartography quests allow you to mark enemy spawn locations, and register certain buildings as return points.

“Return points, huh? That sounds an awful lot like teleportation, something I believe you said doesn’t exist.”

My data is incomplete. No one has completed the final Cartography quest.

“So what’s the final quest?”

Unlock all areas of the map.

Julian’s brows rose with surprise. He’d have thought the beta testers would have explored every inch of Thalesium by now.

You could be reading stolen content. Head to the original site for the genuine story.

It seemed the Cartography quest line would be worth his time after all.

“Is there a limit to the number of quests I can accept at one time?”

No.

“Perfect.”

Julian grinned. The years he’d spent running errands in the lower city were about to pay off.

Even through the rain, his view from the third floor was impressive. He could see most of the town, and the four gates separating the town from the outside.

“So is it just the town, or is the surrounding area part of the tutorial too?”

The tutorial encompasses both the town and a radius of about five miles outside of it. Monsters do not spawn inside thanks to the barrier, so to complete your quests you will need to venture outside.

“Let’s get started then.”

Thunder roared overhead, lightning striking just outside town and a heavy shower pelted the window as he nodded. He sighed. Too bad he didn’t have an umbrella. There were some aspects of the game he wished weren’t so realistic— like trudging around in a downpour.

Would you like to activate the quest locator function?

Julian nodded and golden light flared to life on the floor of his room, leading out the window. He looked at the light skeptically, seeing that it ran through the hedges outside and through the building across the street. A sigh escaped his throat.

Of course the guide would follow the shortest route.

Julian threw off the towel and dressed in the only set of clothes he had, his bare feet soaking in the chill from the wood floor. Looking out the window, he weighed his options.

There was a balcony on the floor below him, but it was too dark to see how far the ground was. Before he stopped to consider if the game had fall damage, Julian had already thrust open the window, flipping over the railing to drop to the second floor. From there, he decided the risk was worth it. He’d rather find out now if the game had fall damage.

A sharp flash of pain ran up his legs when he hit the ground, rolling with the impact, but the feeling faded almost immediately. Other than a slight tingling sensation lingering in his legs, he felt fine. He certainly didn’t feel like he’d taken damage.

After checking his stats, however, he discovered his guess was wrong. His stamina had taken a hit. To his surprise, the fall had cut the stat almost in half.

Idiot. What were you thinking?

“It’s only the second floor, I’ve jumped from higher trees than this.”

He chuckled. The exasperation in her voice was almost palpable.

That might not be a problem for stronger players. But you’re Level One. Please try to remember that.

She exhaled, her breath hissing through her teeth as if trying to hold back a scathing remark.

Why don’t you just pretend you’re made of glass, alright? Next time you want to do something crazy, remember this: if it can break glass, it will definitely break you.

Julian nodded, accepting her warning and realizing he’d already made a fatal mistake. After just one night, he’d started treating Thalesium like all the other video games he’d played. But this wasn’t just another game.

Right now, it was as real as it could get.

He craned his neck towards the sky, letting the rain batter his face like the doubts plaguing his mind.

Could he really do this?

Could he really survive this game long enough to take down Enigma Realm Studios?

A fresh wave of determination coursed through him as he thought of setting aside his revenge.

Never.

Turning back to the building, he gasped, shock freezing him in place. Seeing the building in daylight and with a clear head, the sight was almost unbelievable.

The guards had described the place as an apartment, so he’d expected it to be tall, but not this. Not a high rise with what had to be over two hundred floors. Even obscured by the pelting rain, Julian knew the building would easily be one of the tallest buildings back home.

Raising a hand to shield his eyes, he hopped over a low point in the hedges to follow the sparkling quest guide on the ground. Even without it, he would have found it difficult to lose his way. Light posts lined either side of the street. They were brightly lit when he first looked out the window, but now, even though they were shutting off one by one, it didn’t matter. The small town only had two main roads; one from the north gate to the south, and another from east to west. Fitting for a starter town, it was not a large one. He could easily canvas the whole thing on foot in less than two hours.

The small eaves of a nearby bulletin board provided a little shelter from the rain while he planned his next move. The town was a weird mash-up of fantasy village sprinkled with upper city class. He looked back at the high-rise building behind him. It was easily the tallest thing for miles, and it looked beyond out of place in what amounted to be a medieval fantasy world.

What the hell were the game developers thinking? Wasn’t Thalesium supposed to be an escape from the real world?

He grimaced, hoping the rest of the game didn’t have the same architectural design, and followed the trail to a wooden builing with swinging front doors. A burly man stationed at the entrance waved him inside.

“You must be a newcomer. Here for your first tutorial quest?” The man’s voice was deep and weary.

“How could you tell?”

The man laughed, a loud bellow echoing over the chatter from the road.

“No one comes to see Farne unless they’re a newbie.”

Julian nodded, gawking at the building with a new sense of trepidation. He’d wanted to get the tutorial over already, but now? Now he really wanted to get out of Keidale as soon as possible.