My worries built as I neared the town of Briet. Calling me poor would be an understatement. All RPGs had some form of currency, which I had none of. My only possessions were the coarse linen clothes I was wearing.

I knew that Nexus intentionally made things harder, but I still wish 'it' would have held back a little.

I had nothing against getting a job. In fact, I wished for it. But for someone that frequented the hospital as much as I did, landing myself a job had been the least of my worries. The thoughts of job interviews made butterflies flutter in my stomach.

But from the looks of my clothes, 'Golden Age' was most likely built around some sort of middle ages setting. I had doubts job interviews in the normal sense even existed here. I'm not sure if that made it better or worse.

"Oh, fu-" I flung myself towards a tree and prayed it didn't notice me.

It was a bear. A bear in itself would be scary enough, but this one was incomparable to the ones I had seen on TV. Red fur and bloodshot eyes, along with razor-sharp claws pushed it's ferociousness to the extremes.

'What the hell is that thing?'

[A bear.]

If I didn't know better, I would have assumed Nexus' was making a terrible joke. Anyone could see it was a fucking bear.

[The God of War's influence has spread far and wide. Many creatures have been affected.]

First there were lords of war, and now even a god of war had appeared. Wouldn't my life here be hell?

I shivered at the thought of getting mauled to death by a monstrous bear only minutes after arriving in... What was this world even called? Thinking about it, I had no clue where I even was.

[The world is called 'Ask'. You are currently located in is a small forest named Greenwood in the eastern part of the Kingdom of Cabet.

At least I now knew where I was. But that didn't change the fact that I wished I could be somewhere else.

The bear released a low growl.

I feared it had found me and forced myself to peek around the tree. It stood tall on its hind legs, and the snout sucked in air in small bursts.

Oh no. Didn't bears have a really good sense of smell?

[A bear's sense of smell is about two thousand times greater than a human.]

Nexus had to be feeling what I was feeling, so how the hell could he take the time to lay out fun facts? Not to mention it didn't help at all.

'If 'Golden Age' is a part of you, can't you do something about this?'

[I refuse.]

Of course 'it' did. Nexus was the one who said I would get erased if I died. 'It' was too stuck on the idea of it feeling real.

I would have to do this on my own.

Thoughts rapidly spun within my mind. In the end, I decided on a course of action.

'I hope this works...'

I slipped out of my linen clothes as quietly as possible and tied them to a branch overhead. Working with the flawed logic of 'if I can't see him, he can't see me." I crept away.

Only a short while later, I heard an angry roar and a loud crack echo throughout the forest.

Stolen from its original source, this story is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.

I snapped my head back and looked. The tree had shattered into splinters and laid in two pieces. Even worse, the bear's eyes met mine.

I did the only thing I could think of and ran like a man on fire. As the underbrush scraped against my skin, I felt thankful I kept my underwear.

I wasn't sure if the 'specs' of an adult male in Ask was different from Earth. But there was a surprising lightness to my body. I was certain this body was heavier than my previous one. Was this what a normal person felt like?

This body wouldn't break. I could push harder.

My heart pounded blood throughout my veins as I picked up speed. The faster I ran, the harder the wind tried to hold me back. I could feel my hair flail behind me, like a candle about to be blown out.

I couldn't stop the feeling. I was scared beyond belief, yet It was exhilarating.

Things were different now. This bear was not certain death. Unlike my sickness, this was an opponent I could do something about.

Before I had the chance to finish my thoughts, disaster struck and I planted my face into the ground.

"Fuck!" I spat out the dirt and scrambled to my feet. Making sure I was clear of the exposed tree root, I continued running.

The bear was already faster than me, and now I had lost valuable seconds. I couldn't help but be angry at myself. It was a mistake that could turn lethal.

That's when I saw it. The river stream. The rapid movements of the leaves traveling downstream told me of its strong currents.

There was no choice. I sprinted with all my might towards the river. Even if I ended up drowning, it would be better than being eaten by a bear.

I could swear I felt the bear's breath on my neck as I dove into the water.

Nothing was held back as I broke the river's surface and slammed against the submerged rocks. In an instant, the world turned dark.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Baldwin sat at the riverbank with his fishing rod. Only three days ago he had turned 18 and was finally able to start playing 'Golden Age'. Of course he wasn't using his real name in the game, he had instead called himself 'Clay'.

Clay let out a sigh and rechecked his quest.

Fish for Dinner!

Difficulty: Knight

Hamelin, the owner of the 'The Metal Sun' inn wants you to bring him fish for tomorrow's meals.

Quest Clear Conditions: Bring Hamelin 10 trouts.

Quest Clear Rewards: 500 Exp. Hamelin's liking towards you will increase.

Quest Failure Condition: Fail to bring Hamelin 10 trouts by 5:59 AM

Quest Failure Penalty: Hamelin's liking towards you will drop.

He let out another drawn-out sigh. This isn't what he expected when he had started playing. Where was all the adventure, all the fighting? He didn't even know quests like this existed.

It was simple actually. The stories on the TV and internet never spent any time focusing on simple quests like this. They were more interested in wars and the strength of rankers.

'At least the exp reward is decent.'

Clay was about to release another sigh but stopped.

'What?'

Clay spotted a large pool of blood flowing downstream. No, it wasn't blood. Taking a closer look, it was hair. Following the red hair, he could see a body drifting along.

A sudden notification broke his confusion.

Saving a Life

Difficulty: ???

Save the mysterious man from drowning.

Quest Clear Conditions: Save the mysterious man from drowning.

Quest Clear Rewards: ???

Quest Failure Condition: The mysterious man dies.

Quest Failure Penalty: ???

Clay's eyes sparkled. This is what he wanted. If this didn't smell of adventure, he didn't know what could. He gave it no more thoughts and threw the fishing line towards the man. The hook sank into his flesh as Clay pulled him in.

A normal fishing rod would probably break under the weight of a grown man, but Clay could ignore such fears. When he spoke to one of his higher level friends about the quest, they had given him a good fishing rod. A lot of people would just ignore quests that required fishing and such, and his friend was one such person.

When Clay finally got the man on land, his jaw dropped. He never thought he would ever call another man beautiful, but there really were no other words. The sharp, but somewhat feminine features. Long, slender limbs, and flawless skin which seemed to sparkle in the sunlight.

Still, what he found the most surprising was the fact that the man was only wearing underwear.

Quest 'Saving a Life' has been cleared.

Clay had hopes it was a linked quest. There was no way someone like this was an unimportant NPC.

While removing the hook from the man's arm, he got a little nervous. If this person was a noble or something, he might get mad over the way Clay saved him. Nobles could be real dicks from what he heard.

Swallowing his worries, he prepared. Now all he had to do was wake the man.