After I agreed with Hibaien’s suggestion, I had another question, “But, how does being an apprentice work?”

Hibaien smirks, “First things first, run as fast as you can to the end of the forest and back will ya?”

“Heeehh…?”

---

 

“Huff, huff, huff…”

Well, right now I’m running as fast as I can. Honestly, the forest isn’t that far, but the end of the forest is!

Woe is me, isn’t this the same type of training Hibaien gave Symeph? Is that what you’re thinking? Well, I thought that too! In response, he only waved it off and said, ‘Only for today! I’ll have off time tomorrow!’

They gave that kind of explanation! Ugh, but it’s not like he’s wrong! NPCs have jobs in this world!

“Ah-“ As I was immersed in my recollections, my foot snags a root. I reflexively use my arms to cover my face as I tumble slightly downhill. My momentum finally broke when I hit a tree. “Ugh…”

My eyes trail up to see that some of my HP is gone and all my stamina depleted. Sitting up from the ground, I decided to stop for a moment and rest. Also, I’m honestly really dizzy at the moment!

Still…

I’m just saying random things to distract myself, but what did exactly did I pull up?

When I checked on my status, I noticed the root that had caused me to fall. The speed I was going at caused a portion of it to be lifted off the ground. The part I tripped over was an earthy brown with a few green leaves.

That’s where most of the normality ends.

“…”

Uprooted, it revealed a golden base, more gold than the coins I have! Not only that, by tracing the direction it’s in, I roughly estimate what tree it was from.

“…”

Yes! You guessed it! The tree I stopped at!

However, looking behind me, I did not see any sort of golden tree. Instead, it was remarkably average in every way. I could investigate further, but…

Y-you know, I’m just going to ignore it after all!

Before my stamina could even recover a third of its full status, I decide to avoid my problems and sprint off once more.

Not noticing the fact that my HP was filled inexplicably or the few drops of sap that were touching my back.

With that episode away and buried in my mind, I don’t have much else to do except watch out for other obstacles and keep running (oh yeah, you can run without stamina, but it’s about the speed of running in water) to the edge.

Ahh, thinking aimlessly, I’m reminded of the way this game does Day and Night Cycles.

You see, I experienced it firsthand on the first day. When I first logged in, it was pretty bright, right? Apparently, that was a courtesy given on the first day. 

When I checked the news in the morning, there was general gossip and drama, but some of them provided new information.

One of which was the surprise for players who stayed up past midnight and were plunged into darkness. (Is this their way of telling people to sleep more?)

Right, anyway, the main thing is that day in here is day outside. Night in here is night outside.

I guess right now the time is, 10:00 a.m?

Huh? I get up early, you know?

I should really get more sleep, though…

But, there’s still a lot of time before night, so I’ll leave sleep duty to my future self!

Huh? So skills like this existed?

I can somewhat guess what they do, but I’ll have to check later for the specifics. Preferably when I'm at the edge.

But, seriously, when will this forest end?!

Hmm, it kinda feels like I'm running better than before, though?

---

 

At the edge, at the edge!

Right now, I, Kai Adair, am laying flat against the ground.

And, no, it isn't because I tripped! I'm just regaining stamina, okay?!

After being delirious for a moment, I catch my breath and regain my senses.

My cheek is being hit rhythmically by the blades of grass. It cools the heat that had piled up in my body as I gaze up at the sky. It's full of lush clouds.

Occasionally, I spot a strange bird or two. Some with streaks of purple and others with sharp spines.

"Just looking at the world isn't so bad either..."

This world feels alive. It's like it actually breathes and lives. Honestly, without all the game mechanics, it would just feel like another world.

I guess that's what they're going for, though.

"Serithic World...I guess it's a combination of the word terrific and something else?" I muse to myself out loud. In this empty patch, there likely isn't anyone for miles. I probably wouldn't mind laying here for the next hour.

"Is what I want to say."

However, I can't. I don't really know how long I did lay down, but my stamina bar is full. So, it's time to run back!

That, and, I know I could probably find this place again if I try.

Getting up and stretching my body, I'm suddenly reminded of the skills I got a bit ago. Best to check them out now before I start running again.

Indeed, these are skills suitable for running. I don't know what I was expecting.

I feel like they'll be more useful when I level them up...I don't think I'll level up [Sprinting] yet. I'd run out of stamina too fast.

As for the backlash, I guess that's what caused me to feel so tired? I can barely remember my stamina after I spotted the clearing so, unsure.

I guess I'll see when I actually start moving, huh?