When my vision finally settled, I looked around to make sure I wasn't going to be swarmed by people... NPC's... It's going to take some time for me to get used to that term. Speaking of which... how am I supposed to differentiate between other people and NPC's? Actually... scratch that thought, there's a very clear difference from villagers and other players. One... looks like they belong with the environment, the other... has better quality and more specific clothing... Kind of. I'll probably get used to it eventually, I could also just ask one of my friends, they seem to know the difference.

Looking around, the town... actually seems pretty boring... So, I don't think there are many more things I can find here. I mean, if there was any quest... it would have to be like a sort of cannon fodder instead of something important. Granted... my first quest ended on a single goblin... still have no idea what happened to that progression.

I start running to one of the exits and felt... a fair number of stares from well... both players and NPC's. I don't know the significance of me particularly, but if I'm the top player somehow... well, I might as well do things as usual. It's how I became a top player in the first place... right?

Once I got near the gates, I took a look around to make sure I didn't miss anything before going into the forest region outside of the town. There wasn't anything particularly fancy about the town, it has a wooden fence... wall and pretty basic buildings. So, I'm honestly surprised the town still stands if monsters are nearby right in the forest. The travel distance says otherwise, but I guess the guards have more experience than me who... luckily killed a single goblin. Still need to figure out what condition unlocked means though... I also haven't checked my menu much either. After that thought, I took a look around to make sure I was safe before drawing a diamond symbol to open my menu.

Four stat points... well... if I were to choose, probably 3 into AGI and then the last into DEX. They're the highest of my stats and I wouldn't really mind the extra speed. It takes a really long time to travel so the extra mobility will help and... DEX just seems like a decent choice. I don't really feel a need to increase my STR and I don't really plan to get hit a lot. I believe it's... what people call a hit and run technique? You attack and then just back off immediately. Seems like the kind of thing I'd do. Not sure if DEX has a huge influence on anything else but I'll definitely take it for its definition and assume it relates to movement in another way.

"This is unexpected... I don't believe I've seen an outworlder who has an offering from one of... us..."

I quickly turned around while pressing "allocate stat points", which applied what I selected. However, the more important part... Who is speaking... and why is it in my ear... like it's directed to be for me. Looking around, I finally settle on a deer that is looking intently at me... Many of them are staring at me. I'm not sure how to react, but it's definitely not how deer usually react.

"Outworlder... You have a... special type of trinket on you. Do you not?"

"I am unsure of what you specifically mean..."

"That blade... it gives... a specific aura, you may not realize its significance yet... However, you should be thankful we took notice of you before they did..."

"Who is this "they"... and why should I specifically care?"

"If you follow us... well... We'll see if you agree then."

The deer from front to back rhythmically turned around and started going deep into the undergrowth. I narrowed my eyes looking around to make sure no one else was watching and very carefully... started following the deer. I'm not sure if deer in this game can speak to humans... but it definitely adds a different sense of... attraction.