Gem books it at this point, making it to the gate in moments that would have likely taken minutes. The guards standing at the gate don’t try to stop them, but Gem does notice some coins being exchanged, because of course they would know about them. The only question on Gem’s mind being if they had been betting on if this would be the gate or if they would make it at all.

  Then Gem is out of the city and running right towards the nearby forest. Behind them, a bunch of people stop before leaving the gate, not wanting to deal with waiting to reenter. One of them who seems the most important shouts after Gem, “Why are you even running? Our masters only want to talk to you!”

  Gem doesn’t turn around so they don’t don’t see them roll their eyes, “Did you say something? Can’t hear you!”

  As if Gem was some newb without an idea of how this worked! They had spent days designing so many characters, so how likely do you think it was that they hadn’t spent at least that much time looking into the random option? As long as Gem doesn’t acknowledge having heard them, Gem was simply rushing to grind out in the forest. If they had heard those people, though?

  Well, Gem is just a low level player and they represent big shot nobles and organizations! So they better go and listen to all of those people who want to “sponsor” them. And if Gem decided not to go with any of the groups or people? Well, life wasn’t going to be easy until they could escape to another city.

  And yes, this was a game, so if this wasn’t to your taste, you had options. For instance, start a new character and don’t choose random, because the random option will put you right back where you were. See, this nonsense was part of the inherent balancing the game included to make up for the fact that random characters could be so powerful right from the start.

  Gem, however, was going for option two. The wild child route! Go out into the wilderness and forge your own path, avoiding cities and only stopping at small towns until you’re strong enough in either power, fame, or some other noble recognized way. That or make yourself a liability. Gem didn’t want to pigeon hole themselves, but...

  Anyway, they made it to the forest and with their B rank body were still fresh and full of vigor to start bashing on things. With magic. They learned magic to use it.

  Not that they were alone, this was a forest a short run away from where new players get dumped. There were rabbits, foxes, and so many players who were more animal than the monsters. Gem had read that the devs ended up making these forests unreasonably thick with trees just to hide how many monsters were shoved into the area and they were willing to believe it!

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  In the short time they had been running deeper into the forest, Gem had passed ten people and over twenty monsters. That’s crazy density! Good thing the SAI who made it all didn’t have to follow things like the food web when needed.

  Then Gem ran into a boar. Maybe they shouldn’t have been looking over at that fox they just passed and kept their eyes forward? Anyway, neither of them were quite sure what to do about this. It isn’t every day a player accidentally crashes into a monster at a survivable speed. Most accidental person on monster collisions involve one side not surviving it.

  Though Gem might not survive this in the end, anyway! The boar got its act together a lot quicker and went for a gore attack. This snapped Gem out of it and they jumped over the monster, using its back as a springboard, into a flip that landed them on their feet.

  The aerobatics were a bit misplaced at this time as, by the time they were facing the boar again, it had turned around as well.

  Wind Blade to the face!

  The boar’s snout is scratched by this, and Gem gets a sinking feeling. Maybe there was a reason they had seen so many rabbits and foxes, but no boars? At least not until just now, having gotten deeper into the forest.

  “Hey, idiot! What are you doing out here?” A voice yells from up in the nearby tree.

  Gem dodged the boar’s charge before looking up and finding a woman with short cropped blue hair that seemed to be a baseline human otherwise. “Probably the same as you? Not up in that tree for the fun of it, I bet!”

  The woman snorts, “Well, come up and join me so we can be stupid together!”

  Gem unleashes a barrage of weak Wind Blades at an adjacent tree as they run over to it. The blades are walked up the trunk, leaving furrows at a regular interval. Furrows that Gem then uses to get their butt up the tree pronto!

  And not a second too soon as the boar crashes into the tree below them, almost knocking them off. Gem ignores it though, and continues climbing until they make it to a sturdy branch that can support them.

  The woman nods, “Well that was clever enough. Almost makes me wonder how you could figure that out and yet be stupid enough to go too deep into the forest.”

  Gem shrugs, “First day, and I didn’t want to join up with anyone back in town. Was running and ended up–”

  The woman snorts, “Running into that boar, literally! One of the funniest things I’ve seen in the last hour. Though that might have more to do with the fact I’ve been stuck in this tree for a bit more than that.”

  Gem smacks the branch they’re on, “At least the trees are sturdy! Now, since you know so much, why are you here? Like, I got into this mess by not looking where I’m going and just running into the unknown. You, though, claim to have known better.”

  Heyo! If you enjoyed the chapter, please consider reviewing the story! It would really help it gain traction. Also, as an incentive, if we hit 500 follows I’ll release a bonus chapter!

  Oh, and if you want to ? There is at least a chapter’s worth over on right now! You can also head over to my to hang out and ask questions. While I do try to respond to comments, I don’t always catch everything.