In the game.

A bewildering blend of confusion and shock coursed through my body as I gazed upon the city, its contours strangely familiar. It was as if I had traversed its streets countless times, perhaps even thousands. Had I somehow crossed into the realm of the game? The unfolding events left me in a perplexing haze. Our path led us to the imposing city gates, and we were granted passage.

"Well, it's been a pleasure meeting you, child, but my purpose here extends beyond escorting you," the man declared, his steps already carrying him away. "I'm not certain if you have acquaintances in this place, but it happened to be the nearest city. I wish you the best of fortune."

In his parting moments, I mustered the question, "May I know your name, sir?" His smile was fleeting, but his response was kind. "Zerkil" he said, and with that, he continued on his way. I strolled along the bustling street, taking in the sight of the city's inhabitants, all clad in peculiar equipment. there were dozens of stores all selling odd things such as potions and weapons. As I mused over this oddity, a voice cut through the murmur of the crowd, seeking like-minded adventurers.

"Does anyone want to form a party? We need people level 10-15," the call rang out. Level? I must have heard it wrong, I thought, my curiosity piqued. Swiftly, I approached the man who had issued the call. "Excuse me, sir, could you tell me what this place is?" I inquired, though I dreaded the answer that seemed increasingly apparent.

"Hmm? An NPC is talking to me?" the man responded, his confusion confirming my suspicion. NPC? Was I not a player here? Shaken by the revelation, I distanced myself from him and pressed on. The city's main street teemed with similar solicitations for party members, presumably for some kind of raid.

I kept walking and approached a woman on the street, my heart heavy with foreboding, and inquired, "Excuse me, do you know the date?" She regarded me with a hint of perplexity before answering, "It's 2023, right? Wait, you're not a player, are you? Are you an NPC with a quest for me?" Her expression swiftly shifted from confusion to excitement, and I found myself staring at her in bewilderment. "What if this is a secret quest?" she exclaimed, trembling with enthusiasm. Caught off guard, I replied hastily, "Yes! Your quest is to journey to the forest and search for a necklace!" I improvised on the spot, my own sense of unease growing with each passing moment. I quickly ran off trembling. 2023? that was ten years ago. did i go back to the past? and right to when the game came out? suddenly i stopped moving. wasnt this an amazing opportunity? my head was stuffed to the brim with information of practically everything about this game. of course to a certain degree. i was only a second rate player when.. Pain suddenly slammed into my head when i tried to think about what happened. confusion came to me once again though. how was i supposed to level up? i didnt have a level up system. and since i dont have the other players system of their skills. do i have to learn everything on my own? it seems like the system doesnt qualify me as a player. am i some kind of anomoly? or an npc? questions spun around my head as i quickly opened up my shop and looked at the talents again.

[Shop

Talents:

1. Lowest level sword talent [10 PP]

"barely even worth noting. these people will only get thrown away. though still better talent than the average person" - unnoteworthy swordsman.

2. Lowest level magic talent [50 PP]

"while still an extrememly low talent, most magic talents will get scooped up anyways for their usefulness" -magic apprentice.

Pain points: 13.27]

I quickly bought the lowest level sword talent and it once again got replaced.

[Low sword talent [100 PP]

"barely reach the requirement to become a low ranked knight. to the average person, meeting a trained soldier with a low sword talent is suicide, but in the overall picture is still cannon fodder"]

as soon as i bought the extrememly low sword talent a ding pierced my ear once again.

[congragulations you have gained the lowest level sword talent]

...

[please choose a sword path:

1. Bruteblade:

A strength type swordsman. you wont beat this swordsman in pure strength, focusing on more overpowering the opponent through overbearing strength. misses out on speed

2. Swiftblade:

A speed type swordsman. focuses on moving as humanely fast as possible, overpowering you through speed. Misses out on strength.

3. Swordsman:

A balanced swordsman. has no weakness in speed or strength but average in both.]

[Warning! choosing your choice is permanent. are you sure you want to choose [Swordsman]?]

I quickly chose the swordsman path. the other two sounded nice but the weaknesses of both drove me away. its better to be a balanced swordsman than be weak in either.

[PP left: 3.27]

it hurt seeing all of my points disappear like that but i was sure that it would pay back eventually. my smile turned into a demonic grin, can i not take advantage of the fact that im an npc?