"Huff... Huff..."
After running nearly half a mile, Arthur finally stopped. He collapsed to his knees, utterly exhausted, gasping wildly for air. He wanted to scream and curse the system for its negligence, but he couldn't even muster the breath. After a short rest, he spoke angrily.
"Why didn't you tell me about the protection card?! If I'd known, I wouldn't have spent nights terrified of monsters!"
[Notification was sent to the 'Unimportant Notifications' tab. You did not check it.]
"How is this unimportant?!" Arthur grumbled in frustration. Eventually, he forced himself to calm down, unwilling to argue with a system he didn't even understand. While resting, he checked the notifications tab and, just as the system said, found one confirming he had received Temporary Protection for forty-eight hours. He also saw other trivial notices, like his login time and the record of his First Login Bonus Gift.
Once he caught his breath and regained some energy, he realized it was getting late, so he built another camp—this time doubling the thorny bushes around it. Still, fear and anxiety kept him from sleeping peacefully.
...
( Three Days Later )
The sun rose high, its bright light illuminating Arthur's exhausted form as he trudged through the forest. Naturally, fatigue and lack of sleep had dulled his focus and slowed his steps. Five days had passed since he arrived in this world, and his situation hadn't improved—in fact, it had worsened. His feet were blistered from ill-fitting shoes, and without the First Aid Kit to treat and disinfect his wounds, he would've surely developed an infection.
"Will this forest ever end? Damn it, I've been following this river for days and still see no sign of humans!"
"Hey, System, don't you have a map or something useful?"
[Based on the surrounding terrain, you are in a temperate forest.]
Arthur sighed sarcastically. "Wow, that's obvious. I'm asking for something more detailed."
[Due to my limited permissions, I cannot generate a map according to your wishes. However, given your Plot Savant skill, you should already know your location.]
Arthur froze, then slapped his forehead in frustration. "Are you telling me I could've known where I was this whole time with Plot Savant?"
[Yes.]
He facepalmed again, unable to hide his dismay. He hadn't paid attention to Plot Savant because he didn't understand it, and the chaotic events had made him forget about it entirely.
After a minute of silence, he sighed and asked, "Why didn't you tell me this earlier?"
[You did not enable Smart Assistant Mode. My permissions are restricted, and I cannot offer advice unless asked.]
Too stunned to react, Arthur stood frozen before finally sighing and commanding, "Enable Smart Assistant Mode."
[Activated.]
Immediately, he summoned the system screen and read the description of Plot Savant. Drawing from his experience with Dimensional Storage, he knew focusing on the skill would activate it—and without issue, dozens of small screens appeared in his vision.
His eyes widened in shock. He began reading the screens eagerly, desperate to understand their contents.
[Location: Thorndark Forest]
[Cypress Tree]
[Oak Tree]
[Poisonous Herb]
[Sweetgrass (Edible in small quantities)]
[Main Branch of Thorn River: Nearest human settlement 10 miles ahead]
[...]
After reading everything, Arthur was stunned by the sheer detail. But what truly shocked him was that a human settlement lay ahead—and luckily, it wasn't too far. He wanted to sprint there immediately but decided to pace himself. Before setting off, he gathered some thick-stemmed green herbs.
[Sweetgrass (Edible in small quantities)]
"I haven't eaten in a while. Hope these don't cause any problems." After a brief hesitation, he peeled off the thin outer layer of the stems and chewed. A mild, grassy sweetness filled his mouth—not delicious, but tolerable enough to eat.
After walking a few miles, he noticed the Thorn River beside him had grown dirtier, with smaller streams branching off. Another mile later, he reached a point where the river widened significantly, splitting into multiple tributaries. He realized the river he'd been following was just a minor branch connected to a much larger one—now nearly five meters wide, its depth impossible to gauge due to the murky water.
"This place feels vaguely familiar." Despite his Photographic Memory, he couldn't connect the river to anything he knew—only descriptions of fictional rivers from novels he'd read. He didn't dwell on it, instead looking up at the sky. "If I hurry, I can reach the settlement before nightfall."
[I advise camping here tonight to regain stamina. Entering a human settlement at night is unwise.]
The system screen appeared, offering advice—now that Smart Assistant Mode was active, their interactions had become more fluid.
"Good point." Arthur stopped walking and sat on a large rock to rest. Watching the filthy river, he recalled a fishing technique that might work here. Calmly, he gathered soft branches, stripped their bark, and twisted them into crude fishing lines. The riverbanks were teeming with worms, which he used as bait. After setting up multiple lines, he waited patiently. To pass the time, he pulled out a silver pendant and examined it curiously.
The pendant depicted a raven mid-flight, its gaze arrogantly fixed on the ground below. Intricate engravings covered its surface, enhancing its strange beauty. In truth, this pendant was an item he'd bought at a high price—not just for its aesthetics, but because it symbolized one of the most powerful noble families in "The Rise of the Sovereign Sword."
"Why does the system consider this a fake noble seal?"
Distracted, he didn't notice one of the fishing lines suddenly jerking—until it was too late.
Splash!
The line was yanked underwater and disappeared. "Tsk."
He let the pendant dangle around his neck and focused entirely on the remaining lines. A few minutes later, another one twitched—this time, he was ready. He quickly pulled it out and, to his relief, hauled in a decent-sized fish.