It was a beautiful day. The skies were clear, the weather was nice, and Floating Eyes were firing magic spells at me left and right. What could have gone wrong? Oh, allow me to explain. I had climbed down the rocky cliff and entered the forest on my way to the town. In retrospect, I should have been more careful, as I went in assuming I would encounter the same monsters I had before, but that assumption was destroyed as quickly as it had formed.

Oh, no, was the thought as I came face to face with it, an enormous floating eyeball. Its veins were visible for all to see, and it had a strange, sinister look to it. Its eye started glowing, and I immediately jumped for cover. A black orb proceeded forth from its eye toward where I was standing, blasting that spot to smithereens. How scary, I thought as I readied my bow.

This time, I had distanced myself while hiding. I wasn't going to repeat that mistake, and that's when it happened. What's this? I could feel a surge of power coming from within as I positioned my arrow and drew it back on the bowstring. Whatever it was, I instinctively knew that this shot was going to be different, so I released the arrow and watched as it obliterated the Floating Eye in one hit. A crit! I thought to myself joyfully as I gained 20EXP.

Critical hits depended on the Dex or Skill stat, and it usually dealt three times as much damage as a normal attack, though in some cases, it could be more. See? I can win this! But there were more where that came from, many, many more...What's with this place? It's swarming with Floating Eyes!

They weren't particularly strong, but one couldn't take them lightly either, especially if their M-DEF stat were low. Jokes on you, though! My M-DEF stat is somewhat decent! I boasted to no one in particular as I avoided several black orbs. Was it because of my speed? Partly. But the terrain was also working in my favor. I could hide in the forest and lower their hit probability ratio by doing so. Mountains were also great for this, but that was another matter entirely. I continued this routine for what felt like ages until I had shot down all the Floating Eyes, gaining two levels in the process:

Daphne	LV 8
HP	51
Str	8
Dex	24
Spd	15
Luck	9
P-DEF	6
M-DEF	11
Status	-----
Compatibility	-----

I had also exhausted all my arrows in that long and drawn-out fight. I breathed a sigh of relief. The rest of the journey was pretty uneventful. It was just me jumping at every leaf that fell on my shoulder, but could you blame me? I was out of ammo, so things felt way tenser than usual. Fortunately, I didn't encounter any other monsters on my way to the town.

Finally, I'm here. Even at the entrance, I could tell that the town had a kind of warm, homely feel to it. Two guards were stationed at the gate for security, and they were sending puzzled looks my way. They were probably wondering what a little girl like me was doing in the forest, which was completely reasonable, but as I didn't want to be stopped, I puffed out my chest and strolled in confidently as if I owned the place. Confidence could take you far in life, but it didn't take me beyond the gate because one of the guards stopped me and asked, "Wait, I haven't seen your face around here. What is the purpose of your visit?"

I sighed and wore a teary-eyed face as I answered, "I was traveling through the forest with my party when monsters attacked and scattered my group. I was wondering if I could find any of them here."

They exchanged glances and nodded, and the other guard said, "Proceed," with a hint of sympathy in his voice, which was worrying. I lied, but who would believe me if I told them I came from another world? They'd probably think I was a lunatic! Besides, they were just NPCs anyway, so it didn't matter. But what was with those looks? The confusion and pity of the guards was a mystery to me, but I had to focus on what was on the top of my priority list: finding a weapon shop!

The cobblestone road was wide enough for horse-drawn carriages to pass through, and I saw many people walking at the sides, so I followed suit. My eye was immediately drawn to one such carriage, surrounded by adventurers. I saw mercenaries, mages, priests, and cavalry among their entourage. I was impressed.

It'd be nice to find a team like that, I thought as I watched them approach the exit. As I did so, I accidentally bumped into an old man, and he spat, "Watch where you're going, brat!" Those expressions...could it be? I wondered, feeling uncomfortable all of a sudden before continuing along, hoping I was mistaken. I admired the scenery, partly to take my mind off my growing discomfort. It was like I was in the Medieval era!

Timber houses lined the streets, and I could see a castle in the distance. I could have gotten lost in the excitement, but I remembered my reasons for coming. That's right. I have to sell this silver bow for money and then join an adventurer party.

Eventually, I found the symbol I was looking for: a sword painted on the door of a small house, which I assumed to be the armory. I entered the shop and met an old woman standing by the counter with an absent-minded look on her face.

"Oh, a customer!" She noticed me and beckoned me over with a warm, inviting smile. At once, I felt a chill run down my spine, but it was probably just my imagination, so I dismissed the possibility and presented the silver bow to her. "Oh! Are you looking to sell this? You're an archer, so wouldn't it be better for you to keep it?"

What's going on here?They were all NPCs: The guards, the old man, and the woman in front of me. Yet, their expressions were vivid and alive. They showed emotions, held their own opinions, and in the weapon shop lady's case, she used none of the lines we were all familiar with as players.

How could this be? I was in another world, so this was to be expected, but it was deeply unsettling to experience firsthand. There’s also that…I remembered something.

Everlast Dynasty was...unique. In some ways, there was not a game like it in the world, and all players could attest to that fact. This uniqueness stemmed from a special game mode notorious for its overwhelming difficulty, Adaptive Mode. And even calling it overwhelming was nothing but an understatement.

In plain terms, it was unbeatable, as everyone who attempted it either gave up or quit the game afterward. Some even started calling it the Unbeatable Game because of it, but players didn’t stop trying despite its notoriety. I remembered watching top players attempt an ‘Adaptive Run’ on their streams with my friends, and at a glance, Adaptive Mode was no different than playing the game normally.

It started like normal, and they all had the same reaction: "Is this what everyone has been calling unbeatable? It's easy!" But as they progressed, the game only got harder and harder. The AI was smart, to the point of being creepy, and enemies constantly adapted. But wait! There was more! Even if you managed to overcome all those hurdles, you could encounter one of three special bosses that only appeared in Adaptive Mode.

I remembered the stream vividly and how I'd hoped never to find myself in that situation. Molotov, a top Russian player at the time, and his team of 743 players were up against the Leviathan, one of the special bosses. It was a battle that went down in infamy, as no one could truly explain what happened. Strength was meaningless. Magic did not work, and even the very best offensive skills, like the assassin's [Killing Strike], were rendered useless. In the end, all 743 players were wiped out, and Molotov quit the game after that.

It was hard to identify at first, but eventually, the difference became clear. What differentiated Adaptive from every other mode of play? NPC behavior. If you were playing the game normally, NPCs would act as they were expected to. They would use the same lines and perform the same actions that players were familiar with. On the other hand, NPCs were strange and humanlike in Adaptive Mode. They never repeated dialogue, showed different emotions, and if you looked hard enough, you would find some wild things these guys were up to behind the scenes.

“Hello?” The woman at the counter waved her hand at me. “You’ve been spacing out for a while. Are you alright?”

“Yeah,” I managed. “Is there an inn nearby I could lodge in?”

“Yes. It’s the shop on the other side of the road.” No sooner had she said that than I was already out of there, marching down the road to the inn. It had been a short, eventful time. I’d fought monsters, nearly lost my life, and found my way to the town, but there was something about that discovery that called for careful reflection.

I really need some time to think! It was a frantic, almost desperate thought, but one that would determine how I’d be moving forward in the new world.