He closed in on the hill, teetering between the forngle and the savannah. He wasn't sure if he was better off just keeping to the trees or risking going out in the open. His past experience showed that neither was a viable option for long-term survival.

He might've been able to exist in the forngle by himself, for a while. Maybe with the Goblin not running away, he could've managed to actually get something done and figure out things slowly. But the world didn't seem slow. It was constantly throwing new things at him, especially ones he had to deal with at a moment's notice.

He left the relative shadows of the canopies and slowly climbed up the hill, inching past the high grasses. It must've taken him a good portion of the hour to get where he was already, and there was still more to go. He stopped occasionally, mostly to enjoy the view his relative altitude gave him over the dense forngle. It must've spread for miles and miles, with only mountains breaking the monotony of the dark green.

The hill was as quaint as the forngle was, unnervingly so. Was this how actual nature was, full of emptiness and devoid of animals? Or was it a separation from the norm that he was experiencing.

The bits of wildlife that actually had contact with him so far were worrying, as he glanced back at the backpack he had on his back, and that was starting to chafe him as he slowly made his way uphill. He had already eaten the sandwich and drank most of the water he had prepared for the trip, already thinking about going back to the river if no other options were found.

The sun shone high in the sky, and he could actually see the openness of it for the first time. The open air of another world felt fresh.

He could still spot the herd of HM Bison in the distance, annoying beasts resting on the riverbank. The other bank contained a similar view to where he was, open fields of grass he knew nothing about, with various hills and a tree here or there to break the lines of the horizon.

After a few more minutes of trekking upwards, he finally made it to the top of the hill. He wasn't sure if it was actually distant or that he was just generally slow, or that he misjudged the height of it from afar.

The world sprawled before him, as the map in his left corner bleeped and shimmered. He pressed it open, and the digital rendering of the image he saw before came into view, features slowly filling into the open space.

The marked objective was a village, or a town, far into the distance, with a forest separating him from his goal. The plains spread to the south, while mountain peaks inched from the north, forming a natural end to the terrain.

A stream of smoke welled up in the distance where the settlement was, joining the occasional cloud above him.

It was like a fantasy world looked like in pictures. Picturesque. That was the word he was looking for.

He was still not sure what he was supposed to be doing here, but he moved onwards. The forest in front of him was far smaller than the forngle he left, and he would just have to go around it, avoiding the possible dangers that it may hold.

The cat in his backpack meowed lazily as he set off again. Seemed like he was going to spend most of his days walking. Books and games really don't mention walking. He was pleading for the fast travel option.

Or maybe a teleport. It would be cool to get a teleport.

But the picturesque route had its charms, for now.