In the game, NPCs couldn't do that unless they had specific roles like guards or guild receptionists, but here… or was it just a guess?
"I'll be careful," he said.
Once he left, Yamamoto made his way to the town's transportation hub—a cleared area near the south gate where merchants and travelers gathered.
He needed to get to Millhaven, and walking would take too long, not to mention his low stamina. He needed a wagon.
It didn't take long to find what he was looking for. A grizzled merchant was loading crates onto a covered wagon, calling out to passersby: "Heading to Millhaven! Room for three passengers! Fifty copper each!"
Fifty copper. That was steep—50 copper coins just for transport, but he heard as the merchant explained to a complaining traveler, "the road ain't safe, friend. Bandits and worse. You're paying for my guards as much as the ride."
Yamamoto approached. "I'll take a spot." He said.
The merchant looked him over—young, poorly equipped, but with confident bearing. "You got the coin?"
Yamamoto pulled out fifty copper pieces from his pouch. The merchant counted them quickly, nodded, and gestured to the wagon. "Climb in. We leave in an hour." He said.
Yamamoto was quite interested at how the system helped him when it came to money. He didn't check when he first used it, but the system could make change for him so he could always give the exact amount he wanted. He wasn't sure if that was totally normal, since he wasn't sure if NPCs—or at least the people who used to be—had systems or he was the only one.
The journey to Millhaven took two full days. Two days of rattling along in a covered wagon with two other passengers—a middle-aged woman visiting family and an older man who claimed to be a traveling scribe. Two days of bumpy roads, brief stops for meals and necessities, and nights camping by the roadside with the merchant's hired guards keeping watch. He was doing things he had never done in his life! Like camping! For the time being, he had yet to feel the need to use the toilet, and he was anticipating his first in this world.
That aside, Yamamoto spent most of the journey in his own head, reviewing everything he knew about the quest.
They did encounter danger once—a group of wolves on the second day that got too curious about the wagon when they had stopped for a short break, but the merchant's guards, both competent-looking warriors with proper equipment, drove them off with crossbow bolts and aggressive shouts.
Maybe they were archers. Regular guards in these low level areas were normally around level 10 or so.
When they finally rolled into Millhaven on the evening of the second day, Yamamoto felt his pulse quicken. According to his mental calendar, this was day four since he'd arrived. The quest would trigger the following night—the fifth night.
He had one day to prepare.
Millhaven was larger than Salt Fish Town, more prosperous. The buildings were better maintained, the streets properly cobbled, and there was an actual stone wall around the perimeter. It was the kind of town that served as a regional hub—large enough to matter, small enough to still be considered a town and not city.
Yamamoto found an inn—the Copper Mug, reasonably priced at 1 silver a night—and secured a room. It was a jump from the last one, but knowing he had a bit of coins on him, he didn't mind too much. He wasn't used to the poor bedding, even his own old bed was better than what he had been sleeping on since he came to this world.
With that set, he went to work.
His first priority was stats. He opened his character sheet and stared at his four unspent stat points. In the game, the conventional wisdom for Swordsmen was to stack Strength early for damage output. But this quest required something different.
He needed speed.
Without hesitation, he allocated all four points into Agility.
Agility: 3 > 7
He felt the change immediately—a strange tingling sensation throughout his body, as if his muscles and nerves were being rewired. When he moved his hand experimentally, it didn't really feel like much happened, he felt the same, like nothing had happened, but when he actually tried, he quickly found that he was faster, more responsive. His reaction time had literally improved! It really was something experiencing it.
Next up was equipment.
The quest reward was the main prize, but he needed every advantage he could get to survive long enough to claim it. Besides, what bad could there be in getting free equipment that were better than the ones he had on? There were ton of free stuff lying around, and he knew a few spots.
He spent the rest of day four and most of day five systematically combing through Millhaven. Behind the blacksmith's shop there was a pair of Leather Boots in a broken crate. In a barrel near the tanner's shop was an Old Straw Hat that smelled terrible but had decent stats, he did try to clean it, and it mostly worked. He found a few other things also.
Later on, he checked each item's stats:
[Leather Boots] (Common)
Durability: 15/15
Effect: +5% attack speed
[Old Straw Hat] (Common)
Durability: 8/8
Effect: +5% defense, Weak facial concealment
[Worn Gloves] (Common)
Durability: 12/12
...
The boots and hat were keepers. The gloves went into his inventory as backup. He also found a few other pieces—a Cracked Shield, some Tattered Robes meant for mages, a Rusty Dagger—but nothing useful for his build.
By the time evening approached on day five, Yamamoto was as ready as he was going to be.