Save a guest character as an account in Settings, choose a strong password and store your recovery code somewhere private and durable. Never give the code to another player or a moderator.
Use Save & log out when leaving. Your saved location is where you return. Inactivity can log you out, and server updates may briefly pause play while progress is saved and the client reconnects.
If the game says saving is delayed, stay connected and let it retry. Do not assume an update or a refresh has fixed a saving warning.