After having the shock of his life, thinking he got stranded in a different world not knowing where he was, Maren thought it was quite impossible for his adventure to come to a halt here.
'System, is there a way to get a map?'
-Confirmed, [Host] can open the [Store] option in the menu and buy a map
'Great then. System, open the store!
-Request confirmed, shop opening
Seeing the variety of goods in the system's shop Maren's eyes went open like saucers. It couldn't be helped, there was a ton of items in the list. Heck, he could even buy an armed Hellcat helicopter there. But seeing the price tags he flinched. A single cultivation technique was worth more than an armed military weapon?
'System, how do I earn the currency for this shop?'
-Information: Shop points can be obtained by defeating stronger enemies (10-100 points), killing monsters (0-5 points) and completing Quests (No limit)
'Defeating monsters huh.'
Maren let his view wander over the mountains in the distance, that were brimming with wildlife. Slowly a sneer appeared in his face.
'I guess grinding is what every noob ought to do when they start.'
Now having a goal, Maren started speeding towards the mountain range. Originally he thought it'd take him several hours just to get there, but once he started running he nearly hit a nearby tree because of the sudden outburst of speed.
'Holy shit Dad, you are awesome. This system is awesome.'
Maren was as happy as a newborn tasting his first lollipop. He started experimenting around with his speed and concluded that his maximum speed was around Mach 2, but using it would put a strain on his body. That was understandable though, not even the most advanced fighting jets back on earth could reach that kind of speed.
'Since my strength and agility were shown with the same value, I guess I have to be bloody cautious not to kill anybody by accident."
-Negative, [Host] can activate 'Non-Combat Mode', suppressing his stats and level willingly, will get automatically deactivated if [Host] is in a situation that is judged lethal or tries to attack
'Ho, I guess that is pretty useful isn't it?'
Having this minor problem out of the way, Maren once again sped towards the towering mountains, this time careful enough, as not to hit some random trees.
'By the way, system, could anything ever happen to me should I run into stuff with my speed?'
-[Host] possesses a body of Level 113, even without cultivation no normal accident can penetrate [Host's] skin, unless [Host] wills so
A grin appeared on his face.
'Ha so I can just play bulldozer later huehue, that could come in pretty handy.'
-Advice to [Host] to be careful, hitting too hard of an object will cause the kinetic energy to squash internal organs, as [Host] hasn't cultivated yet
'Oh...'
Cold sweat was pouring down Maren's back. He just stopped only a few feet away from a large, dark boulder. He didn't want to imagine what could have happened if he hit that thing...
'Damn system, that was dangerous you know...'
-The system didn't answer
'Oi what are you trying to do here'
-...
'Just forget it...'
Shaking his head Maren decided to ignore the system that was either out for his life, or just really bad at pranking others. He started running again and didn't take too long to arrive at the first mountain.
When he arrived he instantly noticed, that the forest was filled with vibrant plant life. A harmonic and tranquil aura spread around the mountain.
'I really like it here, it's such a nice location. And it's remote enough to not get discovered by accident.'
A sharp light was flashing in his eyes, his mind diving into detailed plans on how to create the strongest, hidden force there was in this world. Since his system was called the Mafia-System, he couldn't possibly go around spreading love and peace now, could he?
-Location judged as extremely suitable to base a sect in
As if the system was reading his mind, an evaluation of the surroundings popped up in the system, no wait...
-Information: System can access [Host]'s mind
Was just about to say that you know. Well not that the system would care about proper exposition. Now wandering around the mountain there were quite a lot of wild animals present, and Maren set his sight on a species of strange looking apes. Those apes made up about sixty percent of the wildlife he saw until now. Yet, they only grouped around a certain type of strange-looking tree bearing red, grapelike fruits. They wouldn't care about his presence in their vicinity, but when he got near the tree all of the apes started growling, going so far as to throw stones at him.
'System, can you give me information on these apes?'
-Affirmative, Species: Wine brewing Golden-Apes, Level: 32 [Success-Practitioner Realm],
Description: A certain type of the wild wine brewing apes. They are coveted by Peak-Practitioner
Realm Cultivators and below, as their wine can help meld the joints, allowing faster, more accurate and quieter movement. They are often domesticated by small-scale sects, to replace the pills and elixiers big-scale and upper-tier sects use.
'Haha, so they are actually worth something?'
-Affirmative
Hearing the answer the system gave, Maren let go of his desire to kill the large packs of apes. All in the name of preventing animal abuse of course, and well there were the coins he could get by selling their whine later.
Since he was still in need of a map, Maren looked for alternative prey. It didn't take long for him to go on a killing spree, with the main victim being a countless number of blue-feathered cockatrices that were wandering around the mountain in groups of 2-5.
After a few hours of grinding for shop currency he had a total of 13 points ready to use.
'System, buy the map please.'
-Request confirmed, 5 points deducted, map feature is now available
When he heard the price of the map he felt a stab of pain in his heart.
'Why the bloody hell is this map so expensive?'
-Information: The map is an addon for the main system overlay, allowing an accurate representation of [Host]'s surroundings, as well as a description based on downloaded native knowledge
With the explanation given, Maren thought it was an appropriate price to pay, since, if the feature really was as awesome as the system described he would have gladly paid all of his points.
'Okay then, that makes sense. Can you open the map then?'
-Affirmative, map is loading, loading successful
'...'
-...
'...System... are you for real?'
-...Affirmative...
'Then explain please...'
Maren had a chilling smile plastered in his face, there was a furious flame burning inside his eyes.
-Information: No native records about the area have been found.
'System... I hate you.'
He let out a sigh, at least his surroundings were still displayed in the map, only the names were missing, represented by a number of question marks.
"Truly, a bad start, a bad start, I should call a GM, the game is flawed."
While Maren was mumbling to himself and just preparing to go hunting again, he heard an ear-piercing sound.
*DING*
-The main server has issued a mission:
Name: "Getting started, hello world it's me"
Description: Find a way to contact the natives, form a relationship with them and choose an appropriate place to create your base.
Steps completed: (0/3)
Reward(s): 500 Shopping points, Beginner's Bag (lootable), Mantled in Night Skies (Guiding-Type Qi Technique)
"Hahahaha, finally something exciting to do!"
Maren couldn't help but exclaim loudly as he checked the quest marker on his map, that suddenly plopped up.
'Good thing it's close enough ay.'
He started running in the general direction of the quest at a leisurely speed, picking up some more kills on the way. His coins went up by 4 when he finally arrived at the mission area.
Instantly he heard a scream pierce the air.
'Shit have I come too late?'
He couldn't help but start worrying as he searched for his target. When he finally found what he was looking for he couldn't help but be stupefied.
'I've come to another world, was dropped in the middle of nowhere, and still encounter this kind of situation?'
Rolling his eyes he decided to buy a disguise before jumping into action. He saw an exquisite and light crossguard sword, a grand but not cringy looking cloak and a beautifully crafted Tal mask when he browsed the shop before. The latter two combined could disguise his appearance, and they sold for only 2 points each.
Advancing towards the three ruffians that threatened a young and pretty girl, he couldn't help but roll his eyes again.
'Seriously author, this cliché is just too much.'
Donning his glorious outfit the delinquents didn't even notice him standing behind them. They only moved their lecherous eyes off the girl, when he knocked one of them out cold.
"Wha-what do you want, who are you?"
One of the brutish looking guys was quite frightened when he saw his friend unconsciously lying on the floor, a divine-looking warrior holding a sword standing above him.
"Well Mr. Ruffians, I've come to ruin your day. How does that sound?"