The second time Jason regained his awareness, he hoped that what had happened was only a dream. A very, very bad dream. A nightmare that would stop the moment he woke up from his sleep. Alas, he felt so betrayed when he woke up in the same empty alley. The only difference was the bright sky overhead he immediately saw after he woke up.
Jason laughed silently, bitterly. There was a hint of resignation in his laugh. He felt so wronged like never before. It was painful. He felt so down. After all, he'd been chosen to be the successor of somebody mysterious who had the ability to create a system like in fictional stories on the internet. He'd been taken away from his world, his life, and his relatives without his consent.
Jason was a simple man. He was quite straightforward and honest. He never dreamed to be put in this situation. He'd said about what he'd do if he was transmigrated, reincarnated, or transported to another world, but he never truly meant it. It was just nonsense he spouted in the spur of a moment. In his deep vexation towards the dropping quality of the literature world.
After stopping his bitter laugh, Jason felt a spark of defiance. He couldn't accept this outcome, being a target of someone's arbitrary decision. Since he remembered that systems in those fictional stories seemed heaven-defying, he had a hope that he could obtain something that would send him back to his original world.
Jason finally interacted with his mysterious system for the first time. He asked the system, "Can I return back to my original world?"
*Ting~♪*
As the answer, he heard the sound akin to the one made when a steel spoon collides with an empty glass. A loud ringing that almost made him flinch. The next moment, he heard the system's emotionless, gender-neutral voice.
[Responding to Host's inquiry. Confirming Host's Authority... Confirmed. Host has enough authority. Checking related information... Checked. Processing Answer... Processed. Host can return back to Host's original world.]
Jason felt a spark of hope in his heart, but it quickly snuffed out when he realized that it would probably not be easy. He questioned the system in hesitation, "How? Are there any requirements? ...I hope that there's nothing, though." He added under his breath in the end.
[Responding to Host's inquiry. Confirming Host's Clearance Level... Confirmed. Host has enough authority. Checking related information... Checked. Processing Answer... Processed. Host needs to enter the True Eternal stage.]
"A what stage now?!" Jason unintentionally retorted, perplexed. Also, he was a bit annoyed by the system's reports related to its operations, which wasted his time to wait for it till finished.
[Responding to Host's inquiry.] Jason immediately disregarded the rest of operational reports. He fixed his attention when the reports ended and the system finally told him what he wanted to know. [... Processed. System successfully handed over materials related to Cultivation. Host can check System's Storage to find them.]
The corner of Jason's lips twitched when he heard that. He almost cursed the system. He'd wasted a bit of his time for nothing. However, he forcefully calmed himself and asked the system about its features. Its report about its storage piqued Jason's interest and he wanted to know what the system was capable of.
Thus, Jason and the system had a long Q&A session. Simultaneously, he took out a brochure, and yes, it's really a brochure, that explained about cultivation and its levels. He could multitask between the exchange with the system and reading the brochure.
Jason discovered that not all questions of his would be answered by the system. There was a clearance level he needed to raise if he wanted to know more. And how he could raise his clearance level? He only needed to raise his cultivation level. The higher his cultivation, more the features of the system and the higher clearance level he had.
Although he was annoyed, Jason couldn't help but think that the system was truly fair. It didn't make his new life hard nor it was too easy. Still, Jason wished it would be easier for him.
To sum what Jason gained from his exchange with the system, it was like this—
System was created by an apex cultivator from a place called Boundless Immortal Realm. It was basically a cultivation world similar to the ones he had read from some xianxia stories. That place followed the law of jungle, so it was a society purely based on strength. The stronger you are, the more authority, glory, wealth, etc. you can get.
Just thinking about how hard it was to live in that world if you're weak made Jason hesitate to go to this place. But, the system told him that he must go there in the future. At least, he received 10 years deadline before the system forced him to go there without his consent. Besides, he could visit that world when he achieved peak Grandmaster cultivation.
To the next important point, System was created to guide the chosen successor to cultivate to the apex. It was unfortunate that the system wasn't broken like some systems in xianxia Jason had read. It only had 2 features he could access and they were—
- Status: basically the interface that displays his status.
- Storage: in short, a pocket dimension only system's host can access.
It was so limited that Jason became helpless when he discovered it. At least, System told him that more features would be unlocked as he grew stronger and unlocked a higher level of clearance.
The next important topic was the cultivation level. It had 7 greater stages in total. Surprisingly, it wasn't too convoluted like other cultivation stages he'd read in xianxia stories.
The seven greater stages were—
Beginner → Expert → Master → Grandmaster → Transcending Body/Sublimating Spirit → False Eternal → True Eternal
When he asked the system about its creator, Jason wasn't surprised when his question was denied from an answer.
Jason sunk deep in thought, digesting and contemplating the information he obtained. Afterward, he asked the system to display his status, "System. Show me my status!"
*Ting~♪* [System received Host's command... ... ...Processed. Displaying Host's Status.]
Afterward, Jason saw a pure white holographic screen by 30 cm and 20 cm appear in his vision. The text was written in orderly and coherent alphabet letters in black.
The content of his status was—
— — — — —
Jason Vinson | Human | Male | 22 years old
Level: Mortal
Strength: 1 | Endurance: 1 | Agility: 1 | Energy: 0 | Control: 0 | Resistance: 0
Manual: -
Physique: -
Techniques: -
Equipment: Ordinary T-Shirt (Mortal-Low), Ordinary Boxer (Mortal-Low)
— — — — —
Jason watched the holographic screen floating in front of his face blankly for a few seconds. When he recovered, he asked the system, "will you explain how this stuff works?"
System soon replied after some annoying operational prompts and spoke in Jason's head, [...Level displays Host's cultivation level.
Strength displays Host's physical strength value.
Endurance displays Host's physical toughness.
Agility displays Host's agility.
Energy displays Host's accumulated energy in Elixir Field.
Control displays Host's control of Host's refined inner energy.
Resistance displays Host's resistance against energies based attacks.
The value is 1 equal to an ordinary mortal.
Manual displays the cultivation base manual Host practiced.
Physique displays the unique physique Host owns.
Techniques display all techniques related to cultivation Host has learned.
Equipment displays the equipment Host currently equips.
For Manual, Physique, Techniques, and Equipment, all of them shared a similar ranking system.
From the lowest to the highest, there are Ordinary → Extraordinary → Heroic → Saintly → Godly.
Each rank is further split into 4 ranks, from bad to good, which are Low → Intermediate → High → Pinnacle.]
"Ah, I see... More or less, I understand how it works. But, it seems very similar to the status of the roleplaying game, isn't it? Furthermore, there are twenty ranks of techniques, equipment, etceteras in total. It seems a bit complicated. Either way, I think that I got it."