Areothan could be said as a prospering city with all the tall structures built all over it. The city has an assortment of occupations available for residents of all ages, from being an alchemist to being a cultivator. The city could be said as the perfect breeding ground for cultivators because of the strict laws the government has set up.
The laws itself isn't all that complicated, the laws the people have to obey is simple, no killing within the boundaries of the city, and no abusing of power to list a few. Though the laws are only limited inside the city, if a person is killed outside of the city, then the government couldn't do anything about it.
There are a total of five mountains that is visible within the city, but little did the citizens know that there is a last mountain, a mountain named 'Mountain of Despair'. It is located at least a few thousands of kilometers away from the city and is the most dangerous place. From there lies thousands of spirit beasts of all shapes and sizes. Inside a small shack located not too deep within the cave of the mountain is a young man sitting on a stool, staring blankly at the wall, seemingly deep in thought.
"What the hell is this?"
In the young man's vision is a metal gray colored screen that people would usually see in RPG games and the likes. The most unusual thing that the youth noticed isn't that he was inside place unfamiliar to him, it was the fact that he has an interface similar to the games he had usually played.
[--Status--]
Name: Luke Forrester
Level: 0 [Mortal]
EXP: 0/5,000
Cultivation Technique: None
Items: None
Game Funds: 1,438,923⁽³⁰⁰⁾.
Store
Luke stared at the 'system' in disbelief, his knowledge in novels containing some sort of cheat 'system' is lacking, but his knowledge in games is vast. Seeing the EXP bar in his vision gets him riled up, and seeing a line of numbers stating 'game funds' gets him even more riled up. The fact that he could level up just by gaining EXP is already mind-boggling in and of itself, and add the fact that he has an insane amount of 'game funds' that he could spend as he wishes made him excited. He felt like he had won the lottery.
It didn't matter whether he was dreaming or not, he was going to fully utilize all of this to his advantage. Though, the staggering amount of EXP he needs to level up gave a somewhat bitter taste in his mouth. His knowledge in novels containing a 'cheat system' may be little, but that doesn't mean he doesn't have any. A certain novel he read only needed a hundred EXP to level up, but he needed five thousand.
But, that didn't discourage him even a little bit. It was only after he got out of his daze that he noticed the room he was in. The room wasn't what he expected at all. After piecing it all together, he concluded that he was really transmigrated since his 'You are probably transmigrated' list is checked. The list was simple and straightforward. Are you in an unfamiliar place? Check. Do you feel weird in your body but can't directly point it out? Check. Do you have some sort of cheat that will help you? Check. Those were the basic questions of his list, and most of them were either checked or unmarked.
Luke expected it to be like a Hero summoning and he would be greeted by the princess or the king in the summoning room, but the most he gets is the shabby old shack he was in now. The room only has a small bed, a wooden stool, and a table. If all of those were removed, it wouldn't be different than a storage room.
As Luke stood up and opened the door, the cool air rushed up to his face and the beautiful scenery of the sky above and the forest below unfolded in front of his eyes. The leaves of the trees rustle along with the wind and the chirping of birds could be heard from the distance. If Luke had a phone and an internet connection, he would surely record all of the raw sounds and upload it as an ASMR video. Though, that isn't what was on his mind right now, he had the urge to just end it all.
The view was indeed beautiful, but of all the places that he would get sent into, it was in the mountains. In the horizon, all he could see were the trees and nothing else. Behind his so-called 'house' is a much larger mountain with a large cave where his 'house' was built. Where's the beautiful princess? Where's the young maiden waiting to be saved? Where is my harem!?
Feeling lost, he instead asked a question into the void. He wasn't going crazy or anything, it was because a certain protagonist in a novel he read on earth did the same thing. Besides, who else could he ask at this point? His sh*tty house?
"Where am I?"
[Ding! Mountains of Despair, Mortal Realm.]
Luke was shocked since someone or something really did answer his question, "Did I... really transmigrate?"
[Ding! No. Host died and your soul was brought forth to this world via the tribulation lightning.]
"Wait? How did I... die?" This question is the most obvious since everybody wanted to know how they died. If he died via that death truck everybody foolishly named 'Truck-kun', then at least he knew why he reincarnated.
[Ding! You got struck by lightning.]
Luke breathed a sigh of relief. If he was reincarnated, he at least needed to die 'cooly'. If he was killed while taking a sh*t or falling down the stairs, then his ancestors would give him a look of disdain. But now that he knew he died via a lightning strike, then that was plus points for him since he would be deemed as, the god of thunder. At least, he thought so.
After daydreaming a bit more, he continued asking, "Why do you keep mentioning mortal this mortal that?"
[Ding! In this world, humans are classified within two categories, mortals and immortals. That is also the same for worlds. The mortal world is where humans reside. And the Immortal world is where humans – Who have gone to the path of immortality– reside.]
"Wait..." Luke paused, trying to piece everything out before he would ask, "Th-there are... Immortals? People who don't die?"
His knowledge is indeed vast in novels, but the ones he has read were only RPG type novels in which the protagonist is Isekai'd or what it's formally called, Transmigrated, to a fantasy world of swords and magic.
[Ding! The path to immortality is to cultivate one's body, soul, and spirit. The first step to cultivation is to cultivate one's body and gather energy in this world called 'Qi'. Since the host has me, you can skip all of the steps since I will do all the work for you.]
The contents of the message answered most of Luke's question, but the 'path to immortality' is still vague to him. Why would people go through all of the torture just to live a little bit longer than others? If they only wanted a long life, then couldn't they just be vegan- nevermind.
"Then what do I gain by 'cUlTiVaTiNg' my body?" Luke made air quotes as he said the word 'cultivation' as if to mock the concept as a whole. If cultivating only makes him live longer, then what's the point of doing it?
[Ding! The host will gain tremendous strength, speed, and defence. At some point, the host will also gain the ability to fly.]
"Count me in!" Luke exclaimed with a brimming smile on his face. Who doesn't want to be like superman?
"Roar!"
Birds flew from all directions and the land seemed to shake a little with the creature's terrifying roar. The roar echoed throughout the land for a few seconds before it dissipated. Luke felt his legs turning jelly, he almost wanted to piss his pants.
[Ding! First mission: Defeat Mountain Lion; Qi Condensation 1st level. Reward: 100EXP, Access to Store card (1 minute), LVL 1 Gift pack.]