*Chirp chirp* as the sounds of birds chirping is overshadowed by burbles of the water nearby clashes between rocks.
An 18-year old male dressed in black robes (Hanfu) lay on the ground, seemingly asleep. As the 18-yr old woke up, he carefully looked at his surrounding. He slowly recollected himself as he stood up, trying to remember details on how he got here in the first place. He made his way to the river nearby, splashing his face.
*Sigh* He breathes in the fresh air around him as he tries to remember. Oddly enough, he wasn't able to remember anything about himself and his past.
He suddenly heard a voice in his head.
(Good morning, good to see you are finally awake. You can call me Dux, and don't bother to find me cause I am in your head. Now I know you have plenty of questions in mind, but we don't have enough time right now. So I'll go over the main details.)
(First things first, your name is Ren. You are currently in a forest. Most of your memories about yourself and your past are gone. And what's left is fundamental knowledge, some no longer applicable.)
(To why I am here is to make sure you survive. Now follow my instructions)
Ren was unable to respond to the voice in his head as a book suddenly came out of thin air.
(Open the book on its first page.) Having no better option than to follow Dux's word, Ren obliged.
As Ren looked at the first page, countless knowledge from the book transferred into Ren's head.
Ren's entire body began to sweat as the Qi around him started to enter and circulate throughout his body. What kicked off as a refreshing experience suddenly turned into unimaginable pain.
Ren writhing in pain as sweat coming out of his body began to turn into steam. Ren felt that his body was torn cell by cell, as his body temperature alternated to severe highs and severe lows.
He felt like his head was
A few minutes passed as Ren fell on his knees, panting as he had been in a marathon. As information from Dux entered into his mind regarding common knowledge about the world, Ren slowly recovered as he processed the new information in his head.
*Huff, Puff*Ren slowly recovered as he processed the new information in his head.
What had just happened to him now was the action of the Art he has in possession. Arts are methods of absorbing and refining the energies around him. His body had restructured itself to maximize its efficiency.
From what he understands, he is currently somewhere in the Mortal plane under the sphere of influence of the Eastern Deities.
Feeling uncomfortable, Ren took off his clothes and jumped into the river.
As he washed, he finally noticed a ring in his right hand. Ren got out of the river and glace at the ring.
From what he gathered, it was a storage ring. Thanks to the data sharing he got from Dux, he was able to take out a towel and a new similar set of clothes.
Ren dried himself and wore the new fresh clothes. Ren was about to ask Dux a new question but got a response first before he could say anything.
(You're wondering about your missing memory. To simply put it, everything that got erased would affect your chances of surviving here. That's why some of your memories are blank. Not to make you entirely useless, some of your knowledge about your previous world was left intact.)
-Why not erase everything?-
(Then you would be no better than a baby. All that education you had would have gone to waste.)
-So what now?-
(My suggestion right now is to settle down somewhere safe and practice the Art to get stronger.)
-Is there any settlement nearby?-
(I have no idea, but I do sense some activities nearby. We can check it out if you want.)
-I guess I have no choice, do I?-
(Well, that is our only option right now.)
*Sigh* as Ren ventures deeper into the forest in the direction Dux provided.
/Change POV/
In an empty void, a mechanical voice echoed.
[Welcome to Xīn Shìjiè, Congratulation Player Xu Feng to be selected to play early access. Set in a vast world set in an eastern fantasy, and is filled with countless possibilities.]
[Early access players have unique identities to experience Xīn Shìjiè fully in a short period. Once early access is done, the identities granted will remain available to the early access players.]
[Important - names will affect how NPCs react towards you, please be careful on selecting your name.]
{Character Creation}
{Name:}
{Sex:}
{Comprehention:0 (Max Value:10)}
{Innate Talent:0 (Max Value:10)}
{Willpower:0 (Max Value:10)}
{Attribute points Available: 15}
[80% of Player's likeness set to the default appearance.]
[Comprehention - Character's ability to learn (Skills, Techniques, and Manuals)]
[Innate Talent - Character's speed and efficiency of absorbing Qi(Experience).]
[Willpower - Character's Tenacity (Resistance to Mental Attacks and Control Emotions]
A body slowly materializes in the empty void. The body had long black hair styled in ancient china. It had an average build with a height of 5'11. Although not a handsome face, it was above average.
Resisting the urge to waste his time in the customization, Xu Feng hesitantly processed to the next part of the character creation.
After reading the attributes and contemplating for a few seconds, Xu Feng had allocated his attribute points.
{Character Creation}
{Name: Xu Feng}
{Sex: Male}
{Comprehention: 4 (Max Value:10)}
{Innate Talent: 7 (Max Value:10)}
{Willpower: 4 (Max Value:10)}
{Attribute points Available: 0}
Upon clicking finish, a spinning prize wheel appeared in front. Fill with various titles, split into five main categories with difficulty ratings. Each identity has its questline to follow during and after early access.
1. Royalty (Challenging - Insane difficulty) (10%)
1. A. Crown Prince/Princess (Challenging - Insane) (3.33%)
1. B. Imperial Prince/Princess (Challenging) (3.33%)
1. C. Illegitimate (Insane) (3.33%)
2. Young Master/Mistress (Normal - Challenging difficulty) (35%)
2. A. Prominent (Normal - Challenging) (5%)
2. B. Mediocre (Normal) (20%)
2. C. Declining (Challenging) (10%)
3. Direct Disciple (Casual - Challenging difficulty) (35%)
3. A. Prominent (Normal - Challenging) (5%)
3. B. Mediocre (Casual) (20%)
3. C. Declining (Challenging) (10%)
4. Inheritor (Normal - Insane difficulty) (15%
4. A. Orthodox Path (Normal - Challenging) (10%)
4. B. Unorthodox Path (Challenging - Insane) (5%)
5. Lone Survivor (Insane difficulty) (5%)
5. A. Orthodox Path (Insane) (2.5%)
5. B. Unorthodox Path (Insane) (2.5%)
As the wheel spins, instructions popped in front of Xu Feng.
[Depending on how players do during the early access phase, those who qualify will be key characters on the release of the final game.]
[Character deaths are permanent. Players must start over a new character upon death. If players do die during early access, they will only be able to start over once the game is fully released.]
Once Xu Feng finished reading the instruction, the wheel finally showed signs of stopping.
*Tick, tick, tick.* as the arm landed on the Lone Survivor - Orthodox Path.
[Please enter Sect name. (NPCs will react to what you will call your sect)]
{Sect:_____________________} (Cannot be change later on.) (Can be assign later in-game)
Unable to decide on a name yet, Xu Feng holds off assigning a name to the sect for now. Xu Feng clicked on the start game.
{Name: Xu Feng}
{Sex: Male}
{Comprehention: 4 (Max Value:10)}
{Innate Talent: 7 (Max Value:10)}
{Willpower: 4 (Max Value:10)}
{Attribute points Available:0}
{Starting in 5.}
{4}
{3}
{2}
{1}
Darkness consumed Xu Feng, as notifications appeared in Xu Feng's view.
[You are the last remaining member of your sect. Your sect was once a prominent faction. Various sects and cults banded together and destroyed your sect out of fear, greed, or envy. Due to your master's foresight, you were sealed and teleported to safety. Tasked by your master to rebuild your sect.]
[Main Quest #0: Name your Sect. To proceed in your main questline, you must have a name for your sect.]
[You have received the following items.]
[Sect Leader's Token (BONDED)(x1)]
[Storage Bracelet (BONDED)(x1)]
[Storage Ring (BONDED)(x1)]
[Player Xu Feng has been updated]
{Name: Xu Feng}
{Power Level: LVL-21 Nascent Soul (Early-Stage)}
{Age: 24 (???)}
{Sex: Male}
{Comprehention: 6 (Max Value:10)}
{Innate Talent: 8 (Max Value:10)}
{Willpower: 5 (Max Value:10)}
{Cultivation Methods: The Three Treasure Manual}
{Skills:}
{Techniques:}
[Do you want to send out your consciousness to check the surrounding area?] [Yes][No]
[You are in an undiscovered area. You can scout new places by going in blind or sending your consciousness out. (Radius and Information may vary. Determined by your characters' overall level) ]
Xu Feng clicked yes.
Xu Feng was able to see his surrounding from an aerial view. Xu Feng realized that he was inside a cave. Xu Feng roamed the entire area and spotted nothing unusual except a human-size casket covered in signs and symbols.
Once Xu Feng drew closer to the coffin, as he felt a force sucking him inside it.
*Swoosh* as the air in the surrounding area was sucked inside the coffin as the lid slowly lifted.
Xu Feng's perspective returned to his body and pushed the casket. Xu Feng stepped out and began to stretch. Having scouted the cave early, Xu Feng effortlessly made it outside as nothing was interesting inside.
Xu Feng basked in the sunlight and took a breath of fresh air.
-Wow! It feels so real!- Xu Feng still couldn't believe that this was an actual game, as most games don't usually maintain their promises before release.
As Xu Feng had no clue where to go next, he decided to open the world map. He closed his eyes as the game's UI appeared in his head.
[Do you want to spread out your consciousness to discover the surrounding area?] [Yes][No]
Upon clicking yes, the map began to fill. With Xu Feng at the epicenter, the map had laid out complete details on the surrounding area.
Xu Feng had spotted a small settlement nearby and decided that was the best place to start.
On his way to the settlement, Xu Feng stumbled across someone he could only describe as an Adonis; Xu Feng received some notifications before he could say anything.
[Notice! : NPCs' behaviors are programmed to act like those in the middle-ages. NPCs will react to the players' actions and behave like any ordinary human.]
[Mysterious Wanderer(Potential Companion Questline) - You stumbled across a wandering cultivator.]
[Task #0: Gain favorability and learn his name.]
-Greetings- The young man greeted Xu Feng with a slight nod and cupped fist.
Caught off guard by the notification, Xu Feng returned his greetings to the young man.
/Change POV/
Following the direction given by Dux, Ren encountered a person dressed in white robes.
After noticing the slight pause by the other party, Ren decided to greet first.
-Greetings- Ren gave a slight nod as he greeted the other party.
After a brief exchange of greetings, silence filled the air as the two went in the same direction.
(Be cautious Ren, his a realm higher than you are right not. And he is a bit strange as well, so don't let your guard down around him.)
(So, what is someone like him doing in a remote area?)
As both of them drew nearer to the settlement, they noticed something wrong. The smell of iron and something burning grew stronger as the two got closer to the village.
Ren and Xu Feng stop at their tracks.
(You purposely lured me here, knowing that there is a struggle happening here. Why?)
(You won't survive just by training alone, gaining some experience in fighting you do you good in the long run. What difference does that make? You were bound to fight someone or something eventually.)
While Ren was having a mental conversation with Dux, Xu Feng received a notification regarding the situation in the village. Ren and Xu Feng pulled out swords from their inventory.
Both Ren and Xu Feng shared a look and nodded to each other. They rushed towards the village.