"Didn't I just die?"
"Mr. Gray."
"But why am I hearing voices?"
"Mr. Gray, wake up!"
Bam*
A book landed squarely on my head, jolting me from my dazed state. I should've groaned, but I was still half-awake, struggling to make sense of my surroundings.
Augustus' face reflected bewilderment and confusion, remnants of just waking up from deep slumber.
"There are only a few weeks left until the graduation exam. Pull yourself together and go wash your face. Now!" The middle-aged man, who seemed to be a teacher, bellowed at me while I scanned my surroundings in a daze.
I sluggishly stood up from my chair and trudged out of the classroom to the nearest washroom. Where was I, anyway?
Wait...
This is my school?
I moved towards the toilet on instinct, and it gradually dawned on me that it was my old school from my youth.
"Attending three years of compulsory education before getting thrown into hell, the military school." I muttered under my breath, recalling the grueling years I had spent there.
Could this be a dream? Or am I actually in hell?
I stared at my reflection in the mirror, trying to pinch myself to confirm if this was reality. The sharp sting of pain that followed was evidence enough.
"Damn it! I know I've killed countless people to survive, but most of them were Trixions. Those bastards deserved to die." I clenched my fists, memories of my past deeds flooding my mind.
"Sending me back to my youth to experience military hell again? No way." I shook my head in disbelief, unable to fathom the situation I found myself in.
"And that guy mentioned an exam coming up. But I doubt I can remember half of what I studied three hundred years ago." I sighed, feeling overwhelmed by the thought.
Ding*
A holographic screen materialized in front of my face, catching my attention.
[Augustus Gray]
[No discovered stats yet]
"What is this? I don't remember having anything installed on me at such a young age. My family couldn't even afford such technology." I furrowed my brows, puzzled by the screen's appearance.
I tried to feel my eyes for contact lenses but found nothing. How was I able to see this then?
Reaching out tentatively, I was surprised to find that I could touch and interact with the screen.
"This is impressive. We didn't have these features back then." I murmured, intrigued by the advanced technology.
Another screen suddenly popped up, prompting me to choose a destination.
"Destination? Is it asking me to travel somewhere?"
[Martial Art Seclusion House]
"A perfect place to cultivate in peace, without worrying about safety, as the house offers invincibility."
[The Magic Tower]
"A perfect place to conduct research on magic. All knowledge regarding magic is within reach in this tower."
[Training Camp]
"A perfect place to train physically and gain fighting experience. A skilled trainer is available to provide efficient guidance."
Three options were presented, but there were more hidden destinations with blocked information. I pondered my choices, contemplating the path I should take.
'The description of the place is too good to be true. Usually when traveling to other dimensions, it's either you hunt them or you are being hunted by the dwellers there.'
'To cultivate peacefully? No way, if you are unlucky, you are spawned in the middle of a village, you will die instantly, hunted by the original dwellers in that dimension.'
'Many dimensions which visited by us, most of them do not welcome us. Mainly because of the mess that we caused in their dimension. Anyway, Earth's humans are one of the most hated races in almost all other dimensions, as we are as destructive as The Trixions.'
'And moreover, after you have died, you would need to wait for a year depending on how injured your soul is before you can travel again, else you will risk really dying and not waking up ever again.'
'Even imagining that I could travel with a click of my hand was impossible to think of, as you would need an extremely expensive Dimensional Traveling Capsule to travel.'
'Okay, I never knew it until I clicked on it.'
Augustus decided to just try it out, since he believed all that was happening right now was not real and there was no harm in it.
'See, nothing happened.'
As though he spoke too soon, his consciousness instantly faded into darkness.
Without him knowing, he woke up again surrounded by unfamiliar scenery.
This unique architecture seemed as if a painting came to life!
Augustus was in awe of the mansion standing in front of him.
It reminded him of one of the Martial Arts Dimension architectures he had encountered, reminiscent of one of the grandest palaces he had stood before, only to be instantly sent back by the guards.
'It's way smaller than the Grand Palace that I saw, but the landscape here is more breathtaking and seems to blend in with the scenery behind.'
'A perfect place for seclusion indeed.'
Augustus proceeded to enter the mansion as the gates had already opened for him.
Inside, the layout was as pleasant as the outside. It had a simple and ordinary backyard, but back on Earth, one could hardly find a place filled with greens and refreshing air like this.
There was a cobblestone path that led to the inner court, with plants and colorful flowers along the way are filled with nature where the fresh air came from.
In the middle of the courtyard stood a beautiful pavilion, surrounded by what he thought were cultivation room with access to an open living room and bedroom.
Augustus began to explore the whole mansion from corner to corner out of curiosity.
As expected, there was no one in the mansion except for him, and this mansion was all his.
'This mansion is too perfect for me. I didn't even get the opportunity to live at such a luxurious mansion in my past life.'
'I don't think I would want to leave this place.'
'Actually, this might be heaven.'
Augustus tried to scout the surroundings of the mansion, but it seemed he could not stray too far from the mansion, as though there was an invisible wall preventing him from leaving. But obviously, he could see that there was still much to be explored outside the mansion.
Not that Augustus would leave this place anyway, as all he could see were more trees in this dense forest in the middle of nowhere.
As though the voice in his head noticed that Augustus had finished exploring, more screens appeared.
[List of Upgrades Available]
[Qi Gathering Array Lvl 1] => [Qi Gathering Array Lvl 2]
Cultivation Efficiency Increase +10% => Cultivation Efficiency Increase +20%
Cost: 1000 Spirit Stones
[Martial Library Features]
Allow user to access the Library which contain Martial Arts Skills that user can learn.
Cost: 100K Spirit Stones
[Unlock Guest Features]
Allows guests to arrive at The Seclusion House which can bring random fortunes or treasures.
Cost: 1 Million Spirit Stones
[Unlock Kitchen Features]
Allows users to cook food that can greatly benefit their cultivation speed.
Cost: 5 Million Spirit Stones
[Unlock Personal Assistant]
Allows users to retain a personal robot assistant to help with various tasks and aid during their time here.
Cost: 10 Million Spirit Stones
These are the options shown to Augustus, but there may be more features not yet revealed.
"Spirit stones? Those are the currency mostly used by the wealthy in the Martial Arts Dimension."
"They also contain pure qi inside the stone that aids in cultivation when absorbed."
"The most I had was around 3 middle-graded spirit stones. If converted into normal spirit stones, I'm guessing around 30,000 spirit stones."
"Where can I even find that many spirit stones?"
Ignoring the absurd pricing of the upgrade list, Augustus closes the screen and heads to the Seclusion Room to start cultivating.
The chance to cultivate in peace is extremely rare, and he doesn't want to waste the opportunity.
During cultivation, Augustus clears up his mind and processes everything at once.
He comes to a conclusion that he has traveled back in time by chance with an extra system in his head to help him.
"The Trixions are looking for the stone so badly that they ignore the peace treaty we have agreed upon and wage war with us, even though we are much stronger than them. This shows their desperation towards the stone."
"Is it because the stone is so powerful that it transported me back in time and allows these mysterious screens to keep popping out of my head?"
The magical technology he currently possesses is beyond what humans can achieve. Even all the privileges he has right now are only enjoyed by those with power and fame, but not for long.
Augustus cultivates for weeks without stopping and manages to enter the Qi Refinement Realm.
[Augustus Gray]
[Cultivation Realm: Qi Refinement Realm]
Reaching the Qi Refinement Realm at the age of seventeen? Only the wealthy ones are able to achieve that.
With access to Dimensional Traveling since birth, as well as equipment and treasures inherited from wealthy parents who were able to aid their child in traveling, not to mention the amount of spirit stones bought by them and the availability of pills, he cannot imagine what cannot be bought with money on Earth.
But now, Augustus also has privileges he has yet to explore.
"With the aid of the system in my head, I can reach further and probably prevent the deaths of my family, comrades, and also save my wife. Laura."
Augustus clasps his hands in determination that he won't fail to prevent the tragedies he will experience in the future.