Nexus, an eighteen year old boy with an impish grin, opened a certain book curiously as he left his school grounds. He strutted into the street, still clutching the book excitedly as he digested the first few pages.
The author played it fast and loose with the word 'cultivation.'
As a harem novel, it was purely a work of fiction, but Nexus allowed himself to get sucked into this world of Qi and its seductive prospects. Book in hand, and eyes down, the young lad continued to stroll down the street.
At the next intersection, all around him, almost simultaneously, about half a dozen people screamed at him with gripping urgency;
"LOOK OUT!!!. . .WATCH IT!!!. . .GET OUT OF THE WAY!!!"
Nexus had barely lifted his eyes from the pages before the dreadful realization came.
A metallic green Ford truck with flashing lights torpedoed right into him. There was a sickening crunch as his slim frame came in contact with the speeding truck. Even before his body finally landed a couple of feet away on the tarred road, his heart had already stopped beating .
Nexus died on the spot.
But by the time he opened his eyes, instead of the busy metropolitan scene he was so used to, a serene, countryside view greeted his eyes. For a moment or two, he did dare to move at all. Only his eyes flipped about rapidly in their sockets like a caged animal.
Nexus blinked twice, hoping against hope that this was some kind of optical aberration;
What in seven hells is happening? He screamed inwardly.
Out of nowhere, a bland, generic voice came, startling Nexus;
[DUAL CULTIVATION SYSTEM ACTIVE.]
Nexus' heart very nearly stopped beating in his chest.
Shocked, he leaped, and ended up jumping a good distance in fear.
"WHO WAS THAT?!"
[NEXUS K. VADER, BE ADVISED, YOU HAVE BEEN TRANSPORTED TO THIS ISEKAI. STAND BY FOR FURTHER UPDATE.]
Nexus' eyebrows joined in confusion as his throat instantly ran dry.
Is this it? He wondered; Is this the beginning of my descent into madness?
There was no physical person.That much was clear.
And yet, he could hear the voice loud and clear. He strained his neck to see if there were any microphones or speakers. But as far as his eye could see, there was nothing but miles and miles of bare land on all sides.
Still bewildered, he managed to summon the courage to attempt diplomacy;
"Sir/ma'am please, this is all a mista---" He paused, "Wait a damn minute...did you just say Dual Cultivation System?"
[AFFIRMATIVE.]
Still grappling with unbelief, Nexus pressed on;
"Like in the books? With the heroes and stuff?"
[AFFIRMATIVE. THE DUAL CULTIVATION SYSTEM IS DESIGNED TO HELP A SUBJECT ATTAIN NEW LEVELS BY HAVING PROTRACTED SESSIONS OF SEXUAL INTERCOURSE WITH DIFFERENT WOMEN.]
Nexus' eyes lit up like a thousand stars. He could not believe what was happening to him right now. He sure as hell did not understand it yet, but he certainly liked the sound of it, and was more than willing to get with the program.
"So," He began excitedly; "I get to be a hero and go on quests and stuff?"
[AFFIRMATIVE.]
The giddiness set in;
"And I get to actually sleep with these women? Not some virtual reality advanced porn simulation?"
[AFFIRMATIVE.]
Nexus' imagination erupted like an atomic bomb. His mind began to run riot as he tried to think up all the possible ways he could milk this new situation.
He began to envision himself as one of those main characters in some Xianxia novel, charting his path through unknown territories, using oriental spells, battling woodland creatures using ancient sword techniques, and of course, making love to one or two exotic beauties along the way.
The thought alone was more than enough to make him weak at the knees.
For someone who had been in a state of confusion and shock just a short while ago, Nexus was certainly feeling like a new man.
Brimming with optimisim, he cracked his knuckles enthusiastically and cocked his head eagerly;
"So, System where do I begin? Is there some dragon to be killed? Or perhaps some fair maiden to be saved?"
The System ignored him, and circumvented;
[YOU HAVE BEEN GIFTED A FREE STARTER PACK TO BEGIN YOUR JOURNEY. WITH EVERY CONQUEST COMES AN OPPORTUNITY TO UPGRADE. AND AS YOU PROGRESS, YOU INCREASE YOUR INVENTORY.]
Nexus did not sweat it. This was pretty much the standard in most adventures. He obviously had to start from somewhere.
[TO VIEW YOUR INVENTORY, KINDLY ISSUE THE COMMAND PROMPT; CONDUCT INVENTORY.]
Nexus uttered the words with a record breaking quickness.
[STARTER'S PACK;]
[ARSENAL; A SHEATHED THREE-INCHED KATANA, A SHEATHED THREE-INCHED ARABIAN SCYTHE, BLADE DEFLECTING ARMOR, AND TWIN DAGGERS.]
[SWORD SKILL LEVEL; BEGINNER SWORD ACOLYTE.]
[STAMINA; TWENTY FIVE PERCENT.]
[SPEED; THIRTEEN PERCENT.]
[ENDURANCE; TWENTY NINE PERCENT.]
Unable to restrain his excitement, Nexus plunged right ahead, and delved into exploration mode.
His new surrounding appeared to be completely stepped in the countryside. There were no residential buildings. The landscape was characterized with sparse vegetation, along with some impressive trees that seemed really ancient.
But Nexus was not bothered. In fact, the landscape was consistent with his own plans. For the young eighteen year old, he thought the environment was actually the ideal place for some nasty spiritual beasts to thrive. All he needed to do was locate just one of them- just one.
Nexus felt like a loaded machine gun with no target to let loose on.
There was a tense spring in every step he took, and it reflected the pent up energy that was building up at a significant rate inside of him. He needed to hunt, he needed to sate his hunger for a quest. So, his quick searching eyes, kept at alert as he trudged through the woods.
The minutes turned into hours, and the hours gradually turned into days, and Nexus the hunter still had no luck.
However, as dusk was crouching at the edge of the skyline, after days of a fruitless search, Nexus caught his first sighting.
Up ahead, just a few yards out, at the base of a tree was a very peculiar creature. It stood on upright on wo legs, and had branched out horns in the form of a stag. It had the semblance of a woodland nymph.
Enthusiastic glee seized Nexus immediately. Finally, he had caught a break! Here was his very first magic beast! The loudness of his own beating heart echoed loudly in his ears as he fought to keep himself calm.
Quietly, Nexus crouched behind a nearby tree to prepare himself to pounce.
He stole a glance or two at the creature's direction in order to ascertain its movements pattern, its build, as well as any other characteristics.
A puzzled frown stole across Nexus face.
This can't be right. . .He thought.
But the more he looked, the more he discovered something shocking. This was a woodland nymph. He was sure of it. As an ardent consumer of fantasy novels, Nexus recognized the disparity immediately. Nymphs were creatures that were endemic to western fantasy novels. There was no way it could have have been in a Xianxia novel!
But Nexus was not anyone. Seeing a Nymph or a Sartyr in a Xianxia novel, was like seeing a polar bear in a hot humid desert. It was just out of place. And he intended to find out why.
"Hey system, something feels off here."
[KINDLY ELABORATE ON THE NATURE OF YOUR PROBLEM.]
"Well, for starters, unless I'm losing it, I'm seeing a nymph. . ."
The system repeated the same command prompt:
[KINDLY ELABORATE ON THE NATURE OF YOUR PROBLEM.]
Nexus was slightly annoyed:
"What do you mean by that? What's a nymph doing in a Xianxia novel?! Aren't the beasts here supposed to be consistent with the theme of the genre?"
Overhead, some birds scattered, and flew away hurriedly. This startled the nymph and ended up scaring it away.
Nexus swore aloud:
"Oh for heaven's sakes! That was my first sighting!!!"
He watched with resentment in his eyes as his prize scampered off into the distance. There was no point in giving chase. With that speed, he stood no chance of catching up. Not unless he had a long range weapon or some crazy lightning spell. But he had neither of sorts.
Nexus was a little bit more concerned as to why that creature was here, than chasing after it. This meant that he was yet to fully understand his situation. And he really did not appreciate being kept in the dark.