I woke up naked, face down in the grass. This was not how I expected to wake up.
As I looked beneath me, I saw the lush green grass and wondered, "Is this heaven?"
The last thing I remembered was that bastard shooting at me and, muttering something.
Did I die?
The grass beneath me felt oddly comfortable, like a dense bed of softness. It was unlike any grass I had encountered before.
My father was a landscape architect, and I had grown up learning more about grass than I ever wanted. Mostly because it was the only escape from my mother's schooling.
'Yeah, my mother was a teacher...'
Rolling over and sitting up, I felt strange, beyond just the circumstances. It wasn't a bad feeling, more like waking up after a long sleep. There was a lingering drowsiness, but also a sense of refreshed energy.
Running a hand over my head, I was startled to realize my hair was missing.
"What the hell happened to my hair?" I shouted, but there was no one around to answer.
"Forget it," I muttered to myself, "Ughh, hair can grow back. For now, let's figure out where I am."
Pushing myself to my feet, I took in my surroundings.
The sun was high in the sky, casting warm rays all around. Not a cloud was in sight, and the air was warm.
I found myself boxed in between two long, tall hedges.
The lane stretched out straight in both directions, with sharp right angles at each turn.
The wide, grassy lane offered plenty of space for me to sprawl unconscious, and the meticulously trimmed hedge walls framed the scene.
"Ah, why does my penis keep twitching?"
'Wait... Am I horny?'
'Huhh, let it be. Even If I am feeling horny, I can't just start masturbating in the middle of the open jungle.'
After a disappointed look at my bald, unclothed body, I began to wander aimlessly to explore.
It didn't take long for me to realize that I was trapped in a hedge maze, with the living walls towering almost twice my height.
My initial instinct was to climb one of the hedges to get a better view of my surroundings, but a closer inspection revealed that the hedges were covered in sharp thorns. Given my current state of naked, that didn't seem like a good idea.
I glanced up and down the path I was on, but neither direction looked more promising than the other.
"What the bloody hell is going on?"
As if in response to my question, something appeared in front of me.
"Hmm?"
It appeared to be a floating touch screen, suspended in the air without any visible support.
Curious, I extended my finger to touch it, but the screen shimmered as my finger passed through it.
"A hologram?" I muttered to myself, puzzled.
I glanced around, searching the ground and nearby hedges for any sign of a projector, but found nothing. As I moved, the screen moved with me, almost as if it were following my every step.
Text appeared on the screen, and I began to read it aloud.
(A suitable candidate has been chosen!)
(Awakening the "Lust System".)
(Congratulations, host! You have successfully activated the Lust System!)
(Congratulations, host, you have awakened one of the rarest title "Lust King.")
(The first quest is loading!)
(Congratulations, Host, on embarking on your first quest in this world!)
New Quest: [Explore the unknown Land]
You have found yourself in an unfamiliar place. Begin exploring to learn more.
Objective: Explore the hedge maze (0/1).
(Reward: Basic pants.)
"Huh? A Lust system? Is it... like those novels where the main character reincarnates and gets a system? But, that means I've reincarnated, but with my... same old trashy body. What a waste," I muttered to myself, looking around suspiciously.
'Hmm, Lust System... Then, it might function like those... systems I've read about in erotic novels?'
I touched my chin and muttered,"It must be, but... Why is the quest about exploring and not about sex..."
[Ding, Host, the quest was given this way because of your current surroundings and also because there aren't any girls in the area right now!]
"Oh, I see."
"So, what would've been my first task if I were in a populated area?"
[Ding, Host, under normal conditions, your first task would have been "Touch those jiggly butts of that Milf with both hands or masturbate in front of that slut!"]
"Now, this quest are risky as well as satisfying."
***
I even carefully examined the pointy foliage of the hedge walls, searching for hidden cameras.
Glancing up at the sky, I didn't spot any camera drones. Instead, I noticed the moon, pale and easy to overlook in the daylight. Then, I noticed another two moons.
"Three moons? That can't be right," I exclaimed, baffled.
I looked back down at the floating screen, then back up at the sky. Still, there were two moons.
"Am I going nuts?" I wondered aloud.
I sat down on the grass, uncertain of what to do next. I kept glancing up at the sky and the extra moon. In front of me, the screen still waited patiently.
"This is crazy, really crazy. Where am I exactly in this world?"
Another screen appeared next to the first.
Michael ????
Race: Human.
Current rank: Normal
Progression to Bronze rank: 0% (0/100 essences).
Attributes:-
[Power]: Normal.
[Speed]: Normal.
[Spirit]: Normal.
[Recovery]: Normal.
Free attributes points:- (0/1)
Human Racial Abilities:
- Interface
- Quest System
- Inventory
- Map
- Adaptor (Special)
"Is this some sort of character profile or Power screen? It seems like it, but it's unlike anything I've seen in novels before," I mused, shaking my head in confusion.
After a thorough examination, I pondered, 'Why is there a question mark instead of my surname? Does the system not recognize my surname, or is there another reason?'
'And, Why is it so hard to understand?'
"It would have been easier to understand if it was a simple gaming system," I added, glancing at the screen once more.
"Map," I repeated, recognizing the word. "I know what maps are. How do I access the map?"
Another screen appeared as requested, but with the addition of the third screen, the space in front of me started feeling crowded. I absentmindedly wished for the other screens to close, and they promptly did so.
"I guess that's helpful," I remarked.
Things were becoming increasingly difficult to rationalize, especially with the additional moons in the sky. A voice-command hologram seemed unlikely, but not entirely impossible. However, the idea of mental command holograms was a whole different story.
"Now, this is troubling," I concluded.
Hoping it wouldn't actually work, I began to experiment. Surprisingly, I found that I could open and close any of the windows with just a simple thought.
"Maybe I didn't actually die," I tried to reassure myself. "Perhaps the police officers saved me and took me to a hospital somewhere. Or maybe I simply passed out on the floor and I'm now hallucinating and dreaming of unbelievable things. Like a nice dream, with a big garden."
I let out a groan and closed my eyes for a moment. "How did it come to this? Is this really how I'm trying to comfort myself?"
Taking a deep breath, I slowly opened my eyes again. The screens were still there, patiently waiting.
"Just go along with it, I guess," I told myself. "Don't make any conclusions until you have more information. That's the logical thing to do now."
I shifted my attention back to the map hovering in front of me. It resembled a map you'd find in a video game, with a list of locations included.
[Zone: Vane Gardens (Bushy Maze)]
Similar to a video game map, most of it was hidden. Only a small part of the hedge maze I had already explored was revealed.
I experimented with moving the map using my mind, discovering that I could zoom in and out just as effortlessly as I could open and close the floating screens.
"Now, let's check my current location," I murmured to myself.
As I zoomed out, I reached a world map that seemed unfamiliar. Though the details were blurry, I could see the outline of the continent... Hold on! Just one continent?
It's unsettling. Even in most novels, there are usually two or three continents, but here, there's only one.
"That's not how I expected the world map to be," I murmured to myself.
According to the map, I was in the North-west part. I glanced around at the thick, green hedges surrounding me. I felt the soft grass beneath my feet and the warm, humid air against my skin.
"This doesn't seem right," I muttered.
With a sigh, I closed the map.
"This is all so weird."
Human Racial Abilities:
- Interface
- Quest System
- Inventory
- Map
- Adaptor (Special)
I started looking down the list.
"Interface seems obvious. Quest system and Inventory too, I guess. Adaptor? What the hell it is?"
I closed the inventory and pulled up my character profile again. Next down the ability list was the map, which I'd already looked at, then adaptor.
Ability: [Adaptor]
- Language adaptation: Ability to learn and understand different languages.
- Essence, Elemental stone, and skill-book absorption: Capability to absorb and utilize monster essences and knowledge from Elemental stones and skill-books.
- Immunity to identification and tracking effects: Protection against being identified or tracked by magical means.
"Language adaptation? So, does that mean with this, I can talk with the people in this world?"
'Anyway, nobody will answer me... let's assume it as yes.'
I glanced at the other items like Elemental stone and Essence, but I couldn't figure out what they were for.
"No idea what those are."
After few seconds, I closed all the open windows except for the map with a mental command.
"Alright, then," I said, glancing along the path ahead. Neither direction seemed better than the other.
"Let's explore a bit more and see what's ahead."
I chose a direction without much thought and started walking.
"I really wish I had clothes right now."
...
I was walking through the maze, the map open in front of me. It was being unveiled as I walked, so my current plan was to reveal enough that I could plot a way out. i froze when I heard a rustle in the hedges.
"Um, anybody?" I called out.
"Is anybody here?"
There was no response from the other side.
"Hey, you listening."
Still there was no response.
Again, there was some movement in maze.
I shrugged.
"Fuck you, if you are here, then stop Playing hide and seek."
I was about to resume walking when a screen appeared.
...
New Mission:
For some unknown reason, the nearby area is now filled with lesser-ranked monsters.
Goal: Find out why these lesser-ranked monsters have taken over the area (0/1).
Reward: Basic shirt and pants.
Bonus Goal: Defeat twelve lesser monsters (0/12).
Reward: Basic shoes.
...
"Monsters? That doesn't sound good."
I was looking around suspiciously when suddenly something small came hurtling from the bottom of a hedge. Instinctively, my hands shot back over my privates, leaving my head exposed.
"What the fuck?"
Without warning, I was blinded by something latching onto my face, its sharp claws digging painfully into my scalp.
I panicked, yanking it off with both hands, feeling a chunk of skin tear away with it.
I dropped to my knees, the creature still squirming in my grasp.
With a scream, I slammed it into the ground over and over until it stopped moving.
(You have defeated [Stalwart Gerbil].)
(Defeat lesser-ranked monsters 1/12.)
Finally, I released the creature and scuttled back, still on my hands and knees, heart racing.
The wounds on my head throbbed painfully, blood trickling down my face.
I wiped it away from my eyes, trying to catch my breath and make sense of what had just happened.
"What on earth is going on? How did a Gerbil end up on my head?"
I glanced at the creature. The window that appeared described it as a hamster, but it was much larger than any hamster I had ever seen, almost the size of my head.
It looked swollen from being pounded into the ground, and there were streaks of blood on its fur from my head.
I approached it cautiously, prepared to move back quickly. With a hesitant finger, I reached out and prodded it.
As I cautiously prodded the body of the Stalwart Gerbil, a strange sensation washed over me. The creature's body began to tremble, and then, to my shock, it started dissolving into minor particles right before my eyes.
As the Gerbil's body disintegrated, numerous system messages flooded the air in front of me, but for a moment, I was too stunned to pay them any attention. Instead, I couldn't help but dwell on the implications of what had just happened.
'If this little guy could hurt me so badly, what'll happen if I meet a bigger, high-ranked one?'
The thought sent a shiver down my spine, imagining the possibility of facing enemies capable of killing me in a single move.
I quickly snapped out of my daze and focused on the barrage of system messages hovering in front of me.
(Congratulations, Host, Monster Core (Lesser) has been added to your inventory!)
(Congratulations, Host, Healing portion (Bronze) has been added to your inventory!)
(Congratulations, Host, Monster Essence of Gerbil has been added to your Character Profile!)
I sighed...
Huhhh...
Looks like from today, my life is going to be hectic from now on.