Everything changed in an instant. One moment, I was standing in a hospital room, staring at my mother's lifeless body—the last person I'd ever loved. The next, thunder roared, explosions echoed, and everything went black. I wasn't just surrounded by darkness. It was as if I was falling through a void that wasn't a void. It was something more. All-encompassing, vast, and unending.
I fell—or maybe I flew—through this void for what felt like both a second and an eternity. Then, a tiny orb of light appeared in the distance. Before I could make sense of it, the light engulfed me, pushing back the oppressive nothingness. Loud, echoing words reverberated in my mind:
[New world found. Reaching critical limits. Emergency transmigration initiated.]
[Preliminary danger rating: Severe.]
And just like that, the void vanished. I landed awkwardly, my shoes sinking into mud, and found myself in... a—forest?
I spun around, taking in the clearing. Tall trees encircled me, their thick canopy casting shadows that grew darker the further I looked. The air smelled of damp earth and vegetation, pungent and alive. Above me, sunlight streamed through the gaps in the trees, betraying no hint of the chaos I'd just experienced.
Wait—was that a trail?
I exhaled sharply, shoulders relaxing slightly. If this was a hiking trail, maybe it wasn't as dangerous as those ominous words suggested. People had to maintain this path, right? That meant I couldn't be too far from civilization.
But how did I get here?
The memory of that dark void, those words, and my mother's body filled my head, setting off a swirl of panic. I rubbed my temples, trying to calm my racing thoughts. What the hell was happening?
I sucked in deep breaths, grounding myself in the earthy forest scent. But unease still coiled in my chest. Something wasn't right. And then—I saw it.
Out of the corner of my eye, something—moved. I froze, slowly turning my head. Emerald green eyes stared back at me from the underbrush, their height suggesting something dog-sized—maybe a bit smaller. For a fleeting moment, I imagined it was just a stray pet and someone would come jogging by to scoop it up.
—No such luck.
The creature crept forward, revealing itself. It wasn't a dog. It was a cat, —and it was a big one. A leopard? A mountain lion? I didn't know the difference, but its sharp teeth and claws were all I could focus on.
The cat growled, crouching low.
I reacted on instinct, shouting and waving my arms like a lunatic.
—Back off, you little bastard!
—I'm bigger than you!
—Don't make me kick your ass!"
The cat hesitated for only a second before pouncing.
I swung my fist, connecting with its jaw. Pain flared as its teeth grazed my knuckles, but I sent the creature stumbling to the side. My heart pounded, adrenaline roaring in my ears.
The cat snarled and lunged again. Its claws tore into my pant leg, raking my shin. I cursed, punching wildly at its head, desperate to make it stop. My fists struck its skull repeatedly, each impact fueled by fear and rage.
Finally, it leapt away, but not before its claws ripped through my leg again.
—That's it, I roared, ignoring the burning pain. The cat crouched, ready to pounce again, but this time I didn't wait. I charged, planting a kick square into its side. The cat flew backward, slamming into a tree. It crumpled to the ground but stirred moments later, growling. Just give up already. I shouted, my voice, hoarse. And again it —didn't. The cat sprang forward, faster than I expected.
—Shit!
I threw up my arm, its claws tearing into my jacket as we both tumbled into the mud. The cold wet earth, —seeped through my clothes as I wrestled with the snarling beast, its teeth snapping inches from my face.
I grabbed its head with my free hand, jamming my thumb into its eye. The cat screeched, —retreating for a moment. I didn't waste any time.
Scrambling to my feet, I charged again, kicking it back against another tree. And then I stomped.
One time.
Two times.
Three times, —until the sickening crunch of bone told me the fight was over.
I shouted with everything I had as I felt bone crunch underneath my shoe. A disgusting squelching sound followed, making me want to puke. The cat's body flailed for another moment before it went slack. Vomit rose up in my throat but I swallowed it back down as I just tried to breathe.
I stayed like that for a long moment, my foot in blood and brains, my nice yellow tracksuit covered in mud, and my chest heaving as I tried to calm down. Eventually my breathing started to slow and the fucking claw wounds around my leg began to burn. I didn't do anything else until I heard a beep play in my ears. A blue screen followed it, appearing in front of me. I jolted back in surprise.
[System Update.]
[My New World Analysis is Complete.]
Location Type: Immortal Cultivation Realm.
Danger level: Severe, (Extreme caution recommended)
Skill Generation System: Adapted.
Multiversal Translator: Activated.
Status Page: Unlocked.
[To protect yourself in a Severe danger level world, it is recommended that you begin to collect skills from defeated foes as soon as possible.
Not to worry Jayson, I will mark the Compatible sources of Skills in your new System UI.]
I stared at the screen intensely . Like I understood the words. I got the gist of what was displayed. At least I thought I did, since the concepts involved seemed eerily similar to the random issekai stories and novels I've read online.
But still, it just didn't make sense at all, because those were just stories, and this was real life. Stuff like this didn't happen for real. At the very least they weren't supposed to.
Am I dreaming then? Was all the shit that happened to me this whole day a hallucination? As if my body gave me the answer—a throb of pain came from my shin making me groan in pain. Dreams weren't supposed to hurt, right?
Freaking cat.
I gritted my teeth and waved away the message, then I looked down at my injured leg I couldn't really tell how bad it was, past my ripped pants, but blood had started to soak through the material. Aww', man, my mother bought me this track suit!
She bought it for me because I was an uber fan of Bruce Lee, and this outfit was like one of the ones he wore in his very last movie. Once I find a safe place, and get time to relax, I'll need to mend the tares and get the blood & mud stains out.
But despite my complaints, I found my attention drawn to something else. The fucking cat that I just killed. A blue aura surrounded it, the same color as the screen I'd dismissed. I frowned down at it. Does this mean what I think it does? And if it did, just how do I make use of it?
"Hmm', 'Loot'?
I said, staring at the blue glowing carcass. To my surprise that seemed to work as another system screen appeared. Was 'that' the command or was just focusing on it enough?
[You have defeated: Cloud-Spotted Leopard]
[Available Skills to Harvest:]
Cat-like Reflexes, (Passive), +50% Dexterity.
Primal Vitality,(Passive), +50% Health.
Ambush Predator, (Passive), Negative 50% Presence in Stealth.
The options were clear, but the decision wasn't. Primal Vitality seemed like the safest bet for now. I couldn't afford to bleed out or risk infection.
I selected it, and the leopard's body dissolved into motes of blue light. Warmth coursed through me briefly, but the pain in my leg remained.
"Great," I muttered, tearing my T-shirt into makeshift bandages.
After clumsily tying off the wound, I glanced around the forest. I needed to move. Staying here was asking for trouble.
But first, I had to confirm one last thing. —Status. I said aloud. A screen popped up.
[System Update]
"Status page: Name: Jayson Sylvestri
Cultivation: None
Chi: 5 out of 5
Strength: 6
Health: 8
Dexterity: 5
Mental Fortitude: 6
Acquired skill, Primal Vitality (Rank E), Increases health by 50%
Skill Consolidation: (0 Options available.)
I quickly took it all in, again feeling surreal as fiction became reality for me. Still, I tried to not let it get to me and focus on what was important. The stats were interesting but not something to bother with now. Especially since were probably what I'd assume was the average for a person. At least for a human back on Earth.
But this wasn't Earth if the System messages I got were to be believed. Not only that, but the System had labeled this world an Immortal Cultivation Realm. And my status had a place for cultivation. If that meant this place was anything like the worlds I read in Manwah stories, then I had no idea just what the real average for a human was here.
I then moved on to the Skills option. I noticed the percentage next to the rankings. That likely meant I could rank up Skills, and make them stronger. I definitely don't want to do that while alone and without resources. Then there was.. Skill Consolidation. That sounded like a way to combine Skills.
Yet another thing to look into later, since I need to get out of here as quickly as I can right now. However before I got moving, something else caught my eye. Another option? Curiously, I reached out and tapped the words to see if it did anything.
To my surprise it did and a new window popped up.
[Skill analysis]
Skill consolidation: The process of combining two or more Skills to create a single more versatile and possibly more powerful Skill. Skills must be compatible to consolidate.Warning: Consolidated Skills may become, unstable and you may lose some features.
Well, that was... Informative but probably important for later. It was also nice that the System gave me some helpful instructions. But once again it wasn't anything that could help me right now. I should probably stop stalling and figure out what I was going to do next. Mainly where I should go. I could make out the sun through the canopy above, but it hadn't been long enough for me to see which direction it was moving.
I also had no idea where I was. And if my fictional knowledge could be trusted—which I should probably be cautious of relying on too much—then that cat that attacked me was probably one of the least dangerous creatures out here. There might be spirit beasts or something, which were essentially magical monsters.
Honestly I was starting to regret not taking Ambush Predator, even though there might be a chance I'd end up bleeding out, or get sick sooner without or might not have the endurance to get out of here without Primal Vitality, I really would have liked to be able to hide better if there were real monsters in this forest with me.
It was just too bad that there wasn't another cat to kill. Yeah, 'no' I wasn't even going to entertain that thought. But, still, I wouldn't mind gaining some extra Skills. If only there was an easier source for that.
My thoughts trailed off as my gaze wandered up to the trees. There were a couple of birds near the top still chirping Innocently. I looked at them, then looked at the ground. It only took me a few moments to find some very throwable looking stones.
I probably shouldn't., it would be too cruel, wouldn't it?.
And there was no guarantee that I could get anything out of some small birds, right?
But what if they counted as compatible sources of Skills?
Fuck it, I'm gonna try it and see if I get anything. I picked up one of the small stones, choosing a smooth one for better aerodynamics. I chucked the stone as hard as I could. The stone flew through the air as if I used a sling-shot.
'Smack!', I struck down one of the birds. It hurdled to the ground resulting in a small, thud.