"Where the hell is this?!!!" As this incomparably heartbreaking, utterly tragic cry rang out, countless birds resting in the trees flew away in fright, chirping as they vanished into the distance. The culprit, however, heard none of it, completely immersed in his own tragedy.
He was a young man with short black hair and black eyes, around twenty years old. His face was not exactly ordinary, but it could hardly be called handsome either. At that moment, he was crouched in a clearing within the forest, head lowered and face filled with grief.
He raised his head and looked at the towering trees around him, their tops nowhere in sight. He felt like crying, but no tears came.
Who could have imagined that after waking up from a nap, he would end up in such a godforsaken place? Of course, that was only what he thought. To an outsider, this was at least a vibrant forest full of life.
It was not as though he had never considered that he might be dreaming. However, the still "fresh" bruise on his arm proved that reality was cruel. It had been verified!
"Could this be the legendary transmigration? But why don't I have a cheat? Why wasn't I reborn? Why am I stuck in this godforsaken place where there isn't even another person in sight? What am I supposed to do? I don't know the way! Great transmigration gods, are you trying to make me bite the dust?" He collapsed onto the ground in the clearing, ignoring the dirt beneath him as his mouth kept moving, muttering endlessly.
Was he really an otaku through and through?
Perhaps even the possibly nonexistent transmigration gods he kept talking about had grown sick of his whining. While he was still wallowing in self-pity, a mechanical voice, cold and utterly emotionless, rang out.
"System initializing... Initialization successful! Greetings, esteemed user..."
What kind of reaction would someone have if, while alone in a place without a trace of another human being, they suddenly heard a deep, cold voice? The young man's reaction could tell you.
His whole body jolted. With a strange cry, he sprang up from the ground. That leap had probably shattered his lifelong jumping record. Even before he had turned into a useless shut-in, he had never possessed such nimble reflexes.
"W-Who... who... Stop playing tricks! Do you think I'm afraid of you? Let me tell you, even if I really am going to bite the dust, I'll choose to starve myself to death after watching anime for seven days and seven nights! I definitely won't die in this unclear, inexplicable place, understand?" The young man trembled as he laughed loudly, though his voice sounded pitifully weak.
"..."
The scene fell into silence. The young man shrank his neck and kept glancing around, completely unaware of just how absurd his words had been.
Perhaps he had gained a little self-awareness. He swallowed, forcefully suppressing the urge to turn and run, then stammered, "Um... y-you... say something..."
It was not really his fault. Who could stay calm in a situation like this? Especially when he was just an ordinary shut-in who never left the house.
Unfortunately, the dense forest remained silent, as though the voice from before had merely been an illusion.
He glanced around uneasily, took a deep breath, and gradually slowed his racing heartbeat before speaking again. "Hey, that guy calling himself a system..."
The moment he spoke, he froze.
A system? That was what it had said just now, wasn't it? He definitely had not misheard! The legendary transmigration system? A golden finger?
Could it actually be real?
At that thought, he calmed down instead. Scratching his hair, he called out uncertainly, "System?..."
The instant his voice fell, the mechanical voice sounded again. "At your service, user!"
His heart skipped another beat, but with some mental preparation this time, he was no longer as hysterical as before. Any otaku would be able to guess roughly what had happened in a situation like this.
"Um... System, where is this? What exactly happened? Why am I here?" The young man fired off questions like a machine gun, desperate to understand his situation. In this forest devoid of human traces, he could only treat this so-called system as his lifeline.
"Beep! Current user location: Sparlier World, Giant Beast Forest!"
Sparlier World? Giant Beast Forest?
Fine. From that information, he reached several conclusions. First, he had transmigrated. Second, judging by those place names, he had arrived in a world with a somewhat Western-style setting. Third, if this were merely an ordinary world, that might be acceptable. But if it was some fantasy or magical world, then judging from the goddamn name Giant Beast Forest, the odds of him biting the dust were probably only slightly lower than the odds of a girl delivering herself to his doorstep...
He shook his head desperately, as though trying to fling those conclusions from his mind, repeatedly telling himself that they were wrong. Wrong conclusions! As a proud transmigrator, according to convention, he should soon be slaughtering his way across the world, conquering it, making countless "good friends," then building a harem and establishing an eternal legend!
That was how novels always went. That was right!
He fantasized wildly, but the more he thought about it, the guiltier he felt...
In the end, only when he remembered the mysterious system did he manage to steady himself slightly.
Letting out a breath, he gave a dry laugh to bolster his courage and spoke toward the empty space ahead. "Can I go back?"
"Beep! Beyond the system's guidance scope. Please explore independently!"
The corners of his mouth twitched twice as he said unhappily, "Then what is within your guidance scope?"
Suddenly, a colorful square panel flashed into existence before him. Though it was colorful, it looked somewhat illusory, like a projection.
The young man stared blankly at the illusory panel before him. From top to bottom, five boxes appeared: "Status," "Equipment," "Abilities," "Items," and "Summon." They looked just like game menu options.
At this point, if he still did not know what this was, he would not deserve to call himself an otaku. This... this was clearly the cheat system from novels!
He jumped three feet into the air, once again setting a new jumping record. His face was full of wild joy, and he had completely forgotten that he had been drowning in endless tragedy just moments ago.
This is forcing me to defy the heavens!
The young man grinned foolishly. That was not a figure of speech. He really did look foolish.
Looking at the illusory panel as though it were his beloved, he was only one step away from kissing it. Still grinning idiotically, he slowly raised a finger and tapped the "Status" box.
The illusory panel flashed again. The five boxes disappeared, replaced by a full-body image of the young man. Beside the image were the words "Character Status."
Character: Human Abilities: None Equipment: None Summoned Characters: None Equipment Points: 0 Item Points: 0 Ability Points: 0 Summon Points: 0 Level: 0
"..."
Looking at this utterly mockable character status, the young man's face shifted from green to white, white to red, and red to black. If circumstances allowed, his expression might have managed to perform every color on the illusory panel in front of him.
Although he knew this was not the time to complain, he ultimately could not suppress the resentment in his heart.
"I'm saying, System, as a standard beginner, I can barely accept the three Nones and that string of zeros. But what is with the character entry? What the hell does 'Human' mean?!..." Anyone who had played online games or read similar novels knew that the character entry was supposed to contain a name...
"Whoosh..."
A gust of wind swept through the clearing where he stood, carrying a few leaves past his stiff face as though mocking him...
After a stretch of eerie silence, the system's voice finally sounded.
"Please select a nickname!"
You paused just now! You definitely paused, didn't you?!
The young man frantically scratched his hair into a bird's nest. He wanted to unleash a furious tirade, but lacked the strength to do so. In the end, he could only let his hands fall weakly, his face filled with misery.
"Please select a nickname!"
The repeated voice sounded like a prompt, rousing the young man from his faintly suicidal thoughts. He sighed and said weakly, "My name is..."
He stopped halfway through.
Since this was a new world, it meant a new beginning. Then there was no need to use his old name...
With that thought, he fell silent for a while before raising his head. "Wu Yan! I'll be called Wu Yan!"
The young man... no, Wu Yan now. Though it was a little shameless, it was the only name he could think of at the moment.
In any case, no one here knew him. There should be no crime in choosing a cooler name, right?
"Beep! Identity confirmed. User: Wu Yan!" At the same time, "Human" on the Character Status panel changed to "Wu Yan." Only then did Wu Yan nod in satisfaction. He tapped "Return" in the lower-right corner and returned to the initial display.
With anticipation in his heart, Wu Yan smiled and tapped the "Abilities" box. As he did, options for "Skills," "Talents," and "Bloodlines" appeared before him. Without hesitation, Wu Yan selected "Bloodlines."
Sharingan: Ability Points 1000; Ability Points 3000; Ability Points 10000; Ability Points 100000; Ability Points 500000 Rinnegan: Ability Points 1000000 True Ancestor: Ability Points 500000 Orochi: Ability Points 700000 ...
Staring at the dazzling words, Wu Yan blankly tapped "Return." Although the projection returned to the initial page, Wu Yan still had not recovered his senses.
Now, Wu Yan was completely certain. This really was meant to let him defy the heavens!
With these things, he refused to believe that he would truly be unable to survive in this other world!
At that moment, Wu Yan's heart was filled with lofty ambition. He seemed to see himself standing at the peak, countless corpses beneath his feet, a divine weapon raised in his hand, his entire body radiating overwhelming dominance!
A common otaku affliction, commonly known as wild fantasy...
With two snickers, Wu Yan tapped the "Talents" option again.
Vector Control: Ability Points 500; Ability Points 1000; Ability Points 5000; Ability Points 50000; Ability Points 500000 Fire Contract: Ability Points 300000 Mystic Eyes of Death Perception: Ability Points 1000000 And so on...
Everything there made Wu Yan's mouth stretch wider and wider. In the end, it was nearly as wide as a hippopotamus's. After great difficulty, he suppressed the urge to burst into laughter and opened "Skills."
Frost Battle Qi: Ability Points 10000 Dark Battle Qi: Ability Points 10000 Sacred Magic: Ability Points 100000 Twilight Magic: Ability Points 100000 Undead Magic: Ability Points 100000 ...
Before you continue