Starting With a Dilapidated Internet Cafe

Star Dou Great Forest, edge of the mixed zone.

This was the territory of ten-thousand-year and thousand-year soul beasts. Even a Soul Sage-level powerhouse had to tread carefully when passing through here.

Hidden beneath several towering ancient trees stood a two-story building in a completely different style. It had no unnecessary decorations, only a vast expanse of transparent floor-to-ceiling glass.

A flashing sign hung above the entrance—[Origin Internet Cafe].

The air conditioning inside was cranked up high.

The owner of the internet cafe, Lu Yuan, was sprawled boredly in an ergonomic gaming chair, one leg crossed over the other as he lazily swirled a glass of iced cola in his hand.

"I'm telling you, System, are you sure you didn't pick this location because you want me dead?"

As a transmigrator, Lu Yuan knew full well how dangerous this place was.

Looking at the primeval forest outside that blotted out the sky, he could not help complaining, "According to the plot of Douluo, this area is a high-risk zone. If I run into the Auspicious Beast and Red King, this little body of mine would not even be enough to fill the gaps between their teeth."

[Host, please rest assured. This establishment comes with an absolute invincible domain. Within the cafe and ten meters outside its entrance—Host is invincible and your words become law.]

[Please complete the novice mission as soon as possible: Receive your first customer (0/1)]

[Novice reward: Unlock the virtual reality version of Monster Hunter: World]

"Fine, as long as I'm invincible."

Lu Yuan took a sip of cola and yawned boredly.

"But it's already been three days. Forget people, I haven't even seen a single wind baboon. And aren't your prices a little too outrageous?"

He glanced at the price list on the wall and felt that he might be the most ruthless profiteer on the Douluo Continent.

Computer use: 2 gold soul coins/hour.

Cola: 3 gold soul coins/bottle.

Spicy strips: 3 gold soul coins/package.

Instant noodles: 5 gold soul coins/cup.

"In a dump like this, only an idiot would come..."

Before Lu Yuan could finish speaking, a strange fragrance suddenly drifted in through the crack in the door.

It was not the ordinary scent of pollen found everywhere, but a pure aura brimming with vitality, like a forest after rainfall.

The chirping cicadas and birds outside the cafe abruptly fell silent.

A bloodline pressure belonging to a superior being silently enveloped the area within a hundred meters.

"Hm?"

[Detected a customer about to arrive near the internet cafe. Please prepare to receive them, administrator!]

Lu Yuan's eyes lit up. He put down his cola. "A customer finally came?"

He was about to get up and open the door to welcome them when the bushes outside the glass door silently parted.

A massive lion's head poked through.

The young prince of the Star Dou Great Forest sniffed the air, its golden eyes fixed firmly on the cola on the table.

And the freshly opened bag of spicy strips.

For soul beasts that ate raw meat and drank dew year-round, foods like cola and spicy strips possessed an irresistible allure.

The Auspicious Beast approached with elegant feline steps and tentatively pushed open the cafe's glass door with its paw.

"Welcome, big kitty! Want to use the internet?"

No matter what, a guest was still a guest.

At the very least, the cafe was finally open for business, right?

The Auspicious Beast did not understand what using the internet meant, but it could sense that this human before it was extremely weak.

As the little tyrant of the Star Dou Great Forest, did it need to pay for something it wanted?

A trace of disdain flashed through the Auspicious Beast's eyes. It let out a low growl, widened its eyes, and unleashed a mental shock at Lu Yuan!

Based on past experience, this human would foam at the mouth in the next second, then obediently offer up that black bubbling water.

Yet Lu Yuan did not even raise an eyelid. He merely tapped the table lightly.

"Fighting is prohibited in this establishment!"

The instant he spoke, the Auspicious Beast felt as though the sky had collapsed!

Bzzzz—

A terrifying force descended in an instant, pinning its body firmly in place.

Thud!

The Auspicious Beast of the Star Dou Great Forest went limp in all four limbs and sprawled across the floor in an utterly undignified pose, face-first. It even slid some distance across the smooth floor.

Auspicious Beast: ???

Its pupils shrank sharply, its eyes widening into perfect circles.

How could this be?

It could not move!

Its body could not move at all!

There could not possibly be such a powerful being in the Star Dou Great Forest. Even Di Tian could not be this terrifying.

Could the legendary Dragon God have descended?!

"Don't look at me like that."

Lu Yuan unscrewed a fresh bottle of cola and waved it before the Auspicious Beast's nose.

"Want a drink?"

The Auspicious Beast blinked desperately.

Yes!

It wanted one!

"If you want to drink it, you have to pay. Do you have money?"

Lu Yuan pointed at the price list on the wall.

The Auspicious Beast was confused.

Money?

It seemed to have heard of it.

It was something that only existed in the human world.

Lu Yuan sighed.

He wore an expression that said, "I knew you were broke."

"No money is fine. We're currently having a grand opening promotion, and the first customer gets free computer time! You can even get a reward for clearing the game!" With that, he snapped his fingers.

The Auspicious Beast discovered that the invisible pressure on its body had vanished instantly.

It sprang up warily.

It retreated two steps, every hair on its body standing on end as it stared fixedly at Lu Yuan.

It wanted to immediately find Red King.

But the scent of that cola was simply too tempting, and this human did not seem to have any intention of killing it.

Lu Yuan pointed at a computer beside him. On it sat a helmet that looked full of futuristic technology.

"This is a world called Monster Hunter. As long as you can defeat the beasts inside, this bottle of cola is yours." He wore a foxlike smile.

The Auspicious Beast tilted its head.

Defeat beasts? Was it that simple?

That was what it was best at! In the forest, it chased ten-thousand-year soul beasts around every day.

It walked over and copied Lu Yuan, lying down on the broad genuine leather sofa.

"A friendly reminder: this game is a little realistic, so don't cry later."

Lu Yuan pressed the start button.

[Game launched: Monster Hunter: World]

The Auspicious Beast only felt its vision go dark.

Then—

Its consciousness wavered before being drawn into a dark tunnel.

When it opened its eyes—

It found itself standing in a dense primeval forest.

Sunlight filtered through the enormous canopy. The air was filled with the scent of damp earth, while the roars of unfamiliar beasts echoed from afar.

This?

Where was this?

The Auspicious Beast instinctively wanted to run and explore this new territory it had never seen before.

Thud!

The moment it took a step, its body lost balance and crashed hard onto the ground.

What was going on?

It lowered its head, and its pupils abruptly contracted—its front paws were gone!

In their place were two smooth arms, while its lower body had somehow become human legs?

The Auspicious Beast scrambled to stand up. Out of habit, it tried to swing its tail to regain its balance, only to discover that there was nothing behind its rear.

It looked down.

All it saw were a pair of human hands clad in leather armor, with a massive bone sword heavily strapped to its back.

It had become... human?!

It instinctively tried to circulate its cultivation to check its condition. Then something even more unacceptable happened.

Its proud fifteen thousand years of cultivation, along with the ultimate fire and ultimate light flowing through its body, had all vanished without a trace!

It raised those human hands in panic, desperately trying to summon even the tiniest spark.

Nothing.

There was nothing.

Not even a fart.

In this world, it was merely an ordinary hunter without any extraordinary power.

"Give this Auspicious Beast back its power!" the Auspicious Beast angrily tried to roar.

What came out, however, was the sharp cry of a human girl, clear yet trembling slightly.

At that moment, the ground suddenly began to shake violently.

Thump, thump, thump.

Heavy footsteps made even the puddles on the ground jump. The trees ahead were brutally smashed apart.

A gigantic pink tyrannosaur with a mouth full of fangs strode out with an utterly unrestrained gait.

Anjanath!

The Auspicious Beast froze for a moment.

As the Imperial Auspicious Beast, it had seen countless soul beasts, but it did not recognize this monster.

Although it had become human and lost its cultivation, the arrogance engraved in its bones remained.

It instinctively puffed out its chest, attempting to unleash the pressure of the Imperial Auspicious Beast to frighten the other party away.

"Get lost! Don't block my path!" it shouted at the Anjanath.

The Anjanath stopped walking.

It lowered its head.

Those savage eyes stared at the two-legged creature before it that did not know its place.

In the world of Monster Hunter, there was no bloodline suppression.

In its eyes, this was simply a piece of protein that could scream.

ROAR—!!!

The Anjanath opened its bloody maw and let out an earth-shaking roar.

A dense stench of rotten breath blasted into its face, nearly knocking it unconscious!

Its sense of smell was a hundred times sharper than a human's, and it broke down on the spot.

It stank too much!

How many rotting corpses had this damned reptile eaten without brushing its teeth?!

"You bastard! You actually... actually dared to spit on this Auspicious Beast! I'll pull out all your teeth!"

The Auspicious Beast's eyes reddened with rage. Though its legs were trembling, its mouth was as tough as ever.

It clumsily tried to draw the bone sword from its back and fight for its life.

However—

The Anjanath gave it no chance at all.

Its thick leg cut through the air with a howling gust.

It kicked out in an instant!

This was the first lesson Monster Hunter taught it: without your cultivation, you were nothing!

Bang!

A tremendous force slammed into the Auspicious Beast's chest. It screamed as its entire body was sent flying, crashing violently into the bushes.

It lay on the ground, coughing up blood, its mind completely blank.

It, the dignified Imperial Auspicious Beast, had been kicked away like a stray dog by a beast that did not even possess cultivation?

Humiliation!

Unprecedented humiliation!

Before it could get back up, the Anjanath's huge maw filled with sharp teeth had already swallowed its vision...

In the real world, inside the internet cafe.

Lu Yuan calmly took a sip of cola.

Watching the Auspicious Beast's miserable state on the screen, he gently shook his head.

"Tsk, tsk. Are newbies these days all this brave? It actually dared to go head-to-head with an Anjanath."

In the distant sky beyond the door, a terrifying mass of dark red storm clouds came rolling in.

An aura a hundred times more violent than the Auspicious Beast's locked onto the little shop from far away.

The Red King had finally discovered that his little ancestor was missing!

"Human! How dare you imprison the Auspicious Beast! Die!"

Lu Yuan did not panic in the slightest.

Instead, he pulled out a membership top-up flyer he had prepared long ago from beneath the counter.

"Good. Someone's here to bring me money."