[Ding! System successfully activated.] [Ding! Congratulations to host Yatsuka Nightstar on obtaining the title: Traveler of Time and Space. Awarded 300 exchange points.]
"Mm..." Lin Chen opened his eyes with some difficulty and found himself lying on a patch of grass. At the same time, a flood of memories rushed into his mind.
"Uh... what happened to me?"
"Holy shit, wasn't I sleeping at home? How did I end up in another world?"
After taking in those memories, Lin Chen checked his current body. Nothing seemed seriously wrong, except that he appeared to have shrunk quite a bit. He had been in his twenties before, but now he looked fourteen or fifteen.
Then he noticed a lake nearby. He pushed his weary body upright and went over to look at his reflection in the water.
Short, sky-blue hair, a thin, frail body, a somewhat pale and youthful face, and plain clothes riddled with holes. Overall, he looked pretty good-his face was certainly decent-but he was far too scrawny, giving the impression that he might collapse at any moment.
"Ugh, I was perfectly happy staying at home. How did I suddenly end up in another world? And fine, if I had to come here, couldn't I have landed in some rich family?"
Lin Chen rubbed his head, feeling helpless. He had originally been an ordinary person living on modern-day Earth. With a few modest skills, he had managed to lead a fairly comfortable life. Then he had suddenly been transported to another world for absolutely no reason. He hadn't been hit by a car or electrocuted by a power line. It had just happened out of nowhere.
Then he recalled some of the memories and images that had just surfaced, and the corners of his mouth twitched.
He really had called it. The person whose body he now occupied was named Yatsuka Nightstar, and he had originally belonged to a wealthy family.
But one day, demons had suddenly attacked his home. To protect him, his parents had shoved him into a hollow in a tree, then gone off to draw the demons' attention. That was how he had survived.
Afterward, however, a young child who had never experienced hardship found it truly difficult to survive in this world. He had wandered homeless for over a year before finally collapsing on the ground. Then Lin Chen had arrived in his body.
"Damn, isn't this plot a little too melodramatic...?"
Lin Chen was about to complain, but a deep sorrow welled up from within him, forcibly stopping the words on his tongue. Perhaps it was a lingering trace of the original owner's feelings.
"Ugh, I've ended up all alone in a world crawling with demons. What am I supposed to do...? Wait, I think I heard something when I woke up."
"Was that a system? System, get out here!"
Lin Chen could only rub his head. With no other options, he clung to the faint hope that he might get some kind of cheat.
[Ding, host. What are your instructions?]
"There really is one..."
The system's voice rang out in his mind. Lin Chen grinned and asked with practiced ease, "Can I see my status panel?"
As soon as he finished asking, a panel that only he could see appeared before his eyes.
[Ding, character panel updated.] Name: Yatsuka Nightstar. Age: 14. Height: 164 cm. Weight: 47.3 kg. Items: Worn-out plain clothes. Exchange points: 300. Other: None.
"..."
Lin Chen looked at his panel, feeling that something was wrong. Then he immediately raised his head and asked:
"Who the hell needs all this useless information? Where's my strength? My moves? Why aren't any of those listed?"
[Ding, the host's current strength is below that of an ordinary person. Unable to update the strength panel. All other entries are none.]
"I really want to swear..."
Lin Chen's face darkened. Had he been scammed? Then a gleam flashed in his eyes, and he asked, "By the way, can I get a beginner's gift pack? Otherwise, I won't survive! System, you don't want your host dropping dead right after arriving, do you?"
[...]
After a while, the system spoke in his mind again.
[Ding, congratulations to the host on receiving Beginner's Gift Pack ×1. Please confirm whether to open it.]
"That's surprisingly accommodating."
Lin Chen froze for a moment. This system seemed pretty easy to talk to. "Open it."
So we're opening a loot box now? Lin Chen couldn't help brimming with anticipation.
[Ding, received exchange points ×500, Kunai ×10, Samurai Long Sword (with a demon-slaying bonus) ×1, Xeno'jiiva Assimilation Fluid ×1. Monster Hunter series shop unlocked.] [Ding, items have been placed in the storage space.] [Title obtained: One-Handed Luck (receive an exceptionally high-quality item or feature from a random draw once). Exchange points ×200.]
"Uh, I don't really know what happened, but I feel like I'm off to a great start."
Seeing the title, Lin Chen knew he had gotten unusually lucky for once. He didn't yet know what exchange points were, but the Kunai should be something like the short blades in Naruto, while the Samurai Long Sword was just an ordinary long sword.
"Xeno'jiiva Assimilation Fluid? What's that?"
Lin Chen's expression turned a little strange when he saw the item. Of course he knew Xeno'jiiva, an Elder Dragon from the famous game Monster Hunter: World, but he had never heard of any assimilation fluid.
Xeno'jiiva Assimilation Fluid: Drinking it grants Xeno'jiiva's constitution and skills.
Although the description was only a single short sentence, it made Lin Chen's eyes light up. What was Xeno'jiiva? The king of Elder Dragons! Plenty of people disagreed with that title, but its power was absolutely beyond question. Not only did it possess immense strength, it also wielded an indescribable Netherworld Fire. It was unquestionably formidable, and this was exactly what he needed to make up for his current physical frailty.
Lin Chen wasn't in a hurry to drink it. Instead, he continued examining the newly activated Monster Hunter shop system. With a thought, he entered the shop and found four categories: monsters, equipment, combat techniques, and ordinary items.
Monsters? The shop sells those too? He opened the category out of curiosity, only to be utterly astonished.
Fatalis: 32,000 exchange points. Xeno'jiiva: 30,000 exchange points. Valstrax: 28,000 exchange points. Shagaru Magala: 27,000 exchange points. Nergigante: 25,000 exchange points. Amatsu: 25,000 exchange points. ... Kirin: 15,000 exchange points. Deviljho: 15,000 exchange points. Bazelgeuse: 15,000 exchange points. ... Zinogre: 8,000 exchange points. Rathalos: 7,000 exchange points. Black Gravios: 6,000 exchange points. ...
The dazzling array of products and prices left Lin Chen dumbfounded. Holy shit, I can actually buy monsters here? Isn't that a little too awesome? But... these are way too expensive!!!
The exchange points from his two titles and one gift pack added up to exactly 1,000. He couldn't afford any of the monsters here that were even remotely high-tier. At most, 1,000 could buy something on Khezu's level.
But after thinking it over, he decided against it. He really couldn't bring himself to like Khezu. Not only was its cry awful, it was hideously ugly too. All it did all day was discharge electricity and drool, like some crawling pest.
There was also Yian Kut-Ku for only 500, and something like Arzuros cost just 300, but he stopped looking after a glance. Although an Arzuros in Monster Hunter was much stronger than an ordinary large bear, it probably wouldn't be much use against a stronger demon.
Besides, he had no intention of buying something as conspicuous as a monster right now. If he wandered around with one and the Demon Slayer Corps spotted him, they might mistake him for a demon and hunt him down. And if demons saw him and drew Muzan Kibutsuji's attention, things would become difficult to handle. For now, he just wanted to keep his head down for a while.