3 Episode 1: Leveling System (3)
"Sheesh, so big!" Gwak Joon snarled, staring at the massive snow-furred gorilla in front of him.
"This isn't going to work, bro. We will undoubtedly perish if we step outside."
Gwak Joon snapped at him. "Don't be afraid. The larger they get, the less likely they are to see tiny beings like us."
Lu Piao was taken aback and nearly stumbled out of the bushes. "I suppose you're correct."
Gwak Joon nodded and told the system. 'Have you read Warlock of the Magus World?'
The system reacted as follows:
[Are you referring to the selfish protagonist with the A.I chip?]
Gwak Joon gave a nod.
[I read a little and then put it down.]
'So systems read novels as well?' Gwak Joon was taken aback and shook his head. 'What I want to know is, do you have features similar as that A.I chip?'
The system remained silent before responding: [I have. Why my dear disciple?]
Gwak Joon furrowed his brow and asked, 'Can you check the surroundings?' And the likelihood of the gorillas noticing us.'
Gwak Joon assumed the reason this system become so obedient was because he called her master.
Should he just yield at her?
Thinking of that, Gwak Joon grinned as he listened to her reports.
[Scanning Area]
[Completed Scanning]
[Showing results]
[In the east, three middle snow-furred monsters have been discovered.
[In the west, one upper snow-furred monster has been discovered.
[There are no monsters in the host's position's peripherals to the north and south.]
[Danger!
[A Peak snow-furred monster has been detected fifteen meters ahead of the host.]
[Probability calculation]
[Completed Calculation]
[The chances of a monster finding the host are 38.27 percent.]
Gwak Joon exhaled a sigh of relief. He rose up and turned to face Lu Piao. "Stay with me. Don't make even the slightest noise. Otherwise, we shall die without burial."
Lu Piao gasped and nodded. He mumbled, 'This bro still wants to die with his body intact; I would never like to be smashed into a meat paste.'
"..."
Gwak Joon cursed when he heard that.
A moron will always be a moron.
—Episode 1 Chapter 5: Leveling System
Gwak Joon didn't say anything further after that and began walking in front. He carried some shrubs with him and dispersed them across his body for extra camouflage. He also handed Lu Piao some for himself. After that, he sauntered over to the corpses in front of him.
Fighting and explosions could be heard everywhere as they walked. According to what Gwak Joon could infer, Ye Ziyun has yet to escape with the remaining survivors; perhaps they are still defending the capital region at this time.
Gwak Joon had already devised a strategy. After making the concealment rope, he would travel to the East to meet with Ye Ziyun and others. If he was not mistaken, Nie Li escaped with Ye Ziyun and others on his first life to the east.
'Right.' Gwak Joon began to experience headaches. Despite his dislike for TODAG, he enjoyed several of the series' characters. Du Zi, The Alchemy Big Sis, and Nie Li's sister, for example.
Gwak Joon's eyes gleamed brightly as he pondered up here; if he couldn't save even one or two of them, he wasn't qualified to call himself a veteran reader!
In terms of probability, the system was correct. Despite being only 5 meters from the peak snow-furred monster, it did not notice Gwak Joon and Lu Piao as they crossed over.
Gwak Joon's heart finally calmed down when he crossed the peak snow-furred monster. He motioned for Lu Piao to be quiet as he leaned down.
Three corpses were on the ground. These three gorillas were presumably killed by fire-related claws. Gwak Joon assumed it died at the hands of a demon spiritualist.
He then caressed the gorillas' skin and queried the system. 'Right. You stated that 20 pieces of fur and a rope are required to make the concealment rope. So, if I collect 20 pieces, how would I know?"
The system mocks him:
[As expected from my stupid disciple, you can't even see the twenty-six slots floating just beneath your chin.]
'You!" Gwak Joon cursed and tried to calm himself. When he examined under his chin, he discovered two rows of thirteen translucent slots. ''What are these slots for? Is this similar to...Minecraft?'
[It appears that you have some EQ left over. This is, indeed, similar to Minecraft. The first thirteen slots in the first row are for your inventory. While the second row of thirteen spaces is reserved for your abilities.]
Gwak Joon had finally understood. He inquired hastily. 'If this is similar to Minecraft, so that means I can only stack up to 64 per slot?'
The system nodded.
Gwak Joon was overjoyed with it. However, after further consideration, he concluded that it was somewhat...insufficient.
Minecraft has a total of 36 inventory slots. While he only has 13 available for inventory.
Gwak Joon sighed and proceeded to remove the furs. "Help me," he said to Lu Piao. "We need to get these furs off as soon as possible so that we can flee. We won't be able to escape if the Glory City is entirely destroyed."
Lu Piao's hands tremble as he recalls a terrifying scene.
Gwak Joon saw this as Lu Piao began to silently peel the monsters' furs.
—Episode 1 Chapter 6: Leveling System
Gwak Joon was perplexed as to why the energetic Lu Piao had turned out this way. Despite the fact that he was reincarnated in Nie Li's body, he did not inherit his memories. As a result, he had no idea what had happened to Lu Piao during the short period of time.
'System please scan Lu Piao's current feelings.'
The system was well-behaved and reacted as follows:
[Inspecting Lu Piao's Emotion]
[Inspection Complete]
[Emotions:
60% Grief
20% Despair
20% Helplessness
[Overall feeling: negative]
Gwak Joon inhaled a frigid breath. This was not normal at all. 'F*ck, I have to know why!'
"Can you tell me what happened to Lu Piao?" he continued.
[It's difficult to convey in one or two words. Would you like to begin the Dimensional Envision?]
"What do you mean, Dimensional Envision?"
She responded. [Dimensional Envision would allow the host to see a scene from the past. Limitations; only works on you and people you care about]
He frowned at that as he examined the inventory slots. The first inventory slot was already filled with 4 pieces of snow furs. Two came from him, while the other two came from Lu Piao.
Gwak Joon pondered if he should utilize Dimensional Envision.
He understood they required forty pieces of snow furs to make two concealment ropes. So knowing that Gwak Joon decided to employ Dimensional Envision 'Initiate the Dimensional Envision.'
[Dimensional Envisioning Processing]
[Textures are being loaded]
[Files are being loaded]
[Data are being loaded]
[Completed Loading]
[Transporting the consciousness of the Host]
[Transportation Complete]
—Episode 1 Chapter 7: Leveling System
Gwak Joon appeared in a dark dimension. The voice of the system could be heard here slowly.
[Inserting texture]
[Inserting Complete]
[Uploading Files]
[Uploading Complete]
[Adding the Data]
[Adding Complete]
[Starting the Scene in 3...2...1...]
Gwak Joon saw that the previously dark space began to warp when the countdown hit zero. He was now floating above a bustling street.
Gwak Joon was stunned when he saw Nie Li and Lu Piao walking side by side on this street.
"Bro, didn't you have a crush on Lady Ziyun?" Lu Piao let out a sigh. "I had no idea the mysterious goddess of our class was the granddaughter of Legend Spiritualist, Ye Mo."
Ni Lie continued walking while covering his mouth with a scarf; not reacting.
"I heard that that bastard Shen Yue and the Goddess were getting married tomorrow," Lu Piao said, looking at him.
Nie Li sighed as he came to a halt. "That only means we're not meant to be together."
Nie Li teased. "You already have a woman waiting for you at your house, whereas I never had anyone. Life is so unfair, isn't it?
Lu Piao responded by patting Nie Li on the shoulder. "Don't be depressed, bro. At the very least, you're smart. There were girls waiting for you back when we were still students, but you never gave up on Ye Ziyun."
Nie Li sighed as well. "That couldn't be helped. She was the first woman I had a crush on. Furthermore, we had no idea about her background at the time."
As they began to walk in silence, Lu Piao sighed as well. A siren reverberated just as Lu Piao opened his mouth again.
Then, a demon spiritualist warden in the form of an eagle yelled into the air, "Monsters attack! I'll repeat: Monsters are attacking the city!"
Lu Piao and Nie Li scurried backward; horror could be seen on their faces. When they heard an explosion to the north, they were unable to process their thoughts. They then looked in that way as they saw the wall smashed into bits and monsters emerging from the breach.
"This is bad! " Nie Li shook Lu Piao.
North was the home of the Lu and Nie families, and it was a farming area.
As Gwak Joon watched all of this happening, he finally understands a piece of the problem.
Nie Li and Lu Piao ran nervously to the north as the scene changed.
This time, Gwak Joon witnessed an entire avalanche of ice stones descending from the sky upon the manors, shattering them.
Then the buildings were reduced to ashes by raging flames and ice stones. Finally, Gwak Joon notices Lu Piao in the corner.
Gwak Joon was deeply shocked.
Lu Piao was kneeling there, seeing his entire clan's being slaughtered by the snow-furred monsters. He was sobbing, and his dying wife, Xiao Xue, lay on his bosom.
Xiao Xue was struggling to breathe. "Run...Live...," she said to her husband. "Promise me."
"No....No...No..." Lu Piao was going insane. He desperately tried to stop the wound on Xiao Xue's stomach, but it was futile.
He watched helplessly as his wife died in his arms.
Lu Piao's face was blank. He began scratching his head, causing some of his hair to fall out. He cried and yelled, helpless as he saw his family, friends, and relatives dying each passing second.
"If only I had the strength...Damn! Damn!" Lu Piao shouted out and punched the ground. He didn't even bother looking at the gorilla approaching him while holding Xiao Xue in his arms.
He closed his eyes and braced himself for death. There was no purpose in continuing to live.
However, at the very moment the gorilla waved its large hand, a figure arrived and grabbed Lu Piao.
The silhouette held Lu Piao as they rushed into the jungle under Gwak Joon's watch. They hid in a small cave, and the shadow threw Lu Piao to the ground after that.
Gwak Joon has now realized why he was hiding out in the conclave cave.
"So Nie Li was the one who saved Lu Piao."
Gwak Joon sighed as this scene faded away. He returned to reality and he noticed Lu Piao silently removing the gorillas' furs.
