Hao Lin furrowed his brow in confusion. He seemed to be in a bedroom, but it was far from anywhere he'd been before.
Eh? Where is this…? This isn't my room… I fell asleep in my bedroom last night, yet I woke up here???
"And on the ground too…"
Despite the strange situation, he couldn't help voicing a complaint… The floor was freezing!
Lin belatedly sat up and scanned the room with disbelieving eyes, his brain buffering like a broken computer.
He wanted to believe that the predicament was a dream, but the clock stayed the same no matter how many times he looked away and his hands were normal as usual… However, assuming it was real was plain ludicrous.
He's not crazy…
Regardless, his first priority was to figure out where he was.
Through a quick glance, Lin recognized a plain twin bed against the wall to his right, while a white desk with a cluttered surface sat on the opposite side. Towering beside the warmly lit workspace was a glossy wardrobe left wide open to reveal clothes hanging and folded neatly.
Even so, what puzzled him were the posters taped onto the walls. They were all printed in a strange dialect, one he was certain didn't exist on Earth.
While he futiley squinted at the words from a distance, questioning whether he had suddenly developed dislexia, a white, fluffy fox appeared a few feet away.
It trotted over silently while swishing its tail, abruptly poking its nose onto his bare skin.
[Testing, testing… Ah, good. You can hear me!]
Upon 'hearing' the bright voice invading his mind, Hao Lin widened his eyes in horror as if ambushed, whipping his head towards the fox warily.
"Did you just… talk…?" His tone sounded apprehensive, clearly starting to think he had become pathologically insane…
[Inside your head, yes.]
The fox tilted its head as it stared at Lin curiously.
[Hmmm… It looks like the recruitment department chose a decent one this time. Those senile seniors' endless complaints worried me for nothing.]
"Eh…?"
Lin was so baffled that you could practically see question marks above his head. But before he could even find the words to speak, the fox got right to business.
[Anyway, it's nice to meet you Mr. Hao Lin. I'm Xue Bai and I'll be your guide for the entirety of your transmigration journey!]
"H-hello, Xue Bai…"
Lin was undoubtedly confused, but he didn't forget to return the amicable greeting.
[Ah, just call me Bai. We'll be together for quite a while, so it'd be best to act familiarly. I'll also address you as Lin! Unless… you don't want me to call you by your given name?]
Hearing the pointed inquiry, Lin couldn't bring himself to refuse. "I don't mind, so let's get along?"
[Perfect! Now that that's out of the way, let's start a quick tutorial! Say 'status open'!]
"Status open?"
When nothing happened, Lin gave the fox a sidelong glance.
Maybe we're both crazy?
[No, no. Say it with intention! If you don't actually intend to open the status window, saying the words will be pointless. If an allusion helps, think of rpgs. It's uncannily similar to it.]
"Alright. Status open." This time, it seemed to work as a holographic screen displaying a list of information instantly filled his view.
"Whoaaaa!" Lin stared at the floating screen with sparkling eyes. He understandably found it cool as many other teenage boys would.
But shouldn't I at least get an explanation first? It's all pretty sudden…
[Oh, you're right! I'm a new guide, so bear with me.]
"You can read my thoughts?" Lin's expression shifted, inwardly conflicted on the idea.
Luckily, Bai reassured him preceding his long history debrief.
[Mhm! But don't worry! You'll be taught how to shut me out whenever you like in the near future! Now, let me explain what you need to know.
You are currently 7,000 years into the future on a planet called Numia. During the passage of time from the 2000s to now, a lot has happened.
In the 4300s, humans officially developed a means of spacetravel similar to the space warp concept.
Naturally, humanity was eager to colonize the galaxy, discovering new planets and species during exploration and forming alliances with amicable races. But, just like how there were welcoming aliens, there were also others who actively initiated warfare.
Humanity tried their best to defend and counter the malicious attacks with their advanced technology, but they were eventually pushed to the brink by the strange, supernatural powers some species possessed.
Desperate, they looked to their strongest allies for assistance, the panzelas who had distinctly pointed ears and formidable powers. With their boundless benevolence, the panzelas openly shared their source of power with the humans: cultivation.
Thus, the exciting era of cultivation began and is still persisting today!]
The cheerful tone, that sounded like it was reading an advertisement, finally concluded the longwinded mass of info.
"…" Hao Lin was at a loss for words. The unexpected description of humanity's 'future' combined with the anticipating gaze of the furry fox, obviously waiting for him to react, made him inexplicably sweat nervously.
It wasn't that he was indifferent to the exciting prospects of his transmigration, he was just taking his time wrapping his head around the concept. The more he contemplated, the bubblier his excitement got.
Finally, after such a long delay, he broke into a wide grin and breathed, "Cool…"
Now that he was starting to understand everything, Lin gained enough clarity to belatedly acknowledge the fresh set of memories in his head.
The person he had transmigrated into shared his name and age. He was a typical, lazy teenage boy with fairly average grades throughout his school career. Today was his first day in high school, but due to his tendency to laze around, he wasn't very fond of the cultivation high school he was entering.
In this day and age, many children aspired to become martial masters and cultivated dedicatedly. But the owner of this body was different. He had no ambition, avoided working as much as possible, and was entirely indifferent to cultivation.
With kind parents and an endearingly grumpy younger brother, you'd think he'd be content, but in actuality, he failed to appreciate his enviable life.
He treated his patient parents rudely and ignored his younger brother, becoming the literal definition of an ungrateful child. He had no idea how good he had it…
In Lin's past life, he had an alchoholic father who became violent when drunk and a gambling addicted mother who wasted his self-earned college savings on slot machines.
In that situation, Lin strived to be kind to others as well as find happiness as his ridiculous self with close friends.
Still, the looming shadow of his family dragged him down. However, now he was freed of those heavy chains and had the opportunity to enjoy a normal family life.
[That's a great mindset! Now… Since you've found your mental footing, let's proceed with integrating the system!]
"Right. Status open!"
————————————————————
Name: Hao Lin
Age: 14
Race: Human-Panzela mix
Level: 0
Vitality: 1
Dexterity: 1
Agility: 1
Strength: 1
BAP: 5
Foundation: 0/100
Perception: 0/100
Titles: NONE
Skills: NONE
————————————————————
"They're pretty meager, aren't they?" Hao Lin became a little deflated, but he quickly straighted his drooping atmosphere and solidified his determination.
[Well, it's a given that they're like this since the original Lin practically avoided even thinking about cultivation like the plague.
Truthfully, the child possessed a unique constitution that would have made his cultivation progress speed unrivaled, but he never had any intentions of utilizing his body's special properties.
And so, seeing such a valuable trait go to waste, the dimensional intelligence agency chose you to take over. You have a naturally motivated and ambitious personality, so you're the perfect fit!]
"Unique constitution…" He echoed.
[Yeah. Your new body holds the innate power to enter a mental word while asleep. It's teeming with monsters and when you kill them, orbs of qi will appear. When you absorb the orbs, they can immensely contribute to the progress speed and quality of your cultivation!
It's stayed dormant because of the original body's owner, but it'll automatically activate after full system integration… Oh, yeah!]
Bai conjured a book in its mouth and handed it to Lin.
However, the book was written in the same, indecipherable language as the posters on the wall. Lin silently stared at Bai with a deadpan expression, the words 'are you serious?' engraved into his forehead.
Seeing Bai just look up at him expectantly, not recieving the cues, Lin pinched his nose bridge, gave a short huff, and spoke in exasperation.
"Bai, I can't read it like this…"
The fox's blue eyes subtly widened, his ears perking up.
[Oops. My bad.]
Bai gently bumped his nose on Lin's arm, a faint green glow briefly emitting from the teen's body.
[I think it's good now.]
With the mystical magic of the mysterious, snowy colored fox, Lin looked at the words again and instead of the previously incoherent scribbles, he could now instictually understand the language.
The book cover's long title in elegant font read, "Transmigration Guide - The ultimate guide to understanding your transmigration and newfound world (Numia edition)"
Lin, his curiosity piqued, flipped the book open, inadvertently causing a holographic screen to shoot up from the pages.
-Ding!- Transmigration Guide acquired!
A robotic voice rang in his head, sounding similar to a system notification.
Bai, noticing Lin's pensive gaze, confirmed that it was just like Lin had deduced, an ASNA (automatic system notification announcer).
[Now you can access the guide through the status screen just by thinking about it. Also, it's not necessary to say status open aloud. You can just think it and it will pop up. Just remember! Intention!]
Bai's narrow blue eyes crinkled into crescents, a sight that could only be interpreted as a smile for animals, unlike that of a human's.
Hearing that relieved him. He didn't like the idea of randomly saying, "Status open!" People might think he's schizophrenic.
His hair raised at the thought. Nothing against those with schizophrenia! He just didn't wanna look like a crazy person. Ah, that also might sound bad… Hopefully the meaning gets across safely…
Lin opened his status screen, quickly willing the transmigration guide to be displayed.
With the intention of learning more about the status window, the table of contents transformed into an in depth explanation about the status screen.
{The status window is a feature of the transmigration system that converts physical abilities into numerical values. It also includes titles and skills earned along the path of the transmigrator.
Further detail of what each stat represents:
Vitality - the perseverance of one's health and condition, as well as the efficiency of their body's self-healing when physically compromised
Dexterity - the extent of one's proficiency in their skills and abilities, as well as the degree at which they can practically utilize them
Agility - the extent of one's speed, flexibility, mobility, and acrobatic abilities
Strength - the amount of force one is capable of exerting
BAP - Blank Attribute Points that can be added to any stat, raising their numerical value, and in turn, instantly raising the physical abilities proportionally
Foundation - the percentage measurement of one's progress in their cultivation
Perception - the measurement of one's ability to enter the qi perception state where qi is visible to the naked eye, and then their proficiency in controlling and predicting the path of qi
Titles - the labels that one acquires through achievements/unconventional methods/comical mistakes and/or decisions (usually provides items and/or special abilities related to said achievement as a reward)
Skills - special abilities that one has mastered (may include special physical moves, special qi arts, special combat arts, special crafting skills, special workmanship skills, etc.)}
After reading the long text that was practically an article, Lin had a better understanding of the status screen.
The fact that he could see his strengths and weaknesses in simple numerical values gave him a slight edge that could be helpful if used correctly.
With that out of the way, Lin thought that he also needed to understand cultivation. When he solidified that resolution, the holographic screen morphed into another set of words.
{Different stat attributes can be linked to different parts of the body. When cultivating, the attributes can be raised by focusing on the specific body part linked to that stat.
Perception: the eyes
Dexterity: the joints
Vitality: the heart
Agility: the muscles and tendons
Strength: the qi channels
Foundation: the dantian
To get started with cultivation, here are a few beginner exercises:
Qi perception -
Step 1) Get into a comfortable position, breathe evenly, and clear your mind.
Step 2) Focus your mind on the back of your eyes, and persist until you begin to feel sensations in the optical area.
Step 3) Once sensations are felt, shift your focus onto the sensations and try to enhance and influence them.
Step 4) If done right, you will start to see colored lights floating around in the darkness of your eyelids.
Step 5) Leave state and repeat until process becomes natural.
NOTE: This is a qi exercise with the purpose of enhancing your awareness of qi particles within the body and atmosphere
Qi breathing -
Step 1) Enter qi perception state.
Step 2) Breathe in qi particles and will them to circulate to your dantian (the area directly beneath your bellybutton)
Step 3) Circulate the qi in circles three times and then will them to circulate back to your lungs and breathe them out
NOTE: This is a qi exercise with the purpose of enhancing your control with qi
Body and qi development -
Step 1) Enter qi perception state.
Step 2) Absorb a VERY small amount of qi from the atmosphere into your dantian
Step 3) Guide the qi into your qi channels and spread throughout every inch of your body.
Step 4) Circulate the qi throughout your body three times and then bring back into the dantian and release
NOTE: Although this seems similar to qi cultivation, this is an exercise with the purpose of developing the relationship between your body and qi to prevent qi rejection later on in your cultivation journey.}