by Java Springs
Splurt!
The sound of something sharp piercing through bones and flesh suddenly echoed within the silent forest. A pool of blood spurted out of the Forest Goblin's mouth as it found itself skewered in one of the Bicorn's horn. "Neighhh!" The Moon Bicorn nonchalantly shook its head as the figure of the lifeless Forest Goblin dropped face flat on the ground.
Its figure was then wrapped in glowing speck of lights as both its blood and body disappeared into thin air. "So they aren't necessarily alive?" Jin Feng thought as his blood boiled after witnessing the death of one of the Summons.
At first, he was extremely agitated as he could clearly see the puddle of blood that spewed out of the Forest Goblins mouth, but after seeing the blood and body dissipate like it was nothing, Jin Feng tried to convince himself that these creature that is being summoned with the scrolls are just simulations of the actual creature.
As for the mysteries of the Gacha System and how it truly works, Jin Feng could only guess in wonder. For now, he certainly is clueless. It was still the "tutorial" stage but he was utterly confused about anything and everything that was happening. For him, it all felt so fast.
"I've just arrived, but now, I am seeing creatures slaughtering each other in front of me... what kind of gruesome tutorial is this?" Jin Feng thought as he helplessly sighed. As a spectator of this idle farming, he simply could not intervene, or simply put, he couldn't. He doesn't have the ability to.
He could clearly feel that besides having the Gacha System resounding inside his consciousness. His physical state was pretty much the same as back then on Earth, which means that he wasn't stronger nor weaker here. He was just the same old geeky Jin Feng.
The light that brought the Forest Goblins body out of the plane of existence seemingly did not bother the two remaining summons. It was as if they were all familiar with this. Instead of worrying about getting outnumbered, or more accurately, outclassed. The Gnome Warrior and the Hell Imp worked even harder to defeat the Moon Bicorn all by themselves.
Rinse and repeat, the duo attacked the Moon Bicorn with the same pattern as before. They could both see that it wasn't about anticipation nor instincts, it was just that the Moon Bicorn could not see them coming due to its natural blind spots caused by its horns.
It did not take long before the Moon Bicorn was entirely exhausted and the piercing sharpness of the broken pitchfork in the hands of the Gnome Warrior and the scalding flames of the Hell Imp finally ended the poor bicorns life.
"Congratulations, user Jin Feng, for successfully completing the second part out of the five-part tutorial. Please receive your beginners' reward!"
[Rewards: 20x Moon Bicorn Shard] "Would you like to proceed to the next part of the tutorial?"
CHAPTER 4
SHOP
"Would you like to proceed to the next part of the tutorial?"
The mechanical voice of the Gacha System resounded within Jin Feng's consciousness, asking him to proceed to the third part of the tutorial. Seeing that another reward was handed over after completing the second part of the tutorial, Jin Feng smiled with satisfaction. He tried to celebrate inwardly as it felt awkward having won without doing anything and costing the life of another.
Glancing towards the two remaining Summons, Jin Feng nodded, approving of their victory against the Moon Bicorn. The Hell Imp and the Gnome Warrior replied with a polite salute towards Jin Feng, "Why do I feel like they really are alive and sentient..." Jin Feng inwardly muttered.
The dark forest became quiet and serene once more. The loud howling disappeared along with the death of the Moon Bicorn. Jin scoured through the mysterious surrounding for another time, his curiosity peaked.
Even though Jin Feng was highly curious regarding the ability of the system, he was even more curious about the world that he transmigrated into. "Where is this exactly? What kind of world did I wander into?" He thought. But after deciding that it would be better to learn how to use the system first before venturing out, Jin Feng answered with a slight nod and a simple "Yes".
"Complete set of Shards [x1 Moon Bicorn (Tier 3)] detected within Inventory..."
"Third part of the tutorial could begin; Shard Summoning. As the user of the heavenly Gacha System, user Jin Feng could use dropped Shards from slain creatures and beasts by the Summons to create more Summons that would work and fight for the user's sake."
"Would you like to combine [x20 Moon Bicorn Shards] to acquire [x1 Moon Bicorn (Tier 3)]?"
After explaining the third part of the tutorial, the voice of the Gacha System went to a halt and a notification screen asking for the Shard Fusion confirmation appeared. "This part is... extremely easy." Jin Feng was caught in surprise on how simple the third part was. Without wasting any more time, He immediately pressed the "Yes" button that appeared on the screen in front of him.
After confirming the fusion, a burst of blue light suddenly gushed out of the ground, only a meter away in front of Jin Feng. Within the next moment, a similar creature from before reappeared. The strong presence of the Moon Bicorn sent chilling atmosphere towards Jin Feng and the other two Summons. Although the Moon Bicorn Summon aura felt somewhat similar to the Moon Bicorn that the Summons slew a while ago, the appearance of it differed.
The one that Jin Feng summoned through the Shards was slightly bigger. Its silky smooth fur was shinier and darker in color than that of the wild Moon Bicorn. Its eyes glowed golden yellow lustrousness similar to that of the crescent moons. Its horns were exquisitely shaped as well, daintily curved and pointed upwards as if they were mimicking the shape of the four moons above.
"Is this really the same creature back then?" Jin Feng could not help but wonder as he thoroughly inspected the brand-new Summon in awe. The Moon Bicorn in front of him exudes elegance incomparable to that of the eerie creature back then.
Shocking Jin Feng even further, the gigantic figure of the bicorn somehow kowtowed in front of him as soon as the blue glow dissipated. "Congratulations, user Jin Feng, for successfully completing the third part of the five-part tutorial. Please receive your beginners' reward!"
[Rewards: 100,000 Tokens, 250 Gacha Gems] "Would you like to proceed to the next part of the tutorial?"
The mechanical voice of the Gacha System rang once more at it informed Jin Feng of the rewards for finishing the third part of the tutorial. Even though he literally did nothing special this time, he received the same abundance of rewards. "System, what are these Tokens and Gacha Gems for?" Jin Feng curiously inquired.
Unlike the Summoning Scrolls and the Summoning Shards, the rewards this time were a bit too vague for Jin Feng to understand from the get-go. The system's voice paused for a few seconds before sending out a notification tab that showed both the information for the tokens and gems.
[Tokens- Nhervyne's standard currency.]
[Gacha Gems- Gacha System In-game currency.]
The information given by the system wasn't too detailed, but it gave Jin Feng the general idea he needed to comprehend the use of both "items". "This should be similar to any money back then on Earth." Jin Feng concluded.
Closing the notification, Jin Feng halted his hand from touching the bright red (x) button on the top right corner of the screen when his attention fell towards a word within the description for "Tokens". "Nhervyne..." Jin Feng could barely pronounce the word, he pondered for a little while before inquiring, "System, if I am not wrong, "Nhervyne" should be the name of this place right."
"Incorrect." The Gacha System punctually replied. After an awkward pause, the mechanical voice of the system resounded once more as it clarified, "Tokens is the universal currency of the planet, Nhervyne."
Jin Feng shook his head repeatedly as if saying he understood. Even though his action meant that he was able to comprehend the meaning of what the system just explained, his facial expression showed otherwise. It did not take long before Jin Feng voiced out another query, "Then how about the Gacha Gems?"
Utter silence followed by an awkwardly long minute withou
t a reply, the Gacha System seemingly went silent after Jin Feng's inquiry, "System? Wait... Was that something that is not allowed to be asked?" Jin Feng wondered. Another minute went by without an answer, Jin Feng could not wait any longer and just relayed an instruction instead, "System, I am ready for the fourth part of the tutorial."
A light buzzing sound echoed within his consciousness, Jin Feng shook in surprise as it would seem that the Gacha System finally responded.
"Fourth part of the tutorial could begin; Purchasing. As the user of the grand and luxurious Gacha System, user Jin Feng should have the omnipotence to buy anything and everything underneath the heavens! Prove it by purchasing 3 different items of your choice using the previous reward within the Gacha Shop!"
Finally, the Gacha System spoke once more after neglecting the answer to Jin Feng's latter question. Jin Feng could only sigh and exhale a breath of disappointment as a gigantic screen appeared within his consciousness... "The Gacha Shop"
CHAPTER 5
FRONT AND CENTER
Nhervyne wasn't just the name of the place that Jin Feng was currently in right now. It is the actual name of the entire planet that he transmigrated in. A large mass of land surrounded by a much more massive body of water was the planet's main geographical feature.
Although the land of Nhervyne was just one big landmass, similar to the Pangea that once existed back on Earth, the place could not be called a "supercontinent". Naturally, even if the land was seemingly united, the people– the races, rather, were obviously divided.
The "Pangea" of the planet is mainly separated into 9 continents, with each having multiple subcontinents, empires, kingdoms, cities and such to where each and every race, creatures, and different beings could have peace and a place of their own that they could call home.
Even though the population of each race wasn't few, the planet in itself wasn't small. Rather, Nhervyne was four times as big as the Earth. Having this huge availability of space, it was rather obvious that there would be uncharted territories and undiscovered lands waiting for its conqueror to come and take control– A hidden trove of treasure.
Luckily, or unluckily– Jin Feng wasn't one of those people. He arrived within Nhervyne at the middle of the entire "supercontinent". In short, he's surrounded by the entire nine continents that were all hungry for more territory. Specifically, he was currently "lost" within the forbidden forest of An, the Darkness Woodlands.
...
"Fourth part of the tutorial could begin; Purchasing. As the user of the grand and luxurious Gacha System, user Jin Feng should have the omnipotence to buy anything and everything underneath the heavens! Prove it by purchasing 3 different items of your choice using the previous reward within the Gacha Shop!"
Jin was suddenly taken aback and was caught off guard by the sudden voice of the Gacha System resounding within his head after it went silent for over 2 minutes a few moments ago. "Huh... So it doesn't want to answer the question regarding the Gacha Gems, but why?" Jin Feng deeply pondered.
His thoughts were then immediately disrupted by the appearance of what seemed to be the "Gacha Shop" that the system mentioned. Within the screen that appeared, a rectangular box that simulated a wooden store shelf could be seen. The rectangular box was then divided into smaller squares, 8 of them, as the shelf formed into a 4 by 2 figure.
The eight items within the shelves differed in shapes and sizes. Other than their physical appearance, the prices of each item also varied. The things that Jin Feng would have to understand only increased after the appearance of the "Gacha Shop",
"What are all these for?!" He exasperatedly thought. Jin Feng felt a little bit frustrated after getting shoved with a lot of things that he did not understand. Thwarted with confusion, he hurriedly clicked one of the items in the shop in hopes for him to get an answer.
It was a random act of his that actually bore fruit!
[Soul Fruit]- "Use to upgrade Summons level" (Price: 1000 Tokens)
Jin Feng gleamed after seeing that the shop wasn't as confusing as he initially that it would be. It actually showed information regarding each item just by hovering his fingers over it. The price wasn't insane either. With what he could understand, this "Soul Fruit" is meant to strengthen the Summons by giving them levels after consumption. If he spends every single Token he currently has, he could actually make one of his Summons into a formidable Level 100 creature!
"What an amazing item!" Jin Feng exclaimed. Although he does not have any idea what each level for the Summons corresponds, or whether or not it was possible to just spam level a single creature, the idea of bulk buying the "Soul Fruit" was really tempting.
Although excitement was still apparent on his face for some reason, Jin Feng tried to calm himself down, "Surely, the system would not allow such a loophole to exist, right?" Jin Feng wondered. After hovering to the next item on the shelf, his question was immediately answered.
[Breakthrough Talisman]- "Use to upgrade Summon tier" (Price: 50,000 Tokens)
Under the item's information was a tabulated note that stated something rather peculiar for Jin Feng. "Note: Only Limited Summons are allowed to exceed tier limit 5 under unique conditions".
"Hmmm, so there are actually rare Summons within the system...Duh, Jin Feng, don't be stupid! This system won't be called Gacha System if it doesn't play out like a scamming Gachapon Machine." Jin Feng lightly tapped his forehead with his wrist as he continued reading the note.
"Breakthrough is important to increase a Summons level, Tier 1 Summons are limited to 20 levels, Tier 2 Summons are limited to 40 levels, and Tier 3 Summons are limited to 80 levels and so on."
A look of dismay appeared on Jin Feng's face, "Ah... So I really can't do the spam leveling huh." Although he was a bit disappointed, it was somehow expected. It was an idea that was broken in so many ways. Without sparing another thought into it, Jin Feng proceeded to check the other items within the "Gacha Shop".
...
Silkius Village– Town of the Arachnoids. Insect Continent.
The darkness of the night was not, and never would be, a hindrance to the occupants of the Silkius Village. The array of eyes that they have in their wide and glossy faces could easily absorb even the tiniest hint of light and give them a clear vision even in the pitch-black duskness of the evening.
Skittering on the roads were the nocturnal villagers, the Arachnoids. Although they have physical characteristics that resembled that of humans, they are easily distinguishable by the protruding sack behind their backs that elongates around a meter or two in length. Long and slender legs stick out from these sack-like body parts and would act as an extension of their humanoid limbs.
"You're amazingly awake early today, what seems to be the matter, Zhi Long? A special occasion?" An arachnoid mockingly chuckled after inquiring the seemingly sleepy figure of another arachnoid in front of him. The arachnoid known as Zhi Long immediately snapped from his daze as he heard the laughing that was directed towards him.
"Eh?... Ah yeah... Good evening. I woke up early today because my wife forced me to bring a better meal next time. Tsk, I can't afford to slack off or she'll literally tear me up to shreds and eat me instead." Zhi Long exhaled a long sigh as he tried to drag his body along.
Heading towards the gate of the village, Zhi Long thought, "If I hunt within the An Forest... would I get a better prey?"
CHAPTER 6
FEARED GAIWUS
The An Forest, also known as the Darkness Woodlands, is home to beasts and beings of varying species. Within this desolate land, a paradise for creatures that only want to thrive and survive exists. Although the forest is located at the center of the three inner continents, only few would dare venture inside it due to the existence of powerful creatures that are outside the bounds of any race's strength.
Gaiwus— the term coined by various races to call the powerful creatures within the forest of An. A name that would send cold and shivering feeling down anyone's spine whenever they wo
uld hear it, even more so when they would encounter one. In short, the various races, strong and weak, are living under the fear of the Gaiwus existence. Although they are called Gaiwus, the Gacha System simply calls them... Summons.
...
Scouring through the rest of the items within the "Gacha Shop", Jin Feng discovered that almost all of the eight items within the shelves are in "Locked" status, only their names and the icon that represents them could be seen within the shop's screen. So far, only four of the items were available for Jin Feng's purchase— Soul Fruit, Breakthrough Talisman, Basic Summoning Scrolls, and Advanced Summoning Scrolls
"I guess I should finish the tutorial first." Jin Feng inwardly muttered as he inquired, "System, how do I check the balance of both the currencies? If I were to purchase three items, then should I not be able to see how much would be left, just in case?"
