by Java Springs
Jin Feng inquired. For some reason, the Gacha System actually "replied". Another screen containing what an Achievement Quest what appeared. "So… they are milestone quests that aren't issued and could be done at random… *Sigh* They are not repeatable as well."
Seeing that the quest was a one-time thing, Jin Feng dismissed the idea of opening the other 5 Basic Summoning Scrolls in hopes for another Tier 5. He was lucky enough to actually pull one out considering that Tier 5 spawning through the use of the basic scroll is extremely lower than that of the advanced version.
Besides that, Jin Feng also noticed that the cave was sort of… cramped up already.
The Moon Bicorn and the Hell Imp that was sleeping near the entrance were now wide awake. The face of the Moon Bicorn was quite intrigued by the sudden appearance of many "guests". The Hell Imp was cheerfully mingling with the newly spawned Hell Imps, as they are now a trio.
A little gathering happened within the cavern as Jin Feng unwittingly closed his eyes. He was just too tired, and it has been a long night…
…
"... Is it everything you've sought out for? Isn't this all better than your life back then? Hi hi hi..." A feminine voice suddenly resounded within Jin Feng's head. "What?... Who— who's there? — Damn it, why is it dark in here? Did I not light a torch within the cavern?"
"Hmmm. Why are you not answering my question? Is this how you treat your benefactor? Tsk, what a rude boy you are… I am disappointed." The feminine voice added. Mockery was evident in her tone as a slight chuckle soon followed it.
"Benefactor? You wouldn't even show yourself! Who are you?" Jin Feng retorted. At this point, he was pretty sure that it wasn't the Gacha System, as it doesn't sound like it. Besides being a female voice, Jin Feng could clearly "hear" a little bit more sentience from this voice than that of the mechanical tone of the system.
"Eh? Can't you see me? Really? Huh… wait, let me tweak something first hmmm… that should do it..."
"What is this "woman" talking about… Ah!" Jin Feng's thoughts were then immediately disrupted by a streaming dazzle of light blinding his "eyes". The enormous amount of brightness surrounding him was just too much that even Jin Feng could not see his own self.
"Ah… I tweaked it too much. Sorry about that, heh. You won't be blind anyway, this just a dream… Anyways, I am "here" to tell you something important—
Hmmm, but before that, let me introduce myself first. *cough* *cough* I am the amazing and genius creator of the Gacha System, Yue Ling!"
CHAPTER 14
A RANT TO THE DEVS
"Yue Ling?" After hearing the brief "introduction" of the female voice, Jin Feng wondered. "Finally, someone who could explain all the BS that is happening." It wasn't that Jin Feng was complaining, he was even thankful for having granted a second life, and a chance to live it in a less shitty way. It was just that... Most of the things that are happening come with no explanation whatsoever.
"...Creator of the system, huh?" Jin Feng inquired once more, just to "clarify". He randomly "glanced" at the direction as to where the voice was coming from. At first, the place was just too dark where he couldn't see, but now, there is nothing but whiteness surrounding him.
If he had not heard wrong, this was supposed to be a "dream", a simulation of some sort. More or less, his body should still be sleeping peacefully in the cavern.
"Yes! That's right! Amazing isn't?" the voice named Yue Ling proudly answered.
"Amazing? If by "amazing" you mean, incomplete and almost unusable?" Jin Feng sarcastically replied. He couldn't tell if his face was being manifested within the dream, but if it was, this Yue Ling should clearly see the wide smirk on his face.
"Incomplete?! Unusable?!? How dare— "
"Ah! Hold on a sec…" Yue Ling couldn't finish her sentence when Jin Feng abruptly interrupted, "You rude human spawnling… How dare you let an esteemed person like me wait for you?!"
"I apologize if that came out a little too ...mean."
"Good, good! That's good! See? I could see that are clearly appreciating the— "
"I wasn't kidding when I said it's incomplete though…" Jin Feng interrupted once more,
"It's somehow usable, and I really dig how everything works but… What's with the lack of proper guides and all that? Are you somehow hmmm… inept in making a system or something?" Jin Feng added, everything was spoken in a straight and in an unwavering tone, as if a boss was talking to his office worker about his inability to complete a task.
"..."
The whole "conversation" felt like a roller coaster of emotions for the "poor" Yue Ling. "What the hell is this mortal being talking about?! Me? Inept?!? How dare he thinks that way… I am gonna show him who— " Even Yue Ling's inward rebuking was somehow interrupted by Jin Feng as he spoke once more.
"Is there no F.A.Q's or something? Is there no Drop Rates screen where I can check how far or how hard am I going to work for a rarer Summon? These are things you should've placed in the system you know."
"..."
If only there was a physical manifestation of the female voice named as Yue Ling right now, she would've slapped the hell out of Jin Feng already after spitting "hurtful" words towards her and her creation, the Gacha System.
" — Or at least put a responsive A.I. within your program. The one who has been "informing" me so far is doing the least informing I ever had since the dawn of mobile games… wait." It wasn't that Jin Feng was bad with games. He even boasts speed records in gaining levels and acquiring items.
The least the program could have done is properly inform him— This wasn't a hyper-casual game which one could just be thrown in without instructions; heck even those games pause at the beginning to show the basics. Jin Feng had a higher expectation about the "Gacha System"... as it is something in real life!
Granted it felt like a cheat in life rather than a game on its own— Jin Feng couldn't be complacent seeing that he's just squishy bag of meat amidst ferocious creatures within the planet.
"... Unresponsive A.I. , Hmmm… Or is it? Wait, do not tell me that this system is… preprogrammed?" Jin Feng's curiosity peaked. As far as he could tell, the system actually answers some of his queries, and some things are somehow "missing".
Just like her creation, the voice of Yue Ling quieted down. She wasn't really "talking" up to this point but Jin Feng, although he could not see, could feel that she is reacting after every single sentence he says, but this time… eerie quietness followed his question. It wasn't the normal unresponsiveness.
"...She shamelessly disappeared?"
It was as if his phone call was hanged up abruptly, Jin Feng felt that it was a familiar scenario, "Typical of devs who couldn't give an answer to their clients. They become deaf." He thought.
…
Dust that fell off the cave's ceiling entered the mouth of the loudly snoring Jin Feng.
*Cough* *Cough *Cough* "Ah! Huh? Hah? What the— pweh!" Choking, Jin Feng flailed like a madman getting electrocuted. He fiercely spat every debris that now looks like a mud puddle now that it was mixed with his saliva.
"Why the hell is this debris collapsing? Is this cave falling apart?" Jin Feng was curious but wasn't necessarily panicking. He kept a cool expression on his face as he earnestly cleared the rheum in his eyes that had built up overnight, "That was a pretty good rest, I guess. I couldn't really tell the time as it is dark in— Oh wait, nevermind, I transmigrated with a watch…"
"10:47" It was quite late for Jin Feng who has to wake up in time for school. But that was something in the past, "I could've slept more if not for these falling dirt"
Although Jin Feng woke up due to the "commotion" of falling debris, the other eleven "tenants" of the cavern weren't all that bothered by it. The Moon Bicorn was still soundly sleeping, and so the rest of the Hell Imps that were snuggling near its belly, as if it was some sort of foamed bed. The Forest Goblins were laying down beside a few rocks closer to the entrance. The skeleton warrior and his
mount were peacefully sleeping together at the center part of the cave, a bit adjacent to where Jin Feng slept. The Dwarven Archer was sleeping leaned back on the cave walls.
"1...2...3...— 7...8...9...and 10… Did I miscount or is there a Summon that is missing?" Jin Feng was pretty sure that there were supposed to be eleven Summons that should be in the cavern right now. Aside from the Gnome Warrior who was sleeping within the proper village, which makes it twelve, Jin Feng felt that he miscounted.
"Right! The Tier 5 Blood Samurai, where the hell is— oh…"
Sitting cross-legged as the very cave's entrance facing everyone inside, the Blood Samurai stood guard "motionlessly". Even though he was apparently doing the responsible duty of guarding the place— for some reason, as it wasn't something Jin Feng personally ordered—, Jin Feng could clearly tell that he was doing a terrible job.
The usual bright red glow under the bamboo hat was somehow gone, "*Sigh* He is soundly sleeping as well… Damn, was I the only one distracted by this whole debris crap? What is going on anyway?"
It did not take long before Jin Feng's query was coincidentally answered. Protruding near the cave's opening were oddly shaped entanglements. Some sort of "green ropes" that were hanging in random direction could be seen around the edges of the narrow entrance.
"Are those vines?... Hmmm… The seed!"
CHAPTER 15
CHESHIRE
Large vines that were luscious green in color wrapped the outsides of the cavern. The thin stalks that were in it, twisted against each other to form the thick rope-like imagery— A few light blue crystals that were brightly illuminated by the morning sun bedazzled its trunk. If one were to count them, there would be about one in every meter throughout the entirety of the creeping plant.
Jin Feng hurriedly went outside to see what was going on, hoping it wasn't something that involved the "seed" he planted last night. Unfortunately, it was— or it seems like it.
It wasn't just the cavern that was "devoured" by the humongous amount of plant life. The greens stretch all the way from the cave up until the location of the gnome village farmlands. "Tsk, what is it this time?" Jin Feng muttered.
An unprecedented Jack-and-the-Beanstalk scenario. Only this time, it did not go up and led Jin Feng into some giant's castle, but is spreading across the An forest— devouring everything in its path.
Jin Feng suddenly remembered the happenings last night, "Is this something to do with that "dream"?" After assuming that everything is "pre-programmed", meaning that the A.I. he was talking to back then wasn't really sentient, but is some sort of pre-recorded replies— The supposed creator, and assumed moderator of the Gacha System, Yue Ling, left the dream without giving Jin Feng any answers.
"Some sort of payback huh?" Jin Feng wasn't really sure if this was really the doing of Yue Ling or is it just what the seed does in the first place. There was only one way to find out— Head over to where he planted it.
…
The crop fields, which were initially square in shape, was now formed into donut-shaped ground formations. Surrounding the circular patterns were the large vines coming from the place where Jin Feng planted the seed.
Each of the circular crop fields was hosting a certain crop inside a cage-like container, about a meter and a half tall, made out of intertwining vines. These crops were those that the gnomes initially planted. Protruding atop the cage-like container were bright blue crystals, similar to those that Jin Feng saw on the cavern awhile ago. Only this time, they were a lot bigger.
At the exact same spot as to where Jin Feng dug the ground and planted the seed, A creature laid on a wide yet still budding leaf. The feline-looking creature had its eyes still shut tight, as if they were in a deep slumber, unable to be awakened by external factors. Jin Feng could not help but feel something was definitely familiar with how the creature looked like.
"Is this not a… Cheshire Cat?" Although Jin Feng could not see its iconic grin as its mouth was closed. The fur on its body resembled that of a starry night sky in a partially cloudy night. It was a mix of pitch black hairs with dark blue stripes and a murky white shade. The fur of the feline creature exudes that of elegance and mysteriousness.
Jin Feng felt that he couldn't be wrong, its resemblance with that of the Cheshire Cat he read back then on Earth was uncanny. "This isn't the type of fantasy creature I was hoping to meet in here, to be honest. But I guess the physical embodiment of the system would definitely fit the characteristic of this cat."
A creature that could disappear into thin air leaving nothing but a mocking smile— What a depiction of what the Gacha System has been doing. "Well, it got its imagery right I guess… But what is it doing?"
Jin Feng wasn't really questioning why it was sleeping. By "doing", he obviously meant the reshaped fields in front of him. His gaze immediately went back to it, as it was something that matters more than a sleeping cat of a system.
Leaving the Cheshire Cat aside, Jin Feng hurriedly walked towards one of the crop fields. As per usual, he would be left with no answer regarding what was going on, nonetheless, he tried asking, but the reply was obvious— Nothing.
Not until he went closer and grabbed one of the blue crystals atop the cage-like vines did he hear a reply. The mechanical voice of the Gacha System resounded.
"Ding, permanent side quest unlocked!"
"Side Quest: Cultivate a Gacha Gem Farm!– As the currency of the heavenly and omnipotent Gacha System, Gacha Gems should not be scarce in number within the hands of user Jin Feng, sought the seeds of greatness!"
"Rewards: 10x Gacha Gems per 20 slain creatures fed to the crops fields"
Another permanent side quest— something that is repeatable to do no matter what. It was the type of quest that players would earnestly unlock as it is absolutely the best when it comes to grinding a game, and it seems that Jin Feng is lucky enough to have unlocked two this early on.
"Wait, Gacha Gems?" Jin Feng wondered, looking at the blue crystal in his grasp.
It was indeed a Gacha Gem, but as of now, it holds no value whatsoever. As something that is supposed to exist virtually, exclusively. The Gacha Gem is not something that is usable even if it has a physical representation as far as Jin Feng is concerned.
Checking his stats page, he could clearly see that there was no change in the amount of Gacha Gem he has even though he clearly was holding another one. It stayed at 100. "I guess I need to complete the quest in order to "harvest" these things… but what is "feeding" creatures have to do with these crops?" Jin Feng inwardly muttered.
"System, how do I "feed the crop fields" with killed creatures?"
Jin Feng threw a query towards the system. This time, he knew he would be getting an answer. It wasn't entirely a guess. It was just— He structured his question to sound something "technical" rather than"rational". It was as if he was trying to speak a "language" that is easily understandable by programs with limited arrays and narrow algorithms.
"Permanent Side Quest 2 would automatically turn in the rewards as soon as user Jin Feng would fulfill its requirements. (Note: Side Quests are stackable and could be done simultaneously.)"
A definitive and precise answer!
"It works huh?... Well, I guess that creator, Yue Ling, wasn't too bad at writing the program's script. I for one have no idea how to… I am just a low-lifer who knows absolutely nothing, heh…" Jin Feng muttered, as he slightly reminisced the time he dreamt about creating his own games, although that dream is a "bit" far out of reach now that he is here.
Placing the blue crystal back on top of the cage, Jin Feng turned around and was planning to return to the cave— thinking of spam leveling the Blood Samurai and the Moon Bicorn, something he should be doing immediately— when the Cheshire Cat blocked off his path, "Hmph! Did you think I would not return and get even with you? You pesky mortal who thinks he knows all! I'll prove to you that my creation is the best!"
The feline spoke in a familiar— somehow condescendi
ng— tone
"Eh? You're… Yue Ling?"
CHAPTER 16
LOCUST
"Yue Ling? This cat?"
Jin Feng's eyes squinted, keenly observing the tiny feline strutting with its tiny paws in front of him. "This is the creator of the Gacha System? Huh, what a peculiar being…Wait, is this really the physical representation of the system? How do cats do programming anyway?" Random thoughts were flinging back and forth within Jin Feng's head.
He was quite unsure if the cat in front of him really was the creator or just someone who somehow had a similar voice to the Yue Ling last night. But seeing that this cat came from the seed, it would seem that the case of it actually being the creator is pretty high.
