Outside World!

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In a distant dimension...

There was a lush forest, green almost all-year-around, with tons of life, making it seem almost like a utopia. However, there was a small anomaly on the border of the forest, creating slight disturbances and forcing the nearby animals to run away in fright.

Woosh~

From a small dot, a spatial portal had appeared in the middle of nowhere!

From the portal, a teen around the age of no more than 13 stepped out.

Tap~ Tap~ Tap~

As the figure took a few steps around to look at the scenery, he sighed in relief, "Thank God! Where ever I am, this seems like a realm full of cultivators!"

Of course, the child who said such words was Matthew.

In Matthew's mind, he was still very nervous about the world he's in, which had thin but noticeable amounts of energy he's never seen before. He would have to go through large amounts of cruelty if he wanted to survive and live peacefully, but he was prepared for that.

He knew that it was finally the beginning of a dangerous, yet exciting journey, but his slightly downcast expression didn't seem to show it, "You could've sent me to some other biome... I already lived in a forest for a week..." He sighed.

[Master. This is the best place to transport you to! Even if the emergence of the spatial portal had scared away many lifeforms, this location still has tons of materials for you to live off of!] Edmund stated informatively.

"I mean... yeah, I could understand the reason why... but there must be a better place than... Another forest, right?" Matthew argued back.

The two bandied for half an hour about the places they could've been teleported to.

After a while, Matthew leaned on a tree, accepting his new fate.

Before he could start doing anything productive, he had a sudden realization.

'Oh! I can't believe that I forgot about this!' Matthew suddenly facepalmed.

[What is the matter, Master? Did you forget to take a dump?]

Hearing the system mocking him, Matthew smiled bitterly, considering if he should try and punch the screen. 'No... calm down... you can't punch it anyway!' He comforted himself.

"Haaaaaah. I can't win against you. Come on, this one of the few times I might be nice to you." He sighed as if the system owed him a favor.

[...]

"What's wrong? You should be happy, no?" Matthew raised an eyebrow.

[Guh... If... my esteemed Master... wishes to give me a name, I would be... most grateful...] The monotonous voice was no longer there, as it seemed more like someone was holding back their laughter behind the screens.

Smiling amiably, Matthew had already decided on a name. "You did save me, and most likely protected me multiple times from dying from those risky breakthroughs, also meaning you're probably rich... so your name will be Edmund from now on! It means 'wealthy protector', and you fit the bill perfectly!" His smile widened as he continued.

[...]

He was speechless by his master's sudden kindness... But, it wasn't a bad feeling...

[I... thank you. Master...] Edmund felt the genuine emotions of his master and decided not to tease him for it. Instead, he was... full of gratitude for the ones who permanently assigned him this master of his.

Yes, permanently, and he didn't regret it one bit!

'Oh? Who knew his attitude would change so quickly?' He smiled brightly.

Grinning, Matthew poked the panel in front of him, "Hooooooh? Seems like someone is embarassed~~"

[...]

He was wrong to think that his Master was kind! He was wrong!

"Heh. I'm just joking with you. But seriously, where am I right now?" Matthew said as his smile turned into a frown.

[To lead you to a challenging enough environment, yet also lead you away from otherworldly dangers, I've sent you to a middle-class cultivation world.] Edmund calmly said.

"Ok... that's still not enough info. What's the name of the continent and forest I'm in right now? Also, how does a middle-class cultivation world compare to my previous life?" Matthew inquired.

[To be more specific, the continent you are on currently is called the 'Dashos' Continent, you are on one of the borders of the continent, as you are currently in Carboval Forest... Comparing this world to Earth wouldn't even be fair, like comparing a successful entrepreneur with excellent potential to grow versus a homeless child in a harsh and sometimes even deadly environment.] Edmund sharply stated.

Matthew nodded in understanding.

"I see. The Dashos continent and Carboval Forest..." Matthew murmured.

Matthew took a look around and had already found some interesting things.

First of all, the dense energy that he was used to in the {Mystical Bamboo Forest} was no longer there, meaning he could no longer use the energy to satiate his hunger and thirst. Because of this, he had to start relying on food and water, or else he'll die.

Second of all, the world he was transported in seems to be very similar to Earth, with one sun and one visible moon so far. However, he must explore more to confirm this.

Matthew frowned at where he was teleported to. 'I need to start exploring. A water source and a place full of animals would be good. Fortunately, I already have some meat and water which will last me a week or so, maybe two weeks if I ration.'

Slowly moving strands of his internal energy, Matthew connected them with his external energy, and threw them out in an orderly way, like a pulse. It was one of the methods to have a more accurate and stealthier way to search while he was in the {Mythical Bamboo Forest}.

While he was glancing at the scenery around him, he had asked Edmund several questions about Dashos. From major countries, culture, staple crops, history, to even what enemies were around here. He needed as much info as he could, and since Edmund was basically a part of him, he could try and get some from him...

Of course, he also asked a few questions about Carboval Forest, but considering how thin the energy is over here, the strongest being here would be no more than an Energy Body Realm beast, which could now be killed with just a slash of his bokken. He wouldn't need to worry about the dangers of this place, yet...

[... My, my, Master. You have quite a lot to talk about, huh?]

Matthew could tell that Edmund was slightly annoyed from his questions, "Heh. Since you've given me back my memories, you also know that I like knowing things..." He grinned.

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[Ding~]

[Master has received a {Quest}!]

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[The Outside World]

[Description: You have just been teleported into the continent of Dashos, in the middle of the wilderness. Survive as long as you can, and find any civilization to complete the quest! Rewards and Additional rewards will be given depending on performance and the longer exploration goes.

[Reward: ???

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'Slightly ambiguous... and finding civilization... guess I'm going to be on this {Quest} for some time.' Matthew sighed.

Noticing a small tug on one of the pulses, Matthew immediately reacted, "It's kind of small, seems to be something similar to a rabbit or something..." He scratched his chin as he ran through the tall grass.

Woosh~

Matthew skillfully leaped onto a tree, almost flying through it to catch his first prey of the day.

"I wonder how strong the beasts here are?" He mumbled.

As he got closer, the energy signals became stronger, but there seemed to be a few more life signatures this time.

In fact, Matthew had gotten so close to his prey that if he didn't use his senses, he would've missed it completely!

Glancing at his first targets, he saw three brown fox-like animals, 'Coyotes!'

There were two larger ones, and a small cub, most likely their child. Although they don't have much energy within them, they were definitely more dangerous than wild coyotes back on Earth. Even though their size was still around the same as regular coyotes, as beasts that were absorbing even the smallest amount of natural energy would make them leagues above normal animals!

Luckily, he was still a few dozen feet away from them. Unsheathing his bokken, Matthew threw a rock near him, attracting the family's attention.

"???"

Splurt~

In a flash, Matthew had already arrived in front of the coyote family. Without a single fluctuation in his expression, the family of three coyotes was dead in one clean slash to the head!

After confirming that there were no other beasts around, he bowed in front of the three coyote bodies.

"Rest in peace."

Making use of the bodies in front of him, they were separated into fur, flesh, and bone. However, as Matthew's first time dismantling a living being, it was quite crude. Blood had splattered everywhere at first, but as the dismantling went on, Matthew's learning capabilities had made the second half of the process much easier than before.

Looking at the mess he made, Matthew smiled bitterly, "With {Accumulation}, it should be much easier the next time. I can already feel my swordsmanship and dismantling skills increase from that."

As another pulse of energy was emitted, Matthew could sense a ton more lifeforms in front of him, as if he had left the desert area that no animal or monster tried to enter for some reason.

Smirking, Matthew sprinted towards them, "I guess, I'll experiment with my new abilities and skills then... hehehe..."

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