Whoosh
Sloshing forward left and right, you can see a young man heavily panting and stumbling around, not making out what's left from right. Surrounding him is a rocky terrain that scales as high as Mount Tai, with an azure colored sky dotted with some clouds. The sun being at it's zenith makes the scenery look breathtaking. Not only does it look breathtaking, but it quite literally is breathtaking as the high elevation takes the breath right from Li Mingli.
Ha Hoh Hah!
"Oh shit, I can't even breathe. Where in the stereotypical plot am I?" Li Mingli said out of frustration despite the scantiness of his breath.
"Last thing I remember was walking at a cross intersection back home and then a truck—no some bastard on a motorcycle going 70 in a 20 mile zone man-slaughtered me. Did I transmigrate?"
Scouring his surroundings, Li Mingli found that he was above the clouds at the top of a rocky mountain. Everything that he could see for miles below the mountain was a forest that extended endlessly. He was secluded from any nearby settlement, that is if there were any in this world. Despite Li Mingli having short breath from the lack of oxygen, there was a denseness to the air around him he could feel going in and out his body invigorating him. As he tried to recall novels he read that involved transmigration, there was one that stood out in his memory. My Cultivation System Makes Me The Biggest Bigshot! According to the novel, the denseness he was feeling in the air was qi!
"Am I in a cultivation world?" Li Mingli said to himself in disbelief, shaking his head in case he was in a really realistic dream.
"If I really did transmigrate... then where's my boon that makes every single transmigrator overpowered! There should be a system that gives a starter pack or some other golden boon like being the rich young master of a big family."
Contrary to Li Mingli's expectations, there were no boons to speak of as of now. There was only the world around him and his body that was struggling with the high elevation. As Li Mingli slowly oriented himself to his surroundings, he began to inspect his body. Albeit different from his familiar body back on Earth, it carried the same weight and build from before. There were no memories present from the previous owner, so he had no idea why he was on this mountain with nothing but plain clothes on him. At least his clothes were light, so it wouldn't put more pressure on his body as it exerted itself to handle the strenuous environment. Judging from the lack of oxygen and his body's inability to function normally combined with a lack of equipment, Li Mingli evaluated the previous owner to be an idiot that probably passed out here.
"Well that's just great. Of course I had to transmigrate into some idiot that had to scale up the largest mountain he could find. It'd be really great if I could get a system now..." Li Mingli hoped as otherwise he would have to descend down without anything, and that would be a pretty dumb way to die especially after the death he just experienced.
"..."
"System. Appear. Open." Li Mingli said and not shouted as to not waste any energy for no reason.
"..."
Nothing happened. Unless the system revealed itself now or some other hidden perk Li Mingli is unaware of came up, Li Mingli was forced to go down the mountain and pray that he would survive. After mentally preparing himself for the inevitable, he began slowly descending the steep mountain not looking down. If he did, then he'd go plat. Using his former experience rock climbing which was only for a couple of months, Li Mingli tediously went down staking his life with each movement. Time went by fast and it had already been an hour since he started his journey. Yet, he would dare not go any faster as his limited rock climbing experience would cause him to fall with even a single mistake. Eventually it became evening and just as his body was about to give up, he was able to reach the next cliff face. His body was soaked and his breathing was irregular. This was the perfect time to take a break.
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"I think I descended a couple hundred meters. At this rate it's going to take a couple days to reach the bottom." Li Mingli sighed.
As a professional energy saver, taking a nap in this situation would be highly recommended by Li Mingli as he instantly fell into a light slumber. An hour nap would be enough for him to regain some energy back and also reach the next cliff face that was visible down below. Reaching the next safe point on the mountain became easier for Li Mingli as the terrain started becoming more familiar to him.
After descending as much as he can, nightfall unveiled itself and Li Mingli was exhausted. He knew he would have to give it his all the next couple of days. In a state of ponderance, right before his slumber, he suddenly heard a large growl coming from the forest. The growl had depth to it and unmatched ferocity scaring Li Mingli shitless. He was about to pee himself but knew better not to, otherwise his scent of pee could attract that creature in his direction. Not knowing what to do, sleep was the only logical choice he could make. Right as he was about to fall asleep, something sounded in his ears, a sort of ding sound, but Li Mingli was too fatigued to care.
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Groggily, Li Mingli woke up at the break of dawn and prepared to head downwards. This time would require much more mental preparation as whatever was down there, he could feel would instantly devour him whole if given the chance to. Steadily he went down, knowing with each step he was closer to whatever that thing was. He took a couple breaks along the way for pee breaks or to just rest his body. Compared his previous body, this one had a lot more energy due to the qi so he could continue without as many breaks. Li Mingli was nearing the bottom of the mountain causing him to reevaluate how long it would take to reach the end. Only a couple more hours would be needed to reach the forest.
"Finally, I reached the end. I hope I don't meet that creature down here."
First thing Li Mingli did was scour his new surroundings which consisted of trees, shrubs, and some unknown plants and pick up a pointy stick. He started carefully exploring his surroundings to look for any resources while holding his stick. Time passed this way and a couple hours in, Li Mingli found a small river with relatively clear water, and as he drank it he heard a ding sound again.
"What is that sound? Could it be me going insane finally? No, that would be too quick. Perhaps it's my boon coming into play!" Li Mingli thought as the ding sound gradually faded away.
He quietly spoke, "System. Open. Appear."
"..."
"God damn it, am I cursed with the plot of transmigration?" Li Mingli determined.
Quickly disregarding that annoying ding sound as his imagination, Li Mingli drank as much water as he could before the feeling of thirst could creep up on him anymore. Dehydrating for a whole day while rock climbing is indeed the fastest way to lose your vitality.
Ready to explore the countless trees and shrubs more, Li Mingli was about to set off until he heard a large growl again. This time it was very close. Li Mingli immediately froze with an expression looking like he witnessed a murder. One breath, silence, a second breath, silence. Li Mingli dared not jinx anything, so he did not think anything or say anything. This continued for a couple of moments until he heard a rustling sound around him. He then quietly hid himself in a nearby shrub before peering out to see what made that sound. The creature revealed itself without any hesitation and trotted around with a domineering presence. It was a large wolf-like being, slightly larger than Li Mingli himself. Its grayish-white fur, thick mane, 4 paws and legs, and wolfish head made it look uncannily similar to the wolf back on Earth. The only exception being the slightly thick aura that Li Mingli could sense. It looked like it was searching for something, perhaps Li Mingli himself.
"If that was the case, why couldn't it find me earlier with its keen sense of smell and hearing." Li Mingli had thought, placing an assumption on the creature.
The moment after Li Mingli had thought that, the wolf-like creature started to head towards his direction like it had heard what he thought.
"Shit. F*ck. Of course I had to jinx it with my retarded transmigrator brain." Li Mingli silently face palmed himself and prepared his stick to poke the wolf if it came any closer. It started getting nearer and nearer until it was right before the shrub Li Mingli was hiding in. Just before it could sniff the bush with a hungry-like stare, Li Mingli poked it in the eye with all his strength. At the same time the wolf could let out a growl from surprise, Li Mingli poked it in the second eye but slightly missed. In an instant, he then started running away as the beast started chasing him with a ferocity shivering even the toughest men back on Earth. It was at this moment that Li Mingli heard a really loud ding, much louder than the previous ones but this time he could feel something was different.