Chapter 1 | The Otherworld Journey That Starts From a Slime

Zhang Ye looked at the primeval forest-like scenery around him, stroked his chin, and fell into thought.

“Did I... transmigrate?”

Just a moment ago, he was standing on the rooftop watching the sunset. Then, he blinked, and he had transmigrated.

There was absolutely no foreplay; it was so sudden that he hadn't even fully processed it yet.

“But when other people transmigrate, they always get a cheat. For me...” He scratched his head.

Before his voice could even fade, an ethereal voice rang out in Zhang Ye's mind.

【Divine Gift System bound.】

Zhang Ye was instantly stunned.

“What system?”

【Divine Gift System.】

“Divine Gift what?”

【Divine Gift System.】

“Ma what Mei?”

【...】

“Say something.”

【DI! VINE! GIFT! SYS! TEM!】

Zhang Ye clapped his fist into his palm. “Oh!”

Then, there was dead silence.

Finally, the voice in his head couldn't take it anymore.

【Don't you have anything you want to ask?】

Zhang Ye: “Aren't I waiting for you to speak?”

【Then ask already!】

Zhang Ye: “Then speak already!”

【If you don't ask, what am I supposed to say?!】

Zhang Ye: “As a mature system, don't you know how to introduce yourself?”

“Your intelligence is way too low.”

【You bastard...】

Zhang Ye: “Holy crap, you can actually swear?”

“A system that swears definitely isn't a proper system. According to novel tropes, I bet you're some incredible being that turned into a system.”

【How do you know?】

“Do you think I read all those web novels for nothing?”

【...】

【Fine, since you've guessed it, I won't hide it anymore!】

The next moment, streaks of gray light gathered in front of him, condensing into a palm-sized figure.

The little figure was incredibly cute, with short gray hair, gray eyes, a face with baby fat, long pointed ears, and two small black horns on her forehead. Her skin was fair, and she wore a form-fitting gray miniskirt, with two pairs of gray, translucent leaf-like wings on her back.

She looked just like a little pixie.

“I am the God of Time!”

“Ella Diyasha!”

“Look up to me, mortal!”

Zhang Ye looked her up and down, his gaze finally locking onto her chest.

“So... are you male or female?”

Ella: “...”

Ella looked down at her flat chest, her pretty face instantly flushing red with anger as she puffed out her cheeks.

“How can you be like this!”

“What do you mean 'male or female'!”

“I am of course a fe... Goddess!”

“And asking that right off the bat is way too rude!”

“Believe it or not, I will bring down divine punishment to discipline you!”

Zhang Ye: “I don't believe you.”

Ella: “...”

Zhang Ye shrugged. “Suddenly bringing me to this godforsaken place and then wanting to punish me makes no sense.”

“Besides, according to the usual tropes, you're probably acting as a system guide or something similar.”

“So I don't think you have that kind of power.”

“Of course, if you're one of those unscrupulous systems that threaten to obliterate the host over the slightest disagreement, then pretend I said nothing.”

“But I'm not afraid of you. Even if I fall, thousands of others like me will rise!”

Ella: “...”

She stared blankly at the man in front of her, temporarily at a loss for words.

Because... Zhang Ye had actually hit the nail right on the head.

Regardless of what kind of goddess she was, she was currently indeed just a guide pixie for Zhang Ye, and she truly lacked the power to bring down divine punishment on him.

She puffed out her cheeks, her small face flushing red as she stubbornly insisted, “Who... who said I don't have that kind of power? Don't look down on me!”

Zhang Ye nodded. “Fine, I won't look down on you.”

Ella was taken aback. “Eh?”

Zhang Ye smiled. “You're a god after all, so you must be stronger than me. Of course I won't look down on you.”

Ella said, “Then why did you have to annoy me just now!”

Zhang Ye scratched his head. “I was just telling the truth. Besides, I really couldn't tell if you were male or female. After all, there are so many ladyboys nowadays...”

Ella: “o(*≧д≦)o!!”

Seeing that Ella was about to blow her top again, Zhang Ye quickly said, “Alright, let's get down to business. So why did you become a system, what is this system used for, and why did I transmigrate?”

Facing Zhang Ye's barrage of questions, Ella's expression softened.

“I am not the system. I am the system's guide pixie... though I really was the God of Time in the past!”

“If you're not the system, then what is the system?” Zhang Ye asked.

“I don't know. My memories are sealed. I only know that I am now a guide pixie, and my job is to guide you to use the system correctly.”

Zhang Ye nodded. “Alright, then what functions does the system have?”

“The system has four main functions.”

“Translation, Analysis, Copying, and Cultivation.”

“Translation is two-way. It allows you to communicate with any intelligent race without barriers, which is fundamental for you to navigate this world.”

Zhang Ye nodded. “Oh, I see. I thought the setting would have the entire universe speaking beautiful Chinese.”

Ella: “...”

Ignoring him, she continued.

“Analysis means analyzing everything, such as living things, inanimate objects, and magic.”

“Magic?” Zhang Ye's eyes lit up. “So there's magic in this world! What's the use of analyzing it?”

“It helps you understand and master the target.”

“Does that mean once I finish analyzing a spell, I can master it?”

“Yes, and it is complete mastery!” Ella nodded.

“Copying means copying skills. Whether they are magic skills or innate talents, they can all be copied. Once copied, you will be able to use that ability. The duration depends on yourself. When your copy slots are full, you must wait for the duration to expire before you can copy another ability. Furthermore, you cannot manually cancel a copied ability; you must wait until the duration ends.”

“However, you currently do not have any copy slots, so you cannot use this function yet.”

“Then how do I unlock copy slots?”

Ella said, “By leveling up. We'll talk about that in a bit.”

Zhang Ye nodded.

Ella continued, “And Cultivation, as the name suggests, is to assist you in your cultivation.”

“The system will automatically absorb, refine, and guide the usable energy particles in the surroundings, such as mana. This way, you can skip those steps during cultivation and directly absorb mana to improve yourself. Your cultivation speed will far exceed that of ordinary people.”

Zhang Ye said joyfully, “This is great! This is great!”

“As for why you transmigrated, it can only be said to be the choice of the world.”

“The choice of the world?” Zhang Ye was stunned.

“Yes, you were chosen by this world, which is why you were summoned here. As for why the world chose you, or what it wants you to do, I don't know either.”

“In any case, as you grow stronger, the mysteries will unfold.”

“And my duty is to guide you to use the system correctly and constantly grow stronger!”

“Also, what I just mentioned is only a broad overview of the system's functions, not all of them. You will need to discover the specific features and usage yourself.”

Zhang Ye nodded, eager to get started. “Understood. Let's begin, then.”

“How do I cultivate?”

Ella flew in front of Zhang Ye and said, “Hey, hey, you don't want to start cultivating right now, do you?”

Zhang Ye was taken aback. “Is that not allowed?”

Ella said, “Of course not!”

“This is the Myriad Beasts Forest, where magical beasts run rampant. When you meditate and cultivate, you need to empty your mind, making it your most vulnerable and defenseless state. If you were to run into even the lowest-tier magical beast right now, it could easily take your life!”

Zhang Ye nodded. “Then what should I do?”

Ella said, “You can choose to look for signs of human life, find a human settlement, and then start cultivating. Or...”

“Or?”

“Or you can also cultivate in the Myriad Beasts Forest!”

“Of course, the cultivation I'm talking about is not cultivation in the ordinary sense, but a different method of cultivation. In the words of your world, it is—killing monsters to level up!”

Zhang Ye's lips twitched. “You can even do that?”

“Of course. As long as you can kill a magical beast, the system's cultivation function will automatically extract its life force and soul power to strengthen your physical body and soul.”

“The stronger your physical body, the stronger your physical stats—strength, agility, reflexes, and so on—will become.”

“The stronger your soul, the stronger your mental power will be, including mental resistance, mental attacks, and divine sense perception.”

“Then, it will extract the mana from the magical beast's core, which will also increase your maximum mana and its quality.”

“Unless you can find a sacred cultivation ground with extremely abundant mana, hunting magical beasts is arguably the fastest way for you to cultivate in the early stages!”

Hearing this, an excited expression appeared on Zhang Ye's face. “So I can get stronger just by killing monsters! Can others do this too?”

“Of course not. This is a privilege exclusive to you. Other people can, at most, absorb the mana within the cores. And without the system's refinement, their absorption rate is far lower than yours. That's why ordinary people usually choose to cultivate using mana crystals rather than beast cores,” Ella said.

Zhang Ye nodded. “I love it! Let's begin, then!”

Ella hastily said, “Wait!”

“What is it now?”

“Idiot, although hunting magical beasts allows for rapid growth, do you think magical beasts are that easy to kill?”

“Not to mention anything else, with your current physical fitness, you can't even beat a Tier One magical beast like a Fanged Rabbit!”

“Uh...” Zhang Ye was stunned and scratched his head. “No way, can an ordinary person really not even deal with a Tier One magical beast?”

“Of course not. Ordinary people here certainly can, but you can't.”

“The physical fitness of ordinary people in this world is far superior to those in your world, and they have weapons, so of course they can hunt Tier One magical beasts. But you are empty-handed. What are you going to hunt them with, a sliding tackle?”

Hearing this, Zhang Ye pouted. “Who are you looking down on? You might not believe it, but with one sliding tackle from me... I can feed them till they're stuffed!”

Ella: “...”

Zhang Ye coughed and said, “Anyway, I'll just pick weaker magical beasts. What is below Tier One?”

“Sub-tier. However, killing such magical beasts provides almost zero improvement to your body. So, I suggest you find human settlements first and cultivate to Tier Three before hunting magical beasts. It's safer that way,” Ella said.

For Ella's suggestion, Zhang Ye gladly accepted it.

It was the advice of his guide pixie, after all, so it had to be correct. Besides, he was a newcomer with no enemies, so there was no need to rush his leveling.

Take it slow, safety first~

“Alright, let's look for signs of human life first!”

“Let me think... I remember Bear Grylls saying in Man vs. Wild that moss grows in the shade, which is the north. Therefore, the side of the tree with moss is north. Although I don't know if this rule applies to this world, identifying a direction is always a good start.”

Saying so, Zhang Ye inspected the surrounding trees and found that the moss indeed grew on one side.

“Next, we'll head north and see if we can find a river. Since human settlements are usually located near water sources, following a river makes it much more likely to find signs of life,” Zhang Ye said.

Ella landed on his shoulder, patted his cheek with her small hand, and giggled. “Not bad! I thought you'd have to rely on me to teach you everything.”

Zhang Ye laughed. “Relying on you and the system for everything would be too boring.”

“Conquering another world definitely has to be done on one's own strength, otherwise wouldn't it lose a lot of the fun?”

Hearing this, Ella nodded. “Indeed, you have good awareness. It seems you already possess the beginnings of a powerhouse's heart. I have high hopes for you!”