The room was still filled with blinding light. All I could see were the characters scrawled through the air.

[Dimensional Rebound in 71 Hours]

[Return now?]

[n/n]

“Wen, what’s happening?”

I asked, stumbling backwards a step. My hand was burning as the room began to dim. I felt a foreign qi invade my arm, sliding through my veins like fire. I cycled my paltry reserve of qi to try to expel it, but instead it seemed to latch on, circulating through my entire body in that moment.

Then the pain was gone. The air was incredibly rich with a foreign power. I hesitated for a moment, checking over myself to see if I was fine.

“Wen? Fang?” I asked, spinning around and taking in the room. I was alone in the rapidly dimming ruin.

I freed my sword from my waist, holding the weapon out. It hummed with enchantment as I stepped to the door, pushing it open before the light fully disappeared and left me engulfed in darkness.

The door collapsed to the ground on ancient hinges, exploding in a puff of dirt and revealing a vast, verdant jungle.

“Fang!? Wen!? Anyone!” I shouted, looking up and up and up through the door to the outside world. The trees towered, larger than any I had seen.

Animals cried out in the sprawling canopy. I stepped outside and looked backwards.

I was still in the ruin — a ruin identical the one we had been excavating from underground. I recognized the tops of the various buildings, all in different states of disrepair, and yet, as far as I could tell, I wasn’t on the Bloodstone continent.

And I was alone.

I took a step outside.

[Beware! You have entered a dungeon.]

“By my ancestors… what is this?” I said, trying desperately to slap the words out of my face. Every last message was overlaid, blocking my vision. After a few tries, I swiped the characters away.

At the Feng Family’s estate, there was a huge, expensive formation which allowed you to spar against illusory enemies, even allowing lethal spars that wouldn’t harm either party.

The cost in spirit stones to operate a single fight in that arena was more than enough to build an entire house. In spite of that, the Feng family operated the arena every hour of the day for training. Its maintenance costs could feed a city, as it required foreign cultivators and powerful treasures to maintain.

This entire set up had to have been an illusory arena — but one larger than I had ever seen. The arena at the Feng Estate was only a hundred meters, projecting an illusion that blurred at the edges.

This was on another level entirely.

The trees swayed and birdsong danced through the trees. The wind tickled my face.

I sheathed my sword, resting a hand on its hilt and walking into the woods. There was a worn path approaching the gate to the ruin. I followed it, scanning the treeline for evidence of the illusion’s edge. Wen and Fang could have been right beside me, sheltered from my view by the formation.

The sprawling ruin fell out of view behind me, the path winding through the forest and upward.

[You have left the dungeon: Forbidden Ruins]

Then the road led into a tiny, primitive settlement. Stacked branches and twigs were piled upward into walls built against a cliff face. My view of the inside of the city was blocked by one of the tiny huts that filled the village. The entire space couldn’t have been more than a hundred meters across, and there was noise coming from within.

If this was an illusory formation, I wouldn’t be in any danger. At the peak of the Qi Condensation realm, I was far stronger than a mortal. I shouldn’t have had anything to fear. I still sparred and practiced my forms regularly, cultivating every night. But I never broke through the bottleneck.

I wasn’t just going to sit around waiting for the timer to conclude. If this was an ancient training formation, there should be something to gain here.

I stepped into the little village, stepping around the house to lock eyes with a tiny, green man wearing nothing but rags. He was sharpening an ancient looking, rusted piece of metal tied to the end of a stick.

[New Skill: Identification 1(Perception +1)]

[Identification — you have a keen eye. Glean additional information from any target of this skill]

[Goblin Warrior, Level 2]

He let out a bestial hiss and charged me, raising its makeshift weapon.

With a single motion, I both drew my sword and cleaved the monster’s weapon in half. With another, I raised the blade to its neck. The monster, heedless of the danger, grabbed the blade with both hands and pushed it away from itself. Blood stained my blade as the monster threw itself at me.

I swung again, my sword stopping half way into the goblin’s neck. Blood spurted from the wound, and its next hiss was choked on blood. I put a foot on the monster’s chest, grabbing my sword with both hands and cleaving its head entirely off.

“I’ve never seen a man shaped spirit beast.” I said, blinking at the dead body beneath me. The earlier characters about the identification skill still hovered in my vision.

[Goblin Corpse]

I blinked, trying to move the words out of my face. Instead, as I turned my vision away from the goblin, more and more popped up.

[Goblin Hut, Level 1]

[Twig Wall, Level 5]

[Fire Pit, Level 1]

Text flooded my view as everything I looked at brought more characters into my face.

I swiped the characters away again, slapping at them, but more popped up.

“This has to be some mechanic of the formation — is it intent based?” I asked aloud. There was no answer. I wasn’t even sure if a formation of this caliber would be fully working after thousands of years without maintenance.

Shifting from trying physical gestures, I focused on the earlier [Identification] skill, intentionally focusing my intent to try to push it away from myself.

The text stopped appearing for a single moment.

[You have reached level 1! Status screen enabled.]

I heard a door creak open beside me as more text flooded my vision. Between the lines, I saw another goblin with a gnarled wooden staff, my identification skill firing even as the formations status screen filled my vision.

[Goblin Shaman, Level 3]

[Feng Sai][Level 2]

[Health: 100%]

You might be reading a stolen copy. Visit Royal Road for the authentic version.

[STR 20][CON 19]

[INT 10][WIL 10]

[AGI 20][PER 11]

[Cultivation:]

[Grim Tempest Darkwind Scion] [95% First Realm, Qi Condensation] [CON +9] [Warning! You have a low compatibility with this path.]

[Skills:]

[Fourth Lesser Grim Tempest Sect Martial Art Style X] [STR +10, AGI +10]

[Identification 1] [PER +1]

I dismissed the status; manipulating it with intent was easier this time. It was just in time to see the goblin shaman gathering qi on the tip of its weapon. Fire erupted from the tip of the staff at the same time I took a single step toward the monster. It was too fast to dodge.

A ball of fire slammed into my left arm as I raised my sword, pushing the flame to the side. The enchantments on my robes made them work like armor; they absorbed the qi at the moment of impact and started to dissipate it, but too late to avoid a minor burn.

[Health: 90%]

I grunted in pain as I raised the sword above the goblins head. Then I reversed the motion, bringing the blade down and cleanly beheading the monster.

There was a rush of noise behind me. I turned in time to see one of the goblin huts erupting in flame. Made entirely of twig and dry kindling, the village was going up in fire. It was remarkably empty despite its size. It could be that the goblin’s hunters were out in the woods and would return if they saw the smoke.

[Identification reached level 2!]

[Goblin Village]

[This village is on fire]

I ran this time, charging into the woods away from the beaten path. Trees flew by as I jumped over roots and branches, dashing into the woods until the sound and smell of fire was left behind. I had to focus to dismiss identification — it had activated again after leveling up, describing every tree as I passed it.

I stopped and crouched in the woods, checking my surroundings for any danger. All I heard were distant animals and the call of birdsong. I pulled back my sleeve, wincing at the red, irritated flesh from the burn. All told, it wasn’t too serious of an injury. I wasn’t sure it merited 10% of my health by the formation’s description.

But there was something more troubling than the burn. The cultivation style and martial art I practiced belonged to the Feng Family — it was the Third Swordsmaster Art, and had been taught to me as such my entire life.

The formation, however, identified it as something else entirely.

With focused intent, I brought the system back up.

[Grim Tempest Darkwind Scion] [95% First Realm, Qi Condensation] [CON +9]

The Grim Tempest were bad news. They were one of the three Pinnacle clans whose reach and power stretched across the entire world. If they found out that I had their cultivation technique, I might have been executed just for that. And the formation identified it as a technique given to their scion’s.

I focused, turning memories of my training over in my head. My father — the Patriarch — had practiced a different style entirely than my own. When I was younger, I had assumed it to simply be a more advanced version. Now that I was older, it was obvious that they would want to ingrain a martial style from the very beginning of training.

Not only that, but among the Feng family, only their most powerful guards practiced my own style. That was something I had noticed while young; if only because each of those guards seemed distinctive, almost like foreign cultivators. They, too, wielded swords like mine, while the Patriarch favored the saber.

Holding that thought in mind, I pulled free my sword. It had been given to me upon recognition for my progress in the family’s martial art. It was practically identical to what the guards wielded. I stumbled around with my intent, trying to interact with the formation all around me. Finally, I manually activated [Identify.]

[Grim Tempest Scion Sword]

[This sword’s enchantments and distinctive markings have been hidden. This sword contains an unknown enchantment.]

The formation must have been malfunctioning. Surely that was incorrect. I was a son of the Feng family. I had grown up all my life in the city. I knew that to be true, and yet, doubts swirled in my head. I had never met my mother. I had never even seen my father take a woman. And yet… he had two sons.

I [Inspected] my robes.

[Grim Tempest Sect Inner Disciple Robe]

[This robe has been altered to feature the distinctive features of the Feng family.]

I stared at the sleeve of my robe I had [Inspected,] chewing my lip, paralyzed. Surely the formation was wrong. Perhaps the Feng family had simply purchased these goods — a majority of our spirit stone’s were funneled to the Grim Tempest Sect’s many branches on our continents. It was completely normal for us to have a business relationship with them.

I opened the status again and used [Identify] on the status itself.

[Feng Sai]

[Cultivator, Second Young Master of the Feng Family]

My shoulders relaxed. The system didn’t call me a Darkwind scion. Though… every level in [Identification] seemed to increase the information provided. I dismissed the possibility of it being hidden behind information. If I truly was an heir to their empire, I wouldn’t be living on the far fringes of the Bloodstone Continent.

[Health]

[A measure of the remaining System buffer preventing lethal damage.]

So health didn’t reflect my actual wellbeing, but a buffer preventing lethal damage? Perhaps the amount of energy left in the illusory formation.

[Level 1]

[Eliminating enemies and completing system granted quests will allow the user to accumulate levels. Levels are a measure of accumulated power. Each additional level after the first will allow the user to augment themselves.]

[Identification reached level 3!]

Every level in identification raised the number next to it. Out of concern, I [identified] it.

[PER]

[Perception is a measure of the ability to observe reality.]

I blinked at that, then looked around. The jungle didn’t look any different; instead, it was like I could see more things at once. I saw a distant squirrel climbing a tree that I might have missed before, a tiny shape moving in the darkness.

I couldn’t stay here and poke at this all night. I needed to move forward. I needed to get out of the forest.

I moved slowly, conserving my energy as I moved through the rugged jungle. Only half an hour later, I heard the sound of running water, following it to a stream that carved through the jungle, water bubbling over smooth rock.

Where there was water, there was civilization. I followed the stream along its path, eyes scanning to look out for goblins. I doubted any had chased me through the jungle. The river was fast flowing, the water full of jagged edges. I stopped dead as I came across a bridge and a group of three crossing it.

Almost all of them carried weapons, and all of them wore armor. A thin faced man in boiled leather nocked an arrow the moment he saw me. In the front of the group, a towering woman was dressed in armor made of full plated metal, of all things. I had no idea how she fought in that — what martial technique would allow someone to use it? It must have been insanely expensive to not be dented in combat as well.

[Poppy, Level 19 Pugilist]

[Eros, Level 17 Archer]

[Annabelle, Level 18 Rogue]

Poppy held up a restraining hand to the archer.

“He’s human.” She said. The words weren’t in my own language, but I understood them anyway, feeling a headache start to rise. I didn’t let go of my own sword.

“Are you real? Or projections of the formation?” I asked. I had never seen a formation complex enough to react and then talk based on a reaction. Sometimes, our family’s projection would be used to replay recordings of fights to study. Our own fights, or others.

“We’re real alright. But what the hell are you doing here?” Eros, the Archer, asked. “There’s a goblin infestation in the jungle. It’s not safe to be out here alone.”

“I noticed.” I said. “I found a village of them miles back.” I pointed behind me with my left arm without turning. My right arm remained on the hilt of my blade.

“Thanks for that.” Poppy nodded. “Are you here to hunt the goblins too? We could use a monk. I’ll split the rewards with you.”

“Hey!” The third party member, another woman in boiled black leather, interrupted. Anabelle was much shorter than Poppy or Eros. “Three’s already plenty to split. Any more and I won’t make a wage!”

I stared at her for a moment. I had all but forgotten her in the moments that passed after seeing the three of them. She had raven black hair tied back into a ponytail. Silver ear rings dangled from sharp, pointed ears. Her face was angular, she was covered in belts featuring tiny throwing knives. She looked like an assassin.

“If there’s a village, then the goblin problem has probably already grown. They shouldn’t be founding villages without there being dozens of them. That means more danger, and more pay.” Poppy said, not taking her eyes off of me. “I’m Poppy, but I think you already knew that. But… I can’t Identify you.”

Eros froze at that, his eyes locking onto me for a moment.

“Neither can I.” He said. All of them stared at me warily.

“My given name is Sai. I am the second young master of the Feng family.” I replied, staring back at them. They didn’t react to my name the way I expected. I raised an eyebrow. “Are we on the Bloodstone continent?”

“The Bloodstone continent?” Poppy asked, repeating the words. “We’re in the Savage Expanse in the New World. Don’t tell me you suffered a Dimensional Misfire?”

That sounded a lot like the pending Dimensional Rebound that was counting down in my status. With focus, I pulled that counter up.

[Dimensional Rebound in 69 Hours]

I thought quickly. These people were suspicious of me, and they were throwing out possible beliefs to latch onto and dismiss their suspicion. I needed information and safety, something only people familiar with the world could provide. Perhaps this was a test of the formation — a measure of social skills and ability to work with others.

“I’m afraid I have.” I said. “I was teleported into the ruins farther in the jungle.”

“The ruins?” Poppy asked, eyes lighting up.

“Ruins are scattered all across the Savage Expanse.” Eros said dismissively.

“There could be treasure!” Annabelle said.

Eros rolled his eyes.

“It’s possible the ruins held an array that captured your teleportation. It’s happened before. Just another reason its dangerous to be alone out here. You should come with us.” Poppy said. “You come with us to kill the goblins, show us the ruins… then we can escort you back to town.”

I hesitated, slowly approaching the group but still staying out of range of a surprise attack.

“You said you’re killing the goblins for pay?” I asked.

“Yes. We can split some of it with you.” Poppy said. Seeing me remain unconvinced, she continued. “The goblins are a massive problem. They build up to huge numbers and then start to raid local human cities when they run out of food. The nearest city put up an extermination request, but it took too long for anyone to arrive, which has put them all in danger.”

That changed things. A cultivator had to be true to themselves and their way. I wouldn’t leave people in danger, even if they were just projections of the formation.

“I’ll accompany you. You will have to forgive my meager cultivation; I’ve only reached the peak of the Qi Condensation realm.”