In the darkness, Kane squinted against the sudden glare that seemed almost piercing, reflexively shielding his eyes. With his vision swaying, it felt as if someone had struck the back of his head with a heavy blow, causing him to stagger to his feet.
Glancing around, amidst the crisp chirping of birds, Kane realized he was in the midst of a forest.
After a momentary pause, his attention was drawn to a golden crystal, the size of a millstone, floating quietly in mid-air behind him.
At the same time, he noticed that his clothes had been changed to a rough, one-piece garment of unknown material. He subconsciously touched the wound on his forehead.
The wound was still there, but the bandage that should have been covering it had disappeared!
"This…"
Considering a possible explanation, Kane didn't linger on the thought. Driven by a pressing urge to understand his surroundings, he approached the floating golden crystal, which seemed most likely to offer him some answers.
As Kane neared the crystal and placed his palm upon its surface, a majestic male voice resonated deep within his mind: "Welcome, pioneer Kane. You, who have discovered one of the twelve Order Crystals, are awarded a Talent Random Selection Card: one."
Though startled by the voice suddenly echoing in his mind, years of reading web novels had honed Kane's ability to embrace such phenomena. Unlike those unfamiliar with the supernatural, he wasn’t thrown into panic or gripped by an instinctive fear of the unknown.
Wasn't it supposed to be a "Provisioning Crystal"? How did it turn into an Order Crystal?
Before Kane could further ponder, the same authoritative voice resonated within his mind again.
"Would you like to connect to the Provisioning Interface of the Order Crystal?"
With no other options available, Kane could only choose "Yes."
Following his decision, strands of golden, faintly glowing "threads" appeared in the air before him.
In the next instant, these golden threads converged to form an interface adorned with golden lines, spanning over forty inches.
The top of the interface appeared to be specially designed to display certain information: the current number of "Descenders" present, how often the Order Crystal summons Descenders, the number of Descenders summoned each time, and importantly, the option to return to Kane’s original world for the price of one Soulstone.
The current total of surviving Descenders: 12.
Next summoning of Descenders: In one natural month.
(To decrease the summoning interval, enhance this summoning limit.)
Enhancement required: 2000 Soulstones.
Number of Descenders for next summoning: 10.
(To increase the number of Descenders per summoning, enhance this summoning limit.)
Enhancement required: 10 Soulstones (per time).
Soulstones required to travel to the Descenders’ realm: 1.
Was this the summoning limit he was supposed to enhance as soon as possible? But... what exactly is a "Soulstone"? Could it be some form of currency?
Quickly, as Kane observed the plethora of items listed on the supply interface beneath the small screen, along with their corresponding Soulstones and Soulstones Shard exchange requirements, he realized that "Soulstones" indeed functioned somewhat like currency.
He carefully examined the items on offer, muttering to himself, "Weapons, armor, tools, miscellaneous items... it's quite comprehensive."
Aside from the items at the top of the categories, marked with labels like alchemy, magic, and supernatural - which at a glance, one could tell were extraordinary - even a seemingly simple item like a 20-meter-long durable rope priced at one Soulstone Shard was beyond the reach of his currently "penniless" state.
Acknowledging this fact, Kane shifted his focus to his personal storage space.
Yes!
That which, in countless novels, is considered a divine artifact.
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A game-changer that defies the weight of the items it contains, significantly enhancing the endurance of its owner: the storage space!
As for how this "storage space" came into existence, how Kane knew he had one, and when he learned to utilize it,
It all seemed as if some unseen will had imbued this knowledge directly into his mind.
Kane understood this was merely one of the perks afforded to every Descender who arrived in the land of Korlos, and thus, he naturally didn't dwell too much on pondering this phenomenon.
Storage space: 90 cubic centimeters.
(The size of your storage space is linked to your mental attributes.)
Talent Selection Card: One.
Before him, another interface formed from golden threads, approximately twenty inches wide, shimmered into existence.
Though such a sight often conveyed a sense of grandeur to those who witnessed it,
Kane did not take out the Talent Selection Card, which was golden on both sides, intricately patterned on the surface, and adorned with peculiar gear designs on the front, to examine it further.
Instead, he chose to use it directly from his storage space.
"Using Talent Selection Card (1/12), obtained 'Treasure Seeker' talent. Please check the character attributes option for details."
Watching the Talent Selection Card disappear from his storage space, and the prompt that appeared on the golden interface before him, Kane immediately switched to his character attributes option, carefully examining the details it revealed about himself.
Kane, Race: Human
Soul Pool: 0 Soulstones.
Initial Profession: Commoner, Level: 1.
Level-Up Requirement: 1 Soulstone.
(Each level-up grants: 0.2 Constitution, 0.2 Strength, 0.1 Dexterity, 10 Skill Points.)
Chosen Profession: Pioneer, Level: 1, Level-Up Requirement: 1000 Soulstones.
(Each level-up grants increased usage rights for the Order Crystal.)
Talent: Treasure Seeker.
Effect: You have a knack for stumbling upon ownerless treasures.
Talent Cooldown: Seven natural days.
Status Attributes:
Combat Tier: Graystone.
Stamina: 6/8 (Constitution * 10)
Constitution: 0.8
Spirit: 0.9
Strength: 0.7
Dexterity: 0.6
Perception: 0.5
Willpower: 0.3
Skills:
Skill Points: 0
Vogel Common Language: 10
Barehand Fighting: 1
Basic Archery: 3
Eloquence: 23
Cooking: 12…
This must be what they call a "Pioneer"... But, the requirement of 1000 Soulstones...
"Treasure Seeker"? What's that?
However, if these attributes are a measure of my physical and mental faculties, it seems "poor" is an understatement to describe my condition.
Well, it's true that after years of striving for money and not making much, I've ended up in terrible shape. Saying I have no regrets would be a lie.
But before he could delve deeper into his thoughts,
a rugged-faced middle-aged man, sword at his side and an arrow nocked in his longbow, ready to shoot, silently emerged from the bushes not far behind him, shouting at Kane, who seemed to sense something and turned around: "Don't move! Khamitite!"
Although Kane was somewhat surprised to understand the language of Korlos,
seeing the middle-aged man before him aiming a hunting bow at him, Kane immediately raised his hands.
It was at this moment a peculiar thought crossed his mind: "I hope the gesture for surrender is the same here in the land of Korlos as it was in my world..."
Two minutes later, with a heavy kick to his abdomen and a solid punch to his right cheek, covered in dust from head to toe and looking utterly disheveled, Kane was forcefully led by the overpoweringly strong middle-aged man to a group moving along a forest trail.
Initially resolved not to resist futilely without the means to protect himself, Kane's unease grew as he looked at the group, more than a dozen armed warriors escorting around twenty to thirty bound individuals, hinting at ominous implications.
The leader of the group, a middle-aged man dressed like a medieval knight in metal plate armor, riding a majestic warhorse, conversed with the man behind Kane.
The knight inquired, "What's happened here, Zack?"
Middle-aged man: "My lord Baron, when I spotted him, he was lurking ahead, sneakily peering at our troop. I feared he might be a spy sent by Baron Wagner to surveil us, so..."
The middle-aged knight, or rather the Baron himself, cast a dismissive glance at Kane that was cool and indifferent as if he saw not a living human but a mere insect before him.
He abruptly cut off the man who wanted to say more: "You should have killed him on the spot, instead of bringing him back."
As the Baron's words fell, the armored knight squire following him, bearing a banner emblazoned with a falcon, planted the banner with a sharp metallic tip into the muddy ground amid a dull thud. Drawing his gleaming longsword from his waist, he awaited further commands from the Baron.
Meanwhile, the middle-aged man, anxious at the sight of the coins almost within reach slipping away like a well-cooked duck ready to fly, spoke hurriedly: "My lord Baron, are we not on our way to take these peasants to the Demon Hunter Headquarters in Leon City? So, I thought..."
But the Baron, seated atop his magnificent steed, once again cut the man off mid-sentence.
However, this time it wasn't words that did the interrupting but the swift lash of his riding crop!
With a "crack!" that silenced the crowd and inflicted a tremendous sting, the middle-aged man's left cheek bore the heavy blow of the whip, swiftly reddened with a stripe that quickly leaked drops of fresh blood.
Yet, without dodging or screaming, the man merely grunted in pain, which seemed to satisfy the middle-aged Baron who nodded in approval: "That lash serves as a reminder, Zack. Remember your duty as a scout."
With those words left hanging, the Baron urged his horse forward, well aware of the confusion he left behind among the middle-aged man and the squires. Without turning his head, he spoke again: "Upon reaching Leon City, you may earn a gold coin for this peasant."
It was this statement from the middle-aged Baron that drove the man, subconsciously clutching his wounded face, into an ecstasy of joy.
Simultaneously, standing aside, witnessing it all, Kane couldn't help but frown at this middle-aged Baron's tactic of ruling with stick and carrot.
*Note: The Order Crystal, or Provisioning Crystal, is invisible and intangible to the original inhabitants of the land of Korlos.