'So I have a full body, right?'
[Correct.]
'And I can't move because I'm dehydrated?'
[Correct.]
'I'm guessing that's a Stamina issue.'
[Correct.]
'Alright. How are the Fiery Gooseberries used then?'
[They must be consumed, just like any other type of Gooseberry.]
'Did the System just call me dumb sneakily? How do I eat when... Ugh. Alright. It'll just appear, right? Make sure it appears in front of my mouth then. Above it.'
[You have purchased a "Fiery Gooseberry".]
[5 Villain Points have been deducted.]
The next second, a small ball of light appeared.
Slowly but surely, the light grew larger. It took form, and turned into a Fiery Gooseberry.
'Pretty cool. So that's how the System... Wait.'
It seemed to be about a dozen centimeters away from Lei's eyes.
'Why so high? Why so high? If it misses my mouth, I swear-'
The small fruit stopped shining, and darkness occupied Lei's field of vision once more.
It started falling, though he could not see it.
Something suddenly touched his body.
'I can... Now that something is touching it... I can feel my tongue and mouth...'
It took a while, but Lei managed to close his mouth and slowly chew on the Fiery Gooseberry.
'Just how do you get this dehydrated and famished? A dark cave... Why was he doing here? Why-'
Lei swallowed.
The next instant, a burning pain permeated through his throat.
A burning ball of flames was moving through his body.
Or at least, it felt that way.
It only took a couple of seconds for the burning sensation to start spreading through his body.
'Ugh... Ughhh!'
The pain suddenly disappeared, as if it had been an illusion.
Lei's breathing grew faster and faster.
He could feel his body heat increasing.
It was as if he had absorbed the flames held by the "Fiery Gooseberry".
His whole body burnt from the inside for a moment, and Lei's eyes widened.
Only then did his doubts about actually having a body truly and entirely fade away.
[You have Consumed a Fiery Gooseberry.]
[You have regained 10 Health points.]
[You have regained 10 Endurance Points.]
[Your Endurance Recovery Rate increases by 50% temporarily.]
It took a couple more seconds for the cold and half-dead body to regain some heat.
But eventually, Lei was able to feel and move his fingers.
Still unable to see a thing in the darkness, Lei passed his hands over his body.
'My upper body isn't covered. Got pants though, good. Don't want to see another guy's... Wait, it's not another guy's anymore. Tsk. I shouldn't be thinking about dumb stuff like that...'
Minutes later, he was able to push himself off the ground and sit up.
"W... W..." His dry throat struggled to emit any sounds. "W...ell... Shit..."
Suddenly, something brushed against his naked back, startling him.
"AH!"
Cough-
Cough-
The sudden shout made his throat ache greatly.
"That's..." Lei muttered as he brought a hand to his head.
His body froze.
'Long hair? Ugh... Why?' He passed his fingers through the silky and long locks of hair that reached a little beyond his lower back.
Lei bent his knee.
"Just... Great."
He pushed himself off the ground and stood up.
The next second, he stumbled and fell to the ground face-first.
It wasn't clear whether that was due to him losing his balance in the darkness or due to the weakness that ailed his leg muscles.
'I...' With a grunt, Zhao turned his body around. 'Need to wait a bit more. Recover a bit more.'
With his back on the cold and rough ground, he stared at the ceiling, and waited.
A handful of minutes passed and,
[You can check your Status Window to have more Information on your condition and body.]
'Show me.'
[Name: Zhao Laohu.
Sect: The Ravenous One-Eyed Tiger.
Rank: Young Master.
Cultivation Realm: Mortal III.
Qi Stage: Body Refinement(Upper).
Physique: Silver Physique.
Techniques: None.
Current Status: Severely dehydrated, severely famished, basically half-dead.
Health Points: 17/190.
Endurance Points: 13/160.
]
"Zhaa...O Laohu..." Lei struggled to whisper.
His throat was doing a bit better than earlier though.
'Am I just taking his body, or did he die here? I guess he was about to die, huh? Then the Goddess took his body and made it mine... Does that mean his Soul was moved or something? I'll have to keep that in mind.'
Lei's eyes moved down the Status Window.
'Cultivation Realm...! She's making fun of me! After I said I was fine with... Tsk. Alright. Cultivation Realm, Qi Stage, Physique... I have no idea what these are! And no Techniques? What kind of... Mm. Did the guy not have Techniques, or are there none because I know none? Techniques were one of the options in the Store... System, can I get information on all this? Cultivation Realms, Qi Stages, Physiques... All that. Information about what they are.'
[No.]
"Huh?"
[Information unavailable.]
"You're kidding, right?" Zhao's voice was weak and broke from to time, but it was important to start talking. "You can't show them to me then refuse to explain what you showed."
[Those are things you must learn about on your own.]
"So I'll have to ask around? How suspicious will that be?! She said strength is everything, and I'm guessing these are strength."
[That much is true.]
"Then if strength is at the core of this world, so are these things."
[Correct.]
"So everyone knows about them!"
[Correct.]
"Then... Tsk." Lei shook his head. "I'll figure it out somehow. Young Master, what does that mean? It's my Rank inside the Sect, right?"
[Correct.]
"Geh... I was hoping for more information than that."
[You are Zhao Laohu, Young Master of the Ravenous One-Eyed Tiger, and one of the Sect Leader's sons.]
"Okay. That should put me pretty high up the hierarchy... But then she said that strength is everything. Mm..."
Lei thought for a bit, before pushing himself off the ground.
"No use thinking about it. The System won't explain, and I won't be able to figure things out like this."
He looked around.
"Mm..."
Total darkness.
"Is there an exit or-"
Grrrrr-
Zhao turned around so fast he felt the need to cough. He resisted it.
Two dozen meters away from him, two eyes shone yellow through the darkness.
[Defeat the starved Bronze-Grade Beast "Scornful Wolf".]
'Bronze...?'
[Beast Grades: Copper, Bronze, Silver, Gold,...]
[The Core residing within them holds their power.]
"I can barely move... And it's not even of the lowest Grade?"
[The Beast is starved so...]
"Give me three of those Fiery Gooseberries. Now."
[You have purchased a "Fiery Gooseberry".]
[5 Villain Points have been deducted.]
[You have purchased a "Fiery Gooseberry".]
[5 Villain Points have been deducted.]
[You have purchased a "Fiery Gooseberry".]
[5 Villain Points have been deducted.]
The three were swallowed at once.
[You have Consumed three Fiery Gooseberries.]
[You have regained 30 Health Points.]
[You have regained 30 Endurance Points.]
[Your Endurance Recovery Rate increases by 150% temporarily.]
'I see what the setup was for now...' Zhao thought to himself as he smiled nerveously.
***
"Well, well..." The Goddess playfully fiddled with her scarlet red hair. "Let the Tutorial begin."
In front of her, a screen showcasing-
"What you watching?"
"Fuck off."
"Such a foul mouth, sis."