ăI am System 12345.ă
ăIâm not the same System as I was before. I am taking my first step to becoming a great System.ă
System 12345 checked the details as System 1915 had taught it to.
ăLanguageâchecked! Mandarin is the common language.ă
ăWorld viewâchecked! Itâs a world of Sword and Magic; thereâs no place for a Roman fanatic to pull their stunts.ă
ăCommunicationsâchecked! Iâll be able to communicate with my host.ă
System 1915 had suggested putting the host in another world if it was going to do transmigration, so System 12345 decided to make its host reincarnate into another world and start growing from an infant.
With at least ten years of otherworld experience under its belt, surely its host wouldnât mess around like an unleashed dog anymore?
On top of that, it decided to develop the cheat based on the authority it had in its hand and the background setting.
ăLet me revise the background setting one last timeâŠă
ăThe host left his parentsâ side from a young age and was brought up by a mysterious individual. One day, he received a mysterious letter from his mother and went on a journey as an adventurer.ă
ăThe city lordâs proud daughter, the venom-tongued shaman, the black-bellied witch, the foul-mouthed but righteous beastwoman⊠Ohoho! So many classical Japanese isekai tropes!ă
It was practically dumping its host into a pile of beauties. Surely its host would be moved! System 12345 was confident about pulling it off this time.
If System 12345 hadnât performed so disastrously in its previous internship, kicking up a big fuss in the process, the school would have just turned a blind eye and let it graduate. However, since it was taking on its internship again, that was not an option anymore.
But it doesnât matter. I have remembered everything Senior Legend taught me. I can handle it!
ăTransmigration, activate!ă
ăUh?ă
System 12345 was stunned. It suddenly thought of a problem.
ăEh? Did I⊠not choose a host?ă
âŠ
âRun Beacons of the Otherworld! Letâs see if that developer has uploaded a new map to play. Oh! There is one⊠and it looks to be Western fantasy-themed? Enter!
âArgh. Whatâs with this huge chunk of background setting? And I have to start from infancy? Whoâs interested in that crap?
âSkip!
âSkip!
âSkip everything!â
âŠ
Fresh blood slowly seeped out. It was greedily devoured by the yellow sand of the Gobi Desert, leaving behind a patch of dried crimson.
A couple of people were lying prone on the ground, their steeds fleeing in a fluster.
âFree equipment right from the start?â Shu Yichao picked up a sword and a spear from the ground before leading a horse away with him. âIs this a beginner's benefit? But this armor is horrendous. Itâs even worse than the starter armor.â
Shu Yichao had bumped into a few guard mobs with life bars above them shortly after entering the game, so he went ahead to clear them. It didnât take him long to notice one thingâthe mobs were surprisingly strong.
âI traded blows with one of them earlier. Their melee damage is at least 70.â
Even the end-game mobs in the previous mod didnât have such fighting prowess.
The modâs developer must have realized that they have set the difficulty level too low, so they decided to do some adjustments for their second mod.
âLet me check my initial statsâŠâ
Name: Shu Yichao
Damage
Ranged Damage: 125-135 (Superior)
Melee Damage: 135-145 (Superior)
Defense
Armor: 50 (Average)
Magic Resistance: 30 (Average)
Speed
On Foot: 220 (?)
Mounted: 250 (Average)
Overall Review: A powerful warrior hero with exceptional melee and ranged prowess.
Are you serious about my movement speed? Doesnât that mean that, even barefoot, I can catch up with someone on horseback? I should get some armor with high magic resistance and magic break weapon; that should be enough for me to dominate this mod.
âOh? This mod is not bad.â Shu Yichao nodded in satisfaction. âThe translation is more thorough, and the random codes that used to appear here and there have been resolved.
âHm, my character is a warrior with high offensive prowess and low defense. Iâll need to find armor to compensate for my weaknesses.
âAs for my starting talent⊠Empire Bewitcher again? The morale of my troops canât fall lower than 1? Whatâs the use of that? Would I need that bit of morale? Oh, I have two starting talents! Urk, but one of them is blacked out. Do I have to unlock it?â
Shu Yichao scratched his head. âDo I have to clear the plotline for it?â
He took a look around. Other than the mobs he had just killed, he couldnât find any yellow exclamation marks indicating quest progress. He tapped into his minimap, but it was covered in fog of war.
âShould I first explore the area?â
Thus, Shu Yichao got onto a steed and leisurely explored the area. The brilliant sun cast a long shadow of him on horseback galloping across the yellow sand.
Unbeknownst to him, a pair of shocked eyes took in what happened in the distant steep ridges.
âFather!â
A person hopped across a field of weirdly-shaped stones with grass growing out of them. It was a treacherous mountain road, but he navigated it as if it was a well-paved street.
âFather, bad news!â
The person ran to a tattered mud house amidst the mountain ridges.
It was a boy with unkempt hair, coarse skin, and a deformed physique. He only wore a rough shirt; his big thighs were surprisingly hairy, and his legs were shaped like eagle claws.
âShix, why are you shouting?!â An old man opened the creaking wooden door with a dissatisfied look on his weathered face. âDid the world collapse or what?â
ââŠâ The boy named Shix leaped onto the millstone in the courtyard and scratched his head with his claws. âThey are dead, dead!â
âThe goats I told you to herd are dead?!â The old man angrily glared at the boy. âBrat, all you do is play! Do you know what those goats mean to us?!â
The more he spoke, the more agitated the old man became. He raised his cane to teach the boy a lesson.
âOld man, donât!â An old woman, or rather, someone who was half-human and half-eagle, rushed out to stop the old man. She turned to the boy and exclaimed, âShix, hurry up and apologize to your father!â
Shix was stunned. He quickly clarified, âItâs not the goats who are dead!â
âThen who died?â a young man with dark skin, who was busy working in the courtyard, asked out of curiosity.
âThe soldiers died!â Shix replied. âThe guards whom we have been hiding from have been killed! All five of them!â
âHmph!â The old man suddenly laughed gloatingly. âThe Tibetans are dead?â
âThey deserve it!â The dark-skinned man laughed as well. đŁđŻđđąđđąđđđđłđąđ.đ đđȘ
Those bunch of people only knew how to plunder. They deserve to die! Thanks to whoeverâs behind this for ridding this world of evil.
âThis is not bad news.â The old man knocked his cane on the ground. âThis is good news!â
Shix got impatient when he saw everyone misunderstanding his words. He anxiously gestured as he spoke, âThe bad news is not the soldiers dying. Itâs the person who killed them! He killed them with a single slash each. He was very fierce!â
âOh?â The old man fell into deep thought. âCould it be a bandit?â
This complicated things. Refugees like them who resided on the mountains werenât afraid of soldiers, for they were more familiar with the terrain than them. They just had to find a more discreet place to hide, and hundreds of soldiers could spend months combing the mountain but they still wouldnât find them.
They were more afraid of powerful bandits who lived alone, or adventurers. They might not look like much, but they could easily take down their family.
âWhat does he look like?â the old man asked.
ââŠâ Shix spent a moment in thought. âHe was very white, very good-looking. He wore armor. Ah⊠he also looks like father!â
âWhat nonsense are you spouting?â The old man was amused by Shixâs remarks.
âHe really looks like father!â Shix insisted. âThe eyes, the nose, and the ears. He looks more like father than me and big brother!â
ââŠâ The old man was rendered speechless.
Seconds later, his expression stiffened.
Young? Has armor? Looks like me?
With a trembling finger, he pointed to his hair, which was put up into a bun unlike the others, and asked with a quivering voice, âW-what about his hair? D-does it look like that?â
The old man felt as if something was squeezing his heart. He felt fearful, worried, and nervous.
Shix was so scared by his fatherâs abnormal reaction that he dared not speak.
âOld man!â The old woman grabbed the old manâs hand. âDonât be like that. Youâre scaring Shix.â
âA-ahâŠâ The old man belatedly realized that his cheeks were twitching. His facial features must have looked distorted. He took a deep breath to relax his twisted face before replying, âShix, you should be able to see far. You said that person looks like me. Is his hair like mine?â
âI didnât see it,â Shix honestly replied. âHe was wearing a helmet.â
He has a helmet too?!
ââŠâ The old man trembled. He shouted, âHorse! Bring my horse here! Hurry!â
It was hard to believe that his ailing body was capable of producing such a clear sound.
The old woman rushed forward to stop him, âOld man, you arenât young anymore, yet you want to ride a horse?â
âThat wonât do!â The old man breathed heavily as he smacked his cane on the ground. âI need to get to the bottom of this, or else I wonât be able to rest in peace even after Iâm dead!â