Chapter 1: A New Dawn in the Dungeons
In the hushed stillness of the Jia Nan Academy dormitory, a figure lay motionless. The room was small and dim, a stark contrast to the magnificent courtyards and training grounds outside. This was the quiet corner reserved for those without powerful clans or wealthy families—a corner for those like Su Ron. He lay still, a dead man's stillness, his body a canvas of bruises and cuts that refused to heal completely.
He was a nobody, an orphan from the fringes of the empire, with only his average talent and an iron will to his name. He had earned his place in this prestigious academy not through privilege, but through a brutal journey that had left him scarred and broken. His latest trial, a desperate clash with a Level 3 Magical Beast, had nearly cost him his life, leaving his body shattered and his cultivation regressed from a Level 5 Battle Practitioner to a Level 4.
Then, a flicker. A memory from another life, a world of metal and glass, of comfort and quiet lives. An overwhelming torrent of knowledge flooded his mind, showing him a history he had never lived. He was a transmigrator, an outsider from another reality, and this brutal world was nothing more than a novel he had once read. The revelation hit him not with shock, but with a cold, hard clarity. This was a world ruled by strength, and he was an insignificant side character, a statistic waiting to be a stepping stone for the main hero. He knew of Gu Xun'er's background and the eventual appearance of Xiao Yan, but his role was not to join them. It was to survive.
His meager savings, all intended for an Intermediate-level cultivation technique, were now needed for basic, low-grade recovery pills. His ambition was crushed under the weight of his reality. He could only recover slowly, his wounds a testament to his poverty and his lack of background.
A knock on the door broke his somber reflection. His gaze fell upon Han Su, another orphan, who stood in the doorway with a knowing look. "Heard you were dead, Su Ron," Han Su said with a slight shrug. "Good thing the elders didn't need to come and verify it themselves."
The words were a brutal truth, highlighting their shared insignificance. Su Ron offered a faint nod, and after a few more brief words, Han Su left, leaving him alone once more.
With his small savings, he had bought the best low-grade pills he could, and after a few days, his body began to recover, though his cultivation remained stagnant. The knowledge of the plot was a double-edged sword. He knew where the opportunities lay, but they were not meant for a person like him. He had to forge his own path.
He began his cultivation, focusing on the Ice Core Art technique he had worked so hard to acquire. As his Dou Qi began to circulate, a sharp, crystalline sound echoed in the empty halls of his mind.
Ding! System activated.
Ding! Merging with host... successfully.
A wave of pure, otherworldly energy washed over his body. It didn't heal his wounds, but it revitalized his spirit and purified his Dou Qi. Su Ron's eyes widened in disbelief, then narrowed with a newfound, burning ambition. The rules he knew, the limitations of this world, were shattered.
A low, trembling chuckle escaped his lips, growing into a full-throated laugh that filled the small room. He was a minor character no more. The system was his golden ticket, his ultimate weapon. In a world where luck and fate favored the chosen few, he, Su Ron, would now make his own.