Snowflakes, sharp and cold, whipped through the night, striking the withered trees of the Shattered Mountains and scattering silently to the ground. The howls of shadow wolves echoed from the depths of the mountain valleys, shaking the low stone roofs and dusting them with a thin layer of frost. Even the rock bears in the woods stirred, letting out low, rumbling growls—this was the most ordinary night on the edges of Aeria Continent, yet it made Alaric Arthur tense up.
He huddled on the thick branch of an oak tree, brushing snow granules off his coarse short-sleeved shirt, and gazed helplessly at the dark, undulating mountain outlines. "Winter nights on Earth at least had heating. Here, you can see your breath turn white, and you still have to guard against magical beast attacks."
Heavy footsteps sounded below the tree. Three burly teenagers stood around the trunk, led by Bobby, who crossed his arms and lifted his chin arrogantly. "Outsider, hiding in the tree like an owl? Grey Wolf Village didn't take you in just for you to leech off our warmth. Either go chop firewood or gather dry moss from the back mountain. Otherwise, we'll toss you into 'Shadow Wolf Valley' to feed the beasts tonight!"
Alaric looked down at Bobby's round belly and didn't dare retort. He'd been in the village for three days, arriving with nothing but a worn-out T-shirt. The short-sleeved shirt he wore now was a cast-off from the village chief's house, its cuffs frayed. He slowly climbed down the tree and patted the snow off his pants—in a place where everyone practiced "Barbarian Combat Techniques," he didn't even know the most basic "Blood and Qi Circulation Method." Picking a fight with Bobby would only earn him a beating.
Bobby's sneer followed him: "Can't even lift a fifty-pound oak axe. What a waste."
Alaric clenched his stiff, frozen hands and muttered inwardly, "I'm a history student who lived in the library. How can I compare to you guys who've been tempering your bodies since childhood?"
Such was the rule of Aeria: either have the strength to carry back magical beast corpses or possess the talent to ignite "Sacred Glimmer." Otherwise, you didn't even qualify to stay in the village. The strongest in Grey Wolf Village was the chief (Warrior Tier 3), who was said to be able to slash an adult shadow wolf to death with one strike. But Alaric hadn't even reached the threshold of a "Novice Cleric." The "Cultivation" column on his system panel remained stuck at "None."
His only reliance was the pale blue screen that had lit up in his mind three days ago—the "Primordial Gift System." It was supposed to be a transmigrator's "golden finger," but it felt more like a hot potato. The words on the homepage were cold and impersonal:
≡≡≡ SYSTEM NOTICE ≡≡≡
Complete 'Primordial Missions' to earn 'Gift Points,' exchangeable for cultivation, techniques, and artifacts.
Mission failure carries no punishment, but exceeding the time limit for CORE MISSIONS will RESTRICT SYSTEM FUNCTIONALITY.
There was no life-threatening "annihilation," but the reality was even harsher: without completing missions, he would forever remain a waste who couldn't even defeat magical beasts.
≡≡≡ CORE MISSION 1.0 ≡≡≡
OBJECTIVE: Find and gain the trust of three potential inheritors with "Spiritual Root ≥ 8."
REWARD: Novice Cleric Tier 1 cultivation, Gift Points 300, "Nine Heavens Divine Thunder Secret Canon," Divine Thunder Guidance Technique.
TIME LIMIT: ONE YEAR.
"Spiritual Root ≥ 8? Are geniuses in this world as common as cabbages in a market?" Alaric facepalmed—he'd used the system's "Basic Detection" on the village chief during the day, and his Spiritual Root was only 5, falling short of the mission requirement. To make matters worse, the exchange system was filled with enticing items: Primary Divine Potion for 10 points, Blessed Iron Sword for 30 points, and even a decent white robe cost 50 points. But with zero points, he could only stare helplessly.
Just as he was grumbling inwardly, commotion erupted at the village entrance. The teenagers cheered and rushed over. Alaric followed but saw the hunting party's members looking pale, their bronze daggers missing from their waists—to the villagers, weapons were their lifelines.
"Ron was beaten up!" the captain roared, his eyes red. At the center of the crowd, a bruised teenager curled up in the snow, his left arm twisted at an unnatural angle. It was Ron, the village genius (Warrior Tier 3), who had boasted just yesterday about joining a mercenary group outside the mountains as a scout.
Alaric quietly activated "Detection":
≡≡≡ SCAN RESULTS ≡≡≡
TARGET: Ron Grey Wolf
Spiritual Root: 4 | Comprehension: 5 | Willpower: 6 | Luck: 3
EVALUATION: Ordinary village genius, maximum potential: Battle Master, no special bloodline.
"Even the village 'genius' doesn't qualify…" Alaric's heart sank. Just then, someone muttered a curse under their breath: "It was that kid from Stone Village! Only four years old, named Thor Stone. He sent Ron flying with one punch, like tossing a scarecrow!"
Alaric's eyes lit up—four years old? Even a Tier 3 Warrior couldn't defeat him? As he was about to ask for details, a system prompt suddenly echoed in his mind:
⚠️ BEGINNER'S GIFT PACK TRIGGER CONDITION MET!
Open immediately?
[ YES ] / [ NO ]
"Open!" Alaric didn't hesitate, hiding in an unused woodshed.
The pale blue screen flickered, and a warm current poured from his head into his chest and abdomen—four "Divine Acupoints" within his body were forcibly opened, the hallmark of a novice cleric in Aeria, marking his official entry into "Novice Cleric Tier 1." With every breath, the divine energy between heaven and earth was drawn into his body, transforming into faint but tangible mana within the acupoints.
✅ BEGINNER'S GIFT PACK DISTRIBUTED!
CONTENTS:
Novice Cleric Tier 1 cultivation
Gift Points 300
"Nine Heavens Divine Thunder Secret Canon" (High-tier thunder divine spell. Only BASIC CHAPTER unlocked for now)
Divine Thunder Guidance Technique (Primary attack ability)
Alaric flexed his fingers, and a faint golden glow shimmered at his fingertips—this was "Sacred Glimmer," weak but enough to dispel the cold. He quickly opened the exchange system, gritted his teeth, and spent 50 points on a set of "Feather Robe and Star Crown": a white robe with wide sleeves and silver-trimmed edges, instantly transforming him from a "woodshed waste" into an ethereal "master."
"Buddha needs gold plating, man needs fine clothing. You've got to look the part to recruit disciples." Alaric adjusted his collar and slipped out from the back of the village while the villagers were still gathered around Ron. The snow on the back mountain was deeper, so he activated the "Divine Thunder Guidance Technique"—the faint golden lightning at his fingertips could scare off Tier 1 magical beasts, his only means of self-protection.
After walking for over an hour, the lights of Stone Village finally came into view. At the village entrance stood a charred giant tree stump, over ten meters in diameter, its bark embedded with lightning scars. As the wind blew, wood chips scattered downward.
"Esteemed Daoist, are you here looking for someone?" An elderly voice spoke up. It was an old man leaning on a wooden staff, wrapped in a fur coat, his face lined with wrinkles—Tom, the village chief of Stone Village.
Just as Alaric was about to speak, the system suddenly prompted urgently:
🔍 HIGH-TALENT TARGET DETECTED!
Spiritual Root ≥ 8, MEETS CORE MISSION REQUIREMENTS!
He turned abruptly. In the snow, a little boy in a thick cotton coat was tugging at the tail of a large yellow dog. The dog was half a person tall, struggling so hard its legs slipped, but the boy's grip was as steady as if welded on. The ground even trembled faintly—a weak resonance of the "Earth Titan" bloodline.
"That's my grandson, Thor Stone," Tom sighed. "This child is strange. At four years old, he dares to wrestle with wild boars, and he's stronger than the young adults."
Alaric's heart raced as he activated "Detection":
≡≡≡ SCAN RESULTS ≡≡≡
TARGET: Thor Stone
Spiritual Root: 10 (MAX VALUE) | Comprehension: 8 | Willpower: 8 | Luck: 8
HIDDEN BLOODLINE: Earth Titan (DORMANT)
EVALUATION: TOP-TIER TALENT. Compatible with earth element and divine spell inheritance. MEETS CORE MISSION REQUIREMENTS. Recommend prioritizing trust acquisition.
Max Spiritual Root! Alaric clenched his fist. The system panel updated abruptly:
✓ CORE MISSION 1.0 PROGRESS: 1/3
Gain Thor Stone's trust (Favorability ≥ 60) to complete the current phase.
Hearing footsteps, Thor turned around. The boy's eyes were bright, as if tempered with starlight. He let go of the dog's tail, ran up to Alaric, and reached out to touch the sleeve of the white robe. "You smell like... stone."
Alaric crouched down, softening his voice as much as possible. "My name is Alaric. I can teach you how to make stones talk to you and how to lift things heavier than this big yellow dog. Do you want to learn?"
Thor's eyes instantly lit up, and he nodded vigorously. "Yes! I want to protect Grandpa!"
A system prompt sounded:
✓ Thor Stone Favorability +40
CURRENT FAVORABILITY: 70
✓ CORE MISSION 1.0 PHASE ONE COMPLETE!
REWARD: 100 Gift Points. "Nine Heavens Divine Thunder Secret Canon" BASIC CHAPTER cultivation permissions UNLOCKED.
Alaric breathed a sigh of relief. Looking at the boy before him, a warm smile spread across his face. If any of the classmates he'd tricked back in the Earth library saw that smile, they would've immediately fled—it was Alaric's signature expression when he was about to lure someone into the cultivation rabbit hole.
The snow continued to fall, and the shadow wolves' howls still echoed in the distance. But suddenly, Alaric felt that the frostbite night of Aeria didn't seem quite so cold anymore.