[Congratulations, Host! You are not dead!]
Yi Lin wiped a tear from his eye. "Yeah, thanks for that, System. You really had me sweating." He paused, his laughter dying down as a chilling thought struck him. He looked at the empty air, his expression turning serious.
"System," he said, his voice quiet. "That... that rock. What the hell was it, really? The Sect Master looked like he'd seen a primordial force. And then he... he just bolted."
[Analyzing query...]
[The Pink Slime Crystal (Standard) is a byproduct of a healthy, happy Pink Slime. It is a highly condensed crystallization of pure, refined, multi-dimensional life-force. You called it a 'Spiritual Convergence Matrix'. This was, while technically incorrect, thematically appropriate.]
"Stop trying to be funny," Yi Lin muttered. "What's it do? Why did he look so freaked out?"
[Based on a scan of the buyer's low-level cultivation (Level 10 Qi Refiner), the crystal contains enough pure energy to shatter his current bottleneck. After a single day of focused enlightenment and absorption, he will, with 99.7% certainty, break through to Level 11.]
Yi Lin's jaw dropped.
"Level... 11?" he whispered. "From Level 10? Just like that? From one crystal?" He'd been in the sect long enough to know that a breakthrough at that level was a massive, once-in-a-decade event.
The Sect Master had apparently been stuck at Level 10 for years.
"Holy... holy shit!" Yi Lin's eyes went wide, not with fear, but with a new, blazing-hot greed. "One crystal makes him Level 11... What if I used one?! I'll keep the next one for myself! I'll be Level 10 in a week!"
He was practically vibrating with the idea. He'd be the richest, most powerful cultivator in the whole...
[Negative.]
Yi Lin blinked. "...Negative? What do you mean, 'negative'?"
[Host's physical compatibility with Slime Crystals is zero. Attempting to absorb one would be... inadvisable.]
"Inadvisable?"
[To use a technical term the Host will understand: Host's current body is completely and utterly trash.]
"TRASH?! Hey! That's a little harsh, don't you think?!"
[Stating facts. Host's meridians are 98.4% blocked with mortal impurities. Host's spiritual root is non-existent. Host's bone-age-to-muscle-density ratio is 'sub-par'.]
"Sub-par?! I'll have you know I... okay, fine, I was a graphic designer, I didn't exactly hit the gym. But 'trash'?"
[If Host attempted to absorb the pure life-force of a Slime Crystal,] the System continued, ignoring his protests, [Host would experience a catastrophic energetic containment failure. In short: you would explode. Very, very messily.]
Yi Lin went pale.
"Oh. Right. Explode. Okay. No crystal-snacking for me, got it."
He slumped onto his mattress, his dreams of instant godhood evaporating. "So, what's the deal? I'm just the delivery boy? I sell these divine-freaking-treasures to other people so they can get strong, while I'm stuck here with my 'trash' body, cleaning latrines?"
[Host's path to power is not through personal cultivation. Not at first. Host's strength is intrinsically linked to the Dimensional Slime Ranch. As the Ranch grows, as you raise more slimes, as you unlock new technologies... the System will provide rewards to 'renovate' the Host's body.]
Yi Lin's head perked up. "Renovate? Like... new floors? A new coat of paint?"
[...Like new meridians, a spiritual root, and a body that does not qualify as 'sub-par'.]
"Okay!" Yi Lin shot to his feet, all his despair gone. "Renovation! I can work with that! So, what's next? How do I get this... ranch?"
[New Host Missions Unlocked!]
[1. Establish Your Base: Find a suitable, secluded location (Min. 500 sq. meters) and deploy the Dimensional Slime Ranch (Starter Pack).]
[2. Welcome Home: Hatch your first Pink Slime Egg (Reward Item).]
[3. Expand the Business: Sell five (5) more Pink Slime Crystals. Price must be 10 Golden Coins each. No more, no less.]
[Reward for completing all three missions: 1x Basic Corral, 1x Host Body-Tempering Elixir (Basic).]
Yi Lin's eyes locked onto that last reward. "Body-Tempering Elixir... That's what I'm talking about."
He looked at the first mission.
"Suitable, secluded location..."
He couldn't do it in the sect. Too many nosy disciples, and he was pretty sure a "Dimensional Slime Ranch" wasn't exactly easy to hide.
He needed somewhere safe. He thought for a moment, his hand instinctively going to the coin pouch at his waist. The forest. The dark, spooky-ass forest behind the Broken Blade Sect.
Most disciples avoided it. Rumors said it was haunted by... something. Yi Lin, having come from a world with horror movies, was suitably terrified. But now... now he had a System. And a mission. The 'ghosts' could just deal with it.
Shoving his ten gold coins deep into his robes, Yi Lin peeked out his door.
The training yard was still buzzing about the Sect Master's bizarre behavior. No one was watching the latrine-cleaner's shed.
Perfect.
He slipped out the back, hugging the crumbling sect wall, and plunged into the shadows of the forest.
He walked for a good twenty minutes, pushing past thorny bushes and spiderwebs that were probably big enough to catch birds. He was just starting to think this was a terrible idea when he stumbled through a curtain of ivy and... stopped.
It was perfect.
A small, hidden clearing, completely enclosed by rock walls on three sides and the thicket of ivy he'd just come through. In the center was a patch of flat, grassy land, and at the back, a dark, shallow cave. A small stream gurgled nearby.
It was quiet, peaceful, and, most importantly, completely hidden.
"This is the spot," Yi Lin said, brushing leaves off his shoulders. "Okay, System. I'm here. How do I... 'deploy'?"
[Accessing System Inventory. Host has: 1x Dimensional Slime Ranch (Starter Pack), 1x Pink Slime Egg.]
[Please confirm deployment.]
"Confirm! Deploy! Do the thing!" Yi Lin said, waving his hands.
[Withdrawing 'Dimensional Slime Ranch (Starter Pack)'. Stand back, please.]
A small, metallic... thing... appeared in Yi Lin's hand. It looked like a high-tech garden stake with a blue, glowing button.
"Uh... what do I do with this?"
[Please plant the Deployment Beacon in the center of your desired location.]
"Right." Yi Lin walked to the middle of the clearing and jammed the stake into the soft earth. He pressed the blue button.
A low, humming sound filled the air. A circle of blue light expanded from the beacon, scanning the clearing.
[Location confirmed. Deploying Ranch-Hub...]
A column of light shot up from the beacon, making Yi Lin shield his eyes. It was... a construction. Light folded and solidified.
And then, as fast as it had started, it was over.
Where the beacon had been, there was... a building.
Yi Lin blinked.
It wasn't a barn. It was a sleek, white, dome-like structure, all smooth curves and glowing blue highlights. It looked like something from a sci-fi movie, completely out of place in the ancient forest.
A doorway hissed open as he approached.
[Ranch-Hub Deployed. Welcome home, Host.]
[Starter Pack items have been deposited in the Hub Storage. Please retrieve your equipment.]
Yi Lin walked inside. The interior was bright, clean, and much bigger than it looked from the outside. In the center, on a raised platform, three items were waiting for him.
The first was a small, gelatinous, gently pulsing pink egg. The second was a small, glowing green... syringe? No, a seed. The third... the third made Yi Lin grin from ear to ear.
It was a tool. It looked like a cannon, a vacuum cleaner, and a backpack all rolled into one. It was his "slime collector gun."
[Equipment Unlocked: The Vac-Pack!]
Yi Lin grabbed the tool, slinging the pack over his shoulder and gripping the nozzle. It felt perfect.
He picked up the warm, wobbly egg in his other hand.
"Okay," Yi Lin said to the empty, glowing room, his voice full in a way it hadn't been since he'd arrived in this world. "Now... let's hatch a slime."