He had done it.
He achieved his dream
He really was in another world.
That thought filled Ren's mind, like the wind of freedom. He chased the impos---- what seemed to be impossible for what seemed like a lifetime, and now, he was here, in the place he dreamed of going to.
A new world.
Not a dream nor theory anymore, no, it was real, he was truly there.
He could feel the cool air around him, different from the polluted earth, filled with something foreign, something he felt once before, and that gave him a feeling of excitement and expectation. His blood rushed at the new feeling, however young it is, it still reacted to this strange energy.
This wasn't a normal world, it was something way beyond what he dreamt of achieving, it was a world filled with energy, a cultivation world.
He didn't need someone to tell him that, nor fancy signs. It was evident in everything around him, the air, environment, plants, they all felt.... different with the energy filling them.
Despite his excitement, he didn't feel that he fully achieved his dream, not yet, not while the most important person wasn't with him to celebrate it and feel it's joy with him. She was always there together with him after all.
He didn't want or mean to do that, he did even know if coming here was his choice, it all happened too quickly and suddenly for him to think, he didn't even know why he acted like that with Yue....
So, despite achieving what he dreamt of all these years, his heart felt....heavy..
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The days passed slowly.
Even though he had bits and pieces of his memories, he was still bound by a child's body, one that can't move around too much or enough for him to do anything useful at least. That didn't stop him, he was a scientist, his mind, his soul were of one, he observed, listened, learned, trying to gouge out everything around him with interest.
That made him notice something strange, a flickering white light, one that moves around him, almost as if observing him, but disappears as quickly as it comes. Whenever he saw it, he felt a strange pull, the same pull he felt before, it was weird, like his soul was reacting to it somehow, but he couldn't decipher what it was, not for now at least.
At first, he saw it rarely from time to time, but as the days passed, it became more frequent, even staying cor seconds to minutes at time. Till one evening..
Ren was sitting on the floor, his mind lost in the still world around him, then he felt it, that strange pull, but it was stronger than before, his chest fely as if being pulled forward.
Then came a soft voice, like a hum that reached his ears. His eyes shot open, scanning everything around him looking for the one, or thing, that's making this sound.
That presence responded in kind, the white flicker started spinning around him, like an excited child, glowing brighter with every spin, then came a screen in front of him.
[
System rebooting....
Soul signature matched:Ren Tianyu.
Initialization complete!.....
Data sync in progress.....
Data sync failed, detected fragments...
Attempting to connect them....
Estimated time:
Attempting startup.....
You are currently at level #)#-_(#+_& ERROR ERROR ERROR booting failed... Connection failed.... control failed....
A message has been sent to other administrators....Host has returned.... attempting connection...Failed...
System startup failed, booting failed..... Giving mission...
Mission: Survive and grow strong for the successful connection.
Reward:System bonus.
Penalty:Death.
Time remaining:Not limited.
]
A loud ringing voice filled his mind, not through his ears, but directly his mind. It felt annoying at first, but then it stopped, allowing Ren to be able to see clearly what's in front of him.
'This... This is a system? The same system from novels and manga? The one that helps protagonists and gives them missions?'
Ren was confused, baffled even, a screen suddenly appeared in front of him out of nowhere, displaying sound and text.
He moved his hand in front of him, trying to hold the screen, but it just passed through.
'but, what's this failed? How did it fail? And what's this mission that I'll die if I don't complete???' He had lots of questions, but no answers...