Surviving the Ancient Angst Novel [Transmigration] - Chapter 15

The instant the system notification sounded, I hit the Teleport button.

My surroundings blurred into a streak of colors. In that split second, my mind snapped into a state of miraculous clarity.

Crap, I acted on impulse!

I had completely forgotten that the provided Teleport skill was uncontrollable everything was randomized. By jumping like this, I had no guarantee I would actually find Xiao Si…

What do I do? What do I do??

They say impulse is the devil. I was truly feeling the weight of those words now. My mind felt like a tangled mess of yarn, impossible to straighten out, leaving me with a suffocating sense of dread. I could only close my eyes and desperately command my brain to focus, praying that this unreliable skill reward would listen to me just this once.

You better be at the bottom of that cliff, or I’ll have another life on my hands.

It all happened in a heartbeat. When the image before me finally sharpened, I saw the boy appearing right in front of me, just as I had hoped.

Success!

I let out a breath of relief, stretched out my arms, and scooped Xiao Si up by his slender waist, pulling him into my chest to protect him. The wind roared past my ears, blowing so hard I could barely keep my eyes open. The intense sensation of weightlessness was sickening; my heart hammered against my ribs as if it were trying to burst out of my chest.

I gritted my teeth and plummeted downward with Xiao Si. During the fall, I managed to twist my body so that he was on top and I was on the bottom that way, even if we hit the ground, I would be the one taking the impact.

I wasn’t thinking about much else at that moment; I just wanted to save him and complete the mission. I hadn’t even considered leaving myself an escape route.

【Ding! Congratulations, Host, on unlocking the achievement: “Budding Hero, Chivalrous Heart.” Reward: One “Overflowing Luck Orb.” Crushing it with your teeth grants +100 Luck (Duration: 10 minutes).】

A small, popping-boba-like object appeared in my mouth. Due to the high-stress situation, my trembling teeth accidentally bit down and crushed it. A wave of warmth spread through my body, but otherwise, nothing seemed to happen. We continued to fall.

After an indeterminate amount of time, the clothes on my back suddenly snagged. I looked back to see that a thick tree branch had miraculously caught my robe. It didn’t hold for long.

Rrip—

A long tear opened across the back of my robe, and the sharp branch scraped against my skin, leaving a stinging, fiery pain. Fortunately, the branch provided enough of a buffer that when we finally hit the ground, we were essentially unharmed. Aside from the scratch on my back, everything was fine. It seemed that “Luck Orb” had really done some heavy lifting.

Xiao Si seemed to have fainted from fright. His small face was deathly pale, his eyes were tightly shut, and his hands were clenched into white-knuckled fists. I had to use considerable force to pry them open. His palms were damp with cold sweat. I tore a strip from my sleeve and used it to wipe the sweat from his face.

Once I had tidied him up, I whispered a soft “I’m sorry” before standing up to leave. The hunter for this area was dead, so Xiao Si was safe lying here. Once the hunt ended at midnight, the battlefield cleaners would come to collect him and take him away. The system had tipped me off on that much.

【Ding! Congratulations, Host, on completing the Special Legendary Skill Unlock Mission! You have obtained the Teleport skill. Grade: Upgradable, Permanent Ownership!】

Hearing this, I smiled with deep satisfaction. I took one last look back at the boy lying quietly on the ground, looking as if he were merely asleep. Now that we were in a safe environment, everything that had just happened felt like a hallucination. I could hardly believe I had played the part of an “utterly irredeemable villain,” nor that I now actually possessed a permanent legendary skill like Teleport.

In his sleep, the boy furrowed his brow and let out an uneasy whimper. The fingers I had just pried open curled back into tight fists. It seemed I had truly traumatized him today.

“I’m sorry. I’m truly sorry.”

I let out a sigh, withdrew my gaze, and stepped across the boundary line at the foot of the mountain. As I mentioned before, my mountain and Xiao Si’s Green Jade hunting ground were adjacent. There was a boundary at the summit and another at the base.

I circled halfway around the mountain until I came to a patch of peonies and sat down to rest. The peonies red, white, and purple were in beautiful bloom. I reached out and plucked a petal, twirling it between my fingers.

I opened the system panel in high spirits. The golden Legendary Skill—Teleport—was prominently embedded in the center, shimmering with a prestigious glow. The “1” for uses in the bottom right corner had changed to “Lv.1.”

Tsk tsk. Permanent ownership. Not bad. Really not bad.

The more I looked at it, the more excited I became. I decided to test it out right then and there. Since it was permanent now, I wouldn’t feel bad about using it. I stood up and placed the strip of cloth I’d torn earlier on the ground as a marker. Then, I hit the Teleport button.

The skill didn’t activate.

? Is it broken?

I pressed it again. Still no reaction. I stood there and thought it over. Most likely, because the previous reward-based versions were randomized, my brain had habitually relied on that and hadn’t set a destination. That’s why nothing happened.

I looked at a pine tree about ten meters ahead and thought about going there. This time, the scenery blurred, and I finally moved. My lips curled up, and I was about to laugh out loud when the sight before me made me freeze.

I was still in the peony patch red, white, pink, and purple. The pine tree I had targeted was still a great distance away. I looked back; the strip of cloth I’d laid down was lying exactly one step away from my current position.

Wait, no it was a large stride. Roughly one meter.

One meter? That is way too short!!!

But it was fine. At most, I’d just have to teleport multiple times. If I did it fast enough, it would look like a frame-skip, and a sequence of them would be faster than the wind. Just thinking about that image felt prestigious. Even if the movement trail would be easy to track, it was better than nothing.

I checked the system panel again. The golden skill had turned gray, and numbers were ticking down, showing a cooldown of 600, 599, 598…

It was still counting down. A cooldown of a full ten minutes.

Fine. So that’s how we’re playing, is it? I laughed out of sheer frustration. This was actually worse than the reward-based version; those were consumables, but they didn’t have a cooldown.

【Yinchen, did you forget it can be upgraded? The cooldown decreases as you level up~ Each level reduces the cooldown by 10 seconds.】

Does that mean if I reach Level 61, there will be no cooldown at all? The system’s words reignited a spark of hope. I clicked on the skill interface; it showed Level 1 with an experience bar of 10,000.

Yes, you read that right. I have to accumulate 10,000 Movement points just to level up once. And based on my gaming experience, the experience requirements usually grow exponentially. What kind of astronomical number will it be at the higher levels?

Seeing my face grow long, the system spoke up cautiously: 【Once you’ve activated Teleport, there will be many missions that reward Teleport points, and the skill usage won’t be randomized anymore.】

I scowled: ‘Don’t give me that crap. Give me something practical.’

The system went quiet. Then, ding-ding-ding, three “Casual Retirement” main story missions popped up in my head.

Main Mission 1: They say the way to a man’s heart is through his stomach. The “Whimsical Snack Stall” is now open! Come create your unique dishes. Note: For every positive review from a person, you gain 1 Reputation point. Reputation points can be exchanged 1:1 for Movement/Internal Power/External Power points for leveling up.

‘Can I choose to capture a woman’s heart instead?’ As a red-blooded straight man, I couldn’t help but complain about the advertising slogan.

The system replied silently: 【The Eastern Wasteland Sect only has men… cough. You could choose to capture Chu Mei’s heart, but each person can only provide 1 Reputation point per day.】

My mouth twitched, but I accepted the mission anyway. Every little bit helps, and once the stall grows, the daily reputation points could be quite substantial. A sub-panel appeared next to the main system interface the Snack Stall Storage. I browsed through it; there were special ingredients available for unlocking, provided in unlimited quantities. Most of them could probably be taken out for use.

The key issue was that I couldn’t run the stall under my own identity. If the stall became famous, the owner would become famous too, which contradicted my goal of remaining anonymous. But I could figure that out later; no rush. I glanced at the recipes: Milk Tea series, Spicy Snack series, Seafood series, and Dessert series all popular modern foods that aren’t hard to make. My current Reputation was 0. Next to it was a conversion button with three choices: Internal, External, and Movement.

Excellent. My mood improved slightly as I moved to the next mission.

Main Mission 2: Casual retirement is incomplete without pets! Raise chickens, ducks, or even geese; you can even keep dogs, turtles, or peacocks. As long as you want it and we have it, it can be done. Animals have spirits; if you spend a day with them, they will repay you with a lifetime of loyalty. Note: Each pet provides 1 Loyalty point per day. This ends upon death.

Loyalty points could also be converted into the three main attributes. I didn’t hesitate this time and accepted immediately. A “Pet Sanctuary” sub-panel was added. Raising a pet for one day to get a continuous stream of loyalty points was a great deal! As for where to keep them, that required a long-term plan.

Main Mission 3: The Eastern Wasteland Sect is full of danger. Relying on yourself alone will make every step difficult. Please choose your side! Support a protagonist of your choice, become a legendary mastermind, navigate the tides of power, and let your name be known across the Eastern Wasteland! Note: Missions will grant Prestige points, which can be converted 1:1.

Me: ??? How did a supporting character’s script get handed to me, a “casual retirement” extra?

‘Are you sure this isn’t a “Struggle for Supremacy” mission?’ I raised an eyebrow.

The system explained patiently: 【”Struggle for Supremacy” requires you personally to gain prestige, whether positive or negative. You could even choose to be a villain. But this mission only requires the protagonist you support to gain prestige there is much more room for maneuver, Yinchen.】

I thought it over; it made sense. ‘For example, I could use a secret identity to support a protagonist. I’d be the mysterious figure whose existence is known only to them. That way, I can get prestige while remaining nameless?’

The system confirmed: 【That is exactly how it can be done.】

I felt at ease and accepted the mission. A “Keeping a Low Profile” sub-panel appeared. I clicked into it; there was a “Support” option which opened to a long list of names Mei Renteng, Qiao Kaiheng, Kong Xi, Chu Mei… others were still locked. Since not all the protagonists were unlocked yet, there was no rush to choose.

With these three main missions accepted, that 10,000-point requirement for the next level didn’t seem quite so insurmountable.

‘Are there any other side reward missions?’ At this stage, I wanted to gather as many safety-net skills as possible—consumables were fine. Otherwise, I felt a bit vulnerable.

【Side missions are currently only triggered by encounters, Yinchen. You can take a walk around tomorrow morning. I imagine you’re tired today; once the Hunt is over, get some good sleep. You need to be well-rested to fight the hard battles.】

“Alright.” I stroked my chin and looked up at the sky. If everything went as planned, the battlefield cleaners would be arriving soon.