章 3: Dimensional Skills
編集者: Henyee Translations
After the fake system finished its words, a miraculous scene unfolded before Cao Yan's eyes.
On the floor not far away, a little tree sapling suddenly sprouted. It appeared to be a projection, as it was illusory and a little unclear. Beneath the stem were roots extending into the floor, just like a real tree. The whole scene seemed peculiar.
The skills tree was dark blue, standing at less than two meters tall. It was stunning, and after the roots had grown out, it swayed like a living being, even though there was no wind.
"This skills tree is made with an advanced holographic projection. It reflects your current condition. As your skills develop, the tree will grow stronger. Once your personal abilities reach the 12th level, which is a divine level, the tree will experience a special change.
"The host has one chance to enter this space every day. Your time is up for your first entry. Please get ready to leave."
"Hang on, you said that this spaceship traveled across space to countless planets, so did you go to Earth? Also, where is the pilot of this ship? Why don't I see any pilots?"
Cao Yan had a lot of questions plaguing his mind. When he asked, he turned to face a particular direction in the space.
He had long noticed a door at that wall. He wondered if there would be aliens standing at the other side of the door, watching their lab rat—him.
The fake system said, "The host will get the answers to your questions in the time to come, but for now, you do not have the right to know."
Once the words finished, before Cao Yan could raise any more questions, a force surged over and he disappeared from the interior of the spaceship.
"The aliens behind the door are probably not very good-looking, so they don't dare to show themselves…" Cao Yan dissed the system.
A light flashed past his eyes and he felt disorientated once again before he finally returned back on the deck.
Everything that happened after the transmigration was just like a fleeting dream that he could not seem to grasp.
The waves were calm, the sky was blue, and the clouds were white. The sun was shining bright as the boat leisurely moved up and down with the waves. The giant mussel that spat out the black crystal just now had long escaped, leaving only the dead fish and crab lying at the corner of the deck.
"What is the principle behind this kind of space shifting and teleporting ability?"
Cao Yan casually asked, "What's the distance between the spaceship and my current location?"
"The spaceship is suspended in the space of another dimension. The distance from here is… unexplainable because it involves the complicated concept of space and time compression and overlapping. If you understand the concept, you can even say that the two are only a few feet apart. If you don't, then the two are an entire universe apart… Even if the artificial brain explains it to you in detail with all the formulas and calculations of time and space and whatnot, you would not understand it."
Cao Yan could not even refute after being so openly looked down on by the fake system.
The coastal city adjacent to the harbor, where the boat was docked, was the Ocean City mentioned in the mission. It was a majestic city covering a vast expanse of land.
The Magic Metropolis's Ocean City was one of the largest human cities in the Green Jungle. Its population and area far exceeded that of the megacities on Earth.
And the reason this world was known as the Green Jungle was other than the ocean, every other known space on land was covered by dense vegetation.
The Magic Metropolis faced the sea on one side and was surrounded by the lush greenery on the other side. The edge of the forest was just a few kilometers out of the city.
Cao Yan steered the boat slowly to the dock, getting ready to enter Magic Metropolis in search of his first demon pet to complete the mission.
"Hey, you're so nicely dressed up. Are you going to the city?"
A raspy old voice asked when he came up onto the harbor after anchoring the boat.
Cao Yan turned back and saw a thin, tan old man standing on the boat beside his. He was smiling broadly, revealing his yellowed teeth. Cao Yan could even see the gap between his two front teeth.
Men were social creatures, and no one could be independent of a group. Naturally, there would be some acquaintances of the host body.
The old man's last name was Wu. He fished for a living and was also the owner of this harbor. He would meet the original host every dusk, so they had already known each other for a long time.
While the old man was talking, Cao Yan noticed a beautiful young girl peeking out of the cabin. She was brimming with the youthfulness unique to young girls and was as delicate as a fresh green leaf of a weeping willow.
She greeted Cao Yan and said, "Come to our boat for dinner. Grandpa caught a red ruby shrimp today. Come over and have it with us, alright?"
The young girl was Old Man Wu's granddaughter. She was similarly familiar with the original soul. They were of similar ages, so she spoke casually.
"I'm going over to the city. I'll join if I'm back early." Cao Yan quickly confirmed the identities of the two based on the body's memory. Knowing that they were quite familiar with the original soul, he agreed to it readily.
By interacting with the people in this world, I'll be able to understand this place even better and therefore integrate into this world much faster. Cao Yan thought to himself. After replying to the duo, he waved his hand and headed towards Magic Metropolis.
Since supernatural forces existed in this world, it was only expected for unknown dangers to be lurking around as well. Therefore, Magic Metropolis was different from the cities on Earth. There were tall, thick city walls resembling a dam built outside the city for protection.
There was a city gate where the officials were stationed to inspect the people entering and leaving the city.
Luckily, the body Cao Yan inherited was a resident of the city, so he could gain entrance smoothly after docking.
Based on the body's memory, Cao Yan could sort of grasp the level of civilization this world was at, including how the interior of Magic Metropolis roughly looked like. However, he was still amazed by the city's prosperity.
According to novels or films, even if supernatural forces and powers existed in a world, even if the world was not backward and undeveloped, it should still look something like medieval Europe and its civilization's system should be like that of the feudal period.
However, only after he really transmigrated over and saw what it looked like in Magic Metropolis did Cao Yan know that what he knew was not true.
The cities in this world might not be better than the cities on Earth since their course of development and the circumstances were very different, and hence, the two were not comparable. However, there were still some similarities, for example, the skyscrapers and the dressing and behavior of the people walking around the streets. These facts displayed a high level of civilization and evolution of this city. The people were not in animal skins and bartering like cavemen.
The overall impression Cao Yan had of Magic Metropolis was like the city of Asgard in the science fiction movie "Thor" he watched back on Earth. It appeared fantastical, yet it was not primitive. There were many mysterious and novel things about this city.
Mid-day, the sun was hanging high in the sky.
Cao Yan was wearing a shirt whose material appeared similar to linen. As he roamed the streets, he looked around at the people of this strange world. "It's a good thing the people here are quite good-looking. If I were to transmigrate to a place where all the ladies looked big and burly, that would be very disappointing."
"Miss, how do I get to the Demon Exhibition Center?"
The fake system had only assigned him the mission, and it did not come with any high-tech directional tool such as a mission map. Just as Cao Yan was cursing and swearing at the fake system, he stopped a demure-looking lady he met on the streets. That was his first conversation with a stranger in this world.
The lady was in her twenties and was wearing a priest-robe-like traditional long dress one would see in a game. She had an outstanding figure, and even though she was not stunningly beautiful, she was still rather delicate and pretty. She was shocked at first, but after glancing at Cao Yan, she pointed to a direction and said in a sweet voice, "It's over there. It's very far away."
Cao Yan proceeded forward, and after asking another three to four other young ladies, he finally got closer to his destination—Demon Exhibition Center.
-- 贈り物
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