Earthling in Uncharted Dimensions

"Are you all done to return to the city?!" (Lee)

"Yup, our mission is finished. We should return to the city to rest and take on further missions. Aren't you coming?!" (Darwin)

"I think I'll stay in the village for a while. My injuries have healed, but I must take some rest before another journey." (Lee)

"Will you be fine travelling to the city alone?! You don't know the way." (Darwin)

Lee smiled as he replied to Darwin's concern.

"I'll be fine. Thanks for your concern."

When they took a moment of pause, the white-robed cultivator stepped forward. She was as tall as Lee and seemed unrivaled in beauty. Her alluring bosom and exceptional butt felt pleasing to the eye to him. She cupped her hands and enquired.

"Sir, can you tell me from where did you get that ring?!" (Woman)

She pointed at the Spatial Ring in his finger. He raised his hand and looked at the ring while replying.

"I got it when I was in the forest. This ring was inside a bird's nest. I don't know how it got there, but it was a fortuitous encounter."

"Thank you for satisfying my curiosity. If you don't mind, can we spar a little?!" (Woman)

Her request stunned everyone around her. Lee looked at her. Her face was like an elegant portrait of a serene woman. He saw faint dark circles under her eyes and pale black colouration on her skin. Freya, who stood aside her, pulled her back and scolded her.

"Hey, don't go and issue challenge-" (Freya)

Before Freya could finish her sentence, Lee intervened.

"It's ok. We can spar. I'm still recovering, so I'll ask you to go easy on me."

Lee smiled and answered. The woman was very happy because Lee was the first person to accept her spar request straight away. Freya looked at Lee with a dumbed expression. She released her hand and muttered-

"This guy is asking for a beating. He doesn't know who she is!"

Lee and the female cultivator walked towards the entrance, and to outside the village. The female cultivator faintly smirked and thought-

'He thinks he's strong just because he killed a king grade beast. I'll show him what true strength is.'

Lee, on the other hand, had summoned the status screen and was looking at it.

==========

Name: Lee

Age: 20

Title: Newbie, Grim-reaper

Fame: 504

Essence: 1,530

----------

Health: 40

Strength: 40

Vitality: 40

Agility: 40

Defense: 40

Endurance: 40

Sense: 40

Intelligence: 30

Resolve: 30

Immunity:-

Affinity:-

----------

Qi: 0

Mana: 0

==========

'D, explain the new title!'

[Grim-reaper, a title awarded when you massacred wolves ruthlessly. There is a reward for obtaining such titles. This time, it is a 'Weapon Upgrade token' for Mortal grade weapons. It is stored in the Inventory. Do you want to use it now?!]

'Yes.'

[Done, your blade is now a Higher Mortal grade weapon. Further upgrade is available.]

'Can I remove the 'Newbie' title?!'

[No, it will vanish when your actions are not that of a newbie]

'…..and how does this 'Fame' works?!'

[Fame is the amount of respect or infamy you have acquired. Every being that has heard of your actions add one point to your Fame. Right now, everyone in the village and the wolves you spared earlier have seen your actions. If they spread news about you, each being will be added as a point. That's how 'Fame' works.]

'Does it have any special characteristic?!'

[Yes. Increasing 'Fame' will give you rewards, like the one you have in the Inventory. You'll get your first reward when it reaches 1,000.]

'How did my Essence increase so much?!'

[You completed the quest and got 200 Essence. You killed and absorbed 213 wolves and got 1,065 points. The beast core of King wolf contained 50 Essence and it was sold to the Shop for 35 Essence. Adding the previous balance, you obtained 1,530 Essence.]

'What is 'Affinity'?'

[When you sold the King Grade body to the Shop, this attribute was unlocked. Affinity shows your compatibility with elements that can aid you in battle. There are beasts with elemental harmony in their Essence. When you absorb such Essences, you get their compatibility. And don't think of them misfiring or repelling, it's all under control.]

'Can I spend Essence to increase elemental affinity?!'

[No.]

'Thought so. Let's increase all the attributes by 25 points. Calculate and let me know.'

[1,250 Essence must be spent. Confirm?]

'Confirm! And view the updated status'

==========

Name: Lee

Age: 20

Title: Newbie, Grim-reaper

Fame: 504

Essence: 280

----------

Health: 65

Strength: 65

Vitality: 65

Agility: 65

Defense: 65

Endurance: 65

Sense: 65

Intelligence: 55

Resolve: 55

Immunity:-

Affinity:-

----------

Qi: 0

Mana: 0

==========

Lee immediately glanced at the female cultivator and used 'View'

=====

Name: An Fenfang

Age: 28

Cultivation: 7th stage Core Formation Realm

State: Mildly poisoned, Cultivation stagnant,

Health: 49

Strength: 56

Agility: 53

Defense: 47

Endurance: 39

Sense: 46

Intelligence: 59

=====

'So she's poisoned! No wonder she had dark colors on her skin. She must be losing her sleep on it.'

[Do you want to save the lady in distress?! We have poison-antidotes in Shop.]

'Later D, later.'

Lee increased his pace and reached the open ground in front of the village gate. It was here he slaughtered the wolves. Lee took a 360 degree glimpse of the surrounding forest. The female cultivator reached there a few seconds later. Fellow warriors followed her. Standing about 100 meters apart, she unsheated her sword and held in a guard stance and stood there for a few seconds. Her countenance couldn't disguise her frailty. Lee understood that she's hesitating to attack due to her condition. He stood with arms folded, frowned and asked-

"Why are you hesitating?! Want to admit defeat?!" (Lee)

Lee teased her hesitation to break her composure. And it hit its mark. She felt her pride being questioned. The next second, she closed the distance between them. Her raised sword came down like a vicious predator. Darwin and others saw that Lee was not moving or guarding, but smiling faintly. When her sword was about to touch him, Lee disappeared. Then a voice came from her behind-

"I think you are completely mistaken. I'm standing here!"

This remark further enraged her. She turned around and slashed her sword horizontally aiming at his neck. Lee took a step forward and caught her wrist, halting her movement. She became alert by his action.

When she looked at him, his face was no longer teasing her, but had a serious expression with deep frowned brows. She didn't feel any hostility or killing intent, but tried to escape from his grip. He saw her attempt and said-

"Calm down. There's blood coming from your mouth."

He put an act of a concerned citizen. She touched her mouth on his remark and saw blood dripping from the corner. Freya ran to her upon hearing this. Darwin was confused and followed her lead.

Lee supported the woman as her legs started wobbling. She leaned on Lee's chest while falling unconscious. Freya saw that her condition had gone unstable and asked a stretcher to bring her inside. Lee volunteered-

"I'll carry her."

Lee carried her in his arms and ran. He was faster than Darwin and Freya by a great margin. Lee dashed towards the village doctor's house.

The village doctor was in his 70's. He was sitting in his courtyard and staring into distance, when Lee came with the woman in his arms. Seeing this, the doctor got up and hurriedly checked her pulse. He told Lee to take her inside and lay her down immediately. The doctor ran to his storage, grabbed some herbs and came back at the same speed. By this time, warriors that followed Lee had reached the house. Freya saw the doctor running and was panicking.

"This doctor is very skillful and brilliant. He can heal her disease." (Darwin)

Darwin said to the panic-stricken Freya. Her response made them frown.

"It's not a disease. She was affected by poison!" (Freya)

Doctor heard this and stopped in his tracks. He looked at Freya and then frowned at the woman on bed.

"But her symptoms are similar to a parasite infection! How can it be poison?!" (Doctor)

"I don't know how. She only told me that she was poisoned when she ate a red coloured cubic fruit she saw in the forest." (Freya)

The doctor gasped air as the beaker in his hand fell and shattered. Lee could only imagine the severity of the poison from his trembling hands. Doctor nearly lost his balance.

"It's...it's a Six-faced Red Barnacle Fruit. She's a fool to eat it, but can't be blamed. That fruit is pleasing to eyes. It has a poisonous parasitic nature. Once its juice enters the body, it slowly penetrates into the victim's blood vessels and forms numerous tiny scales inside it. These scales slowly suck away the vitality. The process is long and painless, unless the time of death arrives. When it reaches a mature stage, it will try to go out of the victim's body by making blood vessels erupt. It's a gruesome death. Normal people might have died years ago. She lived this long by circulating her Qi. A disruption in Qi made her lose her control."

Hearing this, Freya stared at Lee penetratively. Lee couldn't help but awkwardly look at the ground. Then, a question arose in his mind-

"Can it be cured?!" (Lee)

*sigh*

"It can be, but it's difficult to acquire the fruit. The Red Barnacle has a smell that attracts human beings, while it's twin named Blue Barnacle has a scent that attracts animals. It will look exactly the same, but in blue colour. There is a chance that the area surrounding this fruit might have become the lair of some ferocious beast. They will kill any intruder nearing the fruit." (Doctor)