Cultivation Nerd - Chapter 205: Faceless

Ash opened his eyes to find that he had traveled to a strange nation of many races, and people were kneeling before him.Before he had time to adapt to the new identity of the Terminus Observer, he was put to jail – as a cult leader.In prison, controlled by a high-tech chip, he was unable to use violence. He also lost all his memories due to the time warp.How could he escape from the prison full of ogres, green-skinned beasts, sorcerers, and elves in this strange nation? And how could he survive the legendary Blood Moon Judgment?“Ding! You obtained a game system – Mage Manual! It includes an illusory world map, which can predict risks and gains, helping you find advantages and trouble, and greatly improve exploration efficiency!”“Ding! You obtained Deadly Berserker Sword Maiden! You can share all skills and upgrade together with her!”“Ding! You encountered an Illusory Vortex! Go straight through the heartland of the Illusory Realm and harvest a lot of experience to create the Silver Wing!”...Is this the legendary system? It not only gives me free skills, but also a skillful fighter?Ash discovered that even though he was in the Otherworld, he could dominate his own destiny with the system, and even...dominate the entire Otherworld!

Inside the dining room.

Fangzheng: Hello, I’m on a blind date.

Sister Yu: A blind date?

Fangzheng: To make a long story short, I know you are here to deal with your parents. As long as we make it clear, we can go back to our respective homes.

Sister Yu: Do you know who I am?

Fangzheng: I don’t know much, so what do you say? Continue to photograph or?

At this time, a waiter came in and bowed awkwardly to the two of them: I’m sorry sir, I made a mistake, this is not the room you are looking for! Your blind date is next door!

Fangzheng: ….

- Description from novelbuddy

Lu Chen woke up to find himself participating in a live-streamed creative competition show!Contestants were tasked with creating works based on themes given by the show.When the theme ‘Countryside’ was announced, other participants quickly began crafting heartwarming rural stories, tales of pastoral love, and picturesque depictions of harmony and simplicity.Lu Chen decided to take the road less traveled—he wanted to blow the audience away!He chose ‘Operation Icebreaker’ as his inspiration.At first, the audience thought they were getting a story about rural development. But as the plot unfolded, something felt… off.A village of 20,000 people, every household with the same type of large pot, and a full-scale drug production operation?The internet exploded.[Countryside theme, and you’re writing about a drug-making village getting rich together?]The producers were in chaos.We said countryside! What’s this Taizhai nonsense?Lu Chen, unfazed, replied, “Director, rural anti-drug campaigns are a countryside theme. Now, are we sticking to the theme or not?”And thus, the Master of Sticking to the Theme was born.Given the theme Fishmonger, he wrote The Legend of Gao Qiqiang.

Warning This fiction contains:

Graphic Violence Profanity Sensitive Content

Summary – Level 1:

Delve is an isekai litrpg that follows an average guy who just happened to wake up in a forest one day. He wasn’t summoned to defeat the demon lord or to save the world or anything like that, at least as far as he can tell. The only creature there to greet him was a regular old squirrel.

Soon enough, he meets other people, only to discover that he can’t speak the language, and that not everybody immediately trusts random pajama-wearing strangers they met in the middle of the wilderness. Things generally go downhill from there, at least until the blue boxes start appearing.

Delve is a story about finding your way in a new, strange, and dangerous world. It’s about avoiding death, figuring out what the heck is going on, and trying to make some friends along the way. It’s not about getting home, so much as finding a new one.

Did I mention that there will be math?

Summary – Level 2:

Okay, but what are you in for, really?

Well, this story is supposed to be realistic, or at least, as realistic as a fantasy litrpg can be. The main character doesn’t instantly become an all-powerful god and murder-hobo his way across the universe. Delve is, at its heart, a progression fantasy, but that progression is meant to feel earned. The numbers in this story actually mean something. Everything is calculated, and if you find a rounding error, I expect you to tell me about it. That said, if math isn’t your cup of tea, there is plenty more that the story has to offer. Characters are meant to feel real, and progression isn’t only about personal power; it’s also about allies, connections, and above all, knowledge. Figuring out how the system works is a significant theme.

...

What, you want more details? Okay, fine, but this is going to get a bit spoiler-y. Are you sure?

Yes!

Really sure? I mean, this summary is practically half as long as the first chap–

Now!

Okay, okay!

The main character becomes a magic user, but he takes a route that is not very popular in adventurer culture, namely that of a support. There is a full magic system with various spells, skills, and abilities, but our MC decides that aura magic is the way to go, and that the only stat worth investing in is mana regeneration. Most people at the Adventurer’s Guild think that this makes him a bit of a dumbass, but he’s playing the long game. We’ll see how that works out for him, won’t we?

Because of his build, the MC levels up fast, at least compared to normal people. There are no cheats, though, and he is limited in other ways. There are some clear and pretty obvious downsides to his build. That’s what makes it fun, no?

Morals? Our MC has them. Again, we’ll see how that works out for him. Realism, remember? Would you be okay with killing someone and looting their body? I sure hope not.

POV? The focus is on the main character, but there will be occasional varying perspectives from people around him, or involved in the events related to the main plot. It isn’t going to jump all over the place.

Tech is standard medieval stasis. No smartphones, but the MC does have a technical background. Computers and their programming might be involved. There might even be a bit of uplifting down the road, who knows? Anyway, it isn’t the focus. He isn’t going to invent the gun in chapter 1 and change the face of warfare.

Romance is not a major focus. Friendships are more the name of the game, though there will be some characters in romantic relationships.

There is exploration, though not as much of the geographical nature as you might expect. It is more about exploration of the system and the culture.

The pace is slow and detailed, sometimes verging on slice-of-life. The action is meant to be realistic and grounded in the numbers, and it is intended to have meaning beyond simply punching things until they stop moving.

The general tone of the story is grey, and some parts can get quite dark. People die. Sometimes, people with names, but not anywhere near GoT level. There is plenty of light, too, though, to balance the darkness. The world is dangerous, but overcoming that danger is why we’re all here, isn’t it?

Anyway, if you’ve made it this far through the summary, you clearly like words. I hope you enjoy the story!