After activating [Devourer], an intense mental pressure swept over Shawn, forcing him to close his eyes. When he opened them, he found himself in a void of pure darkness. His heart sped up in anticipation, but something was off about the sensation. It lacked the physical reverb that it normally had. He looked down and gasped.

He no longer possessed a body. Instead, he was now a small ball of pure white fire. His flame flickered weakly, unable to beat back the darkness. If there was anything else in this void, he would have been worried that it would have put out the fire. As things stood, even a slight breeze could extinguish the flame. He wasn’t sure what would happen if the flame went out, but he didn’t want to find out.

Shawn waited in the void for an indeterminate amount of time.

“What do you desire,” A child-like voice whispered to him. Brought on by the voices' emergence, wisps of color entered the void. They aimlessly floated through the void, bringing color wherever they went. Their influences did not seem to stop at color. In their wake, they left a trail of emotions and images, painting a beautiful tapestry in the once empty void.

Shawn searched the void for the source of the voice but quickly gave up. There were too many wisps blocking his view. Instead, he metaphorically sat back and watched the wisps of light dance through the air.

One green light, in particular, caught his attention. At first, it was no different from the others, but the longer he looked at the wisp, the more it transformed. The light twisted and bubbled, green gas beginning to waft off of it. The light had somehow taken on the characteristics of a deadly poison.

Throughout the process, Shawn had felt a slight drain on his energy, but he didn’t mind. It was fun to watch. Though, he was surprised when he glanced back at his flame body and noticed that the fire had dimmed slightly.

Once the wisp completed its transformation a blue box appeared.

Lesser Poison of the Scorpion Lvl 1: When touching an enemy with your right hand, activate this ability to inject a deadly neurotoxin into them that not only attacks their nervous system but also impedes their use of Qi.

Shawn considered the ability. It sounded powerful, no question about it, but he doubted it would be useful to him at the moment. He was too fragile to make good use of it.

His main problem with the ability was that it required him to touch his target. With how slow he was compared to everyone else, he doubted he would be able to effectively use it against anyone.

The only situation he could see it being useful was in the assassination of a sleeping target. That brought a whole host of new problems. First, he had no desire to assassinate anyone, so that wasn’t a compelling reason to get the skill. Second, he lacked the stealth skills to be able to sneak into someone's house and catch them unaware.

Overall, it sounded like a strong skill, just not one he could use effectively at the moment. If he ever had a chance to use [Devourer] on another scorpion in the future he would strongly consider taking it.

The poisonous light tugged on his mind, urging him to become one with it. Unaware of what that would result in, he let himself be pulled into it. The wisp engulfed him and his consciousness was transported out of the void into a desert.

He looked down at his hands and noticed that they were gone. In their place were two dark pincers.

Shawn’s body moved on its own as he stuck his stinger inside a small animal. It was like watching a movie in the first person, he wasn’t in control of his actions. His chitinous pincers kept the animal still as his stinger pumped neurotoxic poison into his victim. He watched as his prey spasmed in his grasp, the poison stopping its movements.

His point of view changed once again, and he was the poison itself rushing through the animal's bloodstream, destroying it from the inside. Shawn’s mind frayed as he lost himself in the experience.

No, I don’t want this.

He was back in the void, the wisps of light dancing playfully. Shawn felt a metaphorical bead of sweat run down his back. This place is dangerous.

The wisps called to him, beckoning him to become one with him. But this time, Shawn tried not to focus too heavily on a single light. Vague impressions washed over him and the void continued to change.

“You should choose soon, this plane is destabilizing,” the childish voice said. Shawn spun around the void but was once again unable to find its source. “Tell me what you want, I’ll help you.”

“I want,” Shawn said. The day's events flashed before his eyes. The man in the alley, the rundown state of the city, and the extreme power of its inhabitants. He wasn’t strong enough to survive in this new world. Hell, if someone patted him on the shoulder too hard he would probably die. “I want to live. I want to live without fear of dying.”

“So be it.” A pitch-black wisp of light flew into his chest and disappeared. Sending his consciousness someplace far away, but he passed out before he could make out the details.

Shawn groaned as he found himself back at the bar with his face on his plate. He wiped some scorpion innards out of his hair as he sat up.

Shell of the Lesser Scorpion assimilated. Resilience +3.

He immediately felt the difference and knew the voice in the void had picked correctly. His skin was tighter and his bones denser. He felt like he could be struck with a sledgehammer and be fine. Honestly, he could see himself getting addicted to this type of improvement.

Shawn’s skin tingled as an aura of pure malevolence washed over him. “What the fuck’s wrong with you, kid. You broke my plate,” Chule said, the veins on his forehead bulging dramatically.

Shawn looked down at the plate that had broken in half and immediately felt regret. It wasn’t his intention to break the plate. A stray strike in his manic stabbing session must have cracked the plate, and his head crashing into it when he passed out must have broken it in half.

“Oops, sorry,” Shawn said while scratching the back of his head.

Shawn’s embarrassment grew. He had known that his actions would look insane to outsiders, but he wasn’t ready to face the looks he was being given. The members of the Scorpion’s Den looked at him like he had grown a second head. This was easily one of the most embarrassing moments of his life. Right up there with the time, he broke his arm attempting a backflip in front of his childhood crush.

“You’re going to fix this, right? I’d hate to see what would happen if you didn’t,” Chule said, his aura of bloodlust increasing even further.

His embarrassment quickly shifted to panic. Chule was unreasonably angry about the broken plate. Shawn frantically looked around the tavern searching for someone to help him. While he had succeeded in capturing the attention of most of the patrons, none of them looked like they cared enough to help him. If anything it looked like they were siding with Chule.

“Of course, I wouldn’t dream of not making things right. Here, take all my money,” Shawn said quickly. He handed over his two remaining coins.

Lin laughed at his plight from behind him. “Oh, he’s gonna get mad now. No one disrespects Chule’s plates and gets away with it,” Lin said in anticipation.

“That was a high quality plate. It was imported from halfway across the globe. You think two Yi Coins could come close to close to repaying me? It’s insulting that you would even think that. That plate was worth at least 100 Yi Coins,” Chule said, his arms blurring as he angrily gestured.

Shawn’s heart skipped a beat as he watched Chule’s metal arm arc through the air in excess of a hundred miles per hour. Getting hit by that hand would be worse than getting hit by a car. Even with his increased resilience, he doubted he would be able to put up a fight against him.

Something clicked in his brain and the world seemed to slow down. His anxiety transformed into cool confidence. He had [Deception]. He could talk his way out of this. With this skill, he should be able to talk his way out of any situation.

Or at least that’s what he liked to think. The skill was only level one.

But he was out of options. So he spun a tale.

Shawn tilted his head down. “I’m sorry, I don’t know what came over me. I didn’t mean to break your plate. It’s just when I saw the scorpion, I was reminded of my family. When I was only 10 years old my entire family was killed by scorpions,” Shawn said, internally cringing at what he was saying. Why did he think this was a good idea? He should never have walked into the Scorpion’s Den.

Shawn paused for dramatic effect. “Ever since then, I have had an extreme hatred for scorpions. Whenever I see them, I seem to lose control of myself. I wasn’t in control of my actions, you have to believe me.”

Chule quirked an eyebrow.

Shawn gulped. I thought getting the [Deception] skill would make me a better liar, but the only thing it has done is make me more aware of how bad I am at lying. It was time to take a different approach.

“I’m sorry. I don’t have the money right now, but I can work for you. I’m sure I can pay off this debt eventually.” Shawn bowed his head.

“Fine, I’m in a good mood today. What skills do you have?” With that simple statement, the tension was broken and the tavern’s patrons stopped paying attention to their conversation.

That worked? I thought for sure I was gonna die. That aura he gave off was unreal. “I’m good at cleaning, that could be useful in a tavern,” Shawn said.

“Oh, that’s impressive. Not many people around these parts have the cleaning skill. What level is it?”

“I’m pretty new to the whole cleaning thing.” Chule looked unimpressed with his answer. “But I learn fast.”

“I didn’t ask how long you have been cleaning for. I asked what level your cleaning skill is,” Chule said condescendingly as if he was talking to a complete idiot. “Is it at least above level 10?”

“I’m not sure if I understand what you are talking about. Are you saying you also have a system that lets you level up?”

“Yes, everyone is born with the system. Even kids know this. Did you grow up living under a rock or something?” Lin said with her head in her hands, her expression alternating between shock and disbelief.

Shawn’s eyebrow twitched. Wasn’t he supposed to be special?

“The system? Of course, I know what that is. I was just confused by the terms you guys were using. The system goes by a different name where I’m from.” Lin nodded, accepting his explanation, unable to comprehend how someone wouldn’t know about the system and skill levels.

A blue box appeared in front of him. Caving to his monkey brain, Shawn took a quick glance at it.

Congratulations. Your skill Deception has grown to level 2.

Shawn and Chule spent the next few minutes negotiating the terms of his employment. In the end, Shawn wasn’t sure if he had been scammed. Their deal was simple, Shawn would work at the Scorpion’s Den, doing simple jobs to help out. In return, he would receive one Yi Coin a day and receive room and board.

He would be forced to work at the Scorpion’s Den till he paid off his 100 Yi Coin debt. He wasn’t sure how good of a deal it was, as he didn’t know the monetary value of a Yi Coin. But, he couldn’t complain, it beat sleeping on the streets and he figured if it turned out to be a particularly bad deal he could just disappear into the night.

At the end of their conversation, Chule tossed him a necklace. Attached to the bottom of the cord was a silver coin with a scorpion design. Dark red stained every ridge and crevice, making it look like someone half-assed cleaning it.

“Now that you are a member of the Scorpion’s Den you have an image to maintain. Don’t let me down,” he paused searching for the right words. “Take good care of that necklace.”

“I will.” Shawn slipped the simple black cord over his neck. “How do I look?”

Lin glanced at the necklace. A faint sheen of moisture appeared over her eyes making them look like fragile glass. She blinked and she was back to normal. “You look like an idiot,” she said.

Chule laughed and ruffled Shawn’s hair. Shawn internally recoiled. What the heck. This is too fast. One moment this guy is threatening to kill me and the next he is acting like we are old friends.

Chule handed him a small bag. “Lin will show you to your room. Be ready to work bright and early tomorrow.”

“Follow me,” Lin said as she turned to walk away. Shawn jogged to catch up to her. Lin waited for him, leaning against a wall in the corner of the tavern.

Shawn looked around in confusion. “Why’d you stop?”

Lin ignored him. “If you channel Qi into your necklace the door will open.” Without waiting for Shawn to respond, Lin tapped her pristine scorpion necklace. The wall parted to reveal two stairways, one going up and one going down.

Shawn glanced around the tavern. No one seemed to care that a giant hole had just appeared in the wall.

By the time Shawn looked back, Lin was already halfway up the stairs. Shawn chased after her on sore legs. Such a casual display of magic made him curious about the limits of what was possible. If it's possible to open a hole in the wall with almost no effort, maybe cross-dimensional travel was also possible. If I become strong enough, maybe I’ll be able to go home.

Lin guided him down a confusing pattern of passageways. By the time they had reached his room, he was breathing hard.

“Thanks for helping me find my room. I look forward to working with you,” Shawn said. He extended his hand for a shake.

Lin ground her teeth. “Good night,” she choked out. She disappeared in a blur of speed.

Shawn scratched his head in confusion. What did I do to this girl? Why does she hate me? Shawn entered his room. At least she is consistent. I’d get whiplash if everyone started being nice to me.

Shawn plopped down onto a small bed in the corner of the room. The room was simple. It was a small box, less than ten feet in any direction. The walls had no decorations on them, letting the bland grey stucco show. The room had no windows. The only source of light was a small engraving on the ceiling that leaked red light.

He chewed on his loaf of bread and opened his status screen.

Name: Shawn Jones Cultivation: Qi Gathering 1 0/100 Hp: 19/19 Qi: 1/1 Strength: 2 Dexterity: 3 Perception: 3 Endurance: 2 Resilience: 5 Agility: 2 Intelligence: 2

Shawn smiled at the progress he had made. In less than a day he had more than doubled his resilience stat. But he knew it wasn’t enough. If he wanted to be safe in this new world he would probably have to raise each of his stats past 20. As he was now he wouldn’t be able to fight off the man in the robe.

His good mood was ruined as his mind drifted to darker thoughts. He was alone, no one here would care if he died. He could only rely on himself. Which was all the more reason he should start cultivating immediately. He was exhausted but he couldn’t stop now.

He climbed onto his bed and entered a meditation pose. Not even ten minutes later, his eyes grew heavy and he drifted to sleep, his plan to cultivate the night away long forgotten.