Before it was one man, now there are two men walking inside the thick forest. One looks like your average joe with a not-so-average body while the one beside him can be a handsome protagonist for Wuxia movies.

Too bad our protagonist is having a difficult time coping up with the pace they were traveling.

“Wait- haaaaaa~ Let me catch my breath- haa~”

“Night is fast approaching, we need to find a good place to camp before we’re surrounded during that time. It will be a great disadvantage for us- Moving in the darkness.”

“I get that, but damn you’re fast.”

“Rather, you’re too slow Di San.”

Am I a magnet for diss? Why am I even getting one here when we just met? There’s should be another reason why I’m getting a jab in the face with words despite me not doing anything.

At least this time I can understand why he was dissing me because I was really slowing the party down. However, Nicolas already gave me three punches on my appearance alone as we move and look for a safe place to camp.

Nicolas was at least considerate enough to give me a five-minute break before we resume our journey. Catching my breath made me realize what my physical ability in real life is also the same here. It almost made me want to go to the gym- Almost.

“This place should be good enough. I’ll be the first to guard and night watch so you can go and take a rest first. I’ll just wake you up when it’s your turn.”

Removing some pebbles and twigs on the flat ground, we decided to wait for the next day here. It doesn’t have the best condition, but there is no best condition in this field of chaos.

Nicolas took something from the little sack bag he was carrying ever since. He handed me a piece of unidentifiable meat jerky. Hopefully, that bag is clean, or else I don’t want to have diarrhea in-game.

“Don’t start a campfire. It will attract many beasts and even fellow disciples.”

I was about to do the third step of survival in the forest, but Nicolas stop me before I pick up the sticks to use as fuel. I heard it was difficult to produce fire through this means so I was glad I didn’t need to embarrass myself trying to show off my knowledge.

Good thing today was a clear day. The moon was enough to not camp in total darkness. Mainly because there were two moons to illuminate the night. Which shows that it really was a different world.

“I’ve never seen you in the sect, but you must be an Outer Court disciple just like me.”

“I feel like I should be offended by that, but yes- I am an Outer court disciple like you.”

Nobody tells him I’m neither outer nor Inner Court disciple. I’m just going with the flow. Fake it till you make it. Or in this case, lie so I won’t die.

Nicolas is the best person possible I can imagine meeting when I knew nothing about my situation and this world. Not only does he believe me unconditionally, but he’s also a very convenient character who’ll fill up the blanks for me.

With the right words, I can know what kind of exam this is without looking suspicious since he is a gullible idiot.

“This exam is really difficult. I can’t imagine coming out here with colorful marks.”

“I agree. I never understood why they mix Outer Court and Inner Court disciples in the same day.”

“How powerful are these Inner Court disciples? I’ve only met one so far.”

To my understanding, cultivations are divided into many levels to identify their strength was. This is the second-best way to gauge power before simple numerical levels in games.

That bastard who aimed for me back then should be a part of the Inner Court since he was the single one in a group of six who was wearing a blue mantle. I should learn how powerful the likes of him are so I can prepare better and know who not to offend later.

“You can only enter the Inner Court once your cultivation reaches the Spirit Profound Realm. It’s a long road for the like of us.”

“I see… But I sense you should be close to that already.”

“Are you kidding me? I’m still in the 7th level of Elementary Profound. It’s miles ahead to even think about it… By the way, what level are you in since can’t sense any Qi within you.”

“I’ve got some mental trauma from the battle against the Executioner Monkey. I need to focus on recuperating that’s why I can’t produce Qi.”

That gave me enough information to deduce that this world works like how I know it to be. Realms are separated into ten levels. And it seems Elementary Profound is the lowest and Spirit Profound should be at least two realms above the former because Nicolas is already in the 7th level.

My brain is almost overcooked with all these new pieces of information I needed to brainstorm to try and connect the dots to reach a somewhat definite fact of this world.

It would help me a ton if I can simply ask about it directly, but I don’t want to risk creating a background story for myself to explain why I came here in the first place.

Just imagine this. If you ask someone in an anime convention who their waifu is and they answered Daenarys, then you’ll wonder why the fuck are they there in the first place.

At least in that imaginary scenario, the other party can say they came because they were invited by their friend or were just simply curious about the event. In my current situation, this exam of theirs doesn’t take strangers very quietly.

If I ever slip up with my words and gave out how I’m not a part of the White Tiger Sect, most likely Nicolas will think of me as an enemy or some sort.

That is why I realized how jealous I am of those Isekai protagonists to be able to integrate into their world so easily.

“You’re not going to rest?”

“No. My mind is filled up with why I didn’t get rescued by some beautiful blonde elf girl.”

“… Did I already tell you how weird you are?”

I lied down and check out my chatbox if there was any viewer present. It still showed 1 which should be my phone who’s playing my stream while I’m here.

Time passes by quietly which is eerie after the day was filled with evidence of numerous wild and loud battles across all directions.

I didn’t imagine this can turn into something scary so quickly. Chirps of insects and bushes which gave the impression of moving in the darkness made this beautiful forest into a level from a horror game.

It really tempted me to log out and come back later when the sun starts to rise. But base on how this world is realistic in its own ways, me being gone and appearing hours later at the same place may alert Nicolas.

There were no censors to stop me from spreading the information about Earth. Something I should always remember.

I learned from experience from watching and reading fiction that people will start looking at you in a negative way if you spread some controversial knowledge that could be true or not true.

I’m going to tackle this world without connecting it with my world.

“Are you sure you don’t need rest? I can watch for the whole night if you’re still recovering.”

“I can handle it so go ahead and rest. I’ll make sure to wake you up if anything goes wrong.”

Relief that Nicolas knew what I needed to do, he crossed his legs rather than laying down on the ground. This was the usual position way to rest or even recover for cultivators.

I noticed this and thought to myself after I leave this place alive, I need to learn how to step in the world of cultivation.

So now I’m technically the only one watching strange movements in our camp right now. It will be nice if I had techniques to improve my eyesight, but that goes for my to-do list later on.

All I had for my arsenal is the raw survival instinct of man. Instincts that helped humanity survive through countless disasters and competitions throughout history.

It seems to have helped since few meters from our east, I can hear branches from the trees being broken.

“Pssst Nicolas. Something is coming in our direction.”

Feeling bad I needed to wake up Nicolas so soon, I tap myself on the back for doing the right decision.

“I noticed it. Prepare for battle.”

“Battle? O shit, where’s my sword?”

I left it somewhere nearby where I needed to relieve myself from drinking too much water in real life. Fortunately, I didn’t take to look for long to find it. But it was enough for the creature coming at us to appear visible under the moonlight.

“There’s three of them. You’ll handle the small one while I attract the rest.”

“Ok, got it!”

I don’t get it.

A group of hippopotamus-like creatures was observing us and smelling whether if we were worth as a late-night snack. Nicolas doesn’t need to know the answer to that question because he already charged towards the two of them.

“Alright, calm down San. You can do this. Nicolas is kind enough to leave me the weakest so this should not be a problem. I probably can outmaneuver this thing since it’s much bigger and has smaller legs than me.”

Grabbing the handle of the sword as hard as I could, I plan to delay things so Nicolas can back me up.

A battle between an overweight man and a hippopotamus is inevitable.

Coming up next- Will I not get bitten by this thing or it’s a game over? I’m not strong enough to charge like Nicolas, and running away means abandoning my party member. That’s a dick thing to move no matter what world we’re in- And I’m not a dick.

So using the environment to my advantage, my first battle as Di San commence.