James opened his eyes. He looked around and found himself in a large cave that smelled like damp earth. Skittering creatures and the dripping of water echoed in the open, unobstructed area. It was dark, making it difficult to see his surroundings.

  But his eyes readjusted faster then he expected.

  Looking around did not help him figure out how he got here and why he was meditating on a mossy rock in the middle of a small glittering lake. Even in the darkness. Red Koi fish swam around him, six of them in total. Each one large enough to eat him in two bites.

  The last thing he remembered had been closing his eyes as he hurtled down incredulous heights to a soon to be death via velocity or splattering on solid ground. If there had been any. Or Water. From the height he jumped, it would feel more like concrete than a shifting liquid.

  James shivered at the thought.

  What the hell was I thinking? Jumping off the ledge like that?

  He looked left and found his spear piercing the solid stone. He used it to get up. Dust fell off him, enough to convince him he needed a proper wipe down. It seemed like he had been sitting there for ages. But that couldn’t be possible. He’d be a skeleton by that point, right?

  One thing he was sure of though. No one had visited this cave in years. Even from the slight distance he could see the dusty stone floors. Not even a single foot imprint on them. Just a constant dripping and insects skittering below stones in complex societies.

  James searched the small lake. He wasn’t confident he could jump the entire width in a single bound. Yes, he figured out that he was exceptionally athletic now due to the constant secret system leveling and occasional attribute point placed in his stead.

  How athletic? He wasn’t sure.

  Instead he found another rock he could use as a stop in between his own and the shore. It would force him to walk around the edges of the cave to get back to the entrance, but that was better than being soaked by water. Especially with the robes he got on.

  One small jump for James, one large leap for mankind!

  James jumped. Launching himself straight over the targeted stone and into the river.

  He scrambled to find a grip on anything. Doing his best to hold his breath. He could still see underwater, even with the increased lack of light.

  Fuck!

  One of the massive Koi fish turned its attention to him. James attacked the water with renewed vigor. Doing his best Micheal Phillps impression and smacking the water around him as hard as he could. It pushed him forward.

  He looked back. The Koi fish had begun to swim towards him. Picking up speed. Maw opening with sharp teeth and beady eyes glowing with horrific amounts of hunger. James struggled harder. Pushing himself and his lungs past anything he had ever done before.

  James pushed himself left. The Koi fish whizzed past him. A rocket. It started to loop back, nearly slamming into the walls. Every breaststroke took him a good distance. He was quite positive that it shouldn’t have been launching him the way it did, but he wasn’t going to be ungrateful. It had saved him already.

  Even with his fast pace. The Koi fish barely missed him two more times.

  He grabbed onto the edge of the lake stones. Pulled himself up with urgency. He had to jump out of the way as the Koi fish jumped out of the water snapping at his heels. James could see its large, sharp teeth more clearly out of the water. A bite would have snapped him in half.

  James didn’t stop scrambling away from the horrific thing until his back hit something solid. A stalagmite that jutted out of the floor. Taller than he was and hidden by the darkness.

  The Koi fish tried to snap at him one more time before finally wiggling back into the water. Barely a splash from its re-entrance.

  Congratulations on exceeding your limits!

  Broke through an Isolated Domain!

  This tale has been unlawfully obtained from Royal Road. If you discover it on Amazon, kindly report it.

  Reward - 1,988,319 exp

  Reward - The Vagrant Kings Rice Bag

  This should have been a good thing. James knew that being grateful he hadn’t died was important. Making it to the other side somehow unscathed. And yet, he couldn’t help but imagine that he had been transferred into a new isolated realm. One that was bigger and had a cave in it for aesthetics.

  He needed to see someone. Anyone at all. It didn’t matter if they were evil or arrogant young masters. Human contact. That was all he could ask for at this point.

  James stood up. He went to clean himself but felt Qi escape him. An amount so tiny he almost missed it. His robes dusted themselves. A fresh feeling sufficed him. It was as if he had taken a shower and wore clothes that had come out of the dryer.

  Perfectly clean.

  “That’s new.” His voice echoed in the cave.

  He looked around until he found the entrance. It was smaller than he expected. Just enough for him to walk through comfortably, but not much more than that. He headed towards it. Dodging stalagmites and making sure he stayed clear of the large infestations of insects that made his skin crawl.

  James stepped out of the cave. Closing his eyes from the blinding light that assaulted them. It took, again far quicker than he expected, a few moments until his eyes readjusted.

  A view from a painting greeted him. Vibrant trees and thick foliage. Colorful flowers and weeds in between. Bird songs, a slight wind shaking the trees, and a hundred other sounds he couldn’t quite place. It was warm, but not hot. Just perfect.

  Stunning. Just stunning.

  Even something as simple as this left him amazed. How long had he seen nothing but the same monotonous grass, river, and three trees. The same night skies. Same clouds floating above. It had driven him insane to not witness something new and unique.

  This was it.

  A rice bag appeared in mid air. It landed with a soft thump on the rocky ground around him. Just as he would have imagined a rice bag to sound like. James picked it up. Studying the odd texture, very much resembling his own rice bag, but newer.

  If it was his spacial rice bag, then he lucked out for the first time in eons. There were so many things in there he could have made veritable mountains from each category. Weapons, gold coins, silver coins, clothes, manual, technique scrolls, and a hundred other things.

  But not a single piece of armor present within it.

  Just fancy robes that had pretty audacious claims for flimsy clothes. Scarves, shoes of both samurai sandals and clothing variety to match the ancient traditional eastern vibes. He could guess he had been isekai-ed to a cultivation world just from that alone. There were too many hints.

  He opened the rice bag and immediately let out a relieved sigh. Everything was still there—

  System integration complete!

  A notification appeared in his vision. Hope bubbled in his chest. Maybe now that he left the island, the system would finally work. He couldn’t help the joy that was spreading in his chest.

  All stats configured!

  All stats made easily accessible on the system interface!

  The latest update allows its users to mentally control the amount of po..WeRReerr…

  Error…

  RrroorororErr…

  “No.”James whispered. Dreams cracking and hope beginning to shatter.

  The system was quick to disappoint him just like usual.

  System Malfunction -

  Access denied!

  Retrying Calibration -

  Access denied!

  Retrying Calibration -

  Access denied!

  James just sighed. At this point, he couldn’t really force himself to care. The system had broken all his belief and hopes time and again. It wasn’t anything new at this point. Deciding to off yourself tended to make a person more jaded. Near death experiences changed the perspectives of the people and the world that surrounds you.

  Who cares if I don't have a system. I’m much stronger and faster than the average human.

  Maybe even stronger than a peak athlete. He could make a fortune just competing against others and physically dominating them. Re-energize his competitive spirit. Not that he needed any monetary help. James was probably one of if not the richest person on the planet. The vast majority of his weapons were named. Each piece of clothing had special effects and gathered their own Qi from the world if given enough time.

  He laughed at the idea of what amounted to this world paparazzi surrounding him trying to get a picture or a sound bite.

  If it all got too much to deal with, he could just disappear and live the life of a secret billionaire with no one the wiser. Maybe off of a lake or an estate in a large city with a bunch of buxom maids. Start a brand new life and hopefully fall in love with a nice, cute lady that would pamper him.

  Not a single person could claim they’ve worked harder than he had. Nobody had even lived long enough to be in the conversation or even start a sentence of that nature. He deserved to be treated like a king. Hand fed grapes by beauties

  And…

  He giggled to himself. Eyes turned starry. Already imagining every single tiny detail he could remember.

  James shook his head. Attempting to clear the fog.

  Not now!

  The need to find civilization took precedence over everything else. The sheer embarrassment at getting caught with his proverbial pants down gooning had him in a burning fit. He coughed and sputtered. There was no way he would be able to live it down.

  A second suicide attempt would have to occur at that point.

  The fact he had existed for so long had changed him considerably. Mentally and spiritually. It had created a will so powerful and complete, he could control his most basic urges. It had driven him insane for the first few decades when he still believed there was an ancient tutorial master testing him. But James had overcome it with time. Just like everything else.

  With time and place he could and would—

  I will not simp!

  He had not lived for untold eons to watch foot videos!