Short, Light, Free - Chapter 11: Clap Clap Clap I

Yuan Xi had a dream about a sexual encounter, only to discover after a night of pleasure that it had all been real. After being shocked silly for a long time, he ran away.

Who would have thought that a big grown man like him would become pregnant and have a son?

The question was, who is the child’s father? It had been too dark for Lao Tzu to see clearly!

Also, what was this daily life system that has been attached to him?

Farming Skill
Ranching Skill
Harvesting Skill
Cooking Skill
Building Skill
Skinning Skill
Sewing Skill
Smithing Skill

… There was a never-ending row of categories.

老子 Lao Tzu: A way of referring to oneself, usually in angry or joking situations.

- Description from Novelupdates

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!

“Mike woke up as a Beastmaster in a world where danger lurked in every corner.

The world was being invaded by monsters from another realm, and the citizens were forced to fight for their own safety.

Just as Mike wondered if he could survive in such a dangerous place, he received a system based on his attractiveness.

With the system’s help, his attractiveness began to rise every day.

When Mike’s attractiveness peaked at 9,999, not a single human tried to flirt with him.

Days went by as such until one day when a rare divine beast swift passed him and stopped in front of him willingly.

“Ding! Congratulations. You’ve tamed the legendary divine beast Green-Eyed White Dragon!”

Mike stared dumbfoundedly at the huge dragon in front of him.

Just like that, Mike tamed his first divine beast.

It didn’t take long for Mike to realize that his attractiveness only worked on divine beasts.

“Ding! Congratulations. You’ve tamed the legendary divine beast Tempest Battle Eagle!”

“Ding! Congratulations. You’ve tamed the legendary divine beast Black Flame Phoenix!”

The Master of the Tai Yi Sect, Patriarch Xu Yi shattered the void, causing the entire sect to travel through to the interstellar era.

On the deserted planet, the disciples discover a new world:

The eldest senior brother, who specialized in forging, fell in love with mech building. The second senior brother found that alchemy could also be manufactured on an assembly line; The third senior brother fell in love with live broadcasting and was addicted to the Internet; The old Master Xu Yi cracked his whip and urged the disciples, ‘This world is so rich in spiritual energy, how dare you not cultivate properly?’

In the Immortal Cultivation Realm, Junior Sister Sa Sa, who had no spiritual root and powerful spiritual sea, was finally no longer distressed by her inability to cultivate: ‘Mech’s are really powerful!’
Double standard — Xu Yi: … Study it. Isn’t it just mechs, Sa Sa should have one too.

A little bumpkin from a deserted star came to the Federation’s First Academy.

Sa Sa, ‘Wow, the internet is awesome! Mech’s are awesome! Technology is awesome!’
‘You don’t need to cultivate to become strong in the interstellar world, I really love love love it.’

Students from prominent and powerful backgrounds scoffed, ‘Where did the bumpkin come from? Is there something wrong with the admissions system?’
They had no idea that the anchor who exploded onto the internet had a great relationship with the little bumpkin.

Sa Sa: ‘Third Senior Brother is secretly on the internet again!’

The elixir that the little bumpkin usually took and hard to find, the spirit sea boosting pills with no side effects, was actually worth a thousand bucks?

Sa Sa, ‘Second Senior Brother makes the most delicious sweet pills!’

The mech that the little bumpkin casually pulled out was actually the upgraded version of the mech that everyone was fighting over?!

Sa Sa, ‘Eldest Senior Brother will definitely save the best for me!’

The whole planet was abuzz: ‘What kind of divine institution was Tai Yi? How do I get in? Waiting online for a reply!’

- Description from Novelupdates