Before the group fully wakes up, this also keeps the focus on Ethan’s confusion rather than Grace’s appearance.
"Where is this?"
Ethan woke up and slowly opened his eyes, only to find himself lying on the ground.
The sky above was azure blue. Dense forests surrounded him on all sides, their trees covered in tangled vines, while thick white mist concealed everything beyond the clearing.
He was in the center of the forest, inside a small clearing.
Supporting himself with one hand, he prepared to stand.
"Ah..."
Ethan suddenly froze.
His palm had pressed against something unexpectedly soft and smooth.
The sensation was warm and delicate, nothing like grass or earth.
Looking down, he discovered more than a dozen women lying around him. Some wore torn clothing, while others had almost nothing left to cover themselves.
His right hand happened to be gripping the fair, jade-like hand of his English teacher, Grace. Perhaps because he had unconsciously tightened his grip while waking up, he instinctively squeezed it.
Grace frowned and slowly opened her eyes.
The first thing she noticed was Ethan holding her hand.
Then she noticed how close they were.
Her cheeks instantly flushed red.
"Pervert!"
Slap!
A crisp slap landed across Ethan’s shoulder.
Ethan quickly raised both hands and took a step back.
"I—I didn’t do it on purpose!"
Grace immediately pulled her hand free and instinctively retreated several steps, lowering her head to check her condition. Seeing that her clothes were in disarray, she hurriedly adjusted them as best she could before glaring cautiously at Ethan.
At that moment, Ethan wasn’t even in the mood to explain.
His heart was still in turmoil.
Just moments ago, he had gone to celebrate his one-year anniversary with Elena.
He still vividly remembered the bedroom shrouded in darkness... the misunderstanding caused by the nearly identical appearance and scent... Emily’s shocked expression after the truth was revealed...
Just as Emily was about to finish speaking, a blinding white light had suddenly engulfed the entire room.
An irresistible force swallowed both of them.
The next thing Ethan remembered was waking up here.
"So... that wasn’t a dream..."
Gradually, the others began to wake up.
At first, everyone wore bewildered expressions.
"Where is this? My head hurts so much."
"Ah! My clothes..."
"What’s going on?"
"How did we get here?"
"This place is terrifying... I want to go home!"
One after another, the girls slowly sat up, looking around at the unfamiliar forest with panic written all over their faces.
Among them, Elena also slowly opened her eyes.
She blinked several times before looking around in confusion.
Just moments ago, she had been carrying a bag filled with scented candles, balloons, and decorations for Ethan’s anniversary surprise. She had planned to hurry back to the apartment before he arrived.
Then a blinding white light had suddenly swallowed everything.
Her thoughts were interrupted when she spotted a familiar figure nearby.
"Ethan!"
Joy and relief instantly appeared on her face as she hurried toward him.
However, after only taking two steps, she noticed another familiar person standing not far away.
"Aunt Emily!"
She quickly changed direction and ran to Emily’s side instead.
"Aunt Emily, are you alright? What happened? Do you know where we are?"
Emily forced herself to remain composed.
"I’m... fine."
Only she knew how turbulent her heart was.
The memories of what had happened before the white light appeared flashed through her mind again.
She subconsciously glanced at Ethan.
At almost the same moment, Ethan also looked toward her.
Their eyes met for only an instant. Neither of them spoke. Both silently looked away.
Seeing her aunt’s somewhat pale complexion, Elena assumed she was simply frightened by the sudden change in surroundings.
She gently held Emily’s hand.
"Don’t worry. Ethan is here too. We’ll definitely figure out what’s going on."
Emily forced a faint smile and nodded. "Mm."
Just then, a loud scream shattered the uneasy silence.
"Ah! There’s a man here!"
A heavily built girl pointed directly at Ethan, her face filled with panic.
"It’s him! He must have done something while we were unconscious!"
Instantly, every pair of eyes turned toward Ethan.
Even Grace looked over instinctively. Ethan was completely dumbfounded.
"What?"
He pointed at himself in disbelief.
"I only woke up a moment before all of you. I don’t even know where this place is. What could I possibly have done?"
Before anyone could continue arguing, the girl’s loud voice echoed throughout the forest.
A flock of birds hidden deep within the jungle suddenly burst into the sky.
The sound of countless wings flapping echoed through the mist.
Everyone instinctively fell silent.
An invisible pressure settled over the clearing.
At that moment, Grace took a deep breath and stepped forward.
Although her clothes were somewhat torn and dusty, they were still in much better condition than most of the others, allowing her to regain her composure first.
"Everyone, please stay calm," Grace said as she slowly swept her gaze across the crowd. "Panicking won’t solve anything. Let’s first confirm whether everyone is here."
The students immediately began counting one another, and after several minutes, the result was confirmed.
"Teacher Grace, there are thirty-five students here."
The student who had finished counting then looked toward Emily with a puzzled expression.
"But... she..."
Before she could finish speaking, Elena immediately stepped forward and explained, "Teacher Grace, she’s my aunt, Emily. She isn’t one of our classmates."
Hearing that, the surrounding girls couldn’t help but look at Emily curiously. They had often heard Elena mention her aunt before, but this was the first time most of them had actually met her.
The student quickly corrected herself. "Then there are thirty-five students, Teacher Grace, and Miss Emily. Fortunately, everyone is here."
Hearing that no one was missing, several girls finally let out relieved sighs.
"Teacher Grace..." one timid girl called out, tears welling up in her eyes. "I’m so scared."
Grace gently patted the girl’s shoulder and comforted her softly, "I know you’re scared, but crying won’t help us. We’ll stay together for now. As long as we remain calm, we’ll have a better chance of figuring out where we are."
"Teacher Grace, you must stand up for us! Ethan did all of this! He’s the only man here!" another large-breasted girl wailed.
All the girls huddled close to the teacher, staring fearfully at the only man present.
This man wasn’t wearing any clothes!
He was too dangerous!
Some girls saw Ethan’s physique for the first time: evenly defined muscles and perfect body proportions.
More importantly, he was as vigorous as a Russian ham.
Some girls were scared, while others swallowed hard.
Grace covered her eyes and awkwardly turned her head to the side. "Ethan, what exactly is going on?"
"How should I know?"
Just then, everyone heard a solemn and cold voice echo in their minds.
[Welcome to the Savage World.]
[All people from Blue Star will be randomly transported to a location in the Savage World based on their class, organization, family, or company to establish a Tribe, gather resources, survive together, and grow stronger!]
[Each initial Tribe cannot exceed 50 people. There is no age limit for participants.]
[Adjacent Tribes must be separated by a straight-line distance of at least 50 kilometers.]
[The mist surrounding the Tribe area will be dispelled, while all other areas will remain shrouded in mist year-round. The mist is fraught with danger. Those who enter the mist must remember to return to the Tribe before dark.]
[The Tribe must have a source of light after dark! There are mysterious unknowns lurking in the darkness. Absolutely do not enter the mist after dark! Absolutely!]
[Talents will be awakened shortly.]
[After your Talents awaken, you will have 10 minutes to vote for a Tribe Leader. If a majority vote is reached, that person will become the Leader. Otherwise, the system will randomly select one. Electing a Leader grants additional rewards. The Leader holds the core authority of the Tribe and bears the heavy responsibility of leading its development. The Tribe is your only sanctuary in this world. Build it, upgrade it, and do everything you can to survive!]
[As newcomers, you have been rewarded with a Beginner’s Gift Pack.]
The system’s voice disappeared.
Simultaneously, a wooden chest appeared on the ground.
The entire area fell silent for a moment. At first, no one paid attention to the wooden chest. Instead, everyone began discussing the announcement intensely.
"Did you hear that? That’s incredible!"
"It’s just like the novels I read. Have we transmigrated?"
"It sounds like a survival game. Are we about to awaken Talents? I’m actually a little excited."
"I don’t want any Talent... I want to go home."
"The Tribe Leader sounds very important. Why don’t we let Teacher Grace take the position?"
Everyone chatted excitedly. Their initial panic had faded, replaced by a hint of anticipation.
After all, they were all young people, so it was only natural that they accepted the situation surprisingly quickly.
Only Ethan noticed the Beginner’s Gift Pack.
He walked over to the wooden chest.
Information immediately appeared before his eyes.
[Wooden Treasure Chest: Can randomly obtain 1–3 Ordinary-grade supplies, not limited to food.]
"Quick, look! What’s inside?" Natalie, the class representative, covered her modest chest and boldly walked over to Ethan, eager to see what was inside the chest.
Ethan opened the wooden chest.
Inside were a wooden bow and ten stone-tipped arrows.
"This isn’t bad." Ethan picked up the bow and examined it. "Although it can’t compare to a carbon-based lifeform’s emotional support device, it’s still a decent weapon for surviving in the wilderness."
Suddenly, beams of white light descended from the sky, enveloping everyone.
Some people were surrounded by dazzling golden light, so brilliant that others could barely keep their eyes open. Some radiated noble purple light, while others emitted ordinary blue, green, or even gray light.
Ethan, however, was enveloped in an incomparably deep black light.
Among the sea of white light, the black radiance made him exceptionally conspicuous.
The light gradually faded, and a mechanical voice echoed in Ethan’s mind.
[Congratulations! You have awakened the SSS-Rank Talent: More Wives, More Blessings System.]
[The more wives you have, the more blessings you will receive.]
[Tier One Effect: Every time you sincerely give a gift to one of your wives or share a moment of genuine intimacy with her, the system will randomly grant you a Blessing or Reward. Each wife can trigger the reward once per day.]
[Current Tier: 1]
[Current Wives: 0]
[Current Daily Reward Chances: 0]
Ethan stood frozen after hearing the Talent description.
"What the hell is this?"
He couldn’t help taking a deep breath.
An SSS-Rank Talent...
Yet its effects completely depended on having wives.
How was he supposed to use a Talent like this?
Could this really deserve to be called an SSS-Rank Talent?
Although the system had identified it as an SSS-Rank ability, Ethan couldn’t help but doubt it.
"Has everyone awakened their Talents?" Grace organized everyone. "Let’s report our Talents one by one. I’ll start first. I awakened the SS-Rank Talent: Resource Doubling."
"Simply put, any ordinary resource or item I personally obtain can be duplicated once, giving me an extra identical copy. However, it doesn’t work on items that have already been used or consumed, special-grade items, or things created through blueprints or recipe books. Also, each item can only be duplicated once."
The moment Grace finished speaking, the surrounding girls gasped.
"Wow, Teacher Grace, you actually awakened an SS-Rank Talent! That’s amazing!"
"I only have a C-Rank Talent, Vegetable Planting."
"I’m even worse. I awakened a D-Rank Talent, Logging."
"I awakened an A-Rank Talent, Great Strength. It greatly increases my physical strength. How could a girl like me, who doesn’t even weigh one hundred jin, awaken such a Talent?"
"I also got Logging. How is a little princess like me supposed to chop trees? Dirty, exhausting work like that should be left to men."
As everyone reported their Talents, their gazes gradually shifted toward Ethan.