The clear stream shimmered with fine golden light under the sun.
The pebbles at the bottom were rounded, and a few unknown small silver fish darted gracefully among the water grasses.
I crouished by the river, slowly immersing my hand in the water.
A refreshing coolness spread up my arm, yet it wasn’t piercing; instead, it carried a peculiar soothing sensation.
The current seemed to resonate faintly with my fingertips, as if softly telling me something.
I flipped open the notebook in my hands, a “recording tool” provided by the System, which had appeared out of thin air and bore a faint scent of ink and bamboo-slip texture.
My other hand gripped a pen with a smooth jade shaft.
Its tip fell onto the sturdy paper pages, producing a gentle rustling sound.
By the river grew several types of plants with distinct shapes, their leaf colors and vein patterns completely different from any species I knew.
“System, identify the plant three steps ahead of me, with blue-purple spike-like flowers.” I thought silently.
[ Scanning…
Identification complete: Buckwheat Flower (Local Variant).
Perennial herb, prefers moist environments.
Preliminary analysis of flowers and leaves shows they contain specific alkaloids and flavonoids.
It is conjectured to have blood-activating, stasis-resolving, and mild analgesic effects.
Further pharmacological verification is required.
]
I recorded it as instructed, my pen sketching its general form and labeling it “Buckwheat Flower (blood-activating, stasis-resolving?)” with a small question mark beside it.
Standing up, I walked slowly along the riverbank.
In the corner of my vision, the System timely indicated with a translucent arrow a plant on the opposite bank, swaying in the breeze, its spikelets slender as needles and gleaming with a jade-like luster.
This was the “Riverside Jade-Needle Rice” it recommended.
The posture of the rice spikelets was indeed elegant, but how to harvest or plant it remained unknown.
My feet stepped on the soft riverbank, and my dragon tail instinctively maintained my balance, occasionally sweeping across the moist grass.
My thoughts, however, drifted far away.
This world…
what kind of existence was it?
Was it Terra, the continent from the setting of “Arknights,” filled with Catastrophes, Originium, and Mobile Cities?
Or was it some vaguely similar parallel world?
This valley was so quiet and peaceful, which seemed not entirely consistent with the crisis-ridden world depicted in the game.
But the pair of horns on my head, the tail behind me, and the strange power flowing within my body constantly reminded me that this was definitely no ordinary Earth.
I looked around.
The mountains were silent, and besides the rustle of wind through the treetops, the murmur of running water, and the calls of birds and insects nearby and far away, there was no other sign of human presence.
I couldn’t even find a single person to ask for directions…
This feeling of being all alone in a completely unfamiliar world truly left a void in my heart.
“Sigh…” I sighed softly, shaking off those temporarily unsolvable grand questions and bringing my attention back to the present.
As far as my eyes could see, every kind of plant was novel and unfamiliar.
That cluster with thick, serrated leaves; that vine clinging to the rocks, blooming with bell-like little yellow flowers; and the orange fruit, like little lanterns, growing on the shrubs in the distance…
I didn’t recognize them, not a single one.
“System, scan the plant with serrated leaves to the front left.”
[ …
]
“System, identify the yellow-flowered vine on the rock.”
[ …
]
“System, analyze that orange little lantern fruit.”
[ …
]
I kept walking and stopping like this, asking about each thing I saw, like a freshman who had just entered a laboratory facing a bunch of unknown samples.
Several more pages of messy but earnest sketches and notes were soon added to my notebook, adorned with the System’s analytical summaries and my annotated questions.
There were plenty of animals too.
Colorful birds with strange calls flew overhead; various kinds of insects were busy among the blades of grass; I even saw a few small beasts with smooth fur, looking a bit like civets and a bit like weasels, warily peeking out from behind the bushes before swiftly darting away.
“…Scan that brownish-gray striped little animal that just ran past.”
[ Scan failed, target has left the effective range.
]
Fine.
I could only do my best to capture relatively still or slow-moving targets for scanning and recording.
My wrist was slightly sore.
I stopped writing and rubbed my temples.
Looking at the records in my notebook, which were gradually becoming more extensive yet still only the tip of the iceberg, and then thinking about this vast valley, and the possibly even broader world…
“I say, System,” I finally couldn’t help but complain in my mind, “Your technology…
uh, or maybe immortal art?
Is a level that can transport my whole body here, and can perform real-time scanning and analysis of biological data, so why do the records have to be copied by me with a pen, word by word, and drawn picture by picture?
Can’t you just directly generate a document and save it in your database, or at least give me a photo archiving function?”
The System’s voice remained steady, but it seemed to have acquired a faint, almost imperceptible…
hint of patient explanation?
[ Reply to Host: Handwritten records are an effective method for deepening cognition and promoting understanding and memory.
Through the Host’s own observation, depiction, and summarization, a more intuitive sense and internal connection to the local ecology can be established.
This process itself is a subtle observation of the ‘Leyline Vitality,’ which aids in the Host’s ability growth.
Furthermore, data recorded by hand may, under specific conditions, possess additional efficacy (e.g., serving as a medium for certain ritual spells).
This System’s database only provides basic information support and analysis assistance; the ‘Chronicle of Observations’ handwritten by the Host is the true ‘contract’ and ‘history book’ belonging to you and this land.
]
“…Alright, you’ve got a point.” I pursed my lips, but I had to admit that when sketching a plant’s form and recording its surrounding environment, I did indeed form a deeper impression than simply reading the text descriptions provided by the System.
I could even faintly sense the weak and unique fluctuations of “vitality” they emitted.
Could this be Shu’s ability taking effect imperceptibly?
Resignedly, I raised my pen again, my gaze fixed on the swaying Jade-Needle Rice on the opposite bank.
At least I had my first practical target.
After finishing the record of the shrub with its scattered white flowers in front of me, I closed the notebook and carefully put it away (the System hadn’t specified whether this notebook could be lost, so it was better to be cautious).
Next, I had to find a way to cross the river and study those “recommended crops” up close.
Crossing the river…
I looked at myself, then at the clear but not particularly shallow stream.
Swim?
Or look for shallows or stepping stones?
Or…
try and see if this body has any special abilities?
My ice-blue eyes blinked, a glint of curiosity and experimentation flashing within them.