Chapter 2 : Encounter with a Fierce Tiger
Su Xiao summoned his interface and looked at it carefully. His fox face twitched slightly.
“Luck: 240! It really deducted 10 points! I can’t even complain a little?” he muttered as the number confirmed his loss. “Reach 10,000 Luck within a month? That’s ridiculous! Who even knows how to gain Luck? And I’m the 10,086th host… Don’t tell me all the previous hosts have already got eliminated?”
Su Xiao swallowed nervously. With so many predecessors, if they hadn’t died, why would it be his turn now? His brain was still functioning well enough to realize the key point quickly.
From that perspective, it seemed pretty clear that the system was basically a trap!
“Hm? Why does the fragrance around here feel stronger?”
The increasingly rich scent pulled Su Xiao’s attention away from the system and back to the Silver Grass.
Above the silver-white flower, the fragrance had grown so intense that it formed a visible mist, slowly swirling around the plant. The flower looked very similar to the asters Su Xiao knew from Earth, except it grew alone, only a single bloom, and its color was silver-white.
Just that one flower produced a fragrance so rich it was impossible to describe. At least, Su Xiao was certain you would never see something like this on Earth.
Soon, the petals of the Silver Flower began to fall away. At a speed visible to the naked eye, a silver fruit started forming in their place. Blooming and bearing fruit was normally a slow process. But here, it was completed in an instant.
Sudden. Unbelievable.
“This is incredible!”
【Silver Fruit: High-grade mystical spirit fruit. The Silver Flower blooms once every hundred years, and only after another hundred years does it bear a single fruit. Consuming it greatly increases spiritual power, grants a small amount of Luck, and has a low chance of awakening bloodline abilities.】
The description of the Silver Flower had changed.
“A flower that blooms for a hundred years and forms a fruit in a single moment! That’s truly strange… and it can even increase Luck!” Su Xiao’s eyes lit up. He had been worrying about how to increase his Luck, and suddenly the answer appeared right in front of him.
As the Silver Fruit formed, the surrounding fragrance reached its peak. Looking at it, Su Xiao felt his saliva glands going completely out of control.
“Heavenly spirit fruits belong to the virtuous. As someone who transmigrated here, I must have accumulated great virtue in my past life… so I won’t stand on ceremony!”
He didn’t hesitate. There was no one else around, so there was no need to put on a show. Better to pick it and eat it quickly to see what it did.
But just as he was about to enjoy his first delicious meal in this new world—
A flash of bright yellow streaked into view.
The golden figure rode the wind and landed right in front of him.
A white figure let out a threatening growl, “Grrraaw!”
Su Xiao froze. Standing before him was someone with fluffy ears he instantly recognized, wearing an ancient-style apricot-yellow dress. A dark red braid at her temple fluttered in the wind. Her eyes were silver-white, gleaming softly. Even more unbelievable, behind her, a bright yellow tail streaked with white patterns swung back and forth, striking the ground and sending sparks flying.
Su Xiao never imagined that on the first day after transmigrating, he would encounter a legendary creature well-known throughout otaku culture—
A catgirl.
“This is a catgirl!!”
Su Xiao was astonished.
But the girl in front of him had clearly assumed an attacking stance, her face filled with intense vigilance. Her body was crouched low, both pale hands braced against a large rock. Her sharp claws carved deep gouges into the stone, sending sparks flying.
Su Xiao noticed something else.
Her claws were red.
A vivid red.
A wet red.
His nose twitched slightly. He smelled something different now; not the fragrance of the Silver Fruit.
It was the smell of blood.
“The smell of blood…?” Su Xiao wondered if he was mistaken.
As the Silver Fruit finished maturing, its fragrance gradually faded, but the scent of blood continued to spread.
Su Xiao’s pupils widened. Looking closer, he noticed several dark red stains on the catgirl’s ancient-style clothing, as if it had been splashed with blood.
His pupils widened even further. After the initial shock faded, a tremor rose from deep within his body. It was the instinctive fear that prey feels toward a superior predator.
【White-Striped Tiger Half-Demon. Refined Spirit-level demon race. Possesses a thin trace of White Tiger bloodline. Estimated danger level: one star. Recommendation: Host should escape.】
“Just like before… if I focus my attention, I can even get information about living beings… A half-demon… a demon! If I understand correctly… This world actually has demons!”
Perhaps it was a professional habit, or perhaps Su Xiao was simply the daring type. Either way, his mental fortitude was impressive. Even while facing what might be a legendary monster, he was still calmly analyzing the situation in his mind.
“White Tiger bloodline… If the system’s definition of ‘White Tiger’ is the same as the one I know, then that means this seemingly petite catgirl is absolutely terrifying. And the danger level, is that the system’s judgment? How dangerous is one star? From the system’s assessment, it seems I basically have no chance of winning.”
In just a moment, Su Xiao had already analyzed the key information provided by the system.
That skill came from his long experience as a keyboard warrior on the internet. Analyzing opponents behind the screen, judging their personality, and launching targeted attacks based on psychological weaknesses. That had always been Su Xiao’s style.
Meanwhile, the tension at the scene only grew heavier.
The patience in the catgirl’s eyes was running out. She looked ready to attack at any moment.
Yet while Su Xiao felt the pressure, his thoughts kept racing.
“Her strength is far above mine. If she had ambushed me earlier, I might not even have had a chance to dodge.”
Thinking about that, Su Xiao felt somewhat fortunate. But luck wouldn’t stay with him forever, and he had no intention of placing his hopes on vague miracles.
“She didn’t attack me. Even now, she’s only warning and guarding against me. That means she’s worried about something… or wary of something. Maybe there’s another powerful demon watching this place, preventing her from acting recklessly. Or maybe she can’t gauge my strength. After all, I have a system, which might be blocking her ability to probe me. Or maybe there’s some other reason I don’t know about. In any case, turning around and running right now would be the stupidest thing I could do. That would only provoke her to react! What she wants… is the Silver Fruit in my hand.”
In that instant, Su Xiao made his decision.
He decisively plucked the Silver Fruit.
And that action immediately provoked the other side.
The wind around them began to roar violently.
And the smell of blood grew even stronger.