*Labucha Mountain Range*
Inside the cave structures lay two conspicuously large cave openings, and between them stretched a seemingly treacherous path upward, hidden from any casual visitor.
At the top of the structure stood Zain.
Sweat drenched clothes clung to his body as if he had been working out strenuously.
His breathing was steady, but his expression showed he was deep in thought, pondering his next move.
"So what to do…"
'Welp… guess I can see if anything's up while going down…'
Leaving everything to lady luck's hand, he strode off toward the cave entrance as if he hadn't just experienced something straight out of a horror story.
To the seemingly indifferent forest, this was just the end of a chapter and the start of another.
But for Zain, it was just another cliché template unfolding as expected.
As he descended the mountain the same way he had climbed it... stick in hand, head tilting left and right like a chicken.
When he reached the entrance of the cave structure, he encountered the first anomaly he hadn't noticed earlier.
'Hmm…'
"Odd…"
'Definitely odd…'
His face scrunched as he stared at the object before him trying to recall if what he noticed was there before.
'This…'
"This was not there…"
And the verdict.... it was not there... a new piece...
'Did it require some conditions to be met…?'
He continued monologuing while poking at the odd boulder he was absolutely certain hadn't been there during his climb.
Hypothesis after hypothesis formed in his mind.
Then his expression suddenly brightened.
'Maybe…'
"No... definitely something meant for the villain."
'Muhaaaahahahaha… f**k you, villain.'
Reeling at his luck he continued.
"This lucky break is gonna be MINE!"
As if to validate his twisted logic, the boulder shifted slightly to the side.
And lo and behold...
Wedged beneath it, near the cave entrance in a narrow crevice, was a zip-lock bag.
It looked like trash casually discarded by someone who had come before.
Zain made a face that clearly said I told you so.
"Heh…"
"Seems like the rift was the first in the sequence…"
'My deduction on Labucha was correct.'
"This world really is clichéd."
Approving his own delusion… or is it?… he examined the bag.
Inside were a ring, a small booklet, and five talisman looking like chips.
All of it felt wrong the moment he looked closer.
But... he definitely didn't care.
"Off you go…"
Without hesitation, he stuffed the bag into his space storage without checking its contents.
'Can check after reaching the hotel.'
He reasoned.
'Can't ignore the "what ifs," now can I?'
Amused by his own mental joke, he marched deeper into the forest.
Why?
Because...
'Since I found one piece… maybe I can haul more in this sequence.'
His cliché-driven logic pushed him further into Labucha's sparse wilderness.
'Since I got a weapon and technique…'
"Next is training arc, huh…"
'Maybe…'
"I can ask Uncle Khan for help?"
'From the memories, he seemed to be at the Solar Gate… probably higher.'
"With a mysterious background like this…"
"Inconsistent history, hidden power level, sudden transmigration…"
'Hmm…'
His thoughts drifted again...
He traveled quite a distance until he abruptly stopped.
'A swamp?'
It wasn't wide, but it was deep.
Only the stump of a fallen tree was visible.
'Thank god I stopped…'
He exhaled a breath he hadn't realized he was holding.
"If that shimmering thing hadn't blinded me for a second, I would've..."
'Waitaminute… who....'
'Ahem... what was that?'
His attention snapped back to the faint crystalline shimmer that had caught his eye.
He scanned the branches and stumps poking out of the swamp, circling its edge carefully.
Eventually, he spotted it.
A tree bent unnaturally by the swamp's suction, its branches swaying with the wind.
Near the shallow edge, the shimmer appeared again.... this time steady.
"So that's where you were…"
'A nice encounter…'
"This is new…"
His energy spiked instantly.
Like a swan diving into water, he approached the tree confidently.
And then...
"What… the… shee..."
With a sudden whoosh, the entire tree tore itself free from the swamp, flinging mud, water, and the crystalline box into the air.
The box slammed directly in front of him.
Zain froze.
That is when he noticed the string tangled around his gear.
Realization dawned.
"So that's what it was…"
His face twisted in anger... like a reader ready to send knives to the author of a badly written novel.
"Who in their right mind hides something like this, somewhere like that??"
Righteous fury burned in his voice.
The fact that no sane person would ever search a swamp like this conveniently escaped his reasoning.
After venting, he opened the box.
"Hmm…"
"Is that…?"
'Psionic Initiator!!!'
His internal screams even spilled out through his excited expression.
"Damn, bro… that's ex–pen–sive stuff."
"Oh god… I… luvvv you…"
His celebratory dance made even monkeys look refined.
'I guess this is related to…'
"Perks of being an extra…"
Something that should never exist in a place like this had been conveniently placed... only to be coincidentally found by him.
And once again, his conviction strengthened.