"In the group chat, some travelers said that the undeveloped area has many rare plants. Should we go inside and take a look?"
"Yeah. It looks the same as here, it can't be that dangerous. Let's go!"
Muna held her head and slowly woke up, only to find herself inside a strange stone cave. Beneath her was a hard stone bed. Even though there was an animal skin covering it, her back still hurt.
Wait—stone cave? Stone bed? Wasn't she exploring the primitive forest just now? She remembered falling down. Could it be that another team rescued her?
"Ignorant! You deserved it!"
"Who?" Muna looked around but found no one.
"I am your noble master. Call me Lord System! Stop looking around. Do you see the bracelet on your hand? Quickly drip blood to recognize your master!"
Muna thought it was some kid playing a prank and ignored it.
"Muna! Stop! Where are you going? Didn't you hear what your master just said?"
The system was unhappy that it was being ignored!
Its coworkers had said humans were easy to trick. As long as the bonded human listened and obediently gave birth to many cubs, the system could level up. But if it got ignored, how could it complete its mission?
"There are ferocious beasts outside. Before the orc who saved you comes back, you better not go out. Hey!"
Standing at the cave entrance, she realized she was on a cliff. Muna swallowed hard and quickly stepped back. She decided to talk to that noisy voice for now.
"Hmph! Now you come begging to this system!"
A transparent screen appeared in front of her, along with the glowing red bracelet. At that moment, Muna believed she really had traveled to another world.
The system explained that this was a beast world. The plants and animals here were several times larger than in her original world. This land was filled with beastman tribes, and the one who rescued her and brought her to the cave was a white tiger beastman.
In the exploration team, she was the only unlucky one who disappeared into the forest. The other unconscious teammates had already been rescued.
"You people just wasted national resources. The huge sign 'Do Not Enter' was right there, yet you pretended not to see it!"
"Enough already! You've been lecturing me for a while now. So, you mean we can't go back, right?"
"Bingo!"
"Sigh. Then I'll probably be listed as one of the 'world's unsolved mysteries.' I bet they'll put me in the series called 'The Girl Who Vanished.'"
The system couldn't believe she was still joking at a time like this. Besides admiring her calmness, it also wondered if her brain was normal.
"Why aren't you afraid? A normal person should be terrified after being thrown into a strange and dangerous world!"
"What's there to be scared of? Worst case, I'll just die again." Muna was indeed scared, but she didn't trust the system and wouldn't let it see her weakness.
The beast world was full of dangers. It would be hard to survive alone. She had to quickly find a way to join a strong tribe.
Without hesitation, Muna grabbed her hiking bag, sat on the bed, and prepared to write a "Beast World Survival Handbook."
"No need for all that trouble. Just sign this contract, and I will be your master. I promise you won't starve."
This damn system turned out to be a childbearing system.
The contract required her to obediently mate with the "high-quality male beastmen" chosen by the system and give birth to many cubs. In return, she could use the points from giving birth to exchange for survival supplies.
What? This completely clashed with Muna's values. In her mind, love should be pure and exclusive. She firmly believed in one husband and one wife.
Now this stupid system even said giving birth to more cubs had extra benefits. Clearly, it was trying to trick her. No way.
"Our paths are different, so we can't work together!"
"Stupid woman! Without me, you won't survive in the beast world!"
"Hey, did you hear me?"
"Let me think about it."
One hour later…
"Have you decided yet?" The system shouted, pretending to be fierce.
"Sigh. Tell me, how can a system be the master? Change the contract to the one I wrote, then I'll sign."
The system finished reading the contract and shook its screen angrily. When did this woman write such an unfair contract!? It refused to sign! Hmph!
After the interface disappeared, Muna decided she should go out and look around carefully. Depending on others was not as reliable as depending on herself.
When she opened the mountaineering bag on the bed, she started doubting life again. Trekking poles, first aid kit, a small pot, seasoning packets…
Because it was her first time joining the expedition, she had been responsible for cooking and medical care. So most of the things in the bag were related to cooking. There was no climbing rope, no tent.
Was she really supposed to agree to the system? Keep giving birth to babies to earn points in exchange for supplies? Absolutely not!
She lay down, trying to think carefully.
The system noticed Muna had foolishly fallen asleep. It panicked. Was she really not going to sign the contract with it? Would its mission end before it even began? Would its existence end so quickly?!
Unfair was unfair, but survival was the most important thing! She could sign the contract first, and later it could coax her into having more babies.
"Hey, Muna, beautiful lady. It's okay even if you don't give birth for points. There are lots of useful things in the bracelet that don't need points to use! Can we discuss this again?"
"Fine! I'll write another contract. Since you're a child-bearing system, of course, the more babies you have, the stronger you'll become."
"Yes, yes! The more babies are born, the faster I'll level up! Then you'll also be able to exchange for even better things!"
Muna looked at the screen shaking with excitement and felt speechless. This system's brain was really easy to trick!
"Actually, it doesn't necessarily have to be me giving birth."
"What? Do you want me to give birth? But I don't even have a physical body yet, how could I?"
Muna covered her forehead. This system was way too naïve.
"Your requirement for leveling up is that I must create enough beastman babies."
"Right! I know that! I'm not stupid!"
After Muna's repeated explanations—well, trickery—the system finally got confused.
Even though the new contract seemed a little strange, it was afraid Muna would call it stupid again, so it signed.
After signing the contract, the system started imagining a bright future. With such a smart and brave host, it was sure it would soon gain a physical body and become the highest-level system. Dominating the system world was only a matter of time!
Muna gave the system a name: Dogo. The system was very satisfied, saying it sounded domineering. Of course, Muna didn't tell it that the name came from the word "dog."
"Hey, doggy, you said I was saved by a white tiger beastman. Could a tiger really climb such a high cliff? Are they humans with beast heads or beasts with human heads? And also—"
"Be quiet! Someone's coming!" Could it take back its decision?
Yannick walked into the room and saw the female lying quietly on the bed. She was covered with animal skin, only her delicate, pale face showing. Compared to the other females in the tribe, she looked much smaller.
Which tribe was she from? A female this beautiful should have been carefully protected by her tribe. How did she end up fainting alone in the poisonous forest?
He had many questions in his mind, but he didn't want to wake her up right now.
Being stared at felt uncomfortable, especially when it came from a race she had never seen before. Thinking of possibly facing a beastman with a beast head and human body, Muna felt very scared. In the end, she gathered her courage and opened her eyes a little.
Huh? A long-haired handsome man? Muscular? Was this what beastmen looked like? Compared to humans, he was much taller and stronger! Luckily, luckily! At least he didn't look as terrifying as she had imagined.
But he was way too tall. She felt like she was only half his height! She was 1.68 meters tall, which was already considered tall among modern women.
Yannick waited until Muna looked at him curiously yet fearfully from head to toe before he spoke.
"Don't be afraid. I won't hurt you. My name is Yannick. It was too dangerous for a female like you to faint in the poisonous forest, so I brought you back."
Muna tried hard to understand his words. Although the system had helped her learn the language of this continent, hearing it for the first time still needed some adjustment.
"Thank you."
"Which tribe are you from? If possible, I can send you back to your tribe tomorrow."
Muna was still struggling with how to answer Yannick's question when the sound of something heavy hitting the ground came from outside the cave.
A shadow flashed past, and Yannick disappeared before her eyes.