Xuan ran at a breakneck pace, jostling Sam up and down with each powerful stride. The jarring motion sent sharp jolts through Sam's chest and abdomen, leaving him feeling strained and sore.
His stomach churned violently. He clamped a hand tight over his mouth, terrified he'd throw up if he let his guard down even for a second.
Thankfully, Xuan was fast. After ten minutes of flat-out sprinting, they reached their destination. Xuan gently set Sam down on the ground.
"Ugh—"
The second his feet hit the earth, Sam couldn't hold back any longer. He doubled over, dry-heaving violently.
"Are you okay?!"
Xuan was clearly alarmed by his reaction, pacing anxiously around him, its massive paws lifting and dropping restlessly.
Sam kept his eyes shut, bent over at the waist, struggling to catch his breath. He waved a hand at the panicking beast to signal he was fine.
"I'm good… just need a minute," he managed to gasp out, pausing to steady himself before continuing. "I'm supposed to stay here, right?"
In front of him was a cave mouth, roughly ten feet high, completely hidden by the thick foliage and vines hanging down from above. If Xuan hadn't dropped him off right at the entrance, he never would've noticed it.
"Yeah, this is it. It's a rest stop our tribe's beastmen use when they go hunting. It's got the scent of lots of beastmen on it, so no dangerous predators will come near. Stay inside, don't make a sound, and don't come out. Rest up—I'll be back before you know it."
With that, Xuan nudged Sam gently with one paw, urging him to go inside. It needed to find some good prey quickly—this sub-beast looked *way* too weak. None of the sub-beasts back at the tribe would've thrown up just from being carried while running, not even the little ones.
Sam stumbled into the cave, guided by Xuan's nudge. The interior was dim, with only a few faint shafts of sunlight filtering through the leaves to light the way.
Using the sparse light, he scanned the cave. It was much bigger than he'd expected—about sixteen feet high, twenty-three feet wide, and over sixty feet deep, with the far end disappearing into total darkness.
Sam ran a hand along the rough cave wall and ventured further inside. The place was surprisingly clean, with no unpleasant odors. Xuan was still crouched at the entrance, watching him with its head lowered.
"I got it—I'll stay in here, won't wander off," Sam called out, waving a hand before sitting down on a smooth rock.
Compared to Xuan's enormous size, the cave mouth was small. From where Sam sat, he couldn't see the panther's whole body anymore—only its massive head poking inside, nodding at him in acknowledgment.
"I'll be back soon." With that, Xuan backed out of the cave, circled the entrance a few times, and left its scent mark all over the area.
The tribe's beastmen hadn't used this rest stop in days. Leaving fresh scent marks would make the place even safer for Sam.
Once he heard the sound of Xuan's footsteps fading into the distance, Sam groped his way deeper into the cave, hiding himself as well as he could in the shadows.
*"Ding—A qualifying life form detected nearby. Initiating binding process. Sam, do you consent to binding with the System?"*
A cold, mechanical voice suddenly echoed inside his head.
What? Sam shook his head hard, figuring he must be hallucinating from the stress.
*"Sam, do you consent to binding with the Tribe Upgrade System?"*
*"What the hell is this?!"* The voice rang out again, clear as day. This time, he was sure it wasn't his imagination.
A binding system? Sam froze. No way—was this his *cheat code*? The one that always showed up in isekai novels?
But why did *he* have to get transmigrated?! He'd been perfectly happy with his old life!
*"Why me?!"*
He demanded, his voice cracking with frustration. His transmigration had been random enough, and now this weird system was popping up out of nowhere. He tensed up, instantly on guard.
He needed answers. Chances were, this system was the one that had dragged him into this world in the first place.
The more he thought about it, the more sense it made. He narrowed his eyes and spoke coldly.
*"Who—or what—are you? Did you have something to do with me ending up in this world?"*
*"You are the most compatible candidate in this world for the System. Your arrival here is indeed related to the System. However, your death in your original world was not caused by the System."*
*"That's impossible! I can't be dead! I was perfectly healthy—I just got hit by a brick! It couldn't have killed me!"*
Sam's hands curled into fists, his body trembling with rage as he heard the system's words. If the system had a physical form, he would've grabbed it by the collar and shaken it senseless right then and there.
*"After you were knocked unconscious by the brick, you weren't moved in time. A drunk driver lost control of their car and crashed into the sidewalk—right where you were lying."* The system's voice was completely devoid of emotion.
Sam's first reaction was to refuse to believe it. He hung his head, his whole body shaking violently, unable to find a single word to argue back.
*"Sam, do you consent to binding with the System?"*
The system repeated its question, ignoring his silence.
Sam was still reeling from the news of his own death. He turned his head away sharply, refusing to respond.
He was an only child—his parents had always doted on him. If they found out he was dead… how broken would they be?
Tears pricked at his eyes, and he covered his face with his hands. Would he really never see them again?
He stared into the pitch-blackness of the cave, the system's voice still echoing in his head, repeating the same question over and over.
Wait a second. The System! The system said it was responsible for bringing him here!
Sam touched his own body—perfectly intact, no injuries at all. If the system could drag him into this world, it *must* be able to send him back!
*"You can send me home, right?! I don't care about transmigration, or ruling empires, or being some hero! Just send me back! You can find someone else to be your host—someone who actually wants this!"*
He felt his heart race with excitement as he spoke, the idea of going home suddenly feeling within reach. All it would take was the system saying yes.
*"Bind with the Tribe Upgrade System. When the System reaches its maximum level, it will accumulate enough energy to unlock interdimensional travel capabilities."*
Sam's face lit up with hope… then fell just as fast as he realized the catch in the system's words. He pressed the question urgently.
*"If you can bring me here directly, why do I have to wait for you to level up?! And by the time you hit max level, years will have passed!"*
*"Answer to the first question: Insufficient permissions to disclose. Answer to the second question: Upon reaching maximum level, the host may choose any point in time to return to their original world."*
The cold, mechanical voice answered his questions flatly, no room for negotiation.
So it was simple—if he wanted to go home, he had no choice but to bind with the system and grind it all the way to max level.
Sam let out a bitter laugh. Could he even refuse? For the chance to see his parents again, he'd have to bind with it—and he'd have to *work* for it, too.
*"So I don't really have a choice, do I?"*
He muttered to himself, forcing himself to calm down and think things through. No matter how hard leveling up the system would be, he was never going to give up this chance to go home.
Once he'd made up his mind, he stopped hesitating and spoke directly to the system.
*"Fine—I'll bind with you!"*
The second the words left his mouth, a warm, soothing energy wrapped around his entire body, spreading through every fiber of his being and making his soul tingle with comfort.
*"Binding successful! Please host establish or join a tribe as soon as possible. Upon completion of this task, the System will be fully activated and unlock additional functions."*
The system's voice jolted Sam out of his blissful daze. He opened his eyes to find a translucent blue screen floating in front of him, displaying six different tabs:
**Exploration | Identification | Warehouse | Mall | Encyclopedia | Character**
Only two of the tabs—*Exploration* and *Identification*—were glowing faintly. Underneath them were small lines of text:*Exploration: Range 164 feet**Identification: Uses 3/3 | Refreshes every 5 days*
The other four tabs were grayed out and unclickable. Sam frowned, feeling like something was missing. The thought popped into his head before he could stop himself, and he blurted it out loud.
*"System, this isn't right. Where's the experience bar? How do I know when you level up?"*
*"This is the Tribe Upgrade System. Tribal development must align with real-world logic and cannot be quantified by a simple experience bar. Level progression is determined by a comprehensive evaluation of the tribe's size, population, prosperity, combat strength, and other key factors. Host, this is not a game."*
*"So it's all up to you, then? I won't even know if I'm making progress or not."* Sam frowned, not liking the sound of that one bit.
If that was the case, the system could manipulate things however it wanted, and he'd be none the wiser.
*"The System's primary goal is to promote the healthy development of the host's tribe. The System will issue random tasks periodically and conduct a formal evaluation of the tribe's progress every four months, providing guidance to ensure the tribe does not develop in an extreme direction. The absence of an experience bar serves two purposes:1. To avoid restricting the host's freedom to develop the tribe in their own unique way.2. To prevent the host from pursuing easy, one-dimensional paths to level up the System—such as relying solely on brute force or maliciously plundering and harming other tribes.However, the host may inquire about the System's general progress at any time."*
The system paused, then added, as if anticipating his next question, *"As long as the tribe develops in a positive direction, the System will accumulate energy. When enough energy is gathered, the System will level up automatically. This is mutually beneficial for both the host and the System. The host need not worry about the System intentionally suppressing its level."*
Sam nodded reluctantly, shoving his doubts to the back of his mind for now. The system could talk a big game, but he'd believe it when he saw it in action.
After all, the only way he knew of to get back home was through this system. If it really kept its promises, he'd be happy to cooperate—but he was going to keep a close eye on it for the time being.
He thought back to the system's first task: establish or join a tribe. Sam immediately crossed "establish a tribe" off his list.
He was alone, had no idea how to turn into a beast like Xuan, and had zero clue where to find people to start a tribe with.
Xuan was a good candidate, but he already had a tribe—and from what Sam could tell, he was really proud of it and felt a strong sense of belonging there. He wasn't the type to be easily persuaded to abandon his home. So the only option left was to go with Xuan and check out his tribe first.
If it was the kind of place that could raise someone like Xuan, it probably wouldn't be too bad.
Sam rubbed his throbbing temples, suddenly feeling eager for Xuan to get back as soon as possible.