Somewhere, in a world that seemed to have lost some of its colors, a space rift opened in the air, and from within it, a figure emerged, falling to the ground. He landed atop a small mountain covered in a smoky haze, instantly slipping into an unconscious state.
The sound of his fall was enough to draw some attention. All around him, monsters of different sizes and shapes began making their way toward the mountain.
Suddenly, just as the first monster started to climb the mountain, a cold energy burst forth from the body of the unconscious figure, instantly freezing it in place.
The other monsters, upon seeing the first monster frozen, retreated, not daring to come closer to the mountain. The sight was too shocking, even for them.
A day went by, and no monsters approached the mountain. However, they stood a few kilometers away, watching the figure remain unconscious on the mountain.
For days, the figure remained atop the mountain, still unconscious. The monsters never left; they stayed there, watching as he slept until, half a year later, his eyes snapped open, accompanied by a terrifying wave of ice qi.
The 100-kilometer radius was instantly turned to ice, and everything within that radius was devoured. Fruity slowly stood and sat up, his face pale.
He immediately looked at his finger, and the space ring given to him by one of his uncle’s monks was still there. He took out a bamboo jug and opened it, pouring every last drop of water down his throat.
“I need food,” Fruity muttered quietly. His face was as pale as paper; however, his gaze was as cold as that of a demon in a frenzied state.
“Ice Empire, Lightning Valley, Druikard Empire, wait for me. One day, I will be sure to devour every last one of you,” Fruity said coldly as he gazed into the sky housing two moons.
Back at the monastery, just as he was trying to break free from the cauldron the monks used to trap him for his own safety, something broke within him, and memories of his childhood and a small part of his past self poured into his mind.
He remembered everything, his childhood, his parents and Haniva, his babysitter and friend. He also remembered their death. But aside from that, he remembered a part of his past self memories.
It was true that he had managed to break free and used a forbidden technique to amplify himself, giving him the limited strength needed to save the monks and kill every last one of the intruders.
He remembered how his mother and Haniva sacrificed themselves so he could live. He also recalled a part of his past self, remembering that he had been many things, and one of them was a mage with mastery over both ice and lightning.
The techniques and spells used during the invasion of the monastery came from that memory. Now, sitting down, he felt angry, sad, and drained.
“Mom, Sister Hanvia, I will avenge you,” he muttered quietly.
“Uncles, I hope we meet again. But first, I must apologize. The peaceful ways you taught me will not hold much longer. To do what is necessary, I will have to become something else. So I apologize in advance, but you all shouldn’t worry.
As long as I am alive, the name of Mountain Forest Monastery will never die, in the Grand Xhanti Kingdom and the rest of the world.”
He raised his body to a kneeling posture and bowed three times before sitting back up. His body was weak—very weak, in fact—so weak that if a monster were to appear now, he would struggle to fight it.
He had to recover first, but more importantly, Fruity, ever the glutton, felt his stomach calling; he had to find food.
“Why does it have to be the devouring ice? Now all the monsters are dead and devoured, and I only receive a fraction of the energy obtained.”
With no energy to move forward, he began to cultivate, drawing energy from the air to recover. It was a very slow approach compared to simply absorbing monster cores and other treasures, but with the technique taught to him by the monks, he was able to start cultivating a little faster.
A week later, color returned to his face, indicating that he had somehow recovered. “30 percent recovered; that will do for now. I need to hunt for food,” Fruity said as he stood up. From the ground, a staff appeared.
He examined it for a while before shaking it slightly. The staff exuded a cold ice qi. Fruity nodded and then started moving away from the mountain.
After crossing the ice dune he had subconsciously created, he came to a river. He quickly rushed toward it, and with a wave of the staff, the water moved, and chunks of ice began shooting out.
Inside these chunks were fishes. Fruity quickly set a fire, and before long, he was chewing on bones and meat. His stomach was something he had always prioritized.
After eating dozens of fish, Fruity belched, filled his bamboo jug with water, and finally sat down, feeling satisfied.
He remained seated, making sure his senses were on high alert. A moment later, he muttered, “Alright, past me, you said I should come to this godforsaken world instead of going to paradise. So, what do you have for me?” He smiled, shifting into a meditative posture.
The Nameless Token was supposed to send him to a world where things would have been easier. Instead, he found himself in the Tormented World, a place of only danger and suffering—something even the most insane person wouldn’t willingly choose.
A while later, he opened his eyes and smirked. “I guess I must’ve been a maniac in my past life to have suggested something this crazy. But it’s smart—I needed something like this,” he muttered, then stood up.
“I need to awaken all seven forbidden ice elements. Thankfully, I’ve already awakened three, which means I only have to hunt down four of the seven demon monsters my past self wanted me to kill. Seriously, what kind of person was I to know all this and even have a map of this place?” Fruity shook his head.
“After awakening the remaining four ice elements, I’ll have to take the Tormented Trial to unlock my bloodline. Then, I’ll need to kill more demon monsters to strengthen my bloodline before becoming a Great Sage.
“Sounds easy enough… for a maniac, that is.” Fruity didn’t know whether to laugh or cry.
He might have received a technique that would help him utilize the three ice elements he had already awakened, but he was still too weak to use them for extended periods or unleash their true strength.
He needed to become a Great Sage before he could fully wield them. However, to achieve that, according to his past self, he had to embark on a slaughter, crossing many dangerous zones in the Tormented World.
Thankfully, his past self had left a map of this place, which would make things a little easier for him. But still, he had to kill four monsters that were several times stronger than him—and he had to do all of that before reaching the Great Sage stage.
“First task: I have to go to Illusion Mountain to retrieve an item but to get there, I need to pass through the Calamity Valley—a place filled with the most dangerous kinds of monsters. This is pure madness,” Fruity muttered, looking in a certain direction.
“Whatever is in that place, it better be worth it,” Fruity said. “Otherwise, as strange as it sounds, I’ll hate my past self for the rest of my life,” he added with a smirk.
With renewed focus, he started moving. He needed to be at his strongest, so his first goal was to hunt some monsters and absorb their cores now that he had eaten and was strong enough.
A week later, he was ready to begin his journey westward, where danger awaited.