The sweet fragrance of wine filled the entire carriage.
For most people, the scent might have only been pleasant, but for Ginn, it was like a divine light descending from the heavens to save his poor and wounded soul.
Without bothering to ask for a cup, Ginn immediately removed the cover of the wine jar and took a large drink.
"Gulp! Gulp! Gulp!"
The girl and the attendant could only stare as Ginn swallowed mouthful after mouthful without even stopping to breathe.
The wine flowed down his throat, spreading a warm sensation throughout his body. The trembling in his hands gradually disappeared, and the horrible images of the bandits' deaths became blurry inside his head.
The sound of a skull cracking beneath a stone.
The feeling of an arrow piercing through his stomach.
The blood covering his hands.
All of it slowly vanished beneath the warmth of alcohol.
"Ahhhhh!"
After drinking nearly a quarter of the jar in one go, Ginn finally lowered it and released a long, satisfied breath.
"This is good stuff."
He looked at the jar in his hands with admiration.
The wine was sweet at first, but it carried a strong burning sensation after reaching his throat. It was far better than the cheap liquor he normally bought from convenience stores whenever his wallet was close to empty—which was almost every day.
'Damn, this is probably expensive.'
Ginn took another small sip, wanting to properly savor the taste this time.
'Sweet, smooth, strong, and it doesn't taste like disinfectant. Is this what rich people drink?'
His eyes almost became wet.
For years, Ginn had survived on the cheapest alcohol money could buy. There were even nights when he had been forced to choose between buying food or buying a bottle.
Naturally, the bottle always won.
Food could only satisfy his stomach.
Alcohol could satisfy his soul.
The girl sitting across from him watched Ginn hug the wine jar against his chest like it was his long-lost child.
"Savior, are you feeling better now?" she asked carefully.
"Better?" Ginn repeated.
He looked at the wine jar, then at the luxurious carriage surrounding him.
The seats were covered in soft cushions embroidered with flowers. Golden decorations lined the wooden walls, and the curtains beside the windows appeared to be made from some kind of smooth silk. Even the air inside carried a pleasant flowery fragrance.
Ginn leaned deeper into the soft seat.
He took another drink.
"I have never felt better in my life."
The girl smiled after hearing his answer.
"That is good. I was worried your injuries might still be troubling you."
"Injuries?"
Ginn looked down at his stomach.
Only then did he remember the arrow that had pierced through his abdomen during the fight.
His hand immediately moved toward the place where the wound should have been. Instead of feeling torn flesh or thick bandages, however, his fingers only touched smooth skin beneath the robe.
"Huh?"
He pressed harder.
No pain.
He twisted his body to the side.
Still no pain.
Ginn's eyebrows slowly knitted together.
'That arrow definitely went through me.'
He remembered grabbing the arrow and pulling it out of his stomach before using it to stab one of the bandits in the eye.
Just remembering it made his stomach turn again, so Ginn immediately drank another mouthful of wine before the guilt could return.
Once he calmed down, he opened the front of his robe slightly and examined his abdomen.
There was no wound.
There wasn't even a scar.
"What the hell?"
The girl's face suddenly turned red when she saw Ginn opening his clothes.
"S-Savior?"
Ginn ignored her and continued touching his stomach.
'Did that cultivator heal me?'
He remembered the overwhelming pressure Yan Di had released. The sensation had been so heavy that Ginn couldn't even breathe beneath it. Compared to that man, the bandits he had killed were nothing more than ordinary thugs.
'Maybe cultivators can heal wounds too. That would explain it.'
Ginn nodded to himself.
That was the most reasonable explanation.
At least, it would have been the most reasonable explanation if this were actually a cultivation novel.
Unfortunately, Ginn was now beginning to realize that this might not be a novel, a hallucination, or a drunken dream.
Everything felt far too real.
The softness of the seat.
The fragrance inside the carriage.
The taste of the wine.
The slight shaking beneath him whenever the wheels passed over a stone.
Even the girl's embarrassed expression looked too detailed to have been created by his exhausted brain.
'This is bad.'
Ginn's hand tightened around the wine jar.
'This is really bad.'
He had always joked about being transported into another world whenever he read web novels, but Ginn never actually wanted it to happen.
Those stories always focused on the good parts.
Beautiful women.
Treasures.
Immortality.
Flying swords.
What they rarely mentioned was the complete absence of electricity, the lack of plumbing, the possibility of being murdered by random strangers, and most importantly—
'Do they even have ice?'
Ginn's expression became serious.
Warm wine was acceptable, but cold liquor was one of humanity's greatest achievements.
Living in a world without refrigerators might be worse than death itself.
"Savior?"
The girl's voice pulled him away from his thoughts.
Ginn looked up and found her staring at him worriedly.
"What?"
"You suddenly became pale. Does your wound hurt?"
"No, I was just thinking about something terrifying."
"Terrifying?"
"A world without ice."
The girl blinked.
"Ice?"
"Yes."
Ginn held the jar toward her.
"Do you serve this cold?"
The girl looked at the wine jar and then back at him.
"This wine is normally served at room temperature."
Ginn felt as though he had just received terrible news.
"I knew it."
"Savior?"
"Nothing. I'll find a way."
Although he had lost everything from his previous life, Ginn was still a game developer.
A very broke game developer.
But a game developer nonetheless.
If cultivators could fly through the sky and release pressure strong enough to force people onto their knees, surely someone in this world could create ice.
And if nobody could—
'Then I'll invent a refrigerator.'
Ginn nodded firmly.
At that moment, he finally discovered his first great ambition in the cultivation world.
Not becoming immortal.
Not becoming the strongest.
Not ruling over countless sects.
He would create cold liquor.
The girl mistook the determination in Ginn's eyes for something profound.
'What terrifying matter could Savior be thinking about?'
She did not know that the heroic man who had killed four bandits and faced a cultivator without fear was currently planning the invention of an ancient refrigerator.
After another moment of silence, Ginn finally remembered something important.
"Hey."
The girl straightened her back.
"Yes, Savior?"
"What's your name?"
The girl froze.
"You… do not know my name?"
"Should I?"
"No, but…"
She lowered her head slightly.
"You risked your life to save me without even knowing who I was."
Ginn stared at her.
'Risked my life?'
He nearly laughed.
The only reason he had fought was because the bandits refused to leave him alone. If they had accepted his offer and taken the girl, Ginn would have happily stepped aside.
Of course, saying that aloud might make him look bad.
Ginn might not have cared much about his image, but the girl was clearly wealthy. Offending someone who could provide expensive wine would be foolish.
He was an alcoholic, not an idiot.
"Well, there wasn't exactly enough time for introductions," Ginn said.
The girl remembered the dead bandits and nodded.
"You are right. Please forgive my lack of manners."
She placed one hand over the other and slightly bowed her head.
"My name is Lin Qingxue. I am the eldest daughter of the Lin Clan from Qingshan City."
"Lin Qingxue," Ginn repeated.
The name sounded exactly like something he would expect from a cultivation novel.
Beautiful girl.
Cold-sounding name.
Wealthy clan.
'All she needs now is some kind of broken engagement.'
Ginn shook his head.
He shouldn't tempt fate.
"And you, Savior?" Lin Qingxue asked. "May I know your honorable name?"
"Ginn."
Lin Qingxue waited.
Ginn drank from the jar.
Several seconds passed.
"That's it?" she finally asked.
"That's it."
"You do not have a family name?"
"Not that I know of."
The moment those words left his mouth, Lin Qingxue's expression softened.
Ginn immediately realized she had misunderstood.
He had grown up without knowing his parents, but that didn't mean he wanted anyone's pity. He had survived perfectly well on his own.
Mostly.
There were a few times he had nearly starved.
And several times he had almost been evicted.
And one time he woke up inside a dumpster after drinking something a stranger gave him.
But overall, he had survived.
"I am sorry," Lin Qingxue said quietly.
"For what?"
"I should not have asked."
Ginn looked at her confused expression before understanding what she meant.
"Oh. That."
He waved his hand.
"It doesn't matter. I never really cared."
Lin Qingxue looked even sadder after hearing that.
In her mind, Ginn was clearly hiding the pain of losing his family behind a careless smile.
In reality, Ginn was wondering whether there was more wine inside the carriage.
The jar in his hands was already becoming dangerously light.
After introducing themselves, the carriage fell silent again.
Ginn moved toward the window and pulled the curtain aside.
A wide stone road stretched through a dense forest. Trees several times taller than those on Earth rose on both sides, their thick branches covering most of the sky. Rays of sunlight slipped between the leaves, creating moving patterns across the ground.
The carriage was being pulled by two large horses covered in dark brown fur. Their bodies were far more muscular than normal horses, and each one had a short horn growing from the center of its forehead.
Ginn stared at them.
'Unicorns?'
He leaned closer to the window.
No.
The creatures were too ugly to be unicorns.
They looked more like horses that had lost a fight with a rhinoceros.
Apart from the strange animals, Ginn occasionally saw travelers moving along the road. Most wore long robes and carried swords, spears, or large packs on their backs.
Nobody wore jeans.
Nobody carried a phone.
There were no cars.
No electric poles.
No advertisements.
Not even a single piece of plastic could be seen anywhere.
The longer Ginn stared outside, the heavier his heart became.
'This really isn't Earth.'
He had already suspected it, but seeing the completely unfamiliar world outside made the truth impossible to deny.
His old apartment was gone.
His computer was gone.
The game he had spent years developing was gone.
All the unpaid bills and angry messages from his landlord were also gone.
Ginn paused.
'Actually, that last part isn't so bad.'
He thought about the people he had known.
Most of them were drinking companions whose names he could barely remember. He had no parents waiting for him, no siblings, and no girlfriend.
His coworkers rarely spoke to him unless something in the game broke.
The only things he truly regretted leaving behind were his computer and the bottles of alcohol hidden beneath his bed.
Ginn raised the wine jar and took another drink.
'I guess I'll survive.'
It was not like he had much choice.
As he continued watching the road, Ginn suddenly noticed something strange about his body.
His eyesight seemed unusually sharp.
He could see the veins on leaves dozens of meters away.
He could hear the wheels of another carriage approaching from far behind them.
Even the scent of wet soil outside was clearer than it had any right to be.
Ginn narrowed his eyes.
'Was I always able to see this far?'
He looked at his hands.
They appeared the same, but when he tightened his fist, he could feel a strength he had never possessed before.
His body also felt lighter.
The exhaustion from the battle had disappeared completely. Apart from the lingering discomfort inside his head, he felt as though he could run for hours without becoming tired.
Ginn slowly raised one leg and pressed his foot against the opposite seat.
The wooden frame beneath the cushion creaked.
"Hmm?"
He applied slightly more pressure.
Crack!
The corner of the seat broke.
Ginn immediately pulled his foot back.
Lin Qingxue stared at the damaged seat.
The attendant driving the carriage looked over his shoulder after hearing the sound.
Ginn quietly placed his robe over the crack.
"Old furniture," he said.
Lin Qingxue looked at the expensive carriage that had been purchased only six months ago.
"…Yes."
She decided not to question him.
Ginn looked down at his hands again.
'What the heck?'
He had not used much strength.
At least, he didn't think he had.
His mind suddenly returned to the transparent screen he had seen before fighting the bandits.
The stat points.
The breakthroughs.
The system he thought was broken.
Ginn's heart skipped a beat.
'No way.'
He mentally called for the interface.
The transparent screen immediately appeared in front of him.
Lin Qingxue did not react, confirming that she could not see it.
Ginn stared at the words.
Ginn
Cultivation: Qi Refining Lv.4
Qi Pool: 18,637
Efficiency: 4/s
Senses: 4
Physique: 64
Charm: 4
Comprehension: 4
Luck: 4
Potential: 4
Unassigned Points: 0
Ginn remained completely still.
His eyes moved between the numbers.
Then he looked at his hands.
Then back at the numbers.
"…It worked?"
Lin Qingxue leaned forward.
"Savior?"
Ginn ignored her.
He remembered putting all sixty points into Physique.
He also remembered breaking through three times before the battle.
At the time, he had felt absolutely nothing.
But after waking up…
His wound was gone.
His senses were stronger.
His body had become powerful enough to damage the carriage without trying.
'It only activated after I lost consciousness.'
Ginn's expression became strange.
The system he had designed was an idle cultivation game. He had added offline progression so players could continue growing stronger even after closing the game.
To prevent players from constantly watching numbers increase, certain upgrades were only processed after the character entered a resting state.
In the unfinished version, sleeping acted as the save point that applied all pending changes.
Ginn had completely forgotten about it.
Mostly because he had designed that part while drunk.
"So it isn't bugged."
A grin slowly appeared on his face.
The system really worked.
Not only did it work, but it was far more useful than he originally thought.
His Qi continued increasing every second.
He could distribute stat points.
He could break through cultivation levels.
And all he needed to do for the upgrades to activate was sleep.
Ginn's grin became wider.
'So let me understand this properly.'
Other cultivators had to meditate.
Train.
Fight monsters.
Risk their lives searching for treasures.
Join sects.
Listen to old men lecture them for hours.
Meanwhile, Ginn only needed to gather Qi, press a few buttons, and take a nap.
His hands began trembling again, but this time it wasn't because of guilt.
It was excitement.
"Hehehe."
Lin Qingxue moved slightly away from him.
"Hehehehehe."
"Savior?"
"Hahahahaha!"
Ginn suddenly burst into laughter.
The attendant driving the carriage nearly dropped the reins.
Lin Qingxue looked at Ginn with concern.
"Savior, are you truly alright?"
Ginn wiped a tear from the corner of his eye.
"Alright? I'm more than alright."
He had spent his entire life being called lazy.
Teachers complained that he never applied himself.
His employer said he lacked ambition.
His landlord said drinking all day would never lead anywhere.
But now—
Laziness had become his greatest talent.
Sleeping was cultivation.
Doing nothing was cultivation.
Even sitting inside the carriage and drinking wine was cultivation.
For the first time in his life, Ginn had found a profession perfectly suited for him.
'This world was made for me.'
Another line appeared on the screen.
Qi Pool: 18,641
Four Qi had been added while he was laughing.
Ginn looked at the number with affection.
'Beautiful.'
He wanted to kiss the screen.
Fortunately, he still had enough dignity left to stop himself.
Instead, he leaned back into the soft cushion and took another drink.
Lin Qingxue carefully watched him.
One moment he had been pale and serious.
The next, he had broken the carriage seat and started laughing like a madman.
She was beginning to suspect that the battle had caused more damage to his head than she first believed.
"Savior," she said softly, "perhaps you should rest."
Ginn's eyes lit up.
"Rest?"
"Yes. We are still several hours away from Qingshan City."
Several hours.
That meant several hours of generating Qi.
And if he slept, any new upgrades he made might activate when he woke.
Ginn almost agreed immediately, but then he remembered that he still knew absolutely nothing about this world.
Walking blindly into a city filled with cultivators might not be wise.
He needed information.
At the very least, he should know where he was and how dangerous the place might be.
Ginn took another drink before speaking.
"Before I rest, can I ask you something?"
"Of course."
"Where exactly are we?"
Lin Qingxue appeared confused.
"We are on the eastern road leading to Qingshan City."
"No, I mean… what country?"
"The Great Yan Dynasty."
Ginn nodded slowly as though he understood.
He understood nothing.
"And this Great Yan Dynasty is located where?"
Lin Qingxue's confusion deepened.
"In the Southern Province."
"Which is located where?"
"The Eastern Region."
"And that is located where?"
Lin Qingxue stared at him.
Ginn stared back.
The carriage became silent.
Even the attendant outside seemed to be listening now.
"Savior," Lin Qingxue finally said, "do you truly not know?"
"No."
"You have never heard of the Great Yan Dynasty?"
"No."
"The Eastern Region?"
"No."
"The Five Great Continents?"
"First time."
Lin Qingxue slowly covered her mouth.
Ginn could see dozens of questions forming inside her head.
He needed an excuse.
He couldn't exactly tell her that he came from another world.
Well, he could.
But he doubted she would believe him.
And even if she did, Ginn had read enough web novels to know that telling strangers about his origin and system was a terrible idea.
Every protagonist who revealed their secret too early eventually had to kill someone.
Ginn had already killed enough people for one day.
He quickly searched his mind for an explanation.
Before he could speak, Lin Qingxue's eyes widened.
"Could it be…"
Ginn raised an eyebrow.
"You lost your memories?"
Ginn paused.
That was much better than anything he had been about to invent.
He lowered his gaze and made his expression solemn.
"I… don't know."
Lin Qingxue's face immediately filled with sympathy.
"Do you remember where you came from?"
"No."
"Your family?"
"No."
"Your master?"
"No."
"Your sect?"
"No."
"Anything at all?"
Ginn thought about his old apartment, his computer, and the stack of unpaid bills on his table.
"I remember alcohol."
Lin Qingxue almost fell from her seat.
The attendant outside coughed.
Ginn hugged the jar closer.
"What? It's important."
Lin Qingxue looked at him with pity.
To lose everything except his love for liquor—
What kind of terrible experience had this man endured?
She imagined Ginn as the descendant of some destroyed clan or perhaps the disciple of a hidden expert whose enemies had erased his memories.
The fact that he had defeated four large men despite not being a cultivator only made this theory appear more believable.
Ginn had no idea that Lin Qingxue was constructing an entire tragic history for him.
He was merely happy that he no longer needed to answer difficult questions.
"Savior, you need not worry," Lin Qingxue said with determination. "Once we return to Qingshan City, I will ask our clan physician to examine you. My father may also know a way to restore your memories."
"No need."
"But—"
"I'm fine like this."
Ginn genuinely meant it.
His life on Earth had not exactly been worth recovering.
Besides, pretending to have amnesia would make it easier to ask basic questions without looking suspicious.
Lin Qingxue mistook his answer for the words of a man too traumatized to face his past.
Her gaze became even softer.
Ginn noticed the way she was looking at him and felt uncomfortable.
'Why does she keep staring at me like an abandoned puppy?'
He turned toward the window again.
In the distance, the forest was gradually becoming thinner.
More travelers appeared on the road, and the number of carriages increased.
Some were pulled by normal horses, while others were carried by strange beasts Ginn could not name.
One large wagon was being dragged by a lizard covered in red scales. Smoke escaped from the creature's nostrils whenever it breathed.
Ginn watched it pass.
'Definitely another world.'
A few moments later, the road climbed over a hill.
Lin Qingxue pulled the curtain farther aside.
"We are close."
Ginn looked ahead.
At first, he saw nothing but the road and the remaining trees.
Then the carriage reached the top of the hill.
A massive stone wall appeared in the distance.
It stretched across the horizon, rising higher than any wall Ginn had ever seen. Tall towers stood at regular intervals, each one occupied by armored guards.
Hundreds of people and carriages formed lines before several enormous gates.
Beyond the wall, rooftops filled the land. Some buildings were several stories high, their curved roofs decorated with statues of strange beasts.
At the center of the city stood a towering pagoda that seemed to pierce the clouds.
Ginn's mouth slowly opened.
"Damn."
Qingshan City was larger than he expected.
Far larger.
He had imagined a dusty ancient town filled with wooden houses and chickens running through the streets.
Instead, the city looked capable of holding hundreds of thousands of people.
Then something shot across the sky.
Ginn looked up.
A man wearing white robes stood on top of a sword as it flew toward the city.
Another cultivator followed behind him, sitting on a large black bird.
Several glowing lights moved between the clouds in the distance.
Ginn stared silently.
Lin Qingxue smiled after seeing his reaction.
"That is Qingshan City."
Ginn continued looking at the flying cultivators.
The system screen remained floating at the edge of his vision.
His Qi Pool increased with every passing second.
A city filled with cultivators stood before him.
A wealthy beauty sat across from him.
He had a jar of excellent wine in his arms.
And somewhere inside the jade ring he had received from Yan Di, there was supposedly even more liquor waiting for him.
Ginn leaned back in his seat.
A smile appeared on his face.
'Maybe getting transported to another world isn't so bad.'
At that moment, the carriage entered the long line leading toward the city gate.
A group of armored guards walked from carriage to carriage, inspecting every traveler before allowing them to enter.
One of the guards reached Lin Qingxue's carriage and knocked against the wooden door.
"Inspection! Everyone inside must present their identification!"
Ginn's smile immediately disappeared.
'Identification?'
He looked at Lin Qingxue.
Lin Qingxue looked at him.
Ginn slowly lowered the wine jar.
'Of course.'
'Not even one day in another world, and I'm already an illegal immigrant.'