[Master, this is the effect of the drop. Each refined item enhances your physical body in some way. The leaves come from nature, and their effect on you is to improve your vitality.]
'Incredible!' After receiving this answer, Lu Chu only thought about that.
'If vitality is increased, doesn't that mean I can live for many years just by picking leaves?' With this thought, his face showed even more excitement.
But when he looked up, a cold splash of water was thrown over his head, destroying his ideas.
[Master, an item only works with one star. You can refine it until it's full. Once it's full, the item can no longer be refined.]
"Buzzkill…" He snorted with resentment and then looked at the stars, which numbered in the thousands, resembling tiny ants.
'Can all of these be filled? That's a lot to see!'
He pondered this question but soon dismissed it.
At present, he had only one goal: fill the first star to test it.
Leaving the mental map, he started becoming a tree killer, plucking its leaves without pain or mercy.
'Sorry.' That was a lie. He did feel a little sorry, but just a bit.
"Stop thinking!" Lu Chu scolded his inner self and began taking his gardening job seriously.
An hour later, the tree where he was had half of its leaves torn off, looking as if it had been eaten.
Lu Chu, the culprit, ignored it.
Entering his mental space again, he looked up and saw a green star, almost full. Right above it, ten leaves fell, all refined into drops.
Lu Chu, seeing the rain, simply opened his arms, letting himself be bathed.
He relished the moment, feeling his senses stronger and more vigorous.
He was full of vitality. Lu Chu smiled without restraint, extremely content.
'This is what life is.' He didn't hide his satisfaction.
Then, he looked at the star, which at that moment began to increase its density, turning even greener.
From below, it was a sight to behold. Lu Chu couldn't take his eyes off it.
'Star fireworks? I think I'm the first human from Earth to see this.'
He smiled but abruptly snapped back to reality.
"What?!" That was all he could say before he felt his chest tighten, his muscles contract, and his blood turn into a river of living lava.
'Fuuuuck!' He cursed, clutching the branch with all his strength.
Feeling the greatest pain of his life — worse than the previous mental pain — now his entire body was changing.
He felt someone remodeling his entire internal structure. It was agonizing and extremely uncomfortable.
He wanted to scream, but something blocked his voice, preventing any sound from escaping.
There was no escape, not even by entering the star map, which at that moment was inaccessible.
With no other choice, he endured it all, the inhuman torture.
Ten minutes later, Lu Chu felt everything stop. When it did, he did nothing, just lay there, looking like a ghost.
His clothes soaked in sweat.
After a few more minutes, Lu Chu got up, dizzy.
The world in front of him was spinning.
It took a while for everything to return to normal.
When he finally recovered, he looked down: he was still on the thickest branch that his thighs could support, which managed to hold his weight intact.
"Thank you." He thanked the tree. Talking to the map had made him a bit slow.
'What just happened?' He gritted his teeth and returned angrily to his mental space.
"Damn map, what was that? Fuck!" He yelled, his eyes bloodshot.
[Calm down, master! This happened because the map is inside you. Once a star forms, it changes your entire body! But it's nothing bad. Right now, you've opened a spiritual point in your body and become a cultivator!]
"Fuck off! It doesn't matter! That infernal pain is unbearable! I'm not a masochist to enjoy this!" He continued angrily, ignoring the last words.
"Sorry…" A soft voice echoed, sounding like a beautiful song, so refined.
This left Lu Chu stunned. He looked around, saw no one, and shifted his attention to the part he hadn't read.
'Cultivator? Can I cultivate? Become a superhuman? Fly in the skies?'
His emotions became excited. But soon, he furrowed his brow again.
"Hey, mental map, is this a cultivation world? And what was that voice? And the pain?" He gritted his teeth. "Will I feel this every time I form a full star?"
[Yes, master. This world is for cultivators. Humans use their talents to cultivate. That voice is mine — I am a spirit with consciousness. And the last question is also yes: every time you complete a star, there will be an intense reaction. But don't worry! Every time you succeed, you'll gain abilities! In this world — and no other — there's no one with as many methods as we do!]
"I understand! Since you're a spirit, stop writing! I don't want to read texts anymore! It's exhausting! Look at all these lines!" Lu Chu complained, his eyes burning.
"O-okay… But I c-cannot speak much…" The voice in the void stammered, sounding like a child learning to speak.
"..."
Lu Chu fell silent.
"Whatever. Train your speech. I'm leaving now. I want to test what's changed in my body. Later I'll come back to ask about cultivation… without any text!"
He left and, without hesitation, jumped off the tree, falling through the air.
His black hair flew upwards, fluttering in the wind, and his body became as straight as a ruler.
When he hit the ground, Lu Chu bent his knees, but didn't feel any pain.
Standing up, he looked at the sky, which was sunny, with clouds scattered across the endless blue expanse. And right in the corner, a beautiful sun illuminated the whole environment.
"This sky is so clean… no pollution at all." He found that satisfying and began inhaling the fresh air deeply.
After enjoying this moment for a while, he became serious.
"Time to test my current strength! Live the otaku dream!"
Lu Chu whispered these words, looking toward a tree ahead, which was facing the half-bald tree he had just stripped of leaves.
Cough cough.
He coughed a few times and walked toward the tree he saw. The trees here were all clustered together.
This place was a forest, with no sign of humans.
'Am I going to live here? Spend the night alone in a forest? My God...'
Lu Chu froze, his nerves tensing, and his heart began to race.
'Don't panic yet. Test your abilities first. Depending on your strength, investigate the area. About spending the night? Build a hut. It's inevitable. What happened can't be undone.'
After this thought, he calmed down, no longer restless.
With a relaxed mind, he clenched his fists.