Riches and Bitches: I have a gate to an isekai and leveling-up system!

Chapter 2: Leveling up system

The purple color of the gate filled the only room of my so-called apartment with a strange, mysterious vibe.

In theory, it would be for the best for me to close the gate and prepare to dive in without the influence of its strange call... But at the same time, operating in the hue the portal shone with somehow made it easier for me to focus on the task at hand.

And it was one hell of a task.

'Food and water check,' I thought as I stuffed the biggest backpack I could find with the groceries I just brought home.

The amount of supplies I bought alone was enough to put a massive dent into my meager savings. Right now, rather than surviving on bread and water, I would have to literally ration rice that I could eat in a day. But that wasn't enough for me.

'Who doesn't risk it, doesn't get the damn biscuit!' I thought while back at the shop, leading me to splurge nearly all the rest of my remaining money on various types of sundries that were cheap on this side of the gate yet could prove quite expensive in whatever world awaited on the other side.

"Okay, let's take stock of everything," I muttered to myself once I finally stuffed my backpack to the maximum and marked the stuff inside on a note by the side. "That amount of food should be enough for five days, a week if I ration. When it comes to the water, I will be fine as long as I find any source of it."

This was the blessing of the modern world. Even if all I could expect on the other side turned out to be some dirty water from a puddle, I wasn't worried. Just a single pack of detoxifying tablets and a purification bag solved this problem in advance.

Then came the sundries... Or, in other words, objects that I could buy for cheap thanks to the miracle of industrialization of my world. Following the experiences of the colonizers of the past, I stuffed an entire pocket of my backpack with sharp, glass beads and fake corals. Another pocket was brimming with all sorts of fake jewelry, lighters, matches and all kinds of wonders that were common in my world yet were likely to be one hell of a novelty in a less developed world.

"And with all that said and done..." I muttered once I ran down the list of the things I packed and raised my eyes towards the purple portal that filled my shoddy room with its magical, purple light. "There isn't anything left for me to stall for, is there?"

No matter how excited I was to check just what this gate was all about... I couldn't help but feel scared of the unknown at the same time. My preparations were nothing more but a silly attempt at calming my worries down, regardless of how impossible it was to prepare for something I knew nothing about.

"Well, I've already spent my time waiting for an opportunity that would reward all my pains and efforts," I muttered to myself, using my own voice to reignite the flames of courage in my soul. "How sad it would be if it all went down the drain because I acted cowardly just this once..."

The moment I started to condition myself into stepping towards the gate, its call returned with a renewed might, pulling me like some sort of a black hole.

My steps grew longer, turning into strides. My hands reached out...

And just like that, the world suddenly exploded in purple, only for this strange, mysterious color to then vanish, revealing a vast swath of beautiful grasslands stretching from below my feet to as far as I could see!

"Woah..." With the burden of all the produce I packed into my back now weighing my shoulders down, I took a deep breath of this otherwordly air.

Yes, I had no doubt that I was now in a different world. After all, even if this portal could bring me to a different place on Earth... It could hardly produce a moon's sibling and hang it like a picture on the skydome!

"Haaaa...." Releasing the deep breath I just took, I couldn't help but smile.

Even the air tasted different here. But how could an air have any damned taste?

'I guess that's what truly clean air tastes like,' I thought, more than aware of all the downsides of living in the industrialized world. And no matter how I looked, there were no signs that this world bore the same quality. Please visit fr𝐞𝐞w𝒏.𝒸𝑜𝔪 website to read fastest update

I shook my head, ridding my mind of all the useless thoughts and considerations. I then took a look around, quickly noticing a wide strand of a river flowing out of a dense forest behind my back and cutting straight through the open grasslands that stretched out seemingly ad infinitum.

"No matter the world, people need access to water. So, to find people, I should follow the river," I muttered to myself, making use of all the knowledge I explored whenever reading novels that depicted the scenario I found myself in. Yet, the very moment I raised my foot to take a step, the world itself trembled.

[Traveler successfully registered!]

[Main mission: Starlight plain

- Easy route - Escape the Starlight plains

- Advanced route - Survive on the Starlight plains

- Master route - Uncover the secret behind the Starlight plains

//Completing any route doesn't lock the ability to complete the others!//

//Rewards increase with the difficulty of the route//]

[Suggested mission: Bounties of the forest

- Easy route - XXXXXX

- Master route - XXXXXX

- "Are you fucking serious?" route - XXXXX

//You need to raise your wisdom to unlock the information about routes!//

//Required wisdom: 1.5//]

I took my time scanning every last word displayed on the second window. Yet, no matter how hard I stared at the blanked-out spaces on the side quest, nothing else appeared.

'I guess I need to put the side quest for later?' I thought, low-key happy that this system of mine not only allowed me to actively track my progress but also offered some suggestions over how I should proceed.

There was hardly anything that could make me happier than to have a guide in this unknown world! But at the same time, my innate distrust made me wary of it. After all, how could I know for sure that this system actually pointed me toward fruitful encounters?

'I lived my life in an easy mode so far. And the results were...' I thought, gritting my teeth when all the abuse I toughened through throughout the years resurfaced in my memory.

My eyelids moved down, the darkness that ensued allowing me to calm down a little bit.

"Well," I muttered as I took a deep breath and opened my eyes. "I lived my life in an easy mode and I didn't like it. Isn't this a perfect opportunity to try to challenge myself, then?"

With renewed confidence, I took a step forward, leaving the comfortable shadow of the nearby forest and stepping into the plain.

The plain that somehow made surviving on it a challenge, according to the quest displayed by my system, that is.

"Ugh..." Nearly instantly, a dull sigh escaped from my lips as my mind filled with images of the past that I despised.

The moment when I learned the truth about my relationship resurfaced in my thoughts, filling my soul with all the grief I felt back then. The silent, seething rage of watching my mom's things get sold off soon joined the fray... And all of that, after taking a single step into the plains!

'I guess that's what surviving this place is all about,' I thought as I hurriedly took a step back into the shadow of the forest. Yet, as I glanced over at my status... a smile somehow appeared on my lips while my soul calmed down, the negative emotions from before defeated by the sense of exhilaration.

And it was all thanks to just one, small change.

[Usable points: 1] > [Usable points: 1.07]

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