So...I was stuck here. That much was obvious. But what was I going to do? I could just strike out on my own and leave the fairy in the dust, but I had little experience being in the wilderness. I didn't want to test my lack of knowledge and end up dying from a mistake.

I'd have to stay, then. That option also didn't appeal to me. If I didn't die from starvation alone in the wilderness, I'd die by the xianxia MC coming to kill me. But I didn't really have to follow through with that plan, did I? I'd start the sect with the system and, once we were powerful enough, I'd become a turncoat! The stupid fairy and her employees wouldn't know what was coming for them.

I would need to play the long game, though. Be reluctant, so they don't get suspicious.

"If I'm going to be here," I muttered, curled up against an oak tree, "then I might as well do this whole sect leader thing..."

The fairy stopped listlessly drifting over my head to shake hers somberly. <You can't. A mortal can't establish sect territory. You don't have any cultivation methods to pass down to disciples, either, so no one would join it anyway.>

I slumped even further against the tree. There goes my plan. "So I'm just useless, then?"

She shrugged. <Sorry.>

Her apology, while half sincere, pissed me off.

"Sorry?" I snapped. "That's it? You and your bosses gave me a death sentence and all you can come up with is sorry? My life is ruined and I can't do what I was brought here for!"

I punched the ground, brimming with righteous anger and indignation. But instead of the expected pain that comes with hitting a forest floor  - no matter how soft - with your knuckles, something...felt good when I punched it.

"Fairy," I said, "something feels good here." I patted the dirt.

She scrunched up her face and drifted backward. <What? And I'm not a fairy; I'm a demon contracted by the system admins to help cultivators use the system!>

"Um, okay. But, uh, I-I don't really know. It's just...there's something there and-" I cut myself off and just started digging. My soft, city hands tore at the dirt, pulling up and tossing away clumps of soft, mushy forest dirt.

<Hey, hey!> the fairy cried, zipping up and in front of me. <Watch where you're throwing that!>

I ignored her, feeling closer than ever to the 'good' thing hidden in the ground. There! Something shiny gleamed in the sunlight. I shoved my hand down the tiny hole I'd dug, grabbing at the shiny thing I'd seen and yanking it out.

"Got it!" I cried, holding my prize up in triumph. "Now, though, what is this thing?"

<Let me see it,> the fairy said, holding out her hand.

I hesitated. "What are you going to do with it?"

<Obviously I'm the only one with qi skills available to identify the object,> she said dryly.

"Oh. Right." I handed it over to her.

She wiped the dirt off on her tiny skirt before holding it up to the light. Her eyes glowed bright yellow for a second before she blinked and tossed it back to me. I almost fumbled the thing, but I got a good grip on it and held it to my chest. It vibrated against my shirt, tickling me a little.

<It's a revert pearl,> she explained. <I've never seen one before but some of my colleagues have.>

So there's more of her? I don't know much about cultivation but isn't it weird that there are so many fairies in this world? Whatever. "What's it for?"

<The system isn't completely in the admin's control. As you know, sometimes...it makes mistakes.>

Understatement of the year.

<The admins send those,> she pointed to the pearl, <to system users across the world to fix mistakes caused by the system.>

"So this thing will send me back home?" I asked. A sliver of hope rose up in my chest. I wouldn't even have to have my sect betray her and the admins!

<Doubtful.> Hope crushed again. <We still need a sect leader and the admins won't want to waste any energy sending you back. More likely they've just given you a new way to utilize the system, one that doesn't require you to be a cultivator.>

"Okay, well, how do I use it? I kinda wanna squish it."

<Do not squish the->

That settles it. I squished the revert pearl.

The pearl popped in my hand and whatever was making that vibration left the rapidly deflating gem and shot up my arm. I giggled a little, squirming on the ground as the vibrations traveled through my insides, swooshing around in my body.

<Are you insane?> the fairy shrieked, her wings catching fire for a few seconds.

"A little," I chortled. "But this feels...nice? I think? I don't think it's hurting me and-urk!"

I keeled over, clutching my stomach as the weird vibrations got a little rough in my gut. It pushed and tugged and all around did things it should not be doing inside of me before flinging itself up my windpipe. I choked a little, spitting and sputtering as it tried to force its way up the wrong pipe. It finally managed to wriggle out of my nose before zipping down and splashing harmlessly against the ground.

As I lay there, shocked and in pain, I heard a slight ding in my head...And then a bunch more dings as a bunch of screens appeared in my face.

⌈User System alteration installed!⌋

⌈Territory acquired! New resources unlocked!⌋

⌈Your sect has achieved level 1!⌋

⌈You have gained the achievement of 'Last-Minute Change'!⌋

⌈You have gained the skill [Identify Cultivator]!⌋

⌈You have gained the skill [Summon Qi Condensation Cultivator]!⌋

The fairy gasped. <Wow! This alteration must be huge! It's never given out skills before!

"That's great and all," I breathed, "but I'm in a lot of pain right now. I think-yep, my nose is bleeding." I touched my finger to my nose and felt blood droplets fall onto it. "Yeah...I'm not okay...."

<Oh, right.> She drifted down toward me and grabbed my nose with her tiny hands. A glowing green light flowed out of her hands and into me. It freaked me out - I'd just been assaulted by an invisible vibrating thing after all - but the light didn't hurt. In fact, whatever the vibrating thing did to my windpipe and gut slowly reversed as the light traversed through my body.

"Thanks," I groaned, sitting up.

<No problem,> she chirped, settling down onto my knee. She was surprisingly heavier than she looked; perhaps her wings lent her extra weight. <I imagine that was awfully painful.>

"Felt worse than being teleported...I guess I should check my cultivation info now?"

<You should.>

"Cultivator Information."

⌈Cultivator Information

Name: Austin Wu

Core Level: 1

Sect: Mountain Valley Forest Sect (Level 1)

Skills: [Identify Cultivator], [Summon Qi Condensation Cultivator]⌋

<Almost everything has changed! This is...strange. I'm not quite sure how I'll be able to help you use the system if even I don't understand it.>

"Will I be okay?"

<In all honesty, Austin,> the fairy said, rubbing her chin as she stared at the screen, <I'm not sure. Normally, cultivators use the Sect Leader System to help them gain territory and manage their sect, but it's never hands-on like giving out skills. My job is to guide them through that process but even I don't know what the revert pearl has done to the system.>

"Huh..." How was I going to exact my revenge if the helper wasn't able to help me get powerful enough to exact my revenge?

The fairy shook her head. <We'll have to figure this out as we go along, I'm afraid. Why don't you check out that achievement that you got? Say 'Sect Leader Achievements'.>

I did so and brought yet another screen up into my face.

⌈Sect Leader Achievements

Last-Minute Change: Your actions have made the system admins intrigued about what you can do for the Sect Leader System as a mortal. For compensation, they've granted you the 'Sect Core' and the skills [Identify Cultivator] and [Summon Qi Condensation Cultivator].⌋

<Austin,> the fairy said, her wings literally heating the air around them with how fast they beat, <do you know what this means?>

I closed the screen and thought about it for a second, realizing that no, I did not know what this meant. I told her so and she sighed.

<It means that you're the only system user using the experimental technology the admins were working on! I heard it was meant to speed up the user's sect growth!>

Well, that is some interesting news. I'm not sure what the xianxia MC will be like, but at least with this new Sect Core, I might have a chance in this world. Or, at the very least, it'll take a little while before I crash and burn.

Hopefully, they're only first degree.