Programmer Within a Cultivation World

Having made that declaration, Abel proceeded onward, ascending into the very top of the giant tree. He came closer and closer with every step until at last he was at the top.

Under the golden sunlight, his eyes opened wide and far. But his face turned gloomy.

Before him was an infinite sea of treetops, a green ocean that extended to the horizon. But something was amiss. In the west, there was one tree that stood out—withered and dead, radiating an otherworldly presence. Though it was exposed under the open sky, no sunbeam fell upon it, as if some invisible power devoured the light.

Abel turned his eyes in another direction. There, far off in the distance, towered a gigantic volcano, so huge that even at this elevation, it seemed to be suffocating. Trees around it were blackened and scorched, consumed by flames.

To the north, an endless white stretched away—snow, maybe. But Abel wasn't sure. It was too uniform, too artificial.

Taking a deep breath, he tried to process his situation. 

"Does this mean. the area I'm in is the safest place?" he muttered. "It doesn't look threatening at all." 

But. 

Something had been gnawing at the back of his mind ever since he started climbing this tree—like a thorn lodged deep within his thoughts. 

"Where is the cliff?" 

He frowned.

"This is where it should be below the cliff."

He knew it very well. He could never do away with this memory—the location of the edge of the cliff where he was pushed to die. He still remembered the stark faces, the empty stares of the person who had pushed him.

And yet.

"Where is the cliff?" he queried himself.

"Is this an illusion? Some sort of sorcery?"

If it were, then how was he to get out of this cursed forest?

Abel shut his eyes, making himself focus his thoughts. Questions pounded at his brain like a tempestuous storm, but he had to remain level-headed.

A few seconds later, when he opened his eyes again, the agitated doubt had passed. In its stead, a stubborn resolve grew.

"Whatever, I have to get out of this forest."

But there was another issue.

"The ring. It gives me life force, but how do I eat? Every creature that dies is digested completely—nothing is left, not even the bones."

Abel attempted to force out tears in exasperation, but nothing was forthcoming.

"What am I supposed to do?" he grumbled.

And then an idea hit him.

"Wait. What if I can 'program' the ring?"

He had attempted to search for it everywhere on his body, but it was nowhere to be found.

"Then. could it be in my soul?"

His eyes grew wide as understanding struck him like lightning.

"That must be it! The ring takes in life essence, which means. it must be inside my soul!"

But then a new problem came up.

"How do I even examine my soul when I don't even have an immortal body to start with? Heck, my dantian is shattered." Abel complained.

**KRRRANNGGG!**

A thunderous roar shook the forest, and Abel's belly shook furiously, growling for food like a furious beast.

"Damnit! If indeed there is a god in this world, I bemoan your wisdom! Why grant me this ability if you did not even think through?!" Abel cursed into the sky. "This ability is as flawed as an intern's initial assignment!"

Thunder immediately boomed across the heavens.

**BOOM!**

The noise startled Abel so violently that he lost his footing and almost tumbled out of the tree.

"Holy—!" He was able to clutch a branch with a mere finger, his heart pounding against his chest.

"I was only kidding! I never meant to chide the heavens!" he exclaimed, leaning back hard against the branch in mock devotion.

Wait. Is heaven listening to me?" His voice trembled in astonishment.

Or was it pure coincidence?

Either way, he wasn't going to take a chance. Abel scurried down the tree like a quacking duck running away from a hunter's arrow for fear that lightning would strike him again.

By then, the sun had already started setting.

"Gazing at the sun. it should be about 3 PM? Perhaps?" he whispered.

But forget all about that. He had to search for food—or he'd be ruined.

Glancing around, he looked for food plants or fruit that would satisfy his hunger. But, after ransacking the thick cover, nothing was seen. No fruit at all.

"Is this heaven's revenge?" he asked himself. "A forest this big, and not even a single creature or fruit?" 

Then something struck him. 

"Wait. wait."

This forest was notorious—one of the most dangerous in the world. And yet, here he was, a weakling, trekking through it without any harm.

Something was amiss. 

Very wrong.

But even if he wished to, he couldn't do it. He didn't have any power to make anything happen. He could only take things as they came and survive.

He scrunched his fists together.

This was not normal. It was impossible that a man like him would exist in a realm that ate up even the bravest warriors.

But that was only a momentary thought. At the moment, he had more immediate things on his mind—his belly was still running amok, screaming for sustenance.

**Rustle.**

Abel stood still.

The noise of movement echoed from a clump of bushes nearby.

Instinctively, his body became taut, muscles wound as tight as a spring. His alertness soared through the ceiling as his legs braced themselves for fight or flight.

And then.