Turbulence rocked a black drop pod as it descended onto the lush, green expanse of the continent below. Northern mountain ranges, their peaks rounded greatly by the passage of time, sloped into a mixture of arid and green plains- the latter bleeding into forests that converged with a mighty jungle.
Planet Brighton's atmosphere began to collide with the drop pod. Various buttons lit up in the cockpit, managing the vessel's descent and activating cloaking technology. The latter ensured that the native population would be less overtly affected by the arrival of an extraterrestrial. A window on this vehicle showed the pretty face of an Elf with blonde hair.
"Hehehe, we're finally here! I'm both giddy and a little terrified!"
Min clenched his fists while standing in the tight pod. A few grey spots became increasingly large on the planet's surface as he descended. Sometimes they tightly hugged rivers, other times lakes, and sometimes no particular body of water. These had to be cities.
"Settlements should be roughly west of where I land. Sigh, I'm so glad I got my mommy's good sense of direction. That little sister of mine would be so lost here."
Silence filled the pod as it continued to descend. Min was alone, after all. He had no one to entertain but his mind audience!
A minute passed before a soft 'ding' played through the pod to indicate that he was rather close to landing. The turbulence increased suddenly before he crashed past some trees and the pod embedded into the ground. But the system decided to rain on his parade…
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Your Intra-Rim Drop Pod has dealt fatal damage!
"-3,297"
You have killed a Green Monkey (Lv. 30) and gained 12,000 Exp.
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As you killed an enemy that is nine levels higher than you, the experience reward will be multiplied by 260%. The total experience gained will be 31,200. Your personal contribution was: .27%
You gained an additional 84 (.27%) experience points.
—-----------------------------------------------------------
"... Ahem, my condolences, Green Monkey."
Min sighed before pressing a button to open the camouflaged drop pod. His sympathetic expression froze at the scene before him. Three other Green Monkeys were staring at him in horror!
"U-Uhm, hello, friends! I was just heading out!"
The Elf pointed to the west and clicked his cheek awkwardly. Before he could walk, though, ion thrusters at the drop pod's base began to fire so it could return to the ship. A rather…. Messy, charred sight remained for all to see. The Green Monkeys looked to each other before fleeing in fright, making ape noises as they did.
A wave of relief washed over Min. Fighting multiple foes that were likely level 30 was not in his best interest. It appeared that the journey west would be more difficult than he foresaw.
Regardless, he'd just have to try and push through. No one would come down and save him from a gruesome fate like before. This was the real test.
With the duffle bag hanging from his shoulder, Min unzipped it and got his sword out. The drop pod from before was too cramped to equip the sword while in transit, but now would suffice.
The first obstacle was the thick vegetation that went as far as the eye could see. Unfortunately, he hadn't brought a machete or alternative cutting tool for this kind of situation, so his sword would have to suffice. The issue of dulling came to his mind, but this was a necessary evil to make it out of the forest.
Those cities he saw outside of the rainforest seemed to be decently far, but it was unlikely that this rainforest was absolutely devoid of civilization. Outposts or temporary settlements could give him protection during the night which would suffice for now.
A dense humidity dampened the rainforest as Min moved swiftly yet with light feet. The sound of animal activity buzzed in the background of the forest, telling of creatures far beyond his sight exercising their daily activities. It reminded him of the cicada-filled summer nights of his previous life- though far more intense.
Most creatures in this rainforest were simply trying to live their lives, so they ignored Min as he did them. Good progress was made for half an hour before a loud splash was heard in a nearby pond. Stopping by a tree, the Elf glanced around with focused eyes. He felt like some kind of killing intent was sprouting from somewhere. While this could just be his paranoia, a fledging Super's instincts weren't exactly bad…
His body leaned against a nearby thin tree's trunk as he watched the pond tensely. 182 energy became 164 as Min activated [Project Weapon: Bow]. The strange, jagged bow formed after a moment in the space between his extended hand. Meanwhile, suspended in the air and next to his free hand, an arrow began to form. Since whatever was in the pond was unknown, Min was aiming for the maximum energy input for this arrow. As 20 energy poured into it across a little less than three and a half seconds, the arrow took on a more and more concrete shape.
The predator seemed to take this as the perfect opportunity to strike. Water splashed everywhere as a large, dark-colored, 6-meter-long crocodile ran out of the pond! It ran toward our friendly neighborhood Elf while sounding like an 8-cylinder engine!
"Jesus Christ! That thing's terrifying!"
Min grabbed the finished arrow next to his hand and quickly shot it at the crocodile. While the arrow flew toward its target, Meng Min scrambled up the thin tree while summoning another projectile.
The crocodile saw the shot and attempted to dodge, yet the arrow was too fast. Its left arm was penetrated by the arrow, giving Min its combat information.
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Your Energy Arrow has pierced the Murky Caiman (Lv. 25)'s shoulder, causing moderate bleeding.
-299!
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At this current point, he was too busy scrambling up the tree to care about this croc's stats. He finally made it to a branch several meters up and looked down at the enemy.
Pong!
Another arrow shot into the croc below, dealing substantially more damage. The last arrow still hadn't evaporated yet and was still stuck in the Murky Caiman's arm.
Min let out a sigh of relief at the situation but still kept his guard up. He checked the croc's stats while it stared up at him and made its noises.
"Hmm… about 1300 max hp and a few injury-related debuffs. Curi-"
Feeling a tingle in his lower half, Min quickly jumped up to the next branch. The damn monster had lunged upward and snapped the previous branch in half! After failing to catch its prey, the Caiman grabbed onto the tree's trunk and began to climb!
While he entered a focused state, Min ran across his branch and jumped backwards, curving in the air. He raised the bow during the descent and fired a half-filled arrow toward the enemy. Landing, he endured the slight fall damage and ran toward the nearest tree.
Creak! Wraaagh… Boom!
The tree that Mr. Murky Caiman was on fell to the ground. It couldn't handle such a heavy creature climbing up it.
Regardless, Min began to form a new arrow while frowning heavily.
"I've done about half its health, but my energy rank is about to fall to level 2. This needs to be finished quickly."
The Caiman recovered from the failed assault and looked up at its prey. Arrows stuck out of its body like spikes. Remembering something, Min waved a hand horizontally, allowing the arrows to evaporate. Blood suddenly gushed from one of the wounds in particular. A Severe Bleeding status effect quickly appeared on the character sheet provided to Min.
Deciding to be bold in order to save energy, the Elf put his weight on the branch and suddenly launched from it. He would be engaging in close combat with this croc!
Despite having fought only humans for most of his past and current life, the Arena did put some wild animals into fights a few times. They were just following a trend that quickly vanished. However, it helped him learn a few things about fighting beasts.
Meng Min engaged in hit-and-run tactics with the croc, weathering it down along with the severe bleeding. This method was effective primarily due to the Caiman's inflexible nature. The beast's hp finally bottomed out after a few minutes.
—-----------------------------------
Murky Caiman (Lv. 25) has bled out and you have gained 7,500 EXP.
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Since Mr. Scary Croc had been dealt with, Min could sigh in relief and continue venturing through the rainforest. Dismissing the bow that took 18 energy to summon felt like a waste, though… The Elf glanced at the vegetation before him before looking at the bow in his hand. An idea sparked within his mind!
"This bow's edge is sharp, isn't it? Since it's basically disposable, I don't need to worry about dulling the edge. In this case, I've got the perfect clearing tool!"
Laughing like a creep, he rubbed his hands while taking a few minutes to rest. While the exp obtained from this fight was nice, Min would much rather have found civilization sooner. The current lack of intel was especially dangerous- for if a creature had some special ability, he could be caught unaware. The System helped in this regard but the threat remained.
Braving the brush once more, Min moved west for another hour. Cutting with the bow was a little clunky but had no lasting damage, which made his efficiency brain very happy. As did filling a shampoo bottle with water after its depletion. Being a cheap bastard was one of his favorite pastimes.
Eventually, the bow's constitution collapsed. The energy decay rate seemed to abide by a "gradually then suddenly" rule. Min's energy hadn't fully recovered yet, so he sighed while drawing his sword and began to cut away vegetation. Yet, only one shrub was cut before an odd thing happened in the distance. The air was visibly blurry, in a manner more intense than one would typically observe from the rainforest's ever-present heat.
Meng Min approached this area cautiously, cutting the brush with more certainty. The "vibrating air" only got closer as he did. Soon, he was right before it and could see the fuzzy outline of something other than trees beyond. With a deep breath, he first tested to see if passing through what appeared to be a veil was possible. He reached into the duffle bag and brought out a shirt, tossing it through the air. It landed without issue.
Since it seemed safe, Min steeled himself and stepped through the blurry air. He picked up the shirt, returned it to its home, before marching forward once more. But what he saw next filled him with excitement!
Tall, Victorian-style lamp posts lined a worn brick road that stood out from the jungle's surroundings. Blue flames flickered within the lamp's metal and glass casing.
"This… this isn't natural! People made this! I'm saved!"
Min thought the journey west was going to take eons, but he had found this road so quickly! Before he could celebrate further, he instinctually jumped to the side and turned his gaze down the road. A group of three young adult humans, one a short mage woman, one with the appearance of a shady-looking thief, and the last a warrior with a stubble, all had their weapons drawn. A concentrated mana blast landed where Min had last been.
"Změňte pozici!!"
The short woman seemed to order as the warrior moved between her and Min. Meanwhile, Meng Min gripped his sword handle tightly and jumped onto the road. He stared the group down with an intense look.
"I have no intention of harming you! I'm simply trying to find my way out."
Despite speaking his native language, the entire group understood what he said. Long ago, a chip had apparently been planted in his neck to assist in easy translation. It just needed to hear a language before it adjusted. One could command it to change languages but Min didn't know how to do that.
Each warrior paused and lowered their weapons slightly. The short woman stepped forward with a tense look.
"Then what were you doing beyond the path? Only exiled criminals and the Brosni live beyond the road!"
"Believe me or not, but I simply woke up in there. I don't remember who I am. As a show of faith…"
Exhaling, Min let go of his sword handle and let his hands hang at his side. His chest puffed out slightly, leaving himself vulnerable to any potential attack.
After a few tense moments, the short woman motioned for the others to put their weapons down. The group approached him cautiously- with the woman at the head. Her fingerless-gloved hand slowly extended.
"I am Angela Waters of the small town Arshle. We hope to meet in peace."