Chương 26: Solo Mission - Theo (1)

At first, all he could see was purple. If he looked left, all he could see was purple. If he looked right, all he could see was purple. It was like he was the filler in a large purple sandwich. He was being eaten whole by a purple monster. Was he even standing up? Or was he floating? His feet were touching something that was purple, but he didn't know if it was a solid floor. All he could do was stand there and wait for the purple smoke to spread out and leave his vision.

The questions in his head were never going to be answered. Theo Parker, a Hopper at stage 4, was about to enter a new planet by himself.

"How hard can it be?" he asked himself.

"It might get lonely, but surely it won't be that hard to complete the missions and claim the planet by myself." He had been the first to enter the portal and leave Planet Earth, and he felt that he was the strongest in the group after Cayman and Ellie. That gave him a sense of responsibility and a sense of duty which motivated him to complete the missions, claim the planet and make it back to Earth alive.

After what felt like more than an eternity, the purple smoke gradually dissipated, revealing a torch-lit room made of stone.

"Shit," Theo cursed, reminded of his experience on Planet 501.

"I forgot we have to dig our way up." Eagerly, Theo left the portal and began to scan the portal room. Cayman did say in the past that sometimes portal rooms already had ladders leading up to the surface because other Hoppers had explored the planet previously. Please let there be a ladder already, Theo begged. Please. Cayman never told him whether Hoppers had explored this planet previously, so there might be a chance that there was already a ladder there.

Theo searched all over the portal room for any sign of a ladder going up. He continued to scour the perimeter of the portal room even after he finished a thorough check. But there was no ladder. Theo cursed again, and his voice echoed in the portal room which was identical to the ones on Earth and Planet 501. Weren't all portal rooms in all planets the same?

"I shouldn't be having these thoughts right now," Theo muttered to himself.

"The first thing to think about is how to get out of this damned place." Luckily, before he left his house back on Earth, Theo had bought a few supplies, packed them in a large backpack and stored it in his system inventory. He stretched his hand out, opened his inventory and took out the large backpack. After rummaging inside his backpack for a while, Theo pulled out a huge pickaxe, a construction hat and some materials to build a ladder. At least he didn't come completely unprepared. He sighed.

"Looks like I'll have to do some manual labour after all," Theo mumbled. He walked over to one end of the vast portal room, laid down his backpack and began to build the ladder. One rung at a time, slowly but surely, Theo built his way up to the surface.

"It would definitely be better if I could listen to music," Theo murmured.

"It would be even better if I had someone to talk to, like Ben or Robert, but no, I'm here all by myself trying to satisfy the needs of someone else." At least I get to earn some money for myself, Theo thought to himself. At least all of this manual labour isn't for nothing. When his ladder reached the ceiling of the portal room, Theo put on a construction hat, got out his pickaxe and began digging the stone. Clack! Clack! Clack! Gradually, loose chunks of rocks began to fall into the portal room. Clack! Clack!

Theo didn't stop there though; he powered on, using his enhanced strength skill to dig more efficiently. He thought about how he used to punch kids in school like they were nothing, and how strong his punches were. He could let out all of his anger on the rocks rather than humans. Clang! More rocks fell on Theo's head. Clang! Theo was making excellent progress, and he was able to lay down more rungs the further up he went. Clack! Clack!

Sweat dripped down from Theo's face like raindrops, which Theo didn't bother to wipe away. He could tell that he was almost there, and his ladder was at least a hundred feet long. Enjoying this book? Seek out the original to ensure the author gets credit. His breathing rate increased, he could feel sweat dripping down his back, and he was testing the upper limits of his heart. This was more exhausting than playing a full game of football or rugby. At least ten times more exhausting. Clang! Almost there!

Theo's sweat was trickling down into his eyes, making them sting. Clang! Just a few more swings left. Clang. That was when a pool of dirt fell into the hole, flooding the portal room and the ladder with fresh dirt. Theo could see the surface, and he could finally breathe in the fresh air of Planet 502. He just needed to lay down the final rungs and finish building the frame of the ladder, and then he would be able to claim the reward for the demanding manual labour and reach the surface of this new planet.

That was the most tiring part of the build. Theo's heart was racing and he couldn't stop thinking about what he would see on the surface, and it made finishing the ladder last as long as an eternity. Was this planet more similar to Planet Earth? Or was it more similar to the dismal and dreary Planet 501? Eventually, he was finished with the ladder and he was able to climb up to the surface. He could finally get the answer to that question.

"This was not what I was expecting." Planet 502 resembled Planet Earth more compared to Planet 501. Theo was heavily expecting this planet to be reminiscent of Planet 501. He was expecting a vast land of nothing but rocks. He expected a gloomy sky. Instead, what Theo saw were tall trees with lush green leaves, grass that blanketed the ground, bushes, and a grey sky covered with clouds. It was like being in a large sandwich with different layers: the clouds, the leaves and the grass.

It was like an unexplored paradise. Theo knew that most of Planet Earth, no, about 99. 99% of the planet, was explored and marked on maps. However, what lay ahead of him on this planet could definitely qualify as being part of Earth. The similarities were uncanny. It was like Theo was in a dream where he was wandering around a forest trying to find his way back home. That was what it felt like. But Theo couldn't admire the surroundings for long, because he felt like he was about to die from severe exhaustion.

He needed a solution, and he needed it quickly. [Skill, 'Recovery (basic)', has been activated.] That should at least help to ease his heart rate, breathing rate and sweat levels. Theo lay down flat on the ground, where the grass helped to form a comfortable bed that seemed to stretch for miles and miles. He could definitely fall asleep on this surface. With a huge smile on his face, and with his hands behind his head, Theo relaxed and opened his profile.

Name: Theo Parker Age: 17 Height: 6'2" Level: Basic (stage 4, 20/2000 XP) Main skill: Enhanced Strength Other skills: Teleportation (basic), Recovery (basic), Healing (basic) Traits: Strength: 45 Agility: 15 Stamina: 30 Intelligence: 10 Locked????? Locked????? Hopper status: Status: Active Planets explored: 3 (including home planet) Planets claimed: 0 Theo could admire the Hopper status part of his profile for ages, and he could fall asleep cherishing it and dreaming about it.

He could fall asleep knowing that he was a Hopper. But he couldn't fall asleep just yet. There were still so many things he had to do before he could earn himself a good night's rest. Blearily, Theo got up, rubbed his eyes and walked to the nearest tree. Using his strength skill, he was able to pull off all the branches nearest to him with ease. Clack! Clack! Theo threw all the branches he had pulled on the floor, creating a huge heap which looked like a beaver's den.

Then he reached into his backpack and pulled out a fire starter. After a while, with the sky gradually getting darker, Theo had a fire going in the middle of the dense forest. Crackle! Theo could finally rest and relax. He could sleep under the stars in the middle of the forest and still stay comfortable.

"What a life I'm living," Theo said to himself.

"A life where I can travel to other planets and gain crystals that can allow me to earn truckloads of money." He didn't have a sleeping bag, but that was fine since the lush green grass was already as soft as a mattress. Maybe he should just go to sleep now. He could just bask in the peace and tranquillity Planet 502 had to offer. However, Theo was about to close his eyes and drift off to sleep when- Clack! Clack! What was that rustling noise in the bushes? Was it an animal? A mana beast?

Or was it someone else trying to claim this planet? Yawning, Theo got up from the comfort of the grass and looked around. However, he couldn't see anything.

"Was it just my imagination?" Theo asked himself aloud.

"Surely not. It must be a mana beast." Surely, right? Clack! Clack! There it was again. Theo was definitely not imagining it. There was an animal out there somewhere making that noise. He checked his surroundings, including the trees and the bushes, and when he couldn't find anything, he checked them again. There was definitely something on this planet. On his last round, when Theo checked the bushes again, he found something.

Covered in black scales, with sharp teeth protruding out of its mouth, Theo had encountered a snake. He flinched as the snake made its way out of the bush and into the open. He wasn't sure whether it was poisonous or not, and he didn't want to risk it with only his basic-level skills. The snake slithered silently out of the bush towards Theo's belongings. Whether it was a mana beast or not, it was being a nuisance, and Theo's first instinct was to kill it regardless.

Theo ran back to his bag, and when he was sure that the snake wasn't anywhere near him, he pulled out one of the mana swords he had grabbed before he left Planet Earth.

"Come at me, you stupid snake!" Theo bellowed with the sword in his hand. The snake scampered around the perimeter of Theo's area. It was fast, but it wasn't as fast as Theo. It didn't take long for Theo to catch up to the snake and stab it. The sword penetrated deep into the snake's body, spurting out a fountain of blood from the wound. All of the life had evaporated from the snake just a few seconds after Theo had stabbed it.

Once Theo was sure that the snake had perished, he dissected the body very carefully to search for any loot, but he couldn't find any mana crystals.

"Looks like it was just an ordinary snake," Theo said.

"What a shame." Theo then grabbed the snake's corpse and threw it into the bushes. What use was it staring at a dead snake when you know that more are coming?

"Right," Theo said after rubbing his hands.

"Time to get a good night's sleep." Little did he know that the good night's sleep he had been hoping for was never going to come. Hiss! Hiss! Clack!

"More snakes?" Theo was bewildered.

"How many are there? Ten thousand?" Theo sighed.

"I'm tired. Just leave me be. Bother me in the morning." But the snakes didn't understand human language. After all, this was Planet 502, not Planet Earth.

"Well, here we go again," Theo grumbled. This time, however, Theo saw a system window in front of him. It was his mission. You have a new mission! Mission 1/4: survive the night"Shit," Theo cursed out loud.

"Here we go again."