Chương 28: Solo Mission - Theo (3)

"Huh?" Theo opened his eyes and rubbed them. It was morning, or what he thought looked like morning. It wasn't pitch-black or dusk anymore. There were white, fluffy clouds in the sky which looked like large pillows, and to Theo's surprise, the planet was actually receiving light from the sun. Or at least a sun.

"Holy shit," Theo murmured.

"I've done it. I've survived the night." Theo forced himself to get off the ground, and when he was up, he stretched his back like an elderly man would. Although the grass was extremely comfortable, Theo had still been sleeping on a hard ground underneath. Once he was ready to start his day, reality hit. His camp was a mess.

There were snake corpses littered everywhere, and towards the far end of the camp, there was the mutilated body of a bear of some sort, with its head separate from the rest of its body and lying a few feet away from it.

"I did all of that last night?" Theo was bemused. Scratching his head, he began to walk laps around the camp. That was when a system window popped up. [You have completed Mission 1/4: survive the night.] Duh, since it was morning now. It was the same system message that had appeared in the middle of Theo's very deep sleep. Blearily, Theo checked his right arm, which had been bitten the night before. Sure enough, there was a scar on his arm at the exact spot where he had been bitten.

It was an awful maroon colour and the skin around it was red, but at least it didn't hurt anymore. The healing skill had done its job. A layer of skin had finally formed on top of the wound. Walking around, Theo could finally get an idea of what Planet 502 really looked like. The forest he was in seemed to stretch for absolutely ages, with no end in sight. It felt like being in the Amazon rainforest.

Theo had done so much the day before: he had arrived in the portal room, dug his way up to the surface, built a ladder, killed a hundred snakes and killed a bear trying to intrude into his camp. However, his body wasn't sore. That was the benefit of having the healthy athletic body of a jock.

"I just want to rest today and do nothing," Theo said, letting out a loud sigh which the whole of Planet 502 could hear.

"I just want to ditch this life as a Hopper. I can't be asked to complete another mission." He leaned against a large tree at the edge of his camp and sat down. But just a second later- Gurgle!

"Crap." Theo was hungry. Gurgle! No, just saying hungry was an understatement. Theo was extraordinarily hungry.

"Damn," Theo cursed.

"Out of all the things I could've packed, I didn't pack food." Theo's reasoning was simple: he thought he was only going to be on this planet for a few hours, and when it was time to return to Planet Earth, there would be a huge feast waiting for him where he could devour as much food as he wished. But Theo had already spent a night on Planet 502. So he was running on a completely empty stomach.

"Breakfast," Theo gasped.

"I need breakfast." Ring! A system message popped up. You have a new mission: Mission 2/4: defeat the beasts Suddenly, Theo's lips curled into a huge, sadistic grin and he licked his lips several times. He had just come up with an ingenious idea.

"This is just the mission I needed," Theo said with a huge smile on his face.

"I can finally have breakfast." Hastily, Theo checked the mission details. [Mission 2/4: defeat the beasts] Description: defeat all the mana beasts living on this planet. Time limit: none Reward: mana crystals. Failure: death Reward: mana crystals. Yes.

"Killing two birds with one stone," Theo muttered. He was going to have a good time completing this mission. Two rewards, one mission: a nice gourmet breakfast with lots of protein and mana crystals to significantly increase Theo's income. All of Theo's tiredness suddenly evaporated into thin air. He was never as ready for a mission as this. Theo channelled all of his determination into his brain and left camp with a prideful smile on his face.

"Time to earn myself some food," he said to himself as if he had just regressed five thousand years. The mana beasts on Planet 502 had a real reason to be scared. The system window with the mission details didn't tell Theo anything about what beasts he had to defeat. However, there was another window that told him just that. [Mission 2/4: defeat the beasts] Beasts to defeat: 1) Grizzly black bear (0/100) 2)??? (?? /??)"Not a bad selection of beasts," Theo mumbled.

"Wasn't the bear I defeated yesterday a grizzly black bear? If so, a hundred grizzly black bears is going to be no problem." Theo was going to get his answer very shortly. Rustle, rustle. Theo, with sword in hand, stood firm. There was a mana beast nearby. Rustle, rustle.

"Come out, come out, wherever you are!" Rustle. Theo was playing a game of hide-and-seek with the mana beasts, but there was a twist; if the hiders, the beasts, were found by the seeker, Theo, they would die. That was the best summary anyone could give about hunting down and defeating mana beasts.

"Found you!" Theo suddenly shouted. A group of bears that had been hiding behind a bush scampered around frantically, splitting up and not looking back. Theo had a sword which could slash through their tender flesh like it was cake. Like it was nothing. This story originates from Royal Road. Ensure the author gets the support they deserve by reading it there.

The bears were exceptionally unfortunate that Theo had an athletic body, a body that had participated in the school teams for football, basketball and volleyball in the past. They were toast. They were going to be the breakfast for this insane maniac. There was nowhere for them to run. Slash!

"Die, you foul beasts!" Slash! Slash! Three of the bears were unfortunately stabbed by the blade of Theo Parker's sword. Despite the bears still being alive, Theo began to cut their bodies open one by one in search of mana crystals. The bear he had killed the night before had dropped a few mana crystals, so surely these ones should also have some. After a while, Theo found them. Deep in the depths of the bear's body, there was a glow that beckoned for Theo to dissect the body further. A bright blue glow.

Basic mana crystals.

"Yes," Theo said menacingly, reminding him of his old bullying days.

"Finally, I got what I was looking for. Now, time to defeat the rest of this gang." Theo stood up and slashed the rest of the fallen bears' bodies open. After he had taken all of their mana crystals, he began to look for the bears that had fled. Defeating mana beasts was a game of hide-and-seek where the seeker almost always wins. If you're a hider, you have pretty much no chance at winning.

"Found you!" Theo bellowed once he saw one of the bears. He pounced. Slash! The bear let out an ear-piercing scream.

"One down." Although there were a lot of trees for the bears to hide, Theo was still able to locate the rest of the bears with ease. The bear that Theo had just stabbed was dying, and there was almost no way for it to fully recover anymore. So Theo turned his attention to the rest of the bears. Scaring the bears would just make them run away in different directions, Theo thought. But what about catching them off-guard? What would happen then?

Theo got down on his knees and started crawling towards the bears like a little baby. Slowly but surely, he was making his way towards the bears. There was a group of bears in front of him. Then, without warning, Punch! Theo's fist made contact with the back of the bear. An absolute monster punch. Bang! The bear Theo had punched was sent flying, hitting the bears in front of it with such a huge force that it created a domino effect, causing the other bears nearby to crash into a nearby tree. Crash!

[Skill, 'Teleportation (basic)', has been activated.] Theo was in front of the bears in an instant. Slash! Slash! Slash!

"I could do this all day," Theo said to himself.

"Bullying these mana beasts is so fun." There were at least five bears in that small group, and Theo had severely injured at least three of them with just one punch.

"Imagine how strong my punch will be when I reach the infinite level." Theo sighed, dejectedly thinking about the cruel reality of the skill user world. Then he said, "That's if I ever end up reaching the infinite level." He slashed the beasts continuously to confirm that they had died and also to search for mana crystals. Just like with the bear he had killed the previous night, he managed to pull out three small blue mana crystals. Exchange.

The three mana crystals in Theo's hand magically disappeared and were sent to the mana crystal market far, far away. Just mere seconds later, Theo was holding cash in his hands. [You have sold 3 blue mana crystals on the market and earned 45 pounds.]"I'm definitely gonna be rich after this mission," Theo said.

"There's way more where that came from." Theo then looted another three mana crystals from the corpse of another bear and smashed them all with his left hand. You have chosen to use a 'Basic Mana Crystal'. What will you be using it for? 1) Strength +3 2) Agility +3 3) Stamina +3 4) Intelligence +3 5) Upgrade skill Option 1. Trait, 'Strength', has been upgraded by 3 points. Strength: 45 → 48 You have chosen to use a 'Basic Mana Crystal'. What will you be using it for?

1) Strength +3 2) Agility +3 3) Stamina +3 4) Intelligence +3 5) Upgrade skill Option 2. Trait, 'Agility', has been upgraded by 3 points. Agility: 15 → 18 You have chosen to use a 'Basic Mana Crystal'. What will you be using it for? 1) Strength +3 2) Agility +3 3) Stamina +3 4) Intelligence +3 5) Upgrade skill Option 3. Trait, 'Stamina', has been upgraded by 3 points. Stamina: 30 → 33"I feel so much better already," Theo said as he lay flat on the ground next to the mutilated bears.

Blood stained the floor but Theo didn't care; it was all in a day's work for a Hopper. Gurgle!

"Crap," Theo muttered.

"I forgot I was on an empty stomach. I need food. Now, where am I gonna get some grub?" It was meant to be a sarcastic rhetorical question. Theo stared at the bears immediately.

"Hopefully there's still some meat in their bodies I can cook." Standing up, Theo walked towards the bears.

"How heavy can one of these bears be?" The answer: not heavy at all.

"My strength has increased drastically these past few weeks," Theo murmured.

"I can already feel myself getting stronger." Theo began dragging the bears back to where his campfire was. Although it wasn't that far away, he still needed to use his strength skill.

"Come on. Come on." Dragging the bears back was probably the hardest part. Especially on an empty stomach. Gurgle. Theo's stomach was churning crazily. After all the bears had been dragged back to camp, leaving a trail of fresh blood on the grass, Theo used his ample experience of dissecting internal organs and began to cut the meat of the bear very carefully. Then he started a fire and let the meat cook. Crackle, crackle. Theo licked his lips. He was going to have meat for breakfast. Fresh protein.

This was a rare occurrence; usually, Theo would have a boiled egg accompanied by cereal or fruit for breakfast, not fresh meat.

"Yes, this is the stuff," Theo said, admiring the aroma of cooked meat. When a person runs out of food in the wilderness, they would be forced to eat whatever they could find, whether it be wild fruits or wild animals, so that they wouldn't starve. And here Theo was, cooking and eating a bear. While the meat was cooking, Theo turned his attention to the bears' teeth. They were not a normal bear's teeth, that was for sure. To satisfy his curiosity, Theo severed the head of the nearest bear and pulled out its teeth.

Immediately, a system window popped up. Iron tooth Level: Basic Description: an item imbued with mana that can be sold or combined with mana crystals to create skills.

"This could be useful," Theo muttered. While the meat continued to cook, Theo pulled out all of the teeth from the bears nearest to him. He was holding a collection of at least twenty iron teeth in his hands. After a while, the meat was ready. Theo had cooked it until it was golden-brown and slightly charred. Anyone looking at the meat Theo had just cooked would instantly start drooling and ask to have some. Theo didn't have any utensils, meaning he would have to use his hands.

And, forgetting all of the table manners that applied on Planet Earth, Theo voraciously wolfed down the bear meat, eating with his mouth wide open and taking huge bites.

"More," Theo said with bear meat in his mouth.

"I need more of this stuff." And he was going to get more. There were at least ten bears which he could still get meat from.

"It's a shame most of this is going to waste," Theo said with a sullen face.

"This is such good meat." Well, there was a first time for everything, and this was the first time Theo was eating bear meat. It was truly a moment Theo would cherish for the rest of his life. Rustle! There was a noise. Theo, who had a bulging tummy, stuffed the rest of the bear meat into his mouth and stood up. He had definitely heard something in the distance. Was it another bear? Was it a lead to where the mystery bears were? Theo eagerly began to walk in the direction of the noise.

The unanswered questions were piling up inside his brain. Was he going to hear more of these noises from now on? Gripping his mana sword, Theo continued to walk.

"Where are you? I'm going to find you no matter what." Clack! Clack!

"Holy s-" There it was. A bear darted along Theo's path.

"I will catch you!" Theo yelled; he chased after the bear at full speed although his stomach was filled to the brim. Clack, clack, clack. He didn't stop even when he was running out of breath; his experience in a multitude of sports taught him that he had to continue regardless in order to grab the win. After what felt like ages, after all of his stamina had been drained, and after he thought he was going to double over and puke out all of the bear meat he had just eaten, Theo had lost the bear.

"Crap," Theo panted, looking down at the ground and gasping desperately for air. Slowly, Theo lifted his head after his breathing began to stabilise. And right in front of him, there was something in his vision that he didn't expect to see. He was standing right in front of a giant cave.