Chương 38: Solo Mission - Maya (1)

Maya De Souza was surrounded by purple all over. The sky was purple, the ground was purple and the horizon was purple. It was the epitome of a fully purple world. Maya couldn't contain her excitement; she was an upcoming Hopper about to complete a series of missions all by herself. That potentially meant she had to defeat large groups of mana beasts all by herself. She wouldn't have support from Cayman and Ellie, who, on the surface, appeared to be significantly stronger than her even from the outset.

If she encountered any problems during her expedition, no one would be able to help her. However, she didn't care about that at all since the rewards were definitely greater than the risks; she was almost certainly going to level up after completing the missions. And she was going to have a planet all to herself. All she had to do was wait for the purple mist around her to dissipate, and then she would finally be on another world.

"Planet 504," Maya whispered to herself.

"What have you got in store for me?" She was wandering into alien territory. According to Cayman, Maya was going to a planet that had already been explored before, but nobody had managed to claim it. Her true mission, besides overpowering all of the mana beasts present on the planet, was to overpower all the other Hoppers and claim the planet for herself like a true queen. She was going to show the other Hoppers who was boss.

She had already told herself that she was going to strut out of the portal exuding an aura of confidence and pride and not leave the planet until all the missions were complete. And she told herself that she wasn't going to die.

"I have to prove myself here," Maya said.

"I need to prove to Cayman and Ellie that there's a reason why I'm a skill user and not anybody else." She had a mission to complete, and she was not going to surrender that easily. She was going to get it done and show the other Hoppers trying to claim the planet that she was the real deal.

"My life has completely changed these past few weeks. I now have new friends and supernatural powers that belong to another planet. I can also say that I've gone to other planets outside of Earth. Outside of our solar system, even." Soon, as the purple gas began to dissipate, Maya could begin to make out the features of the portal room beyond. It was just an ordinary portal room with nothing special. There was a stone ceiling, stone walls and a smooth stone floor.

The grandiose portal was in the middle of the dismal, underwhelming room.

"One giant step towards levelling up." Maya stuck out her right foot, which touched the polished stone floor. She was officially on the soon-to-be Planet 504. Clop. Clop. The sound of her footsteps resonated around the portal room, which was torch-lit and fairly cold for an underground room. Maya cocked her head towards the back of the room, where there was already a ladder leading up to the surface.

"I knew there was already going to be one," she said, letting out a sigh.

"At least I don't have to build it myself." Without further ado, Maya grabbed on to the frame of the ladder and began to climb. She had already done this many times before on multiple planets, including back on Earth and on Planet 501.

"I wonder what this planet looks like," Maya said to herself as she continued climbing the seemingly never-ending ladder.

"Will it be more like Earth or will it be more like the sad Planet 501?" Clack. Clack. There were specks of dust and rust on the ladder, suggesting that Hoppers had been exploring this planet for many years. Nevertheless, as Maya continued to climb, sweat began to trickle down from her forehead.

"Almost there," Maya panted. She was losing her breath although she had only climbed around two-thirds of the ladder. Sweat was forming a large puddle on her back. Clack. Clack. She had almost drained all of her energy completely when she was at the top. Her body was covered in sweat which stuck to her t-shirt like hot glue.

"I seriously need to upgrade my stamina," Maya wheezed.

"I can't be going on missions whilst using up all of my energy climbing up a ladder." She had to crawl her way up to the top, and when she did, she couldn't believe her eyes.

"Is that the Amazon rainforest?" The landscape was reminiscent of a dense rainforest back on Earth. Maya was surrounded by a flat land teeming with tall trees, lush green grass and fresh bushes. She didn't know if the portal had transported her to another area of Planet Earth or a different planet. It was impossible to tell because the similarities were eerily uncanny. And then there was the temperature difference.

"Crap," Maya cursed.

"Why the hell is it so hot on this planet?" Maya had prepared meticulously for this trip, but it seemed as though she had over-prepared. She had stuffed a whole bag full of supplies in her inventory, such as materials needed to build a ladder and several pickaxes to dig her way to the surface. She was wearing a denim jacket expecting the temperature to be similar to that on Earth. But at that point, she deeply regretted her decisions.

The humidity on the planet was close to unbearable; the sweat would not stop falling. It was at least ten degrees hotter on Planet 504 compared to back on Earth, which was a recipe for disaster for Maya who had never been to a humid rainforest before.

"Water," Maya grunted.

"I need water." Unfortunately, she didn't pack any water. She had stuffed a bag full of materials needed to build a ladder, and somehow, she didn't have enough room left to fit a few bottles of water. How shameful. She thought she had over-prepared, but she had forgotten to pack water. Feeling like she had just developed a high fever, Maya took off her jacket and hung it around her arm. There was a massive sweat patch visible on her back.

"I need water," Maya gasped.

"Is there a river or stream somewhere?" She turned her head from left to right, but all she could see were trees, bushes and fallen leaves.

"I just want water," Maya said again. She put a palm to her forehead, and the result was it being drenched in pristine, shiny sweat. Without saying another word, Maya began walking in a random direction. She could see the sun shining through the gap in the layer of leaves, which just supported the idea that she was walking around in a sauna. Stolen content warning: this content belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences. There was no breeze. The trees were dead still. There were no signs of wildlife anywhere.

"Where's the water?" There was so much greenery, but there were no real signs of a source of water.

"Crap, I should've packed water. I know I should pack materials to build a ladder, but how the hell can I forget to pack water? Did I think I would only be on this planet for mere minutes?" Maya sighed. She desperately wanted to bury her face in the grass and scream as loud as her vocal cords would allow her to. But that would just mean giving up. Maya was a Hopper, and she knew that Hoppers would never give up just because of a seemingly minor problem like running out of water.

"There has to be water somewhere," Maya said to herself.

"There will be water somewhere on this planet." So she kept on walking and walking. She didn't see a single animal nor did she see other Hoppers. It seemed like she was alone on Planet Rainforest. Clack! Clack!

"I'm gonna suffer from heat exhaustion if I don't find water quickly," Maya slurred, already starting to feel the effects of heat exhaustion. She didn't want to continue talking out loud anymore. How the hell did Cayman and Ellie manage to explore 499 other planets when some of them could potentially be hotter than this one, if not significantly hotter? Maya might never know the answer to that lingering question. Clack, clack, clack.

After what felt like days of endless walking, she finally stumbled upon something she thought she would never see; she had encountered a narrow stream in the middle of the rainforest.

"Water!" Maya couldn't contain her excitement as she dropped her bag and began lumbering towards the source of the water. She thought that she could drink the whole stream until it was completely dry. She thought she might need more water after drinking the whole stream. That was how dehydrated she was. Since time flowed differently on Planet Rainforest compared to Planet Earth, Maya couldn't tell exactly how much time had passed since she reached the surface of the planet.

But that didn't matter since she had a source of fresh water in front of her which she could bask in for days on end.

"Water!" Maya cried again. Once she was at the bank of the stream, she cupped her hands and put some of the water into her mouth. She swallowed the water with as much excitement as if she was swallowing a new skill orb. The burdensome journey to get to this stream had taken a massive toll on Maya's stamina, and she was glad she could at least get some of it back from drinking the water. No word in the English dictionary could perfectly describe how dehydrated Maya had been on the walk to the stream. Gurgle. Gurgle.

She wasn't drinking anything fizzy, nor was she drinking alcohol. It was just water. After a while, instead of savouring every little droplet of water, she began to ravenously stuff the water down her throat until her system couldn't take it anymore. Then she stuffed some more water down her throat. Gulp, gulp, gulp.

"I don't think I'll ever enjoy water as much as that," Maya said after she shoved at least two whole cups of water into her mouth. She had finally solved one of the problems she had been facing since reaching the surface; the other problems hadn't appeared yet. Maya looked longingly at the stream with wide, emotionless eyes, watching hard as the current picked up and made the little pebbles in the water dance freely and effortlessly. Then she had an ingenious idea.

"I'm sweating like hell right now," she said to herself, finally having the energy to utter out a sentence, "so how about I take a shower right here, right now?" Maya pondered over that idea thoroughly. Her dark hair was just adding unnecessary weight since it was sticking to her head like staples. Sweat was making her white t-shirt stick to her back like double-sided tape. It was too hot and humid on Planet Rainforest, the soon-to-be Planet 504. Maybe a shower on the stream was a good idea after all.

If she didn't take this shower, then it might affect her performance against the mana beasts, and that was something she wished to avoid. Maya made the bold decision, rolled up her trousers and put her right leg in the water. There was an instant cooling impact on her body.

"This feels so nice," Maya said.

"Forget all the missions on this planet, I could just bathe in this water forever. I will be the cleanest person on Earth when I return." She then put her left leg in the water. The temperature of the water juxtaposed the temperature of the rainforest. A surge of coldness rushed into her body from her legs, and Maya could feel herself shivering. It was like she was on holiday to somewhere hot and she had just put her legs into the ocean for the first time.

"This is what exploring other planets should feel like," Maya mumbled.

"Now it really feels like I'm on holiday." She threw her denim jacket to the side, knelt down and instantly began washing her sweat-filled hair with the water from the stream. Despite the stream being fairly shallow, she also buried her face in the water to clean it from the horrors of a shiny, sweaty forehead. Splash! Splash! She bent down and dipped her long hair into the stream. She made sure every aspect of her face was free from sweat.

Then, once her face and hair were clean, she raised her t-shirt and began to clean her back.

"I will never ever get an experience like this," Maya said to herself, admiring the crystal-clear water.

"I have to make this time count." Splash! Splash! Maya was drenched in water, but at least it wasn't sweat. She was blanketed in a layer of fresh, clean water. After a while, her whole upper body was glossed with the water from the stream of paradise. Sadly, all good things had to come to an end, and after around ten to twenty minutes of basking in the comfort of the stream water, Maya left the stream, her body dripping with water.

She trudged towards her bag, rummaged through its contents and pulled out a towel which she packed in case she needed it. To think she knew to pack a towel but not water was extremely shameful.

"That was so nice," Maya said, longing for more time to bathe in the stream.

"I didn't think something like that was going to be so refreshing." Once she dried her back, her face and her hair, she dug into her backpack and pulled out a large cylindrical bag. She opened it, revealing a tent. She was grateful for the opportunity to bathe in the water, since she was definitely going to start sweating again whilst pitching the tent. She had no idea how long she would be staying on this planet; she could be here for a few hours, a few days or even a few weeks.

But as long as she stayed near the stream, she could have infinite luxurious showers akin to the one she had just taken, and nobody would be present to watch her as she cleaned her body. Clack! Clack! Clack! The pegs stabbed deep into the ground as Maya pitched the tent in a flat area near the stream. Once she finished pitching the tent, she placed her large backpack inside the tent. She went inside the tent afterwards and took out a sleeping bag from her backpack, which she laid on the uneven grassy floor.

Then, after taking out an inflatable pillow and inflating it by herself, she lay flat on the floor, letting out a loud yawn.

"I can't fall asleep like this," Maya grumbled although she was visibly tired and the sleeping bag felt as comfortable as her bed back home.

"It's too hot and my hair is too wet." Since she didn't meet the optimum requirements to fall asleep, Maya decided that the best thing to do to pass the time was to start a fire and cook a nice meal for herself. Reluctantly, Maya got out of the tent and began her hunt for materials needed to fill her stomach to the brim. She needed sticks, a fire-starter, and of course, a nice animal to kill and cook. Clack! Clack!

With the aid of her strength skill, Maya was able to pull off a few branches from the nearest trees with ease. The branches she pulled were neatly thrown into a small heap on the side. Clack! Clack!

"I'm so lonely," Maya muttered as she pulled off some more branches.

"I wish there was someone here with me that I can talk to." Clack! Clack! The sticks were piled up on the grass like a small bird's nest. Maya effortlessly carried them back to her camping spot and placed them down next to her two-person tent. But then, when she was about to get more materials- Rustle. She heard something in the distance. Was it a wild mana beast? Or was it someone else trying to claim the planet for themselves? Or was she just paranoid and hearing things? Rustle. There it was again.

"Is someone here with me?" Maya asked, directing the question to no one in particular. After she dropped the heap of sticks on the ground, her hands began to tremble. She ran into her tent, ransacked her backpack and pulled out her sword, clutching onto it tightly with her dominant hand. She was finally ready to defeat some mana beasts.

"Where are you?" Maya shouted.

"If you're here, I'm going to kill you all!" Strangely, a mission window didn't pop up. Maya had a perplexed look slapped onto her face. She dropped her sword.

"Is it not a mana beast?" Rustle, rustle. There it was again. There was definitely something in the vicinity, but Maya had no clue what it could be. If it was a mana beast, a system window should have appeared already telling her to defeat the beasts. But there was no system window. Were there no missions on this planet? Maya couldn't know for sure.

With her heart racing and sweat dripping down her forehead again, rendering her previous shower fruitless, Maya crouched down near the bush where she heard the noises from. Then, with her heart about to jump out of her chest and explode, she looked up. Oh my god, Maya said in her head when she saw the source of the noise. I think I might have some competition.