Chương 41: Solo Mission - Maya (4)

Maya held on to the basic mana crystals she had just acquired tightly. It was one of her only sources of light, the other being the system window. As she walked, she stuffed a few of the basic mana crystals into her pockets and she also broke a few with her right hand, prompting the summoning of a system window. 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, Maya said in her head.

Trait, 'Strength', has been upgraded by 3 points. Strength: 30 → 33 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: 30 → 33 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: 28 → 31 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 4. Trait, 'Intelligence, has been upgraded by 3 points. Intelligence: 20 → 23 That should be good enough. Since she wasn't short on mana crystals, she could always upgrade her traits further if she needed to.

She kept one mana crystal in her hand as a source of light so that she didn't need to continuously open her system window for light.

"I really should've brought a torch," Maya whispered out loud.

"Then there would be so much light in this cave. I'm pretty much blind down here without a source of light." The fact that this cave induced considerable boredom for Maya was irrevocable. Since she didn't really have much to do whilst walking down this monotonous cave, to pass the time, she opened her profile.

Name: Maya De Souza Age: 17 Height: 5'5" Level: Basic (stage 4, 202/2000 XP) Main skill: Mind Reader Other skills: Teleportation (basic), Strength (basic), Recovery (basic), Healing (basic) Traits: Strength: 33 Agility: 33 Stamina: 31 Intelligence: 23 Locked????? Locked????? Hopper status: Status: Active Planets explored: 3 (including home planet) Planets claimed: 0"Time to turn that zero into one," Maya said to herself.

"I hope the other two Hoppers haven't found the boss yet." So far, Maya's luck had been on a winning streak; she had found two Hoppers that had led her to this cave, she managed to evade the Hoppers after a beast charged at her without warning, and she had chosen a different path to the Hoppers when there was a fork in the road. If she could encounter the boss of this planet and defeat it, it would only add to her already amazing luck streak.

If that were to happen, she would have won the gruelling race to defeat the boss.

"There has to be more beasts in here!" Maya shouted. It shouldn't be loud enough for the other Hoppers to hear.

"I'm getting bored!" Whilst walking, Maya put her hands on her head and began ruffling her hair. Whenever she got bored at times, she would just play with her hair and not think about the gruesome reality in front of her. It had worked for her many times.

"I hope my friends are not dead," Maya mumbled, twirling a strand of wet hair on her finger.

"They better make it out alive. I've only known them for a few weeks. If they're all dead and I'm the only one who survived the solo missions, I think I might cry." Clop, clop, clop. Still no sign of beasts. Clop, clop, clop. This was getting boring. But then, after what felt like a long working shift, Maya struck gold. Pairs of eyes that looked like they were cloning appeared in the darkness ahead of her. They didn't stop multiplying until there were at least a hundred eyes staring at her dead in the eyes.

Each eyeball was bright white in colour with thin black slits for pupils. Their irises were non-existent.

"Looks like I'm not alone anymore," Maya said. Although she already knew what the level of the beasts were, she still glanced at the name tag above the beasts' heads. [Black Spotted Jaguar (basic/advanced)]"I have to defeat fifty of these according to the mission." Maya pondered over the mission for a while.

"But since I was able to defeat sixty basic-level jaguars in almost no time, these jaguars shouldn't be a problem. They only have one foot in the advanced level and not two." In her eyes, this should be fun. Again, Maya's lips curved into a wide smile. [Skill, 'Teleportation (basic)', has been activated.] Slash! Slash! Stab!

"Roar!" That was when reality hit. Maya had been expecting the beasts she had just stabbed to fall to the floor, defeated. But surprisingly, to her surprise, they were still standing despite blood flowing out of their backs like little waterfalls. Maybe she had expected too much from these beasts. Maybe she was too used to fighting beasts that were purely at the basic level. Maybe she had thought that all beasts with 'basic' in their names were weak. Maybe she had taken all of this for granted.

On Planet 501, the majority of the beasts she had defeated were black spotted jaguars at the basic level. That allowed her to showcase all of her eloquent skills without much retaliation. However, that meant she lacked the expertise in defeating beasts that had one foot in the advanced level, which might have distorted her feelings and thoughts about stronger beasts, since all the beasts she had defeated in the past weren't able to fight back. But that wasn't how the system worked.

As the level of the beasts increases, the beasts themselves get exponentially stronger. This means that one advanced-level beast could have the strength of at least five basic-level beasts or more. One legendary-level beast could be as strong as ten, twenty or even fifty advanced-level beasts depending on the stage they were at. That was how the system worked. And Maya had to somehow give in to the system and admit that she was weak.

"They have 'basic' in their name," Maya panted as she landed on the floor.

"Why are they so strong then? Is it because of their advanced element?" Maybe she hadn't truly learned all the fundamentals of the Bali system. Maybe she didn't truly understand the different levels that made up the Bali system. Did she really understand everything Cayman was talking about? Ensure your favorite authors get the support they deserve. Read this novel on Royal Road. The short answer to that question was yes.

She had been listening attentively since day one and she had been training diligently just like her other friends. She had contributed to the defeat of a legendary-level boss on Planet 501. So were some petty beasts going to stop her? Of course not. And why were the beasts that she thought were petty succeeding in holding her back? She didn't know. If at first you don't succeed, try, try again. She rehearsed that saying multiple times in her head.

Beasts that had 'basic' in their name weren't going to stop her at all.

"They're strong, but they're not going to take any arrogance away from me," Maya said, changing her mindset. She had a determined look engraved onto her face.

"It's just a minor reality check. Why did I even get disheartened that the stabs didn't make them fall? I can't kill every beast with just one hit. Even if they have 'basic' in their name, they could still put up a fight." Without any further words, Maya continued her fight. [Skill, 'Teleportation (basic)', has been activated.] Slash! Slash! Stab!

"If one stab can't defeat a beast, then how about multiple?" [Skill, 'Teleportation (basic)', has been activated.] [Skill, 'Teleportation (basic)', has been activated.] [Skill, 'Teleportation (basic)', has been activated.] Slash! Slash! Slash!

"Roar!" If there were spectators watching the fight between Maya and the beasts, they would have no idea what was going on. To them, Maya would just be a blur scampering from left to right at ridiculously high speeds. They would not be able to track the fight at all.

"I've got you now!" Maya bellowed at the top of her voice. Maya was known for having a gentle, soothing, quiet voice. So anyone who knew her well would freak out and faint if they ever saw her acting like this. Nobody would expect Maya to be a crazy beast who had a hunger for killing wild mana beasts on a different planet. But here she was, doing just that. The beasts nearest to her couldn't carry on fighting; they had wounds of varying levels of severity.

Some had slightly milder wounds, like a few shallow cuts, but some had wounds so deep that they ruptured internal organs, tore apart vital muscles and exposed the skeleton of the beasts. And Maya didn't care about that any bit.

"All in a day's work for a Hopper," Maya grunted. She didn't stop to catch her breath; instead, she continued the fight when she saw several more beasts heading her way. Just like against the basic-level jaguars, Maya pounced. [Skill, 'Strength (basic)', has been activated.] Punch! Bang! Although Maya's punch wasn't enough to send the beast airborne, it still made the beast collapse on the floor, stationary, defeated. Slash!

And just like slicing a cake, the head of the jaguar was chopped off so seamlessly and effortlessly.

"I can't stop now," Maya said, giving herself some motivation.

"I've come this far. I have to complete the mission to make Cayman proud. I may not be as strong as Theo and Ben, but that doesn't mean I can't defeat all of these mana beasts." [Black Spotted Jaguar (basic/advanced, 10/50)] [Skill, 'Recovery (basic)', has been activated.] Maya could feel her breathing gradually beginning to stabilise. However, she couldn't fully recover since the next wave of jaguars was only around ten feet away from her.

"Let's do this." [Skill, 'Teleportation (basic)', has been activated.] Slash! Stab! Out of her group of Hopper friends, Maya undoubtedly had the worst main skill, the skill that the skill user acquired when they awakened. She couldn't use her main skill in defense, like Robert's reading bubble, or attack, like Theo and Ben's enhanced strength. However, luckily for her, Cayman came into her life and gave her four basic skills that every skill user should have in their locker.

Using those four skills, Maya was able to improvise, and through countless hours of blood, sweat and tears in Planet Earth's training room, she was able to wield her four basic skills proficiently, allowing her to fight with the others. Without those four basic skills, Maya would have been toast as a skill user. It would have been almost impossible for her to level up. And yet here she was, wielding those four skills like a seasoned veteran. All of her training had paid off.

Maya had been wielding her sword with so much perfection that it was impossible for people to believe that she was only a beginner. All of her movements and techniques were elegant and extraordinary, and they were all satisfying to watch. If anybody had paid to watch a spectacle like this, it was definitely worth all the money. Slash! Stab! Slash! Maya didn't care anymore that she had been given the worst main skill out of her friends. She didn't care that she could not use her main skill in combat.

As long as the four skills Cayman had given her were ingrained into her brain, she would be just fine as a skill user. [Black Spotted Jaguar (basic/advanced, 16/50)] Slash! [Black Spotted Jaguar (basic/advanced, 17/50)] Slash! [Black Spotted Jaguar (basic/advanced, 18/50)] Huff! Huff! A basic mana crystal was thrown into Maya's mouth, which she swallowed without chewing. Then it was back to work for her. [Skill, 'Teleportation (basic)', has been activated.] Slash! Slash! Slash!

It didn't matter if she was using an advanced mana sword; the sword was light, easy to work with, and it made stabbing and slicing look effortless. Holding the sword felt like you were holding nothing in your hand; they were even lighter than standard badminton rackets. Even a toddler could wield the sword with proficiency if they practised every day. Slash! Slash! Her moves were graceful and refined; there were no signs of recklessness attached to them.

As she moved, her hair danced behind her, following her delicate movements. She was an angel casting light in the dark atmosphere. [Black Spotted Jaguar (basic/advanced, 23/50)] Huff! Huff!

"That's the last of them," Maya said as she landed in the middle of a heap of corpses. She had just defeated more than twenty of those beasts like they were nothing. There were too many cakes to slice in this arena.

"Time to reap the rewards." Panting, she hobbled towards the nearest corpse, held out her sword and began to cut open the body. Black blood poured out from where Maya stabbed her sword as she rummaged the corpse for mana crystals; this added another layer of paint to her already blackened wrists. Eventually though, there was an illustrious glow deep in the corpse which acted as a signal for Maya to reach in.

Maya closed her eyes and stuck her hand into the corpse, feeling the squishy sensation of the beast's internal organs. She winced, but soon, she managed to grab the crystals.

"I've done this many times before, but those crystals were too deep into that beast's body for me to get used to. Or did I just pierce the wrong side of the corpse?" Oh well. If she wanted to maximise her rewards, she would have to do this twenty more times.

"It's all for the money though," Maya said, sighing afterwards.

"It will pay off. There is no free lunch in this world after all." Slice!

"This is so gross. I still haven't gotten used to it despite doing this on three different planets." Slice! Slice! She had already looted countless basic and advanced mana crystals. She couldn't decide how to split them up; she didn't know the optimum ratio to split her crystals. There were too many uses for mana crystals, and it was making Maya's head go crazy. Clop, clop, clop. Maya was about to dissect the tenth corpse when she heard the unmistakable sound of footsteps in the distance.

They weren't her footsteps since she was kneeling on the rough ground trying to pry open some dead bodies. Were they the footsteps of the two Hoppers she had encountered all those minutes back? Or was it another wave of mana beasts? Clop, clop, clop. Clop, clop, clop.

"It has to be more mana beasts," Maya whispered to herself.

"The only way it can be those two Hoppers is if the two pathways are connected and form a giant circle, and the chance of that happening is almost zero." Hesitantly, Maya turned her head when she was halfway through her dissection. She had wished for more mana beasts to defeat. She didn't want to see the two Hoppers again. And she managed to get her wish.

"There's a genie watching me somewhere," she thought. Sinister eyes began to clone in front of her, multiplying out of thin air. Like the other beasts that Maya fought, the eyes were white with black pupils. However, there was one pair of eyes that didn't match the trend. There was one pair of eyes that dared to be different. This pair of eyes was red and they glared into Maya's dark eyes. They gleamed in the darkness as they edged closer towards Maya. Maya shuddered.

She suddenly knew why these eyes were different from the rest.

"That's not just any ordinary mana beast," she blurted out, both petrified and in awe.

"That's the boss beast I'm looking at."