Chương 43: Solo Mission - Maya (6)

Step, step, step. After the fight, Maya was in a sorry state: her hair was dishevelled, her skin was covered in beasts' blood which was akin to tar and sweat made her clothes stick to her back like glue. She also had no weapon on her since her sword broke.

"It was all worth it in the end," Maya said, letting out a long, sustained sigh.

"I hope that really was the boss beast and mission two isn't 'defeat the boss'. If so, I'm screwed since I don't have a sword on me." But then she thought of something.

"I was so engrossed in fighting that I completely forgot that there's two other Hoppers in this cave with me. Maybe they can defeat the boss for me." However, there was one small problem with that.

"Oh yeah. Back on Planet 501, whoever dealt the final blow to the boss got to claim the planet, and that was why Robert claimed it. It's hard to deal the final blow to the boss if I don't have a weapon." Maya sighed again.

"If it ever comes to that, I won't be able to complete my solo mission. What a shame. Let's hope that never happens." Step, step, step. She ventured further into the deep, dark abyss beyond.

"Looks like there are no more mana beasts," Maya thought.

"Hopefully the second mission isn't to defeat the boss." The mystery beast from the first mission was at the advanced level. If that wasn't really the boss beast, then what level would the boss beast be at? Would it have one foot in the advanced level and the other in the legendary level? Or would it fully be at the legendary level?

If that was the case, even with the support of the two Hoppers, Maya might still end up on the losing side, since legendary-level beasts were at least a thousand times stronger than basic-level beasts. That was if the strength level of mana beasts could be quantified.

"Let's not think about that," Maya muttered.

"Let's think positively. If there is a second mission, it might be to claim an item or at least find some kind of mysterious place in this cave. Or maybe it's a different task." Step, step, step. Since it was getting darker with every step Maya took, she held out an unused advanced mana crystal in front of her which acted like a torch. It wasn't the best source of light in the world, but at least it did the job of illuminating what was in front of her. Step, step, step.

But soon, Maya didn't need to use the crystal as a source of light.

"What's that in the distance?" In front of her was a white dot. It was tiny at first, but when she continued walking, the dot was enlarged. After around twenty steps, it was twice the size it used to be.

"Is that an exit? Is this cave actually a tunnel? Am I finally going to see the rainforest again?" Maya was going to get the answers to her questions very shortly.

"That's definitely not an exit." It was definitely not an exit. What she was seeing in front of her wasn't the rainforest; there were no trees, no bushes and no grass present. Instead, the white light became yellow light, revealing a grandiose room with something in the middle. Maya scratched her head and continued walking. Step, step, step.

"Is this a throne room?" It definitely looked like one. And soon, she had one foot in the room.

"Wow. This place looks so amazing." When both of her feet were in the room, she could finally admire the beauty and the brilliance encapsulated in such a small space. Whoever built this room must have devoted all of their time into carving out this room and making it look grandiose and exquisite. Contrary to the portal room, this room had an abundance of light.

Maya, who wasn't used to this much light from walking in the dark cave, had to shield her eyes from the light for a few minutes before she could get her bearings.

"Beautiful…" Maya was speechless. Unfortunately, there were no mana crystals around, and there was also no throne, but there was something else that captivated her.

"What is this?" Nestled proudly on a podium in the centre of the room was a golden crown with small jewels of varying colours stuck to it. It was the most extravagant object Maya had ever seen in her life.

"So pretty." Maya instantly fell in love with it. Gently and cautiously, she touched the crown and held it in her hands. It was neither extremely heavy nor extremely light; it was the correct weight for it to be placed on her head.

"I have to wear this." Her arms were trembling and her heart was racing. In truth, she had absolutely no idea whether she should be wearing a crown that was potentially priceless. Regardless, she couldn't stop admiring the sheer beauty of it. Carefully, she placed the crown on top of her head. And that was when a whole series of changes happened.

"What?" When she let go of the crown and put her arms to the side, a bright white light surrounded Maya whole. She closed her eyes and was reminded of the journey to get here, where a cloud of purple smoke had engulfed her whole body. After a while, she opened her eyes. There was a light breeze which made her wet hair flutter freely behind her. Maya didn't know what was going on. With the crown on her head and an enigmatic white light encapsulating her, her body slowly underwent a miraculous transformation.

Her skin, which had black blood stains all over, was slowly wiped clean. The blood began to recede and disappear, and eventually, it was all gone, revealing spotless, shiny skin. Even after using body lotion or taking a shower, a person's skin would never be as shiny as the smooth skin covering Maya's bones and internal organs. Her clothes, which were also stained with beasts' blood, were also free from the damage done to it by the blood.

Her previously black t-shirt was reverted back to a white t-shirt, which was the colour of the shirt when Maya bought it. Her hair, which had been dancing in the light breeze, gradually dried under the pressure of the breeze. There was no need for Maya to use a towel anymore, since the power of the crown had done a significantly better job at drying her hair than half an hour's worth of using a towel and a hair dryer. The result was soft, silky, smooth hair that seemed to glow and shine in the bright room.

"What the hell?" With the crown nestled on her head, Maya looked down. All of the blood stains on her clothes and her shoes were gone. There was no sweat dripping down her body anymore. She then grabbed her hair, which was extraordinarily soft and smooth to the touch. It wasn't wet anymore, and it had the fragrant smell of her shampoo. Speaking of smell, her whole body had an aroma of strong perfume. She looked like an elegant princess. No, forget princess; she was a queen.

"This crown-" She was lost for words. This transformation was impossible. Was it magic? Was the crown imbued with mana and was the mana what had transformed her into this beauty queen?

"Impossible," Maya blurted out. [You have completed Mission 2/2: claim the item.]"Huh?" Was that the mission? She couldn't be asked to check the mission details. Coincidentally, she had completed the second mission without even knowing what it was.

"My luck really is on fire. I guess this is the thing I had to claim after all." She could wear this crown all the time, since she couldn't feel any added weight on her head whilst wearing it. With it on, she felt like she could pull off some moves and boss any fashion show, stunning the audience. She felt like a VIP who deserved to walk on the red carpet with high heels.

"I'm never taking this crown off my head," Maya declared confidently and boldly.

"I love this crown way too much." [You have completed all the missions on this planet!] [You have successfully claimed this planet!] What will you name this planet?

"Planet 504," was Maya's bold final response. [Congratulations!'Planet 504' has been claimed by skill user Maya De Souza!] It was a shame Maya couldn't name this planet 'Planet Rainforest'. If she did, she would almost certainly be reprimanded by Cayman, and that would be a truly gruesome scene to watch.

"I don't want to get out of here," Maya wailed.

"I love this planet so much I don't want to leave." Huff! Huff! Huff!

"Huh?"

"Are we too late? Has someone already claimed the planet?"

"Shit! I knew someone was here with us. I knew somebody had followed us since we were at the start of the cave!" Maya, with a bewildered look on her flawless face, turned to face the source of the noise. It was the two Hoppers who had emerged from the cave. If you discover this tale on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen. Please report the violation. Wait a second. Upon further inspection, Maya saw that there were two caves leading into this room.

Did that mean it didn't matter which passageway people went through to reach this room? One of the Hoppers pointed at Maya, who just beamed and flicked her wrist. The Hopper then let his mouth fall and opened his eyes wide.

"Y-Y-You. You're so p-p-pretty." Slap!

"Ouch!" The other Hopper gave him a hard slap on the back. Maya chuckled and covered her mouth with her hand.

"Madam," said the other Hopper.

"Had I known that the person following us was a beauty queen like you, I would have helped you claim the planet." Maya smiled and tossed back a few strands of her hair. She struck a pose which was enough to attract the attention of the Hoppers as if they were magnets. Still, even with the added sass, she didn't say anything.

"Please, queen, you're too beautiful and sassy, just let us go."

"We won't bother you anymore." [Skill, 'Mind Reader (basic)', has been activated.]'She's too pretty to turn our heads away from.'

'I hope she spares us. I hope she gives us mercy!' They seem to be genuine, Maya thought in her head. Then, as if she were wearing high heels, Maya began to strut away from the two Hoppers and out of the grandiose royal room, leaving the two Hoppers shell-shocked and speechless. Sadly, she had been wearing sneakers.

"Since when did the Hopper world gain such a beauty?"

"I don't know. There are other women out there that are as pretty as her. Surely."

"But she was wearing that crown with pride! She looked like a real queen!"

"They can continue talking," Maya said with plenty of sass in her voice.

"But sadly for them, I don't talk to strangers." Clop, clop, clop.

"I can finally show my friends who the real queen is," Maya muttered as she finally reached the main cave and walked out of the exit. It was raining as Maya left the cave, and she thought she was going to get drenched again. However, with the magic of the crown on top of her head, the rain fell around Maya and didn't get any part of her wet.

"I really like this crown," Maya mused.

"It also does a brilliant job as an umbrella." She continued to wander around the rainforest. Just like she had been admiring the crown on her head, Maya could finally admire the allure of this untouched rainforest.

"All good journeys have to come to an end," Maya said sadly to herself.

"Unfortunately, this is where my journey ends." After what felt like hours of walking in the rain, Maya reached the hole leading down to the portal room. She descended down to the portal room with fatigue engraved into her brain and lazily strolled into the portal. Finally, after what felt like days of exploring the planet and defeating mana beasts, Maya could go home and rest. She let the portal engulf her body and her crown, transporting her back to Planet Earth.

"Have you answered the question yet?"

"What? What question?" Daniel shrugged his shoulders. Gavin was being too vague; all he said was 'the question', and Daniel didn't know what he meant. After all, this world contained millions, if not billions, of unanswered questions. There might be a million unanswered questions in this research facility itself, let alone this whole world. Gavin sighed.

"When you ate the orb, you levelled up to the advanced level immediately. When you progressed to stage 3, you should've received a question asking you whether you want to be a Hopper. Answer it." Daniel's face contorted.

"Hopper? What the hell is a Hopper?" In Daniel's mind, the word 'Hopper' could mean a multitude of different things. He couldn't tell what Gavin was referring to.

"When a skill user reaches a certain stage, they can become Hoppers," Gavin explained.

"Hoppers are skill users that have the privilege of 'hopping' to different planets in order to level up and collect rewards that cannot be obtained on this planet. Hoppers must be at stages 3 or higher." Gavin earned a puzzled look from Daniel, who, from his facial expression, seemed to be asking, 'why?' He read Daniel's facial expression with ease.

"It's a safety precaution," Gavin said, giving Daniel the answer he desired.

"The skill user community out there, and even The Leak, have recognised that skill users at stages 1 and 2 are too inexperienced to explore the wider world. There have been too many deaths because of that in the past. Those people lacked experience and expertise, and as a result, they had to pay the price." Daniel nodded, speechless. The orb he had taken had immediately levelled him up to stage 5, which was a stage at the advanced level. It felt like a cheat code.

It felt like he had just broken the system by taking the orb. It was akin to breaking the rules.

"Go on then, answer it." Gavin's sharp, sombre voice brought Daniel back to reality. He had been constantly pestering him to answer the question.

"Answer it if you really want to get out of here." With an apprehensive look on his face, Daniel turned to face Gavin.

"How do I open my system window again?"

"Oh for god's sake!" Gavin couldn't take it anymore. He banged his fist on the table.

"Use your head." Furrowing his brow, Gavin told Daniel how to open his system. The first system window that appeared in front of Daniel was his profile. Name: Daniel De Souza Age: 17 Height: 6'2" Level: Advanced (stage 5, 50/5000 XP) Main skill: Human Shield Other skills: Teleportation (basic), Strength (basic), Recovery (basic), Healing (basic) Traits: Strength: 20 Agility: 10 Stamina: 10 Intelligence: 10 Perception: 10 Locked????? Hopper status: pending There were so many changes to Daniel's profile.

Before, when he was at stage 1, all of his traits were locked, but now at stage 5, five out of the six traits were unlocked. There was also a Hopper status, which Daniel assumed was related to the question he had to answer.

"Now that you've opened your profile, go to the question and answer it. You can only make the decision once, so think wisely before making up your mind." Gavin's commanding and condescending tone of voice was redolent of that of a military sergeant, and it was driving Daniel crazy. Regardless, Daniel followed Gavin's orders. There it was. The elusive question. [Will you become a Hopper? Yes/No] Daniel was now in the middle of a massive dilemma.

If he selected 'Yes', he would have the opportunity to travel to different planets, level up and collect legendary and mystical items on the way. However, he would have to give up his normal day-to-day life on Earth. On the other hand, if he selected 'No', he would be able to continue living his life as normal and he would be giving up the one and only opportunity to explore the wider universe. He didn't know which option to pick.

Even though he longed for a normal life, the fact that he could collect items that he wouldn't be able to collect on Earth and the concept of levelling up urged him to say yes to being a Hopper. He weighed up his options. I can only make this decision once. Once I make it, there's no turning back. What was he going to choose? A life where he could explore different planets, which he thought was only possible if he became an astronaut? Or was he going to give up that life to live a humble life on Earth?

His heart was pounding, and sweat poured down his forehead. This might be the most important decision of my life, and it was forced on me. I am doing all of this against my will. But the thought of travelling to different planets captivated him. Maybe being a skill user wasn't so bad after all.

"I've made my decision," Daniel said confidently. [Yes] [Congratulations, skill user! You have become a Hopper!]"Did you say yes? Or did you say no?" Gavin continued to pester Daniel with questions. However, Daniel's previously sullen and agitated mood had made way for feelings of excitement.

"I said yes." Gavin stood up, nodding his head.

"Good choice," he mumbled.

"This is perfect, since this leads on to what I have to say to you." Daniel furrowed his brow and tilted his head in confusion.

"There's more?" he asked with a quizzical look etched onto his face. Gavin nodded.

"I work for the Boss," he said, his tone of voice dark and grim.

"The Boss was the one who orchestrated your kidnapping. He kidnapped you for research purposes. I'm just a middleman hired to carry out the Boss's orders." That part was easy for Daniel to figure out.

"However," Gavin continued with a lifeless look on his face, "this is all just a ploy. If it was the Boss here with you right now, you might never see the light of day ever again. He would most likely keep you as a test subject in this facility for the rest of your life. I, on the other hand, am willing to grant you the opportunity to escape from this wretched facility and pursue freedom as a skill user and Hopper. After all, he entitled your care to me and not himself."

Daniel had heard Gavin say this multiple times before.

"The attitude I'm currently displaying in front of you is a façade. I'm not always like this. I'm acting like this just in case there are people watching us on cameras. But there are no cameras in this room. You won't actually be staying in this place for much longer. Forgive me if I've offended you." When Gavin said that, his tone changed, and he became more gentle and understanding. Daniel wanted to breathe a sigh of relief.

If Gavin was being genuine, which he seemed to be at that moment, then there was a chance he could finally leave this wicked facility. He had only been in this place for a day and a half, but it already felt like a month had passed. Daniel couldn't believe he was still in his school uniform. Once Gavin finished his short speech, he stood up, beckoning for Daniel to stand up as well. When Daniel stood up, he followed Gavin out of the room they were in.

Eventually, Daniel found himself back in the hallway they had used to get to this apartment-like room. It was just like how Daniel remembered it, with doors placed at equal distances between each other on both sides of the hallway.

"What we're going to is at the end of the hallway," Gavin said quietly. It was more like a whisper. The two boys had to avoid perplexed looks from researchers in white uniforms as they walked. Gavin, who was also wearing a white uniform, had to make up excuses to stop them from reporting what he was doing. Surprisingly, all the researchers he talked to had been fooled by his obnoxious lie. Soon, they arrived at the end of the hall. An impressive, elegant door awaited them which was at least seven feet tall.

Gavin pushed open the door with ease.

"Go in," he said. Although it was an order, the words were gentle and anything but condescending. Daniel couldn't believe what he was seeing. The room he had just entered looked like a cathedral hall. It was torch-lit, the walls were made of stone and there were high ceilings. He thought he had just entered an ancient church. However, where there should have been an imposing church organ, there was what looked like a circular mirror which was emitting purple smoke.

Daniel pointed at the thing in the middle of the room and asked Gavin, "What is this?" Gavin nodded.

"I knew you would ask," he said.

"This is a portal. This is what Hoppers use to travel to different planets. This is how you're going to escape from here." Daniel flinched; he was taken aback.

"So does that mean I'm not on Earth right now? I'm on a different planet?"

"I'm not answering that right now," Gavin replied curtly.

"I'll just say that this is how you'll escape from here. Once you escape, I'll cover up all the traces of us being here." Daniel still had a perplexed look on his face. He gazed intently at the purple smoke in the middle of the portal. He wanted to know which planet he was on, and his closest source of help wasn't going to budge.

"You're still confused?" Gavin could sense Daniel's confusion as Daniel pointed to the purple smoke. He continued to explain.

"That's mana. It's basically spiritual energy, colloquially known as magic. Have I not told you what mana is when we talked about the tutorial?" Daniel shook his head.

"Huh. I thought I mentioned it when we talked about the tutorial because it was mentioned in that opening message. Oh well, it doesn't matter since I can briefly explain it now." Gavin scratched his head.

"Simply put," he continued, "this mana is what will take you back home." Daniel stared longingly at the portal and the fresh purple mana in front of him.

"What's there to be scared about? There's nothing to be scared about with mana. It's not toxic and it won't hurt your body. We don't have much time left. Just walk to the middle of the portal. Trust me." Unconsciously, Daniel followed Gavin's order, wondering whether Gavin had really changed. He stepped closer towards the portal until he was in the middle, engulfed by the purple smoke.

"Mana is the brilliant substance that powers this portal, allowing the portal to take you home. However, since the effects of mana on the portal aren't instant, it'll take a while before you disappear." Anxiously, Daniel stood in the middle of the portal and waited. His heart was racing and seemingly ready to burst, and he felt like he was going to sweat out rain puddles. In the meantime, Gavin still had more things to say.

"Just trust the process and listen to me. I'm going to continue talking until you disappear. When you disappear, you shouldn't be able to hear my voice anymore." So Daniel listened. And just as promised, Gavin continued to talk.

"This is the point where we say goodbye. I hope you've learned a lot about the skill user world and how the system works. There are still so many things I haven't taught you about yet, but I hope you'll find someone out there that you can trust who will teach you. I'll come find you soon, so just hold on. We'll meet again. Good luck, Dan-" And soon, Gavin's voice was gone. Daniel had successfully escaped from the gruesome wrath of The Leak. They had kidnapped him. They had forced him to become a skill user.

They had been planning to keep him hostage for the rest of his life. But luckily, because of this mysterious kid called Gavin, Daniel could go back to living a normal life, just as a Hopper. According to Gavin, the purple smoke, or mana, surrounding Daniel was going to escort him back home, far, far away from The Leak. Daniel was finally free.