Chương 51: The Reward for our Troubles

"How the hell did you do that? Is that part of your skill or something?" Daniel looked at me with wide-open eyes as if he still couldn't understand what he had just seen. Even I didn't know what had happened; all I knew was that so much rage had boiled into me to the point where my eyes and vision went yellow and I went on a rampage, killing every bad person and mana beast in my path.

My social awkwardness, which had escaped out of the window when my eyes went yellow, had now come flying back screaming for its mother. In short, I had no idea how to respond to Daniel's question because of my lack of social skills.

"N-No," I said quietly, managing to get my mouth to utter a word.

"I-In truth, I don't know what happened. I don't know why my eyes went yellow. This is the first time I've experienced this." Daniel had an inquisitive look etched onto his face.

"So it's not a skill…" he murmured to himself.

"Interesting." Simultaneously, he was impressed and confused regarding the way I killed that duplicitous, sadistic bastard without him being able to fight back. Oh wait, now that I look back at that incident, I realised that I had killed a person. No, not just one person, but two people. Oh well, I said to myself. It doesn't matter since this planet doesn't have a police system, and this would likely be classed as self defence anyways.

"OK," I said, trying to change the subject away from the brutal massacre that had just taken place.

"I want to know how the hell you became a skill user. You said that you weren't a skill user back at school, so how the hell did you awaken?" Daniel scratched the back of his head; the curious look on his face was replaced by an extremely awkward gaze.

"It's a long story," he replied bluntly, not saying anything else. I nodded in agreement. That wasn't the most important thing we had to deal with at the moment. I looked down at the corpse of the boss, then back at Daniel. Then the system messages came flooding in, including the ones from defeating the other beasts in this cave. [You have completed Cave 33: Mission 1/1: defeat the beasts.] [You have gained 225 XP for defeating 75 'Grizzly black bear (basic)'.] [You have gained 1500 XP for defeating 50 'Crimson fox (basic/advanced)'.] [You have gained 1000 XP for defeating a 'Boss: The Blood Bear (advanced)'.] [Total XP: 3765/2000] [You have progressed to stage 5!] [You have unlocked 5 new inventory spaces!] [Level up!] [Congratulations, skill user! You have reached the advanced level!] Finally, I thought. The road to levelling up had by no means been an easy journey for me.

The journey had been arduous, it had been burdensome, and it had involved many near-death experiences where I could realistically have died if I hadn't been careful enough. But that wasn't it for the system messages. [You have defeated the boss of this planet!] [You have successfully claimed this planet!] What will you name this planet?

Planet 505, I said boldly to the system. [Congratulations!'Planet 505' has been claimed by skill user Robert Ryan!] And that was that. Just like that, as easy as pie, the planet had been claimed. Hours and hours of constant toil, years and years of death, sorrow and bloodshed. All of that was going to disappear, for this planet was finally going to have an owner. And all evil was going to be wiped off this planet.

"Robert," Daniel said suddenly, walking towards me.

"Is this what 'claiming the planet' means? Do you claim the planet when you complete all the missions? Does it mean the planet is all yours?" I nodded with a bright smile on my face. Daniel returned my smile.

"Thanks for telling me." I nodded again, remaining silent. I was finally unencumbered by the interference from Jake, his subordinate and any other evil, two-faced factions who wanted to carry out their malicious plans since I was now the rightful owner of this planet. The feeling felt different; it was a feeling that I wasn't used to.

"Oh, and one more thing," Daniel blurted out without any warning.

"My guide said that there are valuables and expensive things in this cave. I want to have a look. Do you want to come with me?" I giggled.

"Was your guide Jake? If so, then he's dead on the floor right now. Are you sure you want to trust him?" Daniel nodded firmly.

"Also, my guide was someone called Jacob. But I'm sure they're the same person." He also laughed heartily. Maybe the neutrals were actually good people to hang out with. If I ever wanted to talk to people, Daniel, who had always been kind-hearted and benevolent, would definitely be on the top of my list.

"Let's go deeper then," I replied with a huge smile on my face.

"Let's go and get these riches." As we continued going deeper into the cave, free from any battles against mana beasts, we continued talking and sharing stories. My social awkwardness had once again escaped from my brain, and I was able to speak in smooth, fluent sentences.

"Are you sure you don't know how you killed those two and the boss?" Daniel asked again. I shook my head.

"As I said, that's the first time it's ever happened. There was one time in the past where something similar happened, like me going berserk and stabbing a beast wildly, but my vision never went yellow."

"It must be something in your temperament then," Daniel replied, giving me a wry smile.

"I'm also still new to the skill user world. I only awakened a few weeks ago, just after Cayman arrived in school. I also don't know everything. So don't go asking me to teach you stuff about the skill user world."

"I won't."

"I'm sure Cayman will be willing to take you on. You'll definitely need his help. I bet the person who taught you the fundamentals of being a skill user didn't do a good job since you didn't even know what 'claiming a planet' means until now." I chuckled after saying those words. However, all Daniel did in response was elicit a grand smile on his face. All was truly well in cave 33. Soon, after what felt like hours of endless conversations, we stumbled upon something of interest. It was a light.

It wasn't white light. This light had a yellowish hue; at first, it was just a speck of dust in our vision, but eventually, it was enlarged, revealing what appeared to be a grand hall in the middle of the cave. So this is why this cave is the largest, I thought. Jake had told the truth for once.

"What is this?" Clearly, Daniel was more astonished than I was. Unlike me, who had already seen an enormous vein of mana crystals on Planet 501, Daniel had seen nothing of the sort; this was his first time seeing riches in front of him. The light emanating around the room was so yellow that we thought the whole room was made of pure gold. All around us were crystals that had been carefully placed on podiums. They were a whole rainbow of different colours; they ranged from red to blue to green to purple.

There was also jewellery that appeared to be framed at the back end of the room. Everything in the room glistened, including the podiums where the jewels and crystals were nestled, making our eyes open wide. All of this stuff had to be worth millions at least.

"I want to ransack this place so badly," Daniel said as saliva spilled out of his mouth. He was a hungry dog waiting to be fed. I, on the other hand, shook my head.

"This planet is mine now, so all of this is technically mine. So we can come back to it whenever we want. Since you helped in defeating the boss, I will give half of the earnings to you since you deserve it. I'll let you pick one thing from here that you can take home now." In a flash, Daniel rushed towards the jewels and crystals, pondering over which one he should take with him. After all, this was just the reward for our troubles.

I'll take that imposing-looking jewel back home today, I thought, turning my head to look at what appeared to be a necklace with a red crystal in the centre. Next to it on the left was a bangle or a bracelet, and to the right of the necklace was a small ring. I wanted to take all three of them home so badly.

"Finished!" Daniel shouted as he returned holding one of the crystals.

"Can we return back to Planet Earth now?" I nodded, walking towards the end of the room and picking up the three pieces of jewellery. This text was taken from Royal Road. Help the author by reading the original version there.

"Yes, let's go home." On the way back, I taught Daniel how to cut open the body of a mana beast and take out its mana crystals, as well as the myriad of different uses for mana crystals. Daniel's mouth was about to fall off following what I said, but I didn't question him as to why. We returned to the boss beast, cut it open and took out all of its mana crystals. Just like with the jewels and crystals, I allowed Daniel to take half of the total, which he kindly accepted.

And since we still had a ton of time on our hands, and since I had a helper with me, we spent what felt like the next two hours dissecting mana beasts and obtaining their crystals. Our pockets were almost filled to the brim with all the crystals we had collected, and when crystals spilled out of Daniel's pockets because they were too full, we just laughed. I had truly made another friend on this mission, and I was really grateful for it. That was something I thought I would never say.

"Well, all good journeys come to an end," I said as soon as all the mana beasts had been ransacked.

"We have to return home someday whether you like it or not." Daniel sighed. He was still in his school uniform. His blazer, shirt and trousers were drenched in beast blood, his tie was creased and his shoelaces were undone. That made me wonder how many hours had passed since we first stepped foot into the portals. Had it been two hours, four hours, six hours, or possibly even a day?

"I'm truly glad that I can go home," Daniel said with a tear in his eye.

"All good journeys, be it good ones or bad ones, have to come to an end someday. I'm grateful that I've gone on this journey with you, Robert." I smiled. Before we knew it, we saw the exit of the cave. Happily, we left the cave and began the treacherous journey back home.

[Somebody has claimed this planet.] That was the system message that all of the Hoppers residing in the town received. It had popped up without warning. All of a sudden, out of nowhere, they could see the five bold words floating in front of them.

"Someone's claimed this planet. How can that be possible?"

"This planet has been unclaimed for at least ten years! How the hell has someone gone and done it?"

"It must be cave 33. Someone must have defeated the beasts in cave 33." The residents of the town had mixed feelings about this event. Some were speechless and shellshocked whilst others immediately ran to their friends or colleagues to tell them this shocking news. Some were even angry when they heard it.

"I should have claimed the planet!" someone shouted in the town square.

"If it's that easy for someone to claim the planet, then I should have claimed it! I should've done it ages ago! Why the hell has someone gone and done it before me?" However, arguing against something that had already been decided was pointless. After all, resistance was futile, and this event was something that couldn't be changed. Many Hoppers chose to accept this harsh reality. They were relieved that someone had claimed the planet, but many also had anger boiling deep in their brains.

If it was that easy for someone to claim the planet, then why couldn't they do it? The answer lies in the methods in which the Hoppers broke down the missions. Each cave had different missions but only one cave housed the boss. And whoever landed the final blow on the boss was the one who could claim bragging rights for this planet. That set the scene for deception and petty tricks. It was because of these tricks that many Hoppers lost their lives in vain whilst fighting to claim this planet.

Several small groups of Hoppers had found the cave that housed the boss quite early on and did everything in their power to steer others away from that cave, killing the ones that dared to enter. And once all of the irrelevant ones were killed, the groups could then fight amongst themselves for who claims the planet. That was why those cards telling Hoppers which cave to go to existed. That was why the planet remained unclaimed until just recently.

That was why the town in the middle of the valley could grow to such a size where it housed more than five thousand Hoppers. That was why a thriving society could exist on a planet that hadn't seen human life since its inception. It was all because of the pride and greed of humans. It was because humans had the appalling ability to deceive. And they only had themselves to blame. There was one person who dared to defy the odds.

There was one person who was brave enough to challenge the instigators, and that one person had left with his head held high. That one person had successfully claimed the planet, ending the tortuous, never-ending woes of thousands of Hoppers.

On a planet far away, millions of light years away from Planet Earth, there was rocky terrain. It wasn't flat land either, it was mountainous land with many notable peaks forming a vast mountain range. And perched on top of the highest peak, with its tallest towers shooting up into the clouds, was an imposing Gothic palace. The walls were made of the finest stone in the land.

The glass was ancient, perhaps archaic, and most of the windows were adorned with stained glass patterns depicting unwritten stories of the past. The building itself had many floors, with the highest ones penetrating into the clouds. It was truly a sight to behold, a sight to marvel at for the rest of your life. It was enough to make you wonder how the hell someone was able to build this on a planet that had never been inhabited by humans before. The planet, by the way, was stuck in an eternal winter.

Blizzards ravaged the planet from time to time, creating piles upon piles of snow that was as tall as humans. The thick coat of snow that the horrifying blizzards would leave behind had a dire effect on the magnificent view of the palace, and it was basically impossible to walk outside. That was why the people living on this planet had to seek refuge inside the grandiose palace. The interior of the palace was just as imposing and grand as the outside.

There were rooms filled with paintings of the past and old furniture dating back to three hundred years ago, as well as rooms that had high ceilings with ornate designs, enough to captivate a person deeply interested in history.

And in the room at the highest part of the building, where there was an array of windows stretching up into the clouds, statues of famous people in the past and a 300-year-old painting meticulously placed on the ceiling so that it wouldn't fall, there was a grand table, significantly larger in area than your average dining table, and three chairs that were tantamount to thrones befitting a noble king.

All of this would be enough to pique someone's interest, however, all of it would come crashing down when they hear that this is the lair of The Leak, the most feared and evil skill user association in the entire universe. Sitting on the thrones like kings and queens were three people: two men and one woman. They were, in no way, shape or form, looking any bit pleased.

All of the emotions relating to happiness had been sucked out of their souls; they all had grim looks carefully etched onto their faces as if they had just attended a funeral. One of the men, who had a muscular build and a myriad of scars engraved onto one of his cheeks, started speaking.

"Let's start the meeting by discussing the most important topic," he said in an extremely deep, gruff voice. The other two people had solemn looks on their faces, prompting the muscular man to continue speaking.

"He's dead," he continued simply.

"We've failed to claim the planet and we had to pay the price."

"But wasn't he one of your subordinates?" the other man chimed in. He was wearing make-up and his face was pale, almost white. Lipstick had been carefully applied onto his blood-red lips, and strangely, he also had lipstick smeared near one of his eyes, forming what appeared to be an artificial cut or scar that ran down his eye and giving him an overly sinister countenance.

"He was one of your subordinates, and you should be taking better care of them," the man with make-up continued.

"How many have you lost now? Like ten? Anyway, we shouldn't be messing with your petty little problems. It's not our fault that he's dead because he's not our subordinate." The muscular man sighed.

"You're right," he muttered, feeling slightly dejected.

"I was short-sighted. I have to look after my subordinates better." The other two looked at the muscular man as if they were satisfied with his response.

"But the same goes for you two too, B and C. Just because one of my subordinates is dead doesn't mean that none of yours will die too in the future. After all, we all need to learn our lessons and look after our subordinates better." His words made it seem as though these 'subordinates' were vital parts of their everyday lives. They carried deep meaning, stinging the hearts of the other two, named B and C. The man with make-up, whose 'name' was C, leaned back in his chair.

"D, I understand what you're saying. But don't we have our own matters to deal with as well? Human life is finite, so we're always going to see subordinates dying. We are talking more about how you control your subordinates. You can't let your people become too powerful, otherwise they'll get themselves into a mess and die. They've become too reckless and they don't know their upper bounds. That's what we're trying to tell you."

C's rebuttal instantly stung the heart of D, the muscular man with the scars on his right cheek. The woman, B, just gazed intently at the two men talking. She seemed to have an interest in jewellery, since she wore a beaded necklace around her neck and various bracelets and bangles on both arms that made a clinking noise whenever she moved. She was known for having exceptional intelligence that was unparalleled; she knew when the optimum time to strike was and she had the ability to read fights flawlessly.

That was how she earned the name 'the brain' by other members of The Leak. Hence, she knew it wasn't the right time for her to intervene in this conversation. She knew she shouldn't interrupt C and D. C sighed, leaning back in his chair even more.

"Was that guy even relevant? I'm certain you've even forgotten his name by this point. What was the name you gave him? Was it DG? I don't even remember."

"That's not relevant," D snapped, sensing that C was just trying to get on his nerves.

"Subordinates can easily be replaced. There are bound to be many skill users out there that won't turn down an opportunity to work at The Leak. Hey, B, what do you think about this?" B, who had been silent until this point, said, "It's true that we need to work on our management of subordinates. However, what's key is finding the perfect balance between that and our own work. Remember that this is The Leak. Don't we also have to publish compulsory research on skill users and Hoppers from time to time?"

She spoke with a strong foreign accent. C and D nodded submissively, depicting the power difference between the three of them. At times, C and D had to follow the orders of B, and sometimes, to them, that felt frustrating. B was no doubt an important person in The Leak. In the absence of the leader, she would be tasked to make important decisions and carry out important orders. With her exceptional intelligence, she was essentially the vice leader of The Leak. C was an ambiguous person who had a mixed personality.

Sometimes, he would be extremely submissive, and at other times, he would be your worst nightmare, recklessly killing people for fun and skinning them alive. He had an exquisite array of skills in his arsenal which he could use whenever he wished, making him even more feared. Unsurprisingly, D, the muscular man, was known for his strength. He had superhuman strength that couldn't be compared to anybody else, enough to break a building with just one punch.

If anybody were to be asked who the scariest person was out of these three, they would probably stutter. Because together, they formed a feared bunch.

"So how's the research going?" C asked B, changing the subject as if the incident about D's subordinate dying on another planet had already been resolved.

"If you wish to insist on talking about the research, then talk to us." B folded her arms, then said, "It's going well. Or at least my part of it is going well. I don't know about you two, but it looks like I'm doing most of the work." Bang! That caused C to slam the table in fury.

"Listen here, missy," C said, his demeanour dramatically changing from being inquisitive and curious to depicting pure rage.

"We've been doing our part. You just don't know anything. Sometimes, things have to be kept private. There is no law in The Leak prohibiting secrets, right?" He looked like he was going to strangle B to death at any moment. However, after a while, as if all of his anger had been flushed away, C sat back down on his chair, leaning back.

"I am contributing to the research," he said calmly, juxtaposing his previous outburst just thirty seconds ago.

"I've sent my most trusted subordinate to a planet that has something essential for this piece of research. He'll do a fine job and bring back what we need." B seemed less than impressed.

"Make sure he succeeds," she said, exercising her power in front of C.

"There is no room for mistakes in The Leak. Understand?" Instead of flinching, C simply nodded.

"And you, D," B spat, pointing at D's enormous chest muscles.

"Put those muscles to good use. Help out for once. You've failed once already, so you absolutely must not make any mistakes. Got it?" B had expected a solemn nod and a 'yes' from D. However, D's lips curled up to form a sadistic smile.

"Finally," he said.

"It's been some time, but I can finally tell you about it." B and C looked confused. They both wore puzzled looks.

"It's about that new guy," D continued in a gleeful tone.

"It's that new guy who's already at the rank of 'superior'. That new guy has made exceptional progress, and I've been working closely with him. At this point, it's like he's still my subordinate. He's already succeeded in forcing people to become skill users, which means we can hire more people whenever we need. He'll definitely become a useful asset for my plans." B covered her mouth with her hands. C, on the other hand, was frozen in shock, something that D rarely saw.

"You're not talking about him, are you?" C asked D, who finally had his say in this meeting.

"He's crazy. Some say he's even crazier than me." But D just nodded.

"That's the point," he replied.

"We need someone as crazy as him. Sometimes, things like this are needed. We just need him to run amok whenever things go awry. When that happens, he'll solve the problem for sure. And at other times, I'll make sure his craziness is contained in a bottle." C burst into loud, maniacal laughter. It was like D had finally redeemed himself by proposing this plan. It was like the death of D's subordinate had never existed and things were going smoothly. After all, life has to go on.

"He'll be the key," C said ominously, his blood-red lips curling up into a savage smile.

"He'll be the key to solving all of our plans. He'll contribute greatly. Just you wait, Cayman Grace. This person is out to hunt, and he'll kill you no matter where you are."