Chương 3

Ethan's vision shifted as he found himself in the spaceship once again. Inside his own memory, he was in the observer mode, free to move around and focus on different details that he might have missed or ignored before. As a spark of consciousness without a body, he scanned the spacious hall that accommodated hundreds of people. Curved beige walls with azure straps circled around a large space full of comfy lounges, separated by glass containers of biodomes with tiny botanic gardens inside.

Small-scale bars and cafeterias lay here and there, serving the humans without any humans. The floor was made of a single piece of marble while the dome-shaped ceiling showed a scenery of the Milky Way galaxy as a projection, constantly reminding the people how far they were from home. The buzzing crowd of people caught his attention. Most of them were chatting with each other with some snacks and drinks in front of them. Despite their reserved behaviors, the tension and excitement were almost palpable.

After all, hardly any time had passed since their bodies were pulled from stasis. Five hundred was their total number. Half of them consisted of politicians, diplomats, scientists, artists, historians, merchants, and even spiritual leaders. While the other half were the top players of VR games, mostly of action genres. All hand-picked by Animus, the very best Earth had to offer.

Other than the few who wandered between the seating areas, lobbying and networking, most were with their small group, idly passing the time as they speculated on the journey ahead or, well, gossiped behind their fellow allies. The place where most of them took furtive glances between their hushed whispers was actually where Ethan and his friends were. Over there, Vince seemed to be his usual carefree self, as was Adrian, who sat with his usual stoic expression.

The petite girl, Wu Qian, was a bit too lively for the occasion, and the blonde girl with green eyes, Rachel, looked pretty nervous while pretending not to be. Among them, Rachel was the only one Ethan didn't know much about. It was Vince who introduced her only recently. Apparently, she wasn't here for her high rank in a famous pugilist game, but for her impressive feats as a chemist.'' I wonder if it's possible for us to work together after landing?'' Vince questioned, sipping from his smoothie.

''Did any of you learn your immediate tasks?''''Well, I'm a captain of a small scout team, apparently,'' Ethan said.

''But not for long. Once I finish my mission and bring my team to the settlement that you guys would establish, I'll be free to explore the world myself.''''What? How is that you're off the hook so easily?'' Vince asked, raising an eyebrow.

''I never heard Animus making deals like that. What are you? A world-class mercenary or something?'' Adrian snorted.

''Mercenary? Boss is the Throne of Cut-Throat.''''I am a Throne, too!'' Wu Qian chipped in, raising her hand fervently.

''I didn't get any offers from Ani whatsoever. So far, their attitude was more like, 'have patience and wait for the next instructions.'''''Stop calling yourself Throne, and that's the best attitude when dealing with a wayward child.'' Ethan countered before turning to Vince.

''What's the big deal, anyway? Couldn't anyone abandon their duty anytime to explore the world themselves? What's binding them?''''Ani exploding our biochips and blowing our heads off?'' Wu Qian offered, blinking innocently. Ethan scoffed.

''Please, that conspiracy theory got old years ago.'' Rachel cleared her throat a little too loudly.''I think at worst, Ani would explain 'how disadvantageous that is for us' unceasingly, but eventually stop if we insist on leaving. You all know how big on autonomy they've always been. I also don't think they've invited many people who are keen on operating alone in the first place,'' she shared thoughtfully. As no one argued, she turned to Adrian, raising an eyebrow.

''Why are you calling Ethan boss? We aren't in a game, you know.''''Oh, don't bother,'' Vince answered in his place, waving his hand.

''He's always like that.'' Adrian shrugged.''I'm also big on autonomy,'' Wu Qian said, nodding to herself.

''I've decided–''''You'd die,'' Ethan interrupted and added when she opened her mouth again, ''Nope, forget it. I'm not taking any baggage with me.'' Wu Qian smashed her fist to the table, her eyes opening wide.

''Junior, you dare!?'' Jumped out of her skin, Rachel threw a bewildered look at Vince, who watched them with an amused smile.''It's always the same with these two,'' Vince said, shaking his head.

''We haven't seen each other for more than a century–'' Ethan didn't have time to roll his eyes at the joke Vince clearly was saving for a while now.'' Attention, everyone,'' Ani's voice cut them off, broadcasting everywhere in the ship. A sizable hologram of a planet came into view, its surface a patchwork of brown, blue, and green.'' We are approaching Webb-756b's magnetic field. Before entering its atmosphere, we'll be orbiting around it as long as necessary and plan our–'' Lights went out.

An uproar started and ended almost at the same time. Ethan launched himself upwards. In an instant, the environment changed as he found himself on the street of an ancient ruin, in the middle of a jungle. Blinding light seared his eyes. Squinting, he placed a hand on his forehead as pressure built from all sides and dizziness washed over him–''Stop.'' Everything froze but the observer. Watching himself from a third point of view surely gave some perspective, but he still had no idea what had just happened.''

Roll three seconds back.'' He rewatched the end of the clip a few times more but couldn't figure anything out. One moment he was there, and the next… he was not. Only when he slowed the recording down did he catch something. On the audio that was. Removing the background sound of the humans made it even clearer. It turned out, right after their speech was interrupted, Animus had spoken another line. In a low, hurried voice, they said,''N-No, wait!''

Ending the memory record, Ethan opened his eyes in his body with a perplexed look. In that last sentence, it sounded like Animus wasn't talking to them, and they seemed… frightened. What could possibly scare the hivemind of countless AIs? Who were they talking to? Was it them who beamed his ass down from the ship? What happened to the others? Ethan sighed, shaking his head. Rather than answers, he ended up with more questions. Vince, Ace, Xiao Qian… I hope you guys are okay.

It seems that you are on your own until we meet again. He would've been a lot more assured if they ended up together or had time to grab some equipment, but he had no idea if that was the case. For his scouting mission, he was planning to take all kinds of items that would ensure his survival, which included firearms as well. More than likely, it wouldn't do jack shit against the stronger monsters, but it could still save his life against the low level mobs.

Whether he'd get Exp if he used a gun or not, it seemed that he'd never know. The narrative has been taken without permission. Report any sightings. As of now, other than his clothes, all he had was an old watch that didn't work, a belt on his jeans and a band he tied his long hair back. He hoped that his friends fared better. The next time we meet… I wonder how strong I will be? A smile stretched on his lips as he gripped his new knives. He had no intention of staying stagnant until then.

No matter the trials and tribulations, he'd keep his nose to the grindstone for as long as necessary, not only to take the reins of his life and avoid being at the mercy of others like he was now, but also for the pure joy of it. The allure of the mysteries surrounding this world and magic itself was just too much. How far could he push his physical and mental powers? What about mana? How would it feel to wield power that could bend the world to his will? What else was there he didn't know about?

Noticing that he was getting ahead of himself, Ethan shook his head and rose, brushing the dust off his pants. Rather than pondering the grand mysteries just yet, it would be best to start with the ones that lay in these ruins. Licking his lips in anticipation, he left the place he'd crashed for the night and headed toward the murder weed's shop. Making sure the street was empty, he slunk away into the shadows.

Dawn was breaking over the city, but the thick canopy of trees kept the twilight hour as dark as possible. It was the perfect time to try to get some new skills. Using the advanced Buteyko breathing technique, he slowed his heart rate to the extreme and made it almost impossible to discern whether he was breathing or not. That, and his long years of experience in hiding in the shadows, allowed him to get a bit more comfortable as he waltzed under the giant monsters.

Even so, he didn't dare to get too close, afraid that his smell would give him away, or the magical creatures happened to have some weird perception skills. Naturally, the act of sneaking around required him to spot the enemies he was trying to avoid. That was why he strained his senses to notice every single anomaly around. It was a taxing matter but definitely worthwhile.

Once he was sure that he was out of sight, he'd dash from one house to another with all his might, sometimes even going back to repeat the act and running at full speed again and again. Sadly, in such a short time, he didn't get any of the skills he'd hoped for. [Stealth], [Danger Sense], and [Sprint] had to wait for now. Because he arrived at the ruinous shop where he'd left his favorite sneakers, and he was resolved to take them back with interest. Opening the door gingerly, he crept inside.

His eyes needed a moment to adjust to the intensified darkness. Once they did, he quickly noticed the small and dark figure at the other end of the shop. A rat similar to the one he'd killed was prowling around the backyard gate. Just as he considered how to handle this, the door creaked ever so slightly. The beast snapped its head and locked its crimson eyes with him. Letting out a screech, it scuttled over the floor with alarming speed. Ethan cursed under his breath as he slammed the door and prepared himself.

Bending his knees, he waited until the rat got close and pounced on him. With a side jump, he narrowly avoided the sharp claws. The rat hit the door headlong and landed on the ground, looking slightly dizzy. He didn't hesitate and lunged as he chopped his cleaver. A claw blocked his attack with little trouble, but his other knife was already traveling from the left. It penetrated the overgrown rat's skull and nailed it to the door. Ethan blinked.

The foreign energy filled him just like last time, but it wasn't enough for a level up. It did confirm his kill, though, which felt a bit too easy. He'd been expecting a tussle, if not a desperate fight. After all, the beast was both stronger and faster. I guess my new toys make the difference. Yanking out his knife, he cleaned it on the beast's fur and stood up, walking to the backyard. The murder weed was where he'd left it, looking harmless as a dove.

Furrowing his brows, Ethan considered staying here for a time and preying on the low level beasts the plant would lure over. Unfortunately, he was low on time. While the food didn't seem to be a problem in this place, water did. If he couldn't find any in the houses, he had to leave the city and look for a source of water on the foothills of the mountain. He knew that the three-day limit without water was a myth.

In the absence of food and water, the human body would produce metabolic water from the stored fat and keep itself self-sustained for more than a week if necessary. However, he didn't have much fat on his lean body, and this kind of fast was better done in a cold environment to balance the high temperature of the body, not the hot and dry one as he had now. More importantly, it would drop his energy levels and curb his strength and endurance over time.

In a place filled with strange magical monsters, he really didn't want to be in anything but his best condition. Shaking his head, he returned to the shop to pick up a broken chair, brought it back to the backyard, and threw it toward the plant. A vine shot up from the ground before it even got close and blocked the chair easily as it protected the plant. At the same time, the three flowers of the plant transformed into eerie maws.

They were facing different directions, but Ethan felt that he now had the full attention of the murder weed. It made the hair on his nape rise. For a moment, he considered dismantling wooden shelves in the shop and covering the area around the plant with a makeshift platform in order to restrict the mobility of the vines. But it would be pointless if they were strong enough to scatter the wooden planks.

Even if they only rocked the platform, he could lose his footing, sprain his ankle, or get stuck between the planks. Deciding to test the waters himself, Ethan grabbed his knives and tentatively approached the plant. A vine emerged from the ground and tried to ensnare his ankle. He backed away quickly but another vine shot up from the side, making him jump another way. They chased him as he made circles around the outer range of the plant.

When the opportunity arose, he slashed his cleaver and chopped one of the vines. The cut part dropped to the ground while the rest of the vine backed off for a second before continuing to attack. Come at me, then. I refuse to believe it can grow these things endlessly. He got bolder after that and let the vines wrap themselves around his limbs only to cut them before they could try anything. The cat and mouse game resumed until another vine shot up behind him.

It grabbed his leg and lifted him up without any warning. Gritting his teeth, he cut himself free and fell to the ground, rolling over to avoid the other vines. The fourth one appeared where he ended up. Entangling itself around his waist, it hurled him toward the stone fence. Eyes wide open, Ethan cut the damn thing before hitting his back. His vision darkened for a moment, the pain promising a broken rib. Landing on the ground, he noticed a slight delay before the vine resumed its assault.

Still, the four of them were on him swiftly. Getting out of their range became beyond him as he was surrounded by relentless attacks and constantly losing his footing. First and foremost, he focused on letting his arms free so that he could keep cutting more vines, even when he was being strangled or dragged toward the plant itself. As long as he could strike, there was hope. In a desperate attempt, he turned himself into a blender, swinging his knives left and right.

Soon, he noticed the vines' response time when cut dropped considerably. Not only did it take them a few seconds to resume attacking, but they were also getting slower in general. Finally, he was able to get on his feet and escape. He didn't. Instead, he chose violence. Letting out a savage scream, Ethan started severing the vines before they even had a chance to approach him. One after another, he kept hacking without waiting for them to grow bigger. Time passed in a blur.

His chest heaved as he looked at the sorry-looking vines, crawling on the ground sluggishly among their dead parts. He threw a predatory look at the plant itself and offered a toothy smile.

''Payback's a bitch.'' As Ethan trudged toward the murder weed, the stems below the creepy maws elongated, giving it a pose like some three headed hydra. Once he was close enough, the one in the middle lunged at him. He slipped right and burst forward. When the one at the right came at him, he turned to the left and rolled over before kicking the ground and slashing his knives at the third maw's stem, severing it cleanly. When he turned around, he saw the other two entangling each other as he'd expected.

He'd seen the incoherence between these guys first hand when he'd thrown them the rat's corpse. It wasn't too hard to exploit it. Without wasting any time, he charged again, but something caught his foot, making him stumble to the ground. In a daze, he noticed that tiny vines were creeping up from the soil, not strong enough to restrain him but enough to trip him over. As he struggled to his feet, the maw of the plant found its way to his shoulder. Sharp wooden teeth sank into flesh.

Ethan swallowed a cry and slashed his knife over his head, swiftly cutting another stem. The last maw went straight for his throat. He deflected it with his cleaver's flat side and severed that one from the plant as well. Just as he was planning to bolt away from its range before the sedative started working, the same foreign energy rushed into his body, a lot more than the two rats had given him. Apparently, taking out the three flowers was enough to kill the damn thing.

Letting out a sigh of relief, he sat down and removed the maw of the flower from his shoulder with a wince. Almost a dozen teeth were stuck deep in his flesh. One by one, he pulled them out as the numbness expanded from his shoulder and spread to his whole body. Despite his blurred vision and the bleeding holes in his shoulder, there was a satisfied smile on his face. Thanks to the murder weed, he was now sitting on 20 free stat points. And he had his shoe back, somewhere beneath the dead vine parts.

On the eve of passing out, Ethan stared at the wooden teeth in his hand one last time. Once he woke up from the short-term paralysis–in case he didn't get eaten by rats or something–he would continue his plan and head toward the purple bamboo forest. It was time to get himself a blowgun.