Aaron Dober:

  Planetary ranking: 1942 of 5,127,446,925

  Aaron stared at his ranking for a good moment. But not because of the over 600 spots he had climbed, as impressive as that was. But because of how many people had apparently died.

  It had only been a couple of days since arriving on their new world, and if his eyes weren’t lying to him, well over a hundred million people had already met their ends. Worst of all, the number didn’t even really feel that high.

  After all, the last couple of days had been incredibly difficult, and he hadn’t been far from having his own name crossed off the list. That said, it was clear that not everywhere was equally dangerous. The plains, for example, were undoubtedly far safer than the jungle.

  Wow… what a start to the multiverse.

  Still, despite understanding why the numbers were so big, the implication of that many people dying briefly threw his thoughts into disarray. And while nothing changed, and his course of action remained the same, it forced him to rethink their post-trial existence.

  Also, if he had jumped that many spots without even killing a D-grade, he wondered how many spots he’d jump after he had. He figured that there really couldn’t be that many people on Superearth who were able to kill D-grades solo yet.

  I'd better let anyone who needs to rest get some sleep. I don’t want to be responsible for more deaths than necessary.

  “If anyone needs to sleep, do it now. I want to keep moving. We’re making good progress, and if we keep this up, who knows, maybe we’ll find the camp soon.”

  A few weaker goblins nodded and started to make temporary beds for themselves. But most of the group seemed fine to keep moving. The System had hardened them, and for most, a few days without sleep was nothing.

  For Aaron, it was more about getting to the settlement before something bad happened. He couldn’t save everyone. He had no illusions about that. But he could at least make sure the people he knew were going to survive the initial shock of everything.

  Talia was strong, he reminded himself. But so had Elvanas been. Maybe not as strong as Talia, but the elven warrior was certainly no pushover. And yet, his life had ended shortly after the Tutorial.

  Even with all of the Tutorial survivors, could she handle a beast like the simian reaver? He wasn’t sure. He knew she couldn’t do it alone, and he knew that she was the strongest of her Tutorial.

  Even if the jungle was a particularly hard place to start, there were, in all likelihood, roaming D-grades everywhere, and that thought urged him on impatiently.

  Aaron tapped his foot against the ground as the weaker goblins slept for a couple of hours, and then they all got moving again, packing up camp in no time. It was still the very early hours of the morning, dark and frosty. But they had a mission to see done.

  Looking down at the compass as they charged across the landscape, he noticed something he hadn’t earlier. The arrow on the compass given to him by Talia had slightly enlarged. Aaron had a feeling that it was indicating that they were getting closer, but there was no point of reference to determine how much closer.

  Either way, the plains were a godsend. Over the next couple of days. They travelled far, far further than they could have even imagined in the jungle. And it was as much thanks to the flat land before them as it was thanks to not running into powerful beasts constantly.

  Over that time, Aaron gained two more levels, hitting 52 thanks to the beasts they encountered roaming the plains, while Marko had gained 8, and Zach 9, with Treg trailing a little behind at 6 gained levels.

  The combination of the well-matched enemies of the plains and their new mounts provided a near-perfect environment to level, and by the time the terrain started to change, he felt like they had truly made the most of it.

  But the open plains eventually started to give way to sparsely dotted forests and snaking rivers over rocky lands and peat marshes.

  Checking the compass occasionally, they rode their mounts beside the clear rivers, soon it appeared that they were reaching what appeared to be a fertile basin, and the many rivers from all around were converging into larger ones.

  And then, just as the fog was clearing and rays of light were starting to fill the air with warmth, Aaron spotted something peculiar in the distance.

  Standing completely on its own, beside the river and surrounded by peats, and with a forest marking its background, was a huge and rather impressive building.

  “That… that building…” Aaron’s brow bent contemplatively as they rode toward it. “Is that. No, it can’t be.”

  “I think I might be going crazy, because that looks like the fucking Bellagio plopped down in the middle of the Scottish Highlands,” Marko muttered and rubbed his eyes as he shook sense into his head.

  “That’s what it is!” Aaron raised a finger.

  He had seen the building on holiday a few years ago and knew that he recognized it.

  However, their attention was stolen only a second later by crackling thunder ripping through the air, and they all turned to the angry sounds.

  Flashes lit up the sky in the distance to their left, and Aaron narrowed his gaze as he tried to figure out what was happening.

  Soon, the flashes were accompanied by explosions that rocked the land, and then, they spotted tiny figures in the distance.

  Lightning was bursting down from the sky, and the figures were doing everything in their power to avoid being zapped.

  “Wait here!” Aaron shouted and patted Zero on the head. “Let’s go, boy!”

  In an instant, they were zooming toward the battle, and Zero’s legs had turned into silver light. The wolf was using a weaker version of the silver movement Skill it had during their fight, but this one allowed Aaron to remain mounted. Which was something he appreciated when hunting weaker monsters.

  Within seconds, he could make the features of the figure, and what he saw surprised him.

  It was a girl. But not just any old girl. A girl with big, pointy ears and a tail—cat ears and a cat tail, to be precise. And she was riding atop what looked like a rather large panther.

  But something told him that she wasn’t an alien, and not just because Superearth didn’t have a cat-person race. There was something human about her, and then he remembered a story that Talia had told him some time ago, back in the Trials.

  However, there were bigger problems than determining the person’s race. Namely, the giant flying eel snaking through the sky and shooting lightning bolts.

  Flash Sky Serpent [ Level 102 ]

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  Titles: [ Monster Slayer ] [ Sky King ]

  “Shall we?” He asked Zero, and the wolf nodded.

  The silver light carried them up and into the sky. Riding on Zero’s back, Aaron was able to focus entirely on offense. Although, in truth, he was faster with [ Spectral Rush ], not to mention the Skill defensive properties.

  So, obviously, this style of combat had its own drawbacks, especially since he was trying to get back to basics. But it definitely made clearing out weaker beasts easier, as he could focus all of his energy on attack. And Aaron had a feeling he wouldn’t have too much difficulty with the level 102, even if it were D-grade.

  As they neared their enemy, the entire body of the serpent filled with crackling lightning, and it was clear that it intended to blast him with a particularly powerful version of its lightning bolt, but [ Equal and Opposite ] made short work of the powerful attack, and the sky serpent looked shocked as its attack vanished.

  That second of surprise was all it took for Zero to carry them straight into melee range. And the moment they closed in on their enemy, a blast of Zero’s debuffing silver needles shot out, weakening the serpent.

  And Aaron’s attack was less than a second behind, following up with a [ Soul Shattering Strike ] that continued into a deadly combination of haymakers and flying spectral fists.

  Almost immediately, the eel realized that it was in for a bad time. Damage was building up across its slimy body very quickly, and already several deep wounds had been opened.

  Another powerful zap of lightning followed, and as Zero fled, Aaron flew straight through it with [ Spectral Rush ], and immediately started punching again, landing yet another combo.

  The serpent already knew this was an unwinnable fight and tried to turn and escape, but Aaron was relentless, and he continued to attack, only to be joined by Zero a second later.

  Claws and fists rained down upon it, and within seconds of their relentless attack, Aaron had killed his first D-grade.

  It was a little disappointing that he hadn’t done it by himself for his first time, but he’d have won regardless. Besides, ultimately, it was important to know how much of an aid Zero was in combat. After all, survival was always going to be the most important thing. And knowing Zero’s capabilities would no doubt help with that.

  Also, despite getting assistance, he had managed to kill the D-grade while still wearing his ring, which made up for the fact that Zero helped.

  You killed: Flash Sky Serpent [ Level 102 ]

  Bonus Experience rewarded for killing beasts of a higher level than yourself!

  [ Empty-Handed Energy Monk ] has LEVELED UP!

  52 → 53

  “No bad, I suppose,” Aaron grumbled as the notification appeared.

  He had gotten a level, so he couldn’t really complain. But he felt like a D-grade should provide more experience. And he had a hunch that it was because the experience had been shared with Zero. And maybe the other woman and her mount as well. While they hadn’t done much, they had made the serpent spend a lot of mana, so maybe that counted for something in the System’s eyes.

  As they glided back down to the ground, the rest of his party caught up, spears aimed at the stranger and her panther.

  Rebecca White [ Level 71 ]

  Titles: [ Unbreakable Bond ] [ Monster Slayer ]

  Planetary ranking: 747,891 of 5,127,386,544

  Shadow [ Level 68 ]

  Titles: [ Unbreakable Bond ] [ Monster Slayer ]

  “Hey,” Aaron said as he landed near the girl.

  She had raven hair in a bob, pointy ears, a tail, and furry mittens, but the rest of her looked to be human.

  “Hey to you too, weirdo. Is that wolf yours?” She replied, barely glancing at Aaron as her eyes locked on Zero.

  “Zero? Yeah, I guess. But more importantly, what are you doing out here?”

  “He’s beautiful, isn’t he? Can I get a pat?”

  “You want to pat Zero? Err, Zero, you want a pat?”

  Zero kind of shrugged, and the girl got all giddy as she rushed over and ran her hands through his thick fur.

  “Ooo, so soft. Not as soft as Shadow, or as pretty. But he’s still a cutie.”

  Aaron was confused. He had just saved this strange girl, but all she seemed concerned with was Zero’s soft fur.

  “Umm, what’s your deal?” Aaron said, looking down at her from atop Zero as she pressed her face into his fur.

  “Huh?”

  “Like, what are you doing out here by yourself? You almost got yourself killed.”

  “Nah. I was fine. Thanks for taking the ugly snake thing out for me, though. He was annoying, and I really didn’t want to have to touch his slimy skin. Yuck, yuck, yuck!”

  This girl has a real thing for animals, doesn’t she?

  “Sooo, ah, you, like, live out here or something?”

  “Me? Yeah, kinda. We go into camp when we have to. Not too often, though. Too many humans. I hate that place.”

  “Camp? Wait, we’re heading in that direction, looking for my friend’s camp,” Aaron pointed. “Is that the same camp?”

  “A friend? It’s not Julius, is it?” Her nose scrunched up and she made a hissing sound. “I hate that guy.”

  “Julius? No. I have no idea who that is.”

  “Good. Anyway, I should be going. Nice meeting you, Zero,” she scruffed Zero’s fur.

  “Wait! The camp. Is it in that direction?”

  “Oh. Yeah, I thought I said that? Anyway, if you're not Julius’ friend… Bye!”

  “Wait!” Aaron said, cutting her off as she walked toward her panther.

  “What is it now?”

  “My friend is called Talia. I just want to know if she’s living in the same camp you’re talking about.”

  “You’re one of Talia’s friends? She did mention the Shadow Trials… I kind of forgot what she was saying though… And you’ve got that Title…” she eyed him up and down. “Not gonna lie, but I kinda expected more from someone who went to the Shadow Trials. Did you cheat somehow?”

  “Wait, so you know Talia?”

  As he spoke, Aaron remembered the conversation he had with Talia in more detail.

  “Hey, are you the cat lady?”

  “Cat lady?! Is that how she talks about me, hmph?!” She crossed her arms. “I’m Becky, and this is Shadow. Not ‘Cat Lady’. Got it? I’m not some weird cat-obsessed freak with fuzzy hair who walks around in her night gown.”

  “I never said you were. But you did choose to become a cat… Cat person?”

  “So? The System let me evolve my race and gave me an Agility and Dexterity bonus with this option, dumbass! Why wouldn’t I pick it? Those Stats are important to my build. Like really,” she crossed her arms. “Some of you normies are so caught up on the little things. If something can make me stronger, why wouldn’t I do it? Honestly, how did someone like you make it to the trials? C’mon, admit it, you cheated, didn’t you?”

  She wasn’t entirely wrong, but he didn’t feel like admitting it. Mostly because it was hard enough to keep this strange girl on a single topic of thought as it was.

  “It’s a long story. Maybe I’ll tell you how I got to the trials later. IF you tell me whether or not Talia is in that camp,” Aaron pointed again.

  “Yeah, she’s in the big ugly building. Or at least she was last time I was there. Happy?”

  “The big ugly building? So people are actually living in the Bellagio?”

  “You mean the old casino? Yeah, they are. It was Julius’ idea, I think. Or maybe not… Oh, I forget. There’s this big pointy thing in the foyer, though. I think it's important. An obelisk? Maybe I’m getting that wrong. A pillar? I dunno. Wait, what was the original question again?”

  “It doesn’t matter,” Aaron shook his head. “Just tell me, is Talia and this Julius guy working together?”

  “Kinda. I think. They’re not exactly friends. I don’t think they are, anyway. I don’t really talk to them. I answered your questions! Can you stop yapping my ears off already? They’re sensitive!”

  “Fine. Thanks. You were helpful, in a very odd kind of way. And yeah, I guess I kind of did cheat to get to the trials. But not intentionally.”

  “I knew it!” Becky threw her fists in the air, celebrating.

  Aaron just sighed and let her have her win. He didn’t want to go around in circles trying to talk to her again.

  “Alright, let’s move everyone. It looks like we’re going to the Bellagio!”

  “Oh, you’re going there too? So am I,” Becky smiled.

  “What?” Aaron blinked. “What did you think I was doing?”

  “Dunno. I forgot. Your Talia’s friend, aren’t you? You think Shadow and Zero might become friends?”

  “Yeah, maybe,” Aaron groaned. “You can travel with us, I suppose.”

  He looked back across the ragtag group as they started toward the grandiose casino in the distance.

  Something tells me things are only going to get stranger.

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