The transport ship slammed into the atmosphere of Xylos-4.
The low hum of the engines turned into a deafening roar. The metal walls of the cabin shook violently. The temperature inside the ship spiked. Jin felt a layer of cold sweat break out across his forehead. He gripped the edges of his seat.
Next to him, Luna closed her eyes tight. The ship tilted sharply. The artificial gravity struggled to compensate. Several students in the back rows threw up on the rubber floor grates. The smell of vomit mixed with the stale recycled air.
Jin ignored it. He kept his breathing slow and steady. He watched the thick glass viewport. The dull orange glow of atmospheric friction slowly faded. It was replaced by a massive, endless sea of dark green.
They were flying low over the jungle canopy.
The trees were massive. Trunks the size of watchtowers reached up from the dark ground below. Thick vines, some as wide as a human torso, wrapped around the branches like massive green snakes.
The ship suddenly slowed down. The engines shifted pitch. They were descending.
The metal hull groaned loudly as the ship settled onto the ground. A heavy thud vibrated up through the floorboards. The main thrusters powered down, leaving only the quiet whine of the internal generators.
They had landed.
The red warning light above the main cabin door turned green.
A loud mechanical hiss echoed through the cabin. The heavy steel ramp at the front of the ship slowly lowered. It hit the dirt outside with a heavy crash.
Instantly, the atmosphere of Xylos-4 flooded into the ship.
It was like walking into a steam room. The air was incredibly hot and heavy with moisture. It smelled of rotting leaves, wet earth, and something sharp and metallic. Jin took a breath. The air felt thick in his lungs. It carried a much higher concentration of ambient Aether than the Academy grounds, but it was wild and unrefined.
Instructor Thorne walked out from the cockpit. He did not look at the sick students. He did not offer any words of encouragement.
"Get out," Thorne ordered simply. His deep voice carried easily over the groans of the freshmen. "The clock starts now. One week. Ten points."
Jin unbuckled his harness. He stood up and slung his heavy spatial pouch over his shoulder. He grabbed his Silver Tier falchion. He did not wait for the others. He walked straight down the center aisle and stepped onto the metal ramp.
Luna followed closely behind him. Her hands rested on the chain of her new weapon.
They walked down the ramp and stepped off the ship.
Jin's leather boots sank two inches deep into wet, dark mud. He looked around. The ship had landed in a natural clearing, but the jungle pressed in tightly on all sides. The canopy above was so thick that it completely blocked out the sky. Only thin, scattered beams of sunlight managed to pierce the green roof. The forest floor was locked in a state of permanent, gloomy twilight.
The other students began to filter out of the ship. They clustered near the metal ramp. They talked loudly. Some of them drew their weapons and pointed them at the dark tree line, jumping at every shifting shadow.
"They are too loud," Luna whispered. She wiped a bead of sweat from her cheek. "They are going to ring the dinner bell."
"Yes," Jin agreed. "We are leaving."
He did not want to be anywhere near the main group. A hundred and fifty noisy, scared teenagers bunched together in a clearing was nothing more than a massive target for any predator within ten miles.
Jin turned his back to the ship. He picked a direction that looked slightly less dense and started walking.
Every step required effort. The mud sucked at his boots. Thick, thorny bushes tore at his dark leather pants. The gravity on this planet felt slightly heavier than back home. His heavy iron falchion felt like it weighed a few extra pounds.
They walked for twenty minutes in complete silence. The noise of the noisy students slowly faded behind them, swallowed by the massive trees.
Soon, the only sounds were the squelch of their boots in the mud and the distant, strange calls of unseen birds.
Jin stopped. He raised a hand.
Luna froze instantly. She crouched down slightly, lowering her center of gravity.
Jin looked at the ground in front of him. The thick carpet of dead, rotting leaves was disturbed. The wet mud beneath the leaves was pushed deeply into the earth.
He knelt. He touched the edge of the footprint with two fingers. The mud was still slowly oozing back into the depression. It was fresh. Less than ten minutes old.
The footprint was the size of a dinner plate. It had three deep, sharp claw marks at the front.
Jin stood up. He looked at the surrounding brush. A thick fern to his right was snapped near the base. The break was clean, not chewed. Something heavy had pushed right through it.
"A tracker," Jin muttered softly. "Large build. Heavy weight. It moves in a straight line, which means it doesn't fear much in this specific area."
"Can we kill it?" Luna asked. Her voice was barely a breath.
"We need the points," Jin replied. "And we need to know how the local fauna bleeds."
He drew his Silver Tier falchion. The metallic ring of the blade sliding out of its dark leather sheath sounded incredibly loud in the quiet jungle. He held the heavy sword in his right hand.
He pointed the tip of the blade at the broken fern. He started walking again, placing his feet carefully to avoid snapping any dry twigs. Luna followed his exact path.
They tracked the large beast for another ten minutes. The trail led them deeper into the twilight of the underbrush. The air grew thicker. The smell of rot grew stronger, mixing with a foul, musky scent.
Jin slowed down. The musky scent was fresh.
He stopped behind the massive, moss-covered trunk of a fallen tree. He slowly peered over the rotting wood.
Thirty feet away, the jungle opened up into a small, muddy hollow.
A beast stood in the center of the hollow. It was tearing into the carcass of a smaller, deer-like animal.
Jin observed it silently. It looked like a massive wolf, but its biology was entirely wrong. It stood four feet tall at the shoulder. Its body was completely hairless, covered instead in thick, overlapping plates of dark grey bone. Spikes of sharp bone protruded from its spine. Its jaws were absurdly wide, filled with jagged, dirty teeth.
It was an Iron-Hide Hound. Foundation Level 3.
It was worth three Merit Points.
Jin ducked back behind the log. He looked at Luna. He held up three fingers, then pointed to his own ribs, mimicking the bone plating.
Luna understood immediately. Standard slashing attacks would just bounce off the bone armor. They needed to hit the joints, the eyes, or the soft underbelly.
Jin pointed to Luna, then pointed to his left. He wanted her to flank the beast.
Luna nodded. She silently unhooked the throwing knife from her belt. The silver chain rattled slightly. She wrapped her hand around the metal links to muffle the sound. She crept away, moving quietly through the thick ferns to get a side angle on the hollow.
Jin waited exactly thirty seconds to let her get into position.
He gripped the hilt of his falchion with both hands. He pulled the ambient Aether of the jungle into his lungs, letting it burn down into his Foundation Level 10 core. His muscles coiled tight.
He exploded over the rotting log.
He did not yell. He did not scream a battle cry. He just ran straight at the beast.
The Iron-Hide Hound snapped its head up. Blood dripped from its jagged jaws. Its yellow eyes locked onto Jin. It let out a deep, rattling growl that vibrated in Jin's chest. It dropped the dead deer and turned to face him.
The beast dug its heavy claws into the mud and lunged forward. It was incredibly fast for its size.
Jin did not stop running. He watched the beast close the distance. Ten feet. Five feet.
The hound leaped into the air, its jaws opening wide to snap Jin's neck.
Jin dropped his weight instantly. He slid on his knees through the wet mud, leaning his upper body backward. The massive hound flew right over his head. The stench of its breath washed over his face.
As the beast passed over him, Jin thrust his falchion straight up.
He aimed for the soft, unarmored stomach. The heavy silver blade bit deep into the grey flesh. Hot, dark blood spilled over Jin's hands.
The hound let out a high-pitched shriek of pain. It crashed hard into the mud behind Jin.
Jin scrambled to his feet and spun around. The cut was deep, but it was not fatal. The beast was already pushing itself back up. It was enraged.
Before the hound could charge again, a sharp whistling sound cut through the air.
Luna stepped out from the tree line. She threw her right hand forward. The silver throwing knife blurred across the hollow.
She engaged her Level 9 Aether. The space around the flying knife twisted violently. The blade warped off its straight path, hooking sharply downward.
The razor-sharp knife buried itself deep into the back of the hound's right knee joint.
Luna yanked the iron chain back with brutal force.
The knife tore through the thick tendons of the beast's leg. The hound let out another terrible scream. Its right leg gave out completely. It collapsed heavily into the mud, unable to support its own weight.
Jin did not hesitate. He stepped forward quickly.
The beast thrashed wildly, snapping its heavy jaws at the empty air. Jin stepped to the side, avoiding the teeth. He raised his heavy falchion high above his head. He brought the blade down with every ounce of his Level 10 strength.
The silver steel struck the back of the hound's neck. It found the small gap between the thick bone plates. The blade severed the spine completely.
The massive beast went limp. Its yellow eyes glazed over.
Jin let out a slow, steady breath. His arms ached slightly. His heart hammered in his chest. He looked down at the dead monster.
Luna walked into the hollow. She pulled her bloody knife out of the beast's leg and wiped it clean on the grass. She looked at the dead hound, then looked at Jin.
"Three points," Luna said softly.
"Yes," Jin replied. He knelt next to the massive head. He pressed the tip of his falchion against the base of the beast's skull. He pushed hard, breaking through the bone.
He dug the blade around and popped out a small, bloody stone. It was a low-grade Aether core. It glowed with a faint, dirty yellow light. He wiped the blood off on his pants and dropped the core into his leather pouch.
He stood up. The fight was clean. Their teamwork was highly effective. But the smell of fresh blood was already filling the humid air.
"We cannot stay here," Jin said. He looked at the dark tree line. The shadows seemed deeper now. "The blood will bring more of them. We keep moving."
Luna nodded. She secured her chain.
They left the dead hound in the mud. They walked deeper into the green hell. The first stones were stacked. The mountain was waiting.