The Jungle

"Ow." Atlas fell off of a bunk bed and hit the ground. He had ended up at Luke's house the night before, who fortunately had a spare bunk bed that Atlas could use. He rubbed his head and slowly pushed himself up.

The entrance ceremony started at noon and would require Atlas to be fully ready to risk his life. The sun was about to rise but it was still fairly dark outside. Atlas glanced at Luke who was still deep in sleep despite the commotion.

He opened Luke's window and leaped outside the fresh morning air greeting him. His bare feet felt nice in the dewy grass as he ran through peoples yards.

Atlas had an abandoned building that he hung around when him and his dad got into fights. It was five stories tall and used to be a clothing factory. He scaled the side of it and pulled himself onto the roof. The building had the perfect view to watch the sun rise.

Oranges and pinks lit up the buildings around him and reflected off of his matte gray eyes. He sighed deeply and closed his eyes. A cool breeze blew over him causing his hair to move softly. "Grandpa." Atlas said. His eyes were closed but he knew his grandpa well enough.

"Atlas. I brought your things with me." He heard some metal things drop to the ground and some rustling.

"How are my siblings?" Atlas asked.

His grandpa sighed. "They're confused and scared but your mother is comforting them. She freaked out on your father and there's a lot of tension there. But at least you proved yourself to him. Right?" His grandpa said.

Atlas chuckled. "I never felt the need to prove myself. I just want my family to be happy." His grandpa didn't reply immediately. Atlas didn't want to open his eyes. His grandfather's lack of parenting is what led to his fathers overbearing and strict parenting style.

"Atlas." He said.

"Yes?"

"Stop holding back. Go to the Ultraverse and do your best. Become strong. Things are changing. You'll need all the strength you can get for it. Not to mention this planet is getting dangerously close to the front lines." Atlas could tell from his tone that he was serious which was rare. His grandfather always adopted a joking unserious manner around Atlas.

"You just want me to start putting my all into it now? All this time and now it's serious? Haha. Funny." Atlas sneered. There was a part of him that loved being lazy. And another part, the part he stuffed down for so long, that loved being the best. "I'll think about it." Atlas said simply.

He needed the time to himself right now. In about 5 hours he would be fighting for his life in the Ultraverse. And just in case he wasn't able to survive he wanted a good goodbye for his siblings.

"I'll see you later." His grandfather said. A light breeze passed over Atlas as he opened his eyes to the rising of the sun.

..................…

"Augh." Luke gagged as he brushed his tongue with his toothbrush.

"Oh god cmon man." Atlas cringed. They looked at themselves in the mirror as they got ready for the day. Atlas scrubbed his face and looked up to see Luke's toothbrush halfway down his throat.

Luke was lean and strong like Atlas. He was one of the best students in their school and would best most others. Atlas personally helped train his close friends and they always showed better results. Luke had cream skin and light blond hair that parted in the middle. He was well experienced with the spear and Bull technique and he was a decent guy.

He was an only child, which was rare in today's society as having many children was the norm because of the high death rates. "I need my breath to be perfect just in case I end up running into Avery. I'll carry her in my arms after saving her from some sort of Ultraverse beast and she'll marry me. If my breath smells bad it'll ruin all of it!" Luke said.

Atlas rolled his eyes while drying his face off. "If that happens I'll personally pay for the wedding. We should get going I got things to do." Atlas placed his towel to the side and picked up the equipment his grandpa dropped off.

It was a suit of light armor made from some sort of metal. In comparison to the things that could be acquired in the Ultraverse it wasn't great but it would save lives. There was a water flask as well as some rations. A simple metal sword and shield as well as a dagger strapped to his thigh were the only weapons he wielded.

Luke had a very similar setup except he had a long metal spear and small circular shield. After making sure all of their affairs were in order they left the house and began walking to the ceremony.

Luke's parents had long left the boys to themselves and gone to the ceremony to socialize. Walking through the city with weapons was quite a normal sight. In fact many people knew what time of year it was and bid them farewell.

The area they would be teleported was very dangerous and unlike other areas they wouldn't be able to come back for a decent bit. "Atlas?" Luke asked. They walked mostly quietly as they went to pick up Jason who was waiting outside of his house.

"Yes?"

"If I die… take care of Avery for me." Luke said.

Atlas laughed and slapped Luke on the back. "Shut up. You aren't gonna die today. Believing that is half the battle. The second half is not dying. Hey Jason!" Atlas put on a smile and clasped hands with Jason.

Jason was a little shorter than Atlas and Luke but was more muscular. He had dirty blond hair and olive skin and was more handsome than cute. In comparison to Luke and atlas he was more timid and tended to stay behind them.

He liked to use a bow and dual wield daggers. His armor was lighter and less encumbering. "Let's go." Atlas said.

Constance looked around through the couple hundred kids who stood in their combat gear for her older brother. They all stood in a group before the headmaster of the Eblos Ultraverse Academy.

Her father had remained at the house and refused to attend the ceremony. "I'm scared." Sylas said. Immediately he began to cry and hug his mother tightly.

"It's gonna be ok. Atlas is going to be ok." She said supporting the boys head. Many parents and family cried in their seats as their children were going to their mandatory service just as they had before.

Atlas grandpa sat silently next to them his eyes trained on his grandson. He had decided to send him off with a couple of gifts that could prove to be useful. "And it is with great pride that we send these students off with the best training we could provide. May they bring glory to the human federation." The headmaster said some final words and gave a signal.

A large metal contraption opened creating a luminous blue blob of energy. The students at the front were encouraged to enter and disappeared into the energy. Atlas was in the very back and rolled his shoulders.

By the time he was at the front he had fully stretched and felt ready to enter. His grandfather looked up at the sky sensing something wrong. "It's a Phittan attack. Activate protocol!" He shouted.

A foreign fleet of space ships descended from the sky and shot lasers and bullets into the city below. Atlas turned as he saw explosions shake the ground. He was already stepping into the portal and was whisked away from his planet.

Branches and leaves tore at his person as he dropped from the air into the canopy of the jungle. He slammed into a thick branch and gasped barely holding on. The breath was knocked out of him as he sucked in air and clawed his way closer to the trunk of the branch he was on.

"What the hell." He had never heard of someone being teleported into the air. There must've been some sort of interference that messed with the teleporter from the Phittan technology. At least he was probably the only person affected by it since he was last through. The Phittans!

They attacked his planet just as he was leaving. In fact they were still attacking as he spoke. Grandpa said they were getting close to his planet but he hadn't completely understood the severity of the situation. Atlas looked around as he rubbed his rib cage. He was deep in an extremely wet and dense jungle.

He already knew the general topography of the area their teleporter connected to, but it was understated by all the alumni that survive how dense it was. Each tree must've been 5-100 times bigger than his planet. He felt like an ant in a world of giants.

He could constantly hear birds chirping and all kinds of sounds. It was almost overwhelming. Atlas drew his sword from his back as well as his shield. He pressed himself against the trunk of the tree and watched his surroundings.

A snake the size of him wrapped around a colorful frog as big as a dog. A small grey number 4 E hung above the snakes head as a small number 3D hung above the frogs. He watched as the snake sunk its fangs into the frog and took a large chunk out of it.

Seconds later blood seeped from its eyes and nose. The snake collapsed in a pile of pus and decaying flesh allowing the frog to begin swallowing its now soft and decomposing body.

The frogs poison was extremely potent, and Atlas guessed it could decay flesh and allow it to consume its victim with ease. Atlas felt his body change as he sat there. He was evolving and becoming stronger. "It's like pins and needles." He whispered to himself. He felt an ability enter his mind. He pictured a stat screen.

Human

Core level: Colorless

Level: 0

Abilities: Revival

Revival: Use 5 Ultrasouls on reviving a Ultrabeast of the same core level and rank. Revived Ultrabeasts are entirely loyal and sapient.

Atlas looked at the ability for less than a second before he quickly stood. His little whisper had made him a target for a large beetle the size of his head.

It buzzed loudly as it zipped inbetween the branches of the layers of the jungle. Atlas steadied himself on the branch and slammed his shield into the bug and swung his sword. It pinged off of his shield and got cut by the blade.

Atlas frowned as he looked at the gash in the bugs carapace. It still lived and quickly flew towards Atlas once more. He would've thought that would kill the bug. "First claw."

Atlas ducked and sliced the bug clean in half. 'I cannot underestimate anything right now. I need to hurry home as soon as possible.' He thought.

'Level 1E White Spotted Weevil killed. No Ultrasoul gained.'

A voice said in his head. It was disorienting having the Ultraverse speak directly into his head. In fact he didn't like it one bit. The bugs carcass fell the hundreds of feet to the ground and was promptly gobbled up by some scavengers.

Atlas shook his head and looked around. He was put in a particularly dangerous part of the jungle. He had not heard of the jungle swarming with so many beasts. Sensing he wasn't in direct danger he focused on pulling up his stats. It was interesting hearing about how his stat screen would work in the academy and how it looked so different as to what he imagined.

It was just essentially a screen that held information. He thought it would've been cooler for some reason. Both his level and core level were to be expected. Core levels were groupings for general strength levels. Levels 0-24 were colorless, 25-49 were red cores, 50-75 were orange so on.

Once things crossed the core levels they would gain a large increase in strength as well as new abilities. Levels were steps in between the core levels that still had a large impact on strength. As for Atlas' ability? It was essentially useless at the moment. An Ultrasoul had about a 1/10 chance of being given after killing any ultra beast.

They could be anything from ropes to swords to guns that could be manifested in a thought. They would have the same level, grade, and core level as the beast killed. Grades were something only things native to the Ultraverse would be given. Atlas was human and would not have one.

But grades were essentially the quality of the Ultra beast. For example the Weevil was E grade because it lacked any sort of ability or strong body. The snake was also E grade but on the higher end. The frog however was D grade because of its ability to produce powerful poison. The grades go E, D, C, B, A. Levels aren't always conducive to what would win in a fight.

Technique, intellect, abilities, and grades were all contributors to the winner of a battle. Atlas felt the hairs on his neck rise and looked up. A centipede 10 feet long was rapidly descending the trunk charging towards Atlas. "Oh I don't love that." Atlas lunged to the side off the branch to avoid a spray of acid from the beasts mouth. He free fell through the air and blocked another spray of acid with his shield. It melted the metal and a small droplet grazed his skin. He bit his tongue and held back a scream. 'Shit.'