Xylor[1]

Huff… huff… The only sound that could be heard was my own ragged breathing as I sat down, drenched in sweat, gripping the wooden shaft of my spear. My arms burned from the intense training session, and my legs felt like lead, barely able to move. It had been two weeks since we arrived on Xylor, a planet far from Earth, and each day was more exhausting than the last.

Xylor was unlike anything I had ever seen before. The sky was permanently yellow, as if the entire world was stuck in a sunset, yet there was no sun visible in the sky—only a soft, eerie glow that provided light. There were no clouds, no stars at night, just an endless golden hue stretching across the horizon. The air was thick and heavy, making each breath feel like I was inhaling through a damp cloth, but it was strangely energizing.

The landscape was dominated by colossal trees, their trunks wide enough to build houses inside. Their leaves were metallic silver, reflecting the golden sky, making the entire forest shimmer like liquid gold under the wind. The grass beneath my feet was soft yet resilient, giving off a faint blue luminescence when stepped on, leaving temporary glowing footprints behind.

Despite its beauty, there was something unnerving about this world—its emptiness. There were no people, no civilizations, just the sound of distant rustling from unseen creatures. When I asked Silia about it, she told me that 80% of the planet was barren land, while the remaining 20% was covered in water, home to the only known intelligent species of this world. These beings lived deep under the surface, in cities submerged beneath the endless ocean. I had no interest in finding them—I was here for one thing only: to get stronger.

Building Our Shelter

When we first arrived, Silia didn't waste any time. With just one point of her finger, she formed a house out of nothing—a massive hollow cube made of dark, unknown material. It was plain, dull, and lifeless, barely resembling a home. It had no doors, no windows, just an empty space to live in. But with some effort, I helped reshape it, expanding the walls and carving out rooms, corridors, and even a balcony overlooking the vast land below.

We built it at the peak of a mountain, far above the forests, because Xylor was home to terrifying creatures. Even though Silia could kill them with a flick of her hand, their sheer size and ferocity made my skin crawl. I wasn't strong enough to fight them—not yet.

The Training Plan

We devised an intense training schedule:

1. Weapon Mastery: I would train with seven different weapons—one per week.

2. Combat & Strength Training: Every evening, I would spar with Silia and do intensive strength training.

3. Mana Control: Every night, I would meditate and absorb mana, trying to refine my control.

4. Special Pills: Silia gave me golden pills to take daily for four years, designed to increase my mana capacity significantly.

Even though my school device still worked and allowed me to check my stats, it had no access to the internet. For the next five years, I would be completely disconnected from Earth. But that was fine. I had a simple plan—to increase my mana and reach S-rank, then return to Earth and buy the strongest skills possible.

For six months, I trained relentlessly, but my rank barely changed.

It was frustrating.

The First Hunt

Seeing my stagnation, Silia proposed a new method—real combat experience. She suggested that I hunt Xylor's creatures, and she would only intervene if my life was in danger.

I agreed.

We ventured deep into the shimmering forest, the metallic leaves reflecting golden light. Silia shrank herself to a small size and perched on my shoulder, whispering knowledge about the planet's plants and creatures as we moved.

Then, we heard a sound.

Silia jumped onto a tree and looked down at me. "Your test starts now," she said.

I turned and saw it—a massive black rabbit with four glowing eyes, two large and two small, scanning the area cautiously. Other than its size and extra eyes, it looked identical to a normal rabbit.

I reached for my bracelet, and in a flash of light, a bow and arrows materialized in my hands. I took aim, my heartbeat steady, and released an arrow—

—But the rabbit vanished.

In the blink of an eye, it appeared behind me, and before I could react—

BOOM!

The creature exploded into a million bloody pieces, drenching me in its thick, sticky blood.

Behind the corpse stood Silia, looking annoyed.

"You are weak and slow," she sighed.

I gritted my teeth. She was right.

One Year Later

After a year of training, I slowly became more efficient at hunting.

I started from the weakest creatures, barely larger than normal animals, before progressing to more dangerous beasts.

One day, I ventured into the forest alone for the first time.

Silia would still watch from afar, but this was my moment—I had to prove myself.

I moved through the dense foliage, scanning for threats. Then, I saw it—a monkey-like creature perched on a tree, eating something that looked like a giant blue severed hand.

Its arms were unnaturally long, its teeth razor-sharp.

I tapped my bracelet, summoning a sniper rifle into my hands. Hiding behind a tree, I activated my Research Art: Biometric X-Ray.

My vision shifted—I could now see through the creature's body.

One heart, one brain—but something else caught my eye. A red spot on its right shoulder—an injury, or a weak point.

I took a deep breath, lined up the shot—

BANG!

The bullet pierced its shoulder, and the monkey let out a piercing scream, its glowing red eyes snapping toward me.

It lunged.

BANG! BANG!

Two more shots.

The monkey crashed onto the forest floor, lifeless.

I approached cautiously, and my sniper rifle vanished, replaced by a butcher's knife.

I sliced through its chest, removing a piece of its heart—monkey hearts were valuable, known to increase agility and speed when consumed.

Instead of eating it raw, I handed it to Silia, who prepared a soup out of it and made copies for future use.

After finishing my meal, I tapped on my device to check my stats:

Artic = C-ranked

Strength = C-ranked

Intelligence = D-ranked

Agility = D-ranked

Perception = C-ranked

Vitality = C-ranked

As usual, my stats had shifted.

I sighed.

Looking up at the endless yellow sky, I wondered—

"Did the others get stronger too?"