Empirical Survival System: Return to the Enchanted Planet - Chapter 1 Back to Earth.

Aiden ducked as he avoided the kick by an inch. Aiden reached for the other leg, but the man was quicker. The leg that had missed its mark came crashing down on the Aiden’s head.

Even before he could attack, Aiden had to roll away. The heel made a hole on the floor but it repaired itself before the boy could lift his leg.

*Clap* *Clap*

“That’s enough of that, Levi. You too, Aiden.”

“Yes, Captain.” Both Levi and Aiden responded in unison.

“Oh! Man. I was so close.” Levi complained, putting his hand around Aiden. “Next time. I will get you.”

‘You’ve been nowhere close! If anyone could touch me, it would be Alex.’ Even though Aiden wasn’t the strongest of fighters, but was the most agile one. Still, he had felt that with each fight Alex’s moves were becoming harder to dodge. ‘The captain is the perfect specimen, as they say.’

‘PADS, show me the result of the battle.’ With Aiden’s thought, the band on his neck blinked twice before arrays of data appeared in front of his eyes.

It wasn’t a cheating system like Aiden had read in the novel between his training, but it was the most advanced product of the federation.

Named ‘Personal Assessment and Development System’. In short, it’s known as PADS. Not many of the top leaders had one. It wasn’t that Aiden was someone important, but because he was on the mission he was given one.

Aiden was born in the mana slums of Luyten B which was renamed as Planet Will. It was right outside the 20 human strongholds on the planet.

No, it wasn’t dangerous to live on the planet. The planet was just perfect for humans, and not many beasts could threaten the existence of a human being. Humans live in many cities on the planet but those fortresses were standing there for a different purpose.

Like Earth, Planet Will have places with extreme weather conditions. And Desert Base 3 stood in one of those places. They cultivate humans who could overcome extreme mana poisoning and become a legendary sorcerer. The soldiers of the new era.

“What are you dreaming about? Take your seat “Alex’s words woke him up.

“I’m sorry Captain.” Aiden scratched his head. Others had already taken their place.

Aiden was greeted by Elijah’s smile. She pointed to the seat beside her, and Aiden accepted it with a smile.

“And we’re all here,” Alex’s voice was intense. “In less than two hours, we will reach Earth. Let’s get through the drill again.

Accepting everyone’s nod, Alex began, ” Alex. Water. Level 3, grade B. Captain.”

“Lyla. Fire. Level 3, Grade E. Vice-Captain.” The red-haired girl answered next.

“Elijah. Wind. Level 3, Gade E. First officer”

“Levi. Earth. Level 2, Grade S. Second Officer.”

“Asher. Fire. Level 2, Grade S.” There was no designation for the boy named Asher. It’s not just him, none of the next three had one.

“Aiden. Wind. Level 2, Grade A.”

“Sara. Water. Level 2, Grade A.”

“Owen. Earth. Level 2, Grade B.”

“Can’t you try a little harder, Owen? Even Sara had become Grade A. “Levi grumbled unhappily. Owen evaded his glare and looked down.

“Levi. Stop it.” They were stopped by Alex but he did not forget to scold Owen, “Owen. While you’re on the field, don’t hold back the team.”

Owen agreed without looking up, but Alex wasn’t done, “It isn’t just him. When you make an error, be ready to accept your punishment.”

“Yes, Captain” Their voice resonated with each other.

Alex pounded on the table as a small compartment opened in front of each of them. “This is the PADS-X. Military edition, state of the art, 0.3 fs response speed, along with auto repair, combat assist and sleep protection system. And the dog tag is the key to that. Use blood to bind the system.”

Their eyes were sparkling, staring at the new device. Most of them have even put it on. Aiden glanced at the neckband device. His name had been etched on the body.

“They prefer to use this sort of thing in the past as well.” It wasn’t that Aiden knew a lot about history, but one of the novels he’d read had discussed it.

Alex confirmed his comments, “In the past when there was no Union, there were hundreds of countries out there. They used it to identify the soldiers.”

“But it’s different. On ‘Planet Will’, no matter where you are, the Federation will find you as long as you have the tag on you.” Alex described the feature with pride.

Aiden wasn’t sure about it, but from the rumours, he knew that Alex was one of the heirs of the leading techno enterprise. Yet what was more important to Aiden was, “And on Earth?” ”

” Even with severe mana emissions, it would be 5 km. ”

‘ 5 km? It wasn’t much, but it’s better than nothing.’ He put it on, after dyeing it with his blood. Through the reflection on the large fish ball window of the spacecraft, Aiden confirmed that he could no longer see the invisible neckband.

“Yeah, that’s it. Head to the pod and get some rest. A quick overview of the tasks will be offered to you when you get the mana poisoning shots and everything else.”

“Ok Captain.” Everyone stood up and moved toward their stasis pod.

‘1:42:21’ The number continued to decline in the left corner of his view. Thinking about it, Aiden couldn’t help but sigh. From the mana slum to the top of the Desert Base 3. Now he’s hours away from the birthplace of mankind.

“You’re going to age quicker if you sigh too much.” Aiden turned to be greeted by Elijah, “Can I talk to you for a moment?”

“Of course.” Aiden chuckled.

“Can you believe that? “Elijah asked, gazing out at the dark space. “We’ve been working with each other for 10 years, and now we’re here.”

‘Huh! She’s thinking about the same thing.’ Aiden’s grin grew wider, “Yeah, you were just 8 then, I was six.’

A sudden pinch greeted Aiden, “Don’t mention the age of a girl.” Listening to her, Aiden couldn’t contain his grin, and she giggled.

Somewhere in between, she squeezed Aiden’s side, “Aiden, I’m scared.”

“What a 3E grade mage would be afraid of.” Aiden added a moment later, “I’d say I’m going to defend you, but I’m just a 2A grade mage.”

Aiden was confronted by a pair of stern eyes at the next moment. She was trying to save her hand from his grasp, but it failed. One sudden tug sent her in the embrace of Aiden.

“Then again, my battle rating is higher than you. So I will protect you.” Aiden whispered in the ear of struggling Elijah. After a moment of struggle, she calmed down and returned the warmth.

“We’re running out of time. So if you two lovebirds could stop wasting time, it would have been easier.”

As soon as Alex’s words rang in his ear, a sudden push from Elijah sent Aiden to his butt. Elijah backed away from them while hiding her ashamed face.

Gripping Alex’s palm, Aiden stood up. “Aiden, get yourself ready. We may have to go to war as soon as we land. You can do those things after we return. Ok?”

“Yes, Captain.” Alex avoided poking his soft corner, but it made him more embraced.

“Go quick. Your parents are waiting. It will be harder to get in contact after we cross Saturn.”

Aiden raced back to the stasis capsule. When he stepped in, the pod closed on its own. Lukewarm gel kept wrapping around his body. The next time he opened his eyes, he stood in the green meadow.

Four individuals were standing in front of him. A grey-haired man who looked older than his age, a young woman who had made an unusual pair with an old man. A young girl who stared at him with red eyes, and a little boy who rushed to see him as soon as he appeared.

“Brother, brother. Why are you so late, huh? I’ve been waiting for so long.” The boy, not older than 7, grumbled as he jumped to Aiden.

“Sorry Aaron, your brother’s been a little busy.”

“Aaron, come down. You are so heavy you shouldn’t let your brother carry you.” Looking at her mother Aaron tried to wiggle down but Aiden didn’t let him.

“Come on, mother. It’s a virtual space. I don’t feel any weight.”

“You shouldn’t pamper him too much.” His father grumbled.

Aiden tried to smile, but his conscience was overcome by a sudden blast of pain. The agony was so intense that his leg was giving away.

Even if it was virtual space, Aiden could not let himself fall while holding Aaron. At the time he recovered consciousness, he was already on his knees.

“What happened?”

“Aiden!!”

Waves of worry engulfed him as soon as he recovered, but the girl was the first. “Please don’t go anywhere, brother. Come back here. Please don’t go. “She continued her unfinished crying while embracing Aiden.

‘What are you doing here, Arya?’ His father tried to scream, but he couldn’t. Neither he nor his wife wanted to let their child die.

Ten years ago, when Aiden was selected as a candidate, they were very pleased. Aiden had worked hardest over the years, and they were the ones who had enjoyed the fruits of his success.

It was the culmination of Aiden’s hard work, that he could move from the Mana Slum to become the director of a large business. Even if he were the CEO of a medium-sized business before relocation, no one knows better than him that it would have been difficult without Aiden.

“No, no. I’m alright. I’m going to get my shots. “Aiden spoke as his face twitched in discomfort. Looking at his profile, his mother couldn’t stop herself, hugging her three children.

‘A man shouldn’t weep.’ Even though his father whispered those words in his head, it was hard for him to stop the tears.

“What the hell are you doing? I’m alright. Don’t cry. Signals will be cut as soon as we cross Saturn.” But Aiden’s pleading was in vain, and the humid atmosphere started to affect him as well.

“What the hell are you crying for? The mission will be done in two or three months. We’re going …” Aiden couldn’t finish his sentence when he realized the warm feeling of the embrace disappeared.

Looking up, he found that his family members were just as shocked. His mother attempted to reach his son for the last time but failed as they faded away from his vision.

Aiden collapsed on the green grass as he was enduring the pain of the shots. It took quite a while to get used to the pain, “Today is painful.”

He had no idea if it was the pain or the atmosphere that had affected his tear ducts yet he suffered in silence.

Ignoring the agony, Aiden stood up, “PADS, show me the list of missions.” Aiden was surprised by a lack of response as the grin emerged on his face at the next moment, “PADS-X, show me the list of missions.”

In front of his vision, a massive, transparent screen created from thin air.

***************

“Stay in the formation. Without command, no one is allowed to break away from the formation.” Alex’s voice continued to sound through the PADS. To maximize the survivability they all took separate pod shuttles.

Adian was at the right corner of the rhombus formation. On his left was a shuttle carrying Elijah, whereas Levi was at the front.

Aiden took one last glance at the empty dark space before closing the small window of the pod shuttle.

“What was that?” It was only for a moment, and he was not sure what he had seen.

“What happened?” Alex replied first while others waited for an explanation from Aiden.

“I think a giant head at ten o’clock.”

“Are you sure? We are tens of thousand kilometres above ground.”

“It appeared only for a moment to peek before we plunged into the misty grey cloud.” Even though he wasn’t sure what it was, Aiden was aware of something mysterious being there.

Alex was about to scold him but the first response was from someone else.

“I have seen it too. I’m not sure whether it was head, or not. Yet it jumped.” Lyla supported Aiden’s words.

There was a long silence until Alex sighed. “Let’s…”

“Unknown objects at 1 o’clock. 42 seconds until impact.” Levi shouted as Owen added, “Horde of flying beast at 8 o’clock. Confirmed scan. It is ‘Naked Raven.’”

As soon as he heard it, the system showed a picture at the side of his vision. A 2 meter tall beast with a wingspan of more than 10 meters. Below the giant raven head was a bare chest of a human. Wide black wings stretched out from the shoulders. its body was like a human being, but under its knees were black talons.

‘What sort of mana poisoning has resulted in this kind of beast.’ It wasn’t Aiden’s first time, but it was hard for him to believe.

“We should break,” Lyla said, but Alex didn’t respond.

“23 seconds from contact.”

“31 seconds.” After Owen, Levi added.

“Break up.” Hearing Alex’s scream, Aiden could not help but frown. “Elijah, Levi and Aiden. Land at point C. Rest of you will follow me. Stay there for ten hours and then meet us at Point F.”

“What about Owen?” Levi shouted through the system.

‘From when Levi is so worried about Owen? ‘Aiden was confused, but he didn’t ask.

“LEVI.” Alex’s voice grumbled again. “Follow the order. We’re going to take care of him. Meet us within 24 hours.”

“Roger, Captain.” They broke out with everyone’s confirmation.

Even though Levi was still unwilling, he led the drive, but…

All of a sudden, misty grey clouds cracked in front of their eyes. They could see the green below. But, what they saw at the next moment, sent shivers down their spine.

It’s a skeleton. A skeleton of humans. A giant human skeleton, and it’s still alive. His boney palm was flying towards them, as it was trying to knock them out of the air.

“Nooooo” Levi’s scream thundered through the system as he tried to steer clear from the incoming attack. It was not just him, even Elijah and Aiden were trying to dodge the attack.

Alas! It was too late and the palm was too big. Even before the system could sense the attack all the three pods were knocked out of the sky with a massive impact.