PenguinKills
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Chapter 130 - Return to Earth
🕑 Added 2024-09-09 20:00:08 +0000 UTCThe feeling of being teleported washed over me once more and I could feel my anticipation rising. We were finally going to see what the Earth had turned into. We were finally going home.
I had to shield my eyes from the glaring sun as I took everything in around me. Lily and Anna appeared right in front of me looking around much the same as I was, just like how we left. Others appeared simultaneously and soon, the backyard was filled with what remained of my family.
Backyard was a strong word to describe what I was seeing.
It wasn't really a backyard anymore. The house was mostly gone, vines and plant matter grown in, around, and through the building. Walls knocked over from either weather or animals and left to rot and sink into the dirt.
The structure itself looked rotted through and nearly finished decomposing entirely. It looked like decades had passed rather than only three months. That was just what was left of the house, the plants were the main feature that changed.
The grass was a wild mess, reaching higher than Anna was tall. Trees, bushes, shrubs, and grass dominated the landscape in places they hadn't before. The concrete of the driveway and paving stones around the yard had plants growing through it, leaving it cracked and in disarray.
Bugs sounded out in the new environment we were placed. It was closer to the wilds than the curated backyard we had left.
Earthy scents mixed with plants. Greenery and humidity. All of it solidified the change in my mind.
It didn't even smell the same.
We had our expectations of course, but this... this was outside of them.
"Alright, gather up! Make sure everyone is here!" Abigail's authoritative voice sounded out.
With a quick count, all of us were accounted for, down to the last child.
Before we got any further organization done, materials and equipment began to appear around us. Huge piles of metal and stone, crystals and gems. Some gear was strewn around as well. Booklets stacked neatly on the ground along with other treasures.
In the center of it all, a pylon hovered just above the grass, visible to all. It was easily seen but it could also be felt. It had something magical about it making us aware that it was there, like a magical beacon alerting us of where it was.
All of the things we had spent our reward points on.
I had been trying to be more leader-ly and I took this time to make good on that effort.
"Alright, Hal and Austin, get to scouting. Brayden, Vinny, and Allison get working on preliminary defenses. Rachel, keep a magical ear to the ground so nothing can sneak up on us." My voice carried to everyone near. "Everyone else, gather and sort the prizes or help out where they can."
I still found it odd to order around my family but working on pre-determined assignments made it easier. We had planned what we were going to do upon our return already and all I had to do was voice it.
We weren't sure how hostile the environment was going to be so our priorities were scouting and getting at least some defenses up. They wouldn't be permanent walls and fortifications or anything, but something quick and easy to at least give us cover.
While everyone broke away to take care of their tasks, I went to grab the prize that was calling to me. It was inside of a carved wooden box but I could feel the power inside leaking out.
The power of the Arctic.
It was the treasure that was going to upgrade my affinity. I wouldn't be able to take it now but I wanted to keep it on me. It was the most expensive of my purchases and I didn't want it out of arm's length from me.
The rest of what I purchased stayed waiting to be sorted. The Map of North America, Northern Winds Body Refining Technique for Body of Stone, Stars of Primordial Frost Mana Cultivation Technique, the Ring Storing the Hill, and the Rare metals and crystals for Formations could wait for now.
The metals and crystals would have to wait until we set down roots at the place we planned to build our city. The Ring would wait until then as well. The booklets would be useful when I had the free time to read them. Most likely seeing use along the long journey no doubt.
The Map would be getting the soonest use when we got around to planning our journey North. Then the Fruit of the Arctic would be next. Giving me one last bump before we headed out into the unknown.
While everyone went about their tasks, I got to the heavy lifting. I had the most strength out of everyone and I used it to hasten the building of our 'camp.' Quick chopping of trees with a conjured frosty axe and laying them along a perimeter.
Brayden came through and solidified them with his skills, making them anchor to each other and the ground. Vinny pounded nails through the wood with ease, moving along the quickly erected berm of tree trunks.
Allison set some traps in the area for both detection and alarm. They weren't lethal in nature but used to alert us of anything coming.
That part was beginning to worry me. I half expected a warzone of animals fighting each other upon our return but it turned out nothing like that.
There hadn't been a critter in sight yet. Without having a chance to examine the maps I had bought I couldn't confirm, but I assumed we were in a low point for mana density which made the beasts scarce.
A lucky break after the months we had been through.
While we worked with haste, Austin and Hal came jogging back into camp. Both came up to me with their findings. I thought Abigail was the better option but I wasn't going to tell them to leave.
"Nothing of any significance in the North and East. The highest level I saw was in the 30's, barely in F-Rank." Hal said.
"Same here. South and West look clear with around the same levels." Austin said.
I nodded at the information. It was unexpectedly turning out well. Refraining from voicing that sentiment out of fear of jinxing it, I looked to Abigail to see if my job here was done.
We planned for me to stay until it was deemed safe. With our initial surroundings scouted and nothing dangerous found, we were as safe as we could be.
Abigail nodded, not giving permission, per se, but agreeing with my conclusion and acknowledging I would be leaving.
"Alright, keep scouting farther out. I doubt there will be a huge jump in levels but it's people I worry about this time." I said.
People had proved to be both good and bad in our tutorial and we had to watch out for them just as much as the beasts we would encounter.
My grandparents' house was mostly isolated without many other houses near it, but we weren't that far away from the city. Even if every tutorial only had 10% of the planet survive like ours, we would run into people eventually.
The nearest city was a good 20 to 30 minute drive and that was with roads. I had no idea how long it would take now. Too many things changed to make a good estimate. Speed, terrain, distance, almost everything was altered in some way.
With my job finished, I grabbed the Map from the sorted piles and searched for where we were.
There were no markers for Cities or towns, nor roads and highways. The only thing it showed was Rivers and Oceans along with Mountains, the natural landmarks. The topography was shown to measure altitude but that meant little to me.
I knew the surrounding area from a driving standpoint. To take this exit off the highway, to turn right on this street. Not which way was uphill or downhill, the slope of the ground I was driving on.
Hills were easy to remember, but those changed. The entire landscape changed.
Direction was the only thing I could depend on. My parent's house was Northeast of where I currently was and that was the only thing I had to go on.
I was lucky the remnants of civilization were still around and I could make out certain landmarks but it wouldn't be as straightforward as before.
My initial perusal of the Map made me dazed. If I hadn't had a purpose to fulfill, I would have spent a while going over all of the changes but I didn't have time for that.
I needed to get to my parent's house as quickly as possible.
The map only showed what I assumed was North America. The shape had been altered and the telltale signs were harder to spot. The Florida Peninsula had broken off and become a series of connected Islands. Mexico was deformed in odd ways I couldn't pinpoint.
The coastline had been altered and didn't look the same as before, making state borders impossible to discern. Even the border between the US and Canada had changed, stretching in some places and scrunching in others.
All maps from before would have to be thrown out the changes were so bad.
The US and Mexico border was still visible and that was only because of the River delineating it. The Rio Grande still marking the two countries apart. The Great Lakes did the same up North but it wasn't as clear as the River.
Based on topography, the Mountains had been irrevocably altered. Those stood out the most compared to the other changes. They were huge. The lines marking their rise were so close together that they looked like thick bars rather than the thin topography lines elsewhere.
Both the Rocky Mountains and the Appalachian Mountains. The Rocky's damn near split the country in half. Spanning from deep into Mexico running all the way into Canada. They were altered from what I remembered, much taller and wider than before.
Mysteries for how that worked had to wait because I focused on the area familiar to me.
Anyone from Ohio, or most of the Midwest for that matter, knew how to locate based off of the Great Lakes. The 5 giants were the biggest landmarks that were visible on any map of the area. Noting Lake Erie, before narrowing it down further once the curves of the Ohio River became noticeable.
With the borders of State and Country gone, I had to go off of what was still there. Finding where I was confirmed we were in a lower mana density area than other parts of the map. The mountains were a deep blue in color, the gradient signifying density damn near glowed as the Mountains grew more prominent.
Without a map of the globe, I couldn't pick out the highest area of density but there were multiple hotspots that I could see just in North America.
Mountains, the convergence of the Great Lakes, spots along the coast, and different areas inland, all had the deep blue marking hotspots of high mana density. From what I could count there were dozens of spots where mana converged and rose sharply in density.
The types were all different as well. Water, Wind, Earth, and Fire were the most common but there were other tones of color marking different ones. Lightning was a flash of purple along with a different one that I thought meant Storm.
One was an eerie teal that gave off an uncomfortable feeling even though it was only a map. That one was near what I thought was Virginia.
All of that wasn't what mattered right now. Not even the deep Icy Blue of the Far North was enough to draw my attention away.
I spent a few more minutes deciphering the map before I began sprinting Northeast. The tutorial demanded that survival skills be learned and they came in handy now.
Which way was North was almost instinctual by now.
As I ran, the scenery that passed by became more and more different. Our house seemed to be one of the better off. Others were broken into pieces or collapsed into rubble. Some I knew had once been there were completely gone.
The road was the most derelict.
It was in chunks, plants reclaiming the area along with odd stretches of dirt in-between the ruined concrete. Most likely from the expansion of the Earth.
I had been told that the Earth had grown but it wasn't until I saw the effects with my own eyes that it gave a better picture. Distance was hard to judge now with stats and the walking speed not being the same, but seeing the road broken apart and some houses sheared in two from the expansion made it clear.
We weren't told the exact extent the Earth had grown, but it was predicted to double, if not more.
The Grade of the planet would determine its size and we were unable to purchase that information from the store. Or if we were, didn't have a high enough pylon to do so.
The Grade of the Planet would determine a lot of things and not knowing was... uncomfortable.
It dictated how high level the beasts of the planet would get and that was something I needed to know.
The grade came from the Planetary Core that sat at the heart of the Earth. It spewed out both mana and essence from the core, saturating the planet in both, giving life to the creatures and plants.
The grades came from the Ranks of classes. It directly correlated to how high a level you could reach on a specific planet.
C-Grade planets would only have the mana and essence levels to sustain C-Ranks. B-Grade would only have B-ranks.
There were exceptions, obviously, but that was the general rule. If a person murdered everything on a planet over and over again they would eventually outrank the planet they were on but that was a waste of effort.
It was far easier to travel to a different planet of a higher Grade to continue to grow. You could nurture the Planetary Core and grow it in Grade, but that was a costly endeavor. Only the richest factions did something like that.
That meant if I continued growing I would eventually have to leave, but that wouldn't come for a while yet. Without the waves of beasts delivering experience-no-essence at my door, getting through E-rank was going to take longer.
And D-rank even longer than that.
On average in the multiverse, between all the different races and peoples, it took anywhere from half a year to 5 years to get through E-rank. Depending on how often you fought and if there were dungeons you could frequent.
D-rank was 25 to 50 years. C-rank was 100 to... well, a lot.
That was why dungeons were so fiercely fought over. Having one would have your growth closer to the lower bound compared to the higher one.
Growing without a dungeon could be done but it was harder. Finding things to hunt took longer and beasts of a certain level were more spread out. You could also collect the essence in the air but that was both boring and slow, requiring a different technique than normal hunting.
The time it took to climb the ranks went up the higher you went and lifespan increased with it.
Based on the map, there were a few dungeons near us but they were sparse. There definitely weren't enough for everyone and there would be fighting for ownership.
The closest one was to the Southwest, along the Ohio River and a good march away, and was in the opposite direction I was going.
I began to see more animals and beasts that populated the grassy plains and clusters of trees but nothing too high level. One neared E-rank but was still a way off.
It eased my mind a little that we wouldn't be thrown out of the pan and into the fire. We would be given a chance to rest. To recover before preparing for the trip.
But first, there were some people to pick up. My Mother and Brother to start before the others would go for their extended family. Jonathan had his parents he wanted to check in on and other in-laws needed to get theirs.
Some were shit out of luck with family on the other side of the country and they had to come to terms with that. Some would be crushed when they couldn't find who they were looking for.
I was hoping that wouldn't be me.
Comments
Alexander C Hyde
The (Rockies’)Rocky's damn near split the country in half.
Alexander C Hyde
I needed to get to my (parents’)parent's house as quickly as possible.
Alexander C Hyde
Even if every tutorial only had 10% of the (population)planet survive like ours, we would run into people eventually.
PWeygandt
Oh, for sure. I just thought that the way that it was done was well executed.
PWeygandt
That makes sense. The aide to the Fire Sovereign (maybe the other God?) Had mentioned that most tutorials were not as deadly. I mainly want to see what his Mom and Brother have become and see if their affinities are also water/ice related
Demonlord
Thanks for the nice chapter 😊 I hope his mom and brother are fine and I think probably all other tutorials were far less deadly... Probably all the monsters around are high level for them but not for our group because of the significantly harder tutorial resulting in higher levels for the survivors...
James Faulkner
Tftc!! I wonder if next chapter will be from his brother’s perspective reacting to him showing up at the house lol
PWeygandt
I'm so glad there was no break between the books 😭 lots of exposition and explanation in this chapter but I think it's good and helpful to get it all right now as he is running. That way, we can focus on the story more in the future!
Robert King
tftc!
Maxime Cusson
Thanks for the chapter :D
