Octavius sat in the darkness of the underground burrow. The cool, stuffy air languidly flowed around him as he prodded at his cracked rib. Even though he had barely stopped moving over the dozen hours that had passed since his injury, it had already healed completely. Although he couldn't see in the darkness, he was sure that even the bruise that had covered his side was now gone.

He exhaled slowly and paused before breathing in the cool air. Even though the underground burrow was stuffy and filled with the metallic scent of blood, it was incredibly refreshing compared to the arid heat above him.

As he relaxed, he let his mind turn to what he was going to do. He had many hours to wait until the sun finally set over the forest and was determined to come up with a plan of action before he left the safety of the burrow.

Alright, so my primary objective is to return to Earth, he reasoned, The problem is that I don't even know where to start looking for a way to do that. I know that the thralls somehow managed to leave this planet and go to the tutorial with the Realm Anchor, so they have some means of interuniversal travel.

After some thought, it became clear that he would have to continue his journey toward civilization. He could probably survive in the alien forest for a long while, but that wouldn't get him anywhere closer to his goal of returning to Earth. Now the question became how he should go about entering the civilization of the planet that he found himself stranded on. He cast his mind back to everything he knew about the thralls.

Well, Dominic told me that the civilization is ruled by the so-called Pale Ones. Beyond that, it's a safe assumption that these Pale Ones have enslaved the thralls and perhaps other alien species as well. Trying to deal with a civilization of magical slavers doesn't exactly sound safe.

"Damn," he muttered when he realized that he'd most likely have to sneak into their territory. His speech skill would, in all likelihood, allow him to understand the language they spoke, but reading it would be another thing entirely. That ruled out the use of signs and other forms of markers.

I'm going to have to play it by ear, he decided with a good deal of worry. After all, whoever the Pale Ones were, they were able to enslave someone as strong as Kzedr, and Kzedr had managed to take him down like he was a scrawny recruit.

He sighed as his eyes traced the darkness of the underground burrow. The trip to the mountains wouldn't take much longer, barely a few hours at most. Once there, he would hopefully find some form of civilization. If not, he'd have to find a way to reach one of the floating spires. Either way, he'd have to find a new place to shelter for the day.

If he was going to travel all night and then sneak into some form of unknown civilization, he'd need to be well-rested. He laid back against the cool dirt of the burrow and closed his eyes.

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Octavius's eyes snapped open and were met with utter darkness. His heart raced as his hand lashed out for his spear. His fingers closed around, and he suddenly realized where he was. With a grunt, his head fell back against the dirt floor of the burrow, and he began to calm his racing heart.

After a moment, he sat up again, only this time in a much more relaxed manner. He inhaled deeply, feeling the cold, metallic scented air fill his lungs. For a moment, he considered accepting the Cloak of the Great Huntsman as his reward. His throat was incredibly dry, and he knew that it wouldn't be long before he gained the dehydration status effect.

After a moment, he decided against it. He would cook the meat from the alien animal he'd butchered and see where things stood. There was little chance that a beast of its level had begun to decay over the course of however long he had slept, it might be infested with all forms of alien diseases and bacteria. No matter what, he'd have to cook it before consuming any part of the alien creature.

With a grunt, he heaved himself up to a low crouch and began to work his way around the wall of the burrow. His hand ran along the dirt wall before the wall gave way in the complete darkness. Getting on his hands and knees, he began to climb up the gentle incline of the tunnel.

After a long minute, he approached the surface. With no other way to tell the time, he'd have to just keep checking the sky until the sun went down. He rounded the final bend in the spiral and flinched from the sudden brightness. Blinking repeatedly, he waited for his eyes to adjust to the light.

A dozen seconds later, he was able to see clearly. The sky was a gentle blue of varying shades that reminded him of the sky back on Earth. Crawling out from the burrow, he looked up.

The massive white sun was still well above the horizon, but it was close enough for the cool colors of the planet's sunset to begin. The trees had yet to release their black leaves, but he guessed that they would soon enough. Even the darkest part of the sky was a deep violet color that blocked the view of the stars high above. There were only the barest wisps of clouds blocking his view of the alien sunset.

Even with the sun setting, however, the dry heat of the day remained. After having rested in the cool burrow and with the sun so low in the sky, it was not nearly as oppressive as it had been that morning. Still, he decided that he would wait for another half-hour before setting out.

Sighing, he turned and crawled back down into the burrow. His skin itched from the blood, grime, and dust that caked it, but there was nothing to be done for it. As he reached the bottom of the coiling tunnel, he used some mana to cast shadow sense over the small area.

With his magical sight, he was able to see the burrow clearly. Moving forward, he began to gather all of his things. The process of putting on his damaged armor was slow and tedious within the confined space of the burrow, but he knew that it was necessary. After all, despite the forest's apparent lack of life during the day, at night, it would be teeming with life.

As the last piece of the black carapace armor was strapped to his forearm, he moved toward the meat of the beast that he'd killed. He eyed the bloodstained cloth under it and decided to leave it for the time being. If he wanted to cook the beast, he'd need a fire. That meant that it was the optimal time for him to start building it.

As soon as night fell, the flames would attract every living creature that could see or even smell. During the late hours of the day, however, it would be easier for him to hide the light of its flame. The low light would also make it easier to hide the smoke of the fire, but that would become obsolete as soon as the trees spread their dense leaves across the sky.

Grabbing the cloth that covered the large piece of alien meat, he awkwardly began to drag it up the tunnel. The process took multiple minutes, but soon he had reached the surface. Looking around, he found the white-colored bark of a fallen tree twenty feet away. He jogged over to it and quickly lifted it.

The tree was about eight inches in diameter and nine or so feet tall but weighed less than he thought it would. Maybe it's the lack of water in the area?

He didn't know the reason for its weight, but he did know that he could lift it easily enough. The process of carrying it over to the burrow was slow and awkward as he weaved between the various still-standing trees that filled the forest.

As soon as he reached the entrance to the tunnel, he set the log down. Working quickly, he dug a hole a foot from the base of the nearby tree. Next, he drew his long knife and hacked various sized pieces of wood from the log that he'd carried over.

The process of building the fire was quick and efficient from there, and he finished just as the blue and purple sky was blocked out by the black-colored leaves of the trees. The change began just as the white sun reached the treetops on the distant horizon. A mere few seconds and a rustle of movement later, the black leaves had exited the safety of the branches and filled the sky.

Octavius smiled; he knew that the smoke from his fire would be spread by the dense leaves. Any creature that looked at the forest from the mountain would now have a hard time spotting the fire, especially because it was built with a tree directly blocking their view. He knew that the effect wouldn't last for long, however. As soon as the night truly began in half an hour, the glow of the flames would become impossible to miss.

Working quickly, he sliced thin pieces of meat and set them to cook over the fire. He left them to become nearly burnt before removing them. Once he was satisfied that any and all bacteria and parasites were dead, he removed his meal from the fire and dug into it with relish.

The taste was plain, and its texture was chewy. Objectively, the meal was far from appetizing. However, to Octavius, who hadn't eaten in well over a day, it was delicious. What he especially enjoyed was its moistness. He'd entirely expected the meat to be dry, but in reality, it was far from that.

He continued to cook thin slices of the meat for the next fifteen minutes before he decided that he'd eaten enough and that it was getting too dark. Using his hands, he shoveled dirt over the embers until they were no longer visible.

Moving quickly back to the burrow, he tied the bloodsoaked cloth to his belt and retrieved the rest of his meager belongings. Once he was ready to set out, he climbed the nearest tree. With the direction of the mountains in mind, he set off at a run, making sure to move in a wide circle around the alien's butchered carcass.

The warm air flowed over him as he ran, but it was nothing compared to the mind-numbing heat of the day. Night fell on Cadila, and the forest seemed to awake. He heard small and large creatures alike moving through the forest, though he only caught the barest glimpses of them. Whether that was because his movements were driving them away or that they were just wary of him, he didn't know.

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By the time that he reached the base of the nearest mountain, only a few hours had passed. The transition from the rolling hills of the forest to the stone mountains was sharp and obvious. The ground began to climb upward at a high angle and only the barest patches of dirt remained on top of the exposed stone.

As he peered up the mountain, he realized that there were only a few trees dotted along the face of it. The vast majority of the mountain was either bare or covered in the low bushes and hardy grey-colored grasses.

Ok, now that I've reached the mountain, where do I go from here? he wondered, Obviously toward the three peaks with the floating islands above them, but what route to take?

He peered into the star-filled sky until he found the three floating islands high above. Following them down, he found the three tallest mountain peaks. The closest one was rather close by, maybe an hour's trip with his superhuman agility and strength.

Moving to the side, he set off a run around the base of the nearest mountain. The ground under him sloped upward, but not enough for his boots to lose their grip on the packed dirt. Turning to the left, he started up the mountain.

Octavius found the process of climbing between the two nearest peaks so that he could pass them extremely enjoyable. The higher he climbed, the more cool air blew against his face. Although his superhuman stamina prevented him from getting tired, he still felt like he was exercising.

As he crested the rise that connected the two mountain peaks on either side of him, he peered up toward the floating islands. Lights sparkled across them, and he wondered what they were like. It was obvious that they were inhabited by someone or something, but he didn't know what it was like inside.

The pure fantastical view of islands of stone floating in the air due to magic on an alien planet made the teenager inside of him nearly jump with glee. Even with the danger that was no doubt to come, he felt excitement thrumb through his body.

Taking care with every footstep, he started down toward the shallow valley between the mountain that he stood on and his destination. Now that he was closer to them, he was able to see how truly large the floating islands were. They were all just about the same size, maybe a half a mile in diameter and three times that in height.

The stars illuminated the path for him as he reached the bottom of the valley and looked up toward the towering mountain peak before him. He was just about to start up again when movement caught his eye. Halfway up the mountain, there was a large alcove hidden in shadow.

It was over a hundred feet in height and pitch-black. The vast distance spanning between Octavius and the shadowed recess prevented him from using his shadow sense spell, but he still stopped and tried to peer into it. He was sure that he'd seen movement at its base.

There! he shouted in his mind as a pinprick of light appeared for a single instant before vanishing once more, What the hell is that?

He waited for another five minutes for the light to appear again but was met with no change at all. After a moment's thought, he decided to set out toward the alcove. He'd been looking for civilization, and there was a good chance that he just found it.

This time moving with far greater care for stealth, he started toward it. The stone mountain face was steep enough that he was forced to use his hands as well as his feet to carry himself up its surface. After fifteen minutes, he reached a place a few hundred feet below the alcove and peered up at it.

Leading up to it was a sheer rock face that stretched far to either side of him. If he wanted to reach the recessed area that was where he'd the flash of light come from, he would have to climb the stone wall the old fashioned way.

Without hesitation, he patted his hands on his pants to dry them from the sweat that coated them and started his climb. His hands felt along the sheer rock face for a handhold before grabbing them and carrying himself upward. To avoid falling from the mountain, he climbed slowly and carefully.

Fifteen minutes later, his fingers curled over the edge of the alcove, and he pulled himself up just enough to peer over the ledge. He was greeted by a wall of near-impenetrable darkness filling his field of view, only now he was close enough to use his shadow sense spell.

He knew that using the spell on the entirety of the recessed alcove would use far too much mana. So, instead, he only used it on a small portion of the shadows across the stone ground.

As the information flooded his mind, he slowly moved the shadows under his control forward. The process of mapping out the lower portion of the alcove was slow, but he only ended up using a little less than a hundred mana to do so.

As he finished, however, he found himself annoyed. The alcove was entirely made of stone without any clear entrances into the mountain nor any signs of life. The only things of note were a series of perfectly flat circles across the far wall. They were arranged in a series of rows, with each one being a dozen feet around. He could guess that they were doors of some sort, but he didn't know what they were for, nor how he could open them.

He was suddenly drawn from his thoughts when one of the circles flowed outward from its center and light spilled into the alcove.