I've elected not to act for myself. No point in training [Leader] if I do everything myself.

The first thing to do is find a nice place to settle down when it becomes nighttime. If it becomes nighttime, we haven't experienced the sun cycle yet. Regardless having someplace safe is a must. Gathering information comes second. The premade home base isn't for us. We could use it (illegally), but I prefer not to use FIB resources since that might bite us later.

We don't need to find a source of fresh water since I have the mana organ handy. The ideal place is a flat peice of land with no insect nests, standing water, or poisonous plants.

"Since I'm using this time to act like a leader and train associated skills, I'm obviously calling the shots. Val and Rai. Scout for a place to settle down since you two are the most agile. Rob will come with you."

"I can scout too if I'm on Speedy." Says Jerry. Speedy is Jerry's horse-sized dragonfly.

[Carnivorous Emerald Dragonfly C lv.122]

"No. We don't know what's lurking in the jungle. You might get snatched off your mount unless you are confident with your own abilities."

"But I am confident. Confident in my beast to keep me safe."

"Sure, then you go too. Come back every half an hour. We aren't finding a new Prime Territories, just something adequate."

"Hey, what did you say about lurking in the jungle? What about our safety?" Says Val.

"Go in pairs then. Be safe instead of efficient. We are looking for a safe place regardless."

"Why don't we camp here?" Arlug piped up.

"We are too close to fracture's exit and, subsequently, the FIB's base. It'll stay empty until we leave the fracture, but let's not use their facilities."

"Then what do I do?"

"Make skeletons, Anabel."

"Right."

It starts raining. It's going to be a long day.

~~~

Khan has been eating the insects. Foot-long mosquito/bat hybrids that want to eat us alive. The ones with blood in them *pop* when Khan gets them.

The smaller ones get killed by Duchess, one way or another. She likes to crush them with her mind.

I don't know if it's a blessing or unfortunate that the insects assaulting us are low-level. They don't get any experience, but at least we aren't getting swarmed by high-level bugs.

Jerry found a place that met all my requirements and then some. A house-size rock sits nearby, and the foliage is relatively bare. With some work, we can have a campsite before it gets dark. The sun does seem to be setting.

The unpaid skeleton workforce starts clearing out the area as the beasts with fire attributes start scorching the ground, killing hidden insects and drying the earth.

Someone gathered firewood during this time. Is a fire worth it? It would be a beacon in the darkness... Perhaps the heavy tree cover would block out enough light where it wouldn't be an issue.

We are a massive group, regardless. A fire wouldn't attract them any more than Khan would. Khan is also a deterrent which might be why we haven't seen any creatures beyond mindless insects.

Do I have to hide Khan so we can hunt? No. Khan's newest evolution gave him a stealth ability.

[Unintentional Stealth C

The user has a specific kind of camouflage where they are hard to detect by all means but sight.

Passively concealed: changes in atmospheric pressure, scent, sound, etc. Those with higher perceptions can still perceive the user with other means besides vision.]

With all this foliage, unless a beast got close enough for us to notice it, they shouldn't have detected Khan. We have been lucky unless this jungle is filled with highly perceptive or stealthy creatures. Nothing more.

Unless they detected the rest of us and decided we weren't the hassle anyways.

I hate fractures that make me ask questions.

The fire crackles. My teammates already eat, consuming some rations they brought before going to sleep. Skeletons are standing guard everywhere. Rob tries to mingle with his fellow undead, but they aren't as animated as he is.

I elected to stay awake anyways. With my exhaustion resistance, I can go days without resting especially if I'm not exerting myself.

The quiet ambiance of the jungle with the crackling fire makes me on guard. I don't like the silence. I feel safe and cozy, which shouldn't be allowed with all the hidden dangers.

Who knows what's hiding in the shadows, waiting to pounce?

I look at the sleeping faces of my teammates. We didn't do anything strenuous, but they were exhausted. Maybe the jungle's humidity is sapping their strength.

I'm purposely not [Martyr]ing for them. I carried them through the tournament and won them a great honor (apparently). I'll chalk it up to curiosity, but I want to see what they can do. How strong are they? They got special training from the highest-ranked institute, so they shouldn't be shit.

My shoulder gets tapped on. Looking over, I see Rai, my "vice-captain."

"What's up?"

He silently points up.

The sky is a canvas of deep blue, speckled with twinkling stars that seem to dance around the moon. I notice a faint trail of light moving across the sky and realize it's a meteor shower. The sky erupts into a stunning display of shooting stars, each leaving a trail of glittering light as they streak across the night sky. The stars seem to multiply, and the shower intensifies, casting an ethereal glow over the jungle.

Rai went on to silently nudge everyone awake so they could also witness the spectacle above. Duchess seems especially enamored. I can watch the shooting stars in the reflection of her eyes.

The night continues in silence, none of us sleeping.

~~~

We prepared to explore our surroundings, but the jungle was different.

Almost like the meteor shower awakened all the creatures inhabiting the jungle, we couldn't move 10 feet before getting attacked.

Venomous snakes, snapping crocodiles, and big cats lurk behind every tree and bush. I try to have us avoid especially dense vegetation and areas where the ground is too soft.

The humidity, heat, and constant battles sap the energy out of my team.

The jungle is enough of a meat grinder where we gained levels within the hour. My skill leveled instead.

[Leader E Lv1 > Lv2

The user is an aspiring leader. The user better coordinates their team members more effectively, improving communication and teamwork.]

I have Prometheus focus down any insects within his [Spit Fire] range to help him level and train up his accuracy. His projectiles are a superheated mucus that reminds me of napalm. Too bad it 'evaporates' too quickly to have any lasting damage.

He seems to get hotter and hotter as he levels. I only noticed since my teammates pointed out that Prometheus is making the surrounding area more like a sauna than it already is.

I'm afraid that if it weren't for the high humidity, Prometheus would've burned the forest down even as a level 10! All my tamed beasts are extraordinary and 'unbalanced' in their own regard.

On a different note, I've learned how to implement [Master's Hand] to communicate non-verbally with a party of humans. I could use the ability to try and manually puppet them, but instead of forcing them to do my bidding, it's more of a 'nudge' to do what I want.

For example, if I point at a specific creature, they know who I want to attack and how.

[Leader E Lv2 > 3]

[Leader E lv3 > 4]

I can see how rankers are famous beyond the power they hold. Watching the people in front of me work their 'magic' makes me look like a barbarian in comparison. When you can die just as quickly as you can kill, you need to be good at what you are doing.

Daggers get thrown, piercing the hide of a tiger-looking creature. Before it can bleed out and die, Rai is already next to it, reclaiming his blades and finishing off the beast.

He almost teleports between creatures, stabbing, slashing, and throwing his daggers. Sometimes he actually teleports, turning into an intangible shadowy substance that uses the jungle's long shadows as a means of transportation.

My foster sister Val makes pin cushions of anything that moves. There are multiple classes and types of archers, some leaning into magic or druidic persuasions. Val is a sharpshooter over everything else.

There's a reason why archers are highly valued even though guns exist and outclass bows in many of the major categories. Something about lineage, but the main thing is their adaptability.

Sniping a creature, nobody else noticed, her arrows travel between trees and foliage like they have a mind of their own. Maybe it's magic, maybe it's pure skill. I don't care since they are hitting their marks.

Then she pivots, turning 180, and fills a pouncing leopard with dozens of arrows before it hits the ground. Her ammunition runs low, so she uses something she picked up at the institute.

Clenching her gloved hand, an archery glove, of course, all the arrows she shot in a radius flew back towards her, refilling her quiver.

I wonder if she uses that arrow I gifted her way back when.

I don't need to talk about Anabel since her minions do most of the work. Her skeletons can now be conjured with custom armor and weapons. After all her mana, she has her own personal squad of hoplites surrounding the party in a defensive perimeter.

Too bad the terrain keeps breaking the formation, allowing most of the beasts through. Well, the beasts that can get close enough to get through.

Sipping on a mana potion, she blasts away anything that gets close to her with her obscene gun.

Jerry rides around with his dragonfly, with a sword drawn. His other beasts are contributing to the ground fight as he, Val, and Rai are focused on the beasts attacking from above.

Arlug is doing his job. He heals people.

My beasts contribute as well. I won't force them to take the sideline when a bunch of experience delivers themselves to us.

Hours pass, and as my team is about to collapse due to exhaustion, the number of creatures dwindles until the jungle is quiet again.

"Fuck. What. Was. That." My foster sister says, pausing between each word to take a breath.

"A beast wave?" Replies Rai. His chill demeanor is betrayed by his chest, which is heaving up and down with every breath. He's just as exhausted, if anything, more than everyone else.

I start handing out water to everyone as they trudge back to the campsite.

[Leader has ranked up! Pick a direction.]

[Manager D]

[Motivator D]

[Noble D]

I ignore the notification for now. Beast wave, huh? It sure seemed like that.

Tides of creatures swarmed at us. Their blood drenched the jungle floor, turning it into more of a marsh than a jungle. If not for Khan, their flesh would become hills to climb.

Hundreds of low-leveled beasts and dozens of level one-hundred creatures attacked with fervor and madness. They cared not for their own survival but solely wanted us dead.

I'm surprised that no one got maimed or murdered today.

[Master.]

What's up, Duchess?

[Thisss one feels a sense of unease from this jungle.]

You are from a jungle, aren't you? How does this feel different from your homeland?

[Besides the fact that thisss one isn't from a "fracture" but a jungle located planet side, the energy of this place seems divided.]

What the fuck does that mean?

['Tis just a feeling.]

Divided. Divided? Like how I am with my energies?

"Hey, Ellis. Do you actually eat glass?"

"Don't be dumb, Jerry."

"Oh. Okay."

"Why would I lie?"