The Egg flew quickly north. There were internal screens in the cabin that allowed the passengers to see the wildlands zoom past beneath them. Ryn had only even known the world after the arrival of the system and had flown many times either on contraptions like the Egg or with her sister. She much preferred the visceral sense of real flight to being in some flying machine.

The land below was largely peaceful. The Tribulations in the UK had been brought down in quick succession after the Worm of London was dealt with. This had made it much easier to manage the levels of the monster population. Sometimes a beast would crop up that had gotten lucky and managed to progress through its levels high enough to become a threat but they would be quickly put down, either by local powerhouses or by the Hunters Guild that Bob sponsored in order to access cheap resources.

Britain, as it had been after the wolves and bears had been killed off centuries ago, was one of the safest places on the planet. At least in terms of non-human threats, Ryn thought, remembering the destruction of her home.

The pre-system road and power network had decayed. The pylons that had supplied towns and cities with electricity were rusted teeth where they hadn’t been pulled down and harvested for their metal. The roads were mostly just lines where the overgrown flora was slightly thinner than the rest. Here and there fortified towns showed in the distance, most with a glowing blue portal at the centre. The population had largely moved into the new cities like Wayfaire, Ascension and Winchester where they were heavily protected by Bob’s drones and high level combat teams so these villages were few and far between.

“It sucks I'll never be able to fly. Armand, do you think you’ll get a flight mod?” asked Sally.

Armand looked up from where he was staring at his armoured hands and grunted noncommittally before looking back down.

“You might get a flight mod. Lots of bruisers get flight. Look at Param or The Gauntlet. They’re pure bruisers who got flight powers. Most bruisers who get high enough level can basically fly anyway. I mean, technically it’s jumping but if you can jump half a kilometre at a time it’s basically the same thing,” said Ryn.

“Yeah but it’s not zooming up into orbit or proper flying, is it?” said Bad. “I’m not bothered about that. That’s what support members are for. Or if not that then mighty mechanical birds!” He slapped the hull of the Egg next to his jump seat.

“Flight is a useful power but it has its weaknesses. You become an obvious target. You got that power instead of something that enhanced your main powerset. It shouldn’t be looked down on but as with everything it has strengths and weaknesses,” said Zeeg quietly.

“Good one Zeeg!” chuckled Ryn. Zeeg cocked her head at Ryn and raised one ear questioningly. “Looked down on! Nice joke!”

“I have never made a joke,” said Zeeg with stiff dignity as she turned back to watching the screen at the front showing what lay ahead. Her tongue hung out the right side of her mouth as she panted, looking like she wished she could stick her head out of a car window.

The trees and forests of northern England began to fall behind them and the terrain became hillier and rockier. Covered in heather and scrub, the monsters that infested the wildlands no longer had anywhere to hide and the teenagers, barring Armand, began excitedly pointing out species they recognised.

“That’s a Cranntogail! Wait for it!” said Claire. The large hairy toad leapt at the Egg, despite it being over a hundred metres above the surface. The beast fell short but as it reached its peak a rubbery blue tongue lashed out that had to be blasted away by the gun pod under the vehicle's nose.

“That’s like a bruiser version of flight,” said Claire. “Those things are vicious! I had to evade some level tens of those things on the Coursing. They have excellent senses of smell and hearing but poor eyesight.”

“How did you avoid them then?” asked Armand, joining the conversation at last.

“I rolled in mud to suppress my scent and moved very quietly of course,” said Claire unhappily. “It took me three days to get my hair clean again.” She flicked a strand of black hair back behind her ear. Kev met her eyes briefly before looking away and blushing.

“Where are we going?” Kev asked hurriedly.

“Menteith. It is deep in the wilds. You can expect the creatures to be in the five to ten range once we move away from the training centre. There may be higher level monsters mixed in but I will deal with those for you. Otherwise you will be on your own. There is an array of firearms and melee weapons on this vehicle, to the back. As you disembark you may take whatever you wish but it must be returned in good condition afterwards. If anything is damaged or lost you will be charged for its replacement. We will arrive shortly. Prepare yourselves,” said Zeeg with a sniff.

The teenagers and the puppy moved back and quickly selected additional weapons beyond their sidearms and knives. Bad refused to take anything else but agreed to carry ammunition for the blaster, a modified shotgun, that Kev opted to carry.

Armand and Ryn both took short spears tipped with the alien metal Bob refined from cloud dragon bones. Armands storage space wasn’t large, merely a metre cubed, but they filled it with camping equipment, tools and some emergency rations. Claire took a gladius and clipped the sheathe to her belt. Sally took a laser rifle. It lacked the punch of the blaster but it worked at extreme range and could be connected to the batteries in her armour to recharge. Her armour would recharge itself while she was in sunlight, in the event it ran low. The rifle was slung to a magnetic mount on her back.

“What about you Bolf?” asked Ryn.

“Do I look like I need human weapons?” the dog asked with a grin, showing sharp looking canines.

“I guess not! No thumbs either… You don’t want any food though? We aren’t carrying anything for you,” said Sally.

“I will eat the monsters. As will you. The rations you are taking taste like rotten grass. Fresh roasted monster meat is even better when it’s your own kill.” Bolf briefly wagged his tail at the thought of eating his own kills. Zeeg nodded at the wisdom of her pup.

The Egg settled softly to the ground in the middle of a small fortress. The walls were clean lines of multicoloured hardened stone and drones and troops walked along them, three metres above the ground. As the hatch to the Egg hit the ground Bolf bounded out and began sniffing along the edges of the base.

“Academy team 42?” called a woman who was hurrying over to greet them as Zeeg stepped out and took deep sniffs of the fresh air before moving over to speak quietly to her.

Ryn used Identify on the woman.

Name: Lesley Pratchett

Level: 22

Ability: Dive Bomber

“Weird ability. Hybrid?” she muttered to Bad as he jumped down to the turn beside her.

“Maybe. Good level though. Most of the rest of them are fifteen, tops.” he gestured at the people walking the wall or moving around the fort.

This tale has been unlawfully obtained from Royal Road. If you discover it on Amazon, kindly report it.

“Why are they all so low level?” asked Sally.

“Fifteen is about the average so they aren’t low,” muttered Armand.

“Fifteen isn’t the average! I see loads of people in the twenties everyday!” Sally replied.

“It’s nearly a thousand Essence to get to level sixteen, Sally. That’s enough Essence for a family to live comfortably for a year,” Armand said.

“What the hell does the cost of living have to do with it?” she snapped. She immediately regretted her tone as she saw Armand flinch.

“You grew up in Wayfaire. That is why you have seen so many higher levelled people. A thousand Essence requires a lot of fighting to gather. If you are constantly paying out Essence for food and rent it takes even longer to get enough to level. We have an upside down economy,” the boy said, assuming an authoritative tone.

“You’re twelve, dude. No offence but-” Bad began before being cut off.

“The Court doesn’t just train us to fight. We are trained to rule from a young age. When I was six this was explained to me.” His french accent became more prominent as he became annoyed. “Historically, whether in the modern pre-system or in antiquity, the peasants were the source of wealth. They did the work, produced the food. Now we use Essence: the relative handful of people at the top produce most of the ‘currency’. Or value.

“These lessons were a long time ago for me. To make it as simple as possible: once you reach a certain point it takes so much Essence to level that balanced against the cost of living it isn’t worth it. Most people don’t want to spend all their time risking their lives against the monsters either. So level fifteen is the global average. Anything beyond that is impressive. As it is an average, approximately half the people are lower than that.”

“I know how averages work, Armie,” said Bad.

“Don’t call me that, s'il vous plaît.” Armand’s voice had gone quiet again.

Zeeg turned and led Lesley over to the group.

“Not often we get kids like you out here. No special treatment. You’ve already got a bleeding Signatory babysitting you. Anything lost or damaged will be charged back to you or your parents.” Sally and Kev shared a look at that. Their families couldn’t just absorb those kinds of expenses. “Right. The west has been cleared recently so you’re relatively safe for a few miles out. Beyond that it’s the Wilds.” Lesley grinned at them and the teens seemed to shrink slightly. All except for Claire and Bolf. Claire was unfazed and Bolf was excitedly wagging his tail.

“You’ve just been sent maps and a data pack on known hazards. There’s a level fifteen about twenty miles to the north west. Stay clear of the damn thing! Otherwise fill your boots. Go out, get your Essence and get some levels. You’ll be on your own bar your babysitter so don’t fuck about. Good luck, kids.” With that Lesley spun on her heel and moved back into the central building that dominated the fort.

“Femme charmante,” muttered Armand.

Zeeg stood and looked down at them. Her lips pulled back and her canines briefly flashed.

“From this point on you are on your own. I do not expect to have to intervene. I will be watching.” Having said that Zeeg vanished, shimmering into invisibility.

“Is she still there?” Ryn asked Kev who shrugged.

“I couldn’t sense her anyway. She’s been chipped by MGE, I reckon.”

“So how do we do this?” asked Sally as she looked around at the staff of the fort that were simply ignoring the suddenly stranded teens. “Just wander out in the Wilds?”

“Check your data packets and update your HUDs,” said Bad. “We should move west and find a site to set up a camp.”

“I never understood mothers' attitude to humans. Now it is starting to make sense. C’mon!” yipped Bolf as he took off like a rocket for the open gate in the wall.

“Cringle,” muttered Ryn as she burst into a run to follow the enthusiastic dog, quickly followed by the others.

They chased the dog out into the highlands, getting laconic waves or smirks from the people manning the wall. Bolf was moving out and zig zagging back and forth as he moved further west and began to leave the fort behind.

Teamchat:

Kevin: Bolf! Come back dammit!

Bolf: I am your scout. I know where you are. I will move ahead and alert you to any monsters. You know what a scout is, right?

Ryn: Don’t go too far, Bolf. We aren’t going to run all the way. We need to move more carefully.

Bolf: Understood. Mum was right about humies.

Claire: Was that a slur?

Bolf: No idea what you’re talking about! I’ll be in touch if there are any issues.

The teens shared a look and fell into a combat formation. Ryn, Armand and Claire formed a triangle in the centre with Bad and Sally moving out in front. Kev brought up the rear a few paces behind. He kept nervously glancing around and muttering about the command position being the worst.

“What are you whining about? You’re as safe as you can be!” Bad sounded way too cheerful to be out in the Wilds. Ryn was excited, no doubt, but it was tempered by a healthy sense of danger.

“None of us are safe until we’re back in a fort. Or even better, back in Wayfaire!” snapped Kev. “Watch your section Bad!” there was a hint of smugness at being able to boss his friend around.

“Are you sensing anything?” asked Claire as she carefully watched their right flank.

“Lots of bugs, a couple of snakes. Just terrestrial ones. There’s a hawk watching us as well but I can’t feel anything else.”

“What’s your range?” asked Sally over her shoulder as she bounded forward with her rifle held comfortably in front of her chest.

“Couple of hundred metres when I narrow the focus. This update to my implant is really useful. It’s building a database of previous returns and learning to categorise new ones based on the info it’s gathered before.”

Teamchat:

Bolf: I have a target. A nest of chittering scavengers. They’re mostly level two.

Kevin: Add a ping to our maps and we’ll move over. Stay close until we reach you.

Bahadur: Anyone else worried about how Kev is loving being in charge?

Kevin: No frivolous comms!

Bad stuck up one finger over his shoulder as the team pivoted and moved towards the mark Bolf had added to their HUD maps. They sped up, adrenaline leaking into their bloodstream and quickening their breaths.

Bolf met them shortly after and they formed up. Bad and Sally stood at the front next to Bolf. Bad was brandishing his combat knife while Sally had her rifle clutched tightly. Armand and Ryn formed up behind them with Kev and Claire to their rear.

“How many?” hissed Ryn quietly, hefting her spear.

“Thirteen. Something is strange though. Too much emotion, maybe? We should be careful. They aren’t aware of us yet, as far as I can tell,” whispered Kev.

“We will lead the way,” Bolf muttered confidently.

“Let me try something?” asked Armand.

“What?” asked Kev.

“I will bait them with an illusion. These rats were brought here for Normanby’s first wave. They are old, for a monster species, but they have some kind of collective memory. I can scare them and make it easier to attack.”

“Collective memory? Their fucking monsters!” hissed Sally. One Essence for the Jar.

“He’s not wrong. Ascension has studied the beast the blessed system brought here more than most. We don’t just try to kill them but to understand the lessons of the gods that can be learnt from the beasts,” Claire whispered.

“Whatever. Do your thing, Armand,” Bad said quietly. Armand looked to Kev, who smirked briefly at Bad, before he nodded.

“Ok Armand.”

Armand crept forward to the lip of the rise they were hiding behind and peeked over. A handful of rats were lounging in the sun thirty metres away, scattered haphazardly around a two foot wide hole that disappeared beneath the heather.

The boy crouched down and stared for almost a full minute. His friends were just starting to get jittery when he finally made his move.

A trio of hounds appeared off to the right of the rats and began snarling and snapping at the rats. The monsters leapt to their feet and screeched loudly before charging towards the illusory dogs that bore an uncanny resemblance to tiny versions of Zeeg. More rats boiled out of the hole and began to follow their brothers.

“Now!” said Kev loudly. All the rats turned their heads and looked at the teens who had stood up and moved forward at Kev’s shout.

Bad and Sally shot ahead, followed by Bolf, and fell upon the nearest rats. As Sally ran she released a volley of purple beams from her rifle before slinging it on to her back and pulling her knife. Claire moved forward with Armand to support the three close combat fighters but hung back looking for opportunities to intercede in the furious melee that ensued. The rats were only two feet long but they were fast and agile.

Ryn studied the situation as Kev moved past her with his shotgun aimed at the monsters turning back from the illusory dogs that Armand had banished. Three blasts rang out in quick succession, knocking the monsters to the ground with pained squeals. She jumped as hard as possible then blipped herself up ten metres over the monsters. Her momentum from the jump kept her moving upwards as she appeared. She glanced down then lashed out with torrents of flame from her hands that scorched the monsters instantly. As she began to fall she blipped back to the ground and landed with a thump.

Team report:

12 Chittering Scavengers killed (level 2): Essence per kill 1.

Essence gained per team member: 12

The teens backed off quickly once the killing was done before turning and high fiving each other. Even Bolf raised a paw to smack it against Claire's hand. Kev looked confused as he ignored the exuberance.

“What’s up Kev? Twelve Essence gets even us lowly level twos up to seven!” said Bad cheerfully.

“There’s still something in there and now it’s really pissed off.”