Kyle and C.H.A.D.D. spent the next couple of days foraging on the island. He had no idea what happened to his nav bracelet, and without a means of communication, the duo fell into their old, familiar routine. Thanks to his rapidly rising attributes and Covert Dexterity, Kyle’s practice with the batons was smooth and precise. While the fighting style likely wouldn’t hold up to D Grade opponents, it was relaxing to him as he went through the steps.

As he drilled, he would activate IGNITION in bursts, sometimes quickly accelerating a chain of attacks, other times taking advantage of a quick mobility boost to quickly traverse the practice field. Used this way, Kyle was gaining a better appreciation for the skill. ADAPTIVE REGENERATION was at work, though he was a long way from building up a meaningful resistance to the backlash.

Finally, the morning of the third day, Kyle heard the sound of an approaching shuttle. It was flying low over the archipelago, and soon it arrived on his island. As it got closer, Kyle could feel the thrumming mana from the ship. Compared to the basic transport shuttles, this one felt much more powerful, causing Kyle to frown. C.H.A.D.D. seemed to notice it too, though the drone’s conclusions were much more optimistic.

[IT IS VERY GENEROUS OF THEM TO SEND A LUXURY SHIP TO PICK US UP, DR. MAYHEW.]

“I don’t think that was their original intention, C.H.A.D.D.”

[WHY ELSE WOULD IT BE HERE?]

As if preparing to answer the question, the shuttle landed just inland from the beach. Kyle walked towards it, right hand resting on the batons at his hip. If they were planning to betray us, this is their moment. Kyle learned a lot about Corthian Mining and the Collective over the last eleven months, and he knew that anything bad that happened to him on their ship would be met with fines, investigations, and literal mountains of paperwork. Hiring non-Collective civilians in this capacity was irregular, and the Collective had processes in place to ensure that their members weren’t taking advantage.

Planetside, however, was a different story. There wasn’t close monitoring, there wasn’t bureaucracy to keep them safe. Kyle wasn’t sure if they were planning a full betrayal, but from the moment he was dropped off on this island, things felt off. The lighter crew, the skittish captain, the drones dropped into the water – all of it pointed to a different motivation.

Still, Kyle approached with confidence. One of the truths that he’d been forced to accept since the cataclysm was the tyranny of power. He’d been too weak to make a real difference early on, but that wasn’t the case anymore. He could feel the mana flowing through him, ready to activate his skills at the first sign of betrayal. If Corthian Mining thought they could bring him down, they were welcome to try.

~~~

Chester Drake sighed as the shuttle landed. It had been several days since Mayhew’s nav bracelet went offline, and he decided it was time to go investigate the scene. As he viewed it, there were really only three possible outcomes: one where Kyle was victorious, one where the beast was victorious, and one where both of them were dead, or at least close to it. He didn’t particularly care which it was, so long as the fascinating drone was still intact.

Still, Chester recognized that there was risk involved with arriving personally. He’d lost enough personnel that, apart from the recovery of tremendous wealth, this expedition would be a black mark on his record. The drone that accompanied Mayhew was likely the key to changing that fate. It had an uncanny ability to detect natural treasures, and none of the other units they’d found provided the answer as to how. If Chester could return with either the drone – or at least its parts – he would be among the most successful foremen in the organization.

Signaling his squadron to take their positions, Chester opened the bay door. He brought with him six elites, each E Grades who showed the potential to break through into D Grade. With a Warrior, three Mages, a Ranger, and a Healer, Chester felt confident in facing whatever was left on the island. Given Mayhew’s overprotectiveness towards the drone, part of him hoped they would be facing down a wounded D Grade beast.

Looking out at the scarred beach, it was clear that a pitched battle was fought here. His team held a tight formation as he slowly moved across the sand, using FIRM FOOTING to condense platforms of stone for himself and his team. Despite the destruction, there was no sign of the beast, the Healer, or the drone. His squad held their formation as Chester pushed mana into the ground. The sand made the impressions fuzzy, though soon SEISMIC SENSE made it to firmer ground below.

The narrative has been stolen; if detected on Amazon, report the infringement.

Chester’s skill allowed him to map out mana density, concentrations, and anomalies across a wide area. His ability to detect natural resources with the skill was a large part of what allowed him to rise through the ranks so quickly. Immediately, he felt something was wrong. While orbital scans were limited in their accuracy, they clearly indicated that this area should have been thrumming with energy. Instead, it felt… flat. It was as if something had leeched the mana out of the soil itself.

Chester narrowed his focus as he tried to parse out what happened. Then he felt it. A D Grade presence was making its way toward Chester’s location. The energy rippling through the ground was potent, and affirmed Chester’s suspicions. Mayhew is dead. A pity. After his struggles against the other D Grade, Chester hadn’t expected Kyle to win. He had, however, hoped that Kyle would have at least been able to do more damage to whatever predator lurked near the island. Judging by the impression he was getting from his skill, the beast felt like it was near full strength.

“Get in formation, the creature is approaching. As soon as we have line of sight, I want you ready to engage.”

His squad nodded, and through his skill Chester could feel them drawing in power. Stones began to rise around him as he also prepared to attack. There was a rustling of a bush, and Chester’s eyes widened as he saw a human form walk out of the brush. Kyle was bare-chested, a cracked vambrace on his right arm all that remained of the combat armor he’d been issued. His olive skin had was covered in fading scars, and stubble was beginning to grow across his squared jaw. He looked weakened and battered.

Kyle’s eyes, however, told a different story. Twin emeralds regarded Chester, and he felt as if he was being watched by a predator. SEISMIC SENSE warned of incredible power building in the young man’s body. For a moment, his mind warred with his instincts. If he ordered his squad to attack, he was confident they would follow his directions. Even if he was powerful, he was just one man. Securing the drone would go a long way towards further cementing his position at Corthian Mining.

His instincts, however, screamed at him to run. The impression his skill gave him was abnormal. He felt that there was a clear and present risk of death if they attacked. He felt exposed beneath the other man’s gaze, and letting out a small sigh, he came to his decision.

“Stand down, all of you.” Chester said, before turning to Kyle. “Mr. Mayhew, I’m glad to see you survived.”

Kyle snorted in response. “You’re much happier to see that C.H.A.D.D. survived. Either way, we made it. I don’t think you’re going to find much on the island. The monster we fought did something that drained it. Any chance I can get a ride back to the flagship?”

While Chester was certain there was more to the story, some of the tension seemed to ease out of the group at the young man’s words. After considering just a moment longer, Chester let out a soft sigh before gesturing for Kyle to come aboard the shuttle.

“Certainly, Mr. Mayhew.”

Chester felt the hair on the back of his neck stand as Kyle walked past. The mana pouring off his body was almost palpable. One thing was certain – he made the right choice. He had underestimated Kyle, and very nearly gotten himself and his squad killed. Chester signaled for his men to follow, and they boarded the shuttle, leaving the island behind them.

~~~

Kyle sighed as he got out of the shower. His time contracting with Corthian Mining was coming to an end, and he wanted to enjoy all the creature comforts he could before whatever came next. It had been a day and half since he’d been back, and Chester had barely spoken a word to him. He was issued a new nav bracelet, and given instructions to prepare for a meeting with Chester and the Chairwoman, Benjamin’s great-grandmother later today. The first evacuation transports would be arriving in Earth’s orbit in just over a month.

With Benjamin and Rochelle still on the planet, he didn’t have his usual conversation partners at hand. Still, he was going to make the most of his time. Putting on a fresh uniform and securing C.H.A.D.D. to his back, Kyle left his quarters and made his way to the training grounds to watch the sparring matches. The atmosphere was surprisingly positive, given the loss of a captain and their squad. A Mage was fighting against a Ranger, and they put on quite the show as they dodged and blocked one another’s attacks at range.

More matches came and went, until a buzz on his nav bracelet told him it was time to head to his meeting. He could feel the eyes of the expedition on him, people talking in hushed tones as he passed. Kyle knew that opinions about him were mixed on the ship. Some people saw him as a protector, the last hope against some of the impossible odds they’d faced. Others viewed him as a cocky interloper, introducing chaos and ultimately responsible for many of the deaths that had occurred. By all accounts, this expedition had been a disaster, despite the profits they were likely to see.

Opening the door to Chester’s office, he saw the man poring over some paperwork. He gestured for Kyle to enter, before turning his attention back to his reports. Kyle sat in one of the chairs across the desk from the man, and felt mana build in the small device on the desk as Angela Corthus’ voice was projected through the speaker.

“Mr. Mayhew, thank you for joining us. Mr. Drake and I were going over your contributions, which were significant. Now, it’s time to talk about what comes next.”