Hydragyros

Whoosh! The emerald krait opened its two purple eyes as a gust of wind blew past its face. Hisss! It bared its fangs in rage, searching for the pitiful creature that had woken it from its slumber. "Scree!" A bunch of primitive looking creatures standing on two legs with lizard-like faces screamed in fear, as they pointed their spears at the tall behemoth. They didn't expect the monster to wake up so suddenly.

Hisss! It opened it mouth wide, preparing to swallow the creatures. STOMP! Suddenly, a buff looking lizardmen descended from the trees, leaving a large crater as it landed in front of the emerald krait. "ROAAAR!" It stamped its spear into the floor, staring at the krait in its eyes as if he was challenging it.

Hisss! The emerald krait flicked its forked tongue, trying to decide whether to attack or retreat. The lizardman was too troublesome to deal with. Of course, lizardmen were ranked lower than emerald kraits as a part of the reptilian hierarchy. But this lizardmen had received the favour of its superiors, elevating his position to one equal to that of the krait.

"ROAAAR!" The lizardman bared its teeth at the monster, trying to scare it away. Hiss! The emerald krait's eyes glowed purple as it refused to back down. Whoosh! The wind started blowing faster as the trees started to sway slightly. But none of the two behemoths noticed anything as they were locked in a show of strength.

Thump! Thump! The lizardman pounded its foot into the ground. Hisss! The snake opened its mouth wide open, exposing two white venomous teeth in challenge. The other lizardmen shrunk away in fear as they saw the terrifying sight. There was no way they could stand against this monstrous creature.

"ROAAAR!" WHOOOSH! Suddenly, a large gale of wind started blowing past the two monsters. Crackle! The sky started to darken as the trees started shaking under the powerful gust. Crackle...crackle! The lizardman lowered its spear as it stared towards the sky.

WHOOSH! HISSS! The snake shrunk back slightly, not as brave as the lizardman as it shied away from the sight. The sky started to warp as the monsters could see the beginnings of a sphere forming above them. Crackle...crackle. The wind started moving faster and faster, as it rushed towards the sphere as if it were a black hole.

Bzzzzz! CRACKLE! Suddenly, a blue sphere materialised in the air. Whoosh! The wind stopped immediately, as if the storm brewing a minute ago had never existed. Crackle! Warp! Two figures were ejected out of the sphere as the started falling down towards the surface.

HISSS! The emerald krait turned towards the lizardman as it stared into its blue eyes. Both of the monsters silently communicated, agreeing upon something. ROAAR! The lizardman jumped into the air, disappearing into the forest as it ran in the opposite direction of the portal.

Hiss! The emerald krait turned towards the lizardmen quivering in fear. Hiss! It flicked its forked tongue in anticipation as it studied the monsters hungrily. "Screee!"

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BZZZ! Warp!

Whooosh! Wind whistled past Ethan's face, waking him up instantly as he flew through the air. He opened his mouth in surprise. "What the-" Splash! Glug! Glug! Ethan crashed into a body of water as he immediately sunk beneath its surface.

Glug! Glug! Ethan swallowed a large quantity of water as he thrashed around in the water. He shut his mouth, stopping himself. He had to remain calm. He wasn't an idiot who didn't know how to swim. He held his breath as he looked around wildly, trying to find the surface.

Suddenly, a large, shining sphere came into view. There it was! The sun! He pushed against the water, heading upwards. Splosh! Splosh! "Cough...cough...cough!" Ethan broke through the surface as the deafening sound of the water hit his ears. Roar! No, the sound wasn't deafening. Staying under the water had made his ears highly sensitive.

Splash! Splash! He swam through the water, pushing his body towards the shore. Splash! Splash! Thud! "Ow!" His knee banged against the ground as the water started to get shallower. Splaaaaash! Ethan stood up as water pooled down from his side. Splash! Splash! Splash! He waded forward, getting out of the lake as he moved towards dry land.

Splash! Splash! Thud! "Hahh...hahh...hahh!" Ethan fell to his knees as he reached the shore, breathing heavily. The pebbled piercing his palms and knees hurt slightly. But he still stayed like that. Fighting a large snake, getting beaten by somebody who was a rank higher and being thrown into a portal had tired him.

Ethan had no idea why Noah had teleported him to this random planet. There was no connection between the two of them. In fact, Noah shouldn't have even gone to another planet at this point. So why the hell had he kidnapped him. Had he traced him to the incident on the day of the orientation. It was possible. But there was no reason why he'd need to teleport the both of them to a planet just to interrogate him.

Crunch...crunch. The pebbles crunched underneath Ethan's feet as he stop up. Crunch...crunch...crunch. Suddenly, he froze. A dark haired figure with black eyes was watching him. He tensed his body. "Get over here quickly!"

It was Noah! He had a sword swung across his back as he stood leaning across a tree, arms crossed as his cold eyes pierced into Ethan. "Look where you've landed us!" He looked at Ethan with an annoyed expression. "Wh...where are we?" Ethan asked cautiously, not wanting to get beaten again.

Crunch! Noah shifted his feet. "Hydragyros." "What?" "We're on a ruined planet called Hydragyros." Ethan looked around in wonder as he took in the feeling of being on another planet. Of course, he'd already known that this wasn't Earth. But Noah confirming it drew the point home further. He was on another planet!

"Wow," he muttered. He looked around, staring at everything as if he was looking at it for the first time. "Ruined? This place doesn't seemed ruined. It looks pretty good to me!" "That's because its not completely ruined. Yet. But soon, it will be." Ethan gulped nervously. "Shouldn't we get out of here then?" Noah shook his head. "We can't. We're stuck here for four hours." Ethan frowned. "Can't you just summon a portal?" Noah froze. How did this guy know that he could travel across planets.

Ethan stuttered as he tried to cover up his mistake. "I...I mean, didn't you transport us here? S...So couldn't you t...take us back?" He waved his hands around frantically. He could feel Noah's heavy gaze on him as he sweated nervously. "No."

Noah turned around as he started walking into the forest. He'd decided that Ethan wasn't a threat. Crunch...crunch...crunch. "Hey! Wait a minute! Where are you going?" Ethan ran behind Noah, not wanting to be left alone.

Beep!

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[Hidden quest: As a part of your punishment, you are denied possession of the weapon you could have received. However, you have another chance to obtain the rare weapon- 'Fanged Sword'. Hunt one juvenile emerald krait. Obtain the weapon directly from the creature it was harvested from instead of taking it by killing its weak subordinates.]

[Reward: Fanged Sword(rare)]

[Penalty: None]

[Would you like to accept the quest]

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"Shut up!" Noah didn't even turn around as he commanded Ethan in an ice-cold voice. "Shut up! What do you mean? Why don't you tell me what you're doing?" Noah ignored Ethan as he looked towards the blue screen in front of him.

"Accept!"

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[Quest: Kill the King of the Rainforest- The Emerald Krait(0/1)]

[Reward: Fanged sword(rare)]

[Penalty: None]

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"Hey, Noah!" Suddenly, Noah turned around and stared at Ethan. A shiver ran down Ethan's spine as he gazed into Noah's dark black irises. "Gulp! S...sorry." Ethan stopped talking. Memories of being mercilessly beaten surfaced into his mind as he closed his mouth.

"Stay near the shore, weakling!" Noah turned around walking deeper into the forest. "I can help you, you know! Nobody's going to believe me if I told them I was teleported to another planet. So what are you afraid of?" Noah continued walking. "You saw me dealing with the lesser python! I killed it on my own! I can help you!" Noah stopped for a moment.

"Look, just as you said, I'm a weakling. But I can still help. Two pairs of hands are better than one. Don't leave me behind!" Noah stayed where he was, contemplating whether to take Ethan with him. "I can protect myself. I won't be a burden."

Noah turned around as he studied Ethan. Anybody else, and he would have knocked them out. But this guy- he was different. Noah hadn't forgotten the glint he'd seen in this boy's eyes. At first, he thought that this blue-eyed boy was losing his edge. All traces of his ruthlessness had evapourated just as quickly as they'd appeared. But that wasn't the case.

Just like he'd said, Noah had watched him killing the lesser python. And he'd seen the same killing intent that he'd felt before resurface. This boy hadn't been crushed by society. No. On the contrary, he'd simply hidden his ruthless nature. And he brought it out every single time he killed. Perhaps it would be worth it to see him in action. To see how far his nature carried him.

"What's your name?" Ethan was surprised by the question. "Ethan. Ethan Miller." Noah pulled out his sword as his cold, empty eyes gleamed slightly. "Try not to fall behind." He turned around as he headed into the forest.