It was just before sunset when the soldiers finished securing, searching, and ransacking the base. It was time for them to handle the kids who left waiting all day.

After giving each a preliminary check, they were divided into groups of 20 and then huddled inside the military cargo helicopters.

Astor, who made sure to be in the last group as usual, also made sure to find a place by the window before the others when he was ordered to embark.
This cargo helicopter didn’t have any seats, so the kids had to sit on the ground and hold onto each other and the webbing to the sides.

After a final safety check and closing the doors, the helicopters quickly ascended into the air one by one.

Astor, like the others, began to observe through circular windows as the camp grew smaller and smaller revealing the extensive jungle that surrounded it. If he were to escape here, he doubted whether he would be able to arrive at the city in one piece…. No, he might have been able to do that if some giant Demonic beast had eaten him and then decided to head there!

Demonic monsters were monsters that roamed the wilds. They are the evolution of unintelligent beasts who had been affected by the demonic energy when the void gates opened. Turning them into vicious abnormalities that threatened all life. This place had many of them!

A sudden wolf howl from below affirmed AStor’s thoughts as the children shivered a little as they looked down trying to find the source.

“Relax… This place is on the edge of the dark forest, this zone only has low-level demonic monsters… Those helicopters are reinforced with celestial copper, so nothing would approach them!” one of the guards said as if he read the kids' minds. “How did they bring you here before anyway?” he asked.

“I was drugged back then…” one boy said.

“It was also by a helicopter, but it was a smaller black one…” another boy who was secretly awake back then answered. “They brought us in small batches!” he added.

“I see a civilian vehicle... ” the guard said, taking note. Normal helicopters with celestial copper were very rare as the material was under strict control by the imperial family, only those nobles would have access to it.
They were already suspecting the ones behind this base, but they had neither evidence nor the will to investigate more as this would drag their unit into a fight for the throne which their general didn’t want… Still, an investigation is a must, and it is up to the emperor to decide whether to use it or just throw it away!

“So… Did any of those guys in black tell you their names?” the guard asked again.

“No… They just told us to call them masters…” one boy said as the others nodded.

“Oh… So they taught you nothing?” he frowned.

“No… They just told us to sleep and get to know our roommates yesterday…” one girl answered.

“I see… Don’t worry, we will take care of you!”

Astor watched carefully, as the guard casually questioned the kids subtly. Those brats had no idea they were talking to a high-ranking officer who disguised himself as a normal soldier to ask some questions.

Although Astor had no recollection of this guy, he could easily tell the man’s rank was fake as despite the man’s young age, he was awakened and not a weak one at that. People like him would have an officer ranking at the very least!

This was a problem… This annoying man was troublesome as he might stop Astor’s escape plan!

Still, it was not a lost cause. As with an officer onboard, the rest of the guards were more relaxed unlike how it happened in his past life when all the kids were handcuffed.
This went contrary to the standard security protocol, But this smart officer must have wanted to gain the kids’ trust. Although they are Awakened now, they didn’t have any training or brainwashing yet after all, so there was no reason to fear them.

This was very favorable to Astor, who casually made sure to keep an eye out through the window, watching as the terrain below changed… Escaping too early was dangerous as he was not strong enough to survive the jungle yet, but if he waited long, he would lose his chance.

He sighed as one of the boys around him began to nudge him. He wanted to also have a look out of the window but didn’t dare to cause a ruckus.
Astor casually ignored him, making him get more and more agitated… Not only him, but all the kids around Astor seemed to have the same idea.

He was going to make them wait!

It didn’t take long, as 15 minutes later, Astor began to see signs of human activity, they were something minor like the traces of chopped down trees and some smoke… Although they were still above the wilderness, he would have a good chance to survive if he escaped now!
Looking ahead where the helicopter was heading, he saw that there was still plenty of thick jungle terrain, but it wouldn't last for long as in the horizons he could see the traces of a city. He had to act fast.

Making sure that there were no wide enough clearings or platforms for the helicopter to land in the surroundings, he knew it was time.

“Excuse me…” he raised his hand timidly. Alerting the officer who was busy questioning the kids about their origin.

“What?” one guard asked as the officer turned to look at Astor, carefully inspecting him.

“I… I need to pee…” Astor said as he began to shake a little.

“Ahh. Can’t you wait a little… We are only thirty minutes away from base…” the guard scolded. This cargo helicopter had no latrines as it was meant for quick operations.

“I can’t…. I… I have been trying to hold it… But…. Please…” he said with teary eyes as he shook his butt and squeezed his legs as if he was about to explode. That caused several of the kids who were trying to push him away earlier to try to get away despite being crammed in a narrow area.

“Shit…” the guard cursed. If this boy really peed here, he would be the one cleaning it later.

“Give him space… Come here…” the officer said, making the others relax.

Astor slowly and timidly walked between the children to approach the officer who casually opened the helicopter's sliding door that was beside him, letting the cold air enter the helicopter.

“Can you do it standing?” It was not a question.

“Ah… I… I will try…” Astor said.

“Come on then… It will be an experiment that you will tell your kids about!” the officer said.

“Can I hold onto you though… “Astor suddenly asked timidly as the kids watched.

“Sure…” the officer said while cursing silently as he watched Astor nervously approach the door before putting his hand grabbing the officer’s belt and bending down to secure his footing.

Making sure he was secure, he began to lift the robe he wore with his other hand, this caused him to almost fall.

The officer, feeling that Astor was losing balance, automatically grabbed him by his shoulder and then waited for him to just get done with it, but what happened next took him by surprise.

Astor who was shaking and acting timidly one moment, immediately changed character as he, in one smooth movement turned and kicked the officer in the balls while grabbing him by his belt and using him as leverage to go behind him.

The officer, who was forced to bend down in shock, had to involuntarily use one hand to hold his crotch and the other to grab the door and avoid falling.
This allowed Astor who was free to move to grab the officer’s bag that was to the side and then jump off the helicopter before the others could realize what had just happened.

“GOODBYE SUCKERS!” Astor yelled, giving a very dirty finger sign to the officer and the guards as he swiftly put the bag on his back then pulled the cord attached to it under the shocked eyes of the kids and guards to extend the parachute!.

That cord he pulled, turned out to be a shoelace.

“WHA….Oh….AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh……………..”

“That was… not a parachute… It’s a supply bag…” the officer who was still grimacing in pain said as he watched Astor fall to his demise and then disappear between the jungle’s trees that shook wildly due to the impact.

BOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOM!

“Will he survive?” one boy asked after a few seconds.

“No… Not from this height...” Another guard said as he closed the door and then hurried to help his superior. “What a fool…”

“Shall we go back and check on him?” the pilot who also noticed what happened behind asked. “It would be a little risky though… There is not enough clearing to land!”

“No need…” the officer, who was still clutching his balls, said. “Let the beasts eat that bastard's corpse!”

…

Astor was not a fool. If he really grabbed a parachute, those guys might have been tempted to go after him, on the contrary by grabbing this standard-issued military bag, not only did he appear as a fool who deserved to die, but he also got himself some military rations and some monster repellent spray…

Now he had a vital problem to solve as he was accelerating toward the ground at a fatal speed.

He was going to activate his spark’s power for the first time since his awakening, and his body was not ready for it…

“This is going to hurt like hell…” he said he used all the energy he previously stole from the energy stone during the test to activate his spark for a split second right when his body hit the ground. The timing had to be perfect, he had only so little energy!

“INDESTRUCTIBLE!” he whispered as he focused his energy to go through all his veins while adjusting his body to be parallel to the ground as he fell on his back, spreading his hands and legs out to avoid getting stuck in the ground like a wooden stake.

BOOOOOOOOOOOOM….

Hitting the ground with an indestructible body, caused all the kinetic energy he had to be transferred to the ground in one go, pushing him a few feet down as a shock wave shook the trees and dirt around him.

His body might be immortal there, but it still hurt like hell, but Astor didn’t care, he knew the worst was yet to come.

The energy protecting him got exhausted a millisecond later, voiding his spell right before the shock wave from the ground below returned to hit him, lifting his body again 3 feet into the air and battering him with a portion of the energy he had deposited earlier.

“Ahhhhhhhh….” He moaned, as he fell again and two of his ribs cracked.

Damn it.

He spat blood, as he shook then relaxed on the ground.

He was alive!

He tried to take a deep breath but the pain in his rib stopped him.

“Shit…” he silently cursed as he reached for the soldier’s bag with a shaking hand and from it, he grabbed a small bag that he opened and dumped the white powder in it in his mouth.

This was a low-level healing powder made from demonic fish bone. It would make him heal faster and subdue the pain… Still healing his ribs completely would take a few weeks.

Feeling the powder effect as the pin lessened he slowly sat up and looked around making sure the area was clear, he began to feel his chest with his fingers then took a deep breath and pushed his chest a few times, adjusting his broken ribs to be in place before quickly using a bandage from the bag to tie his chest. As someone who survived the otherworldly plains, he knew how to perform first aid on himself!

Thankfully his situation was not severe, and although one of his broken ribs seemed to have bruised his lung, it didn’t puncture it. Still, he needed to find a doctor soon.

Reaching for the bag again, he gave its insides an examining look.

Other than the standard military tools and rations, it had a golden badge, some emergency money, and an ID card.

Astor gave the ID one fleeting look then threw it away with the badge that contained a tracking device.
He was right, that guy was not a soldier, he had a senior lieutenant rank and he belonged to the military police.

After that Astor took a black spray bottle then began to use it all over his body.
This was a Celestial Copper Nanoparticles, monster repellent spray. Although it was not 100% effective, in a place like this where no high-ranking demonic monster existed, it was sufficient.

Taking a deep breath, he looked up at the sky barely visible from in between the thick tree branches, the sun was about to go down…

He needed to find shelter for the night as he knew that he would never reach the city today, and walking in the forest at night was suicide.