Alex didn't even have time to check how much stronger he had become from reaching D+ rank.
No, he headed straight back down to the planet's surface the moment he awoke from the Remnant memory.
He was so quick to act, that his ship accelerated instantly from orbit down into the atmosphere.
The speeds were so great that huge sonic booms could be heard for miles upon miles, ringing across the planet three times over until the effect of his reentry faded.
In reality, most modern conventional ships could also do this, but nobody was bold enough to attempt such a speedy reentry, for fear of crashing right into the surface at near incomprehensible speeds.
That wouldn't be good for either the pilot, or the planet...
At first he tried using his spatial perception to scan for any deep crevices in the earth while flying over the oceans.
His range had even increased to a spectacular 750 metres from his rank up to D+ rank, but that was of no interest to him at the moment.
He quickly gave up that idea, as he realised not too long in that not only were the normal ocean depths well past 1000 metres, but the deepest parts would exceed far beyond that.
If he was stronger, maybe C+ rank, he might have had the range, but at his current level? Impossible.
This left him with only one choice.
"King, scan the entire planet for any deep pits, creeks, or holes in the oceans. Don't just scan the oceans though, scan the landmasses just in case."
He ordered the AI on his ship, also aptly named 'King' just like the ship itself, to initiate the scan for him.
He wasn't just piloting a top of the line ship for no reason, it had its uses other than to just get him from place to place.
And right now, it was serving such a purpose.
Within seconds, a pulse was sent out by his ship, undetectable to any other ships nearby, that encircled the entire planet in seconds.
The scan suggested the trench's depth exceeded 12,000 metres — well beyond the limits of which the human body, even a typical D rank awakened's body, could handle without some sort of supporting equipment or vehicle.
"King, keep the senses on high alert. We don't want any surprises." Alex commanded.
He doubted that his ship would be able to spot and alert him to something quicker than his own spatial perception could, but it was better to be safe than sorry in Alex's eyes.
"Affirmative, Captain. Sensors engaged at maximum capacity." The AI responded.
As the ship neared the coordinates, Alex switched to manual control.
The spaceship turned aircraft glided across the ocean's surface before descending into the depths, turning it into a submarine by this point...
The external lights activated, piercing into the inky blackness of the deep sea.
The pressure increased as they delved deeper, but even the pressure at 1000 kilometres deep into the planet's mantle couldn't crack the ship's hull, let alone a measly 12 kilometres.
The only indication that he was even moving at all came from the real time blip of his own ship on the enlarged map of the Abyssal Canyon on the hologram.
Alex, represented by a blue blip, was descending rapidly into the trench at dozens of metres a second, which would put him near the bottom of the trench in around 20 minutes.
He was in a race against time, but he didn't want to risk disturbing the waters enough to alert the enemy to his presence, if they really were hiding down in this trench.
"Scanning for any anomalous structures." King, the AI, reported.
Minutes passed, and Alex's patience was running thin.
He was halfway down the trench by now, and still, there was no sign of any activity at all.
Which only begged the question, how did the Red Demons move in and out of this so called base and leave little to no trace of their presence there?
Alex was beginning to suspect that his random choice may have been wrong.