Chương 3: Learning and Adapting

As the two wolves backed away and started circling, trying to find an opening to avoid the two panicked swordsmen, the third wolf suddenly lunged at the black-haired girl, who screamed in terror and fell onto her bottom. Her fireball slammed straight into the lunging wolf's head. The fireball exploded across the beast's furry face, blasting it backwards into the dirt. The wolf cried out in agony and staggered back, its scorched head shaking violently.

Most of its fur had been burned off, and one eye had melted shut, but despite the pain, it still refused to retreat. The other two wolves continued circling the trio as the woman shakily pushed herself upright, tears streaking down her soot-covered cheeks while she tried to form another fireball in trembling hands; her entire body shivered, first lightly, then worse the longer she held on to the unstable spell. That woman is experiencing mana fatigue... So, her limit is two to three fireballs?

Even this weak body could manage more. Maximus thought.

"Sarah! Are you okay?" the black-haired swordsman shouted as he slashed helplessly at his assigned wolf.

"I'm… fine, Pete. It's just… taxing…" Sarah gasped, barely keeping her focus.

"Okay, you two, calm down, we need to survive this shit first, so follow my lead!" the blonde, short-haired man barked before activating some sort of ability that caused his skin to redden and his entire body to glow with a faint translucent crimson hue, after which he exploded into motion, launching himself straight at the wolf on the left. The beast hadn't expected such sudden speed and tried to flee, only to be stabbed deep in the flank as the man pierced between its ribs.

With a furious howl, the wolf twisted violently, biting ferociously towards the man and lunging backward, leaving a wide spray of blood along the ground. Seeing the opening, the second man roared, releasing a wave of sound or force that grabbed the attention of the remaining wolves, pulling them toward him, while Sarah managed to fire off another unstable fireball at the already-singed wolf before collapsing from mana overuse, falling to her knees.

Seeing the opportunity, the third wolf, out of range of Pete's taunt, lunged straight at the woman. Now is my time, Maximus thought, already positioned for the cleanest line of attack as he rose fluidly and lashed out with Thorn Whip.

The thorned vine snapped out faster than the human eye could track, wrapping around the wolf's neck mid-lunge and yanking it brutally into the ground with a loud crunch as the barbed thorns buried themselves deep into its flesh before bursting like tiny venomous sacks, releasing green poison into the beast's bloodstream.

Maximus fired another Thorn Whip at the second wolf, the one smoldering from Sarah's earlier fireball, and the vine wrapped around its torso and hind legs before detonating in streaks of toxic green, sending the creature rolling helplessly across the forest floor. The third wolf, watching its packmates fall in pain and panic, tried to flee, but Pete gathered what remained of his strength and rammed his sword forward, piercing the creature's chest and leaving a severe gash that slowed it.

Maximus, meanwhile, sprinted toward the first wolf and wrenched the blonde man's discarded sword from the beast's ribcage, his lungs and legs burning with fatigue. Before the wounded creature could rise, Maximus slashed, cutting its carotid artery in a swift, efficient motion, then immediately whipped the second retreating wolf, which had torn the vines binding its body, with another Thorn Whip, wrapping and tightening the vine around its hind legs so it couldn't escape.

He finished the second bound wolf with a clean thrust into the neck, while whipping the last one and leaving it struggling helplessly for Pete to stab and finish off. Then, as the final wolf finally stilled, Maximus turned slowly toward the remaining three humans, raising the bloodied blade between them with a cold, unreadable expression. Skill Leveled Up: [Thorn Whip (F) Lv. 2] You have defeated: [Veridian Wolf Lv. 4] x2 You have defeated: [Veridian Wolf Lv. 3] Class Leveled Up: [Druid Lv. 1 > Lv. 3] Talent Points gained: +4 Battle Tokens earned: 60 I don't have time to go through all this… hopefully I'll be able to read it properly later. Maximus dismissed the barrage of windows with a flick of thought and tightened his grip on the blade, adjusting his posture as the three humans stared at him.

"Hey there, calm down, buddy!" the blonde-haired man said, raising one hand as if soothing a frightened animal while he attempted to step closer, only to flinch violently back when Maximus slashed the air in warning.

"Don't come any closer," Maximus raised his voice.

"Hey, hey, I know we're all on edge being in the Planes and everything," Pete said, lowering his own sword slowly, "but we won't harm you. You literally saved our lives, man. And I even got a level from it." The tale has been illicitly lifted; should you spot it on Amazon, report the violation.

"Yes, me too!" Sarah added weakly from behind him, pulling herself upward.

"Well, I got nothing," the blond man muttered, visibly disappointed.

"What is this place?" Maximus asked coldly, his eyes narrowing.

"You called it Planes?"

"What, you don't know about the Trial Planes?" Sarah stared at him in confusion.

"Buddy, are you even fine?" the blond man asked, looking at Max more carefully this time. Maximus's white shirt was nearly crimson on the stomach, and the back was stained with the mix of his old and the wolves' fresh blood, and his red hair was stuck to the side of his head like dried paint from the head wound he had inherited.

"I'm good. Now answer me." Maximus's voice carried a cold steadiness as he kept the blade angled at them.

"Look, I was a doctor back on Earth, I know a serious wound when I see one," the blond man said sternly.

"My name is Tom, these two are Sarah and Pete, and we were all chosen to take on the Trials, same as you."

"Look, we really mean you no harm. We're grateful, honestly. Without you, we'd be dead," Pete said, sheathing his sword into a simple brown scabbard at his waist, trying to show sincerity.

"Don't think that means I trust you," Maximus replied, keeping distance, "but I need information, and this blade stays with me."

"Fair enough. Can we at least know your name?" Tom asked calmly.

"I'm Aur…" Maximus caught himself.

"I mean, I'm Maximus."

"Alright, Max," Tom said with a tired sigh as he lowered himself onto the grass, clearly exhausted from the fight.

"Let me explain what the Planes are." Pete and Sarah followed and sat beside him, pulling canteens from their backpacks and taking shaky sips.

"Planes are where anyone who awakens the System gets sent," Tom explained.

"Here we're supposed to acquire a Class, train, level up, and survive each Trial. There are five Trials total, each on a different Plane. Once you pass all of them, you return to Earth and can join a guild or start fresh with your new powers."

"But how do you not know this? Everyone gets a message explaining all this when they're sent here," Sarah said, blinking in confusion.

"I don't remember much," Maximus said, simply pointing at his bashed-in head.

"Oh… I see. Sorry." Sarah's cheeks reddened with guilt as she looked away.

"These Classes… you can pick whatever you want, or?" Maximus asked, trying to sound confused in a believable way and not like an old being from another world.

"You don't even remember that?" Pete asked, visibly shocked, before adding, "You're offered a few options, but you can choose any one from those. That's how everyone picks their starting Class."

"I see." Damn this body of mine… couldn't you pick Mage? Really? Aurelius cursed the old Maximus with silent annoyance.

"Another question." Maximus continued, "What is this Planes trial, and what are Battle Tokens?"

"You can check your Trial Info in the System," Tom said, sounding tired but patient.

"Just open your status and go to the Log tab." Maximus nodded and opened the window with a thought. Everything was the same as before, except for the four Talent Points now showing and his Spirit sitting critically low at 20. Another tab was tucked on the right, labeled System Logs. He focused on it, and a series of notes unfolded, apparently the notifications that the real Maximus had read already. The first note explained exactly what Tom and the others had told him.

The second note listed the four Classes he had been offered: Mage, Druid, Warrior, and Necromancer. Maximus sighed and shook his head. Any of these would have been better than Druid. Any of them. He opened the next note, detailing the start of the Trial: Welcome to the First Plane: The Plane of Forging. You must survive for 90 days or reach Level 25 and travel to the City of Beginnings. Sounds simple enough.

He opened the next note, explaining leveling and progression: Level up by killing beasts or completing missions. Use Talent Points to unlock or upgrade skills and traits. Battle Tokens earned through battles or trade can be spent in the Battle Store.

"Alright, I see now," Maximus said slowly.

"So, you guys were pulled into this recently as well?"

"Yes, barely a day ago," Pete answered.

"Luckily, we were ready for it. Ever since the System Integration twenty years ago, people have been disappearing randomly. Everyone knows they might be chosen one day, so you prepare." Maximus definitely hadn't been prepared… Aurelius wasn't happy with old Maximus's decisions at all.

"So, everyone back on your realm has this System as well?" Maximus asked.

"Not everyone," Sarah said quietly, sorrow slipping into her voice.

"Only those who survive the Trials."

"She lost her sister two years ago during her Trials," Pete explained gently as he patted Sarah's back. A sister lost two years ago? To a human, a lifetime of grief. To me, the blink of an eye. Though we are not that different in the end, I suppose. Grief can swallow anyone, no matter the race or the power they possess. Maximus thought; his eyes lingered on the woman.

"Ignore them, they're 'in love,'" Tom said with a mockingly dramatic sigh, then extended his hand.

"Now, may I have my sword back?"

"I took it fair and square," Maximus replied with a perfectly straight face.

"But I can sell it to you if you want."

"Really, man? Really?" Tom stared, stunned.

"I don't have any money," he added flatly.

"I don't want your money, whatever that is. I'll sell it for Battle Tokens," Maximus said simply. Tom groaned.

"Fine… I only have forty."

"Then it's a deal," Maximus said, having absolutely no idea how to trade but waiting patiently for Tom to do his part. Ah, to be young and easily blackmailed. He thought mockingly, pushing down the memories of the past. Tom sighed and initiated the transfer. A blue screen appeared before him with the amount of tokens sent and with a large box with flickering ' Accept' in the center. Max accepted it mentally, and the notification rang in his mind. Alert: You have received 40 Battle Tokens from User Tom Dalton.

Current Battle Tokens: 100"Nice doing business with you," Maximus said as he tossed Tom the bloody blade, activating Thorn Whip and hiding the spell within his palm in case things turned sour.

"Okay, now we can finally proceed," Tom muttered and grabbed the blade, clearly annoyed.

"Do you want to take the wolves as well?"

"I have no use for dead beasts," Maximus said plainly.

"You might rethink that next time," Pete chuckled as he slit open a wolf's chest and pulled out a small, thumb-sized green core that glimmered faintly. Tom did the same with the other two wolves.

"What's that?" Maximus asked, genuinely confused. On Veridiyum, beasts didn't leave anything like this; their mana typically condensed in the heart.

"This is a monster core," Tom said smugly.

"We can sell these back on Earth. They teach this in school these days." His smirk said he enjoyed getting something more valuable than the tokens he just traded away.

"Good to know. Consider that my payment for the information," Maximus said and turned to leave.

"Wait! Do you want to join us?" Pete called out.

"We can help each other."

"I'm okay. I prefer working alone," Maximus replied without hesitation.

"May we meet again, if destiny wills it." And with that, he strode northward, vanishing between the trees.