Chương 42: Chapter 28 – Sprout Evolves

Sprout floated slowly from the second story, gazing down at the small village before it. The place was crowded with humans of every sort imaginable, making Maximus oddly uncomfortable, as though he had wandered deep behind enemy lines. Back on Veridiyum, elves were not the friendliest with other races, and the second strongest were the humans, who often fought against elven armies for resource-rich lands under the Mother's protection. I've never seen so many different humans in one place.

Didn't even know they could look like this. He observed. Then he focused on the buildings: simple, flat-roofed stone structures, obviously ancient, carefully restored to be livable once again. On the streets, stands and shops were tucked tightly against the stone walls, leaving barely enough room for people to pass in two thin lines. Oh, that looks interesting. I'd like to try to buy a few things. Make some potions. He noted down the location of the stands selling plants.

Just then, Sprout floated onto the ground and began wandering through the streets, avoiding people's footsteps so it wouldn't be squished. Then it noticed the old man Edgar walking toward one of the larger buildings and followed him. Good thinking! Maximus whispered. Sprout rustled its two leaves joyfully before squeezing under the heavy wooden doors. Can you hear me? Rustle your leaves again if you can.

Maximus asked inwardly, and as he did, Sprout, just as it passed under the doors, rustled its leaves in confirmation. Oh, this is excellent. So, the link works in both directions. Good, this will be of use as we move forward! Maximus smiled, satisfied, as he still tried to see what was going on in the wide room Sprout had found itself in. In the center of the room was a round wooden table at which four people sat.

"So, how did it go?" a white-haired older woman asked, her dark skin showing the gentle marks of time.

"Eh, he wants to do it the hard way. Pity, I got a sense that he is someone we could count on," Edgar said regretfully.

"There is still time for him to realize just what this world is. Once he experiences the Monster Horde, he'll come around," Jax the healer said.

"As I said when I recommended him, he is very odd, but he has a lot of potential." The last person sitting at the northernmost part of the table was Tom. Tom? I knew he was hiding something. What in the nine hells is he doing there? Maximus frowned.

"Listen, boy, you are not your brother. Don't think that you have any say in this!" Edgar raised his voice.

"I never said that, I just said that the druid could be useful in the long run. Fine, whatever. Don't say that I didn't try to help." Tom rose and left the room, shutting the doors behind him.

"He thinks he is all that just because of his brother. Let's see if he can even clear the Planes," the woman said, clearly upset.

"Look, we shouldn't focus on the outside world for the time being, but we should also be mindful of who can help us if we survive this ordeal. Joining his brother's guild is very important," Jax said.

"God knows the military is not what it was." He sighed.

"Nothing is as it was," Edgar sighed as well.

"I'll watch over the Dalton boy, and regarding the redhead, I won't push it. He seems like a decent one. Let him recover and help us for the time being," Edgar added.

"I agree, no need to push it. We have other candidates that can owe us," the woman said, and they rose, leaving the room. So, they wanted me to become the leader of this place and owe them later? So being a leader has some perks, it seems. He shook his head. Doesn't matter, I have my goals, and Aurelius never creates debts. He muttered and summoned Sprout back. With a soft swish of green energy, the seedling vanished and appeared before Maximus.

"Good job, buddy. Go rest." He canceled the summoning, letting Sprout return to the spirit realm to recover.

Over the next two days, Maximus received a couple of visits from Jax, who healed him back to full health, but was astonished that he had recovered that fast for a low-level person. What Jax didn't know was that Maximus had been eating seedlings like a goat, chewing through the sour plants with a mad fervor. Even Sarah and Tom visited him once, telling him that Pete was getting better and that they had decided to stay in the village until the trial was over, leaving Maximus a bit disappointed.

Finally, on the third day, it was time for him to leave and explore the village by himself. But before that, he opened the Store and spent 10 Battle Tokens on a fresh white button-down shirt. He rolled up his sleeves and left. As he walked, he checked his skills; the only one that had improved lately was Seedling, which he kept spamming as much as he could; some he ate, the others he stored aside.

Seedling (F) Level 10 – Create a small seedling that you can ingest as food or use to heal yourself or others. The skill restores 6. 5% of your overall health over the next 9 minutes. Uses almost no spirit to cast.

Good, it's getting better, slowly. He walked up to the stand he had seen on his first day here, a place where a tall man in loose silk clothing sat, selling plants.

"Hey there, young man, how can I help you?" the man asked.

"Good morning, do you maybe have Mendleaf, Glowpetal, and Heartroot?" Maximus asked.

"Don't you sound like someone who knows what he's talking about?" the man chuckled.

"But I'm sorry, never heard of them. You can browse what I've got and see if anything else fits your needs." The man pointed to the samples spread across the table. Stolen from Royal Road, this story should be reported if encountered on Amazon. Maximus nodded and scanned the plants, his Appraisal ability making things much easier. Hmm, I could use some of these… And together with the Seedling? It could work… Potentially. He nodded to himself.

"How much for ten stalks of Faintglow Weed, Dawn Lily, and a bag of Redmother's Root?" Maximus asked.

"Let me see if I even have that much." The man ducked down and started checking his boxes.

"Alright, I've got five of each and half a bag of the roots. I'll sell them for 500 Tokens." The man said simply. Maximus frowned.

"Do you buy plants as well?"

"Sure, what've you got?" the man asked curiously. Maximus opened his bag and summoned a bunch of seedlings, taking them out as if he had them stored.

"These are seedlings of a Vitality Bean. You can plant them and sell the beans," Maximus explained. The man cracked a smile.

"Look, kid, I'm trying to run a business here. I'm not going to buy some magical beans." He even made air quotes at the last part.

"Come back when you've got some real money, then we can talk." He shooed him away. Damn fool. He could've earned so much more if he just planted the seedlings… Fine, I'll come back, old man. He muttered inwardly and headed toward the place he had seen selling monster and beast parts. There, a large shop was connected to an armory. It looked like they brought in parts, crafted armor from the best pieces, and sold the leftovers, making it the perfect place for Maximus.

"Good morning. I'd like to sell a corpse of a Sandwalker Lizard. It's only missing its head. I can even sell the core," Maximus said as he walked into the store. Behind the counter, a thick woman sat chewing on a sandwich.

"Oy, morning, lad. You said you're selling a lizard? Where is it then?" she spoke through bites.

"I've got it in my storage. It's quite big, so if you have some open space, I'll take it out," he said honestly.

"Ooooh, a high-level one, are you, lad? Fine, walk with me, and don't mind the mess." The large woman led him into a big, empty room in the back filled with scattered monster parts. Maximus stepped into the middle and summoned the corpse.

"Bloody hell! This is in great shape. Shame about the head, though, the sacs could've been used to make bombs." She scratched her chin.

"Hmmm, I'll give you 350 Tokens for it, what do you say?" She turned toward Maximus.

"How about 400? It is in very good shape," Maximus bargained.

"350, and I'll throw in some proper boots to wear instead of those torn sneakers." The woman pointed at his toes peeking through the holes left by his transformation earlier. Maximus cleared his throat.

"It's a deal!" he said without hesitation. They returned to the front, and she transferred 350 Tokens before handing him a pair of simple black boots that fit him well.

"Thanks, come by next time as well!" she waved him off happily as she continued her breakfast.

Maximus returned to the stall with the medicinal plants and smiled at the merchant.

"I'm back, I got the tokens," he said happily.

"Oho, that was fast. Alright, as I said before, 500 for everything you asked for," the old merchant replied.

"How about 450?" Maximus bargained.

"Haha, are you crazy? These are very rare, and I'd be losing money if I sold them for under 500!" the merchant muttered, shaking his head. Maximus sighed.

"Fine, fine, here. I'll take it." The merchant waited while Maximus navigated through the system's interface before finally finding the trade option. Maximus nodded and activated the trade, offering 500 tokens. The man confirmed the transaction and handed over the ingredients, which Maximus stored promptly.

"Nice doing business with you, son. Come again some other time," the trader chuckled as Maximus headed toward the restaurant he had seen earlier, his stomach beginning to remind him just how hungry he was.

He sat at the outside tables and ordered some simple roasted meat and bread for 20 Tokens. Everything costs tokens in this damn place, and they want me to stay here and wait idly by. Not a chance. Maximus muttered inwardly as the food arrived. He took a wide bite, feeling quite ravenous, and gasped at the taste. The meat was perfectly roasted, and the bread was baked to be fluffy with a subtle sweetness. I've never eaten anything like this. He took another bite, his eyes glistening with joy.

As he finished his meal, he spent another 20 Tokens ordering a second serving. Just as he was in the middle of it, two familiar faces greeted him.

"Hey, Max, you are out and about, huh?" Tom stopped at his table, smiling, with Sarah next to him.

"Hey Max, how are you?" she asked.

"Oh, it's you two. Indeed, I left the room this morning. How is Pete?" Maximus asked.

"He is doing well. In a couple of days, he should be as good as new," Tom replied.

"May we sit with you?" Sarah asked and sat down.

"Well, you already did," Maximus said with a chuckle.

"While you two are here, let me ask you something," Maximus started.

"How come there are merchants and cooks and crafters here? How can they survive the Trials?" He didn't quite understand that part.

"Well, they might have a fighting class but still have skills to do other things, from their life on Earth, you know," Tom explained.

"For example, someone could've been a cook on Earth and chosen a bad class. They can pass the first Trial, then survive just by cooking for people in one of the villages. Or someone could gain a skill to locate rare plants, and so on." Tom explained in more detail.

"I see. That makes a lot of sense. Alright, fountain of knowledge, one last thing. What is a Monster Horde?" Maximus asked before taking another bite.

"Oh, that is a special feature of the first Trial, to make things a bit more interesting." He chuckled, then frowned.

"Every ten days, a horde of low-level monsters is summoned in the region near every gathering of participants with a simple mission of attacking villages. The assault lasts the whole night, and everyone needs to work together to defend the villages. It's also a nice way to level up a bit," Tom added.

"That sounds interesting. Alright, I thank you." Maximus nodded.

"Hey Max, did you manage to remember anything?" Sarah cut in.

"Not yet, but I do feel better," Maximus said honestly, and he meant it.

"So, are you going to stay here with us?" she asked.

"I won't. After the Monster Horde attack, I will prepare to leave for the City of Beginnings. I overheard that the rewards for reaching it are quite valuable," Maximus said with a simple smile.

"Well, no shit," Tom laughed.

"It's hell getting there. Even gaining 25 levels is hard, but the rewards are indeed something special. It's different for everyone, I'm not sure why, but the least someone gets for reaching it is a B-rank skill. Some even get C-rank equipment along with it," Tom said, clearly jealous.

"Like your brother?" Maximus pried.

"Yeah… Like my brother." Tom frowned and stood up.

"I just remembered, I've got things to do. See you later." He walked off.

"Sorry about that, he is quite jealous of his brother," Sarah said apologetically.

"Well, why doesn't he try to be better than him?" Maximus said, not quite understanding the problem. If you felt inadequate about yourself, the only thing you needed to do was put in the effort to become better. It was as simple as that to the old Aurelius.

"Hey Sarah, do you know any place I can go to prepare for tonight? Like a room or an empty house?" Maximus asked.

"Oh, yes, go to the western side of the village. There are empty homes you can take shelter in. We are nearby as well," Sarah replied with a smile, a faint blush rising to her cheeks as she observed him intently.

"Alright then, thank you. I'll be going now. Say hi to Pete for me." He stood up and left Sarah sitting alone. He had a lot to do to prepare for the night's battle, and he felt uncomfortable sitting alone with a human woman. He wasn't yet fully comfortable with being human himself, and he could sense her eyes lingering on him more and more after everything they had been through. I had a few mates in my last life, but I never managed to find someone who could stay by my side for long.

I'm not sure if I want my first in this life to be someone I stole from another. He shook his head. And a human at that, the short-lived ones… That is something I'll have to get over at some point. For an elf, even half one, being with one of the short-lived races was a painful thing. They lived for thousands of years, born from the World Tree, their constitution allowing them to barely age. Even he, a half, had inherited that gift, or if you asked him, a curse. He had watched his friends die.

Watched the women he met along his travels grow old in the blink of an eye. He never managed to find someone who could follow him step by step, even among his own kind. Most of them wanted nothing to do with a tainted one; forget marriage, even treating him like a person was too much for many. Then suddenly, he paused and turned, finding himself glancing back at Sarah, his heart beating faster, urging him to leave everything in the past and try to live this new life. He sighed.

What are these silly thoughts swirling in my mind? Is it this body? Hey, Maximus, you hormonal bastard, you fancy Sarah, huh? Well, calm down your reproductive urges; we have more important things to worry about. He chuckled to himself as he went to find a place to make some potions.