Chapter 4 – Another Battle, Another Meeting

Maximus walked through the evergreen forest until he finally reached what he had been searching for: the wolves’ lair. He had observed the way the surviving wolf tried to flee, noting the subtle angling of its desperate retreat, and correctly deduced that it wanted to run toward their territory to hide and lick its wounds.

The lair itself was a small cavern, dug crudely into the back of a tree-covered hill, its entrance partially hidden by ferns and low brush. Maximus ducked inside, finding the interior surprisingly dry, the floor covered with old grass, shed fur, and a pile of bones.

He sat down on a patch of dry moss and finally let out a slow breath.

Finally, some peace to think and rest…So… Not only am I in a new body, he thought, but also in a new realm where people rely on some absurd System instead of learning sword arts or magic properly. He sighed and shook his head. I suppose everything has its positives and negatives. Ah well… Let’s see what I can do now.

He opened his skill and trait screen with a thought, eyes narrowing as he assessed his options.

I’ll put three Talent Points into Thorn Whip and save one. I can strengthen skills by using them, sure, but at the moment I don’t have the luxury of waiting.

—-

Skills:

Thorn Whip (F) Level 5 – Summon one thorny 6-meter-long vine to whip your enemies. The number of vines and the damage are scaled from the level of the skill and the Tier. Costs 20 of your Spirit to cast.

—-

“Well, that’s not bad,” Maximus murmured. “Longer vines should be useful.”

He memorized the updates and sat cross-legged again, absorbing the ambient spiritual energy flowing gently through the forest. The feeling was different than mana, warmer, softer, almost nurturing, but he adapted quickly. After some time, he opened his eyes and smiled. His Spirit was full.

Trait Leveled Up: [Natural (F) Lv. 2]

—-

Class Traits:

Natural (F) Level 2 – One chosen by nature and the spirits of the world. Nature-type spells are easier to learn, and spirit energy regenerates 0.6% per 120 seconds.

Spirits are observing you.

—-

“Good… very good. So, this is a way to accelerate Trait growth.” Maximus smiled, satisfied. “Alright, let’s open this so-called Store.”

He thought of it, and a new interface unfolded, a strange array of categories and tabs, everything purchasable only within the Planes using Battle Tokens.

Hmm. I’ll need something sharp in case something gets close. A proper staff will come later.

He opened the Weapons tab: ‘Swords’ submenu. At the top sat blades worth hundreds of thousands of tokens. He scoffed and scrolled all the way to the bottom.

[Starting Iron Sword (F)]

Simple blade crafted from iron, perfect for new swordsmen.

Cost: 70 BT

“I’ll take this. I have the most experience with blades after staves,” he muttered, “and some food, water… And a bag.”

He spent his remaining 30 tokens on four bottles of water, five bags of jerky, and a medium-sized satchel that he strapped across his chest, so it hung at his left hip.

The water and food materialized out of thin air with a faint ripple, and he stored them in the bag quickly. He hadn’t tested his Subspace ability yet, and for now, he preferred having survival items within arm’s reach until he was certain that this Inventory was reliable.

He fastened the sword to his right hip and stepped out of the cavern, breathing in the cold forest air. Though he had been an Archmage in his previous life, he had lived alone outside the elven support network, forced to learn everything from hunting to crafting to swordsmanship simply to survive.

Back on Veridiyum, swordsmanship was considered as basic as learning to walk, and no matter one’s profession, every man needed to know how to properly handle a blade, and that was the only thing he had left of his old human father, his sword skills and unbreakable discipline.

He adjusted the sword at his waist, feeling the cheap iron’s weight.

“Alright then,” he muttered, eyes narrowing as he scanned the forest around him. If these Trials want to forge me… I’ll welcome it with open arms. Gods are waiting to be slain after all…

***

He left the wolves’ cave and walked northward for half an hour, chewing jerky and sipping water until the hollow ache in his stomach finally faded and he felt something resembling fullness for the first time since waking in this world.

Just as he wiped his mouth clean, he spotted two dark-haired men locked in combat beneath a cluster of trees, kicking up dirt and leaves as they clashed violently.

One held a simple iron sword, while the other wielded two short daggers. Neither used any skills, no flares of spirit or mana, nor aura or circles, which immediately made Maximus think they were beginners in the Trials just as he was.

He slowed his pace to a quiet stalk, eyes scanning the terrain, ears pricked as he closed in and listened to their frantic shouting.

“That skill stone is mine! It dropped from a monster I killed!” the man with the daggers screamed, narrowly avoiding a stab that came far too close to puncturing his stomach before spinning left and slashing wildly with both blades.

“You can’t even use it, idiot! I can sense that it’s a Warrior skill stone anyway!” the swordsman barked back, thrusting again, this time grazing the man’s shoulder and leaving a faint trail of blood.

“You’ll die fighting like this, you fool, just let it go!” the swordsman snapped, frustration flaring in his voice as he pressed forward.

Skill stones? Maximus questioned. Are there such things here? This world keeps showing more depth the longer I look… His mind raced with possibilities, paths to growth, shortcuts to power, ways to accelerate his progress in this weak vessel. The System was strange, yes, but also full of hidden opportunities.

Then, just as Maximus was forming new theories, the fight shifted dramatically. The dagger wielder invoked some sort of skill, his blades suddenly glowing with a sharp green radiance.

He hurled one dagger forward like bait. The swordsman dodged instinctively, only for the second dagger to fly straight into his exposed chest.

The green light erupted around the swordsman’s body with a sharp flash, paralyzing him in place.

“I win, you bitch,” the dagger‑wielder snarled as he retrieved both daggers and seized the shimmering skill stone from the fallen man’s limp grasp. Without hesitation, he stabbed the paralyzed swordsman through the heart, twisting once, and then pulled back, letting the corpse slump lifelessly onto the dirt.

He snatched the dead man’s sword, tucked it under his arm, and sprinted away without so much as a backward glance.

Maximus watched him disappear between the trees and let out a low chuckle. “Not everyone is as polite as that last group, it seems.”

He waited several long, quiet moments, ensuring the murderer was truly gone, before stepping out from behind the trees and approaching the body to scavenge whatever had been left behind.

This story has been taken without authorization. Report any sightings.

***

Maximus slowly rose, staying low to the ground as he moved toward the corpse with careful, deliberate steps.

The body lay sprawled in the leaves, eyes still wide open in shock, and blood pooling beneath the torn shirt.

He searched the man’s pockets first, then the belt, boots, and anything that might resemble storage, but found nothing except dirt and a faint metallic smell. With a tired sigh, Maximus tugged off the man’s sleeveless vest, shook off dust and dried leaves, and cleaned it with his hands as best as he could before putting it on.

“Forgiveness, but you won’t need it anymore,” he whispered. “May the Great Stream carry your spirit to a gentler shore.” He closed the dead man’s eyes with two fingers and slipped away in the opposite direction from the killer.

He moved for nearly an hour through dense foliage, stopping often to catch his breath until, at last, he spotted movement, something large and crimson shifting gently between the trees. A deer. Not an ordinary one, but a crimson-skinned deer with silver horns curving like polished metal, grazing peacefully on broad-leafed plants.

Maximus lowered himself, moving silently from tree to tree until he reached the ideal range for his skill. He activated Thorn Whip and altered the poison properties into pure paralysis before aiming with calculated precision.

Woosh.

The vine shot from the glowing green circle on his palm, arcing through the air and wrapping itself tightly around the deer’s neck. Maximus gripped the vine and jerked hard, embedding the barbs deep into flesh and flooding the beast with paralytic venom. Its legs buckled instantly as if someone had cut its strings.

The moment the deer collapsed, Maximus lunged forward, unsheathing his blade in a single smooth movement and stabbing deeply into the deer’s neck, ending its life quickly and with respect.

“Thank you for your sacrifice,” he whispered as he gently closed the deer’s eyes.

You have defeated: [Redhide Deer Lv. 1]

Battle Tokens earned: 10