Chapter 57 - Branching out

Max woke up to a nice system notification in the morning.

Leveled up Quartz-level Cultivator (greater) to 6

+2 free attribute point

“Damn, Maverick,” Max said as he got up. He was curled up in his hammock, sleeping on the floor of the hut he had overtaken. Max did feel slightly bad about it, but he would go back out there tomorrow. Now it would be caves for him. Well, maybe a soft bed in Durum’s estate wasn’t exactly out of the question.

“I was bored, what can I say,” Maverick said in faux nonchalance. Max could sense he was very pleased with himself.

Max whistled. “Without pills or anything. I have to say I’m actually impressed this time.”

“Stop that,” Maverick said. If guns could blush, Max bet he would. “Our dynamic doesn’t work like that. You’re ruining our good name.”

“I’ll have to keep up, so you won’t change your sidekick.”

“Why are you… You know? Not irritable and grumpy and all the other great things I like about you.”

“I guess I just woke up on the right side of the bed,” Max said.

“I’m not entirely sure I prefer that or not,” Maverick said.

“I think it’s because everything is clear again,” Max said. “I know what to do. I know where to go. And most importantly, I’m going back out there.”

Max could appreciate the importance of Cultivation, and he would need to do it a lot more. The Zoos-collective had told him that Cultivation was a big deal. Durum had said that the Framework and all the levels and skills somehow merely facilitated Cultivation. But so far it hadn’t been anything more interesting than just a boring and strenuous way to get extra stats.They had a total of 12 free attribute points to use. Not too shabby.

I’ve been starting to say “we” a lot, haven’t I…?

“As well you should,” Maverick said smugly from his holster as they left the bunker.

Max had some breakfast and said his goodbyes to Sid. He would be needed here to feed the majority of the whole community. One of his cooks would join their outpost, but she was barely half the level Sid was. But it was alright. Dreadlands was a good place to get levels for everyone. Max wouldn’t be surprised if cooking the meat from those big hairy monsters grazing around there would give increased experience.

After that Max went by Elena, Marie and Lily to say his goodbyes. He caught Lily just before she was about to head out to work with clay. Max sneaked a handful of [Celestial Illumination Pills] in her pocket and patted her on the shoulder.

Then they headed off. To Max’s surprise Christie had indeed managed to gather up enough [Laborers] and [Artisans] of a reasonable variety so that they could set up a little camp. She came to announce it to Max triumphantly, flipping her hair and smiling as if to prove he was a fool to doubt her.

“You know, I kind of like her,” Maverick said, while she was still earshot.

Max gave Christie a glance. She was watching.

“Yeah, she’s alright,” Max admitted. Christie’s smirk widened into a smile.

They didn’t take much supplies with them. Some cups, bowls, utensils and such of course, as well as few sheets of cloth that Max had acquired earlier. As well as many a number of other personal things and knickknacks. However, the idea was that they would acquire all that they needed from the Dreadlands. There was plenty of game to hunt, as well as loot boxes to acquire.

Max was also sure that there was more to explore in the Dreadlands. It was clearly a big place. It was meant to be a combat zone between species and Max hadn’t seen anything yet. But then again, if you discounted the dwarven lands underground, he hadn’t spent that much time in the zone. There were natural treasures and mysterious boons to be had, that was a certainty.

Max hadn’t had the heart to tell the others about the hot springs, but as soon as he could ascertain that he could kill those giant insect demons, he would take this expedition to a bath. He got giddy just thinking about it. He must have had a goofy smile on his face, because as they trekked through the hills towards the strange white bridge, he got a few funny looks. They kept turning their heads and walking close, because they thought Maverick was apparently ‘funny’ and ‘interesting’. They didn’t have to deal with his ‘interesting and funny’ remarks all day every day though…

“What is so great about baths?” Maverick asked from Max’s holster. “I mean. You totally need one. Don’t misconstrue.”

“They’re just great. The warm water… Wait, why am I trying to explain baths to you?”

“You like me and want to keep me engaged?”

“Shouldn’t you hibernate or something?”

“The need for it comes and goes, what can I say?”

“Just for a moment, you could try not saying anything.”

Maverick huffed at that, but blessedly did remain silent for a while. Probably not so much out of respect for Max’s wishes. No. Max could clearly sense the gun was sulking again.

Eventually they got to the edge of the Dreadlands. As they got down, they all got their achievements.

“Open the boxes later,” Max said. “Follow me.”

He was their guide now. Fully responsible. While Brian was the leader of this expedition, Max would call the shots for now. He was the unofficial leader, until he wasn’t needed anymore. That was at least how Max saw it. He couldn’t vouch for others. Brian had a very different emotion behind his eyes when he looked at Max, than, say, Christie had.

Max didn’t care about all that for now. He was happy to be back out here. Happy to make progress again.

There was a certain beauty towards the harshness of the environment. The dark ash on the ground. The barren, twisted trees. The sulphuric fumes and the ominous volcano ascending the horizon. The rest of the expedition made their remarks and exclamations, while Max kept a watchful eye for Vilefiends. Not because he was afraid they would attack them. He was hoping they’d see some, so he could help the [Combatants] out.

Eventually they found a group. Fortunate group. Decently sized at 8 little demons. Max told them to hide and wait.

“I will lock down most of them. I will keep one free for now. You guys attack it or something. Watch how they move, watch what they do. Once you’re done with that, I’ll release two. They work in packs after all. Just be careful. If you get struck hard, use a potion. I assume everyone of you [Combatants] has at least one. If you don’t, share for Christ's sake.”

It went as smoothly as one could have asked, Max supposed. He used a [Gravity well] on the group. They got all sucked in the swirl, but Max [Tethered] out one of the Vilefiends. It snarled and immediately attacked Max.

Max cast [Alter Gravity] on himself and used [Tether] to zip around and get closer to the group of Brian’s combatants. As Max had suspected, the Vilefiend got tired of chasing Max and went for the less mobile prey. The creature fought hard, but even against lower leveled enemies than itself, it was overwhelmed. Some Health points were lost, but no injuries.

It got a little trickier when Max released two of them. The Vilefiends were vicious when they got in close quarters, and one of Brian’s men got a bit of a scratch on his leg. He was a fighter though, and even when he fell, he grabbed the Vilefiend and kept it still, while the others beat it to death.

Max noticed that while using [Gravity Well] was convenient, it was draining his Mana unnecessarily fast. He released the whole pack and tethered down every demon, except for two of them. Max figured three might get too messy for now.

Christie’s fighters had their go at the demon. Max could appreciate the difference between the two group leaders. Brian’s men fought like berserkers. They were angry, ferocious, and brutal. Perfect for a vanguard attack really.

But Christie's little band of men and women were scrappy. They moved fast, using knives to dart in and out, stabbing once or twice before retreating. If one of the Vilefiends followed the stabber, it was tripped by another fighter, thrown a rock at by a third. They were fast, agile and surprisingly well organized.

Absolutely not vanguard material, but definitely dangerous if they just got more levels. When they were done with the group, many people in the group did level. Max got some negligible experience, barely worth a mention as far as his levels went. But he would be happy to do this for a few more times, so that the other fighters would get the hang of it.

It was a waste of time in a personal sense, but he needed to help establish the outpost. It would benefit Max too in the long run. He would have a relatively safer place to sleep and together with this band they could potentially take out threats that Max couldn’t take out on his own.

While Max was certain he was a powerhouse right now, his fight with the Stranger had gotten him thinking. His control with the gravity spells was great. That had enabled him to win by the skin of his teeth against the Stranger and his panthers. But if he had had some proper offensive or defensive spells, the fight might not have been so close. Max wasn’t sure how he could acquire them, other than leveling up. As far as he understood it, it was possible to learn new skills through experimentation and chance, but so far that had been limited to talents only in Max’s case.

They found another group of [Junior Vilefiends] which went about the same way the first had gone. They were fortunate enough to loot an [E-grade supply box] from the monsters, which contained 3 potions in total. They were all initially given to Max, an offer he refused outright. But he couldn’t resist taking one [Mana Potion] for himself.

Dwarfmind.

They also passed a couple of those giant yaks, which aroused much curiosity and fear in the group, but Max told them they’d hunt them later. Max wasn’t completely certain he could take one of the great beasts on, but he was damned if he wouldn’t try.

Eventually they got into the inner layer of the Dreadlands. Where the worms and the giant insects dwelled. Max told them to be very quiet, very alert. While they had all been enjoying themselves before, all of them now adopted a very serious mood. Max liked that. They hadn’t come here to play.

They had come here to settle. But first Max would show them what a [Foulworm] was.