Chapter 46 - Sharing

Max woke up to a somewhat normalized camp-life. As always he overslept as far as the community was concerned. Sleep hadn’t been all to waste, as Maverick had been active during the night. There was a red dot in Max’s vision where the system notifications were. He checked it, although he knew what it was.

Leveled up Quartz-level Cultivator (lesser) to 13

+1 free attribute point

Max got half up in the hammock and looked down at the camp. There was a bustle of routines that was endearing to watch. Of course with the advent of the many things Max had brought from the dwarf kingdom, new routines were born.

The camp now had an abundance of containers, so half a score of people were going back and forth to the river to fill as many containers for the day as was reasonable.

There was of course a lethargy and melancholy to the camp. They had survived and won last night, but at a high price. Many faces were tired and straight up crestfallen. Max could only feel a silent happiness that none of the people he had grown to care about had been hurt.

Max put his hammock in the inventory and went to the river for a wash, waving a hand at people hollering at him. When he got back and took a bowl of fish stew from one of Sid’s cooks, he noticed Lily sitting on the ground and eating. Max sat next to her.

Lily had been out of the camp last night, practicing the use of clay at the site she had found. As far as Max knew, she stayed there all day every day.

“Good thing you were there,” Max said. “It got messy last night.”

“I heard you saved everyone,” Lily said and gave him a little smile.

“I suppose I did,” Max said. “That’s what I’m good for. I could never do what you do. I heard from Marie that you’re working at the clay deposit daily.”

Lily nodded. “It’s actually been a little complicated.”

“How come?”

“Because I could make an okay cup or a plate at this point. And I always bring one or two home when I return. But not everyone’s been happy about me just grinding the levels, and not bringing in everything I make. Most of my stuff I leave to the site.”

“Oh,” Max said. “You’re powerleveling.”

“Uhhuh,” Lily said. “I was big on mobile games on… on earth…”

Her gaze turned glassy for a moment, but she shook herself out of it.

“So I feel like I know what I’m doing. I think it’s better for me to powerlevel now and then create something actually useful later.”

“So now that I brought a bunch of cups, plates and pots, that’s a weight off your shoulders?” Max asked.

Lily brushed her black hair off her face and smiled brightly. “Exactly! Thank you. And now I also have models to work with. You keep saying you don’t do much other than kill stuff, but honestly I think you’re great.”

She blushed a little and gave him a shy look. Max smiled.

“You’re doing great too,” Max said. “Keep doing that powerlevel thing. The more people that can really appreciate that this is sort of a game, the better for us.”

“Yeah,” Lily said. “I’m taking notes from you.”

“What level are you anyway?”

“I’m level 14,” Lily said.

Max turned to her, eyebrows raised. “Really? You’re almost on par with Joshua. That’s impressive.”

Lily gave him a gentle smile.

Max produced the sack of [Celestial Illumination Pills] from his inventory. He scooped up a handful and waited for Lily to understand. She put down the fishbowl and cupped her hands. Max poured twenty-some pills for her.

“What are these?” Lily asked.

Max smiled knowingly. “You’ll really appreciate those once you hit 15.”

“You unlock a new thing at 15?”

“Oh, a big thing,” Max said. “These will help you level up faster in it.”

“Wow. Thank you, Max,” Lily said and gave him that shy smile again. “You know, you should see Elena. She’s gotten a lot of levels lately. I think she’s either 13 or 14. If you have any more of these to spare, give some to her. Or if you don’t you can take these back and— I mean, I would like them but… I just…”

“Don’t be silly,” Max said and chuckled. “I already gave them to you. Keep them.”

“Thanks,” she said demurely.

Max poured the rest of the fish stew in his mouth. He wasn’t the biggest fan of fish, but he wasn’t one to complain. Food was food. They were a long way from hamburgers and ice cream, no matter how fast Sid would level.

“I’ll go see Elena,” Max said and squeezed Lily on the shoulder as he got up. “Thanks for the company.”

“See you, Max!”

Max went off to find Elena. He could spare another handful of pills, as there was a massive amount of them still. Not that he should be frivolous, but for dedicated power levelers like Lily or Elena it would be worthwhile to do. If Elena were to become a [Doctor], [Apothecary], [Alchemist] or some such, that might literally save Max’s life some day.

Elena greeted him with a tired smile. If she had slept, it hadn’t been for long. Max offered her a bowl of fish stew, having asked Sid’s crew if she had eaten anything this morning.

Her exhausted eyes lit up. “So considerate. Thank you.”

Max shrugged. “I try.”

“Try too hard you mean,” Maverick quipped.

“Can’t you cycle or something?” Max snapped.

“I was going to, but your interactions are very interesting,” Maverick said.

“What’s cycling?” Elena asked.

“I’ll tell you in a minute,” Max said. “May I sit?”

“Of course.”

“You look like hell,” Max said as he came to sit down on a rock next to her. She was watching her patients, who were in varying states of unconsciousness.

“Feel like hell too,” Elena said. “I suppose this place is a hell of a sorts.”

“Sometimes,” Max said. “But when I look at what people have built here, it feels amazing sometimes too. We’ll pull through this.”

Elena gave an uncertain nod between spoonfuls of stew.

“Thanks to people like you a large portion,” Max said. “Lily told me you’ve been really pulling your weight and then some. What level are you?”

“I’m a level 14 [Herbalist]. Leveled up just tonight,” Elena said. There was no pride or further interest to discuss the matter in her voice. She just stated it.

“That’s really good!” Max said. “You’re almost as high level as me.”

“Huh,” Elena said between spoonfuls. “I thought you’d be higher.”

“I’m level 18,” Max said. “At 15 you unlock a system that’s a good idea to spend some time with. It relates to that cycling thing me and Maverick talked about.”

Max explained the basics of the Cultivation system to her and gave her a handful of pills. She protested at first, before Max showed her how many pills he still had left in the purple sack. Once Elena was convinced and willing, she took an extreme interest in the pills and asked Max if she could break some down.

Max shrugged and said that he’d trust her judgment, they were her pills now anyway. After finishing the bowl of stew, it was obvious Elena could barely keep herself on her feet anyway.

“Go sleep for two hours,” Max said.

Elena shook her head vigorously. “I can’t. I need to look after them. If they move in their sleep and a wound rips open, it's bad.”

“I’ll keep watch. If anything happens, I’ll wake you up. Sleep close. I’ll give you exactly two hours.”

“You’re too much of a softie,” Elana protested. “You’ll just let me sleep till the cows come home.”

“What the hell is this expression?” Max asked. “You grew up on a farm? People still use that?”

“I don’t know. Don’t tease me!”

Max let out a laugh. “Anyway, I’ll give you two hours, not more.”

“How can you tell the time?”

Max smirked. “These pills? Their effect lasts exactly two hours. I’ll cycle with Maverick for two hours and then spend some time with my Cosmic Coins and attribute points, and I’ll kick you awake. How’s that?”

Elena sighed. “Oh… That’s… Good night, Max.”

That was all she said. She gave Max one last grateful smile and put down her fish bowl. Then she walked a few paces and fell on the ground, asleep almost instantly.

Max popped a [Celestial Illumination Pill] and gave Maverick one. It wouldn’t be as effective as usual, because he had promised to keep an eye on the wounded. Still this would be a good opportunity to inch out a level or two before heading for the woods.