After the week was over, Licia's regiment was scheduled to be replaced by another, and Max had finally headed back to civilization with them. There had been no way that he was going to try and navigate a dangerous magical world without help from anybody else, especially if what the soldiers had said was true, and that the continent that he was on was the most prolific with monsters.
That's how you got yourself killed, after all, what kind of idiot would wander around Rhir's wastelands without help?
Qum clapped a hand on Max's shoulder after they had gotten back to their base of operations, a guard tower along the Fourth Wall.
"So, what do you plan on doing once we get back? I know that you're probably itching to get back to Terandria, what with your family being there and all. I sure know that we could use someone with your Skills in our army, or at least a fighting core for hunting down monsters."
Max thought about it for a moment. He didn't exactly have a way to get back to Earth, and while the Kalinad lands sounded nice, he wasn't just going to drop everything that he had going here to return to a land that wasn't actually his home.
"I think…" Max paused, gathering his thoughts, "That I'll stick around in Rhir for a while. There are a lot more monsters here, which will give me ample experience to actually fight and level up. Plus I… Don't exactly have any more family in Terandria."
Qum's smile faded from his face as he realized Max's (False) implications. "Aw shit, man. I didn't realize you were an orphan. My bad man."
Max gave a half hearted smile to the soldier, feigning a look of sorrow. In reality, his family most likely Didn't exist in Terandria, although if he was going to get teleported into a magical world, then who's to say that his family weren't also affected? He thought about his younger sister and his dad, and how it was unlikely that he'd ever see them again.
"It's alright, Qum. It's been a while since i've seen my dad or sister. They both decided to pack up and travel a while before I did, and then when my mom fell ill…"
It wasn't exactly lying, just not relaying all of the details. Max had, in fact taken care of his mother while she had been terminally sick, until the point in time where she had died when he was 20. That had been two years ago at this point. It still stung him, but he was determined not to let something so depressing bring him down. It wasn't his fault that his mom had died.
But he would still do what he could to spite death. While he was here, Death would not take him.
On the other hand, he was really intrigued by this giant boss creature at the bottom of the dungeon. He assumed that it was ridiculously strong though, so it wouldn't do to try and take it on until he hit level 40 or 50 before trying to take it down.
"Sucks to hear that, Max. But if you're staying in Rhir for a while, my offer stands. We soldiers sure could use someone like you."
Max had actually been weighing the benefits of that a couple of nights ago. He'd been working with the soldier's for about a week already, and was considering joining up with them. On the positive side, he'd be able to join something that was bigger than just him, maybe forge some friendships and what not.
On the other hand… Autonomy was always something that Max had wanted. Ever since he had gotten stuck with caring for his mother, he'd always been a little bitter that he didn't also get the chance to go off on his own. He wanted some time to experience this new world for himself before he settled anywhere. Not to mention, he was a [Swashbuckler] and a [Monster Hunter]. Being a Swashbuckler meant that he was going to try and learn how to fight with his rapier better, and that usually meant duelling. He didn't think that soldiers, with learning to fight in a team, was conducive to optimizing his skills.
So when he had gained his first [Soldier] Level that night, he promptly cancelled it. He didn't want to get bogged down by fighting alongside a bunch of other soldiers, especially since they didn't seem that high level. Sure, all of them were above level 20, and Licia was almost level 30, but Max had gained 8 [Warrior] and 4 [Survivor] Levels before they had been upgraded into lower level forms of advanced versions.
Max wasn't sure if having upgraded classes meant that they'd be harder to level in, but he was already back to level 8 between his two classes, and he'd only been in this world for two weeks. Clearly if he kept doing what he had already been doing, he'd get stronger in no time. He wasn't sure if sticking with the soldiers was a good idea, since they seemed to stagnate. Sure, they practiced fighting every day, and they actually fought monsters, but the [Soldier] class wasn't something that he wanted to get bogged down by.
"I appreciate the offer, but I think adventuring is more my style. I'm going to need to kill a lot more monsters in order to get this class leveled up, and I value my freedom to do what I'd like. I'm going to have to decline your offer, Qum. But that doesn't mean that we can't be friends!"
Qum shook his head, but he had a smile on his face. "Absolutely. I've been fighting by your side for a week now, and I'd trust you at my back any day." Qum held out his hand, and Max took it for a handshake. "It's been a pleasure working with you Max. Stop by sometime."
"Of course, Qum. I'll probably work to keep the towns safe for a bit out here, before going and seeing what kind of work that I can find as an adventurer. Stay safe yourself!"
Qum pulled back from his handshake. "You know me, always jumping into danger. I just can't help it!" Both men let out a chuckle. "I should be getting back to work. There's always something I can be doing, and I'm sure that Captain Stormrider wants to talk with you about those dungeon maps now that we're back."
He walked away, and Max turned towards the door that they had stopped in front of. It was a captain's office, wherein lay Licia. Max knocked twice on the door, and entered on hearing a "Come on in".
"Max, thank you for stopping by today. I hope that you have been finding the Wall to be hospitable?"
Max thought back to his first impression of the Fourth Wall, and had to admit that he had been decently impressed. It was just as tall as the Great Wall of China, if not a little bit bigger than it's average of 23 feet tall at a solid 30 feet. It stretched for miles, though Max was sure that if the Blighted Kingdom wanted a solid wall, that he should endeavor to connect the walls. Sure, the wall was defensible and capable of protecting the kingdom somewhat, but in all reality the fact that there were gaps meant that the Demons had surefire ways around, it just meant that they had to waste a couple extra days travelling.
Max's first day back had been filled with a deep appreciation as he took in the Wall and the amount of work that must have been put into it, and then as the guards who were already there treated him as though he was welcome, considering that he had joined Licia's party on the way back to the Wall.
"Everybody has been friendly enough so far, and it's been nice to finally stretch my legs for once instead of being cooped up in the small camp. How has your return found you?"
Licia smiled at the younger man. "I've had to file some paperwork, mostly reporting the encounters that were made while at the Hive, all resources used in addition to any deaths that we sustained out there. I made some small notes on the monsters that we fought for the first time, as well as any insights you gave us on monsters that we've already fought. It's a struggle to fight a near constant stream of monsters, and I've been able to confirm thanks to you that they are coming from a dungeon, and not just random occurrences."
Max nodded, before pulling his bag of holding off of his belt before taking out his maps of the dungeon. "I take it that you wanted copies of these? In all honesty, I probably don't even need them myself, at least not for the moment. I plan on returning once I reach a higher level, but I'm nowhere near the strength that I need to be at the moment, so you guys can just have the maps, at least for safekeeping before I return."
Licia paused, looking up from her desk where she had been pulling out some papers. "That's… very generous of you. We will likely be attempting to mount an expedition into the dungeon at our earliest convenience, a recon mission to see just how far the Demons' corruption has infiltrated the dungeon. Actually, we have a [Cartographer] here at the Wall, who's job is to do scout work and draw maps of enemy territories. If you wouldn't mind, I can bring her here and have her ask you questions about the dungeon, and maybe she can draw a clearer map than what we have here."
The maps on the table were fairly outdated. Not only that, but there were certainly blank spaces on it, signs that the dungeon had been unclear even to those who had drawn it out. There was one basic paper map, but the tapestries themselves showed the dungeon as a whole rather than specific details.
"Absolutely. I'd be happy to provide any insights that might help you in your incursion into the dungeon. Anything to save the lives of our soldiers."
Our soldiers. Max had already begun to think of those that he had been working with for the past week to be friends of his. Even Bansonn, the bastard.
Max waited for only a minute before another knock was heard on the door. "Enter" Licia said, and Max saw an middle aged woman walk into the room. She had greying hairs, as well as eyes that shifted and looked around the room, pausing on the maps on the table before turning to Licia.
"Captain, you sent for me?" the woman asked, glancing briefly at Max.
"Indeed I did Officer Hoss. This young man is Maxwell Caiden, a [Monster Hunter] of some small skill. He was the target of a waylaid Teleport spell, and ended up below the surface. Low and behold, there's a sunken dungeon underneath the Hive. He fought his way to the surface, where we took him in. We were hoping that you might be able to question him and draw up some clearer maps than what he'd been able to find.
The woman, who Max now identified as Hoss, took a critical look at him and his attire. He had his rapier at his side, as well as his ring of waterwalking. Aside from that, he currently just had some leather armor on over a basic tunic that had been provided by the soldiers.
"Let me take a moment to look at these maps. I'll see what I can do once I have a better idea of what I'm working with."
Licia gestured to the maps on the table, and Hoss stepped up. "Caiden, was it? Come here and point out to me where exactly you ended up in the dungeon."
Max approached the maps. "I entered right around here," he said, pointing to the area that was labelled with Idex. "There was a beast, which I assume was the Idex, that…" He began to tell her about the entrance of the dungeon, before she eventually interrupted him.
"Enough, I understand the picture. You said that there are a couple of mazes right here in this grey area? I'm going to use a skill. Don't worry about the name of it. [Mapmaker's Interrogation]. Now, tell me about this dungeon's layout.
Max felt himself compelled by her skill, and his mind instantly remembered more details about the dungeon that had begun to fade. He had the maze memorized after having traveled through it four or five times, and he explained in as much detail as he could. He went into talking about the healing fountain that he had made his base, and about the garden as well.
When Max stopped talking, he drew in a long breath of air. When had his voice become scratchy? Had he really been talking for that long?
Licia provided a cup of water, which Max greedily drank down, and Hoss looked down at the map that she had drawn up while Max had told her everything he knew. It was much more refined than the map that he had found, and was a perfect copy of everything that Max had traveled through, and even some spots that Max hadn't remembered. Hoss had even managed to get a rudimentary pathway down through the Hive to the dungeon, which Max hadn't even considered before.
Hoss spoke up. "Well done boy. You've earned your rest. This map is extremely well detailed, at least for the first level of the dungeon. How long did you say that you were down there?"
Max thought back to his time in the dungeon. "It was on the fourth day that I killed the second Idex… so about a week total underground before I made it to the surface. It was the sixth day that I killed the dragonling, and it took me until the following day to reach the surface."
Hoss paused for a moment before turning towards Licia. "Did he just say he killed a dragonling?"
Licia smiled, and with a dry tone replied, "I did say that he was a [Monster Hunter], right? He showed us the scales too when he reached our camp. Seems like the dragonling had taken up residence in the old chambers of their High Queen. Apparently there's a treasure trove down there too, and Max here couldn't fit all of it into his bag of holding."
Hoss took another look at the boy, before nodding in a show of respect. "Dragons, no matter their age, are notoriously difficult to kill. It certainly says a lot about you that you were able to kill one, especially at such a young age. We'll make an investigation into the Hive about recovering the rest of the treasure for you from the dragonling's lair, since you've provided us with these maps."
Max nodded in appreciation. "Thank you, Officer Hoss. If it isn't any trouble, however, I'd like the Wall here to make use of the gold that you find down there. There was more than I currently know what to do with down there, and while I'm sure that I could eventually make use of the gold down there, I would let Licia's cohort make use of it in thanks for taking me in for the past week.
The two women were stunned into silence, before Hoss nodded. "Noted. Now, if there is nothing else that I am needed for here, I'd like to take these maps to our superiors to discuss this new information about the dungeon and the access that the demons have to it."
Licia nodded, and Hoss left the room. Silence reigned, before the Captain turned to Max. "Are you sure that you want to give me all the remaining gold down there?"
Max smiled at the young commander. "Think about it as a token of our friendship. Make sure your soldiers get properly outfitted, and then get something for yourself too. Maybe something that will be the boost that gets you into the field fighting the Demon frontlines, like you wanted."
Licia smiled at Max, and held out a hand, which he took. "Thank you, Max. It means a lot."
Max smiled back at her, before looking around and sighing. "You're welcome. I really should be going though. Need to go kill some stronger monsters, after all."
"If you're looking for work, the outlying villages always need some sort of protection, even with the Wall looming nearby. You could also head for one of our main cities, Cudior lies a hundred miles South, and I'm sure that you can sign up as a proper Adventurer there and get some good work. You can definitely spend what gold you have there, it's a trading city that specializes in magical items."
That sounded... like a really good plan of action, actually. "Thanks Licia. That'll probably be what I do then. Head for the city, that is, and gear up. Once I've leveled up a bit, I'll return and begin working on clearing my way through this dungeon."
Licia nodded at the man as he strode from her office, before looking at her desk. "He had only 8 levels in [Warrior], and 4 in [Survivor] when he killed a Dragonling. Those consolidated into stronger classes after he slayed it, but he must be some sort of prodigy. Just how strong will you become, Maxwell Caiden?"
Meanwhile, Max had made his way out of the compound, and receiving a compass to guide him, he started heading south. He needed to get stronger if he wanted to survive in this world, but at this point, he was more than just a [Survivor]. He was going to Live, and go on the Adventure that he had always yearned for in his world.
He was going to take this world by storm, as a man who would fight for the helpless, and destroy the forces of darkness that would mean it harm. A defender against evil. There was a reason that he had chosen the [Swashbuckler] class. He needed a reason to live, and he'd found it.
He grinned to himself as he walked down the dusty road. This was just the start of his adventure, and nothing short of a God would take him down.
Author's note: This concludes Maxwell Caiden: Survivor. I'll Begin writing a continuation of his story soon, and probably add a short chapter onto this story once I've published it, to let my followers know about the new story when it comes out. In the meanwhile, check out my other story, Zachary Wendel: Slayer. set in the same world, as well as Rhir, Zach is an incredibly lucky individual who befriends a Wyvern. He'll be another character that will eventually cross paths with Max, but that doesn't necessarily mean that he'll instantly be friends with him. Check out that story if you want to understand Zach's backstory. I also plan on introducing more characters in their own origin arcs as separate stories, so follow me as an author to see when I post those. You can also find me on Archive of Our Own under the same username, and I've posted the stories under the series called The Wanderers of Rhir, in case that makes following my stories easier for you. Anyways, see you all around, and leave a review for how you think I should challenge Max next.