Seed of Titan-Chapter 133: The Buffest Mage in the Wilderness

Just like that, Drai spent his first few days exploring the region with Max during the day and training during the night before he went to sleep.

When Max wasn’t explaining the environment, he often told Drai about his stories during his time here. Most of them happened in other biomes, and usually involved life-or-death situations, with Max making sure to show the related scars if there were any, just like what he was doing during tonight’s supper.

"This one here," Max said, parting his beard to show a nasty scar just below his chin, "was caused by a parrot."

"A parrot? Aren’t they birds that can mimic human speech?" Drai remarked. Although such birds weren’t endemic to Rivideria, one of his father’s lumberjack friends owned one, and Daro had shown videos of it several times to Drai.

"Yeah, that’s one of the reasons why I let down my guard. Not only was it able to repeat my words, it was also pretty cute and colorful. And seeing that it ate fruits and insects, I thought I had finally found myself a pet that I could talk to—that was until it tried to murder me in my sleep. Turns out meat was part of its diet."

Although Max was being nonchalant about it now, Drai imagined it would’ve been pretty traumatizing to experience it firsthand.

After hearing Max’s stories these past couple of days, Drai realized most of the organisms here weren’t as harmless as they seemed. Even the striped deer that he encountered before could make mini explosions with their hooves.

"Oh, right. I still have those deer with me," Drai muttered. He stood up and walked to the butchering spot, dropping two deer carcasses onto the ground out of thin air.

Max’s eyes widened as he stood up from his seat. "Is that a dimensional storage?!"

"Yeah. Have I not told you about it?" Drai replied, pointing at the mechanical bracelet on his left wrist.

Max quickly walked over and inspected the deer carcasses. He saw that they were still fresh, as if they had just been culled minutes ago.

"My father once told me that researchers were trying to make the technology readily available to the populace," Max said before looking at Drai’s bracelet. "Looks like they succeeded."

"I don’t think it’s like that," Drai replied. He then proceeded to tell Max how the technology was still reserved for the elite few, and how he got his storage bracelet from Ravi, who seemed to have personal connections to the tech industry.

"I see..." Max remarked after hearing the explanation. He put aside the carcasses and returned to the fire pit, followed by Drai.

Grabbing his bowl of soup, Max said, "You know, I’m kind of scared of returning."

"Huh? Why?" Drai asked as he grabbed his own bowl.

"Just like that dimensional storage of yours, I don’t know what other changes would shock me, and whether I could adapt to them. I’ve been conditioned to live in the wilderness, free from human norms and values. What if people see me as a freak?"

Hearing this, Drai couldn’t help but chuckle, which puzzled Max.

"Sorry. I was just reminded of myself," Drai quickly explained.

"How?"

"Well, people used to call me a freak, especially the students in the Prep."

Drai then told Max about his life before awakening, including how he eventually ditched the preparatory school and trained on his own at the town’s outskirts, which somehow led to him being labeled a weirdo by the townsfolk.

Although Max listened closely, he secretly thought that Drai’s labeling wasn’t too unreasonable—his training methods were truly absurd, particularly the ones involving "balls".

"...and that’s how I ended up in Soluna Academy," Drai concluded after recounting Ravi’s invitation.

"Hmm... So you’re a recommendation student, huh? No offense, but you definitely don’t look the part," Max remarked.

"So I’ve been told. People are usually pretty shocked when they find out I’m a recommendation student."

"I don’t blame them. Recommendation students usually have that valedictorian look—prestigious yet a bit nerdy—not the tough, no-nonsense type like you. But honestly, I admire your determination, Drai. Not many people would stay so focused and unwavering after being shunned for years."

"I just ignored the comments and kept on training. Turns out, there are still people that accept me for who I am. That’s why you don’t need to worry too much, Max. At the very least, you have your family. And honestly, I doubt the world would turn its back on the only person to survive the depths of the Siyeun Mountains. I bet you’ll get plenty of invitations to share your experiences."

Max smiled and nodded silently, returning to his meal. He didn’t show it, but ever since meeting Drai, he had been in a great mood—seeing him as both a little brother and a mentee.

After they were done eating, Drai prepared to go out again.

"Why don’t you ever train with me?" he suddenly asked. 𝒇𝙧𝙚𝓮𝙬𝙚𝓫𝒏𝓸𝓿𝓮𝒍.𝓬𝙤𝓶

Max, who was just about to butcher the striped deer, paused and turned to Drai. "Because my training isn’t compatible with yours—I’m a mage."

"A mage?!"

Drai hadn’t expected that. Based on Max’s rugged appearance, he had assumed the man’s class was physical-based. While Max had used a few spells over the past few days, like the web he cast to snare the spiders, Drai had figured they were just miscellaneous skills Max had picked up from having plenty of SP to spare.

As if reading his thoughts, Max immediately clarified, "I’m not your typical mage—I have a lot of physical enhancements. But that doesn’t mean I’d gain much from your training, just like you wouldn’t benefit from mine. That’s why I never suggested we train together."

"Huh... I forgot the Velles is a mage family. Auri and Professor Irina are mages too," Drai mused.

"Which is why you should never judge by appearance," Max said, gesturing to the scar he had shown earlier. "Same goes for the creatures here."

"Yeah... Well, I guess I’ll keep training alone," Drai said as he headed toward the crevice.

"Oh, right," Max suddenly added. "Starting tomorrow, you’re on your own—I’ve shown you most of what you need to survive in the valley. You can still stay here, but you’ll have to gather your own food and craft your own equipment, unless you have something to barter."

"Got it. See you then," Drai said before finally departing.

Max stared at the crevice, smiling pleasedly under his thick beard.

"The day you start looking bored, Drai, we’ll relocate," he muttered. "I just hope I get to show you all the biomes before we have to escape..."

***