The night passed smoothly, devoid of monsters unlike what they imagined. Dante stood on top of the shelter and waited for the sun to come.
While passing time alone, he checked his system and saw another new thing.
Shop.
He mentally selected the shop and opened it.
Artifacts and Manuals.
The two sections appeared in front of him. There were also his own points in the corner of the window. Of course, it showed zero since he never killed the monsters before.
He checked the artifacts first since he wanted to see what the shop had to offer. He sorted the system to show him the lowest price first.
Basic sword
Shield
Mana sword
Wand
Cube
Mace
Gun
The list went on.
Dante scanned the list and sighed. There were so many things he wanted to choose. Mainly, he was interested in using axes. Why?
Because the axe is a superior weapon in both combat and daily life. And he won't expand on the reason.
Dante noted down the things he wanted to get and closed the window. He then opened the manuals section.
He didn't have high hopes for that cause he didn't know what the manuals were.
Basic mana theory
Tier advancement guide
Basic Sword manual
Basic close combat
Skill theory
Bloodline
Uniqueness
Dante's eyes widened. He didn't believe that manuals were even more desirable than artifacts.
He wanted it all. He wanted to read it all.
He wanted to read all this manuals. Something deep inside him was calling out. Yelling at him to consume those knowledge.
Consume and became strong.
He clenched his body tightly, fighting back the urge. He closed the system and gazed at the morning sun.
The morning came with a warm light, calming down his racing mind.
His friends woke up shorty after that and prepared breakfast.
"We need to establish our goal." Dante was the first to voice.
"Goal?" Thomas asked, tilting his head to the side.
"Yeah, goal. Right now, we are basically like an animal. Focusing on survival. I want more than that. We are humans." Dante said firmly.
Julius slowly nodded, coming to terms with his reason. "I kinda agree."
"I suppose so." Thomas muttered. "But for me, it is the same as always. As you guys know I am a dropout. Lowest of the low in yesterday standard. To be honest, I don't even tell my parents about it. It has been 2 years. Spending their money, wasting my time."
"I am just running away from my problem." Thomas sighed.
Dante shook his head, "I won't call that running away. Just think of it like taking your time. Eventually, you are going to face the problem."
"Haha. I like it. For now, my goal is just the same as usual. Survive and live my life to fullness. I am enjoying improving my strength." Thomas laughed, masking his heart.
Julius scratched the back of his head and let out a sigh. "Do you guys think the earth is gone? I mean we saw a giant palm coming at us. With that force, I am sure the earth will be destroyed."
Dante and Thomas looked at each other and nodded. " I think so."
"Damn, I am hoping that I was wrong." Julius sighed. "My dream is to travel around the earth and make friends. Now that the earth is destroyed, I want to see what this tutorial plane has to offer. And I also I want to see if I can help humans here."
Dante nodded. He wasn't exactly enthusiasm in finding other humans but he still wanted to see them. After all, humans were the best at gathering things.
From his experience at least. Who knows, how many races there is in this unknown world.
"As for me, I want knowledge. You see the manuals in the system right? I want it all and many more. Uncover mysteries." He lifted up his hands and gathered mana. He changed the shape of mana smoothly.
"I want to know about the system and its power. Kind of like Julius but minus saving people." Dante said honestly.
They all looked at each other and nodded.
"Alright, our goal for now is to survive the tutorial and find other humans. We will go on a journey." Julius said with a smile.
Dante was about to say something when his eyes picked up hostile intent afar. The intent was wild and uncaring, like a force of nature.
He put out his pointy finger and placed it near his mouth.
"I sense the enemy." He said, quietly.
Julius lowered his body and took out a small knife, he got from Thmoas.
Thomas on the other hand closed his eyes and gathered mana for attack.
Dante pointed to the left and said, "Over there."
Thump! Thump!
A heavy footstep echoed loud in the forest. Judging by the sound, Dante could see that the creature was huge.
He gathered mana around his body to prepare for the fight. He looked at Thomas and saw him surrounding himself with earth mana.
Earth seemed to be Thomas's specialty. It makes sense since before the dropout, Thomas majored in Geology.
Dante's eyes widened as he saw the behemoth of the monster they were about to face. The monster was shaped like a human, carrying a stone club. Its eyes were large and as well as combined into a mess.
The head was bigger than Thomas's body.
Dante observed that the monster was about 12 feet tall with a hulking build. The monster was a troll.
"You gotta be kidding me." Julius said, with a nervous smile.
Dante shook his head and fully activated his eyes.
The external eye of the hunter revealed weak points of the monster. He scanned the troll and sighed.
The weak point was high up in the sky. Its eyes. Dante's brain fried up, making various plans. When the troll saw the group, he managed to form a perfect plan.
"Listen to me. I have a plan." Dante said.
Thomas made a fist and prepared to face the troll. "Great, let's hear it before that thing attacks us."
"Thomas will face the troll directly. Just drag along the fight. Julius! You aim only at the eyes. I will give support to you guys from the back." Dante explained. "When I called, Julius picked me up and placed me on the troll face."
They both nodded.
Thomas walked slowly, gathering mana from the ground, building his body. Soon the mana around him became solid and took the form of the earth.
"Come at me." Thomas yelled at the troll, bashing his fists together.
The troll saw Thomas and swung his club immediately. Thomas braced the impact.
He could dodge the attack but that would mean diverging the troll's attention to others. And he was certain that he could take on the swing.
The club collided with Thomas.
Dante dodged the attack by rolling to the side. Julius used his skill and teleported to the troll face, attacking the eyes.