Max walked over to them and sat down, still that smile on his face.

“Has it worked?” Max asked.

“Check for yourself.” Sarah smiled.

His look grew distant as he read through his messages. Then he began talking about the different functions of the Node.

“So it looks a lot like the menu in a video game. I can buy buildings, some defense stuff and what not. Also it seems to have its own economic system, which I don’t fully understand yet.” Max said, turning towards Bixby for help.

“Well, I think I can explain that ….”

“What’s the bad news?” Dave immediately interrupted the Nodefox. He had to admit that it sounded pretty cool and he wanted to know more about how it worked. But he still saw that well hidden frown on Max's forehead indicating some issue and he called him out on it.

Max winced slightly. “Well… it’s not bad news per se,” he paused for a second to collect his thoughts before continuing, “But one function was a map of surrounding Nodes, not where exactly they are located but some rough outline. Wait, I think I can show you.”

He held out his hand, palm upwards, and started visibly concentrating. For a second nothing happened, then a soft blue glow encapsulated his palm. It took another second for that glow to take form, slowly it began rotating and forming a map.

Like a hologram floating above Max’s outstretched palm a map appeared. At least a map was what it resembled the closest.

There were dozens of light orbs in different colors, mostly blue and red. But also some green ones. Those orbs were arrayed in some sort of scheme that Dave felt had some meaning, but he couldn’t figure out what.

The orbs were connected by thin threads of white light, making it all look like an intricate spider web with light bulbs hanging in it. It was utterly beautiful and complex at the same time.

“See that’s where we are, that’s this Node,” Max said pointing at the one Node different from the others. It was golden and slowly blinking. It shone in a bright golden hue that made Dave think of riches.

Giving the others a second to process, Max continued. “And see all those red Nodes around us? According to the Information it gave me, red means those Nodes are claimed by another group.”

“So red could mean those Nodes are claimed by other humans?” Mira asked, her voice high with hope. More emotion than Dave was used to seeing from her.

“It could, but what other group do we know to be living around here?” Max turned to look at Bixby.

“Nodefoxes…” Bixby murmured. Of course. At first Dave felt the same hope Mira did when hearing about the other Nodes being claimed. But from Max's expression he had already deduced that it wouldn’t be that easy.

Again he felt weirded out by how eerily similar to a video game it all seemed. Of course red was for enemies.

Before anybody else could react, Bixby spoke again. “That’s more than just bad news Max. It shouldn’t be possible that they already possess so many Nodes. As far as I’m aware, only one Clan is allowed to spawn into this newly integrated region. There are boundaries as to how many portals can be opened and one Clan shouldn’t be able to claim so many Nodes in such a short time. Unless maybe multiple portals are..”

Before he could continue, Bixby was stopped by their questioning looks. Bixby just stared back confused. And maybe a bit agitated at being interrupted again.

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“What do you mean portals?” Dave asked before Bixby could go on another tangent. He might be a walking encyclopedia but sometimes it was important to stop him. Something about Bixby’s wording threw him off.

“By portals I mean actual portals. That should be a familiar concept to you, no?”

“Yes I do understand what a portal is. But why did your Clan take a portal to our world?” Dave just now realized that they never asked Bixby about his origin. Or more accurately how the Nodefoxes landed on Earth. They were all so focused on their immediate survival and much more interested in their Skills, that they never looked at the bigger picture.

Dave had just assumed they fell victim to the same calamity that overcame Earth and were just randomly thrown into this whole thing. That was one of the reasons he pitied the Nodefoxes before, they must’ve been just as confused as them.

Bixby looked at him even more confused for a second, before realization dawned on his face. “Ohh right, I forgot the Manaverse is still new to you. I had just assumed the Protectorate had informed you. You must’ve assumed we were just merged along with your plane of existence right?”

Dave and the others nodded.

“Well you’re partly right there. When your plane surpassed its Mana levels, it created an influx of Mana that drew other planes into it. So planes that were arrayed closely to yours, would’ve been merged against their will.”

“There are other ways to enter a newly formed plane of existence though. Some races, like ours, are advanced enough in terms of magic to detect the creation of those newly created worlds and build a bridge towards them. That way people can travel between those planes. It’s not even that rare.”

“But why?” Max asked, “What would people want on another plane?”

“There could be different reasons. A merging of planes only happens once every dozen or so decades, there hasn’t been one for almost a century. So I’m mostly speculating about what reasons some forces may have.”

“What I do know is that newly merged planes possess a rich ambient Mana, which drastically increases leveling speed. They also contain a highly concentrated amount of powerful treasures. So some people travel there in search of power.”

“Some may also travel for research purposes. It’s not often that it’s as easy to build a bridge between planes as it is with a newly merged plane. Many worlds only have access to a few other worlds through such portals. So having access to such a mix of other cultures can be a huge draw and grant civilisations with wisdom far beyond their means.”

That was a lot to digest. After having felt the rush of leveling, Dave could understand how some people might even travel to a different part of the universe just to increase their level. If their world had really become such a treasure trove, that people were willing to give up their so much to travel here, Dave was excited to explore it. It changed his view on this whole apocalypse thing a little. Suddenly it wasn’t just a calamity anymore. It was also an opportunity.

“Okay, but for what reason did your clan come over Bixby?” Max asked.

“Mainly desperation. I don’t want to bore you too much with political backgrounds, but my clan was on the brink of becoming consumed by another powerful clan. The only way we saw to survive was by travelling to this plane in pursuit of power. We hoped that by gaining access to a few treasures and boosting our level a bit, we could come back to our world and thrive.”

“There are only limited uses for a portal to a new plane and we were lucky to gain access. Unfortunately the other clan heard about our plans and started an all out offense on us. Our patriarch died and they severely weakened us. They couldn’t finish off all of our clan though, so they just claimed our slot for the portal and now they’re here trying to gather power before returning even stronger. They send me and a few other prisoners along, to squash any uprisings from the survivors and further weaken our clan. If they succeed here and return, they will annihilate the rest of clan Goldenwell. ” Bixby finished talking, becoming quieter towards the end. There was a flood of emotions in his voice, anger, sadness and regret at the forefront but despair was still overshadowing them all.

They all paused after hearing that. Silence hung heavy in the air, pressing down their mood. Dave felt sympathy for Bixby, he couldn’t begin to imagine what he must’ve been through. That together with his usual social awkwardness made him lost for words.

Like always it was Max who spoke up and found the right words. “Bixby…I’m sorry to hear that. It must’ve been terrible for you to live through that and be sent so far away from everything you know without a chance of helping. You’ve endured so much and I can’t imagine how you must feel.” Max walked over with a soft face and laid a hand on Bixby’s shoulder. It tore the Nodefox away from his thoughts and made him present again.

The magic with Max wasn’t in the words, it was in his tone and the way he truly cared.

“Thank you Max. Truly. But the reason I told you about that was to know that the Nodefoxes we’re facing are here for war. They’re only here to take power and will take what they want. We’re in serious danger here.”

Max's expression turned hard again as he looked Bixby in the eyes. “So what do we do?”