Chapter 237: Squish Squish
<span style="font-weight:400">After a few more rounds of his aura, the group of budding teens had all received their titles.
<span style="font-weight:400">Drake wasn’t surprised that some of them had also gained a few titles that pertained to aura resistance as well due to the method and length they were under his aura.
<b>[Against Tyranny]</b>
<ul>
<li><b>You have stood up to the oppression that is the Tyrant’s aura and lived.</b></li>
</ul>
<ul>
<li>+5% Resistance to aura suppression from beings of the same rank.</li>
</ul>
<ul>
<li>+1% Resistance to aura suppression from beings one rank above.</li>
</ul>
<span style="font-weight:400">“Hey,e on. I see this as an absolute win!” Drake said, spreading his hands out with a grin.
<span style="font-weight:400">The line of teens looked at him with distasteful expressions. Quetz shook slightly as she sniffed giving a sad coo.
<span style="font-weight:400">“Ok… So much for silver linings… Right, so on to killing cows yeah?” Drake said, trying to smooth over the tense air he had made.
<span style="font-weight:400">“Brute,” Landin said, from behind Charlotte trying to mimic her voice, “How could you do such a thing to us, Lord Drake!” he said, moving behind Atropos.
<span style="font-weight:400">“I don’t sound like that,” Charlotte huffed.
<span style="font-weight:400">“Neither do I,” Atropos said, turning her head.
<span style="font-weight:400">Landin backed away with a grin, his hands up catingly.
<span style="font-weight:400">“Fine, but they didn’t deny it,” he whistled innocently.
<span style="font-weight:400">Drake cringed slightly, putting his hand on his chest, hurt.
<span style="font-weight:400">Charlotte and Atropose both hit Landin in the arm from either side.
<span style="font-weight:400">“Hey that isn’t cool,” Landin winced, rubbing his arms, his lips pursed as he blew on his side that Charlotte had hit like he was blowing on something hot.
<span style="font-weight:400">“You get what you deserve,” Drake smirked, only to lurch forward as something hit the back of his head, “Ow! What the-”
<span style="font-weight:400">Sah Ul’ was behind him, her face frowning as she pointed to the teens and then back to him.
<span style="font-weight:400">Drake scrunched his face up, “Fine. I <i><span style="font-weight:400">guess,</i><span style="font-weight:400"> I deserved that…”
<span style="font-weight:400">“Ha, justice!” Landin cheered, then the girls leveled him with a re that forced him to backpedal next to Drake, gripping his arm, “Women are scary.”
<span style="font-weight:400">Chuckling nervously, Drake nodded, “Yeah, you’re probably right on that one…”
<span style="font-weight:400">The sound of a deep moo forced Drake to turn around. When he did he was met with a bull that was stomping its back hoof into the ground, rutting.
<span style="font-weight:400">“Looks like the local farm life has had enough of us,” Drake shrugged.
<span style="font-weight:400">“Enough of you maybe,” Landin countered.
<span style="font-weight:400">“Either way!” Drake said shouting over him, “It’s time to get the rest of your titles and get this leveling show on the road. I want you all to finish ranking up to F-Rank when we get to my mom’s house.”
<span style="font-weight:400">Drake chewed on the side of his mouth for a second, “Wow, I never thought I’d say it like that…” he shook his head, “Ok, time to take this bull by the horns.”
<b>[Alpha Iron Hide Bull Level 15]</b>
<span style="font-weight:400">“It’s level 15 so we can’t use it for any of you four… Atropos and Clotho… Both of you don’t have as much fighting experience right?” Drake asked, remembering the limited titles the two had, even before gaining the recent three.
<span style="font-weight:400">“I fought for a time and somewhat after our parents… But yes, it was mostly out of necessity so you are correct Lord Drake,” Atropos said.
<span style="font-weight:400">Clotho grimaced, turning his head down and away, his fist balled.
<span style="font-weight:400">“It’s alright. You two will get more than enough experience with it here. Since you two are so ahead of the others I’ve been thinking of what to do about it. And the best I cane up with is getting you both the punching up title and then have you advance to ranking up. The only problem is we don’t have the best sub-stones for you both right now.”
<span style="font-weight:400">Drake ced his hand to his chin, the bull behind him charging forward its two horns aimed right at his unprotected back.
<span style="font-weight:400">“Uhh Drake… Drake!” Landin shouted, stepping back into the line of the group and away from him.
<span style="font-weight:400">“I guess there’s nothing to do about it besides that…”
<span style="font-weight:400">While Drake was lost in thought the bull thundered forward, bucking its head as it grunted and snorted.
<span style="font-weight:400">The group of teens’ eyes widened as it seemingly was about to barrel into Drake’s unguarded back, but was stopped as its feet continued to tear at the ground trying to propel itself forward.
<span style="font-weight:400">Kalik was the first to grunt and walk beside Drake to see what happened.
<span style="font-weight:400">He only scowled deeper as he saw, prompting the others to move to see as well.
<span style="font-weight:400">“Amazing…” Atropos said.
<span style="font-weight:400">“Where’s his magic circle?” Landin asked.
<span style="font-weight:400">“Look at his feet,” Charlottemented, tilting her head to look behind Drake.
<span style="font-weight:400">The bull still tried its best to buck and snorted in vitriol. But the teens traced the earthen brown magic circle at Drake’s feet, the ck stone creeping up his legs and covering his back, the bull’s horns stuck in ayer of pitch-ck earth.
<span style="font-weight:400">“How do you gain such control over your magic?” Atropos said, her brows knitting together in concentration, seemingly watching the magic behind her closed eyes.
<span style="font-weight:400">“Lots of fight, practice, and a pretty convenient skill,” Drake grinned, then snapped his fingers.
<span style="font-weight:400">Instantly the obsidian earth spread and covered the bull from its head down to its hooves, locking it in ce as it snorted gusts of white smoke from its nostrils.
<span style="font-weight:400">Drake turned to get a better look at the monster, only to hear a squish at his feet.
<span style="font-weight:400">He looked down, pulling his food back, the sound followed by the eyes of the group.
<b>[Newborn Slime Level 2]</b>
<span style="font-weight:400">“Ew,” Drake cringed, “I stepped in baby.”
<span style="font-weight:400">Kalik and Quetz dropped down on their haunches. Kalik Tu’ poked it with the tip of his ax, only for it to be pped away by Quetz, who cooed and poked it instead with a finger, the monster jiggling and wobbling at the touch.
<span style="font-weight:400">“Hey, hey. Can we keep it?” Quetz asked, scowling and pping Kalik’s ax away once more.
<span style="font-weight:400">Drake was about to say no but then remembered that Natto had specifically asked for these monsters.
<span style="font-weight:400">“Sure. I don’t think it will listen to anyone, we don’t exactly have a tamer ss,” he shrugged then panned his view beyond the infuriated bull into the rest of the long expansive corral that contained thousands of mooing bovine of all kinds.
<i><span style="font-weight:400">Huh, seems like these monsters have multiplied pretty crazy. Wait… </i><span style="font-weight:400">Drake thought then saw a cow a little further into the field.
<span style="font-weight:400">“It''s eating the slime?” Drake scoffed.
<span style="font-weight:400">Gasps were heard from around him.
<span style="font-weight:400">“How can they eat something so cute!” Charlotte protested, dropping down to poke the slime with Quetz.
<span style="font-weight:400">“I agree! Lord Drake, we must hunt everyst one down!” Atropos agreed, already kneeling down and squishing the slime as well.
<span style="font-weight:400">He held up his hands again, taken aback by the sudden fierceness in the teens'' voices.
<span style="font-weight:400">“Whoa whoa, hold your horses for a bit. Look, here''s what we’ll do,” Drake began but spotted Sah Ul’ tilting her head in confusion searching the area.
<span style="font-weight:400">He sighed, “It’s an expression, there aren’t any horses around…” he said, chuckling lightly.
<span style="font-weight:400">Sah Ul’ jerked and froze slightly, but said nothing to the side, eyeing the rest of cows and bulls in the pasture with sudden interest.
<span style="font-weight:400">“Anyway, here’s what we are going to do. Sah Ul’ will take the four of you and have you go through the cows in turns. Some of you still need thebat titles for fighting against more than one opponent and it shouldn’t be too hard as long as you focus on grouping up the lower-leveled monsters for now,” then he turned to Atropos and Clotho, “For you two however… We have to limit your experience intake for now and work on your practical ability and proficiency of skills. You will be fighting with me so we can get a grasp on your skills and immediate fighting style.”
<span style="font-weight:400">“But neither of us have fought with our new skills yet, Lord Drake,” Atropos said, speaking for her and he brother from her crouching position, still poking the slime.
<span style="font-weight:400">“It will be fine. Just like how everyone has learned to fight rtively quickly, you will learn on the fly, and the skill stones impart a small bit of knowledge to you when you consume them. It might not feel instant or massive at first, but I know for a fact they start to influence you once you get going. So it’s only a matter of putting it into practice, trust me,” Drake smirked.
<span style="font-weight:400">Kalik Tu’ shot up from his kneeling position, axes at the ready as he heard they would be grouped with Sah Ul’ for once.
<span style="font-weight:400">“Good, finally a real warrior will instruct us!” he shouted, only to get a smack to the back of the head from Sah Ul’.
<span style="font-weight:400">“You know the Patriarch is a strong warrior. You should feel honored to be included in this group. I have already seen how you have improved fighting with the others, do not muddy the progress you have made so far with such shallow and false words, Kalik Tu’,” Sah Ul’ admonished immediately.
<span style="font-weight:400">Kalik looked as if he wanted to say something but quickly snapped his mouth shut and just grunted.
<span style="font-weight:400">“What’s he on about?” Landin asked, stepping up next to Sah Ul’.
<span style="font-weight:400">“Yeah, he’s been pretty tame since we got out here. Is he unhappy about not fighting with Drake?” Charlotte asked, her finger poking through the slime as she turned her head in their direction.
<span style="font-weight:400">“He’s just being Kalik,” Drake sighed.
<span style="font-weight:400">He looked into the distance again forced to shield his eyes by the sunset quickly descending on them.
<span style="font-weight:400">“The day’s already gone huh?” Drake grumbled.
<span style="font-weight:400">Then they were all made aware of the still trapped bull in Drake’s spell as it snorted and grunted.
<span style="font-weight:400">“Oh right this guy is still here…” Drake scoffed, “You get to live another day bud,” he chuckled, cing his hand on the beast.
<span style="font-weight:400">“<i><span style="font-weight:400">Fear is binding. Cower,</i><span style="font-weight:400">” he chanted, inky ck smoke extending from his hand and sinking into the Bull’s hide.
<span style="font-weight:400">A momentter the bull’s eyes bulged and hazed over as it started to buck even harder, its breathing bing unbelievably erratic.
<span style="font-weight:400">Drake let his earth spell fade away as it crumbled and the Bull ran off into the herd behind them with incredible speed.
<span style="font-weight:400">“Right. Now that Georgie is gone. I guess we’ll rest up for the remainder of the night. Lucky you,” he smiled at the kids.
<span style="font-weight:400">“But don’t we need to hurry up?” Charlotte asked, standing up with some concern on her face.
<span style="font-weight:400">“Yeah, I’d rather fight through the night. You have fire to light the surroundings right?” Landin agreed.
<span style="font-weight:400">“I would also like to start our training as well, Lord Drake. We do not wish to fall behind any more than we already have,” Atropos added.
<span style="font-weight:400">“Quetz is good at seeing monsties in the dark. Yep, yep,” Quetz chirped.
<span style="font-weight:400">Drake shook his head, snapping his fingers arge earthen magic circle forming at his feet.
<span style="font-weight:400">“Sorry, but this is, like everything else. Non-negotiable.”
<span style="font-weight:400">The magic circle spread wide around them epassing the group and the small makeshift walls he had made before. The walls sunk into the ground as the area around them rumbled slightly, more borate walls sprouting from the ground and covering them fully in a castle-like structure.
<span style="font-weight:400">“All of you stay here, Sah Ul’ and I are going to go patrolling. No going out, you hear me. You agreed to listen to me without question and I’m pulling that card.”
<span style="font-weight:400">Drake pulled Sah Ul’ from the building by the wrist, not waiting for a response as the door of the castle closed behind them with a m.
<span style="font-weight:400">“Jeez,” Landin grumbled, “What was that all about?”
<span style="font-weight:400">“Not sure,” Charlotte frowned, “But it sure was sudden. Maybe he sensed something in the area?”
<span style="font-weight:400">—------------------------------------
<span style="font-weight:400">“Patriarch, where are we going?” Sah Ul’ asked, her head turning over her shoulder back to the castle in the orange light of the sunset.
<span style="font-weight:400">“That vampire we captured before said there would be a small armying to find him if he didn’t make it back. Guess he wasn’t lying,” Drake smiled.
<span style="font-weight:400">He had felt arge group of what he was able to make out as human-like forms in his aura sense at the edge of the sphere and made the decision to bring Sah Ul’. He knew from how she acted earlier that she was just as upset about letting the teens fight the vampires only to get dangerously injured as he was.
<span style="font-weight:400">And just like that, Sah Ul’s face hardened and Drake could feel a small pulse of aurae from her as her deep topaz eyes turned a shade of red.
<span style="font-weight:400">Drake gave a wry smile, “Good to see you motivated now.”
<span style="font-weight:400">“Where are they? How many?” she growled.
<span style="font-weight:400">He pointed ahead of them, “There. And I’d say enough to break at least a little sweat.”
<span style="font-weight:400">—--------------------
<span style="font-weight:400">“Why are we out here again?”
<span style="font-weight:400">“<i><span style="font-weight:400">Because,”</i><span style="font-weight:400"> the lead man said, tapping a long de against his shoulder, “Some dumb higher up is lost and they have a good number of blood vials and didn’te back.”
<span style="font-weight:400">“Yeah but why is that our problem?”
<span style="font-weight:400">“It’s everyone’s problem, you moron! <i><span style="font-weight:400">We </i><span style="font-weight:400">have quotas to hit, remember? Don’t want boss man turning you into one of them mindless ghouls do you?”
<span style="font-weight:400">Theining man shivered, “Nope, definitely don’t want that… But are we sure they’re over here?”
<span style="font-weight:400">“Do you bitch and moan about everything? They should be, they were stationed at that town we passed through and there should have been hundreds of ghouls there but we found nothing…”
<span style="font-weight:400">The man shook his head, turning around and pointing at the massive following behind him.
<span style="font-weight:400">“Alright youzy grunts, spread out and find them!”
<span style="font-weight:400">The area rumbled at the response, several hundred vampires, dhampirs, and ghouls shouted back. But they were suddenly stopped by the sound of eerieughing.
<span style="font-weight:400">The lead vampire turned confused, a man walking out from behind a tree in a hoodie.
<span style="font-weight:400">“So he wasn’t lying when he said there was a <i><span style="font-weight:400">small army.</i><span style="font-weight:400">”
<span style="font-weight:400">“Who the fuck are you?” the vampire shot back, pointing his de at the man, his eyes shing a dull red.
<b>[Drake Wallen Level 10]</b>
<span style="font-weight:400">“Look here, boys! It’s Mr. Drake Wallen himself!” the manughed, “Oh this is so much better! We get to snuff out this dude and grab a bounty and report back that he’s dead! Grab him!” he shouted.
<span style="font-weight:400">At his words twenty odd vampires shot forward, weapons drawn and skills humming right for Drake. But he didn’t move, almost uninterested.
<span style="font-weight:400">“Levels 10 to 13. They’re just converting everyone they see aren’t they….” Drake said, his face masked by the hood as the vampires lunged and shot spells at him.
<span style="font-weight:400">His hoodie tore, ripped, and singed apart revealing the armor underneath.
<span style="font-weight:400">The sounds of spells mming and exploding against him, weapons metal tanging and ringing as they tried to cut and stab him, but after a minute, the vampires around him stopped breathing as if they had just ran a 4k marathon.
<span style="font-weight:400">“W-what is this…?!” one from the group shouted.
<span style="font-weight:400">“What is what!” the lead vampire yelled back.
<span style="font-weight:400">A plume of debris and smoke had formed where Drake was and they waited for it to settle, but it didn’t stop the circling vampires from shaking with jaws dropped.
<span style="font-weight:400">“H-he’s undamaged… And any skill that scratches him g-get’s healed right away! W-what is this!”
<span style="font-weight:400">“What did you say?! He’s level 10!” the lead vampire shouted, “That isn’t possible!”
<span style="font-weight:400">“Oh, it’s quite simple really,” a voice from the smoke said, almostughing, “You didn’t ount that this wasn’t my real level.”
<span style="font-weight:400">The smoke began to dissipate, revealing Drake unharmed and in a half mask smiling with porcin white teeth. His armor bared for them to finally see. A half-cloth vest with ck chains, golden tattoos humming with power on his arms and shoulders, and a slitted white robe covering his legs from the waist down. With the hoodie now gone, they were able to see his glowing orange hair burning as if it was the setting sun itself, whipping in the air with a blood-red shawl.
<span style="font-weight:400">“I always forget that I have this on, but I can’t reallyin. It leaves for some very fun power reveals,” Drakeughed, cing the ne into his inventory.
<span style="font-weight:400">“2-2-2-27?!”
<span style="font-weight:400">A unified gasp escaped the group surrounding him, the entire encirclement taking a nervous step backward.
<span style="font-weight:400">“<i><span style="font-weight:400">See</i><span style="font-weight:400">, my numbers. Are just bigger than yours,” Drake exined, “So you could sit here all day and you wouldn’t make a lick of progress!”
<span style="font-weight:400">“He’s only one person!” the vampire lead shouted, pointing back at Drake, “More of you get in there now! Kill him!”
<span style="font-weight:400">The surrounding vampires hesitated, but quickly resumed their attempted assault on Drake as more ran past them with their weapons drawn.
<span style="font-weight:400">Moreughing reached the lead vampire''s ears as Drake shouted above the chaos.
<span style="font-weight:400">“See funny enough. I was told that Rank and Level are absolutes in the multiverse. It just never really applied to me, ya know? But seems like Natto was right! Reach a high enough level and you''re almost untouchable.”
<span style="font-weight:400">“What the fuck are you on about!?”
<span style="font-weight:400">“My wounds heal faster than you can make them,” Drakeughed.
<span style="font-weight:400">“What in god''s name….” the vampire lead stammered, taking a step back.
<span style="font-weight:400">“God? No, my little pale dirtbag. There’s no need to wonder where your god is because she’s right there!” Drake shouted, shooting out from the cloud of dust and sounds of fighting, only to appear right in front of the vampire lead, his face nicked with a fresh line of red that healed right in an instant.
<span style="font-weight:400">Drake grabbed the vampire lead’s head and turned it around, the scene something out of an Avengers movie. A blur of green was tearing through the ranks of the hundreds of undead as if fury incarnated, her eyes a deep red as she swung a huge blood-covered obsidian-ck ax back and forth bisecting bloody swaths.
<span style="font-weight:400">Drake moved his head next to the vampire’s ear.
<span style="font-weight:400">“<i><span style="font-weight:400">And she’s fresh out of mercy…</i><span style="font-weight:400">”