Drake looked over his shoulder, his party small dots in the distance to where he had pushed forward too.
"Guess it's good enough for now, we have a bunch of stones to pick up back on the way," he said aloud spotting the shining stones on the ground in the now fading orange sun, like flashing lights of car headlights.
Drake looked at the still-healthy sea of Tyrant Ants in front of him and sighed.
"It's going to take a lot longer than I thought to push them back.."
"It is very curious how they are able to produce such numbers… It is possible there is a variant queen in charge of this hive," Natto explained, proposing an explanation.
"Variant?" Drake asked, his hand moving in an arc as a disk of water sliced through another row of ants like he was mowing an overgrown lawn.
"Yes, it is the only thing I can possibly imagine giving these ants the reproductive ability we are witnessing. They should not appear in the tutorial as they are too much for an introduction… But after everything we have seen, this tutorial itself is beyond any standard that should be allowed. Whoever is in charge has bent many rules," Natto sighed, concern beginning to bleed into her voice.
Drake pursed his lips, conflicted on whether to feel upset he was thrown into an even harder tutorial than was the standard, or happy that he was here and not his family.
He was glad that at the very least they would have an easier time than he was, and he had no qualms about getting stronger now that it was something he decided for himself.
The disk of water moved to stop next to Drake, he then crushed it, changing his current Wind endowment back to Water to recover his status. Turning around he shot forward running toward the group in the distance, picking up stray skill stones as he went.
He arrived a few moments later in a burst of dust as he stopped a few feet away from them.
"Yo," Bjorn said raising his hand.
"Yo," Drake replied, "Miss me?" he asked.
"Never," Megan scoffed, putting down a bag of something.
Drake ignored her, instead pointing to the bag, "What's that?"
Megan huffed and wiped away some of the sweat that had formed on her head.
"It's all the monster core's we can't carry because you've killed so many…" she sighed.
"Oh? That many huh? I didn't notice," Drake lied, whistling.
"Sir, there is simply no place to put them," Amir admitted, placing down a similar bag.
Drake chuckled, "Well better than not having enough. Here I bring presents."
Putting his palm face down, he began taking out many of the skill stones he had collected. Tyrant Skill Stones, Healer Stones, Warrior, Fire, and new variations he hadn't seen before.
[Sub-tree Skill Stone: Brawler] [Uncommon]
[Unlocks the Brawler Sub-tree branch.]
[Requirement: Warrior Main Tree Unlocked, Open Sub-tree Slot]
[Skill Stone: Assassin] [Uncommon]
[Unlocks a random skill from the Assassin tree.]
[Requirement: Warrior or Ranger Main Tree Unlocked, Open Skill Slot]
[Skill Stone: Stealth] [Uncommon]
[Unlocks a random skill from the Stealth tree.]
[Requirement: Warrior or Ranger Main Tree Unlocked, Open Skill Slot]
[Skill Stone: Sensory] [Common]
[Unlocks a random skill from the Sensory tree.]
[Requirement: Open Skill Slot]
"It was a good haul, everyone look through it and pick the good stuff up. I want everyone at tip top shape while we clear out the rest of these Hive Entrances. It's going to be a long couple days.
"My Lord there art Rare Variety Stones here as well. Thou art sure we may consume them after my Lord hast done such labor?" Theodore asked.
Drake waved his hand, "Don't worry about it Theo, I'm holding out for better stuff. I'm a nice guy but I'm not that nice. I'm selfish when it suits me, don't have to worry about that," he said smirking.
"Who's a nice guy?" Chelsea asked. Bending down to rifle through the stones, but not failing to give him a side stink eye.
"Me. I'm him. The nice guy," Drake said, pulling down at his eye his tongue sticking out, "I'm so nice. I'm going to build us a fortress."
Drake looked over to Hudson, "Hey, you ready to put up some pea shooters?"
"Idjit, I was born ready," Hudson huffed, crossing his arms.
Drake laughed, clapping his hands together dramatically before throwing them to the floor, making a scene of his magic as the earthy brown circle expanded all around them.
"Earth Make Magic! Grand Fortress!" Drake shouted, the ground beginning to rumble around them.
The next moment walls sprang upward and stairs formed to reach the ramparts that had just been built, a small gate at the bottom of one of the walls.
Drake tilted backwards exhausted, his hand going to his head.
"Ok, moving established earth is still ridiculously draining…" he grumbled, trying to shake his head to dismiss the exhaustion.
He felt a hand touch his back through his robes.
"Don't overwork yourself…" Claire said, her face pouting slightly.
Drake chuckled, "This is light work, just a little tired," he smiled, "How you holdin up?"
Claire smiled slightly, her head tilting down away from his gaze, "I'm alright. Just wish you didn't smell so… potent…" she scoffed, pinching her nose.
Drake raised a brow and his face creased in a wry smile as he realized she wasn't looking away from him because of being embarrassed. She was looking away to pinch her nose.
He gave himself a whiff, "Oh man, this stuff is ganna stink for weeks isn't it…."
"Let's hope not… I don't want to go anywhere near those ants if that's what is going to happen," Chelsea said, walking up to the pair, "Do we have a plan to go out as well now that we have a base getting set up? You aren't the only one who wants to level up you know," she said, placing her hands on her bow.
"Eventually," Drake said turning serious, "There's a few more things I want to confirm before I risk anyone else. I managed to close the first Hive Entrance, but it took just about all of my mana and status to do so. So it's going to be slow going there," Drake explained, "Then, I want to confirm if the Ants are going to be inactive outside of the Hive once night falls. But so far I haven't noticed anything different as the sun is beginning to go down."
Drake crossed his arms and looked around, their attention now on him since he had started explaining. The only ones who weren't were the grumbling and sleeping Sherry, and Hudson who was at the top of the earthen rampart, setting up sentry after sentry for their defense.
He quickly glanced at the tutorial panel before addressing everyone.
[Current Time Remaining in Tutorial: 59 days 7 hours 21 minutes 44 seconds]
[Remaining Participants: 1,907]
"I want to continue with the plan of shutting down and closing the Hive Entrances until there is only one left. Then I'll be bringing everyone that can into the Hive and help you all level up. I know I've been the main force so far, but we're closing in on the end of the tutorial here and I want everyone to experience not only working as a team but the dangers you might all face once we are out. Not everyone is in the same area as I am in the outside world, so you can't always count on me until you find your way back or join up with another group. And I want everyone to be safe," Drake said finishing his explanation.
"So…." Jacqueline said, chiming in, "we sit put yeah? Fine with me innit, don't want to be smellin like a pigs backside like you any which way."
"Really? I thought you would want the improvement Jacqueline?" Drake smirked.
"I'll show you an improvement, you bloody clown!" Jacqueline shouted back, raising a fist up.
Drake soundly ignored her, their banter running its course as he looked up towards Hudson. Seeing that the gruff man had gotten a good amount of sentries down, Drake decided to focus on recovering after putting up the fortress.
His spell had left him somewhat depleted, and honestly he just wanted to take a break for a moment to gather his wandering thoughts.
"I'm going to take a breather on the wall. Everyone can settle in themselves? If we need more space or rooms you know where to find me," he said, making his way for the stairs.
Without a word Bjorn followed him upward until Drake decided to stop earshot away from Hundson who had noticed them both but continued to finish putting up the defenses.
"You good bro?" Bjorn asked, looking out into the distance, seeing the Ants still skittering towards them, slowly closing the distance.
"Never better," Drake lied.
"Come on. If I'm not allowed to fight, the least you can do is bore me with your problems," Bjorn smirked.
Drake didn't meet Bjorn's eyes, "It isn't a problem. I've got a handle on it. Don't have a choice but to."
Drake wasn't trying to act tough or stoic. What he was saying was the truth in his eyes. He didn't have any other option right now than 'being fine'. Whatever it was that was slowly scratching at the back of his head. Corroding his mind and taking away his sense of empathy, even past his Indomibility skill. He would just have to deal with.
He had made too many promises. And Drake intended to keep them all. Regardless of what it was doing to him currently.
Drake paused, waiting for a remark from Natto that never came.
"Little Miss staying quiet?" Bjorn asked, not pushing his previous line of questions.
"How could you tell?" Drake asked, finally turning to Bjorn.
Bjorn scoffed, "You get a small smirk on your face when your eyes go distant when you are talking to her. It's hard to miss honestly. And you don't check your stats nearly as much as the rest of us. Surprised Claire isn't getting jealous with how much you talk to her," Bjorn laughed.
"Man, don't bother me with talk about Claire. Especially when you won't even go after Chelsea," Drake said, tipping his head back, "You and I can both tell she's burrowing a hole into the back of your head from here."
Bjorn and Drake stood quietly for a beat, both looking out into the oncoming torrent of monsters barreling down on their newly formed doorstep.
"The monster we saw the other night," Bjorn asked, his tone serious, "Did you see it while you were out here?"
Drake let the question site for a breath before answering.
"No. But I got a bad feeling when I collapsed the Hive entrance," Drake said evenly.
"Bad how?"
"I don't know. It just felt like whatever was down there… Was looking at me. Wanted me to come down there."
"Do you think it was the same monster we saw that night?" Bjorn asked.
Drake clenched his hand around the jet black earth of the wall, "No Bjorn. I don't think it was. And that's what's worrying me."