Drake looked on as the crystal rose and the pairing process continued, held up by some sort of mana as it hovered in place.
With a small pop, Natto rolled out onto his shoulder.
"So we have finally made it to this point, only one more week," Natto sighed with relief.
Drake scoffed, "Don't forget the horde of monsters I need to kill too."
Natto looked at him puzzled, "You have already completed one portion of that quest have you not?" she asked.
Drake looked back at her confused then opened the quest seeing no update.
"No, still nothing," he explained.
Natto placed her hand on her chin, "Strange, I would have believed you certainly passed that part of the quest when you became chieftain or patriarch."
"Ah, so that's why you pushed me to do it?" Drake thought aloud looking at the last part of the quest that mentioned 300 F-Rank Entities, "But not everyone is above the age of 16 so they don't count as F-Rank do they? I don't think there are even 300 Orcs here and we only brought in about close to a hundred kids."
Natto shook her head, "True that not everyone within the Crystal's influence is F-Rank, but there are certainly enough here to meet the requirement, but you have simply not convinced them yet to become your subjects. You must inspire them I suppose… or force them into submission…So in short we are doomed, you might as well just kill everyone."
"Hey…." Drake scoffed.
Natto shrugged and hopped off his shoulder walking to the Crystal and sitting under it.
"What are you doing?" Drake asked.
"I will stay here and pair with the Crystal. Once it completes I will be able to merge with it and fully access my Territory Assistant abilities and functions. But..."
"But?"
"Once I have, I will be anchored to it. Unable to leave this area unless the crystal is destroyed. Forsaken to forever be this city's guardian and overseer."
"And if it's destroyed?"
"Then, I will die. Forever."
"Brutal…"
Natto shrugged once more and smiled, "I expect plenty of food or offerings. More of that candy, it must be your number one priority!"
Drake smiled, "Yes, yes, your highness. Are you sure you'll be safe under there?"
Natto waved him off.
"I trust you well enough that you would not let harm come to me or the people here. Your hero complex would not allow it after all."
"Hey, I don't have a hero- Ok I might have one…" Drake tried to refute but stopped thinking back on his own actions throughout the months, "What can I say, I like my anime?"
"Too much," Natto agreed, "Now go clean up, I do not need such pitiful monsters littering my domain," Natto said, waving him away.
"Not even a minute, and it's yours now huh?" Drake laughed, hearing the immense gust of wind and roars travel over the lake.
He stepped over the lake in an instant to the crowd of people and Orcs startling most of them with his sudden appearance. Sah Ul' looked on, her eyes betraying her face as they sparkled with amazement.
"What did ch- Patriarch…. What did Patriarch do?" Sah Ul' asked, her father stepping up next to her his face asking the same thing.
"Just what I said I was going to do. There are going to be hordes of monsters coming now, I ask that you all protect everyone from anything that gets passed," Drake explained.
"Passed? Passed what?" Rvul asked.
Drake stretched out his hand, pointing his palm down as an orange magic circle formed, the viscous magma dripping down slowly forming the body of a human. Once the body fully formed, Drake clapped his hands placing two more magic circles of yellow around the body, vieling it in lightning, and with a final snap of his fingers a light green magic circle formed placing a constant gust of turbulent wind around it encasing everything inside.
"Passed him. Or her… It? Let's call it a him, let's go with Charles. Seems regal enough. Right Charles?" Drake said smiling at the new Elemental he made.
Charles didn't respond but simply crackled with power in place.
"Right he doesn't speak, he's shy. Anyway, Charles. Kill anything hostile to these lovely people. Do not leave this area, you are to die defending it."
Charles crackled with affirmation as it moved to the front of the group of citizens as instructed.
"Will that thing listen?" Landin asked, poking out through the crowd.
"He better, I made him. Just don't mention his height and you're fine," Drake cautioned.
"Why would his height be an issue…?" Charlotte questioned.
"No reason," Drake whistled, "And with that. Keep your eyes up. Especially you two, this is the world you will have to face soon. And if I'm right, you will need to decide quickly if you want to enter it or not," Drake said seriously.
"Eyes up?" they both asked in tandem.
Drake pointed to the sky.
The crowd listening in turned to the sky, their eyes slowly showing the fear that nearly set them into panic.
[Guardian of the West - Thunderbird Hula Garunda Level 31]
"W-what is that?!"
"We're all doomed…. I shouldn't have come with this maniac!"
"It is the Harbinger of Father Death!" an Orc cried out.
Drake smiled, his body shivering with anticipation, his new Asuran blood boiling over for the first time since fighting Bjorn.
"No. It's just experience sent by airmail," he smirked.
Drake took off his facade. An E-Rank monster was something he couldn't hold back against. That he wouldn't hold back against. He could finally test himself to the limit.
"Don't disappoint," he grinned, his eyes shifting colors as he stared at the massive bird.
In the sky what looked to be like an American Eagle the size of several football fields looked down and soared over them, its beak a bright and vibrant yellow that crackled with lightning cascading from its head to its outstretched wings and down to its enormous serrated black talons.
Drake grinned from ear to ear, as he placed his mask into place, replacing his own smile with the mask's white teeth holding in place the black sword in them.
With a sudden gust of wind Drake rose into the air and once out of range of the people below he shot forward with the use of his wind magic, not looking back. All that mattered was him and his opponent now.
The monster bird seemed to sense and wait for Drake, as it hovered in the air flapping its wings.
Leveled with the monster Drake scoffed.
"Are you waiting on me? What brings you here, the crystal? Or did you hear there was a hot new Patriarchs in the area? Sorry, but I'm taken twice over, not really into birds several hundred times my size," Drake joked.
Hula didn't respond but seemed to understand Drake at the least, its eyes sharpening as they glowed with power.
Drake didn't flinch letting the pressure wash over him.
[You have resisted Guranda's Guardian Intimidation]
Reading the notification Drake frowned, "That was very rude."
His face turned to a scowl as he let out his own aura powered by all of his stats and titles letting it press down on Hula. Letting it loose fully without restraint for the first time, the force lashing out indiscriminately.
Hula flinched, pausing as it fell several feet frozen for a moment by the oppressive force.
Drake scoffed, "All talk."
His body still covered by his Heretical Endowment, Drake oriented himself at Hula, beginning to chant his buffs and skills in preparation as a wind formed at his feet, screaming and howling to be let loose.
"Marked. For the thrill of Battle! Bulwark, Guardians Reprieve, Unbreakable!" he shouted his body shimmering in green as the skills activated, his arms painted in gold mixed with the deep crimson red of his martial skill, forming dancing flames of gold and red on his tattoos.
"To the death."
Drake used his last active combat buff skill on Hula, the skill waking the monster from its momentary pause, but it was too late. Drake had prepared enough.
The miniature hurricane at Drake's feet was already manifested and let loose as it propelled him forward spinning right for Hula's chest.
Drake reared back his fist throwing it with all of his strength behind it as it collided with the giant monster sending out a wave of force clearing the sky of the snow clouds and pushing down the people below before the sound rang out deafening the area.
But the blow was not enough to kill the monster in one blow and Drake laughed gleefully.
"A tough one!"
It all but made Drake more intense, his body heating up with each second that passed. He manifested his spells bombarding the monster and giving it no chance to counterattack. And for good measure, Drake made sure to weave in his debuffs as he shot around Hula and struck it over and over putting dents into the massive beast despite its size.
"Atrophy of the Mind!"
The dark ink-like mana shot out from Drake as he thrusted his fist into the side of Hula shooting the monster back into the air, the cries and screeches reverberating through the area after each blow.
"Come on! Come on! Come on! Don't give up! It's only just begun!" Drake shouted, continuing to one-sidedly beat down the monster.
"You call yourself an E-Rank?! Try harder! Give it your best! Give it your best!!! E-Rank!!!"
Nothing and no one was there to stop Drake this time as he was enveloped in his blooming Asuran personality and the thrill of the fight he was in. He shouted with near euphoria of the fight, each blow that connected, and spell he summoned sending shivers down his body.
He had never beaten a monster like this with such fervent joy and so one-sidedly. There was no stopping him.
Hula had a massive pool of health thanks to being above level 30 as well as being a major quest monster. But all it did was prolong the suffering of it being pummeled by Drake.
For nearly 30 minutes it continued, Drake using his wind magic and fire magic to dash around constantly moving into its blind spots to attack, shaving away at its health pool little by little.
Finally, Hula's body glowed in a red glow in Drake's eyes. Instinctually Drake knew it was due to his execution skill, Asuran's Punishment, meaning Hula was under the 15% Vitality threshold.
Drake moved above Hula, crouching slightly as he reared back his fist, an intense orange flame surrounding his fist.
"Death is-"
But before Drake could finish the skill incantation he heard the cries and screeches begin to surround him.
Looking around he noticed more and more entities entering his aura sense and began seeing more and more birds flock to Hula and himself.
[Mana Eagle Level 30]
"Interruptions…." Drake sneered, but then smirked, "Fine. I'll take you all out in one go. Feel honored that you can become part of my evolution."
Drake canceled his skill, instead enveloping his fist in his attunement.
"Heretical Attunement. Fire!"
Launching his fist forward he slammed it into the center of Hula's chest sending the massive monster careening for the lake below. The impact sent shockwaves out once more as the bird went into a freefall for the lake unable to resist the momentum after its one-sided fight against Drake.
Hula collided with the still water injuring the monster further, the water felt like concrete from its fallen height as it sank slowly into the lake sending an upheaval of water outwards from the impact.
The citizens below all pointed and gasped as they looked up at Drake as he summoned the largest extent of spells that he could.
"35…40…50 should do," Drake counted out loud as he added the new arrivals together.
He raised his hand, a single yellow magic circle forming before it snapped to life, the brilliant yellow lightning crackling with instant power as it adopted a violet hue twisted into a large ball of mana, and rose into the air above Drake.
"I won't let a single one escape…"
Drake snapped his fingers, 50 light blue magic circles manifesting all around him and springing to life small beads of water.
The water shot forward, stopping just in front of every monster he had counted for, even one right above Hula's head that was poking out of the lake's surface.
Drake flipped his hand over, his palm facing up as the violet ball of violent lightning snapped and whipped to rest in his hand.
Looking down at the people below he muttered under his breath.
"Witness for yourselves the reality of the strength I will use to protect you…"
Drake arched his hand in front of himself, the ball of lightning separating into dense lances of lightning.
"Die. May the wrath of gods pierce you."
Drake clenched his fist sending the spears off, each one pinpointing and passing through the water like a homing missile to increase its strength just before it reached the target monsters.
"Megiddo!!"
The sound of the thunder took the area by storm sending shivers and sound waves as it broke the silence leading up to the spell being unleashed. The crackling of thunder after the spears of lightning had met their targets made the sky look like a television series dog fight aftermath.
The more than 40 burnt and smoldering monsters fell from the sky a trail of black smoke following them down to the ground below. Leaving small craters as they collided with the ground.
The last and most dense spear snapped and fell down to pierce right into the skull of Hula, burning and evaporating some of the water in the lake.
[You have subjugated Guardian of the West - Thunderbird Hula Garunda Level 31 E-Rank][Experience Earned. Title Earned]
[Title Earned: Slayer of the West]
[Title Earned: One of Four]
[Congratulations, you have increased to Elemental Miller level 26] [40 Free Points have been awarded]
[You have subjugated Mana Eagle Level 30 E-Rank][Experience Earned]
[You have subjugated Mana Eagle Level 30 E-Rank][Experience Earned]
[You have subjugated Mana Eagle Level 30 E-Rank][Experience Earned]
[You have subjugated Mana Eagle Level 30 E-Rank][Experience Earned]
[You have subjugated Mana Eagle Level 30 E-Rank][Experience Earned]
…..
…
..
[Quest Complete! 30 of 30 Mana Eagles Subjugated]
[Accept Rewards?]
[Experience Earned]
[Congratulations, you have increased to Elemental Miller level 27] [40 Free Points have been awarded]
[Announcement!]
[The first of the four guardian cardinal beasts, Thunderbird Hula Gauruda, has been slain by Drake Wallen - The Tyrant Asuran. Three Guardian Cardnal Beasts remain.]
[Quest Updated! 300 of 300 F-Rank Entities Subjugated. New Title Earned.]
[New Title: Fledgling Ruler]