Drake righted himself unsteadily on the floor, his body drenched in sweat as he coughed, trying his best to gasp for breath despite the spittle trailing from his mouth.
"W-what is happening… T-to me?!" he croaked, wiping his mouth.
He felt Natto's hand on his back but didn't turn still unsure of what was going on.
"I am sorry Drake… I- I could not tell you due to my restrictions, but now that this has happened," she began, "After you had been turned into an Asuran, you were fated to become the last."
"Y-you knew…?" Drake stammered.
"I am cognizant of nearly everything in the multiverse due to being an Assistant. But restrictions placed on me due to my rank prevent me from telling you too much. I am truly sorry… I can only advise you to be careful and reach level 30 as fast as possible. If you are unable to before the protection on this system is removed and C-Rank entities and higher are allowed to interact with it. You, as well as this planet, will be placed in insurmountable danger. So much so that I am certain you will not be able to survive it."
Drake gripped at the hem of his clothes. He knew Natto didn't mean to scare him. But he also could tell she was tiptoeing around the truth of something.
Damned system restrictions! He cursed.
"Won't you tell me the rest?" he asked, finally able to steady his breathing.
"I can not. The punishment from the system is not a trivial matter for us at the moment. Certainly, even the punishment of the Dragon Matriarch will not be lenient, but the punishment that would befall us? It is not something we could withstand at our current Rank. I am sorry," she said reluctantly.
Drake bit his bottom lip, trying to think of any question that he could ask that Natto would be allowed to answer for him.
"The quest…" Drake began, then eyed the leaning Pythanuel who looked over at him with interest.
Drake stopped himself from asking at the moment, instead standing up and dusting himself off.
"I've caused you some trouble. Sorry about that," he said, giving a wry grin.
"Nothing of the sort, Lord Wallen. I look forward to seeing how you will place your mark on this universe…" Pythanuel said with a buck-toothed smile.
Drake gave a quick nod, turning away with Natto hopping on his shoulder looking concerned but silent.
"I still have questions, Natto," he whispered.
Natto nodded, merging with him.
The quest. It said I was a legacy what does it mean by that? He asked in his mind.
"A legacy…" Natto repeated seemingly mulling over the words for a moment, "A legacy would mean you have been entrusted with the last will of a high-ranking being. But why the leader of the Asurans would do so is beyond me. If anything it is only putting you in more danger…"
How so? Drake questioned, leaving the church.
"A legacy entails a chain of quests that are extremely dangerous and well beyond the required level of said quests. There is little information on them as it stands and even less that I can tell you…" she said softly trailing off, "But there is always a substantial reward for finishing the questline. What a Primordial could offer, I can only imagine."
Drake wasn't satisfied with the answer but he couldn't think of anything else to ask if she was already restricted from answering.
"Drake."
What?
"There is a matter… that needs your attention," she said.
Drake raised a brow, hearing the venom in her voice suddenly.
"Make your way to the North Gate."
Without questioning it he nodded, his mind was still going in circles as he tried to process what had just happened to him and how it would affect him in the future. Walking in the direction he opened his status briefly, wanting to examine the new titles he received.
[Race Representative]
You are now the strongest in your race and as such are the face of your species.
You now gain 10% of all offerings given in tribute to you.
Your Deity Statue now blesses worshipers with an overall increase of 10 to all stats for 24 hours (Increases based on Rank and Nobility Rank)
[The Last Asuran]
Your race has been beaten and hunted. You are the last of your glorious heritage and must survive the storm until the former prestige of your bloodline has been restored.
+100 to all Stats
Increased potency of reproduction.
[Strength of a Race]
Last of your prideful line, the road you must take is long and perilous. Blessed by the last War God of the era you shall reign supreme despite it all.
Channeling the strength of the proud Asuran line your strength and prowess grows by leaps and bounds.
+50 Free points given per Level.
[Legacy Holder]
Locked.
Drake whistled as he saw the descriptions. He wasn't exactly a fan of some of the foreboding wording of the titles but the status increases were very much welcomed. They were the largest increase he had gotten in a while.
"Of course, the best one is probably locked…But if nothing else I can't complain about the stats," he sighed, scratching his cheek.
"Drake, you will need to hurry, it is growing too much for the guard to deal with at the moment," Natto said urgently.
He snapped out of his thoughts, his hair turning to a vibrant yellow as he stepped forward. Traversing the distance in mere seconds he arrived at the North Gate he had just made this morning.
What hit his ears was the shrill screaming of a group on the other side, followed by a worried voice.
"What the fuck do you mean I have to wait to go in?! What's a filthy lesser race even doing at a gate to a city! You should be in fucking shackles just like the rest!"
"S-sir… Please calm down and wait a moment, the Patriarch will be here quickly."
Rvul…? Drake thought now recognizing the voice.
Walking through the opened gate Drake saw the man, shouting incredulously at Rvul who was holding up his hands trying to calm the man.
Rvul turned around noticing Drake exit the town, "Patriarch!" he said with relief.
"What's going on here, Rvul?" Drake asked.
"This man here would like to enter our town but…" he said looking behind the man.
Drake understood immediately as he saw the long line of chained people behind him.
The man scowled looking Drake up and down.
"Who the hell are you!? Let me the fuck in already! I was told there was an Auction house here and I want to sell my wares," the man smiled snidely.
Drake's brow twitched hearing the man treat these people as objects. Flashes of the tutorial coming to mind. He saw in the people's faces the same dismal expressions. Those same expressions that he had seen of the captured humans when the Goblins paraded them around.
Claire… Drake thought, the face of someone he loved passing through his mind.
He studied the line of people for one more brief moment. They were in rags, obviously stripped down and emaciated on purpose to keep them weak. But there were a pair of beastmen slightly down the line who were in an even more miserable state.
A girl, about the age of Charlotte, had her eyes wrapped in bloody bandages. Next to her was a boy of around the same age, his mouth wrapped shut, but even despite his weakened state, his eyes were fierce as they caught Drake's.
Drake looked at the man or better named slave trader.
This guy has far too many people to have been able to do this alone. He thought, identifying the man.
[Kermit Slate Level 11]
Drake spat inwardly seeing his level, identifying some of the slaves.
[Marrabell Dune Level 13]
[Charle Dunster Level 12]
[Clotho Pagos Level 10]
[Atropos Pagos Level 10]
Many of the people he's holding are his or above his level. He has to be in league with other people. I just can't see him being able to fight well enough to capture these people… Drake thought, once again looking over the somewhat portly man.
"What is it you plan to do, Drake?" Natto asked.
I plan on getting some information out of him. It seems Mikhail is thinking ahead.
"You were? Well, you would be correct!" Drake said in a light tone, "My, these people seem a bit malnourished though?" he said, spreading out his arms, then pointing to the pair he saw earlier, "Especially these two, they seem rather ragged. You can't hope to auction such damaged goods."
The man scoffed at the jab, "They'll sell just fine! I've sold worse to those lunatics at Purity. Those two will sell well, I guarantee it! The girl has an epic class and the boy has a rare class after all!" he said, defending himself.
"I see…" Drake said looking back at the pair, noticing now that they were some type of dog or wolf people.
The girl's ears twitched at Drake's every word, her shoulders shaking slightly. The boy however began glaring more at him, moving to cover the girl.
"These are the only ones you have?" Drake asked leadingly, feigning his enthusiasm.
The man guffawed, "Of course not!"
Drake hummed with interest, but not from the prospect of buying other slaves as the man seemed to have assumed.
"What exactly was done to these two?" Drake asked.
"Them?" the man said smiling, thinking Drake was cut from the same cloth, "The girl kept giving us defiant glares so we fixed that," he said with pride, "We let the boy keep his just because it reminds him what might happen if he should do anything, but he kept yapping so," the man grinned, "We took out his tongue!" he guffawed.
Drake's eyes turned to points from unbridled anger, but somehow due to what he had just gone through himself, he held back his growl, walking closer to the pair.
The boy saw the emotion in Drake's face and went stiff as a board, but held his ground.
Drake placed his hand on the boy's neck, his hand tracing the metal collar that seemed to be imbued with a spell. Then he looked at the girl, surprised to see her somehow looking at him following his face through her bandages.
Can she see me? I see… she has a mana-sensing skill or is it a part of her epic class? Drake thought.
"It is unusual but certain mana-sensing skills can manifest as a 2nd sight, there is also the possibility that she is naturally gifted. Do you remember when you first awakened to your own magic sight? Think of it as a stronger version of such, a truly remarkable skill," Natto informed.
"You've both been through a lot haven't you…" Drake whispered, his fierce gaze turning soft and sorrowful.
"What did you say?! You ganna let me in now damn it or buy them?" the man spat, suddenly growing impatient.
Drake ignored him looking at the pair, "Who is he to you?"
The girl Atropos hesitated but whispered, "M-my brother… he's my brother…"
Drake leaned back, his decision made.
"You said we? Where are you from? I'd love to see your full inventory," Drake asked not turning.
"Oh..! That's great to hear! But our slaves are expensive after all!" the man said, pinching his fingers together greedily.
Drake summoned the few hundred F-Grade Coins he had on his person, summoning a handful of Rare Skill stones as well, throwing them to the ground for the man to see.
"Ohhhh!!" the man said with glee running and dropping to a knee to inspect the stones and coins.
"Where? What is the name of the town?" Drake asked again, still only looking at the pair.
"Yes, of course! It's a town to the north, Sandal!" he said jubilantly, his hand reaching for the treasure on the ground, only to freeze.
"I see," Drake said icily, his aura bubbling as both his hands went to the collars of the brother and sister, "Then, I'll have to give them a visit won't I?"
The man, still frozen, began to sweat and choke, his face a twisted emotion of fear and confusion. He looked upwards at Drake's back only to see him turn, in his hands the broken collars snapping with mana. The same collars that were supposed to be around the siblings' necks.
The man tried to gasp for air that wouldn't come, his face beginning to pale as his eyes found Drake's face, only to be stricken with a level of fear he had never felt before. Not in his life, nor the tutorial that was filled with horrors, life and death struggles, and monsters.
What stood in front of him was raw fury that sent him into a pit of despair. In Drake's eyes, the man could see exactly what Drake was thinking. Drake wasn't looking at him like he was a human or monster. No, Drake looked at the man as if he was less than dirt, some sort of bug or annoyance that needed to be crushed.
Drake's voice finally reached the choking man, "Don't go dying just yet," he said, "You've caught me in a very bad mood and well… I can't have you dying without suffering just as much as they have. To do this to children…"
The man couldn't understand what happened, his vision had suddenly turned pitch-black. Then a sudden pain struck his eyes as his hands went to his face feeling a warm liquid.
He tried to scream but his voice failed him.
The man gasped, his breath returning as he wretched forward, his mouth cracking open wide only to feel a searing heat that quickly turned to a frigid cold.
He tried to scream again, but he couldn't open his mouth now. His hands moved to his mouth feeling a cold glass-like material there instead of his mouth.
"Suffer in regret. But don't worry, you won't have to wait long until I send your disgusting friends to meet you."