Chapter 253: The Future Is Bright

Once the former lord of the town and his family were ready, Drake and company met them at the door.

Drake didn't have to watch them pack as he could keep track of the home through his aura just fine from the outside.

"Why do we have to leave with them?! They knocked down our door!"

"Yeah Daddy, I don't want to leave. It's cold out and you always told us to stay inside from now on!"

Drake raised a brow, looking at Bjorn and Sah Ul' only to finally face the man with a troubled expression looking back.

"You never told them what was going on?" Drake asked in disbelief.

"N-no… My wife knows of course about the monsters. We both survived our own tutorials thankfully. But the children have been in the dark since returning."

"Dear. Why are you talking to this brute? We should be inside!"

Sah Ul' gave a low growl at the woman showing two sharp tusks, forcing the woman to recoil back.

Drake stifled a laugh as did Bjorn, but got back to it quickly.

"Well, are you going to explain it to them then? We are going to encounter monsters whether you like it or not on the way back. Do they at least know about magic?"

"Magic?!" the younger boy said, turning to his dad.

"I-i don't know…" the man said tentatively, "Have you done this with your own children Mr. Wallen?"

Drake was taken aback. "I guess I have," he said evenly.

"How did you ease them into it?"

"I didn't. It may come as a surprise to you, but most kids now deal with monsters abruptly. The monster is either trying to kill them, they meet a high leveled person trying to kill them, or take them to sell them," Drake said disgusted,  pausing to look at the man, "Or they witness me killing one of the two and process it themselves. The system seems to help them greatly in withstanding the sudden realization that the world has changed, but that's only for the older kids turning 16. How old are your troublemakers?"

"Troublemakers?! My children are angels!" the woman scoffed.

"Yeah, mini Lucifer's maybe based on their father…" Drake muttered.

"They are 13 and 12," the man answered shushing his wife desperately.

"Little younger than Dillon then. As long as they don't come directly in contact with a dangerous one, they should be fine until they are 16. They can enroll into the academy when we return, it will better prepare them for when they turn 16," Drake explained, then knelt down to be eye level with the kids, turning to the dad for permission.

The man nodded reluctantly.

Drake raised a pointed finger, a small red magic circle sparking to life to produce a red flame, that quickly changed to blue and then white.

"Magic," he said curtly.

The boy's eyes beamed in excitement, while the younger girl gasped clinging to her mother.

"You kids are in a new and wild world. Stay close to your parents and us and we will keep you safe," he added, "Now, let's get a move on we have a long way back, and I don't think it will be uneventful."

They began walking back for the kids to be able to keep up as their parents were still basic classes at level 5 respectfully.

[Victoria Hogue Level 5]

[Ronald Hogue Level 5]

Drake frowned, unable to comprehend how anyone could be so low-level after a tutorial, but a nudge from Bjorn fixed his mood.

"I kinda knew you'd be soft on kids," Bjorn smirked.

"What? You thought I'd be some evil asshole that would kill someone leaving them fatherless and give them a reason to build a vindictive revengeful narrative against me because I like seeing kids witness the demise of their parents?" Drake said, exaggerating each point with his hands and face, "Me?"

Bjorn put his hand to  his chin, "Now that you mention it…"

"Bite me. Aren't you the corporate CEO guy that fires people for saying his feet smell? Ow! Sarah why did you bite me?!"

"Did you not say to bite you?" she said blushing, "I simply wanted to follow your orders…"

"One, my feet don't smell, bro. Two, is she always like that?" Bjorn asked.

"You mean earnest to a fault, while also being an airhead that can turn on a dime and kill you to protect her family and friends?" Drake explained.

Bjorn nodded.

Drake shrugged, "Yeah, it works for her though, the gap moe is a welcomed change if you ask me."

"Gape moe?" Sah Ul' asked.

"I'll explain it when you're older," Drake said.

"You should explain it now," Bjorn laughed, then lowered his voice, "And how you are going to deal with Claire finding out? I thought you two were a thing?"

Drake's shoulders slumped as they came up to the house, a group of people waiting on the steps for them.

"I know. We still are, it's complicated…" he said deflating.

"Is it though?" Bjorn said giving him a side-eye.

"What do you mean?"

"I mean it's pretty simple, bro. We're in a new world with different rules and customs. Our exchange back there in the house reminded me of that. We are going to live for thousands of years right?" Bjorn said crossing his arms.

"Yeah?"

"So, do you love them both?" Bjorn asked leadingly.

"Of course. I mean there's nuance to it, but yeah…"

"Then it's fine. Obviously, you tell Claire and keep everyone on the up and up, but I'm not going to stand here and pretend to know how things are supposed to go."

Drake gave a wry grin, "How do you always know how to derail any sort of emotional crisis I'm going through with stuff like this?"

Bjorn shrugged, "Have to help somehow, kinda dead weight right now."

"You aren't dead weight. You can still beat people up and look really intimidating."

"Right, while I pick flowers for my potions?"

"Exactly. No one messes with a 7-foot red-haired giant picking roses from bushes."

"That does indeed sound like a formidable opponent. Where do we find such monsters, Patriarch?" Sah Ul' asked intrigued once again in their conversation.

Drake coughed, "Let's talk about how it's not ok to bite me in public yeah? I'm not going to say no in priv-… Actually, I'm going to plead the 5th, No biting any parts that are mine even if I ask okay?"

Sah Ul' looked confused at the clarification but nodded slowly.

"Lord Drake!!" Atropos shouted running off the steps to meet them.

She rushed to them with newfound speed after ranking up and obtaining her core skills, only to come to a halt her face scrunched and nose upturned next to Drake.

A few sniffs in the air later, she frowned, her closed eyes zeroing in on his shoulder where there was a small red mark.

"I-is that a bite mark, Lord Drake?" Atropos stammered.

"This? Oh yeah, a misunderstanding- Whoa whoa whoa! What are you doing?!" Drake said holding back a widemouthed Atropos after being cut off.

She had lunged instantly for the same spot Drake had been bitten lightly.

"I can not allow a love bite to pass! Even if she is your wife! To do such a thing in broad daylight and flaunt it!" Atropos cried, rubbing her face against his hand.

"Heel, Atropos. Heel!" Drake said frantically, "I think the rank-up made you all a little more crazy than I thought!" he laughed wryly.

Landin cheered and laughed from his seat on the steps, petting a small yet slightly bigger than Drake remembered blue-flamed wolf.

"I mean you had to have seen this coming. You have how many women around you now?" Landin smirked.

"T-to do something so shameless in the daytime…" Charlotte said, her face and eyes devoid of emotion outside the slight flush of her cheeks.

"Stop laughing and someone get her!" Drake shouted.

"Drake! When did I raise you to do things like that in public!" his mother shouted from the steps, walking down them with speed. His brother, Travis, not far behind an expectant grin on his face.

"I didn't do anything wrong here!" Drake shouted, holding back a wave of people from biting, hitting him with a chancla, and berating him with gigolo insults.

"Are we really going to follow this man, dear…?" Mrs. Hogue asked with extreme concern on her face.

"We don't have a choice…" her husband whispered, "He may not seem like it but he's quite strong. I-i haven't been honest with you Vicky… I've made some dealings and if we don't go with him, I'm afraid the kids will be in danger. He's assured me at least you and the kids will be safe if I agree to go with him."

Vicky gasped, but she didn't have time to ask questions or explode on her husband. The uproar around Drake hitting a crescendo.

"Okay!! Everyone take a step back and breathe!" Drake howled, "We need to go and you can all ask and hit me all you want when we are back at ReUnite! Okay?!"

Landin continued to cackle from his step, Charlotte frowning with her eyes and mute face, while Kalik had a more intense and eternal-looking anger boiling beneath his scowling expression. Clotho had still been slumped against the steps, clean, but still unconscious from earlier. And finally, Quetz gave a bored expression sitting next to Landin as she stared at Ifrit, whistling a tune that the pup's tail wagged to.

"First you six are coming with me to the center. We're turning in quests and getting you some more equipment. Oh, scratch that, first you are going to get your aura skills hopefully. It's better now than later," Drake explained correcting himself mid thought.

"Didn't you just tell us that the rank-up process might have went overboard for some of us? And you want us to use rare and epic stones now to throw darts at getting a specific skill?" Landin asked.

"He's right Drake," Charlotte nodded, opening a book, "The introduction pamflet the construct gave us says it right here, 'Rare Skill Stones will increase skill toxicity leading to possible mental outbursts or significant changes in personality if used in continual subsumption without rest."

Drake frowned, "That's true. But we don't have a choice. We will still spread out your use of stones, that's a given, but we need to obtain the core skills outside of your subtrees. And aura skills are the core of core skills. It goes beyond proficiency which is reflected in your statuses. It took me days to figure out my own aura when I got it but I can confidently say it is the most effective skill I've obtained out of my whole set. And I have 30 skills."

"Show off," Kalik grunted.

"So it goes without saying," Drake continued ignoring Kalik, "That the sooner you obtain and master it the better, that isn't even mentioning that some skills will require you to use aura as a resource for skill activation. Everyone have their elemental stones?"

"I do not possess one," Kalik said tersely.

"I also have not received such a gift from you, Lord Drake," Atropos also said, "My brother as well."

"Hmm… That is troublesome… Kalik would benefit the most from a Water Skill Stone I'd guess, leaning more in the stamina and mana regeneration… Atropos and Clotho though I can see Fire, Wind, or Water. I don't have any on me at the moment…"

That was when the elf girl his brother, Travis, seemed to be involved with stepped up.

"I have several stones," she said, stepping forward through the crowd.

Drake was surprised that she had spoken up and even offered the stones. Getting a better look at her, she had bob-cut blond hair, green emerald eyes, and a soft expression.

"Oh? Do you want something in return or are you offering?" Drake asked, giving his brother a glance as he did.

"I'm offering. I don't need them. My skills are full and I have everything I need already," she said, handing Drake several stones and moving back to Travis, wrapping her arms around his waist.

Travis grinned, his expression going from mischievous to a helpless puppy dog.

Drake scoffed, "Works for me. But are you sure? You don't need equipment of any sort, accessories?"

"You have jewelry?" Travis asked, perking up.

"Yeah, I should probably hand them out actually."

Drake handed out several sets of health, dexterity, and strength accessories to his family.

"Don't try to use one of those as a wedding ring…" Drake said nervously looking at his little brother.

"Why in the world would I do that?" Travis scoffed.

Remembering how Claire had tried to slip on a ring he had given her right away he looked away, "No reason."

"Alright troublemakers," Drake coughed, getting back on track, "Thanks to Miss?"

"Vavela, Nuuv Vavela," Nuuv answered.

"Thanks to Miss Nuuv, you have the stones you need, well, hopefully, if we can catch the right skills. It took me several stones before my Aura skill came up but hopefully, with some luck, we can get everyone's in one go."

Drake handed out the three he had received to Atropos, Landin, and Kalik Tu'.

"Atropos, please wake up your brother, I think he's slept enough."

He looked empathetically at the slumped boy, hoping he wouldn't have any sort of lasting damage from the vicious blows from Charlotte and his sister.

Drake gave a glance back at his youngest brother leaving the house, buttoned up to his face in a coat.

"Dillon, have you met everyone?" he asked.

"Not really, I was making tunes bro," Dillon said shivering.

Drake shook his head, snapping his fingers and summoning two magic circles, one of green and another of red. The wind he conjured circulated around the small group of people creating a small dome of hot air with the fire heating it next to him.

"Better?" he asked.

Dillon moved next to Drake, shedding some layers of coats as he hugged him, "Ah… you're like a personal mobile space heater… Travis could learn a thing or two about class selection."

"I'm useful too you little shit!!" Travis spat.

"I can use magic and this is what you compare me to? A space heater?" Drake scoffed, "You do know most people can't do this right?"

Dillon gave a pleased hum, "Yeah yeah…" he mumbled slumping against Drake starting to snore.

Drake smirked, grabbing his brother and putting him on his back as their mother came over with a dotting defeated smile.

"He was up all night again… Djos ko…" she cooed, stroking back his hair, "Drake are you fine carrying him?"

"Yeah Mom, I got it. I might be a mage but I have over a thousand Strength, I'll do just fine," he grinned, then turned back to the kids.

Atropos looked envious, while Charlotte stared with an indifferent expression despite her eyes not moving from Dillon.

"Let's get this done now, shall we? Atropos you have a Darkness Skill Stone, I've never seen one but it makes sense that you should use it. Again thank Miss Nuuv for that. Landin, you have a Light Skill Stone, I'm hoping it will fit well with your class coming from a Cleric base. Kalik I've given you a Fire one. I thought an earth, water, or wind would be better, but thinking on it more I think something a bit more explosive and wild would fit better. Quetz, and Charlotte, you both already have your specific class elemental stones respectively and Clotho has an Earth Skill Stone. If my hunch is right, will be perfect for him."

The previously blacked out teen, or better called young man, grunted finally waking up his drunken-like power trip long gone.

"Whenever you all are ready. Everyone else please step back just in case," Drake directed, releasing some of his own aura, hoping to combat any of the teens should they get the skill.

The group lined up, holding the respective stones as the rest of the group moved to behind Drake. Bjorn, Sah Ul', Chelsea and a few others who were higher level like his brother Travis also stood next to him.

A moment later all of the teens gripped their stones tightly, the stones crumbling in their hands as each one began to ripple with pressure as the stone's power was consumed by them.

The air around them began to ripple, multiple pressures battling for supremacy in the small area, but all were smothered by Drake's overwhelming Asuran Aura.

However, some of the teen's new skills took on physical manifestations as some were brought to their knees.

Charlotte stood as tall as she could, gritting her teeth as lightning crackled around her. Quetz dropped back floating just a small distance above the ground as she gasped for breath, the ground below her receiving small cuts.

Landin had dropped to his knees, his whole body slightly illuminated in a white light, Ifrit next to him yipping as he heaved for air. Kalik struggled not far from him with the very air distorting with what looked like heat, the snow around him beginning to melt.

Clotho and his sister, Atropos also seemed to have hit the jackpot as the ground around Clotho began to sizzle slightly, purple smoke rising from it. While Atropos had seemed to suck the life and light from the small area around her, a deep smile on her face.

"Just what do you feed these kids, bro?" Bjorn asked from his side, "All six got auras that impressive?"

Drake smiled, lifting his brother on his back a little higher, "Little monsters aren't they?"