Chapter 75

**- Xenon -**

I may or may not have taken inspiration from Venom in my little speech. Quite frankly, I am not sure if it did its intended job. I want him to understand that it is in his best intentions to cooperate with me.

I already knew most of what he would tell me, Daryl tore the information from his through torture in the original TV Show. But I needed everyone present here to HEAR it from him. To understand just what they were dealing with. To KNOW that it wasn't just me being bossy or paranoid for no reason and that I had a legitimately good reason for distrusting them so much.

This will set a very important precedent that would eliminate most of the group's resistance to my suggestions, and also be a very leap forward in my plan to become the "leader" of this group. Or temporary leader. Not because it would give me any sense of accomplishment, but because I had no intention of being led by idiots. I said it. Most of the people here still see the world in all kinds of bright colors, despite all the indicators saying otherwise. Am I going to five years... or the equivalent of whatever season they matured in, for them to get a better sense of reality? Absolutely not. I've spent the past few weeks making sure they are still in one piece, and I will make sure this group grows, to face the dangers this world is sure to present.

Randall believes that I won't harm him... or the others won't let me as long as it isn't definitively proven that he is guilty... I need to change that particular idea. He will indeed die without the shadow of a doubt once his guilt is confirmed, but confessing could be his best way out of this situation... Or that's what I would want him to believe.

"AAAAAAAAAAAAARGH..... GAAAAAAAAAH.... GAAA-"

* SMACK *

"The fuck are you screaming for?" Daryl snarled at him. "That was just a little finger, man! Grow some fucking balls!" Randall had tears in his eyes from the pain and humiliation he was suffering, and I could sympathize with him... But I won't, so screw him.

"You good?" I asked him with a smile on his face. The crazier and unreasonable I seemed from his perspective the better. "It's rude not to answer when spoken to..." I shook my head sadly. "Well, I'll take your silence as a yes!" I looked at Daryl again, ignoring the pleading screams he was trying to make, and Daryl wasted no time.

* BANG *

"AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAARGH" He was thrashing madly in place, trying to free himself with no results.

"Let's give him a few seconds to get some air." I said nonchalantly, removing the cloth from his mouth.

"PLEASE! I'll speak! I'LL SPEAK!" Randall said hectically as soon as he was given the chance.

"Will you?" I raised an eyebrow at him. "Seems to me like you're just trying to buy yourself some time."

"You're right! Please! I swear! I'll tell the truth! You were right! But it wasn't my fault, I swear!" he said in one breath, afraid we would resume his treatment.

"Right about what?" I looked at him with a frown. "You better start giving some details, I don't have much patience for you. My friend here is itching to try his hammer again."

"We were told to infiltrate your group! We have others waiting for us outside!" He added frantically.

"* Le gasp * You don't say?"

"How many are there?" Shane interrupted, having finally gotten the confirmation that it was true.

"Twelve..." Randall said through the pain, as he tried to catch his breath. "They are heavily armed... Aks, M4s, and a few other rifles..."

"Why were you after?" Shane asked with a frown. Twelve heavily armed hostile waiting for them outside was not very reassuring.

"We..." Randall hesitated for a moment, earning himself a slap from Daryl. "They wanted to take the prison for themselves! They wanted to take your food, your guns, everything..."

"What else did they want?" I gave him a look.

"They... wanted to take the women too..." There were gasps at that, but it wasn't enough for me yet.

"It seems to me like they've done this before, haven't they?" I raised an eyebrow at him, before smiling seeing his reaction. "Now now, don't be like that. I told you my story, it's only natural you reciprocate." He got another smack on the head from Daryl, who seized any opportunity to make him suffer.

Randall proceeded to tell us the story of a farmer and his family reluctantly. He described how the group had captured them, and forced the man to watch as they took turns on his daughters. The look of outrage every member of the group had was enough to tell me that this little endeavor was extremely successful.

"And you didn't take part in it?" I asked him with narrowed eyes.

"NO! No, I didn't! I swear! I didn't want any part of it, so I just watched!" His face drained of any color that remained at my accusation.

"Do you realize how stupid you sound?" I looked at him weirdly. "You don't think anyone here is dumb enough to believe that?"

* SMACK *

"Are you saying we're dumb kid?!" Daryl looked at him with undisguised amusement.

"No!" Randall was lost for words. He knew his future prospects were over with if that's how everyone else sees him. He may be stupid, but he's not dumb...

"I think we've heard enough for now." I finally said. "Take some time to think things over. We'll see what we can do about this situation then. In the meantime, throw him back to his cell. I'm sure he can still be useful..." I looked at him, and from the expression on his face, I could tell he understood what I meant. I walked out, leaving them to deal with the rest. I needed a break myself, everything that's happened was a bit much, even for me...

**- Narrator -**

As soon as the interrogation was over, Xenon took his axe and went outside. There was a decent amount of walkers around the prison, and right now they provided the best distraction for him. Walkers were becoming easier to deal with by the day for him, thanks to his growing skills.

He used throwing knives whenever there were more than two walkers together for him to deal with to reduce their numbers, before pushing them with a kick and finishing the other. He made sure to use [Empower] each time, as he needed his body to get used to it in order to improve his control over the skill.

He used [Sprint] to dash from one walker to another, finishing them off in quick succession. His efficiency was very scary to observe. His movements were measured, never missing their target, and the power behind each swing of his weapon extremely deadly, leaving behind nothing but skulls cut cleanly in half.

At this point, he would be a force to be reckoned with if he only used his bat against the walkers, but he preferred using the heavy axe instead, the weight helping him train his body in the process, while the boost in damage was too tempting for him to give up. Though he realized clearly that the boost becomes obsolete the moment he uses [Empower], the endgame was not only eliminating the walkers.

**- Xenon -**

< You have leveled up! >

< Evaluating performance… >

* Ding *

< You are eligible for rewards! >

< +1 CON Gained! >

< +1 STR Gained! >

< +1 DEX Gained! >

< +3 CHA Gained! >

< [Weapon Mastery: Axe] has leveled up! >

< [[Detect Presence] has leveled up! >

* Ding *

< Requirements met: [Domineering Presence] >

< Skill Gained! >

[Domineering Presence. (Active/Passive)] LVL 1

*Passive

You have a presence that is very difficult to ignore. When you speak, those around you listen. (AN: This is not like a light beacon that broadcasts his position. It only affects those he wants to be affected, even though he has no conscious control over it.)

*Active:

Cost : ????

Concentrate your presence on a target, making them feel the full weight of your willpower.

[Weapon Mastery: Axe. (Passive)] LVL 5

Increased damage when using an axe.

Note: The effect extends to similar weapons.

[Detect Presence. (Active/Passive)] LVL 2

*Passive

Cost: None

Walkers within 400m range are shown on the map.

Active:

Cost : ????

Detect living beings within the ability's range.

Current range: 40m

I was feeling ecstatic right now. I've always failed at increasing the level of [Detect Presence], no matter how many times I spammed the skill, but I'm glad I finally succeeded. An increase of 10 meters might not seem like much, but it was a 33% increase! That is a LOT, more than I could ever ask. The 100m increase for walkers would give me more time to react to hoards. It also seems like the mental exhaustion I had been suffering from using the skill has lessened considerably over time, so I'm looking forward to how the new one would feel.

The [Weapon Mastery] is also something I am very invested in. It gives me a permanent increase of both power and speed when using said weapons, along with overall accuracy. Quite frankly, I don't even need to use [Empower] anymore. With the state the walkers were currently in, having spent a significant amount of time degrading, they've become rather easy to deal with, but I don't know what the future has in stock for me.

And finally, the new skill I've obtained... [Domineering Presence]. The name sounds cringy, but the effect is definitely interesting. The passive doesn't seem like the kind of thing I would be able to notice immediately, especially with the current group. I have already accumulated enough respect to be heard. But perhaps it will have its moments in the future... As for the active... I'm not even sure how that works. I would need to try it to find out more.