Chapter One-Hundred and Nineteen: The Kings of the World.

After the altercation outside with Shigure and the process of reprimanding Claire and Chelsea while Natto was being healed. Only Drake, Natto, and Bjorn remained in Drake's tent.

Drake looked over at Natto.

"So what was this whole conversation you had with Uta about?" Drake asked, doing his best to hide his irritation.

"Would you like the long or short version?" Natto asked.

"I would like the whole version, thank you…" Drake replied, his finger tapping on his arm.

"Then, we should start at why she came here in the first place," Natto began explaining, "Uta was sent here by Shigure to off an alliance within the tutorial and once outside it in exchange for information and essentially protection."

Drake's brow rose.

"What does he need protection for?" Drake asked.

"From people like you, dolt!" Natto sighed, "You seem to be under the impression that you are the only Dual Class within the countless worlds and systems that inhabit the expansive multiverse, but you would be sorely mistaken. I have confidence that you will grow to be ever stronger and progress to the top. Again, I have no doubt of this, but you will face challenges you can not yet see, and it seems. Even for all the faults, we have seen from him so far, Shigure is planning ahead and sees that. Especially after the 'fight' you put him through. That he is not yet capable of defending himself to the degree he wishes for. That is where you and the oaf come in," Natto told.

Drake pursed his lips. He had been beginning to become complacent if ever slightly after his fight with the King. But he wasn't fool enough to believe that he was the strongest. He was still the lowest Rank on the ladder, it was only natural there would be stronger beings in the multiverse.

Wait, that means that even with everything I can do now… There are people that can blow me out of the water? Drake thought, shivering slightly.

"What's this got to do with me now?" Bjorn asked.

"You have chosen a side, even if you are too inept to realize it. Shigure sees that and went for a desperate olive branch in that sense by extending his offer to us," Natto responded.

"I haven't chosen any side bro…" Bjorn said.

"That matters not. It only matters in how Shigure sees it, and I assure you, that is certainly how he does," Natto scoffed then continued, "Regardless. To the point, his offer was worthless and I told Uta as much."

"Why's that? If all he wanted was a no-fighting pact, it seems fine with me, I'm not trying to kill other people all willy-nilly," Drake replied, waving his hand.

"But that is not your choice anymore," Natto explained pointedly, "Drake, you told me before that you wanted the power to protect those you hold dear. And I told you what that requires. You seem to have forgotten that conflict is a staple of the system. There is no way around it. You may have whimsically allowed the oaf to live, which I might remind you is a mistake. But your impulsive nature will only be allowed for so long. You are now a Forerunner, which means that you must stand at the top above others, always. If you slip and fall, you will be trampled underfoot by those who are more determined with ambition that far outstrips your own. The game of Kings has already started," Natto said, looking right into Drake's eyes as she did, "Well in a sense. It is certainly a leadership role at the very least."

"You lost me at not being impulsive," Drake chuckled.

"Drake! This is serious!" Natto shouted, her teeth bared.

"Okay okay! I get it.." Drake said.

"Do you!? This is no longer only pertaining to the ones inside the tutorial. Once the small world you are forced into here ends, there are fights you will need to win or it will cause loss of life insurmountable to the ones you have witnessed here," Natto said, her tone serious as possible.

"What do you mean?" Drake asked, Bjorn also raising his interest by leaning forward.

"The tutorial is meant for several purposes. One is to thin the herd so to speak, allowing the ones who will progress the furthest to stand and obtain the means to do so," Natto explained, raising a finger, "The next is to set in relative stone, areas of influence for when the population exits the tutorial."

"How would they be set in stone? Aren't we all from different places and areas outside of the tutorial?" Drake countered.

"Yes, but that is not my meaning," Natto continued, raising a second finger, "Each tutorial raises or establishes a Ruler in a sense. They would be at the top of each respective tutorial, in both Level and Points. These participants, almost without fail, have constructs leading them. Which means that they are privy to advanced information at all stages giving them an edge as well as a well-thought-out plan after the tutorial."

Drake's eyes lit up in understanding.

"So you mean to say that these people or Forerunners are the ones that are going to establish these 'areas of influence' and the people from their tutorials are essentially their followers?"

"Certainly so," Natto nodded, "This is done deliberately to create areas for new system-sanctioned towns headed by those individuals through a quest endorsed at the system centers. But we are getting ahead of ourselves," Natto sighed.

A moment passed giving everyone a breather for the information to be internalized, before Natto continued keeping the conversation on track.

"With that, I will speak on why the child's offer was meaningless," Natto began, "Ignoring how these system-sanctioned areas made and progressed, what you need to focus on Drake is why it pertains to you."

Drake gulped, anticipation beginning to creep in on his mind.

He had known for a long time that the road to his goal was long and painful. But imagination and reality of things were always such lengths apart it was hard to accept.

"These towns force you to be a leader, a figurehead, a monument to the people under your influence. And it will not accept less than," Natto said, glaring, "These areas will compete for the right of being a World Capital, and any of the system-sanctioned areas that compete must either rise or submit."

Natto gave a moment to Drake before she added, "Not only this, prior to usurping power you must receive the title of Ruler through the World Summit."

"World Summit? Like a conference?" Drake questioned.

"Yes, exactly so. The Summit will allow the top three of the potential World Capitals to vote in making the decision," Natto explained.

"Decision of what?" Bjorn interjected.

"The decision on how the World Capital will be decided. One on One combat, all-out war, or competition through system-assigned quests to name a few. Your world is far more expansive than either of you apes could possibly comprehend," Natto scoffed.

"If all we need is to secure enough votes to decide the competition, why not just accept his offer? Is there something I'm missing?" Drake asked.

"Yes," Natto answered, "It will depend on the amount of sanctioned areas made, but it is possible that there may be a tie, in which case the voting will need to happen again at a later date. This also means that the voters can jump ship to another boat in that time period. So you need to have the loyalty of each voter in some way."

Drake nodded, understanding now.

"So you are saying Shigure wouldn't be loyal enough to follow through," Drake conjectured, to Natto nodding, "But what about if we use Sherry to just force him to do it?"

Natto shook her head, "Unfortunately System events like this null and void such arrangements, even Primordials can not tamper with them. These Summits are freedom in their purest form as no one is allowed to be harmed during the period they are in play. Though I am sure many have tried."

"What stops them exactly, just the system doing system things?" Drake asked.

"I do not know the specifics other than physical, mental, and spiritual attacks do nothing. But this is all I can reveal on the matter. Without leaving the tutorial or you increasing your Race Rank, there is no more that I can divulge."

Drake leaned against the supporting pillar of the tent, immersed deeply in thought.

"Drake. I'm not sure where you are going to go with this bro, but I won't be a part of fighting something like a war for you. I only stepped in when Shigure threatened to kill you because it was uncalled for and you were exhausted at my expense," Bjorn explained, "I won't speak on what I've heard from the little miss, but as for what comes next, consider me a friend, not a soldier. If this is all we are talking about, I think it's time I leave."

Drake turned, nodding but then stopped Bjorn before he exited, remembering what he needed him for.

"Ah! Hold up Bjorn," Drake said, outstretching a hand, "I needed to ask you about a little adventure I'm going to go on."

Bjorn stopped, raising a brow.

"What adventure? Aren't we already full on those right now…?" he asked, giving a hearty chuckle.

"You would think, but I have something you might be interested in," Drake smiled, holding up a map, "This is a map to the Goblin King's Hoard my friend, and I want you to come with."

"What's the catch?" Bjorn said, looking the map up and down, his hand on his chin.

"It's going to be a little bit of a magic school bus adventure," Drake explained, "And it's only going to be after I get settled with what I came to do here. You in?"

Bjorn stood back and paused.

"Hmm, are we talking present-time Magic School Bus or OG Miss Frizzle?" Bjorn questioned.

"OG of course. It's going to be one very educational time!" Drake laughed.

Bjorn gave Drake a pat on the shoulder, turning and leaving the tent.

"Was that a yes or no…?" Drake wondered aloud.

"I do not speak moron, so you will have to guess on your own…" Natto said, shrugging.

"I'm going to say it was a yes. It felt like a yes."

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Once Bjorn had left, Drake took the rest of the day to practice within his tent, making sure to keep an eye on the small camp his party had set up.

Opting not to sleep, he was determined to keep skilling up while keeping a watchful eye. He had found a few people snooping about the camp, and quickly sent them on their way during the night, with the help of Theodore and Harley.

No crawling of roosters or bright sunlight woke Drake this time, as he continued to train at the edge of his bed silently, Natto snoring louder than any of his spells.

Drake had found out during the night that he was able to include Natto in his training as well. Even though the construct was technically an item, she was still considered a party member at all times regardless of the ten-member restriction the system seemed to have in place.

Good to know I can pull one over the system now and then. Drake chuckled internally.

The discovery had given Natto quite a fright during the night when Drake used his Aura of Command without warning. Waking the sleeping girl as she felt the effects, Drake snickering like a hyena at her reaction.

After a few attempted stabbings and ghastly laughs, Natto had gotten used to the skill activating off cooldown and began to sleep through it, only waking up when she became hungry enough to extort some food from Drake.

What surprised Drake during the night out of everything though, was that Sherry had also tried to sneak into his tent. Not for anything illicit but for food as well, when she smelled the cooking from her tent across from his.

That girl has a better nose than bomb dogs... Drake recollected.

The final thing that interrupted Drake during the night was the snooping around by a pair of women. Thankfully, Harley was able to stop them before they did something drastic. Also, Megan had apparently joined Chelsea and Jacqueline in their tent as she came out and dragged Chelsea away from Drake's tent, shouting reprimands the entire way.

Drake stretched his arms as he closed his fist around a ball of water that he was playing with, his endowment switching from Fire to Water to replenish his status.

"I think I might have to have Hudson put up some sentries after what happened last night. I'll have to let Shigure know too… I don't really feel like I should have to talk to the little prick right now but it wouldn't be fair to whoever is snooping around at night if they just upped and died," Drake scoffed.

The few people that Drake had actually found during the night were rather different. Their skin was pale, and their arms were gangly. What was more is that they weren't actually people, at least not what he would consider people. But with the amount of races that were apparently going to come when they left the tutorial he could be very wrong.

What Drake had found were Ghouls.

"First Titans, gods, demi-gods are real. Now Twilight might be coming to town. I really hope there isn't going to be any dumb romance plotlines with werewolves and vampires…." Drake sighed.

Drake turned slowly as he got up, hearing Natto yawn as she apparently roused awake.

"Is it breakfast time yet?" she asked.

"No it's not, and don't invoke the word of power, you're going to summ-" Drake tried to say, but then a familiar black sidecut bobbed-headed girl poked her bed-head through his tent.

"Breakfast?" Sherry asked one of her eyes still half asleep.

"Ha.. too late…" Drake chuckled wryly.