Chapter 169: Big Announcements

"Will you stop touching it already?"

Drake sat down in the fortress, Natto on his shoulder as he looked at the rest of the people currently pulling at his new long hair.

"I'm just checking if it's real," Claire shooshed.

"Certainly this is fake. But changes of this manner often do manifest in such physical alterations," Natto added yanking on his hair.

"Ow! What the hell? Punyeta! And checking for over twenty minutes?!" Drake chided.

"It is fine, continue with your story," Natto waved as she began to braid his hair and snicker.

"Right…" Drake sighed giving up, "After I woke up, there was the sponsor of the tutorial, the Dragon Bitch."

"So the one in charge of everything was a Dragon after all?" Bjorn said, scratching his beard.

"That's like really bad for us isn't it…?" Tom added.

"Well sure as hell won't be no walk in the Dairy Queen Parking lot, that's for damn sure," Hudson added giving a low whistle.

"T-that.. Doesn't even make sense…" Tom mumbled a look of pure confusion on his face.

"What exactly does that mean for us?" Chelsea asked.

"Well for one, it's bad," Drake started, " Two it wasn't just a dragon, it was the Matriarch."

Drake paused for effect waiting to hear some astonishment but it never came.

"Really? I say it's the big bad leader of the Dragons and nothing?" Drake scoffed.

"Yeah, get on with it already bro, we all know you like to be dramatic," Bjorn chuckled.

Drake grumbled a bit but continued, "Anyway. I was transported into that small room, you know the one from the intro? And she was there. I couldn't Identify her and she was strong. I couldn't even compare her to anything we've faced so far."

"One could not compare her to the Ant Prince?" Theodore asked curiously.

"If I'm being completely honest. I don't know how many Obiterons it would even take to get in the ballpark…." Drake said, scoffing in self-loathing.

"Even after your power up?" Claire asked, pausing for a moment to help Natto braid his hair.

"Let's just say it's more than a lot of me."

Drake then heard gasps around him.

"Really?" he sighed.

"What? It was surprising," Bjorn smiled.

"I can confirm that it would be impossible for anyone on 'Earth' to be able to stop Mir'phyra. Most likely it will be hundreds of years before you are able, possibly thousands," Natto explained, not looking away from her work.

"Seriously?" Drake asked.

"Please… Do not tell me you could not guess her rank?"

"If I say S-Rank do I get a prize?"

"Correct. She is not only an S-Rank, but the epitome of such. She is the original Matriarch of the Dragon Race."

"Wait you mean like OG, OG? Wouldn't that make her…"

"Yes, she is very, very, very ol-" Natto was about to finish her sentence when her tail stood on end and she coughed, "Experienced."

"You mean old?" Drake corrected, feeling pressure suddenly hit him as a cold sweat formed on his face.

"She is one of thee most powerful beings in the multiverse, there are seldom few that could challenge her if they truly wished. A fight that involved the Matriarch of Dragons would destroy whole thousands of systems."

"So you're saying we're screwed?" Drake pointed.

"In the long term yes, you are rightfully her little toy."

"Toy?" Claire said pausing.

"I'm not guilty of anything. She did look really good for being as old as she is," Drake said remembering the woman's appearance.

Drake pretended to lurch forward as Claire's hand passed over the back of his head.

"Don't dodge!" Claire shouted, puffing out her cheeks.

"I didn't do nothin!" Drake smirked.

"So, what exactly did she want then Shot?" Bjorn asked, getting the conversation back on track.

"Right," Drake said sitting back up straight, "Honestly. I don't know. She didn't mention anything outside of getting a better return on her investment. Those stones I got way back when, apparently were really valuable. So much so that she traded six other stones for them."

"Just like that?" Bjorn asked.

"Just like that."

"Then what happened with the stones? You just decided to use them all at once like some crazy person?"

"N-no… Not exactly," Drake said embarrassed, "I basically told her to eat a-, Drake coughed, "Stick it where the sun don't shine. And she found that disrespectful I guess?"

Jacqueline burst out laughing in the corner, "Bloody brilliant! You piss off someone who can snuff us out like she's blowing out a candle. And what happens? She gives you legendary stones? This world is mad! Mad I tell ya!"

"Well, she didn't only give them to me," Drake corrected, "She forced them on me."

"What do you mean?" Megan asked, finally entering the conversation.

"I mean, she physically threw them into my body," Drake explained, his hands clenching and unclenching, "It was the most painful experience I've had so far. It felt like my insides were being ripped apart cell by cell for hours and then pieced back together one by one by molten metal."

"That… That should not be within the realm of her powers as a sponsor," Natto stammered, "That goes beyond what is allowed for the tutorial. She will receive severe repercussions for those actions. The system is all for entertainment but it is also the pure expression of free will and choice as well as never allowing anything to be truly one-sided. Why would she break those rules?"

"Does that mean she's getting an ass spanking? Cause I'd like to watc- Nevermind, it's good she's getting punished.." Drake added, laughing nervously.

Claire and Natto had finished playing with Drake's hair and the rest of the part was slowly digesting the information.

"So what now?" Julia asked piercing the thoughtful silence of the group.

"Now?" Drake wondered aloud, "Well if nothing else comes up we have about a little less than a month here to relax. If anything does come up. I'll be having a bit of fun," Drake smirked, "But right right now? I think we make some food and relax, then head back to the Shigure's Outpost."

"The Outpost?" Bjorn asked.

"Yeah, I have a few things to take care of back there. And we need to discuss where to meet back up. That is if everyone can still tolerate me," Drake smiled.

"We could never tolerate you," they all said in unison.

"Gasp," Drake said in faux offense.

"Can we eat yet… It's been weeks since we had a good meal…" Sherry interjected, her eyes sunken and red.

"Oh! Speaking of food, I found out what happened to all the wildlife," Drake added, holding the food zombie at arm's length, "I just need to get back down there and corral them back up.

"The Ants took the animals underground?" Harley questioned.

"They took a lot of stuff underground, which is both surprising and amazing at the same time, but yes the animals we were looking for are all underground. I'll probably just tell Shigure to deal with it. Yeah, let's do that."

—------------------------------

The group had made a meal out of the fresh food Drake had gotten while down underground. It had been quite some time since they had roasted venison.

When everyone was served Drake slipped away to go over his new status and his changed skills. He had also gained a few new titles, not to mention he needed to accept his quest rewards.

Drake was at the top of the fortress right now looking out onto the open wasteland that seemed to only have gotten worse as the weeks passed.

"We really did a number on this place…" Drake said giving a light chuckle, "I can't believe we're almost out of here too."

Drake digressed and opened his full status.

[Drake Wallen]

[Race: Asuran] [F-Rank]

[Profession: Miner P5(0%)[F-Rank], Jeweler P5(0%)[F-Rank]

Tutorial Alias [Shot]

[Elemental Miller] [Unique] Level 23

[Vitality] 409 (10+ 215%) 

[Strength] 585 (50 +10%) 

[Dexterity] 325 (40 + 20%) 

[Intelligence] 809 (15+15%) +(70)

[Wisdom] 411 (10 + 215%)

[Endurance] 319 (30 + 225%)

[Free Points] 0

First Blood, Two versus One, One vs Many, Monkey Slayer, Living on the Edge, Close Call, Dead Man Walking, Dual Class, Punching Up, Improbability, Rounded,  Dog Hater, One Man Army, Dog Killer. Battle of Attrition, First of Your Kind, Goblin Hater, Goblin Slayer, Murderer, Serial Killer, Vanquisher of Kings, Tutorial Forerunner, First of Many, Well on Your Way, Glory of the Patriarch, Highest Contributor, Expectations of the Host, Dawning of a Tyrant, Incectocide, Marked by Dragons, Race Change, Birthright, Vanquisher of Kings II, Exterminator

[Skills Branches] 

Primary: Elemental Master of Asura P3(0%) [F-Rank] 5/5

Asuran's Magic Insight P3(0%) [F-Rank]

Mind of the Mad War God P3(0%) [F-Rank]

Asuran's Magic Prowess P3(0%) [F-Rank]

Elemental Battle Endowment P3 (0%) [F-Rank]

War God's Element Conflux P3 (0%) [F-Rank]

Secondary: Shield Bearer of the Battle Hall P3(0%) [F-Rank] 5/5

Asuran's Inner Ki P3(0%) [F-Rank]

War God's Movement P3(0%) [F-Rank]

Command of the Mighty P3(0%) [F-Rank]

War God's Martial Prowess P3(0%) [F-Rank]

  Indomitable Ruler's Constitution P3(0%) [F-Rank]

Primary Sub-tree: War God's Inner Roadmap [F-Rank] 5/5

Apex P3(0%) [F-Rank]

Asuran Battle Instincts: Weak Point P3(0%) [F-Rank]

Tempered in War P3(0%) [F-Rank]

Asuran's Prideful Aura P3(0%) [F-Rank]

War Tyrant's Indomability P3(0%) [F-Rank]

Second Primary Sub-tree: War God's Soul Roadmap [F-Rank] 5/5

Asuran's Mana Mastery P3(0%) [F-Rank]

Five Point Inner Atrophy P3(0%) [F-Rank]

Cower before the Mighty P3(0%) [F-Rank]

Honed Asuran Physic P3(0%) [F-Rank]

Inner Sanctum of the Asuran Soul P3(0%) [F-Rank]

Secondary Primary Sub-tree: War God's Weapon Blessing [F-Rank]5/5

Weapon Vault P3(0%) [F-Rank]

Battle Ready P3(0%) [F-Rank]

War God's Chosen Armament P3(0%) [F-Rank]

Asuran's Battle Acuity P3(0%) [F-Rank]

Submission of Magic P3(0%) [F-Rank]

Second Secondary Sub-tree: Asuran's War Book [F-Rank]0/5

War God's Battle Right P1(0%) [F-Rank]

Asuran's Constitution P1(0%) [F-Rank]

Asuran's Punishment P1(0%) [F-Rank]

Line in the Sand P1(0%) [F-Rank]

War God's Battle Fervor P1(0%) [F-Rank]

Drake gave a soft whistle as he went through his new skills as well as his changed ones.

"Wow, it really did interact with every single skill… The only thing that's left is my original class name. I have a few new titles too."

Drake skimmed over the skills, he had all the time in the world to go through them, and moved on to his titles since there weren't forty of them to go through.

Let's see….

[Vanquisher of Kings II]

[You have dealt 99% of the damage to a royal. As the usurper of the Tyrant Ant Throne you are forever hated by the Tyrant Ant Race. +10% Damage to Royal Bloodlines. +50% Damage to all Insectoid Races.]

[Race Change]

[You have changed from a lower being to one of insurmountable power. A Primordial. Permanent +10 to all stats for each future level]

[Birthright]

[You are an Asuran. One born of Blood and Battle. Your honor will not be tarnished. And you do not know defeat. +10% to Strength, Stamina, and Dexterity]

[Exterminator]

[You have killed over 50,000 of a single monster race. +5% Damage to Monsters]

[Marked by Dragons]

[You have been marked by the Dragon Matriarch. She awaits your growth and return on her investment in the coming years. She always collects on her debts.]

"Wow again. These are some serious buffs to my status and I haven't even accepted the last quest. And Let's just ignore that last title…"

Drake pulled up the Prince's Quest notification and finally hit accept hearing a gong go off instead of a ring as notifications began filling his vision.

[Tyrant Ant King Obiteron has been Subjugated. Quest Complete!]

[Accept Rewards?]

[Experience Earned]

[Please select your E-Grade Weapon from the options]

[Congratulations, you have increased to Elemental Miller level 24] [40 Free Points have been awarded]

[System Wide Announcement!]

[Tutorial #1,294,007 is the first to complete their tutorial, Rewards will be awarded Based on Ladder Standing in 34 Days, 13 Hours, 27 Minutes and 10 Seconds]

[Completionists will be awarded 'First Completionists' Title when exiting the tutorial]

[Early Access to the Tutorial Shop will be permitted in 34 days, 13 Hours, 27 Minutes and 2 Seconds]

[First Completionists will be awarded with the allowance of one item from the designated rewards based on Tutorial Performance]

[Completionists have the option of leaving their tutorial early, but will relinquish their right to rewards. Leaving the tutorial early will suspend you until all tutorials are completed]

[You have been awarded Title: Named in the System]

[You have been awarded Title: Dawning of a Tyrant II]

[You have been awarded Title: Hated by Many]

[You have been awarded Title: The Awe of Many]

[You have been awarded Title: Bounty]

"Fuck."