Kapitel 166: Chapter 161: Struggling with Loyalty
Drake had been spending his time shouting and hollering in an attempt to find Theodore for the past several hours. Running back and forth throughout the forest from end to end.
"Alright, now I'm getting annoyed. Where in the world is Theo?! Theo! You mustached bastard, come out!" Drake shouted into the air, throwing an Ant to the side as he went.
"At this point, I believe we can say he is not here. Even if he was thoroughly angry at you, I do not believe he would take it so far," Natto proposed.
"Yeah, but we don't know that. If there's any chance he could still be here we need to get him before we leave-"
[Quest Update: The Queen of the Tyrant Ants has been usurped by the Third Prince Obiteron Trikk]
[Subjugation Quest: Subjugate the Three Princes of the Ant Hive Failed]
[New Subjugation Quest!]
[Prevent the Third Prince Obiteron Trikk from evolving their race to E-Rank]
[Reward: Experience, Epic Skill Stone x1]
[Time Remaining: 23 Hours 59 Minutes 58 Seconds]
"That is not good," Drake sighed.
"I would think not! This is beyond disastrous! You must leave immediately. Run, break through the walls, the ceiling. Whatever it is you must do, do it! Drake, you have to run with all haste!" Natto entreated.
"Whoa, whoa. Not without Theo. I'm not going anywhere," Drake answered back.
"Drake this is no longer a hypothetical, or some form of weird egotistical entertainment for you. You will die if you try to fight an E-Rank Monster at your current stats and level!"
"Ha," Drake scoffed, "Says you. And like I said, I'm not leaving Theodore and that's that. I guess his stupid blond butt went in with the other Ants when they made the opening in the side of the wall."
Drake stopped on his heels, pivoting before running back the way he just came, tearing through the Ants as he went. Beelining for the aforementioned wall.
"Drake please listen to me! Do not make more mistakes. I am advising you so that you can live! And so that you have a chance to recover your broken personality! An E-Rank monster has stats in the thousands, even with your endowment skills you would need buffs of incredible magnitude to match them!"
Drake smiled, finally reaching the wall where the Ants had plugged up the hole. His hand reared backward as an orange magic circle formed above the open palm.
"It's a really good thing I happen to have so many support classes waiting for me up top then huh? It's almost like fate is on my side or something!" Drake shouted, throwing his hand against the wall, the Magma inserting itself into the rock as his mana plummeted.
Drake forced his spell into the wall, burrowing out the wall with hot lava as it melted a human-sized opening for him.
Breathing out a sigh of slight exhaustion, Drake's hair shimmered to blue in an instant as he changed endowments to recover.
"Ok, if I was Theo, where would I go?" Drake thought aloud, looking left to right.
The tunnel was dim but the light from the chamber housing the forest bled through into the tunnel from behind Drake. The sound of scurrying Ants coming from the same direction.
Surprisingly the tunnel was empty where Drake would have thought it to have been packed full of Ants. The only indication was the moved rubble from what looked like thousands of Ants passing by.
"I'm going to guess they went that way," Drake said pointing to his left, "So I think it's safe to assume that Theo went the other way."
"What makes you so certain?" Natto asked.
"Well, that's the direction where the Prince went when I marked him before it wore off," Drake said, "And Theo just isn't the type of guy who goes looking for a fight. I'm sure he went in the other direction."
Drake convincing himself of what he saying was true, began sprinting down the tunnel in the other direction.
"You know this feels a lot like it did with the Goblin King, with the timer for the quest and all. But I am pretty miffed I failed the quest because some bozo decided to off his family tree GOT style," Drake sighed, running down the tunnel.
"This is nothing like the previous monster. The King was hardly a fight compared to the Royal Guards, but this is entirely different. Certainly, you see that! An E-Rank is nothing to be trifled with!" Natto yelled back.
"So you keep saying," Drake replied, turning a corner, "But can you really say for certain that with everything I've done, and all the support I can have from my party. I couldn't beat a single E-Rank?"
"In certain circumstances where there were multiple of you and catching a freshly evolved E-Rank Monster off guard. I will concede that there is a possibility. But that is only by result of your increased stats as a Dual Class being. Normally Rank is absolute, the only exception being pure races of the Primordials or possibly a rank lower. And that is firmly because of their increased statuses and the effects it has on their skills and stat growth!"
"So, you're saying if this treasury has something that can change my race to something better than just a Human. I'm in the clear to win?" Drake scoffed.
"No! Not unless you wish to bend your mind to the point of breaking! A change in race in your current condition… I do not even wish to think of the result. You may suffer something irreversible."
"But I thought you hated my personality? Maybe it will get me to stop making jokes and referencing anime," Drake smirked behind his mask.
Natto went silent then, making Drake pause and stop for a moment.
"Natto?" Drake asked.
"I-i do not… Entirely despise your personality…"
"Hmmm..?" Drake mused, "Is that so?"
"I said nearly entirely! I still hate a majority of you! If all it took to cease your incessant references was a change of Race, I would have suggested it long ago!" she shouted back.
Drake began chuckling, curling as he held his stomach.
"I may not be in my best form now…" Drake said, standing upright and turning slightly serious, "But I'm not going anywhere. I refuse to let the system or anything for that matter, change my goals and aspirations now. Maybe I'll have to bend in this new world. But I refuse to break."
With that, Drake didn't wait for Natto to reply. Changing his endowment again, now that he had fully recovered over the time while running, his hair cascaded to a vibrant green, the tunnel filling with a brief gust of wind as Drake took off.
The next few minutes sprinting down the tunnel were muted, Drake's head spinning on what to do about the quest he had just received. On the outside and as far as Natto was concerned he was the same confident laid-back manchild he had always been throughout the tutorial.
But deep within his subconscious, even Drake was slightly shaken by the news.
Would he be able to beat the Prince? Could he protect everyone with how strong he was now? What would happen if he couldn't? Was this tutorial doomed to have no survivors? Was that what the sponsor intended?
These questions stirred within his rational mind as he took each step forward in search of Theodore. But the uncanny thing was a part of him. A small part that was slowly getting larger and more loud. Looked forward to it.
That part of his consciousness almost wanted to fail the quest.
Would the fight be fun? How much stronger would he become after defeating an E-Ranked Named Monster? How much closer would it bring him to standing at the top?
Drake's mind paused, coming back to reality as he hit a crossroads. Still no Ants in sight yet confusing Drake even more.
"Well…. Where do we go now? I can't sense anything nearby, and it's a 50-50 chance if I'm right or wrong on where he went," Drake sighed, "Do I just guess, or roll the dice… or make a coin to flip?" Drake thought aloud.
Shaking his head as he eyed the timer for the Prince's evolution he decided to just guess. Turning left and ready to step forward, Drake was stopped by bumping into something invisible.
The sound of something hitting the ground thumped through the tunnel before Theodore shimmered into existence his rump on the flood, and his hand rubbing his bruised nose.
"Mhy Lhord! Ahs strhong ahs ahlwhays!" Theodore said through a bleeding nose that he held.
"Theo! Damn man, are you ok? Why in the world were you just standing there?" Drake asked, offering a hand.
"This one wished to search for our grail, and in doing so this one hast found it!" Theodore proclaimed.
"What?" Drake asked surprised, "You found it already? Where?"
"Tis but a small distance hitherward," Theodore pointed down the tunnel, his other hand rubbing his still bruised nose, "Thine treasure is guarded by but a meager few within a chamber. This one is sure it will be of no trouble for my Lord's strength."
"That's great Theo," Drake said somewhat hesitantly, "You got the quest notification too right?" he asked.
Theodore turned to look at Drake as he stood, nodding, "Yes, my Lord. Would thou allow this one to join in this fight? This one is sure he would be of use in some-"
"Theo," Drake said, gripping Theodore's shoulder, "This isn't a fight I'm sure I could win if the Prince is able to finalize his evolution. I couldn't ask you to…."
"My Lord," Theo interrupted, brushing off Drake's hand, "This one's life and choices are his own. Please, allow this one to aid his Lord and benefactor."
Drake saw the determination in Theodore's eyes but struggled with allowing him to join in a fight Drake knew would be not only dangerous for Drake himself but most likely fatal for anyone outside of Bjorn and himself.
"Let's focus on getting to the Treasury first my man," Drake said deflecting, "Maybe we can find some goodies in there to help us out."
Theodore looked as if he had swallowed something bitter, but nodded while his gaze pointed downward.
Drake could feel the tension between them, but he had no choice but to delay answering Theodore. Theodore had made his point, and it was true. But Drake was not prepared to send the man who had been with him almost the entire tutorial to his death.
"Good, let's get going then," Drake asserted.
Theodore cast his concealment spell once more, and Drake ran down the tunnel in the direction that Theodore had instructed.
After a few moments and following some bends in the tunnel, Drake sensed and spotted several Guards ahead of them.
Not needing to change Endowments, Drake summoned a blade of water quickly dispatching them in one swift motion. Their bodies dropping to the floor as his spell fell to the floor with them.
"Looks like a throne room," Drake observed peering into the room as he walked in toward the lone large chair in front of the double doors.
"Hmm," Drake mused, moving past the throne and to the doors, looking them up and down, "So what's behind door number one?" Drake announced, pulling a key from his inventory.
"Now… where is the hole I put you in?"
AUTORENGEDANKEN 
Arthur_Inverse
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