Chapter 75: Starting the Party

Drake looked the woman up and down again. She was still malnourished and her cheeks were slightly sunken.

“Have you eaten..? The bes thing you can d-”

“I don’t want to eat! I Don’t want to rest! I want to help! I saw what you did last night, what you did in the woods! You can kill them all I’m sure of it! You can get them for killing… killing my broth-” she began shouting in a tirade, but Drake raised his hand stopping her.

“No. First you eat, then you sleep. Then I promise you I will listen to what you have to say. A healthy mind lives in a healthy body, and your body is weak right now,” Drake said a commiserating expression on his face.

“But!” Claire tried to argue.

“No. Buts. I am not going anywhere. You come back in 6 hours or so after resting and filling your belly, and I will listen,” Drake said firmly.

Claire gave Drake a fierce scowl but turned back around and stomped off.

“It would seem you have a habit of pissing women off,” Natto giggled.

It would seem my track record is getting worse and worse. Drake conceded.

“Next. What’s your damage?” Drake asked.

[Amir Fadel] Level 10

“Ah! Y-yes sire, er um Liege?” Amir started as he stumbled over his words.

Drake placed a hand over his face, the sound of Natto cackling inside his head louder than his own sighing.

“I have to do something about the way Theo speaks,” Drake chuckled wryly, “Look just Shot is fine. What did you want?”

“Yes um.. I heard your speech and what you did at the Goblin Camp and wanted to help,” Amir started.

“Okay so like everyone else? Is there something specific you want to help with? What class are you?” Drake asked, feeling himself grow slightly irritated at the roundabout answers he was receiving.

“Do not be rude, he is nervous and wants to help,” Natto said, reprimanding Drake, and coming to the young man’s aide.

Right my bad… I’m just on edge… Drake agreed sighing.

Before the man who looked about 18 give or take, black hair and fair caramel skin, and wore a similar leather outfit on top of tattered clothes could speak again, Drake apologized.

“My bad, I didn’t mean to be so brusque about it. I’ve just been… nevermind it isn’t an excuse. What is your class, Amir?” Drake asked, his face laxing slightly.

“You know my name? Oh, an identification skill! I um. I am in an advanced priest class? I guess? I can’t heal anymore but I have support class skills that are helpful but not….?” Amir began explaining but started to wince as he prolonged his explanation.

Drake put his hand to his temples.

“Ok… What skills? Can you show me?” he asked.

“Show?” Amir asked back confused.

“Just think of showing me the skill and class you have, and I’ll see a window,” Drake explained, a moment later a blue hued window popping up in front of him,

[Wealth Maker] [Rare] Level 10

[Wealth Maker] [Rare]

• A support class that helps improve the obtainment of treasure for themselves and their constituents.
• A weak combat class that earns its boon in that it gives massive buffs to wealth making and obtainment.

Skill: Treasure Trove P1(0%)[F Rank]

• Increases the drop chance of higher Grade Items from defeated enemies. Extends to party members.
• Increases the chance of drop by 10% from Common to Rare. (Increased based on Proficiency)
• Increases the chance of drop by 1% from Rare to Epic. (Increased based on Proficiency)

Skill: Experience Pool P1(15%) [F Rank]

• Increases the gain of experience for all party members.
• Increase the range of which party members can gain experience in relation to each other.
• Increase of 5% in experience gained (Increased based on Proficiency)

Drake’s eyes widened in surprise as he looked at the descriptions. Then eyed Amir confused.

“How were you captured? Your skills alone would make you a coveted person no?” Drake asked.

Amir’s face turned downcast.

“Yes, at first that is what everyone thought. But without my healing spells I had no combat competency. And my skill doesn’t mention it in the descriptions but the increase in drop rarity doesn’t seem to apply within the tutorial. So the experience gain I offered didn’t help much when I was just a liability and the gain didn’t outweigh the time it took to kill the monsters as well as the amount that was shared with me…” Amir explained.

Drake took his words in for a moment then asked inwardly.

Natto?

“Hm… I would say that the experience alone makes him worth having with the amount of monsters you kill,” she advised.

Sounds promising, but what about the other skill? Drake asked.

“It is a normal thing that the system does leave parts out in descriptions as you know. But a skill not functioning within the tutorial… I am afraid I do not know. It could be a restriction on the skill by the sponsors, but that would only further cement that a Primordial is responsible…” she answered.

Drake mulled over it for a moment.

“Amir, do you have open skill slots?” Drake asked.

Amir looked hesitant to answer but after a short pause did nonetheless.

“Y-yes.. I actually only have my Main Class-tree filled and nothing else. The group I was with had a person in charge who hoarded the drops we got, and Because I wasn’t helpful after getting my class rank up they took the stuff I had gotten as a priest. I couldn’t get more after that as I can’t fight monsters in groups like others. Then they kicked me out and I was captured by the goblins… But I promise I’ll work hard! With how many you kill I’m sure my skill will help!” he began shouting desperately, “Please I just want to help! I’m sick of being so useless after helping so much as a priest..”

Drake looked at the man sympathetically.

What do you think Natto, what kind of stones would he need?

Natto didn’t answer right away, giving Drake a moment to look out into the small group noticing one more familiar face.

The gruff man he had knocked out in the Cage, his arms folded as he scowled back until Drake met his eyes. Drake giving the man a terse nod then listening to Natto as his attention fell back on Amir.

“Since he is a support class, he would want the best available. I would suggest Greed Stones just based on his class. As far as Sub-tree stones… It is hard pickings, he would want something in line with Soul Mastery. But for his second I don’t believe there is one within the tutorial based on the monsters and what we have found so far. Possibly he could get something he needed from a quest reward?” she offered.

I thought quest rewards were random? Drake interjected.

“Only to a point. You will not receive something you can not use class wise. You received even the Necromancer Stones that you can technically use even if there is a restriction on them based on the tutorial.”

Drake hummed as he opened his inventory. Glancing over the stones he had currently. He could give Amir a Soul Master stone, he had plenty from his run-ins with monsters. But Greed Stones were Rare, and he had only killed a small few of the Treasure Goblins.

And the ones that he had killed recently. Were still outside the walls. That left Drake with only one stone presently.

Drake went back and forth in his head for a minute as he looked at the pensive Amir.

Finally Drake clasped the man on his shoulder.

“Alright, I think we can work with this. Go over there for now while I go through the rest of the people who showed up,” Drake told Amir, pointing to a spot near the tents.

Amir nodded excitedly and ran back through the group.

“You are going soft” Natto hummed in Drake’s ear.

And you are being bipolar and annoying, can you pick a mood please? Drake grinned.

“I can go back to threatening to stab you if that is what you are into, stupid dumb ape,” Natto fired back.

Better. Drake smirked.

Drake quickly fixed his expression as he saw the gruff man step forward. Drake cocking an eyebrow at the even gaze the man was giving him.

They stood at about the same height, the man a little higher.

Damn it, he’s over six foot… Drake cursed.

“Do you need something, or do you want to hit me for knocking you out?” Drake asked.

The man scowled, then his face turned to one of remorse surprisingly. As the man scratched the rough stubble on his cheek.

[Hudson Lawrence] Level 12

“I’m not too good with apologizing, so you won’t be hearing sorry from me pup,” Hudson said in his heavy voice.

Drake screwed his face up at the word ‘Pup’ but stayed silent as he listened to the man.

“But I know when to say thank you. You did right by bringing me here, I’ve always been stubborn and I wasn’t going unless someone made me. Ah.. I just wanted to say thank you,” he said, offering his hand.

Drake was genuinely surprised by the man’s candidness and took it with a firm shake. Drake could feel the roughness of his hand, reminding him of his friend who used to work in a machine shop.

“You don’t have to thank me, I did hit you after all. So we’re square. May I ask where you used to work?” Drake questioned, letting go of Hudson’s hand.

Hudson raised his own brow at that.

“Used to be a Welder before all this tomfoolery. Got dropped in as a Warrior because I wasn’t all that familiar with the explanation the man gave me in the white room. So I defaulted to whatever the first class was,” Hudson explained.

A man? Drake asked internally.

“Everyone gets a different construct,” Natto answered quickly before Hudson went on.

“Then when I got to level 10 I picked something familiar. Got myself turned into a Machinist. Get to plop some robots on the ground and they go to work. And it was doing just fine until they went and got broken in a fight and I couldn’t repair them.”

“Oh? Why’s that?” Drake asked.

“Don’t have the material to make more. I can use the regular iron the Kobolds and Ape’s had but it doesn’t cut it anymore against the higher level ones and the Goblins. They just tear through the damned things. Not to mention I need Monster Cores to power the damn things!” Hudson spat, like actually spat to the ground.

Drake grimaced a bit but then changed his expression to a wide smile.

“Hudson! How strong would you say those little boys of yours are?” Drake asked.

“Oh, I’d say pretty damn strong. When we were fighting the Kobolds, they were going toe to toe, and the gunner ones? Could probably kill two or three before they went down on their own.”

Drake patted Hudson on the back.

“Oh, Hudson my boy! I think you and I are going to be great friends!”