Seed of Titan-Chapter 154: A Shocking Assignment

Hours later, Drai finally returned to the camp. Max was just about to greet him, but he instantly paused when he saw a two-meter tall "horse" standing curiously beside the youngster.

Without being asked, Drai proceeded to explain the events leading to this situation.

"Lad, I’ve been thinking about this recently—don’t you think you got an odd connection with these kings?" Max asked with a slightly baffled expression after Drai was done talking. "You’ve met three out of eight already in just a few weeks, you know?"

Drai shrugged, as he also didn’t have a clue why he kept stumbling into the regions’ presumed rulers.

"I guess I’ll have to make another bedding and shed for the horse," Max added as he stood up and prepared the tools and materials.

"Sorry for the inconvenience, Max, and thanks," Drai uttered.

Max simply waved his hand dismissively as he brought his stuff to their sleeping area and went to work, filling the previously quiet forest with construction noises.

Meanwhile, Drai led the foal to the fire pit and sat there with it. He told the foal about Max, the camp, and his situation with Madeleine. It’s unclear whether the foal understood Drai, but it listened attentively while slowly getting used to its new "home".

Minutes passed, and Max looked to be halfway done. At this moment, the grass rustled, and Madeleine soon emerged from the fog.

Max was used to her unannounced appearance, so he remained unperturbed, not even slowing his sawing. But Drai, on the other hand, was a bit startled. Beside him, the foal also flinched before eyeing the newcomer warily, letting out a faint whimper.

"It’s okay, horsie. That’s our friend, Madeleine," Drai calmed the foal, rubbing its head. "Just so you know, she cooks better than I do, so make sure to stay on her good side, okay? Maybe she’ll make some delicious stew for you."

The foal seemed to calm down, but it kept its gaze on the woman as she made her way to the fire pit.

Taking a seat on the bench, Madeleine smilingly greeted, "Good evening, Max, Drai, and whoever this little fellow is." Then, she set the basket that she had brought beside her, prompting the foal’s nostrils to flare.

Just like before, Drai recounted today’s events to Madeleine, letting her know about the circumstances behind the foal’s presence and announcing the completion of his task. He then took out the full jerrycan, showing it to her.

"Good job, thanks," Madeleine remarked as she twirled her finger and gently pried the jerrycan off Drai’s grip before setting it down near her feet.

Drai let out a faint smile, thinking that it must be great having a telekinetic skill. He suddenly wondered if he would ever get one himself regardless of his lack of mana, but he quickly dismissed the thought upon recalling that of all the magically-inclined people that he had met, only a handful of them possessed such an ability, namely Madeleine, Zar, Ravi, and Jordy. Even Max didn’t seem to have it, often employing his "webs" instead.

’Will Auri get such a skill too?’ he pondered. ’I think her attacks are a bit like Max’s webs, so maybe not. But who knows?’

"What are you thinking about?" Madeleine suddenly asked, pulling Drai out of his musing.

"Oh—nothing," he quickly replied before asking, "By the way, is this enough for me to contact my parents?"

"About that... Initially, I planned to grant your request as soon as you finish the assignment. But unfortunately, my power reserves are running low. That’s why you have to fetch another thing for me before I can let you contact the outside world."

Hearing this, Drai wasn’t too disappointed, as he had considered such a development beforehand. So he merely asked, "And what’s the thing I’m supposed to fetch?"

"Two electric apes—or, as you call them, ’lightning apes’."

"..."

"Wait—make it three," she immediately corrected. "In the last batch, one of the two that I initially caught tried to off itself, rendering it useless, so it’s better to have a spare. And if it isn’t clear enough already, they should be brought here alive and relatively unharmed."

Drai didn’t know what to say. He hadn’t expected that his next task would be this absurd.

The construction noise suddenly stopped. Max stood there, furrowing his brows as he looked at Madeleine.

"What is it?" she asked him calmly.

"Aren’t you being unreasonable, Madeleine? You know how Drai almost died the last time he encountered those apes," Max said, visibly upset by this new assignment of hers.

"Do you really think so, Max?" she replied, challenging his notion before explaining, "Firstly, this fresh batch of apes are required to empower the device I’ll be using to fulfill Drai’s request. Secondly, while I could just fetch them myself, wouldn’t this be a great opportunity to push Drai’s progress? Didn’t my previous assignment help him develop? Don’t you think so, Drai?"

Drai didn’t have to think much and quickly nodded. He did obtain a tremendously useful skill alongside a new perspective on his training. There was also the foal that somehow decided to follow him, though it was completely irrelevant to this particular issue.

Seeing Drai’s response, Madeleine smirked faintly and continued. "Thirdly, isn’t Drai much stronger than he was before? It’s a bit farfetched to assume he’ll be in great danger, and it’s not like I’m asking him to go in guns blazing or confront the peak alpha either—he can always employ stealth."

At this point, Max’s expression didn’t look great. He was still apprehensive toward the assignment, but he couldn’t really refute Madeleine’s reasoning.

"Lastly, aren’t you forgetting something crucial?" she questioned.

"What?" Max immediately asked back, not in the mood to figure it out on his own.

"Drai is close to evolving, and I didn’t set a deadline, did I? He can just evolve first before leaving for the overgrown jungle. I’m sure he’ll be a lot stronger by then. And if you still can’t let go of your worry after all that, you can just accompany him. Hell—you may as well complete the assignment in his place."

Having made her points, Madeleine fell silent, letting the two men discuss it among themselves.

"Drai, what do you think? Will you do it?" Max inquired. Although he had his own thoughts on the matter, he still respected Drai’s opinion.

Drai contemplated briefly before nodding. "Yeah. I’ll do it, but I think I’ll get my second class first just to be safe."

"So be it," Max acquiesced. "If you ever change your mind, just tell me. Then I’ll fetch those apes for you."

Drai sent him a thumb-up before turning to Madeleine. "Should I bring the regular apes or the white ones?"

"The mostly-black ones will do, though I won’t reject it if you actually bring back an alpha." 𝘧𝓇ℯ𝑒𝓌𝑒𝑏𝓃𝘰𝘷𝘦𝘭.𝒸ℴ𝓂

Drai nodded once more before falling silent. His fingers brushed the foal’s mane as he quietly drew up a schedule for the following week.

Max also returned to his work, sawing away at a piece of wood for the shed’s frame once more.

As the camp turned noisy again, Madeleine opened her basket and pulled out a piece of meat and some veggies with her spell, letting them float toward the foal, which was eyeing them greedily.

With one chomp, the whole thing was gone.

"This little one is quite peculiar. I think it will surprise you in the future," she commented.

"Oh—yeah, I accidentally changed his diet with my stew offerings," Drai replied after putting aside his plans. "What kind of surprise are you thinking of?"

Madeleine shrugged. "It wouldn’t be a surprise if I spoil it, would it? Anyway, have you given it a name?"

"No. I just call him ’horsie’."

Hearing this, Madeleine shook her head disapprovingly. "I think you give it a name, Drai, especially if you’re planning to keep it as a companion, pet, or mount."

"Hmm... I guess you’re right," Drai replied with a nod. He then turned to the munching foal and said, "Horsie, from now on, your name is ’Horsie’. What do you think? It’s a good name, right?"

The foal neighed merrily with a full mouth. On the other hand, for the first time since meeting Drai, Madeleine looked utterly dumbfounded.

Meanwhile, Max was forced to stop his work because he had just burst out laughing.

Moments later, Madeleine politely excused herself before returning to her abode, leaving the basket of food behind. Drai also stood up and went to the butchering area. They now had another mouth to feed, so he had to be diligent with preparing their meals. That’s why he had gathered more ingredients than usual before returning here, which would probably last until tomorrow’s lunch.

Two hours later, Max had finished making Horsie’s sleeping place, and the three sat by the fire pit, eating the steaming stew along with the food that Madeleine had given them.

"I’ll take care of Horsie when you’re busy," Max said. "Who knows—maybe I’ll learn a thing or two about taming and get myself a pet."

"Just feed them stew," Drai suggested. "That’s how Horsie got close to me."

Max chuckled a bit before taking a large slurp. He didn’t think taming could be that simple.

"I’m not sure if Horsie can survive only on meat and veggies. Maybe I’ll visit the herd once in a few days and get him some milk," Drai mentioned.

Glancing at the foal that was ravenously emptying his bowls, Max shook his head in disagreement and said, "I think he’s doing fine, but we’ll see."

At the same time, in the heart of the foggy forest, Madeleine was standing in a large underground chamber in her house, facing a pair of large apes with terrible complexions which were secured in place by an even larger machine.

"You two should rejoice—your brothers will soon take your place," she said smilingly. "But I wonder, should I actually return you home this time, or grind you into fertilizer as usual?"

The two apes were so drained that they couldn’t even whimper in protest. All this time, they had been silently cursing their miserable fate and regretting the wretched day they had crossed paths with this demon.

***