Seed of Titan-Chapter 170: Into the Rain’s Embrace

Seeing the mirage get destroyed by just a single attack, the other two fake titans called off their charge. The creatures forming these fakes didn’t even attempt to conceal their ineffective illusion anymore as they hurriedly dispersed, screeching frantically before vanishing from sight, returning to their lairs.

Watching this, Drai shook his head in disapproval before turning around. He saw that a weird-looking figure was in the middle finishing off a few elementals.

"Max!" Drai shouted at the figure, a bit doubtful about his identity.

Without looking at Drai, the figure shouted back, "I’ll be there in a second! Let me wrap this up first!"

Hearing the familiar voice, Drai was finally reassured. He then flew back to the snowy area to pick up Horsie.

When Drai returned on Horsie’s back, Max was done with his opponents and had reverted to his normal look. He walked to the pair and leaped onto Horsie’s back, securing himself behind Drai.

"Just go straight ahead, Horsie," Drai instructed, to which Horsie neighed spiritedly before galloping forward, reaching his maximum speed in just a few seconds.

As the two men were being rocked in their seats, Drai said, "Oi, Max. What was that form of yours earlier? You’ve never shown it before."

"Oh, that? It’s a temporary metamorphosis skill called Wildform Grafting. I rarely use it because it feels mildly unpleasant—I get subtle itches all over my body every time I activate it. I could’ve probably gotten away without using it earlier, but I guess I kind of got carried away by my excitement. Despite its flaws, the skill does raise my prowess quite a bit."

Hearing the skill’s drawback, Drai was reminded of his own skill, Storm Formication, which had a similarly irksome side effect. Fortunately for him, there had hardly been any storms during his stay here, so he hadn’t really been affected by this unwanted passive skill of his.

"Do you think I’ll get some kind of metamorphosis skill too if I live here for years like you?" Drai asked.

Max was slightly taken aback by the question. "Oi, lad, aren’t you being too greedy? You can fly and amplify your stats already, but you still want to alter your body more? Do you plan to leave the rest of humanity in the dust?"

"Not really, but I don’t see anything wrong with that. If I really could be the strongest human by a wide margin, why not?" Drai admitted with a shrug. "It’s not like I have a vendetta against humanity or aim to be a global villain. I’m pretty sure I’ll be putting my unrivaled strength to do some real good and make a positive difference if I really become the strongest person on Gaia."

Hearing this, Max couldn’t help but burst out laughing, which baffled Drai. He then blurted out, "What naivety, Drai! Your idealistic words sound exactly like what all those people say before they get such power. But once they do, it never takes long before greed or ambition takes over. Sooner or later, people with overwhelming strength start using it for their own interests, whether they realize it or not."

"I’m sure I won’t end up like that. I don’t have a reason to be that greedy or egoistic," Drai flatly objected, still firmly believing in himself, his ideals, and personal values.

Max shook his head disapprovingly. "There will always be a reason, Drai—it’s just waiting to be dug up. Your lofty self-belief is worth admiring and respecting, really, but at the same time, it can potentially delude you into thinking that you’re always on the side of the righteous, always the one with the moral high ground. I’m not saying that you have the tendency to do evil or succumb to greed—I’m just suggesting that you be way more prudent and cautious with the power and authority you may wield in the future."

Max’s words silenced Drai. Thanks to his many conversations with Christo, Drai had become quite aware of his own naivety, so he easily accepted Max’s wisdom on this very matter. His only problem was that he was unsure how to tread forward, since he neither doubted his class’ potential nor his own aptitude, believing that he would end up having a respectable amount of power and influence at the very least.

Somehow noticing Drai’s predicament, Max added, "I can help maintain your outlook and keep you from deviating from your current ideals, but it will only be possible if you accept my request and the position it entails."

Drai had a hunch about what Max wanted to propose, but in spite of that, he still asked, "What’s the request?"

"It’s not much, actually. Marry Auri and be an official member of the Velles, then I’ll guarantee you’ll always be the righteously inclined person you are, Drai."

Puffing his chest, Max proceeded to rave, "Just look at our family—when have you ever heard of us committing atrocities even though we possess a great deal of power and influence in Rivideria and neighboring nations? And if you’re aware of our country’s history, you must know that we even relinquished our nobility and help establish the current democratic-republic government system. What more do you need for you to acknowledge the Velles’ noble ideals? Wouldn’t our family be a perfect environment for you to develop and blossom? Furthermore, you’re already close friends with my grand-niece. I’m sure a few nudges are all it would take for romance to bloom between you two passionate youngsters. What do you say?"

After listening to his companion’s rant, Drai felt a bit squeamish as an amorous imagery between him and Auri surfaced in his mind.

’Pretty sure it would take way more than that to make her really appeal to me as a romantic partner. A thousand dumbbell curls wouldn’t even be half of it...’ Drai inwardly remarked, keeping the thought to himself to avoid upsetting the old man that was currently showing an eager and optimistic expression.

"Sorry, but I can’t give you an answer now, Max. I’ll need to thoroughly think about it first before making a decision. Anyway, how much farther do we have to go until we reach the next area?" Drai asked without pausing, doing his best to divert the topic of conversation.

"I don’t know," Max replied. "For your information, I’ve never gotten this far into the Strip before. Besides, it’s still unknown whether all sections of the Strip are similar in width or if they differ greatly."

"True. But how come we’re not getting attacked anymore?" Drai continued asking, not giving Max a chance to bring up his grand-niece or the topic of marriage again.

"Maybe the inhabitants’ communication network covers a lot of ground or even the whole Strip, so the ones that should’ve intercepted us would know already that we’re practically immune to their illusory powers, causing them to stay in hiding instead," Max conjectured.

"Yeah, I think you’re right. By the way, do you think we’ll ever pass a storm?" Drai kept questioning.

"How the hell would I know? I’m not a meteorologist. What’s up with that weird question?" Max asked with furrowed brows, growing suspicious of the lad seated in front of him.

"Haven’t I told you that I have a skill that can detect storms by causing formication? That’s why I asked. I don’t like that sensation, so I really hope the weather stays clear like now."

Just then, as if Drai had jinxed himself, a distant thunder was suddenly heard by them. Drai immediately felt a mild crawling sensation all over his skin, causing him to shudder in vexation.

"Wow, would you look at that," Max remarked in slight astonishment as he gazed upon a massive cumulonimbus looming ahead in the distance. "I don’t think I’ve ever seen that big of a thundercloud around here. I guess it’s been due already since there hasn’t been much rain these past few months."

Drai, on the other hand, didn’t have the luxury to admire the majestic thundercloud hanging in the sky kilometers ahead of them, as he was busy adapting to the unpleasant sensation that was currently bugging him.

Meanwhile, Horsie let out a series of loud neighs, as he was wary of the dark, ominous cloud toward which their party was heading.

Horsie’s reaction made Max chuckle. "I guess you’ve never experienced such a storm, huh, Horsie? Don’t worry, it’s basically just a loud and heavy shower. I bet you’ll even enjoy the downpour."

"Yeah, no need to be scared, Horsie. That huge cloud is not a living thing," Drai echoed Max’s reassurance and patted Horsie’s shoulder, which managed to calm the foal down a bit.

As they rode closer to the thundercloud, a long dark green line slowly emerged from under the horizon, drawing the men’s attention.

"Oh! Is that the end of the Strip?" Drai excitedly exclaimed.

A hopeful smile appeared on Max’s face as he reached forward, grasping the distant scenery while whispering, "Freedom... It’s so close..."

Shortly after, they finally reached the cumulonimbus, and heavy rain instantly poured down, drenching them completely. But the two men didn’t mind it at all. In fact, they were relishing the cold shower, feeling that they were undergoing an inevitable cleansing before their eventual emergence into the world outside.

Right at that moment, however, a thick blue bolt struck near Horsie’s feet. The wet ground exploded, blasting all three of them sideways.

"Tsk. Looks like I’ll need to brush up my marksmanship. I forgot it’s been quite a while since we last discovered an intruder on our grounds," a voice mumbled.

Dozens of meters from the explosion site, Drai and Max vigilantly stood up. However, Horsie remained trembling on the ground nearby while quietly whimpering, as he had been wounded by the surprise blast, bleeding from all four legs.

The two watched warily as a man wearing a mechanical suit and helmet hovered toward them, cutting through the heavy rain. In his hands was a large futuristic-looking weapon, which resembled a composite of an RPG and a rifle in Drai’s eyes.

Drai and Max glanced at each other and nodded in mutual understanding.

The two had immediately come to the realization that somehow, an enforcer from Madeleine’s organization had caught up to them.