[You have defeated the Captain of the Wyvern Corps, Fowl Harkins. You have gained 1050 experience.]

[You had a duel with Alpha Wyvern, Draxia. You have gained 2312 experience.]

[You have leveled up from Level 11 to Level 14. You gained 12 Heli Points.]

[Health Regeneration has leveled up from Level 1 to Level 2.]

And with that, I had leveled up three times. My health was almost full and life is good.

I was currently travelling to Ter Leaf village and since I had time, I decided to allocate my Heli Points. I currently had 30 Heli Points and leaving them lying around would be a waste.

(Should I upgrade my current weapons or buy new ones?)

It was a tough decision, but I decided to go with upgrading my current weapons. I do not know what kind of weapon I would receive if I bought the Additional Weapons upgrade for 20 Heli Points, so I decided to go with upgrading my already proven-to-be-reliable weapons. 

[You have allocated 10 Heli Point into M134 Minigun. Rate of fire has increased from 2000 rpm to 4000 rpm. Bullet penetration has also increased.]

[You have allocated 5 Heli Points into M158 Rocket Launcher A, upgrading it into M200 Rocket Launcher A. Rocket Capacity has increased from 7 to 19. Speed of rockets has also increased.]

[You have allocated 5 Heli Points into M158 Rocket Launcher B, upgrading it into M200 Rocket Launcher B. Rocket Capacity has increased from 7 to 19. Speed of rockets has also increased.]

The total number of rockets I could fire without reloading was now 38, a huge upgrade compared to my previous maximum of 14. I had 10 Heli Points left and decided to check out the Heli Store to see if there was anything new. Something immediately caught my eye.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Heli Points: 10 

Spawn Minions ( Spawn minions using mana to do your bidding.): 10 points

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Without any second thought, I bought it immediately. Screw looking at the other options, this skill sounds way too cool to pass up. There's no way I would regret impulsive buying, right? I immediately activated the skill. A spinning white magic circle appeared beside of me, and in the middle, a greyish object began forming.

(What is that?)

The object's form became more distinct as it grew larger. I could now make out an rectangular shaped body roughly 50cm in diameter. It had four small cylinders stemming out from the four corners. Then, little rotor blades began forming on top of all four cylinders.

(Isn't that a drone?!)

[Minion Lvl 1 has been completed.]

My minion was finally complete, and it only took 20 seconds and 100 mana! The rotor blades on it began spinning as the magic circle disappeared, and then, I immediately left it in the dust. Crap, I had forgotten that I was travelling at 500km/h. Sighing at my stupidity, I made a U-turn and returned to my minion, which was struggling to chase after me. When it finally reached me, it started bopping up and down on the spot. I had to admit that it looked kind of cute. It had a camera in the middle of the front of it's body with a red and green LED light beside of the camera, otherwise, it had no distinct features.

(Is it waiting for a command?)

I decided to give it a simple command to test the water.

Me: {Fly around me once!}

The drone immediately complied, flying a circle around me and returning to its original position. Let's see, what else can I make it do. Hmm, there is a Goblin about 50 metres away, maybe I can make use it as a test subject.

Me: {Do you see that Goblin between the trees over there? Kill it, kill it now, do it!}

The drone flew towards the Goblin without an ounce of hesitation. It does not have any visible weapons, but I figured that it has some sort of hidden weapon or was able to use magic, so everything should be alright. Once it was 5 metres away from the goblin, it stopped dead in it's tracks. The Goblin, which was hitting a tree with a rock for some reason, did not notice the drone.

(It's stopping! Is it going to cast a magic spell? Or maybe a gun or a knife is going to pop out of it's body!)

Both of my guesses were proven wrong when it rammed head first into the Goblin.

Me: {NO!} 

The drone spiralled from the impact and crashed into the ground. The Goblin, which was left virtually unharmed, began walking towards it while raising the rock that was in its hand. 

Me: {Oh no you don't!}

I fired upon the Goblin, tearing it to shreds. I then quickly checked on my minion, which was vibrating violently on the ground. 

Me: {Are you okay? Can you get up?}

The blades on my minion spun weakly. Realising my mistake, I propped it upright carefully with my hook. With it's body now in full view, I winced at the sight. My minion's body had cracks all over it and it's rotor blades were bent. 

Me: {No....}

I had to check it's health.

(Appraisal)

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Minion Lvl 2

Name: None

Species: Drone

Hp: 8/15

Mp: 12/15

Skills: Stealth Lvl 1, Health Regeneration Lvl 1, Flight Lvl 1

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Thank God, it has 《Health Regeneration》. It shouldn't take too long for it to heal up to full health then. I decided to wait patiently.

...

......

Why is it taking so long? Even after 30 seconds have passed, it only managed to regenerate 1 hp. Is the rate of《Health Regeneration》 affected by the total amount of health? Carl woke up while I was waiting and was confused to see the drone.

Carl: {What the heck is that thing?}

Me: {My minion, doesn't it look like me?}

Carl took another look: {I guess? It does have your blades. Wait, since when do you have minions?}

 

Carl kept quiet for a while before rapidly asking: {So...… What happened back there? Were they threatening you? What did they want you to do?}

Me: {Woah, slow down there. Well, yeah, they threatened to capture you if I did not listen to them. And as for what they wanted me to do, they wanted me to participate in the Demon War as a means of transportation.}

Saying this out loud, I realised that all of my actions were unreasonable. I ruined Carl's life simply because I did not like being threatened. The realisation hit me like a rock spike to the face.

Me: {Oh God...... what have I done? Carl, I am so so sorry. If I had just done what the King said, then you would still be a nob-}

Carl interrupted me: {Nonsense.}

Me: {What?}

Carl: {Look, Hel, you did nothing wrong. The King was being unreasonable. No one should be forced to do something they do not want to. Threatening them into obedience using their family and friends is even worse. I don't want to serve such a King.}

Carl took a deep breath before continuing: {To be honest, I did not even want to get involved with the pork-selling business. My dream is to become a researcher, as you can tell from the fact that I have became a professor. I want to experience and learn as much as I can while I'm still alive. I thought my dream was sealed when the King declared me as the heir of my family's business, but you have saved me from that fate. And for that, I am thankful to you.}

After hearing him say that, I felt that a large weight had just been taken off my chest. I hadn't completely ruined his life, only a little bit. I also felt my trust in him growing. In the end, I decided to explain everything, except the fact I got reincarnated, to him since I doubt that he would betray me after saying all that.

Carl: {So you are telling you have a point system that awards you points whenever you fight, and said points allow you to enhance or unlock any skill?}

Me: {Well, I can only unlock certain type of skills but that's essentially it.}

Carl whistled in appreciation: {That's incredibly strong.}

Without me realising, my minion had completely regenerated all of its health. Now, all I need is a way to transport it. It's slower than me by a lot, and flying consumes its limited mana at a high rate, so that means that I will be the one to transport it most of the time and will only deploy it when it is necessary.

I considered putting it in my cockpit, but that would obstruct any passengers that I'm transporting. There has to be a more space efficient way of transporting it. Wait, does it count as a living thing?

(Inventory)

[Minion Lvl 1 has been placed into your inventory.]

It seems like it doesn't count as a living thing as I can store it in my inventory. This begs the question, am I a living thing? I did not know what to do with this sort of knowldge, so I decided to set that thought aside for now, just like I did with the fact that I had golden blood. 

And so, I activated stealth before continuing on my journey to Ter Leaf Village. Within 5 minutes, I arrived at the village which I call my home. Boy, have I missed it dearly. Nothing seems to have changed since the day I left except for a small increase in population. Other than the fact that the knights who came the day before I left were still here, there were only some unfamiliar faces, most of whom were donning leather armour. The oldest newcomer was young adults at most, and the weapons they held varied from swords to bows to spears.

(New adventurers?)

I suppose that since the forest, which was a good source of food and materials, was now reopened to adventurers, more and more of them would migrate to Ter Leaf Village over time, which would help it develop into the bustling town it once was. I decided to look for my friends, Kira and John, to tell them about what had happened in the Capital. Keeping mum about what happened in the Capital would only bring trouble to this village in thw future. I found them together not too long after. They were...... staring into each other eyes?

Me: {Oh? Did your relationship improve since the day I left?}

John smiled at Kira: {Yeah. I confessed to her the day before yesterday.}

Me: {Awwww, I wish I could have seen that.}

Go explode you goddamn riajuu (Author's note: Wow, I used a Japanese word. That's pretty cringe.). Carl, who was in my cockpit which was to high up for them to see inside of, began making retching noises. 

I continued with the small talk, searching for an opportunity to  subtly insert what I've done in the Capital into the conversation.

Kira: {And then he got so angry that he started yelling.}

Me: {Hahaha! That reminds me of the time I committed lese-majeste in the Capital.}

Carl: {Smooth.}

John: {Ha...ha.... You are kidding, right?}

I told the both of them what had happened in the Capital. I had to admit that it was kind of funny seeing their face interchanging from disbelief to confusion and back to disbelief. When I was done, their faces have finally decided to settle on fear.

Me: {And so, I have decided to leave this village to reduce the chance of them attacking the village.}

Unlike the Wyverns, I doubt that humans would indiscriminately attack an entire village. I figured that at most, they will send a representative or two to question the villagers before calling it a day.

Me: {Therefore, the both of you should pretend that we never came back.}

Kira: {You are really leaving? What makes you think they won't attack the village anyways? You sho-}

Me: {Of course, I won't leave this village undefended. I will figure something out before I leave.}

Kira: {Wait! I meant that you should continue staying here!}

John: {If they really wanted to attack the village, they wouldn't care if you were here or not.}

I was touched by their persuasion, but I won't let my emotions affect my decision.

Me: {Even if there is a small chance that they won't attack the village if I'm not here, I must take it. Now, if you will excuse me, I have to do something.}

I would really like to speak with them for a while more, but I had something to do. I traveled deep into the forest and started summoning more minions.

[You have reached your minion capacity. Level up your 《Spawn Minions》 skill to summon more.]

My mana was reduced by 400, which made me realise summoning minions take a lot of mana. I then proceeded to take out the first drone that I had spawned from my inventory. It flew around happily around as if it was celebrating its freedom before stopping beside the new drones. I now had five drones buzzing noisily around me, awaiting for my commands. I appraised all of them and sure enough, the newly spawned drones were only Level 1. The first drone I created had leveled up to Level 2 from the fight with the Goblin, which meant that my minions could level up normally. I designated it as Drone 1 and the rest as Drone 2,3, 4 and 5. Another round of appraisal showed that their names have been changed accordingly.

Me: {Welp. Time for a training montage.}

First of all, I tried creating a party or a group where experience could be shared in between members but to no avail. I guess I had to do it the old fashion way then.

Me: {Drone 1, tap that Goblin on the head and escape immediately.}

The drone did as I commanded, doing a light tap on the Goblin's head before shooting straight up. The Goblin looked upwards in confusion, only for me to shred it with bullets. I appraised Drone 1 only to find that it was still Level 2. 

(Did it gain any experience?)

I was pondering how to find the answer to that question when I realised that the solution was simple: I simply had to ask it.

Me: {Answer my question by nodding your body up and down for yes and shaking your body side to side for no. Can you see how much experience you have?}

The drone quickly nodded.

I asked again: {Did you gain experience when the Goblin died?}

The drone once again nodded.

I felt my insides bubbling with excitement, but I managed to calm myself down.

{Drone 2, do you see a Goblin over there. Repeat the same procedure to it.}

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

At Level 3, the drones gain a gun. It's located under the main part of their bodies and its power is comparable to a pistol, which is to say strong enough to kill a human, but not strong enough to kill humans that are behind cover. But still, this was enough to speed up the leveling process by a lot. They are able to fire 10 bullets before reloading and can store up to 30 more bullets in their body. They have also unlocked 《Increased Mp Recovery》 which means that they now recover mana at a faster rate than they lose mana while flying, although they still have to buy bullets which drains a lot of their mana.

Me: {Only target melee Goblins, make sure not to attack the ranged Goblins. Also, make sure to fly outside their range, and come back here if you are hurt. If you are too damaged to move, send out a SOS signal. Do you understand?}

The drones all nodded before scattering in all directions. I then followed them while in stealth to see how they are performing. Drone 1, which was currently Level 4, seemed to be the killing Goblins at the fastest rate.This was not due to its level being higher than the others as you would expect. This was instead due to the fact that all of its bullet would end up in the vital areas such as the head or the heart of the Goblins, taking them out with one shot before they knew what was going on. To call it efficient would be an understatement. I thought this behavior would the norm. However, the rest of the drones proved otherwise.

Drone 2 would charge into a group of 2 or 3 Goblins and empty it's entire clip into them while swerving and dodging the attacks. It doesn't have the precision of Drone 1, but all of the Goblins would end up dead anyways by the time its clip was empty. I guess it wasn't breaking any of my commands since it remains outside the Goblin's range, but it was still putting itself into risk.

Drone 3 remained high up in the air, taking the Goblins out from above. Due to the distance of the target, not every single of its shots hit the Goblin, and even those that have made contact may not be enough to take out the Goblin. However, once Drone 3 has its camera on a target, it will not be able to escape. Drone 3 would tirelessly chase down any Goblin that makes a run for it, which would often lead it to other Goblins. I'm starting to think that this was its plan all along.

I was surprised to find Drone 4 and Drone 5 working together. Drone 5 would create chaos  by shooting into a group of Goblins. The Goblins, who decide either to flee or charge at Drone 5, will be stopped by Drone 4 which always somehow knew where to appear where it is needed. Since there were two of them, they could take on larger groups of Goblins with ease.

At the end of the day, Drone 1 was Level 8 and had leveled up both 《Stealth》 and 《Flight》 to Level 2. It also unlocked a skill called  《Critical Strike》. I'm guessing the unlocking conditions for this skill is to target vital areas which I don't do. Drone 2 was Level 7  and had leveled up its 《Flight》 to Level 2. It also unlocked a skill called 《Increased Fire Rate》 which I do not have for some reason. Drone 3 was late Level 6 and along with the 《Flight》  skill leveling up to Level 2, it has also unlocked the 《Accuracy》 skill. Drone 4 and 5 were early Level 6 and like the rest, 《Flight》 was now Level 2. Drone 4 now had unlocked a skill called 《Instinct》. However, unlike the rest, Drone 5 did not gain a new skill.

Somehow, it felt like Drone 5 was feeling down, so I consoled it: {Don't worry. Skills don't mean everything. As long as you try your best, you have already won.}

Drone 5, upon hearing this, seemed to bob up and down at a quicker pace.

I felt a sense of pride from looking at all of them. Is this what parents feel when looking at their child receiving an award onstage?

I couldn't help but praise all of them: {All of you have made me proud today.}

The drones weren't the only one benefitting, I also learnt that the drones do not have a maximum range that they can operate away from me. In other words, I could go as far as I can from them and they would still work as I instructed. I looked up into the sky, noticing that it will be turning dark soon. I kept all of the drones in my inventory, which was now half full, and returned to the village with stealth enabled. Carl had fallen asleep halfway during training and was just now waking up.

Carl: {The training is over?}

Me: {How do you even fall asleep with so much noise.}

Carl: {I don't know, but is this chair more comfortable than before?}

A quick check shows that 《Comfortable Seats》 was now Level 2. Yay...

I found Kira and John, who were still together, and disabled 《Stealth》 after making sure no one else is around.

They were unsurprised by my sudden appearance, instead, they looked kind of angry?

Kira: {HOW COULD YOU JUST RUN OFF LIKE THAT?!}

Well, I guess my actions were pretty rude, considering that I ran off without giving a reason. I apologised sheepishly to them.

Me: {But let's not harp on that anymore. Instead, look what I have over here.}

I summoned Drone 4 and 5 from my inventory.

Me: {Tada! My children!}

I ignored the snickering from inside my cockpit and continued: {I will be deploying them here to help defend the village. You can also contact me for help through them, which the chances of are very unlikely as they are highly capable children.}

John: {Woah! Hold on! Since when did you have children.}

Me: {Since today. Can you let me speak to them for a while?}

John and Kira remained silent while looking at my drones, which I took as a yes. I then started giving them their instructions: {Both of you are allowed to go into the forest to train, but make sure that there is always one drone with its camera on the village. Do not reveal yourself to any of the humans except Kira and John unless there is some sort of emergency. If something does happen, work with Kira and John. Your lives are valuable, so if you think you can't win, contact me as soon as possible and focus on holding the enemy back. If you think that the enemy is too strong to be held back, contact me and retreat immediately. Is that clear?}

The drones seem to be processing what I have just said as they took a while before nodding in agreement.

I gave them one final reminder: {Don't overdo your training and stay safe. I promise I will come back for you.}

I then talked to John and Kira: {John, Kira, I know you won't, but just in case, please don't treat them as disposables. Thank you.}

Kira and John stared wide-eyedly at me: {We won't.}

It will be safer for the village if I leave as soon as I can, and so, I did just that. We bade farewell tearfully to each other (Well, I can't cry, but the feeling is there.) before I took off into the skies.

Me: {So, where to now?}

Carl: {I have been thinking about it, and the Dwarf Kingdom Valexe which focuses on researching technology sounds fun.}

I thought about it. Maybe I can learn more about how I work over there since I was a machine.

Me: {Well, what are we waiting for? Let's go!}