Standing at the edge of the tunnel maw, Bob, Mia, and I were glowering at the precession of gaudy monsters approaching us. All in all, there were seventeen enemies, including the three mounts that were carrying what looked to be a trio of nobles flanked by guards in heavy basalt black armor.

 

But it wasn't just their numbers that gave me pause, but their powerful aura signatures which were more than enough to make my face darken.

 

It was clear that they had long found us and this was no coincidence as they must've followed us all the way down here. But what I failed to understand was; why?

 

I mean sure, we had publically humiliated one of the mounted riders, supposedly a lesser noble of some sort, but that hadn't even been on purpose or without actively doing anything. That was hardly grounds for hunting us down like this, which just confused me all the more.

 

"T-those are-are the young masters of the E-Ealdach and Mandrake c-clans!" The ratkin squeaked, horror etched onto his twitching rat face. "N-no! And that's-s the t-t-third master of the Sinlore noble house! What are they d-doing here?!"

 

I threw the panicked ratkin a glance.

 

"You know them?" I asked with a frow.

 

"W-what? Of course, I know them! They're two m-minor nobles and an actual young master of a true n-noble house!" He squeaked, first now realizing how out of line he was speaking to his employer. "I-I mean, s-sorry my Lord."

 

Having other things to worry about than this ratkin, I looked to Mia who was coldly staring down at the nobles, and Bob who was clenching the haft of his weapon so tightly that the veins on his hand were bulging, anger etched onto his face.

 

Once they got within earshot, I used Appraisal on them, each status screen making my face turn more and more serious.

 

Those two damned nobles, the Lycan and what looked to be a half-plant monster race, plus their mounts, were all four D- ranked monsters whereas their ten guards sported a solid E+ ranking.

 

But it was when I scanned the last three monsters that the seriousness of the situation dawned on me.

 

-Appraisal!-

 

 

The huge and burly lizards guards were dangerous enough on their own, but when I attempted to appraise the much sleeker and pompously decorated noble with gold jewelry lining his scaly body atop of his equally decorated scaly dinosaur-like mount, I was met with a headache instead of a status screen as one of the nobleman's amulets flared with intense light.

 

"He has a damn divining barrier..." I thought to myself with annoyance, thinking back to the mistress who had the ability to do so, but just with her own magic.

 

My attempt to use Appraisal also hadn't gone unnoticed by the lizardman noble as his cunning slitted reptilians eyes narrowed. However, he didn't say anything, remaining as stoic and silent as his guards.

 

"Fancy meeting you here..." The Lycan noble cackled, the first to move forward with his mount, swaggering along as if he owned the place.

 

Ignoring his exasperating antics, I didn't peel my eyes off the lizardman noble who stared back.

 

From what I could sense, he definitely wasn't any weaker than his guards, but not much stronger either so he had to be D+ rank. That noble was definitely a lot stronger than the human general, Garret, and close to, if not as strong as, the great orc fire mage, Dramien, from my estimations.

 

"Three D+ ranked monsters... and not weak ones at that..." I hissed internally.

 

"Y-you lowborn filth, listen here!" The Lycan suddenly squealed, even more pathetically than the ratkin hiding behind Bob's large figure as his previous words were clearly unheeded by me.

 

"You dare ignore when a noble deigns to speak to someone as miserable as a commoner!" The Lycan noble continued, the imperiousness so thick it was palpable even in his words, let alone aura. "After the gross misconduct you caused to me in the upper rings, I looked into your little motley party and found out that you weren't even a noble! How disgraceful, to be humiliated by a mere commoner! You should know your place!"

 

Throwing him a lazy glance, finally peeling my eyes off the staring contest between the lizardman, I let slip a groan of exasperation.

 

"Are you soon done with this arrogant noble trope? I mean, you're laying it on quite thick, why don't you just get to the point?" I said, barely able to comprehend this complete cliché of a bully.

 

"You literally brought your buddies with you and tracked our group all the way down here, but for what?" I scoffed incredulously. "Revenge for simply existing and you humiliating yourself without us even doing anything?"

 

"O-of course not! Y-you petty commoner!" He flared with hatred and indignation now clear in his eyes.

 

"You have something unbefitting a commoner like you," He paused, sinister malice entering his predatory eyes as his lips pulled back to reveal a set of canines. "As our right as nobles, we'll take off your hands."

 

He chuckled.

 

"Well, your corpse I mean."

 

Frowning, I wondered what exactly he was on about. Clearly, all this was way too much of a length to go just for petty revenge, but I wasn't left confused for long as the until now silent reptilian suddenly spoke up.

 

"Your cores." He said simply, his voice passive and disdainful.

 

He clearly didn't put our group in his eyes, even though the momentary bout of curiosity from me using my Appraisal on him and failing.

 

"Our cores are already assimilated, you can't use them." I simply stated, not exactly knowing what else they could use them for.

 

"Bwa! Lowborn really are ignorant" The Lycan interjected, taking this small win smugly as if it meant something. "You really think they're useless even after assimilation, truly befitting a commoner like you."

 

I frowned. I knew that cores must have some use even if they were assimilated as they stayed intact whilst still slowly collecting the ambient mana from the air even if their host bodies had died. One such example was the great orc fire mage who I had slain. I had already removed his core and it was currently just sitting in my [Ring of Holding], collecting dust since I've yet to find any purpose to it.

 

"Imagine my joy when I found out that not only was that damnable Drow mage not of any of the noble lines, but you also weren't anyone noteworthy and that you both decided to travel down into the Abyss like lambs to the slaughter. Do you have any idea of how impossible it is to acquire a Dark or Shadow Core with those damned imperious Drow noble houses stopping anyone from getting one and monopolizing the market?"

 

He paused, looking at the lizardman. "Although the Drow's core was promised for elder brother here, all the things I can make with your core, I will-!"

 

"Enough Kain, let's harvest them and not waste any more time with your ramblings. I have to get back and prepare before the tournament's start." The reptilian said, clearly dismissive of the situation and the strength of our group, a reptilian tongue slipping out to impassively lick the air.

 

With that said, the Lycan and the plant-ish monster noble straightened their backs, showing clear deference towards this higher status and much stronger noble. It was obvious that after the Lycan noble had found out that we didn't have any noble houses or powerful factions backing us, that he went to these two other nobles to help him take our cores, and get revenge whilst doing it.

 

My countenance involuntarily grew grim as I saw that the guards started drawing their blades and letting loose their auras. It seemed that the situation had finally gone to the point of no return.

 

"Mia and Bob, can you handle the lesser nobles and those tin can guards?" I asked right before seeing their immediate nods of affirmation, turning my gaze to the still impassive lizardman. "I'll take care of these three."

 

"Yes, master!" They both exclaimed, jumping down from the tunnel entrance's ledge.

 

Raising a surprised brow, the lizardman clearly having heard my words, it was obvious that he thought me foolish for even thinking I could take not only him on. But also his guards.

 

"I'll show this overgrown lizard disdain," I grumbled to myself, beginning to churn the mana within my core.

 

Seeing me move to jump down off the ledge and join Bob and Mia's side, our guide interjected with panic all over his face. "W-what! Y-y-y-you're going to fight the y-young masters?!"

 

It was clear that he was horrified because he thought that if I didn't rescue his little life, he would certainly be dead under the wrath of the nobles.

 

"Scram, I have work to do. So don't get in our way," I said simply, not having time to spare on this ratty fellow. "Or die."

 

Jumping down, leaving the ratkin to whimper by himself, I did something that turned the gaze of dismissal and disdain in the lizardman's eyes to one of astonishment, then naked incredulity.

 

With my [Ring of Holding], I had conjured a host of large beast corpses and without missing a beat, summoned my blood puppets, turning the blood of the corpses into three hulking behemoths.

 

These blood puppets were not as big as the ones I had summoned during the confrontation between me and the humans at the borders of Mordria, but they still encompassed a great size with just a more agile and limber built that would allow them to better match the Kroxigor guards in one on one duels.

 

Although they did not match the Kroxigors in terms of pure power as they could only be considered very strong D ranks, their durability and sturdiness were no less than theirs.

 

Feeling the downpour of my aura and magical presence, the lizardman noble sat up straight, no longer daring to dismiss me.

 

"A [Ring of Holding]?" He muttered, a reptilian tongue snaking out to lick the air tentatively. "Where did a commoner like you get such an item? And not to mention one with such a large storage?"

 

"Doesn't concern you," I stated merely, watching as both groups eyed each other down with palpable intensity.

 

To my surprise, the sapient reptilian made a gesture similar to the one I had just done, and an ornamented golden macuahuitl appeared in his hand out of thin air. The weapon was a flat club with short rectangular serrated blades of what looked like golden black obsidian that had been embedded in the sides.

 

"Hmm, he also has a [Ring of Holding], or something similar, I honestly can't tell with all those rings and jewels on his person..." I thought to myself, curious to see one besides my own in use.

 

The first to move was the two nobles and the guards under the encouragement of a nod from the lizardman.

 

Holding firm, scouting the situation and my opponents, I smirked as the looks of fury and bloodlust on the faces of those who were charging turned into shock and incredulity.

 

They had only closed half of the distance when Mia's eyes turned into glowing orbs, shimmering with tantalizing and mesmerizing light. And before they knew it, the two nobles and their mounts were fighting off six of their own guards that had suddenly turned to attack them.

 

Mia had stunned four of the guards and took control over the other six which seemed to be her current limit as a tier-3 E+ monster. But it was beyond impressive considering how almost no other tier-3 monster would ever be capable of such a feat.

 

Bob wasn't far behind as he with a thundering roar lept through the air with his Destroyer poised to decimate. Taken completely off-guard, the plant monster noble, that apparently was some kind of giant mandrake, stared up in horror as the rapidly descending Draugr.

 

In a cloud of dust, blood, and gore, everything Bob's blade touched was not cut but utterly destroyed. But as the cloud of dust and debris cleared, he realized that it was only the unfortunate half-plant monster's mount that had been unaware of Bob's attack that had been decimated.

 

Confusion clearly etched on the big brute's face, it contrasted the focused scanning gaze that he cast around. Farther away, the plant-monster could be seen, almost as if he had teleported away the moment Bob's attack landed.

 

But it wasn't completely surprising as the plant monster was actually the only mage out of all the ones here. Although only D-, it was a tier-4 mage and not to be taken lightly.

 

Seeing the sudden and unexpected change in the opening of the confrontation, the lizardman wasted no more time as his face turned grim, now utterly devoid of any disdain that he had previously shown me.

 

My face equaled his as even though Bob and Mia had gotten the drop on the other group, we were still in deep shit. You weren't exactly expected to win a fight against three peak D+ opponents and a peak D rank mount as a mere D monster yourself, so I had my work cut out for me.

 

And if I didn't win... it would mean that Mia and Bob would too suffer the consequences.

 

That... was not acceptable... and never goddamn would be...

 

I charged, my blood puppets letting out bloodcurdling inducing shrieks as I descended into shadows.

 

It was time to see if the arrogance could be tasted in the blood of nobles.