RD 4 Ch 5

"Alright, Pops, you get this spot right here," Bobby said, ensuring his father was comfortable. Every one of the Nester's higher-ups that they could spare were present, as were many of Bran's Mul Branova who had taken up residence in the fortress. They were all in the tower that had been built.

An ominous black disk filled with glowing, moving red lines sat in the bottom of the tower. The only person who dared go close was that Bran’s father, who Bobby had determined was a freak of nature.

Well, now he knew where Bran got his strength from.

After seeing him, Bobby believed that Titans were real and that this guy only had a few drops of it in his blood. Bobby was used to being the biggest man in the room, except when the family got together.

However, he now understood why sometimes people shrank back when he stepped too close. If what they felt from him was anything like what he felt in front of this giant, it made perfect sense.

But in the room full of intensity, Candy was all smiles. She'd tamed her look since sticking with Bobby. She still liked the same bubble gum pink lipstick and bleach blonde hair, but she had changed. 

She stood a little taller and Bobby knew that no one messed with Candy. It helped that she was often by his side, but she didn't need it.

One of the Nester's goons had tried to grope her and she accidentally broke both his arms, one of his legs, and knocked out half his teeth. Candy was downright scrappy when it was required and used to fighting monsters. Which was exactly what they were here for.

The tower was five stories tall, with stone platforms ringing the exterior of every layer, and people were currently stacked up in front of them. Rather than a tower that focused outward, everything was built pointed towards the black disk inside.

Each person manned a small slit in the wall, armed with some form of weapon. Some of the Nester's had brought guns, even though Bobby had provided ranked bows and arrows.

His father, Carmen, was checking his bow and shifting it around the large barrel of arrows that had been placed beside his slit, which was at the top where it would be safest.

Bobby checked his watch, an action that many people around the tower were also doing.

The only person that seemed calm was the giant standing directly on the black disc, his arms crossed over his massive chest. He wore leather and fur with a heavy chainmail shirt that draped all the way down to his knees but cinched at his waist by a belt. On his back was a massive battle axe nearly twice his size and nearly all blade. The weapon would have seemed absolutely ridiculous to Bobby two years ago. Now he saw that axe and thought that it was probably helpful in killing big shit.

More watches were checked as they all waited for the moment. It was almost time. Candy coached several Simone's girls that she had brought along. Simone and Bran were off doing something else. It was up to the nester family and the Mul Branova to defend the fortress and soak up all of the experience that was supposed to come pouring out any second.

Sure enough, a blinding red light tore through the tower and Bobby blinked even as he started hearing guns firing off the steady rat-tat-tat of someone's semi-automatic. Meanwhile, those who were actually prepared started firing off arrows with a solid thwonk.

The beam dimmed from its initial intensity but didn't go entirely away. It was enough that Bobby could not see what was happening down below in the center few feet of the black disk. The beam was too bright to see through.

But seeing into the beam was not necessary as demons poured out from every side of the solid beam. They screeched and they screamed in an unholy cacophony. With their misshapen charred bodies, there was a steady semblance to them, marking them as a group.

They all had webbing that ran from wrist to hip and stubbed noses that kind of made them look like bats. However, instead of big ears on top of their head, they had horns that went straight up before flaring out to the side and wrapping around their heads like a halo.

The guns were doing precious little to them, causing small scrapes but nothing worth writing home about. The arrows weren’t doing much better but a few dropped with half a dozen feathered ends stick out of them.

His father grunted and put down his bow to start tapping in the air. 

"Did you pick your class, Dad?" Bobby called, seeing his father pick the bow back up. 

"I did, and I've taken Bran's advice," his father replied. He pulled the bow back, not bothering to sight down it, and fired an arrow into the fog that was slowly filling the base of the tower. 

The giant, Thorin, stood there with his arms crossed. Several demons jumped at him, slashing and clawing, only for him to remain stoically still as his skin glossed over like a giant metal statue. His eyes were closed, though his lips were moving, and Bobby frowned, trying to lip read. It looked like the massive man was counting.

"Ten," Thorin's voice boomed over the demons. In a flash, a giant axe was in his hand. With a single sweep, it mowed through the entire room of demons, like a scythe through wheat.

All of the demons fell still before collapsing to the ground. Their thick blood ran over everything, before it began to sizzle, smoke, and fade away as their bodies melted into the ground.

Thorin returned to his position, arms crossed, but axe still in hand, as the room once again began to fill with demons. 

"I understand a little more now," Carmen said, staring down at what had just occurred. "Bobby, you said Bran's even stronger than his father?" 

"That's what Bran said. He doesn't let many people inspect him. And from what I understand, Thorin's actually weak for his generation. He was kicked out of the Borson clan, and has mostly scrounged for resources on his own, rather than those who have the clan behind them." Bobby reported.

His father rubbed his chin before picking up three arrows and sloppily firing them from his bow. 

"Father-in-law," Candy called over, "What class did you get? Something for ranged?" 

The older man glanced over his shoulder as his muscles flexed to pull back the bow and fire off three arrows at once.

Bran had recommended to some of them that they could learn skills by doing. One of his examples would be to try and learn multishot by firing more than one arrow at once. Bran seriously had an obsession with training. It was like he expected everyone else to be training every waking second.

“Bran said in his last life that I regretted taking the class that I did. He mentioned an option that appeared to me here too, though I can understand why I may have skipped it the first time." Carmen answered, his voice steady as he strained to pull the bow back again.

"Well, don't keep us in suspense, Pops." Bobby replied. 

Carmen smiled and grabbed another handful of arrows. "It's called the Godfather, and I think it's a little on the nose," he said before releasing another volley.

Candy shared a look with Bobby before shrugging.

Bobby was so busy checking on everyone and everything, he'd forgotten to start doing his part. Realizing he could show off a little now, he pointed one of his hands up to a slit and launched a fireball down into the pit. It exploded and killed a dozen of the little demons.

Inspect quickly labeled them as Gremlin Demons

Bobby stood with his hand outstretched and a smug smile on his face as he checked to see what his father thought. 

"Not bad," his father commented without looking. 

Candy then stepped up to Bobby's slit and gripped her hand tight before punching downwards. A golden hammer appeared outside their slit, only to drop down five stories, smashing into the mass of Gremlin Demons and wiping out half the wave.

His father paused and turned to assess Candy. "My, that was impressive!" He said before turning back to firing arrows.

Bobby shot her a look, a little miffed that she had stolen some of his glory.

She rolled her eyes and mouthed, ‘I need to impress him, you don't,’ pointing between the two of them.

Bobby wiggled his nose and focused back on what was happening, dropping a few fireballs but not wanting to steal all of the experience that was being split amongst everyone firing arrows.

From the base of the tower, a heavy metal door opened up with a groan just enough to shove through five of the Mul Branova.

Bobby had seen more than a few of them go through a sort of initiation where the older members bring them into a low level and rank instance and essentially get them blooded before they're allowed to do anything themselves. He knew this batch was facing a similar initiation. 

The five women, however, did not cower. Four of them rushed forward with simple B-ranked swords that cut the Gremlin Demons easily but failed to kill them in a single blow. Their exuberance was quickly replaced by panic as they backpedaled, swinging their swords wildly and trying to ward the Gremlin Demons away and deal as much damage as they could with each hit.

The gremlins surged on them, slashing and biting the Mul Branova. But those girls were a different breed with their ridiculous class.

Their wounds healed over and only their clothes were left torn and bloodied while they cowered and shielded their faces.

The fifth member of that group barked something at them and they all snapped to attention and began thrusting their swords rather than swinging them around. Quickly, the four began to poke holes in the demons in front of them, even as more demons stepped around the ones they were fighting, trying to mob the four ladies. The fifth was recognizable as Jenny, and with two swings of her blade, she cut down any of the demons that came from the side. 

The four initiates fought tooth and nail, each of them killing a handful of demons before they stared in front of them and tapped what Bobby knew were their system screens. They then continued their attacks, thrusting with their swords and occasionally swinging. With every kill they made, they grew bolder and more excited for the next. 

"I remember when we were that low level," Candy grabbed his arm and pulled it tight against her as she leaned her head on his arm. 

“Yeah, now it's nowhere near that easy to gain levels." Bobby squinted down at the group, also knowing that the entire Mul Branova group were starting out with bloodlines that made them far stronger than your average initiate.

Bobby had only gotten his when Bran had gifted it to him before he left. Bobby smiled.

Bran had given him an S rank bloodline, better than most of the Mul Branova, showing he understood what Bobby contributed. And with the boost it had given him, Bobby could only imagine how much easier those first levels would have been if he had had a bloodline himself.

Once the Mul Branova initiates got confident enough, he watched as Jenny pulled them back one by one, throwing them back through the metal door before it closed.

The demons ran against it, their claws making a terrible screech as they scratched at it, which was apparently not the best move.

Thorin opened his eyes in irritation and spun around with a giant axe, clearing yet another wave of the demons. 

Bobby watched what was happening a moment longer before turning back to Candy. "Alright, let's get out and see if the efforts in the city and the fort are still going as planned. After all, while my father and most of the older generation are busy getting their first levels, you and I need to make sure the Nestor family can become the shoulder for the entire city to lean on." 

He chuckled to himself. It was an absolutely fantastic scenario for the Nestor family. They would become an indispensable part of whatever came next. All he had to do was go kill some monsters and level. That he could handle.

AN - We won't get too much into how things change here in Vein City at first. Don't worry I want to show a little more of the changes in the world, but they'll be snapshots while I keep the focus on Bran.