Chapter 33: The Otaku Delivers the Cart (And Realizes F-Rank Is a Suggestion)
The farmstead existed.
That alone felt like a miracle.
After greenskins and a winged gremlin with opinions, Meliodas had half-expected the delivery point to be a crater labeled "Plot Twist."
Instead, it was exactly what it claimed to be.
Wide fields of grain.
A weathered barn leaning slightly left.
A farmhouse built by someone who distrusted storms and tax collectors equally.
And guards.
Two of them at the outer fence line.
Spears. Leather armor reinforced with iron studs. Not elite. Not incompetent.
Alert.
Good.
Villages that survived had teeth.
One guard lifted a hand as the cart approached.
"Guild escort?"
Meliodas nodded once and handed over the token.
The guard checked the seal, glanced at Kaelen, at the mage, at Bud (lingered a second too long), then waved them through.
Normal.
Functional.
Structured.
Meliodas liked it more than he wanted to admit.
The merchant hopped down the moment the cart stopped and began unloading with the farmer and the two guards assisting.
No ambush.
No hidden observers.
No infernal residue.
Just dirt, sweat, and commerce.
The farmer handed over a pouch.
"Greenskins been bold," he muttered. "Heard ogres moved east. Don't linger on the high road."
That made Meliodas's eyes sharpen slightly.
He didn't react outwardly.
He just nodded and accepted the coin.
F-rank contract completed.
Kaelen exhaled.
"We did it," he said quietly.
"Yes," Meliodas replied.
And for once, that was enough.
They left before dusk.
The village guards watched them go, posture disciplined.
Villages that survived didn't survive by pretending monsters didn't exist.
They survived by preparing for them.
The road south curved around a shallow hill.
The air smelled normal.
Until it didn't.
Smoke.
Not hearth smoke.
Wrong smoke.
Meliodas didn't stop walking.
He let {Hyperawareness} expand outward.
Not overwhelming.
Just precise.
Sound patterns shifted.
Wind direction altered slightly.
Three large heartbeats.
Heavy.
Confident.
And—
Fainter.
Faster.
Hidden.
Not predators.
Prey.
Alive.
Kaelen noticed his stillness.
"…Master?"
Meliodas raised one hand.
Quiet.
They crested the hill.
And saw the wreckage.
A different caravan.
Two wagons.
One overturned.
One smashed open.
Two bodies in the dirt.
Armor.
Village insignia.
Guards.
Dead.
Kaelen froze.
The mage inhaled sharply.
Bud's glow tightened—not brighter—denser.
Meliodas didn't rush.
He scanned.
Footprints: massive. Three distinct patterns.
Club impacts in the soil.
Blood trails.
And—
Inside the overturned wagon.
Movement.
Slow.
Breathing.
Two heartbeats.
Hiding.
Good.
Survivors.
He didn't announce it.
He didn't look toward it.
He simply adjusted his stance subtly so his body stood between the wagon and the treeline.
Then the laughter came.
Low.
Wet.
Amused.
Three ogres stepped out from behind the broken cart.
Large.
Thick-skinned.
Gray-green.
Tusks curved outward.
Clubs carved from entire tree limbs.
Not mindless.
Not frothing.
Relaxed.
They had just finished eating.
One chewed lazily.
Another wiped his hands on a torn cloak.
The third studied Meliodas like evaluating livestock.
Kaelen drew his blade slowly.
Not charging.
Not reckless.
Learning.
The mage stepped backward instinctively.
Meliodas stepped forward instead.
Not aggressive.
Open posture.
Hands visible.
Voice calm.
"Hold."
The ogres paused.
Not because they respected him.
Because they were curious.
{Adorable} activated naturally.
It didn't make them blush.
It made them hesitate.
He didn't look threatening.
He looked... approachable.
It bought him seconds.
He used them.
"That wagon," Meliodas said evenly, gesturing slightly. "You've taken what you wanted. Leave the rest. We won't pursue."
One ogre blinked.
Another laughed.
The third tilted his head, considering.
Not rage.
Assessment.
Good.
They weren't frenzy beasts.
The lead ogre stepped forward.
Sniffed the air.
Looked at Kaelen.
Looked at the mage.
Then at Bud.
Its expression shifted slightly at Bud's glow.
Recognition.
Not understanding.
Just instinct.
The ogre pointed at the broken wagon.
Then at Meliodas.
Then mimed eating.
Then pointed at Kaelen.
Clear message.
You next.
Meliodas sighed quietly.
"So we're past negotiation."
The ogre swung first.
Fast for its size.
Meliodas didn't use {Rush}.
He didn't need to yet.
{Battle Prediction} adjusted his angle.
He stepped inside the arc, palm striking the ogre's wrist, redirecting momentum.
Then he drove a precise kick into the knee joint.
Full force.
The impact felt like striking reinforced oak.
The ogre staggered—
But did not collapse.
Scale-like dermal thickness.
Natural reinforcement.
Meliodas's eyes cooled.
Second ogre charged.
Kaelen slashed low.
Steel bit.
Shallow.
Too shallow.
The ogre backhanded.
Kaelen activated a short {Blink}, reappearing behind Meliodas, breathing harder.
Good instincts.
Mage cast a compressed wind burst.
It hit an ogre's chest—
And dispersed.
Magic resistance.
Not full immunity.
But high tolerance.
Meliodas adjusted immediately.
He drove an elbow into the first ogre's jaw.
Teeth cracked.
Blood sprayed.
The ogre roared.
Still standing.
High-tier ogres.
Not F-rank fodder.
The third ogre moved toward the wagon.
Wrong direction.
Meliodas's {Danger Sense} flared sharply.
Not for himself.
For the hidden survivors.
He stepped in front of the wagon.
Fast.
This time he triggered {Rush}.
Time thickened.
The ogre's club descended in slow motion.
Meliodas slipped inside the strike.
Placed his palm against the ogre's sternum.
Activated {Energy Constructs} in a focused burst.
Not flashy.
Just kinetic redirection.
He released the stored momentum inward.
The ogre flew backward ten meters and crashed into the wreckage.
{Rush ended.}
Time snapped back.
The other two ogres blinked.
Confusion.
Then—
A pressure rolled across the field.
Not from Meliodas.
Not from the ogres.
From the treeline.
Grass flattened in a widening arc.
Air compressed.
The ogres stopped mid-charge.
All three turned.
And something stepped forward.
Scaled.
Massive.
Low and powerful.
Wings partially furled.
Golden slit eyes.
Not a true dragon.
Meliodas didn't know what those looked like.
But this—
This was something lesser.
Still above ogres.
Predator hierarchy had just shifted.
The drake exhaled.
A compressed burst of elemental force detonated between Meliodas and the ogres.
The ground exploded outward.
The ogres didn't argue.
They ran.
Not tactical.
Not brave.
Just survival.
Within seconds, they were gone.
Silence fell.
The drake turned its head slowly.
And looked directly at Meliodas.
Bud's glow sharpened.
Meliodas didn't draw Moonsing.
He waited.
The drake opened its mouth.
Energy gathered.
Compressed.
Bright.
Breath attack.
Meliodas drew {Reflection}.
The blast hit the blade—
And snapped back violently.
The drake absorbed the rebound, sliding slightly.
It blinked.
Then its eyes brightened.
Interest.
It fired again.
Meliodas angled the blade differently.
Ping.
Pong.
The field became a violent exchange of reflected elemental compression.
Each rebound stronger.
Each impact heavier.
Meliodas adjusted footwork.
{Battle Prediction} mapped trajectory.
{Parallel Calculation} calculated angle and recoil.
His arm vibrated from the impact.
The drake increased output.
Meliodas redirected it again.
{Smouldering} activated unintentionally.
Sunlight framed him.
Wind shifted dramatically.
The scene looked legendary.
Meliodas internally rolled his eyes.
He scanned.
{Knowledge Mage} activated.
[ENTITY IDENTIFIED: DRAKE]
Tier: 2 Draconic Beast
Traits: Scale Ward (High Physical Resistance)
Curse Dampening
Elemental Compression Breath
Behavior: Tests strong opponents
Escalation Probability: High
Drake.
Tier 2.
That explained everything.
Normal attacks bounced.
Magic weakened.
It wasn't enraged.
It was evaluating.
The drake stopped firing.
Crouched.
Muscles coiling.
Challenge accepted.
Meliodas shifted stance.
Behind him, inside the wagon—
One of the hidden survivors whimpered softly.
The drake's gaze flicked past Meliodas toward the wagon.
That was enough.
Meliodas moved first.
He switched blades.
Moonsing extended into greatsword form mid-motion.
He dashed forward with {Chitin Slayer} speed.
Struck the drake's forelimb joint with full precision.
This time—
A cut.
Shallow.
But real.
The drake recoiled.
Then smiled.
Not literally.
But the energy shifted.
It lunged.
Claws met steel.
Meliodas slid back, boots carving furrows in dirt.
The air vibrated from impact.
Bud flared brighter, heat rising.
Meliodas raised one hand slightly.
Not yet.
He didn't want escalation near civilians.
The drake exhaled again—
Stronger.
Meliodas braced.
Reflected.
The blast snapped back.
This time the drake stumbled two steps.
Dust spiraled outward.
Silence.
Then—
The system flickered.
[SYSTEM NOTIFICATION]
[QUEST COMPLETE: SHADOWS IN SOUTHVAL — PART 1]
Reward: 6 Hero Shards | 2 Destiny Shards
Warning: Escalation Confirmed
Another overlay followed.
[SYSTEM UPDATE DETECTED]
Unpurchased Devil Fruits → Cost updated to 50 HS
SP Currency → Eliminated (Worm perks now direct HS cost)
NEW AVAILABLE: {Sky Dragon Slayer} — 40 HS
[CURRENT BALANCE]
Hero Shards: 69
Destiny Shards: 41
Broken Shards: 12
Meliodas felt two emotions collide.
Excitement.
And unease.
Sky Dragon Slayer.
Affordable.
Very tempting.
But system updates meant one thing.
The world had just shifted tiers.
Drakes on farm roads.
High ogres near villages.
Escalation.
The drake flexed its wings.
It wasn't retreating.
It was deciding.
Meliodas tightened his grip.
The survivors behind him were still alive.
The village half a mile away still existed.
He stepped forward.
Calm.
Measured.
"Alright," he murmured quietly.
"Let's see how far Tier 2 actually goes."
The drake lunged.
And this time—
Meliodas didn't hold back.
---
[END OF CHAPTER 33]