LEVEL EVERYTHING UP in my Eldritch Tribe

Chapter 251: Backbones

As the minutes ticked by in silence, Lyerin glanced at Lucas, his posture unyielding, arms folded across his chest as if it was simply another day among his tribe.

After a few tense moments, Lucas's phone buzzed, and he lifted it to his ear.

A brief conversation ensued—quiet, controlled, and heavy with undertones of urgency.

Lucas pulled the phone away from his ear, his face alight with restrained excitement and nervous respect. "They're on their way, sir," he reported, voice low yet clear.

Lyerin nodded in acknowledgment, his face an unreadable mask. But as they waited, Lucas couldn't resist the bubbling curiosity that had been gnawing at him since he'd learned Lyerin was the one leading this tribe.

He leaned forward, addressing Lyerin with a kind of hesitant reverence.

"Sir…if it's not too much trouble," he began carefully, "could I ask about… about the survival game?" His eyes sparked with admiration, the kind reserved for legends.

"How did you manage to… to conquer it the way you did? To rally creatures like the Minotaur? Make it your Tribe Spirit?"

Lyerin raised an eyebrow, his expression a mix of amusement and vague nostalgia. For a moment, he said nothing, letting the quiet stretch out, letting Lucas's anticipation build.

Then, with a faint smile, he began to speak, his voice low and firm, carrying the weight of his experience.

"The survival game… It was nothing I expected," he said slowly, almost as if tasting the words. "Honestly, I didn't know I'd be chosen. No one does. It isn't some honor you earn. It's a lottery that no one sees coming."

He leaned back slightly, eyes distant as memories surfaced, each more intense than the last.

"The world was chaotic. Monsters everywhere, the ground itself a battlefield. I was just one of the many souls scrambling to stay alive in the middle of the apocalypse, no better, no stronger than anyone else around.

"But I learned, fast. Every fight was a lesson in survival, in power. In who I could trust, and who I had to crush to keep breathing."

Lucas listened intently, his gaze locked on Lyerin as if trying to absorb the gravity of each word. Lyerin continued, "And then, in the middle of all that, I found myself face-to-face with the Minotaur."

His voice took on an edge, a coldness.

"I didn't 'control' it—not in the beginning, anyway. It was a beast, pure and unrelenting. But when you're thrown into a life-or-death situation enough times, you learn to find a way, to adapt or die. That Minotaur became more than an enemy; it was a test, and I wasn't about to lose to some horned giant."

"How did you… turn it into your Tribe Spirit, though?" Lucas's voice was hushed, as if afraid of disturbing some ancient ritual.

"It's not as complicated as you think," Lyerin said, his tone almost dismissive.

"The survival game wasn't about brute strength alone. It was about dominance, about breaking the will of your enemies and making them yours. I didn't defeat the Minotaur in one battle and suddenly win its loyalty.

"No…

"I showed it time and time again that I was the stronger one, the more cunning one. I made it understand that fighting me was useless." He smirked. "In the end, it became more than just my servant. It became part of my tribe, bound to me, just like every soul that follows me."

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Lucas nodded slowly, absorbing Lyerin's words, visibly moved by the sheer magnitude of what he'd done. "And you... didn't question why you'd been chosen? Why you, out of everyone else?"

Lyerin shrugged, glancing away.

"I didn't have time for questions back then. When you're at the edge of survival, you don't wonder why you're there. You just hold on, learn every trick you can, and claw your way forward. Besides," he added with a wry smile, "I'm not one for fate or destiny. I was chosen by luck, and I made sure not to waste it."

Just as Lucas seemed ready to ask more, a low rumble reached their ears.

The distant hum grew louder, and a squadron of helicopters sliced through the sky, their arrival punctuated by the rhythmic thumping of rotors.

The air grew thick with a sense of impending intensity as the helicopters began to descend.

Lyerin, Lucas, and the others looked up as the helicopters hovered just above the ground, stirring up dust and grit.

The sound was deafening, and the sheer force from the rotors pressed against their faces, fierce and unrelenting.

From each helicopter, several figures leapt down—six men, each exuding an aura of fierce authority.

Their movements were precise, disciplined, and their eyes sharp as blades.

Each one held themselves with the stance of warriors, men who were accustomed to battles and blood.

The dust began to settle, revealing six figures who stood like sentinels, their gazes trained on Lyerin and his tribe.

One of them, taller than the rest, stepped forward, his gaze a piercing assessment of the scene before him.

He scrutinized Lyerin for a long moment, then, in a deep, commanding voice, said, "Show us your sincerity."

Lyerin's gaze sharpened as the six figures stepped forward.

Each silhouette had a unique presence, towering and draped in varying shades of dark, sleek attire that seemed to absorb the light around them.

These were no ordinary humans; they were warriors who had been honed by Eldren Mana, individuals who, by the sheer weight of their aura, demanded both fear and respect.

The first of the group was a broad-shouldered man, his features hidden under a cascade of silver hair that framed a face marked with ancient, deep scars.

His eyes glinted like molten steel, and he wore a grim expression that spoke of countless battles fought and won.

His aura radiated a harsh, cutting edge—a sense of lethal precision, as if he could split stone with a single flick of his wrist.

Next to him stood a lithe woman with a piercing gaze.

Her eyes were an unsettling shade of violet, darting around with sharp intelligence and a simmering hostility.

Her slender frame belied the crushing power she held; her aura was taut, coiled like a snake ready to strike.

Every move she made was precise, deliberate, betraying a mastery over her own body that only came with years of rigorous training.

To her left was a man with sunken eyes and a face shadowed by a tangled mass of dark hair.

He radiated a bone-chilling coldness, as if winter itself had settled within him.

His aura was calm, but the weight of it pressed heavily on the air, freezing it in place.

His very presence seemed to drain warmth, a stark contrast to the crackling, fiery aura of the woman beside him.

The fourth figure was an imposing, muscular man whose dark skin seemed to shimmer with a bronze glow under the sunlight.

He wore a constant smirk, but his eyes were flat, unyielding.

He carried a heavy, grounded aura, one that seemed to anchor him to the earth, exuding raw, primal power, like a mountain that had taken human form.

Beside him, the fifth figure was almost ghostly pale, his thin frame draped in flowing, robe-like garments.

His presence was haunting, an aura that radiated in silent waves, tinged with a touch of decay.

There was something eerie about him, as if he was more shadow than flesh—a living embodiment of darkness.

His eyes, hollow and calculating, seemed to see into the depths of a person's soul, stripping away all pretenses.

The final figure was an older man with a meticulously groomed beard and eyes that were as sharp as hawks.

He was dressed immaculately, his posture commanding respect.

His aura was a measured balance, blending elements of earth, wind, fire, and water, hinting at years of disciplined study and mastery.

His gaze met Lyerin's with a flicker of curiosity and disdain, as though he found the entire ordeal beneath him yet compelling.

Lyerin took a slow, deep breath, closing his eyes for a brief moment. He smirked as he felt his own power stirring within him. "Alright," he murmured.