Bro, I'm not an Undead!

"Huh?!" Skullius raised a brow.

Was this a threat?

Was this bastard seriously trying to threaten him into joining his Guild?

The tension immediately grew as many drew back from the confrontation.

"What did you just say?" Skullius voiced towards the man who had just casually given him a hostile invite.

Many gasps resounded within the hall as many were shocked.

Even though Skullius was a Mage, many knew that he wasn't high up because of his white core which was a weird circumstance.

His ranking which had started as a rumour a day ago had spread like wildfire, making the other mercenaries see him as a flame to be raised and not a powerhouse as of yet.

So seeing him confront Jarek, the leader of the EdgeKings like this was rather shocking.

Jac popped from his usual corner and smiled slyly while watching Skullius confront Jarek.

He was surprised at Skullius' different appearance at first but was torn from its handsomeness by the current occurrence.

'This kid sure has some balls,' he thought. He too knew that Skullius wasn't someone who could be counted as a game-changing piece like true mages yet.

The multiple halos around him were probably from him being carried by Stylla's team.

Jarek narrowed his hazel eyes as his body began fuming with jagged wisps of mana.

"I said, join my Guild or you'll be sorry. I thought Mages were supposed to be sensitive to everything," Jarek said.

"Hey! Where else are you going to go? You going to join those Ravenclad pansies or us, the manliest Guild of them all?!" another one of the EdgeKings Guild members said while pointing at Skullius.

The Discount Human tilted his head.

He had planned before to visit Tulnas and see what he could get from the Harem Guild a few days ago.

He didn't plan on going back on his word.

Tulnas had supposedly seen something interesting about him, asking him to join way before he announced himself as a Mage and he wanted to know what it was that attracted him. Perhaps he could even milk the situation.

That pun would have worked if Skullius had a semblance of understanding towards jokes.

"What do I get if I join?" Skullius asked, trying to see what these guys would offer despite their rude and tactless invitation.

Perhaps he could get some good stuff.

"We're a large Guild with over forty members, an entire portion of the region under our jurisdiction and a formal Guild residence within the city. What do you think we can offer?" Jarek replied in a proud tone.

Skullius did not like this response.

This man was a god-tier sockethole!

He was way too prideful.

"Then I refuse," Skullius replied while waving his hands and turning away to gaze back at the shocked woman at the counter.

Jarek's gaze didn't so much as flicker from being rejected.

However, the young man by his side who was known for always taking things too far both verbally and physically fumed at the Discount Human's response!

He gnashed his teeth with glowing red eyes and barked as he suddenly stepped forward.

"You little bastard! You dare dismiss us like some petty fools!"

The young man lunged at Skullius, his light blue core churning mana as he didn't intend to actually harm Skullius but to grab his shoulder and make him kneel.

To cripple his hubris so to speak.

Jarek didn't intervene. He merely watched attentively.

Skullius wasn't oblivious to the incoming threat.

His gaze turned cold as [Elevated Mana Manipulation] let him see and sense every major shift in mana within a vast distance.

He knew everything that was happening within the hall and such an obvious attack didn't escape his sense.

'Seriously? I thought calling myself a Mage would bring me more benefits,' Skullius thought before taking action.

'Subtle' action.

With [Elevated Mana Manipulation] overseeing his next moves, Skullius seamlessly activated [Mana Shield] and [Mana Force], his body suddenly being covered in a burst of white light!

The activation was so quick that Jarek narrowed his eyes in mild surprise.

The young man who had lunged at Skullius saw a bright flash of white where Skullius' back had been and in the moment where he was dazed and shocked by this...

BAM!

A tremendous force knocked against his dark armour and sent his flying over the heads of the mercenaries in the hall!

He soared and landed thirty meters away at the entrance of the Guilds Association Building, rolling to stop with the chest plate of his armour emitting light steam!

....

Silence.

Skullius' body lost its luminance as the details of his figure were revealed once more, his right hand being outstretched from his previous action.

His silvery eyes gazed at the man he had just blasted away when he launched a punch supported by [Quick Strike], [Brawn] and [Great Rush] while being fuelled by [Mana Force], revealing an arrogant lustre.

In reality though, Skullius had known this man wouldn't do anything excessive but that was it.

He used that to his advantage.

He did exactly to the young man what he had sought to do to him.

Jac guffawed silently in his corner while everyone else was still in a daze.

Skullius turned to the woman behind the desk.

"Can I get my money now?"

The woman fumbled over herself and tried to calm her shocked mind under Skullius' gaze.

She had felt the immense surge of power that was released in that single moment when Skullius had attacked even as someone without training and she was awed, as was every mercenary who didn't have as good of a mastery over mana like Skullius.

She immediately calculated the amount and gave Skullius a bag full of coins.

"Interesting," said Jarek as he walked closer to Skullius. "Such a fine control of mana. Now I'm more motivated to take you for myself."

At that moment, everyone ignored the actually unharmed figure of the young man who had flown to the doors, rising up with his face red with fury and turned to Jarek.

Skullius turned to the large man with a deeper frown than before.

"I just made it clear. I don't want to join your Guild," he said.

"That's true. But I won't let you go so easily. We're men. We don't deal in verbal exchanges to determine the answer. How about a challenge? A reasonable one. The winner gets to ask what they want from the loser," Jarek said in his dominant tone of voice.

Skullius couldn't believe this.

Even with his crude understanding of human custom and norms, he knew that public challenges were a big deal.

Even though he had saved his public image by sending that young man flying despite the differences in their core, a challenge had been called for by Jarek, who was wearing a light smile, on his lips written the words 'I got you now, bitch'.

Skullius recalled that there was something similar in Deadmanland too.

It was frowned upon to resist a challenge, unless you were facing against an undead with [Boneman of Steel] that is.

The Undead captains would even come to watch the challenges while monitoring to prevent circumstances where the challengers went overboard by saying the 'f' word to others.

Skullius was about to reply when an unexpected turn pushed itself into the mix.

"My, my. I wish my old bones still had enough of a fire for such thrill," an aged voiced echoed throughout the hall as a certain old man donning lavish robes walked in from one of the many Association buildings' secret doors whose arrangement none of the mercenaries were privy to.

His appearance with his close set red eyes scouring through the hall made everyone subconsciously give a low bow.

This man was not a minor player.

Jarek frowned and so did Skullius.

'This guy again!' he cursed.

It was the same old man who had interrogated him about the fire at the library along with that woman who never smiled.

The old man gave a friendly smile as he gazed at

Skullius, then at Jarek.

"Pardon my intrusion, but can I borrow this young man for a bit?" he 'asked' Jarek.

The EdgeKings Guild leader shook his head while hiding his frustration.

He would probably not get this chance again any time soon.

"Not at all."

"Good, good," the old man said and then turned to Skullius.

"Follow me, Festos."