Bro, I'm not an Undead!

A Spirit Warden?

This was the first time Skullius had heard such a thing.

In fact, for Sila to divulge information like this, it meant that he generally felt threatened and what he was saying was true.

Thus, Skullius stacked up extra caution against the man before him.

The man gave a short pause before giving the true response that Skullius desired.

"First off, let's start with some common courtesy. Even an idiot like you would require trust before we exchange demands, right?" the man said as he turned to Skullius.

'Bro, what's with all these insults? And weren't you the one who said asking who you are was a stupid question?!' Skullius griped internally, but even on his face, a contortion could be seen which the man beside him actively ignored.

"My name is Bek Dworth. A former Capital Order Knight. I suppose you could use the more astute term to refer to me. A Stray Knight," the man whose name was Bek said. "What's yours?"

Skullius felt his body tremble at the question Bek had posed, his mouth opening to reveal an answer without his permission.

"My name is Festos Dawn..."

"Festos. Hmm really exotic," Bek said with interest. "Pardon my reflex. I tend to not trust people with the truth."

Skullius felt the oppressive energy leave him and he was left to act freely again.

Yep.

This guy was dangerous.

If he got even a little more curious of Skullius, he could probably just ask him to spill everything and the Discount Human didn't know if there would be anything to guard him from that.

He only grumbled for a short second though, before asking.

"What's a Capital Order Knight?"

The man raised a brow and looked at Skullius as if he was an absolute fool.

'Here it comes...'

"For an Energy Former you sure are stupid. I was wondering why a Healer would choose to look for coin from the poor in a town like Harifrast. Are you some kind of retarded backwater Healer?" Bek asked genuinely.

"I'm not stupid!" Skullius spat.

"Hmmm..." Bek hummed. "Well, I might as well oblige. Capital Order Knights are Knights selected as outstanding from the vast pool of Capital Knights. They are esteemed elites in power and intelligence. They only rank below the Highest ranks of Capital Service, the Honoured Knights and Mages."

"If you are from small cities and towns I'm sure you have never met any Capital Order level personnel let alone Honoured level ones. Of course a town such as Harifrast which has denounced both the Capital Service because of the Royal Family as well as the Guilds Association because of their greed, opting to hire Capital Knights for certain intervals instead wouldn't have higher level units. Perhaps that's why you're so ignorant."

Skullius listened to Bek while also trying to pinpoint what he wanted as the man hadn't given even a semblance of what he wanted in wording.

But, the information he had gotten so far was crucial.

It seemed there were levels to Knights, something he hadn't considered given the fact that all the Knights he had seen were all just the same.

"Are you now going to tell me what you want or not?" Skullius asked with impatience.

"Right. I shall oblige," Bek said. "I've been looking for an Energy Former around the area. Someone adept at discerning energies. I can handle the perception of ethereal beings but even with all my Class Branching, I'm still a swordsman, I cannot reach the same level as that of an Energy Former."

"Wait," Skullius narrowed his eyes. "Ethereal beings?"

"That's what I just said you brain empty idiot."

Skullius swallowed his comeback, which mostly had to do with him admitting that in fact, he didn't have a brain but that wasn't important.

Skullius linked what this man had just said to what Sila had said before.

"So... are you a Spirit Warden?"

Bek's dulled eyes showed a spark of interest as he gave Skullius more attention.

"You know what I am?" he asked.

"Uh... yes. Yes, I do," Skullius sloppily lied.

Bek sized Skullius up before losing his interest and looking back at the large trees.

"That's a lie even a moron wouldn't tell, especially when they know they are before someone like me. I know you're not alone in that body. Your own damaged soul is tangled with another aged piece of soul within you. I assume you have a somewhat non-hostile arrangement?"

...!

Skullius' HEART almost jumped from his chest as he heard this!

The hell?!

This man...?

Skullius looked himself up and down, then at Bek who shook his head.

Could this guy see his soul or something?!

"How..." Skullius stammered with a hard expression.

"So I was right. You wouldn't be questioning what I am if you knew yourself. Frankly, I don't fully understand myself either, nor do I know which name to describe myself. I've heard of so many. Soulspoken, Spirit Warden, Soulritter... but all of it doesn't matter. I only care for my continued duty, which brings us to why I need you..."

Skullius gulped.

Within him, he felt Sila turn tense.

Ferex grew more anxious, but he couldn't attack

Not yet.

Bek pointed forward towards the large trees with his index, his thumb sticking out as it pointed towards the sky, a gesture he had grown much too used to.

"Many newcomers to Harifrast have been vanishing, disappearing without a trace. This has slowly begun to cause the brewing of conflict, giving the locals a reason to fight the newcomers and drive them out while those coming into the city demand the permission to stay as the town is under the Capital Service."

Skullius' eyes brightened.

Again.

This matter.

It somehow found its way into his day didn't it?

"While most think that the locals have suddenly gained the balls to kidnap and or kill the newcomers, this is a foolish conclusion. I know who is behind this..."

This man knew?

Who was it then?

"Who is it?" Skullius asked, feeling that Bek wanted him to ask, as that could potentially be the better question to ask.

"Another ridiculous question. If I were you, I'd ask the reason why first?" Bek said much to Skullius' frustration.

'That doesn't even make any sense!'

Skullius gritted his teeth and just went along with the flow.

"Fine. Why?"

"Good question. Sadly, I don't have the answer to it. I've only been tracking them for a few weeks and they are extremely slippery," Bek remarked as he sighed helplessly.

Skullius' eye involuntarily twitched as he pressed all his anger down..

'This bastard...!'

"So what do you need me for?" Skullius asked.

"Simple. These people have unconventional means of escape, mainly related to tempering with natural rules of the world. They mess with energies quite a bit. For that, I need someone with good senses to said energies. Regardless of how popular Harifrast is, Energy Formers don't usually stroll in to waste time sightseeing. To my good fortune, you just happened to come here and start fooling around."

Skullius sucked in a deep breath.

This was quite the enraging conversation.

This was a demand on top of it all, wasn't it?

"Hmmm... I see. There's only one problem though. Why should I care about this? Will you force me to do something I don't want to do?" Skullius asked in rebellion.

He didn't want to help or to get in on any part of this.

All those people could be killed for all he cared.

He just wanted to get to his goal before time ran out.

"You're right and predictably wrong. I won't allow you to refuse but I can give you compensation for your help. That's as much as the remains of honour in me will go," Bek said before standing up.

"And what's that?" Skullius asked with a frown.

"I can purge that aged soul that's tangled within you. Or better yet, sever it and allow you to use it separately as you see fit."

...!

'TOMATO FLINGER! YOU WOULDN'T DARE!'

Sila boomed within Skullius' soul.

"I must have struck quite the cord," Bek said with a lifeless smile while gazing at Skullius intently.

The Discount Human's eyes brightened!

Another fortunate encounter had dropped out of nowhere for his sake!

Maybe.

He didn't trust in simple good fortune at all bit this... seemed legit.

This fateful encounter with this man that seemed strangely sudden and out of place...

Perhaps it was exactly what he needed... or otherwise.

"Hmm... that's a nice offer," Skullius said, much to Sila's continued raging.

"It is, isn't it? Besides, you won't need to do any fighting," Bek said while pointing up with his index finger for absolutely no reason. "Having only yourself and a loved one behind you is better than to rely on a retard for strength."

The Discount Human fumed intensely but Bek ignored and chuckled while continuing to gaze deep into Skullius.

"Having your soul tethered to someone else... I've grown numb to such..."