Bro, I'm not an Undead!

...!

FWOOOSH!

Both Silrat and Oliviana were suddenly put on edge by something that sprang out of nowhere!

A menacing pressure, like a harsh mix between the chill from a mountain height and a swift shock from a spark of electricity blasted against their bodies, flesh and bone quaking at its presence!

All this came from before the two in a mad rush, temporarily turning their bodies from manual to autopilot!

Was it...?

Silrat was the one who had recognised Skullius despite the major differences in his appearance all because he had been heavily anticipating his arrival today.

His statement which was cut short was the one that alerted Oliviana by his side that this was Skullius but then...

Their defences had been triggered by this vicious and terrifying presence that threatened to devour them whole!

The billowing of their power as it was rapidly increased by the activation of their Auras caused a change in the air that was picked up on by the guards at the door!

The armoured men rushed into the mansion as well, only to back away as they felt an immense sense of threat!

What... what was this?!

How could one feel as if their armour was frozen from a terrible cold, yet at the same time worn out from an unreal source of heat?!

One of the four trembled as he looked to the source of the threat which was sitting on the couch comfortably, unable to even draw the sword at his side!

Everyone turned stiff, much to Skullius' delight.

Of course... it was all the doing of the Hybrid Luman.

"Haha," Skullius laughed lightly, dispelling the deadly presence he had released just now.

Yuyui who had been stealthily reaching for her master's left overs on the table was confused on what the tension was about.

Everyone was looking constipated and ready to fight for their lives!

What was wrong?

Soon, the guards as well as Silrat and Oliviana felt the tense atmosphere which almost felt rock hard, lighten up with the Hybrid Luman's short laugh.

"The hell?!" Oliviana yelled with a sweaty, scrunched up face while Silrat breathed out and rubbed his temples.

"It was only six days..." the man mumbled, the words barely leaking from the gaps in his teeth.

"You were only gone for six damn days! What could have possibly happened?!" the former Guilds Association head bellowed at Skullius who smiled even more at this.

"A whole lot more than you can imagine," the Insurgent Magnus said.

...

It took a bit of time for the guards to relax and even Daggs had come running after hearing the commotion.

He had wanted to avoid spending more time with Skullius than needed but that seemed impossible.

Now, he was seated with Silrat, Oliviana, Skullius and his mule.

The Hybrid Luman was narrating briefly what he had been through, but only the parts that he knew would freak Silrat out.

"YOU LOST YOUR MANA CORE TOO?!" Silrat shouted while shooting up from his seated position.

"Yeah, bro. It was insane. I mean, I don't know why that man was so intent on fighting me but...whoooo... he was really strong. If I had been even more unlucky, I would have had my soul crushed..." Skullius said with a sigh of relief, blaming everything that happened to him on Bek.

Explaining that a soul within his soul had temporarily taken over his body would have been...hard to digest for Silrat and everyone here after all.

The former Branch Head didn't know just how much he was gambling with Skullius' existence as a whole, as he didn't know much about him.

Skullius intended to feed him more details about his powers now that they were in it for the long haul together.

Also given that he understood a bit more about the Tie of Exchange now from his conversation with Sause, he thought he might as well start trusting Silrat a bit more.

For now however, he would troll.

"So... how on earth are you... What did you..." Silrat stammered with a pale face while Oliviana had on a look of disbelief.

Daggs was speechless.

In all honesty, he was quite pleased that Stylla wasn't here to hear this, else she would keel over.

Unfortunately, it was only a matter of time.

"That's not even the thick of it, Silrat," Skullius said while holding back a chuckle. "On top of all this, I can't even see. I'M BLIND!"

Silrat slapped his face as he sat back down.

Sweat was practically flooding from his skin as he wondered how much was true and how much was obviously a joke.

Skullius' eyes which were something he had been keen on asking about though, were white, which meant that this was one of the truths.

Did this bastard not know how much he was risking?!

He wasn't betting aimlessly!

When he told Tulnas that he knew that he wasn't the only one who could recognise the value of individuals like Skullius, he had meant it.

He could tell that this man was special and was gambling on him, but...

This game was growing more and more dangerous.

He had some sleepless nights worrying over how Skullius had been doing while doing out there. He knew the man was a magnet for trouble but he had entertained the idea of letting him explore whatever he wanted to.

He didn't really have a choice.

Now...

"Relax, Silrat," Skullius said with a smile. "While I'm not lying about all this stuff, it's fine."

"Fine? FINE?!" Silrat anxiously boomed. "Festos, nothing you say reassures me that everything will be fine! You skimmed through the details of all that happened within this week and even after all that, you still haven't mentioned who this woman beside you is?!"

Yuyui whom Silrat gestured to sat up straight with a nervous look.

She had been silently listening to everything without making a sound while dreading becoming the object of conversation.

A lot of good that did.

"I know. There's no need to tell you everything right now, is there? Besides. I mean it when I say I'm fine. As I am right now, I can ensure that what you're getting out of me is better than what you were going to get before. You and Stylla that is..." Skullius said as he sipped on his cider, which was the only thing remaining of the food he had left..

"Really? A few days ago, I'm confident I could have smashed you into the ground before you could use all those weird skills you have but now, you feel like a completely different person. Even if you tell us to calm down, we still need to know the truth. No one just... changes like that," Oliviana chipped in a sharp look on her face.

Just based on that terrifying presence that Skullius had released earlier, she was sure that he was more than what he was letting on.

Skullius folded his hands and considered Oliviana's words.

"That's true, I guess," he said. "Well, I suppose I could tell you two fundamental changes I went through. For one, yes I did lose my mana core but I forged a better one in the past few days. Also, I managed to complete my Trial and break into the Advancement Stage..."

"..."

"..."

Oliviana and Silrat were lost for words.

Say what now?

"Let me get this straight..." Silrat said while clutching the bridge of his nose.

He needed a bit more clarification on this.

Were he just an ordinary man, what he had heard in just the past couple of minutes was enough to give him heart attack but this... this would reanimate him long enough to inquire what the actual flesh was going on!

"Your core was destroyed in these six days and you reforged it within this same stretch of time?"

"That's right," Skullius confirmed.

"And also, during this same amount of days, you managed to finish a Trial?"

"Yes."

Oliviana shook her head and stood.

"Well... I'm going to grab some ale. I can't deal with this while my mind is sober," she said as headed off, Daggs attempting to escape by saying he would grab her the ale but she refused.

Silrat sighed.

"Alright, alright. This is a good thing... this is good thing... this is a good thing..." he said to himself as he took deep breaths.

He was ready for a long journey of commitment until Skullius reached his full potential but sheeesh...

Skullius wanted to add that he now had a blue core as well but... that was enough surprises for one day.

"Let's leave this out for now. Who is this girl?" Silrat asked while gazing at Yuyui.

Skullius turned to Yuyui who nervously cleared her throat, getting the hint to introduce herself.

"My name is Yuyui Yuyui Yuyui," she said.

"Huh?"

"First name Yuyui, second na—"

"Her name is Yuyui," Skullius cut in bluntly, growing tired of this girl's signature introduction. "I found her in a certain temple. I'll show you soon."

"Really? Does she know about your...situation?" Silrat asked with concern.

"Oh yes she does. In fact..." Skullius said before raising his hand as he made a chopping gesture which instantly alerted Yuyui to the danger!

"NOOOO, DON'T KILL ME LIKE THAT AGAIN, MASTER!" the poor girl screamed as she guarded her face with her hands.

Skullius chuckled while retracting his hand.

A demonstration would probably clear up why he was with Yuyui but given where they were, it would be inconvenient.

"Kill you?" Silrat asked with a puzzled expression but Skullius waved him off.

"Don't worry about it. You'll understand it all soon," Skullius said as he leaned in closer. "Right, I was going to ask Stylla but I should probably run this through you first. How soon can I gain access to the weapons and treasures she talked about?"