Bro, I'm not an Undead!

The fact was true but Skullius wasn't concerned. The other General was different from Hobbu Bobbu. In fact, his inferences from before had been right on the money, the only difference being that he probably wouldn't have too much trouble with this other Cluster General.r

"I didn't know it worked like this. Is this common knowledge?" Skullius said while scratching his chin.r

Whatever.r

He wouldn't concern himself with this for now.r

He stored Hobbu Bobbu's body inside his spatial storage after extracting the 65 Null Life Essence points it had, a truly large difference from the 20 the other goblins he had seen gave.r

The body of this large Tier 11 Cluster General was bound to net him a few more Plasma coins. Potions and other magical items could be made from highly mana conductive creatures such as high level Cluster beasts, thus their value was really high.r

Even if Skullius didn't go to the Association with this, he could still get plenty from it. The higher level Clusters were rare and harder to clear, after all. Thankfully, they also took longer to be breached by the beasts inside. If it was any different, the situation in the entirety of Aigas would have been vastly different.r

Skullius scrolled through his new skills next, looking through their descriptions.r

His body was still reacting to the information and these new powers he had gained, his flesh twitching from time to time.r

[Ghost Rending Divine Sword Art].r

[Swordmaster's Quiescence].r

[Lucent Apparition].r

[Unmatched Sword Sense].r

The powers related to the sword.r

"I can't believe my proficiency in the sword has just jumped up so drastically just from this. Even now I feel like..." Skullius said while moving his hand up and down.r

Every movement of his seemed... sharp and surreal, a bit like how Hobbu Bobbu's movements were.r

Also, he felt incredibly light. As if he could soar up and down naturally.r

This wasn't an unknown mystery for him though as with Hobbu Bobbu's memories, he quickly deciphered the fact that this was the Finite Sword god's developed Sword style influencing his body.r

The Ghost Rending Divine Sword Art!r

This was the style that Hobbu Bobbu had crafted for himself.r

A transcendent sword style that Skullius felt contended with Alaris' overpowered Sword technique. r

Now, he had it for himself.r

Ha.r

It was insane to think about though.r

Even with what Hobbu Bobbu had shown, Skullius still thought Alaris would win in a battle.r

Weeks ago, Skullius had discovered that the evaluation officer was a more dreadful monstrosity than he had imagined. It was only a mere guess but he thought Alaris also possessed a Hidden Class. He had to. That was the only way for this to make sense.r

'The Ghost Rending Divine Sword Art. It's weakened though. It's far from being the same as it was when sockethole used it,' Skullius thought with deep sigh.r

This was what the guidance field had warned him about.r

But who was he to complain?r

This was already too go-r

"<Sniff, sniff>. I'm alone again. No one will ever hold me anymore. <Sniff>. What am I supposed to do now?"r

Skullius heard a soft voice speaking and sniffling sorrowfully.r

He was alarmed at first but realised that [Primal Caution] hadn't gone off, meaning he wasn't in danger. Probably.r

He searched around but there was no one.r

'Where did that voice come from?' he asked himself while widening his senses.r

"<Sniff>. I should have known this would happen. He was getting too excited and too proud. That was a death flag. I was so stupid! <Sniff>."r

Skullius' face hardened as he heard the voice once again.r

Wait.r

Because this had been so sudden, he had discarded the jumbled memories he was sifting through, deeming them to be separate from this situation.r

But as he calmed down and let the memories from Hobbu Bobbu flow, Skullius instantly understood.r

His focus shot to the ground, identifying the source of this soft voice.r

It was the Bashful Abomination!r

The chipped dark grey sword with a brass hilt.r

It was mourning softly with a feminine voice.r

Skullius walked over to this weapon slowly, its mass which was so large that it was impossible to handle with his size almost giving the illusion that he was delusional, that a sword like this couldn't possibly have such a soft feminine voice, much less speak.r

As Skullius inched his way closer, he spoke in a light tone.r

"Hey there."r

Everything he understood now about this situation told him to be as careful and caring as possible.r

"Hmmm?" the soft voice seemed to recognise that Skullius was directing his words at it.r

Panic ensued.r

"DON'T LOOK AT ME! DON'T YOU DARE LOOK AT ME!" the Bashful Abomination screamed with a shrill voice that caused Skullius to come to a halt.r

"I'm not looking at you. I'm actually blind. I can only sense that you are there," Skullius said, trying to be as calm as possible. It wasn't in him to be like this but for now, he had to. "If I was looking at you, you would have automatically slashed me up by now, right?"r

"..."r

There was a moment of silence as it seemed the unmoving sword was contemplating.r

"That... that is true," the sword said. "You're the one who killed Hobbu Bobbu, aren't you?"r

Skullius sighed.r

Was this a trick question?r

"Yes I am. There were no hard feelings," Skullius defended himself.r

"But you mocked him before you killed him. I sensed hard feelings there," the sword responded with a slightly begrudging tone.r

Skullius gnashed his teeth. For this, he definitely wouldn't apologise.r

"Yes I did. I was only speaking the truth. That sockethole toyed with me, flaunting his strength. I had to get him back with a phrase or two," he said while standing upright.r

"... Hobbu was a bit proud. And stupid. He never let me do something different. He only wanted me to do the exact same thing he did everyday."r

Talk about betrayal.r

Hobbu-san wouldn't be pleased to hear this slander.r

Another stretch of silence passed between the two, both not knowing what to say.r

The absence of the rain which had stopped a while ago made it a bit more awkward for 'sort of' man and giant sword to just chill without doing or saying anything.r

That was until the Skullius broke the ice again.r

It wouldn't be a problem to make a move on someone else's sword when they were dead. Right?r

"So... since the ugly mug is dead, do you want to maybe... uhm..."r

"Yes?"r

"I was thinking maybe we could..."r

"Hmhmm?"r

"You know? Hook up? Bind ourselves?"r

"Oh. Is that really alright?" the Bashful Abomination asked with an even more shy voice.r

"Of course. You're definitely a troph-, I mean a prize."r

"Oh! That would be great! But... is he alright with that?" the sword asked.r

"He? Who?" Skullius questioned.r

At that moment, he felt something on his waist wiggle angrily!r

A torrent of angry emotions blasted Skullius' insides from the companion strapped to his waist, Demion's Dance!r

Right.r

Skullius had another commitment.r

He was cheating in his sword's presence.r

How despicable.r

But hey! Skullius never signed the was poly-sword-gamy sheet! r

Why should he stop here?! Because Demion's Dance wouldn't let him hear the end of it?r

Perhaps.r

'This skill is definitely a curse,' Skullius thought.r

How was he able to communicate with swords so suddenly?r

The answer was the recent addition to his arsenal of skills, [Unmatched Sword Sense]!r

With this skill, Skullius gained the ability to appreciate components of swords through his senses; their durability, the type of material used to make them as well as the forging method used.r

Most important of all, through [Unmatched Sword Sense], Skullius would be able to communicate with swords!r

This was not to say all swords could talk but as the Hybrid Luman inferred with the information he had, old swords, typically those with unique backgrounds, gained a robust consciousness over time and he could hear their thoughts.r

With Demion's Dance, he could only feel its raging emotions, which told him a lot about the difference between it and the Bashful Abomination.r

In any case...r

"It's alright. HE will get used to it," Skullius assured the giant sword he was having a conversation with, a bright smile etched on his face.r

The dark grey sword seemed to think for several seconds.r

"Will you really take care of me?" it asked.r

"Of course I will. Look at how shiny and beautiful this guy is," Skullius said while pulling out Demion's Dance from its sheath and showing its unchipped, even blade with a glossy sheen.r

This was convincing.r

Those curves. That shine.r

The Bashful Abomination could barely imagine what it was like to be taken care of like this. Hobbu Bobbu only cared for fighting and wouldn't even use his sword unless he absolutely needed to, much less clean it.r

He had a very strong 'the blade is me' energy, choosing to exercise his power with his body before anything else.r

"Well? I'll even find you a beautiful sheath to... HIDE in," Skullius said, sweetening the pot. He said this while pointing at Demion's Dance's sheath, thinking that perhaps this sword didn't know what he was talking about.r

...!r

"REALLY?!" the Bashful Abomination screamed.r

The word HIDE worked wonders as Skullius had hoped.r

"Of course!"r

"Take me!" r

"Gladly!"r

Just like that, the Hybrid Luman had won.r

Somehow, this experience felt vaguely familiar though. It was like he had done something like this some time ago with another timid individual.r

Oh well. Who cared?!r

Skullius reached in to touch the large sword and it immediately shrank, reaching a suitable size for his grip.r

"You'll be bound to me, right?" he asked.r

"Absolutely!" the Bashful Abomination replied.r

Since Pseudo-Mythical grade artefacts and above bonded with their user, disallowing anyone else to use them, Skullius had found the opportunity with Hobbu Bobbu's passing. r

It was quite weird that Demion's Dance bypassed this binding and recognised him as its owner even though it was a mere Unique grade tool. r

Perhaps the weapon was just that special.r

The moment Skullius felt the feel of the long sword, a rush of wild power exploded within him, bringing forth another intense reaction from his body!r

At this moment, both the bonding process and Skullius getting access to the Bashful Abomination's special effects happened simultaneously. r

He was almost overwhelmed by the mad boost in power and this was just from handling this damn thing!r

He gnashed his teeth and suppressed the urge to scream into the air with a harsh breath.r

"Damn! Just how strong are you?!" Skullius asked while taking a look at the sword's stats with his guidance field. Now that it was bound to him, he wouldn't be punished for looking at it with Crude Vision.r

~~~r

[Bashful Abomination]r

<Pseudo-Mythical>r

A sword carved deep in the depths of ambitious soils to aid in the growth of a newly risen General. Its origin and birthplace as well as the time it spent there gave the weapon a unique trait where anyone but its chosen master will be fatally wounded if they gaze upon it.r

-Damage-r

362,000-375,000r

-Durability-r

234,800/465,890r

-Special Effects-r

•+64,500 to Agility with Absolute Conversion r

•+40,900 to Strength with Absolute Conversion r

•+20,000 to Mana with Absolute Conversionr

---r

[Skill: Make A Wish]r

The sword can impose on itself an affix – any unique ability that its master desires. Said ability, if too powerful for the sword to enact, will be downgraded to a reasonable proportion but not wholly changed. A single user can only create one affix and it cannot be changed after finalisation.r

Current affix:r

<Increase Ghost Rending Divine Sword Art proficiency by 475%>r

~~~r

Skullius felt a wave of weakness in his knees.r

That singular skill...r

Did he just read it right?!r