Bro, I'm not an Undead!

This was an astounding means of travel.

Walking out of the transparent, squishy innards of the blob made Skullius hold in a laugh, a laugh he didn’t expect to come out of his mouth, churned by his usually hard-to-funnify gut. The unique system behind the Mythical grade treasure was quite unusual, and in more ways than one.

The efficiency couldn’t be denied though. It was as if Skullius had taken a single step and appeared inside Alaris’ office from the Bryne Family Estate – that’s exactly what had happened actually, in a sense.

That got him wondering, besides probably beings that had reached Divinity, were there any experts capable of such a feat with just their physical speed?

That would be incredible.

Surely Skullius wouldn’t meet someone like that in the near future as an enemy, right?

Probably not.

“And here we are,” Alaris said as he stored the blob. It seemed both the blob bodies could be retrieved or transported somewhere safe after serving their purpose, which was good since if such a feature was missing from its repertoire of gimmicks, the user would have to leave one blob where they had teleported from.

“And here we are,” Skullius voiced as well.

Spreading his senses, he figured out where they were and relaxed, helping his bottom to a comfy seat.

“You know, I didn’t think you’d make a trip to the Bryne Family Estate just to have a five minute conversation with Theurien and then return just like that. I mean, you having such a convenient means of travel is good and all, but what’s up with that?”

“Are you having trouble believing that I actually care for my friends that deeply? I ended up having a spar with you, so you should be grateful that you gained something from it.”

Skullius waved his hand.

“Of course, of course. My point is…” he said. “…are you also expecting the worst? You wouldn’t have made this particular trip right before the Royale, right? Your visits to Theurien have already been frequent. I thought you’d give the man some space after what? 8 days? Like me, you seemed to be saying some goodbyes, just in case.”

Alaris leaned against the desk that faced the open door with a curve to his lips under the moustache.

“Ever since you told me about that Game Master, I’ve grown to constantly be on edge whenever we are teleported to the Venue. I only grew more anxious with the fiasco going on with Rearren, and the allegations against him. Something is coming.”

Silrat had talked Skullius into sharing the information about Guissepo with Alaris, just in case. Initially, the two had decided to keep it amongst themselves, because revealing it to higher authorities would probably have doomed them, since Guissepo knew them and probably their whereabouts at all times because of the Control Seal.

Informing Alaris, who they trusted, wouldn’t change much, but the Bloodless Steel Phantom had a much more credible voice, and was capable of issuing subtle warnings that wouldn’t be traced back to Skullius and Silrat. That said though, Alaris didn’t seem to have screamed from the rooftops that something was up.

Without any substantial evidence or a concrete blueprint on the possible dangers, or the result that could occur, and with him being in just as much of a risky position, there was nothing he or anyone else he warned could do but prepare for the punch line.

“Hmmm…” Skullius hummed in approval.

“Are you prepared? You’re likely to be in the direct line of fire,” Alaris asked him.

“I’m mostly ready. I just want to get this over with.”

A bout of relaxed chatting persisted between the two afterwards before Skullius remembered something important.

“That reminds me. Wasn’t there supposed to be some kind of event… like something mirroring the Premium Age Royale that the Association wanted to enact?”

“Ah, that. The General board still has it in their minds, but for obvious reasons, they chose to postpone it. Who could have anticipated that the Royale would have such a sombre effect in the long run. That and the incident a month ago.”

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Made sense.

He had been looking forward to it though.

At that moment, there was a knock on the door.

With Alaris’ consent, someone entered the office.

A woman garbed in scarlet, baggy robes that hid her figure excessively, refusing even a modest peek at her body, confidently sauntered up to Alaris. On the way, she wordlessly gave Skullius a side glance with her narrow grey eyes that were partially blocked by the bangs from her bushy, sunflower blonde hair. She seemed to lose interest in him as soon as she recognised who he was.

Skullius recognised her as well.

‘They’re all really prideful. I guess it’s to be expected,’ he thought as he rose from his seat.

“Lady Clannara. Didn’t expect you so soon. How may I help you?” Alaris asked the woman with a light smile.

The woman remained silent, and gave Skullius another wordless glance.

He instantly knew he wasn’t welcome to hear their conversation.

Typical.

This woman was an exclusive mercenary. A Rank 1 exclusive mercenary. One of the very best there was in this Branch of the Association.

Finally, Skullius had met one of these elusive powerhouses that seemed to never return home. He had often wondered what kind of missions kept them away, but when he met this woman, Clannara Banes for the first time, he kind of understood.

She was a fiercely formidable Energy Former. A Mage. The pressure she exuded was that of the Incandescent Stage, and her skill, as far as Skullius could judge by the mana around her, was boundless. Strangely, it seemed like other mercenaries kept in touch with new entrants within their circle even if they were far from the city, and as soon as Skullius reached Rank 3 after a re-evaluation, other exclusive mercenaries took interest in him.

Clannara though, didn’t see Skullius as someone worth talking to.

Typical ‘I won’t interact with someone so weak’ behavior.

Skullius didn’t mind.

He scuttled out of the office while waving his hands and then went several floors down to get one of two vital jobs done.

On the way, with his [Unmatched Sword Sense]’s trait, he heard the long sword at his side whisper to him, as if not sure if even that much was allowed.

“Dear Master, I can talk now, right?”

“Of course.”

“Oh good! Then… have you chosen what you want to be able to do? I promise to do my best!”

Skullius sighed.

This again.

The Bashful Abomination was always fussing about Skullius’ choice to not yet use its only skill, [Make A Wish], which allowed him to specify a ability that the sword would imprint on itself. An affix.

Even after so long, Skullius had not yet decided. He was saving it for when it really counted. The ability couldn’t be ridiculous after all, and he wanted something that he couldn’t do on his own or procure with other, cheaper means.

“Relax. I’ll say when I’m ready. Alright? Besides, you’ll be out of the action for the next fight. Weapons of your calibre aren’t allowed in the Premium Age Royale,” Skullius said.

He felt the sword’s spirits turn dull.

For the Royale, Skullius was going to have to rely on Demion’s Dance and none of the other immensely powerful tools in his arsenal – the Conforming Trickerteer, the Medial Whisperer of Charms or the King’s Matted Glory… tools that were likely to be recognised by the Control Seal to have beyond legendary level effects, unlike what the guidance field showed.

“Soon, alright?” he tried to cheer up the sword.

This short bout of presented desperations almost made the journey to Skullius’ destination a bit shorter. He arrived to a familiar arrangement of what the Guilds Association termed as basic supplies. One of the two stores in the entire building.

“Welcome back, Mr Festos,” the keeper greeted Skullius with a smile.

Skullius nodded with a delightful smile of his own before, with a heavy breath, he expelled a pouch full of Plasma coins and set them on the table.

Pouch was probably a terrible way of describing the fat sack that smothered the entire counter where the keeper was about lay his hands.

“Dear Quintess…”

“10,000 Plasma coins. Can I have that Supreme Potion?”

The keeper froze for a moment before his friendly smile turned sheepish.

“S-sure. You really came for it, huh?” he said before grabbing a vial with a thick golden liquid and gave it to Skullius. “Thankfully you managed to book one for yourself beforehand this time, otherwise you wouldn’t have found one available this month too. The others are pretty desperate for one all of a sudden.”

“Can’t blame them,” Skullius said as he felt over the potion for a moment before storing it into his Temporary Storage hiddenly. He had collected many lesser potions over the past months, but had always found acquiring the Supreme one very difficult. As soon as a batch of these golden magical supplements arrived, they would be bought immediately, or already be stored for pre-orders.

Thankfully, this time, it was different.

Too bad there was a limit as to how much of the Supreme Potion one could buy from the store.

Skullius then briskly left the Guild’s Association, his cheery attitude melting away with each step he took towards his second destination.

It was time to make a delivery.

A sour one.