The group rushed forward within the Tremur Forest. The man with the brown hair was the one in the lead while the rest followed. He seemed to be trying to navigate to the so-called labyrinth where the inheritance was buried.
After Reon had brought the corpse of Eobald, Skullius had gotten malicious gazes from everyone as he had simply looted the body and left it naked while leaning against a tree.
Skullius himself didn’t care at all, but the growing animosity towards him was the thing that concerned him the most.
The four had buried Eobald, Skullius noting that the relationship with these people was quite complicated.
His moment of trying to gain more information about this group that was colluding with the undead had been brought to a pause by the ceremony and he figured that extracting information from the brooding bunch would be even harder now.
Skullius had been stripped of the scroll and the crest but the man with brown hair allowed him to keep the gear as he would need it.
Skullius also didn’t forget to pick up the crooked magic staff, insisting that it held sentimental value more than anything else.
As they travelled, Skullius constantly felt the piercing gaze of Denille who looked like she would eat him up at any moment which made him choose to find another candidate to try and find out more of the information he needed from.
After almost an hour of travel, the scenery changing from sparse vegetation to the thick and tall trees that were far more lush than the ones Skullius had seen until now, the Discount Human decided to finally ask his questions.
He turned to Reon who was at his side and probed to see if the guy would answer at all.
“So, you said I was at the Foundation Stage. What does that mean?”.
Skullius had tried to see the statuses of these guys with the guidance field but all he had gotten was a…
[Target is too high levelled. Unable to view status]
Therefore, he had decided to try the original way of gathering information.
Reon turned to him with lazy eyes and responded without any blatantly obvious emotion.
“You’re a level 1 and you don’t know what the Foundation Stage is? Didn’t you complete the First Task to be able to get to the first level of the Foundation Stage?”
“Uh…” Skullius stammered.
“This shitface must think we’re fools! No one can just up and get strong without finishing the First Task? Are you playing dumb?” Denille chipped on.
“I truly have no idea what you’re talking about,” Skullius said innocently, which did nothing to garner the sympathy of the people around him as his strange face just made things worse.
Reon’s eye flashed as he appraised Skullius again. Skullius had noticed that Reon had a special ability that allowed him to see things that others couldn’t, which is why everyone counted on him to find things that would otherwise be impossible to find.
For instance, he had found Eobald’s body without so much as any information. He hadn’t even asked Skullius anything.
“Hmm… I see. You really haven’t gone through the First Task. That’s why you’re so weak for a level 1,” Reon said. “Well, the Foundation Stage is a level of power that all humanoid creatures pass through. You build a powerful foundation for yourself by either specialising in a single caste or diversifying.”
“Why are we even telling him all this? We’re going to kill him at the end anyway,” remarked Denille as she gave Skullius a look of disdain.
This was something that Skullius had been told by the man with the havana brown hair before they had set off.
The excuse was that he had seen them and knew what they were doing so he had to die which Skullius merely sighed to at the thought of. There were too many things that wanted to see him dead and he was getting tired of it. He could already feel the clock for Doom Factor 1 clicking which was his biggest concern.
He had some hours left which were being eaten up by this side quest which frustrated him to no end.
Reon looked at Skullius, not seeing a single fluctuation on his odd face even after hearing that they would kill him after he had outlived his usefulness.
‘Why is this guy so confident? Does he have an ace up his sleeve or something? Hmm.. I’ll keep a close watch. Unlike Irlen whose too loyal to Benzard, I don’t mind killing this bastard and giving up on the inheritance altogether. I’m sure Denille feels the same way,’ Reon thought.
“Indulge him. As a final courtesy,” said the man with the brown hair whose name was Benzard.
Skullius nodded, deciding to ask away.
“So what are these Tasks?” he asked.
“.Tasks are a requirement that humanoid creatures like us have to go through with each level. Levels aren’t all about gathering cumulative mana from fallen foes. They are about comprehending power in purest form as we grow.”
“It’s different from how beasts do it,” Benzard chipped in. “Beasts increase their level in a primal way. Ravenous and straightforward. It’s only after a beast reaches the fourth tier that it truly begins to become a threat, but for us, it begins with the first level. The First Task. One must get acknowledged by one of the six deities that created Aigas. If one succeeds, then they can begin rising in power, starting with the Foundation Stage.”
Skullius nodded his head as he took in this information.
This would was built by six deities? That seemed like an awfully long story which Skullius wasn’t interested in at the moment.
He decided to steer the conversation to somewhere his interest was more concentrated.
“You guys already seem really strong. Why do you need that inheritance thing?”
The burly man, Irlen guffawed while Reon sighed at Skullius question. Denille grumbled hatefully but Benzard answered Skullius question without much hesitation.
“To you perhaps we’re strong but we’re barely out of the Foundation Stage ourselves. Eobald was the one who had advanced a significant portion into the next stage. The Advancement Stage.”
“As for the inheritance, it’s the legacy of a man who lived thousands of years ago. He was known as Fulgardt the Immoral. He lived life with a self imposed code. He had no loyalties, no alliances, no friends. Whoever could lead him to his goal was a companion even if it was evil incarnate.”
“With his lifetime of distrust and self indulgence without attachment, he forged himself a power that rivalled the ordained of the six deities. A Class called the Insurgent Magnus. The power of purity and evil in balance, held within the power of his hands.”
Skullius was entranced by the story.
‘Fulgardt, huh? Sounds like a socket hole to me. So these guys want that class to do what exactly?’
Benzard continued with his explanation, justifying why they sought this class.
“We want this power so that we can have a chance in case the Green Neolists actually succeed in bringing forward the undead into our world in their full force even though that has been hard to do since ancient times. However, Eobald sought the same thing. The evil that can be tamed by the Insurgent Magnus. That power could be what they need to allow the undead to pass through.”
So that’s how it was. A power that could harness both purity and evil. An odd mix. The Neolists wanted it for their own twisted goals while Benzard wanted it to protect the world?
That didn’t really seem sincere.
This bunch didn’t seem like the righteous kind, especially the red haired annoyance that buzzed beside Skullius.
‘They just want that power for themselves don’t they?’
“That’s the gist,” Benzard said before he looked back at his companions. “With that clarified, let me make it clear that we all agreed on this. I expect you all to assist me till the end.”
Irlen nodded obediently while Reon didn’t give a physical response. Denille gnashed her teeth and nodded.
“Good. We have some company ahead. We’re going back into the deeper part of the forest so watch yourself,” Benzard said as he stopped and drew his sword.
All around, spots of the sunlight that managed to squeeze through the cover of the canopy of the massive trees decorated the green covered ground.
The lights also decorated the large figure of an intimidating viper that coiled before them on long, standing tufts of grass.
It was as thick as a fully grown baobab tree, its scales being shiny navy blue in colour.
Its red eyes scanned the five figures before it while its forked tongue slipped from its mouth occasionally.
It hissed menacingly, a deep wave of mana being expelled from its body and washing over everything like a river. ɴᴇᴡ ɴᴏᴠᴇʟ ᴄʜᴀᴘᴛᴇʀs ᴀʀᴇ ᴘᴜʙʟɪsʜᴇᴅ ᴏɴ 𝓷𝓸𝓿𝓮𝓵✶𝓯𝓲𝓻𝓮✶𝓷𝓮𝓽
The surroundings grew silent, Benzard and his group drawing their weapons calmly while Skullius was trembling from the sheer density of mana he had felt from this beast!
Why were these guys so confident?!
Were they feeling the same things?!
Unlike them, he had actually seen its status and it was a huge leap from the fodder he had met until now!