Bro, I'm not an Undead!

Chapter 1013  Yes, I did

"I thought for sure you were going to die. Hahaha. That's not a bad thing to say, right?" Braxten said with a huge grin on his face. His colorful attire painted his surroundings in a goofy light, hiding the true nature of the status of Opungale at the moment, if only faintly.

"No. If you guys didn't hold off that hag for so long, things wouldn't have ended so well in the Territory," Skullius said with his hands slotted in the darkness of his robes. He and Braxten Shannazah were walking down a grassy patch littered with the summoned seahorse-like creatures stitched to the world.

Of course, they weren't alone.

"I don't buy it," Agnees Kudobtu said with a stoic expression. "The fact that you were somehow able to use your abilities in a Territory and even break it, tells me that you must have had some kind of back-up plan. Hell, even after that giant, golden thing of yours was destroyed, you still had options."

Skullius chuckled. "Maybe."

As he said that, both Shannazah and Kudobtu looked up.

The ginormous frame of the PHANTASMIC RETAINER, the Spirit of Drowning, was still floating above, a portion of it buried in the clouds. It remained as imposing and domineering as before, and the shadow it cast kept to its fierce depth as it followed along with Skullius' movement.

No one had deigned to ask about this and what it actually was. Even the two from the Six Houses of Pelian were afraid they might not comprehend the explanation. "So, your mission is over, right? I bet your contributions definitely qualify as 'acting as allies for Opungale', don't they? Will the King give you a reward?" Skullius asked the two.

Braxten coughed awkwardly.

"Oh, I wish Royan was that much of a benevolent man. For the past centuries, the Capital Service and the Families have been responsible for every single duty that the Royal Family is supposed to oversee. It was honestly surprising to me when I heard Royan took it upon himself to have diplomatic talks with Opungale. Or maybe it didn't, now that I think about it. That idiot has always been all about saving his own skin. I sometimes doubt that he is related to a legendary figure like a Philemen Royan," he said.

Skullius chortled faintly.

Right.

Philemen Royan.

The man who built Pelian and allowed humans to do what the beasts could naturally; to form a Territory.

Philemen was a man from Emeradis who united hundreds of thousands of people to occupy a piece of land both Maqi and Emeradis had warred over for a long time. And to ensure that he reserved it without trouble, Philemen had wagered with Maqi and Emeradis that he could produce 100 Incandescent Stager in a decade, and that these Incandescent Stagers could beat 100 of the same Stage from both Maqi and Emeradis.

Of course, while he did manage to produce 100 Incandescent Stagers through the help of a mysterious creature known as a Trueworth Bill, these 100 became the first to learn how to use Majestic Territories, a trait that allowed Philemen to succeed in his wager and secure what was now known as Pelian.

But also, to make sure that he wasn't terrorized for his secrets before the nation grew, he shared the knowledge passed on to him by the Trueworth Bill to the other nations, which benefitted all as the years went by.

Philemen was indeed a remarkable man, as Braxten had said, and it really was mind-boggling how the current King was nothing of the sort.

Then again, it was also unusual how the Royan line had persisted on for 80 millennia, well, 4 millennia.

Many doubted that it was the same blood from the old times that sat on the throne of Pelian at the moment.

Skullius was curious as well.

The current him, at least.

Fulgardt had been alive in the days when the conflict between Philemen and the two nations burned the hottest. He had been there when Philemen died and was replaced by several others of his line up to Edricus Royan II who ruled over the course of the Second Grand War – when the Immoral had risen to become a global menace.

It seemed the fierce blood of Philemen had perished back in that time, cowardly, cold mercury replacing it.

'Maybe I'll visit that man after my trip,' Skullius thought.

That seemed fit for a side quest.

"If I may be so bold…" Braxten suddenly said to the Hybrid Luman. "What?" Skullius turned to him.

"It's been scratching at me, you see… Am I imagining it, or have you suddenly leaped into the Incandescent Stage? I'm quite sure you were nowhere near this state when we last spoke."

Agnees' eyes sharply pierced Skullius. She too had had the same question burning at her throat. Needless to say, much like Viccil and Sevill, she had sensed that there was something odd with Skullius' soul, but it had been masked by how 'weak' his body had been, at least in terms of Stages.

Usually there was a cap to how much someone could grow if they were still within a certain stage, which was why Vali having so much mana was outlandish.

Skullius, however, had gone beyond outlandish with how his cosmetic body could endlessly attain stats and boosts from skills and Enrichment gems. His flesh wasn't of Aigas after all, and that was why, in terms of physical abilities, he was able to match people beyond him before.

Now though…

"Indeed. I have reached the Incandescent Stage. It seemed so impossible in a short amount of time, but here I am…" Skullius replied to the inquiry with a grin.

Indeed, the Hybrid Luman had skipped the Master Stage entirely and reached the Incandescent Stage right after completing his Second Trial; to forge one PHATASMIC RETAINER!

This was made possible by the fact that his soul had been enriched by Sila's, which was at the Incandescent Stage, and by the fact that Skullius' body was not of this world. His body came with the Null Life complementary skill, [Flesh It Like You Mean It].

His name was chosen by the guidance field.

His Tasks and Trials were revealed to have been given by Fulgardt himself, however the Immoral had managed to achieve that. Nôv(el)B\\jnn

Thus, since Skullius' soul had already transcended, his body, after being given a chance, also transcended to close the gap.

There was nothing the Rules of Aigas, which were never meant for him in the first place could do about it.

Kudobtu and Shannazah didn't even know how to react to this information. How would you even ask how that was possible to someone like Skullius? Technically, there were more questions to ask before even arriving at that point!

While the two were debating and digesting what they had just heard, the figures of Vali and Maxim approached.

Skullius didn't sense them immediately, as he became absorbed in future prospects. He hadn't begun to think about what his rise in Stages would mean until Shannazah brought it up.

Now, he could help but wonder how he should craft his Majestic Territory.

It wouldn't be easy or instant, but he already knew the steps.

He wasn't going to make a run-of-the-mill Territory. He wanted to forge something that would be a nightmare for any opponent he would have to face on Aigas or outside it.

Especially… that damned fake.

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[Author's Note]

There will be a 15 chapter mass release this week. I'll probably make it a surprise...