Bab 12: Until We Meet Again

[Congratulations, you have named your first Apostle. 'Red Rage' gains the 'Blessing of Serenity'. This privilege is only reserved for the first named Apostle!]

~~~

[ Name : Red Rage ]

[ Tier : 0 ]

[ Class : None ]

[ Level : 1 ]

[ Race : Null Lifeform (Bone Boar) ]

[ Inv. Status : Expressing 'loyalty' ]

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[ Stats ]

[ Strength : 10 ]

[Agility : 10 ]

[ Intelligence : 1 ]

[ Endurance : Infinite ]

[ Luck : 5 ]

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[ Health : 10/10 ]

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[ Mana : 20/20 ]

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[ Null Life Essence : 0/0 ]

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[ Skills ]

[ Null Life Aura ]

[ Storming Charge ]

[ Dead End ]

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[ Blessing of Serenity ]

???

~~~

"Huh? Is that what it meant by this guy holds value? Hmm... I can't even see any more information about this... Blessing. Must be another one which I'm only allowed to see after I reach Tier 1, right?" Skillius asked.

[Yes].

"Rise, my bro," Skullius said with a voice that only wished it could exude regality.

Red Rage stood aloof and gazed at his master.

The more Skullius looked at him, the more he recognised that the Apostle was vastly different from an undead.

Red Rage did not release the chaotic energy of undeath which he was greatly familiar with. As he possessed the same energy as Red Rage, he could sense the tranquil yet powerful energy that kept the Apostle... standing.

Red Rage also seemed like he wasn't averse to living things just like he felt now. At least that ensured that he wouldn't be unreasonably hostile, right?

"Great!" Skullius exclaimed as he patted the Apostle's furry shoulder.

Red Rage suddenly raised his hand and gave Skullius... a thumbs up!

[Red Rage approves of your actions. +1 Favourability]

"What?" Skullius was surprised by the Apostle's action and the notification. "Favourability?"

[Yes, young Boneman. An Apostle is different from a mindless pawn. Even though the boar you used to make this Apostle has passed on, its WILL still lives in the Apostle's bones. It is loyal, it is a servant and a source of support, but if you mistreat it or make bad decisions, it may be inclined to be disloyal].

"Oh! Then this is quite different from undeath then," Skullius said.

Another thing that made a distinction with the power of Undeath was explained to him and it only seemed fair.

"So this favourability... does it do anything for my bro or me?" Skullius questioned.

[Yes. With an increase in favourability, your Apostle's affection towards you will increase, and with sufficient favourability, certain boosts and options can be unlocked].

"Oh... if only we had favourability in Deadmanland..." said Skullius as his thoughts drifted off.

He looked at Red Rage's status and saw a section depicting the favourability he currently held for him.

Wanting to see how far he could take it, Skullius patted Red Rage's shoulder again.

Pat! Pat!

Red Rage gave a thumbs up!

[Red Rage approves of your actions. +1 Favourability]

Pat! Pat! Pat! Pat!

Red Rage gave a thumbs up!

[Red Rage approves of your actions. +1 Favourability]

[Enough of that!].

VOW suddenly intervened.

Skullius socket flames burned ferociously. He had wanted to see how much more he could gain but VOW shot him down.

But meh, he could still try it later.

The Voice of VOW suddenly came again, but with a tone that demanded Skullius to take what it said seriously.

[As I said before, I shall now leave. The package has been delivered and I wish you well, young Boneman].

"Huh?! You're leaving?!" Skullius asked in a high pitched voice.

[Yes. I only remained to supervise you until you were able to use the Lifeless Evolution Package. Now that it's done, I have to leave].

"I... see," Skullius said with a hint of melancholy. He had known that VOW would leave, but he didn't think it would be this...sudden.

A part of him felt lonely already. Was this really it?

[Use this new power to the fullest. There are powerful beings in this world and the others as well. You have already seen this firsthand, little as that may be. Be careful. I will bestow upon you a parting gift however, to ensure you don't die in the next few minutes].

'A parting gift?'

[You have received the information packet, 'Dummy's Basic Guide To Power and Growth]

A golden text appeared in Skullius' status.

He wanted to retort about the name but decided not to. This was probably going to help him when VOW bro was gone.

[You will have to discover everything else about your powers on your own. True strength is forged when one is alone and resolute, after all. Also, beware of the Doom Factors. Solve them as fast as you can].

Skullius nodded his head.

"I will. Thank you for your help, VOW bro."

[Until we meet again, Skullius].

With that, Skullius felt something vanish from his head. Red Rage's status information which he had been using to see the additions to favourability was still present before him.

He sighed and looked at the Apostle.

"It's just you and me now," he said.

He poked the golden text in his hands and tons of information began blasting into his mind. The knowledge that he lacked came flowing in, filling in the void that was present above all his questions.

"This is really useful!" Skullius said as he began to understand all about Tiers, Levels, Evolutions, Stats and many other basics of growth and power. It was a bit disappointing that it didn't have any more information about Null Life in general, but Skullius new he would find out more with time.

He began to understand on a deeper level what he saw on his status. This was a great parting gift.

'Thanks again, VOW bro,' he thought.

In his mind, he did wonder if all those who were seen to have the qualifications to be acknowledged by the Voice Of Worlds would have the special treatment he had gotten from VOW. He was pretty sure that this was beyond the bounds of 'I can't interfere with your destiny', regardless of how basic it was.

"Right! Onwards!" he said as he pointed forward.

With the processing power of his mind now being decent, Skullius decided that the best course of action would be to return to the spot where he had appeared when he jumped through Somanda's magic circle.

He wanted to find the place where he found the boar and figure out where to go from there. It was the most reasonable move, in his own opinion.

The mysteries that he had yet to discover were gnawing at his brain, but he was excited to find out all about them.

Skullius and Red Rage descended down the slope and avoided the transition of the colour of the grass that surrounded the lake. He wouldn't take any chances and end up in another Territory.

He then instructed his loyal Apostle to jog alongside him as they raced back into the lush forest.

On the way, the Boneman did not so much as look in the direction of where Azila's territory was. He simply ran along with his bro while prattling about the tales of how he had skilfully sidestepped the boar's rageful charges when they had been in a heated chase a few minutes ago.

Red Rage would only nod as Skullius narrated an incredibly exaggerated version of the tale. That was all he could do after all.

Since VOW bro was no longer there to point out how shameless Skullius was being, the Boneman took it as far as he wanted to.

After some time, the two finally found the place where Skullius first met Red Rage.

"Ah... It feels like it was long ago when you blasted me through the trees," he said, a hint of emotion evident in his voice.

On the ground, he found his bony arm laying on the grass and delightedly ran up to it.

"I wonder how this works. Can I put it back?" he said as he held it up.

As he connected the arm to his shoulder, he felt mana rush from his core and then through the arm!

Bursts of energy coursed through its structure, changing it from its pale colour to the foggy colour of the rest of his body.

Just like that, his arm was connected to the rest of his body seamlessly.

But...

~~~

[ Mana : 120 ]

~~~

"I see. It costs mana," Skullius said while scratching his skull.

100 Mana Points had been used to Summon Red Rage while 30 has been used to reattach his arm.

"I should be really careful with how I arm myself next time," he said. "Alright Red bro. We won't live for long if we're not strong enough. Let's find some prey and get to Tier 1!"

From here on out, Skullius aimed to be cautious, exploring with care and using all that he had learned so far.

That was the plan at least and the two set off, looking for their first prey.