章 7: Emperor Bonet’s Lowly Servant

[ Name : None ]

[ Tier : 0 ]

[ Level : 1 ]

[ Race : StarGold Clusterfly ]

[ Inv. Status : --- ]

...

[ Skills ]

[ StarStore ]

The tube at its end stores StarGold paste which when accumulated for two days can be injected into the body to boost overall stats by 120% for an hour. However, this tube links directly to vital organs and if damaged, can lead to shock with a high possibility of death.

~~~

....

"UUUUUUUUOOOOOOOH!" Skullius roared into the sky as a burst of power shot through him, an intense shimmer cascading through the entire area as even the bright golden hue was overshadowed by the light blue!

Azila looked at this scene pondering on what to do.

What made him hesitate was the fact in this very moment, he had noticed that this little undead actually had the qualification to be accompanied by the Voice Of Worlds!

Quite the surprise!

As a higher ranked being, it wasn't too difficult for him to notice as many perks came with his tier and level, such a thing as noticing something he also had but with a different variation being simple.

What were the odds?

He decided to see what would happen next and judge from there, after all, the little undead was still in his Majestic Territory.

Skullius' frame began to change.

His height increased significantly, bringing his figure to almost 2 meters!

His once burnt bones became clean, the charred darkness being removed from them. The density and mass of his bones increased significantly, a lustre that was a few shades from a proper silver donning his bones.

The flame in his sockets flared, its hue becoming a dark blue one that glowed with an incredible intensity!

Skullius felt the sensation of pain and ecstasy at the same time, quite the devious mix.

The light show soon died down as his figure looked nothing like the dreadfully pitiful undead from a few seconds ago.

[Congratulations, you have evolved from 'Standard Undead' and have begun the new path of Lifelessness, professionally termed, Null Life. Would you like to proceed with all the following steps immediately?]

Skullius was dazed as he looked at the notification before his eyes.

He had evolved thrice without any breaks, his mind feeling rather drained and...excited.

'This is...' he thought as he felt the changes in his body. He felt a great amount of strength, clarity in his thought process and an unrelenting sense of freedom.

This sensation was amazing!

[I can't believe your atrocious luck took a U-turn at the last second...].

'Ah.. so you're still here, you sockethole!' thought Skullius as he pulled himself out of his dazed state.

[Well you're still alive...so...].

'...'

"What is the meaning of this?" the booming voice of Azila shook Skullius once again, as even after he had evolved, he still felt a tremor in his core.

'Damn it! I almost forgot that I was still here...!'

He looked at the giant Ape whose eyes now showed a bit of interest in him.

"Uhmm..." Skullius mumbled as he thought of what to say. In the next moment, his socket flames brightened as he provided an answer.

A bit of confidence could also be detected.

"As I said before, Oh Great Azila. I'm not an undead... ahaha," he said sheepishly.

At first Azila thought to dismiss this nonsense he had heard from Skullius before but when he focused his sense on the little skeleton, he was perplexed.

The repulsive energy that coiled around Skullius just a few seconds ago had completely vanished!

What he felt at this moment was... nothing!

The skeleton standing before him while scratching its head had no signs of undeath at all!

"What are you?" he asked while narrowing his large eyes.

"Uhmm....ahhh," Skullius stammered, his mind racing to form a convincing argument. The notification had told him that he had graduated from undeath, so he technically wasn't lying.

He then remembered a grand detail.

He was the grand storyteller who had once convinced his brethren that he had coxed the great Somanda into caressing his skull!

How could he not utilise this natural gift he had to swindle with words?!

Surely he could wiggle out of this with a lie, right? Right?!

With his mind clearer than ever, he formed a chain of lies that were as cold and sturdy as shivering straw before he presented them to the giant Ape before him shamelessly.

He did his best to calm himself and then spoke.

"Oh Great Azila. I am but the lowest servant of the grand Emperor Bonet. I was sent to scour the lands of the dead under the spell which forged my appearance into that of a common undead. I have returned to give him all that I found after fleeing from a Lich who had grown suspicious of me..." he said, trying his damndest to make sure he sounded convincing.

"Hmm?" Azila narrowed his eyes. "Who is this... grand Emperor Bonet?"

"I'm afraid I cannot tell you anymore than this as I am under a spell that keeps me from giving away knowledge. Please, allow me to return before I face Emperor Bonet's lustrous wrath," Skullius said with a pathetic bow.

"Hmmm," the deep hum of Azila's voice echoed through the forest.

'I searched him with Gargantuan's Scrutiny and found nothing of note within him. He truly was merely a pitiful undead before. Is this Bonet's magic that strong to be able to convince even I, that he is an undead? Why does he still look like an undead even after his escape then?' Azila thought.

Skullius waited while trying to not be overly suspicious. It could be excused that he was shivering as he was in the presence of a powerful beast but any more than that would attract attention.

Then again, his whole existence afforded suspicion.

As he waited, a notification appeared before him.

[You are under 'Gargantuan's Scrutiny. You are practically naked before the Great Mane Mountain Ape]

'Again?!' Skullius thought.

He was screwed!

Or so he thought.

Azila was shocked!

He couldn't find anything of note now with his advanced skill!

To make matters worse, he couldn't identify anything about Skullius except his level! His race was unknown as well as all the important details!

'Hmmmm... who is this Bonet? His power is capable of this much? Did he create this little thing or is he using powerful magic to mask everything away? This is supposed to be a single lowly servant?'

Many thoughts spiralled within Azila's head. He hadn't expected to be pushed to much thought on this.

'Perhaps I should leave it be. I might offend a power I cannot contend against,' the Ape thought.

"Very well. You may leave. I shall forgive your trespassing and the blatant murder of my lanterns as a gesture of respect for your... Emperor Bonet. Be on your way," Azila said.

"Thank you, Oh Great Azila," Skullius bowed as he slowly backtracked.

He walked slowly, then briskly, feeling the dense presence of Azila vanishing from behind him.

Soon he was out of the golden area that represented the territory of the Great Mane Mountain Ape.

He seemed calm on the surface, but within..

'I SURVIVED! I DID IT! SKULLIUS STRIKES AGAIN! AS IF! I was scared out of my skull! I can't believe he actually brought that!'

[I'm... speechless...].

VOW's voice rang in Skillius' head.

'Hmph! Don't underestimate me, VOW bro. I have more redeeming qualities than you think... wait that didn't come out right.'

[Sure.. says the one who evolves twice by killing a single LV1 Clusterfly].

'Now that I think about it, just how weak was I to get this strong from killing just two of those weak things?!'

[What part of Moronic Undead did you not understand? If you had paid attention to your status you would know that you had no level and no Tier. Gaining cumulative experience of any kind would push your strength to higher levels... as it did just now. You should also be grateful that since your evolution is new and you have not yet proceeded with its full activation, Azila couldn't find anything suspicious with his advanced skill].

"I see..." Skullius thought. He had really dodged a bullet. "I'm... really not an undead anymore?' asked Skullius.

[Nope. I advise you to inspect the changes for yourself].

Skullius was quite excited. He was feeling great. He had just escaped from a powerful beast and was about to enjoy a new path that offered different evolutions and powers.

What could possibly go wrong?

HUMPH! HUMPH!

He heard the sound of hooves scraping against the ground.

A short figure was covered in a red aura as it glared at him.

It was the damn boar!

Skullius was shaken at the sight of this determined enemy.

"Bro, you're still here?! Get a life, will you!" he screamed.

[Atrocious!] VOW remarked with a hint of amusement.