Bro, I'm not an Undead!

Velanqi Family Residence.

Aurolio, while rolled up in a thick, purple blanket with a fuzzy texture, sat by the fire burning in the heath. He shivered as usual as he sat on the stool, the light from the flame illuminating his face with an orange hue that dyed his skin and white hair.

Strangely, he was roasting a fish that was penetrated through by a rod, his shaky hand controlling which parts of the well prepared fish he wanted to get a nice, delicious tan.

"Ah..." Aurolio voiced in both satisfaction and displeasure. The smell of the fish was good but....

"Fuck this cold..."

The temperatures that existed around him alone never seized to amaze, even in the presence of fire.

Footsteps clapped against the floor, a formally dressed woman walking into the clean lounge and watching Aurolio with unfazed but slightly disturbed eyes.

"If you were hungry, you could have just told me so..." Idline said.

She sat on a chair near Aurolio, her eyes continuing to watch him cook.

"No offense but I'd rather drink lava diluted with toad piss than have you cook any meat dishes for me. We've already established that," Aurolio replied while pushing his stool closer to the fire and away from Idline.

"I find that very offensive. You ate what I cooked last time," Idline said with a smack to the back of Aurolio's head with the book in her hand.

The white haired man didn't flinch, only clicking his tongue without changing the placement of his head.

"Last time, you didn't cook meat," Aurolio pointed out. "Any updates?"

Idline put away her simmering opinions about her expert level cooking and got to business.

"It seems Vali is on the move. Moreso than all the other contenders," she said.

"Hmm?"

"There have been suspiciously frequent visits by contenders to her mansion. Male contenders."

"Oh... so I might have been right then," Aurolio said, withdrawing the fish from the fire and taking bite. "<Crunch>. Someone like her is bound to be exploiting the Royale. My guess is she's forming contracts with various Families in exchange for a chance to win big with her bloodline."

"But... doesn't that make her a whore? What kind of advantages are in that?"

"No. She's not pleasuring contenders, my brainless little Idline. She's likely selling off her sisters and cousins. The Kinn Family's most unique trait is the specific genetics in their bloodline. Any child born from anyone with Kinn blood will have an extreme aptitude towards healing, even before acquiring the Healer Class. Most Families, mostly the lesser ones, will jump at the opportunity to attain heirs with such qualities, even at the expense of their own pride," Aurolio explained while nodding at his basic culinary expertise.

"That seems a bit extreme."

"Not for the desperate. There's constant challenge over territory with the lower Families. Proper conflict over land ownership isn't illegal. The weak will do what the weak do best. Besides, coming under the Kinn Family isn't all that bad of an idea, you know? That Kinn bitch is rich."

Idline nodded slowly.

It was a sufficient reason perhaps, more than she thought at least. Not all Families were privileged after all.

"What about Gabel?" Aurolio asked with another crunch coming from his mouth.

"He seems to have left the city. He moves quickly. If I hadn't placed a marker on him we wouldn't have been able to trace his location."

"Hmm. Everyone I had written off as not worthy of my interest is suddenly proving me wrong. I like it," Aurolio said with a chuckle.

"Do you think that Gabel is the one you've been looking for now?"

"No. My interest increased a bit but the revelation that he has mastered a Veneration art rules him out completely. Besides just raw power, you know what having a Veneration art means, right?"

Idline nodded. Of course she did. Despite that though, she had thought Gabel was the one they had come all this way for.

"Do you have anyone you suspect to have been the target of that Divination then after watching the recent matches?"

Aurolio pursed his lips absentmindedly as he gave it some thought.

"There is one..." he said.

In his mind, he recalled a certain man he had marked.

A certain man with a race identified with as 'Hybrid Luman' in his vision. He had a Hidden Class. Him and his green haired girlfriend that is.

In his battle with the Wardlock, he had launched a sword slash livid with mana, clean essence of death and.... something that he felt closely related to what he knew.

'It wasn't Voided Essence and if I hadn't been paying attention I would have missed it...' Aurolio thought.

'Hmmm.'

Aurolio had imprinted this energy signature into his mind when he felt it. There was need to find out more about this man.

Maybe...

Just maybe...

***

Skullius once again entered the Bryne Family Mansion, a sigh escaping from his mouth.

That was heavier on the heart than it looked.

He had nearly lost his chance to gather significant answers from a high ranking Mage. If not for [Beyond the Hype], his mood would have been a few hundreds degrees lower right now.

'At least I got what I needed and some...' Skullius thought.

After getting the answer to his last allowed question, Arch-Mage Ryte had expelled him from the Academy with the words 'TELL THAT BRYNE BRAT NEVER TO BOTHER ME AGAIN!'

The man's personality was volatile.

One needed to constantly entertain him it seemed, and Skullius didn't know just how much butt-kissing those Apprentices had to do to get much instruction from the man. Clearly he taught by whim.

As Skullius pondered, a maid walked towards him and gave a light bow.

"Master Festos, Master Silrat wants to see you. He's waiting in the first study," she informed. "Also, Lady Stylla told me to inform you that she will be leaving soon. The carriage is ready."

Skullius nodded.

'It's finally time, it seems,' he thought.

The trip to the Bryne Estate wasn't the concern here.

It was the real pending matter.

The time to face Silrat and have to explain what in the world had caused his soul to be torn apart yesterday night had come.

Judging by Yuyui's current condition, he and Kenno were probably fine but unlike those two...

"Let's just get this over with."

The mansion had several rooms other than the excessive number of bedrooms. In total, there were three studies which came with a wide assortment of books and comfortable spots for one to sit while reading, much like mini libraries.

In one of these, Skullius found Silrat seated with a stern look on his face, the subconscious expression one got when reading.

Silrat raised his head and gestured for Skullius to sit as soon as he saw him. He closed the book on the table in front of him and gave the Luman a very obvious questioning gaze.

"I wanted to check in on you yesterday but you weren't here," Skullius said, immediately defending himself.

"Of course. What a kind soul you are, Festos?" Silrat said sarcastically. "And after a rough search in the mansion, you gave up and went to sleep?"

"Hey, I knew you were alright. I would turned every stone in Genhuis just to find you if I didn't."

"Phenomenal strategy! Except you wouldn't have to turn every stone in the world if you just visited the most obvious place in the city that I'd be!"

"Oh, come on! What are we, lovers?! Besides, you look fine to me. Just like I predicted.... You are fine, right?" Skullius asked that last bit with genuine curiosity.

Silrat gnashed his teeth and clicked his tongue.

"Thank the Deities I am. And Alaris too. He took care of me after that tragedy! Would you like to tell me what that the hell that was? I felt like my soul was being ripped to shreds! And I tell you, it wasn't a particularly enjoyable experience to, 'scream like a goat midway through slaughter', as some of the more funny mercenaries put it, in the Guilds Association lobby."

Skullius grimaced. That must have been humiliating.

"Sorry about that," he apologised genuinely . "Alaris took care of you? I met him yesterday night. To think he would have told me about your condition."

"I asked him not to. While I would have appreciated a little care from you, I wanted to avoid attention to you with the situation at the Association. That wouldn't bode well for the image I'm trying to create."

"What the hell is that supposed to mean?"

"Nevermind. You're not smart enough for it anyway," Silrat said waving off Skullius.

The Hybrid Luman shook his head. Even after the immense pain that came with having the soul damaged, Silrat still had enough strength to plan for the future.

Admirable.

"Well? Care to share what happened?" the former Association branch head asked eagerly.

The Hybrid Luman scratched his head.

"I'd rather not," he said much to Silrat's shock.

"But, before you kill me, I can tell you the good that came after the... incident. You'll be pretty happy to hear, I guarantee it."

Silrat folded his arms, his eyes showing nothing but suspicion. This only lasted a few seconds though, as when Skullius told him the good news, his face beamed with optimism!

"This is magnificent!" Silrat almost leapt out of his seat. "If the curse is gone.... Do you understand what this means?!"

"Trust me, I understand that way more than you do," Skullius said with dismissive energy.

"Yes well, perhaps that is the case but the obstacles to what I had planned for you, for us, have been removed! I can finally climb up the ranks in the Guilds Association!"

Skullius raised his brows.

He hadn't seen this much enthusiasm from Silrat before. The man was rubbing his hands with a lost gaze, much like a villain who had finally acquired their McGuffin!

"I suddenly feel like I'm no longer that important here," Skullius said.

"No, no! You're still the central piece. I... Ah, you will leaving soon with Stylla right? There's no time to lay out what I intend in such a short time. But this is amazing news!"

"....Right..." Skullius said, honestly a little weirded out. "By the way, Alaris told me there's some matters that require my attention. Bad news?"

"Indeed there is," Silrat said, the fires of his excitement dimming. "You remember the location of that mission he took? The Creeping Chill?"

"Yes. What about it?"

"..."

Silrat gazed intently at Skullius, detecting not even a sliver of realisation after five seconds.

The gall on this man!

"I'm surprised you didn't think blowing up the small town on that tourist location wouldn't come back to bite you where it hurts. The Guilds Association could have protected you if it was just the word of the townspeople against yours but someone who holds a grudge... took it upon himself to help these people's voices scream louder."

"Hmm? I did get that town destroyed, didn't I?" Skullius said with a bit of a chuckle. Fighting the Grand Flame Bringer outside the Cluster was a fond memory. "Who is this new enemy?"

"I'll give you a few hints. Show off, barriers and lover boy."

Skullius face palmed without a moment's delay.

"That guy?"

Indeed. It was that guy.

The Wardlock he had fought in his Preliminary match!

Kurtish Oldd.

Of course there was just enough pettiness in that man for him to want to go after someone even if he won the match.

Talk about a sore... winner?

"Yes. He pulled some strings in the Guilds Association to find information about you, including some pending dirt. Your current rank has many holes. It seems high but it allows things like this to happen," Silrat said with a scoff. "I'm working on a plan for this though. You'll probably be summoned soon for a hearing but don't worry about it."

Skullius nodded.

This was actually quite the predicament.

As far as he knew, the Oldd Family was a really powerful Family with vast wealth. If they could pull strings from the exclusive side of the Guilds Association, that meant Skullius' higher crutch wasn't as sturdy anymore.

Thankfully, Skullius had Silrat.

Somehow, hearing that Silrat had his back without the trepidation brought on by UNCoddled was... soothing.

"Alright. I'll trust you with it," Skullius said with a subdued smile. He had always wanted to say that to someone who wasn't an original bone bro or an Apostle.

Silrat smirked and extended his hand towards Skullius.

The Hybrid Luman shook it without hesitation.

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