Bro, I'm not an Undead!

The abrupt change in the colour of the subspace caused Skullius' three companions to grow wary.

At first, they hadn't recognised that this change had been brought about by the same Discount Human who looked to be cowering under the blue and white shield.

It didn't seem like it.

Who would believe that someone like that could suddenly spawn such a skill that not only changed the atmosphere visually, but brought on a rippling heat into the air?!

This was incomparable to that small darting ball that he had conjured which could be classified as a mere parlour trick when truly powerful Cluster beasts were involved.

Yet...

When the three saw the bright red orb that Skullius held in his other hand, they were beyond shocked.

Bron took a step back.

Skullius first gave him a glance before dropping his shield and facing Father Sunlight!

The Discount Human had requested to face the Cluster General alone in addition to taking its core as his own because he feared the technicalities he had seen when it came to his Tasks. It had to be him who acquired whatever was required of him from the source.

The human head sized ball warped the air with its head, its colour giving everyone a deep sense of dread.

Skullius didn't waste time appreciating the three's faces a bit more especially Bron's and flung the ball at Father Sunlight, who had backed away a bit from having this fierce heat exposed to his body!

And thus the skill, [Revenant Flames of Ecstasy] flew in its compounded form, rushing over to devour its opponent which merely crossed its arms before its body!

The trailing red that followed the ball echoed with malice as in the next moment, an explosion of pure flame lit up the space further, dying it in a deep red before releasing roaring flames that bathed the dry lands!

The flames washed over Father Sunlight like a sea, the giant sunflower releasing pained groans from a mouth that did not exist as quickly, its green and yellow shades turned darker and darker!

"I'll be damned..." Bron muttered as he looked at the scene ahead in shock.

He had taken the words out of Fore's mouth.

He and crew had dashed a distance away to avoid facing the full brunt of the heat as it seemed to only exclude Skullius from its clutches!

Fore had on an expression of surprise too along with Stylla, but unlike the other two, she merely expressed it mildly with her eyes.

What an interesting find Skullius was.

Such an individual who was both passionate about physical combat and mage craft was rare just like with most other classes.

Diversification was rarely seen even though it was one of the ways to unlock advanced classes.

As everyone was truly convinced that this was done with, gaining a newfound respect for Skullius as well, something... peculiar occurred.

The groans of pain from Father Sunlight turned... erotic.

It was strange that this registered in all four of the minds of the party members.

The giant man-flower swooned and swayed, rubbing its giant leaf arms against its 'sensitive' parts; the petals and its fruit that were already burning away!

It was naturally flexible as it seemed to be doing an erotic dance for Skullius who speechless stood before it as it burned, thick fumes gushing from its massive body.

Conspicuous marking ran along its petals as it burned but just like with the Knights at the library, this escaped Skullius' view.

"..."

No one said anything during the performance, the flower turning to ash less than a minute later as thereafter, the flames died down.

[You have killed (III) Sun Gazer. 540,000 Exp awarded]

[Congratulations you have killed a Cluster General]

[This Cluster General fueling this space has been killed. Cluster will commence collapse. Please exit immediately]

Skullius tore himself out of his embarrassed paralysis and dashed over to the ashes of Father Sunlight, the Sun Gazer.

He rummaged through the ashes and found the dead core he sought, sighing in relied afterwards.

He decisively used the strongest skill available to him to defeat the Cluster General as waiting any longer would have warranted his party members helping him which posed a risk for obvious reasons.

He was happy to find that even the [Revenant Flames of Ecstasy] couldn't destroy a dead core as that would have been... problematic.

A crack in the space leading to Aigas had emerged where they had entered from and Skullius found Stylla urging him to hurry up.

Soon, the four were out of the Cluster and they watched the cracks that represented the space within disappear from the grassy view.

Four Conqueror's Halos appeared around the four individuals, flare light lights giving them a unique brilliance.

Skullius saw a few other notifications along with this change but one of them wasn't beneficial to him.

Four Conqueror's Halos appeared around the four individuals, flare light lights giving them a unique brilliance.

[You have relieved the good people of Aigas from a great danger. You will now be bestowed a BLESSING from the Deities]

....

[The 'Binds of Fukal' resist. The BLESSING bestowal has failed]

[You have received a 'Conqueror's Halo' for clearing a 'Low level Cluster']

Skullius sighed in disappointment. Faint glows appeared over his partners in addition to the halos which he assumed were the augmentation to their blessings.

"I must say, I underestimated you. I thought it was all talk but you really just took out a Cluster General on your own. I thought Stylla was bluffing you out when she agreed to your conditions too," Fore said while Bron nodded with a 'hah' expression, his lips downturned in lingering emotions of shock.

That power.

"I hate to admit it but I was also ready to jump in and void our agreement. Glad you proved us wrong though," Stylla said with a smile.

For some reason, she didn't seem nearly as surprised as he hoped she would be.

"You got your core right? You won't be needing more Cluster General cores?"

"No, this is enough," replied Skullius as he saw the blinking notification that told of his elevation to level 3, the boosts of five points to each stat washing over him.

Skullius' muscles tightened as he felt a distinct change, his mana increasing by 10 whole point along with his health.

'I can't get used to this...' he said.

This was better.

The Discount Human then input more experience to fulfill the required of Exp for the next level which was 4000 and received the next Task immediately.

When looking at it, Skullius wasn't at all surprised or perturbed. It seemed reasonable really. The only issue was that he had done it before, but probably because it wasn't the current required Task at the time, it wasn't registered.

~~~

Exp : 4000/4000

Fourth Task : Clear a Cluster without assistance

~~~

'I wonder if these guys will allow it. They just admitted to not wanting to let me do anything alone earlier.'

Stylla noticed Skullius' expression and guessed that he had probably finished attempting a Task. It had only been a guess at first but after seeing him relish in the addition to his strength, she confirmed it.

But which Deity would ask a human to not get help from others though?

It wasn't exactly outlandish but it was just too... specific for a Foundation Stage combatant.

This was particularly dangerous for someone of Skullius' level despite what he had shown.

Unlike Fore and Bron, she had noticed Skullius' band which seemed to have some sort of effect on his mana. Probably increasing its amount.

She was very sensitive to stuff like this, and the existence of this band on Skullius made her less impressed with his earlier show of power.

Not that she didn't think he was decently strong though.

"Are you good to go for a few more before the main course?" Stylla asked Skullius.

"Of course," Skullius replied to which Stylla nodded. "But... I do have another small condition..."