Bro, I'm not an Undead!

"So. What do you say?" Tulnas pumped the pressure on Terian and Damilla.

In an ideal situation, it would have been very appropriate to reject Tulnas' proposal and explain to the City Lord later.

These twos' judgement mattered too after all as they were high ranking officials in the Capital service.

Unfortunately for them, it wasn't that simple.

Tulnas merely stated that Festos was relevant for the mission. But how relevant?

Was he what tied the whole thing together, or was this just a ruse to free this man and make him a centrepiece for the Guilds Association because of his supposed dangerous abilities?

It wasn't clear.

"That depends. If Festos is so important in this method of yours, then he will be needed over all the three nations for your method to work? Doesn't this make your so-called message to all the other branches of the Guilds Association worthless?" Damilla asked without the slightest intention of hiding her hostility towards Tulnas.

"No," Tulnas replied succinctly, also openly showing his complete disregard for the twos' opposition and authority.

He didn't explain further.

He could but he didn't.

Terian's skin creased.

This man was refusing to be reasonable.

He could just tell them why Festos was important for this but no doubt, he enjoyed his social and economic position which he rightfully claimed with his own hard work.

As he saw it now, the best option was to let Festos go with Tulnas.

He staked it all on the fact that this arrogant bastard wouldn't suddenly help Skullius leave the city as that would bruise his reputation with the City Lord and the College of the Esteemed.

That would be viewed as letting a serial killer walk away without paying for crimes.

Potentially, this could extend to the whole city, which could appease Terian's wrath which kept gnawing at his throat like a virus.

He turned to Damilla who seemed to want to initiate a staredown, probably because she was still sour from having been shown such disrespect, a gesture she wasn't used to.

She truly didn't know as much as she thought about the people of this city, especially about this Guild that was hailed as the second strongest.

"Very well. I'll allow you to have temporary custody of Festos, but this will not exempt him from his punishment. A limit of two days is what I'll afford you. He must be back here by then," Terian said with a dangerous tone.

Tulnas leaned forward and stared him down fearlessly.

"Sure, old man," he said.

He knew that Terian was just as stubborn as him and had thus conceded.

Without the City lord's intervention, this was as much as he could get from Terian and it wasn't all that bad.

The priority was to get Skullius out and about, and that had been a success.

Also, he didn't haggle on a better alternative because while he hid it quite well, time was running out as this method of his concerned not an object, but a certain party.

Terian stood up and breathed out an agitated cloud of hot air that had traces of crackling flames before leaving the room, Damilla following behind.

She gave Skullius one last glare but the Discount Human merely grinned at her, holding himself back from saying any bone profanities.

He had to give it to Silrat.

This was a rather cool and unexpected play.

Naturally, many questions remained, including the fact that Skullius didn't actually know the real reason why Tulnas wanted him.

Even back then, the man had shown interest in him before he publicised his class.

Silrat planted his fingers to the side of his temples and gently rubbed them.

"I wouldn't call it a stellar victory but it is a victory nonetheless. Will two days be enough though, Tulnas? You know that geezer will haunt you if you take your time, right?" he asked as he gazed at Tulnas, whose temperament didn't change.

"Yeah. I can work with it. Although I didn't tell him how dangerous this mission is, it matters that I fully know that. Time is of the essence so I don't mind about the deadline. Still though..." Tulnas said as he turned his sharp eyes to Skullius. "You really better be worth it for me to go through all this trouble."

Skullius shook. Not from fright but from the sudden shift in Tulnas' tone.

He was dead serious, which made him wonder why he was the one supposed to prove his worth when this guy was the one who expressed interest first!

"Oh, he is. I value Oliviana's opinion greatly and she says that he is well beyond the D rank he was first assigned and is potentially already a C rank," Silrat defended Skullius.

"Rank C? From D? In a few days? Hmm. That's ridiculous to hear. Yet I can't find it within myself to doubt it," Tulnas said.

The ranks within the Association were adopted outside the organisation as well as most of the cities chose to grade their fighting forces this way.

Rank C and above was given to those that were stable powerhouses strong enough to be used in situations where high ranking Clusters were involved.

For more context on the power gaps, Stylla would be considered a high end C rank.

Terian was a powerhouse considered to be at the B+ rank, just shy of A rank.

Tulnas, was a high end B ranker.

The Guild leader suddenly paused and shook his head lightly, emitting an annoyed 'tsk.'

Though he did this while staring at Skullius, this gesture didn't seem to be directed at the Discount Human.

Silrat knew what it was though but didn't comment.

After a brief moment, Tulnas looked focused again and addressed Skullius.

"I suppose I'll be having the privilege of having another Energy Former in my Guild. At least for a few weeks..."

"Days!" Silrat corrected with a high pitched voice.

"Right. Days. I'm definitely being swindled here," Tulnas said as he leaned lazily on the comfy chair.

"Huh?" Skullius had a giant question mark above his head.

What the hell were these guys talking about?

Was he being loaned to Tulnas or something?

But...

"Anyway, according to Silrat, it's much safer to see and treat you like an asset more than a partner or friend. Can't say it's that hard when it's another man I have to endure. I'm not used to it," Tulnas said while nodding to himself, seemingly spacing out. "Don't be too mesmerised by my pretties, alright? They can bite. Literally."

The Discount Human didn't quite catch that, but Tulnas didn't care.

He rose and turned to Silrat.

"Anything else you need to say before we leave?"

Sensing that this meeting was drawn to a close, Skullius decided to slide in a plea of his.

"Uhm...excuse me. Could I do something before we go?"

"What would that be?" Silrat asked.

"Well, you see. There's this sword I was having fixed..."