Bro, I'm not an Undead!

Escus did not show signs of fear. r

Admittedly, his greed had dulled his judgement on that day a year and a half ago when he saw Demion enter the Ruined Starlight City. He had not thought his friend's determination alone would allow him to claim a legacy that many had failed at winning for themselves but here they were.r

He had been wrong.r

It seemed that determination and a righteous heart was what won in the end.r

Escus' lust for Irisa had also brought him here, where the world would either devour his or Demion's blood and will.r

But regardless of how much the odds were stacked against him, Escus would not allow himself to fall. In preparation for Demion's wrath that would definitely find him someday with or without the legacy, he had scoured and found a weapon to defend himself just in case.r

A Mythical grade Spear with the name Letting Dawn Space.r

While wielding this weapon in preparation for battle, Escus had turned to Irisa who was watching the unfolding events from a distance with tears running down her eyes and spoken his last words to her.r

"I should have known. When even worldly objects refused to see your face, I should have gouged out my eyes back then."r

Amidst Irisa's mourns, the battle between the two men had ensued. It was a catastrophic battle that lasted a little more than day as even with Demion's new might, Escus had contended brilliantly with his Mythical spear.r

Sadly, the uncomforming former Commander was killed in the end, falling under the Appetent Guzzler's full might and the treacherous motions of his sword technique that were quite literally, a mesmerising dance.r

The result of the battle was another meaningless death.r

Demion had looked to Irisa with his spear deep in Escus' chest wanting to kill her too, but he stopped himself. His true will held down the urge for senseless murder.r

He took the woman as well as her child in, going on to settle with her back in her birth lands where he ruled with a growing empire.r

Demion no longer felt any affection towards her, but she still did. Burning embers of what Escus had thought was a mere craving for her past life of pleasing men were actually true love born within Irisa from finally meeting a man who resisted her outer beauty.r

Demion didn't know it, but there had never been a spark of attraction between Escus and Irisa at all. She had merely lived with the man, serving his lusts day by day, which she saw him grow old with rather quickly, soon turning to demanding that she bear his children.r

Truly, lust was finite.r

To try and win Demion back, Irisa gifted the Appetent Guzzler a weapon of unknown origins.r

Perhaps it was a trinket she had found in passing on their journey.r

Perhaps she had found it in the months she and Escus spent trying to find peaceful solitude? Perhaps he had given it to her for self defence.r

Whatever it was, on a very special day, Irisa gave this sword to Demion, hoping to show that she was grateful for being delivered from Escus. That their battle and its result had freed her.r

This weapon was a Mythical grade level object with a green curved blade and golden hilt.r

The eyes of the Appetent Guzzler had shone with wonder when he saw the sword and upon wielding it, traits that Demion felt attached to became imprinted on its blade with the power of 'truth.'r

The grim battle with a friend, the betrayal from a lover and his new might.r

Demion never forgave Irisa and they grew apart as the days went by, with the Appetent Guzzler wanting to conquer more while Irisa focused on becoming a mother.r

Then, as if the world had finally decided to enact punishment against Demion, a man from one of the Six Houses of Pelian acted against this conquer, finally.r

A man by the name Uriyal Shannazah.r

In a single day, in a single hour, he ended the legacy of the Nameless Conqueror and brought down his growing empire in the still recovering and still maturing nation of Pelian.r

As if direction chortled with ridicule at their lives, Demion's body was sealed back in the Ruined Starlight City, the entrance to this mysterious place destroyed by House Shannazah.r

Irisa and her children were taken by some unnamed invaders after the fall of Demion's tyranny and their fates were anything but pleasant to their last days.r

...r

When Skullius thought about this story, he couldn't help but grimace at its tragic ending. If he ended up sharing the same fate as Demion – being sealed back where the last holder of his power perished – that would be tragic.r

He imagined that the Nameless Conqueror was also defeated by some horrifically powerful expert who showed up out of nowhere to put him down, which was strangely poetic. r

Ambitions trampled in their rise twice.r

Skullius wasn't that ambitious or evil, though, he did wonder how exactly Fulgardt had died. That part of history wasn't recited very well. All he knew was that Fulgardt attained Divinity through some emotional trigger and became so vile that he was called the Immoral. He crossed worlds to abduct powerful beings and commit atrocities that most weren't even aware of and after that... what exactly happened?r

Damn it! r

Would Skullius' end if he was consumed by Fulgardt's powers be good or bad?r

Who knew?r

As he gazed at the green blade, Demion's Dance, Skullius found himself wondering again.r

He got that this sword used to be more powerful than just a measly Unique grade item in the past, but its properties now were so weak that he wasn't sure if there was something that still remained of its former glory, trying to push it back to its height?r

Was it still special?r

'We'll find out someday,' Skullius thought.r

He entered his room and held the Elimparidis Stone Staff to transport himself into Fortune. Once there Skullius took deep breaths and looked around, appreciating how far he had come. There were a few additions to the overall world, especially where the stout mountain had been. Skullius had replaced the massive hole there with something else.r

But that was not important right now.r

Skullius flashed his way into the thick forest where he felt most uncomfortable.r

He sat on one of the branches to a large tree while overlooking the canopies of the surrounding shorter vegetation.r

Perfect.r

"Now let's see what all these skills can do," Skullius said as he immediately chose to begin with [Lesser Gravel Rune Mastery].r

Because he had the memories from Hobbu Gogo, he didn't have to start from scratch to learn how these runes worked. In fact, if not for the fact that the full capability of the runes was nerfed in his hands because he didn't have the relevant class, Skullius would have been able to use all the Rune networks the old goblin could!r

'It's weird that these Gravel Runes are constructed from an appreciation of nature. Well, the land in particular hence the name. If I was a complete beginner, I'd only be able to manifest the runes on the natural ground. Hmph. I can't imagine only being able to use these runes to filter running water or something,' Skullius thought with a scowl.r

That would have been depressing.r

The full capabilities of the Gravel Runes included reinforcement, empowerment, enabling, protection, sealing, temporary storage and conjuring.r

Skullius was only limited to reinforcement, sealing, temporary storage and protection right now. Maybe it would chance later but for now, this was all he got.r

The Hybrid Luman infused mana into his finger and traced the shapes of seven runes in the air. As he drew, the runes, bright and pristine as they were hung in the air steadily, their brightness egging on Skullius to use them.r

Skullius smirked and extend his hand into the space where he had drawn these runes. r

Surprisingly, his arm sank in, as if swallowed by a watery, conforming surface of blank space where the runes were drawn on!r

Space rippled as Skullius' hand moved around within the unseen fold of the newly created temporary storage. It looked as if his arm had been severed from the elbow if one looked from a side view.r

"Nice," Skullius said.r

This was the Temporary Storage function of the runes.r

The space afforded wasn't too big and Skullius couldn't store things forever in there – there was a time limit of 40 days till his stored items were spat out – but there were benefits to it.r

There was no need for an item, a conduit, to use for the act of storing, meaning that Skullius didn't have to worry about losing all his stuff when the medium for storage was harmed. Also, Skullius could access this storage from anywhere. It wasn't like setting up the runes here firmly placed the storage in Fortune. It was anywhere he wanted it to be as long as he assembled the runes correctly!r

This was convenient!r

Though Skullius already knew, he grew excited to check out what the other runes looked like when he was using them!r