Bro, I'm not an Undead!

Skullius froze.

He wasn’t expecting to hear something like this.

How the heck did this guy know that he had a Hidden class?!

The unwavering intent that streamed from Tulnas’ eyes made him aware that this man had already confirmed it with his reaction just now.

‘Damn it!’

Mannerisms that didn’t give away stuff about himself so easily were things that Skullius still struggled with.

“It seems like my ‘friend’ was right,” Tulnas said as he withdrew his intense stare on Skullius.

“Tch! I actually wished it wasn’t true for once. Maybe then you’d stop bragging all the damn time!”

“Huh?” Skullius once again questioned this line that Tulnas mumbled to himself in a begrudging tone.

“I wasn’t talking to you,” the young Guild leader said before he coughed awkwardly, his man bun at the back of his head swinging his head movements.

‘That’s… weird.’_.

Skullius wondered what would come next. Would he pry?

That had been the thing he had gotten used to since Damilla, and he couldn’t help but assume that this was next.

‘Should I reveal it? I feel like that would be extremely dangerous though. The Green Neolists were involved in this before, right? Wouldn’t telling someone that I have this hidden class lead to one of them eventually finding out?’ Skullius wondered while keeping his eyes on Tulnas.

He didn’t believe anything could remain hidden forever anymore.

“Don’t look at me like that. I was just verifying if it was true. Your value as a Mage who has started embarking on the path to Class Branching is already enough to catch my interest. This just adds a bit more spice to the mix,” Tulnas said with a genuine smile.

He aimed to convince Skullius that he truly wasn’t out to screw him over.

The Discount Human thought about it.

“If that’s the case, then what about this method of yours to stop the Clusters? Am I really that important for it?” Skullius asked.

“Oh, that? Absolutely not. My deal with Silrat was to get you out of that sticky situation by leveraging you as an important piece when it comes to stopping the emerging Clusters. The rest after that was for me to claim you for a few days as member of the Guild because of your value. Though I should say we are not out of the woods yet.”

“To completely free you from the charges, you have to ACT the part of an integral piece to dealing with the Cluster problem. Simply put, your reputation will rise if you’re in the party that solved the international crisis that has everyone cowering in their homes. This should be enough to give you a bright light in the public eye and even in Erkus’ eye.”

Skullius slowly processed this information. It proved to be quite a slow endeavour as it took him quite a bit of time.

After a full two minutes of thinking, Skullius finally responded..

“Won’t they want to know how I was important in dealing with the problem later?” he asked.

“Of course they will. I’m sure Damilla would be out to get you. She’ll probably even try to divine you after the mission to see if the facts line up, haha,” Tulnas chortled. “However, Silrat has a plan for that. It also acts as the contingency for if, and that’s a strong if, this whole thing fails to release you from the charges on you for the incident you caused.”

“I see,” Skullius nodded.

For some reason, when Tulnas had mentioned that Skullius wasn’t exactly relevant to this whole ordeal, he deflated.

Such was the case when one was told they weren’t as important as they thought.

However, Skullius had something more to ask Tulnas.

“You say all of this like it’s very normal. Don’t you have a problem with what I did? I killed many people. Everyone seems to have a problem with that. Don’t you?”

The Discount Human didn’t ask this to find some sort of validation or to see where he stood in Tulnas’ books but out of genuine curiosity.

Didn’t this man see him as the monster that Erkus, Terian and Damilla seemed to?

For Silrat he could understand as the man was the very clear about valuing profit over morality, but Tulnas seemed different.

He didn’t strike Skullius as the type who was motivated by only money despite the flashy arrogance.

He didn’t seem like a Jac.

Tulnas looked amused by this question, even going so far as to chuckle.

He hadn’t expected such a question.

“That’s an interesting question. Are you questioning where my morality and ideals lie? If that’s the case then…”

Tulnas seemed to drift off in thought as he spoke.

“My heart gravitates towards vulnerability and influence, I suppose. I didn’t have a rough background as some would assume but I always wanted to do more than just to have enough. They call it ambition.”

“I enjoy seeing the vulnerable and weak flourish under my care. I find the innate vulnerability that some women share in our society to be a source of strength. Being openly vulnerable as a woman is overlooked but as a man… it’s shunned. I believe the reason is because women are made complete when they meet an ideal man. And when you complete them, they bloom with overwhelming power. Having tens of them by my side is like infinitely fueling myself with complete beings that share their very souls with me.”

Skullius listened attentively.

He didn’t know the first thing about women and so didn’t have much of an opinion but…

“That’s not what I asked,” he said with a frown.

“I know. Let me finish,” Tulnas said as he raised his legs to set them on top of the desk.

“When it comes to influence, I believe it’s cultivated by putting in the work. I’ve travelled to all three of the nations in Feinheath, finding grand things in each, as well as fighting unique opponents. It’s with this that I made myself somebody despite being at the lowest wrungs when I started.”

Tulnas leaned in back further on the chair, his elbows on the armrests. His blue eyes gleamed as his tone grew lower.

“I’ve TAMED powerful beasts and dangerous men. TAMED bestial beauties and even mana itself. Now let me answer your question with one of my own.”

“Taking my entire speech into account, does it seem like I haven’t put a few thousand men and women to the sword for nothing but selfish benefit?”

Gulp.

Skullius got this man’s point instantly.

Why would he care for Skullius killing a few hundred when he had murdered thousands for the sake of personal gain?

The Discount Human finally got it.

He was right.

This man was different.

Skullius nodded, feeling himself getting warmer to this first class sockethole.

“Alright then. So, what is this method to get rid of the Clusters anyway?” Skullius asked.

This had been the topic of concern before their conversation drifted off the rails.

Tulnas languidly huffed.

“It’s pretty simple,” he said. “All we have to do, is kill the fools who are causing them. A certain group of cultists who have settled near a city under my jurisdiction. The Evenfall.”