Chapter 60: A Discount Human's Resolve

"Did that bastard just ditch me?!" Denille barked as she sensed from the arrow that was lodged into Skullius that he was getting further and further away from her!

The nerve!

Her natural instinct was to follow and bash Skullius' head in, but the battle instinct forged after years of combat and honing her skills immediately alarmed her of the danger that she was currently up against!

One wrong move could lead to a disaster even though she had noted that this creature basically didn't attack without being attacked first.

The humanoid stood motionlessly, its figure looking to have many openings but Denille knew better, or rather, she was beginning to understand what was going on with it.

First though...

'Should I just cut off my mana supply from that idiot? No, I can't. We really might need him to get out of here,' she thought before she took another arrow and placed it on her bow with the seething fury within her almost spilling front her mouth like vomit.

Denille couldn't imagine that she was already forced to use her full strength right here, which made her feel utterly helpless. The thing about using her full strength right now, was that she probably wouldn't be able to fight when it came to the upcoming monsters that she had to face.

'Barely meet the requirements, my ass! We aren't qualified for this! Screw you, Benzard!' she cursed in her mind.

Denille took a step back towards the direction that led to the rest of the labyrinth.

As soon as she did, the creature with the odachi took a step forward, following her.

'I guess I can't make a tactical retreat. Why does that bastard get a free pass then?' she thought as her body began to bubble with a thick blanket of mana that lit up the surroundings.

In as much as the situation was disadvantageous, Denille refused to lose fodder. 

She was going to have to pull out her biggest guns if she wanted to leave here alive though.

***

Skullius was jogging lightly as he traversed down  the dark corridor, his feet creating echoes that resounded all around.

Flesh light!

Who needed it anyway?

His eyes were already beginning to adjust to the darkness, the view getting more vivid as time passed.

Was running away from someone who was more capable of fighting than he was a wise choice? 

Well, for Skullius it was the better choice. His fate was practically sealed if his team got what they wanted. Why would he give them that satisfaction?

'I'm not going to stand around and wait to be hacked to pieces. How can I feel reassured when my 'partner' is being thrashed right in front of me?!' he thought.

Seeing how Denille was getting the pretty beaten out of her, Skullius had decided to dip. There was no use cheering on the losing team.

His sudden dip wasn't a choice based solely off of fear but it was also tactical.

As he ran, Skullius checked the mana supply from the arrow that was in his body. Even with the distance he had covered, there was still a steady supply that streamed into his body but it was reduced by an insignificant degree.

He was still in range and it seemed that Denille wasn't going to kill the supply of mana to him just yet as his words eariler had gotten to her and the rest.

"Hehe..." Skullius gave a less-Bony-than-normal chuckle.

Skullius went on while being mindful of the supply of mana that he immediately manipulated with [Basic Mana Manipulation] to rush to his core instead of raging within his body.

For some distance, there was nothing new, the smooth grey walls that surrounded him being as plain as they could be. It was almost demotivating for Skullius as he expected there to something that added a bit to more of a unique aesthetic to the place like skulls and gems, just like how Somanda did with his abode.

Add a few skeletons lying around, some blood, winds that sound like screams, roaming ghosts and you'd yourself a true labyrinth.

Soon, Skullius sensed something that made him hold on. The narrow corridor had suddenly expanded, widening to form three paths whose openings bore nothing in the way of visibility.

They were equally dark with an ominous air about them that caused Skullius to get even more anxious.

Such situations weren't his forte, as he had barely had to choose anything in the mines. It was all predetermined after all. A choice like this almost made him feel uncomfortable.

The Discount Human didn't hesitate for long however. Since he had decided to take more risks in the name of his own preservation, he had to move forward and choose what he thought wasn't a spiked room full of Azilas and Onumbasssssses.

Of the three paths, Skullius chose the second one which faced the main path that he had been on.

Why?

Why not?

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With non-existent confidence, Skullius walked in and focused his vision. The darkness here seemed to be of a different quality than the simple lack of light he had been in since he walked into this Labyrinth.

As he took a few more steps, Skullius felt something beating against him like a heavy wind. It carried a certain weight to it like dense moisture but he couldn't see anything in this darkness.

The sensation began to get heavier and heavier until Skullius could barely handle it. He pushed himself forward, dragging his feet as in the next moment...

[You have been exposed to the 'Evil Darkness'. Your righteousness is being challenged. No righteousness detected]

'What? Righteousness? What does this mean?' Skullius thought while still struggling against the tide which he now realised to be this Evil Darkness. What was it? Some element? An ancient power?

As he took a few more steps forward, the intense darkness suddenly vanished, replaced by an extremely bright golden white light that completely blinded him!

Skullius covered his eyes.

The heavy sensation he felt vanished, a feeling of weightlessness overcoming him as he steadied himself.

As if the barrage of surprises wasn't enough, another marvel happened!

Skullius' body flickered, a tall bony frame overlapping with his human form continuously!

He looked at himself, seeing his Boneman form occasionally popping up and he felt a sense of longing.

[You have been exposed to 'Just Light'. Your hidden evil is being challenged. No hidden evil detected]

'Hmm? Now it's hidden evil? Am I evil?' Skullius thought. 'It says I'm not right? I guess the constant killing I've done isn't really bad huh? Though I did enjoy the heck out of it.'

The fact that this light was able to uncover his hidden Boneman form was something that Skullius took note of as it spelled how strong it was.

What was this darkness? What was this light?

Another notification appeared in front of Skullius.

[Fellow human. You have been judged to not be conformed by the concepts of evil or righteousness. You are motivated by unbiased desire. You have been nominated to be a carrier of both 'Evil Darkness' and 'Just Light'. Do you accept?]

"Ohhh...." Skullius said, watching the blinking notification before his eyes. "To be a carrier? What does this mean?"

Caution spun in Skullius' mind as he thought. He wasn't really biased towards having either light or darkness. What were they but things that existed? Could being a carrier of them be a bad thing?

Probably not.

"Might as well see what it's about, right?" Skullius thought before giving a hesitant 'yes'.

As soon as that word left his mouth, Skullius felt a burst of two extremely different powers invade his body!

One was overbearing and heavy, exerting its dominance over his flickering frame while the other was extravagant, giving him a light sensation as it planted itself into his very being!

Soon, the surge of energy stopped and Skullius found himself standing at an intersection where only two paths were standing before him while the usual darkness was surrounding him.

[Congratulations, you are one of the few, rare challengers capable of carrying both 'Evil Darkness' and 'Just Light'. The vestiges of Fulgardt grin with approval]

[You have gained 'Evil Darkness' affinity]

[You have gained 'Just Light' affinity]

Skullius hurriedly checked his status and saw two new affinities plastered into his panel. 

"Hoo... I wonder what they can do. Does everyone who come here get these Affinities? Can I use them even now?" Skullius thought as he then looked at the darkness that surrounded him with the two paths awaiting his choice.

Unlike the last time, Skullius felt the difference between the paths. 

One had an overbearing aura that threatened to choke him to death while the other had a relatively weaker presence.

However, with [Basic Mana Manipulation], Skullius could feel the immense hostility coming from the relatively weaker presence while from the other, he didn't feel such.

Should he choose the path with the stronger presence but no hostility, or the one with the weaker presence with the heavy killing intent?

There was an invisible 'wants to kill you' floating above the path with the weaker presence but Skullius was willing to bet his money on this path.

But then, what about having to face a docile powerhouse who would give you a short nod while you went on ahead without a hitch?

That sounded promising.

Without further ado, Skullius made his choice....

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