“You know what these are?” Archie pointed at the blue bug between his fingertips.
It looked like a beetle from its wings alone, but it generated light like a firefly. It also seemed to exude mana, despite it being very faint.
“What?” Silas asked.
“It’s called an enchanter beetle. It released some kind of dust that makes people around it feel energized and happy.” Archie explained while letting it go.
‘Sounds like cocaine.’ Silas inwardly sighed.
If everyone in darkness was on cloud 9 all the time, it would be very hard to interact with them.
“Sounds like a drug, right?” Archie asked.
[Enchanter-beetle’s pollen has entered your body]
[You are evolving]
[You are growing resistant to foreign mind-altering chemicals]
‘I guess there are some upsides.’
“Yep.” Silas replied after looking at the screen before him.
They stayed quiet for the rest of the walk. Apparently, Archie needed to make an identification badge in Game Evergreen’s name.
That process didn’t take long. All they needed to know was Silas’ age, height, mana core grade, or toki stage, and do a scan of his body for any health problems that may affect or infect the city’s other residents.
“Give him him level 3 clearing please.” Archie smiled at the woman behind the front desk, causing her to blush and look away.
“Y-Yes sir.” She stuttered before doing as told.
When Silas saw Archie walking toward him, he couldn’t help but ask-
“Girlfriend?”
“No?”
“Wife??”
“What? No!?”
“…”
“…”
“Do you normally flirt with women like that?”
“I didn’t flirt.” Archie looked at Silas like he was stupid.
‘Hmm… So this is how it feels like being the ugly friend.’ Silas sighed.
“Anyway, do you want to see your living space?” Archie asked.
“Sure.” Silas shrugged.
***
“Really…” Silas muttered.
“What? It’s not that small?”
“It’s tiny!” Silas shouted back.
“You’re a kid. It’s like twice as large for you as it us for us.” Archie tried to argue.
“Can you even legally call this a house? Where’s the bathroom? The kitchen? What about the bed… Where the hell is the bed?!”
“In my opinion, this is luxury. It’s also the only house you can afford.”
“…”
“…”
“I mean that you don’t have enough money to buy out the other places for longer than a week or two if you’re lucky.” Archie shrugged. It didn’t feel like he cared about Silas’ situation at all, and it was beginning to piss him off.
Call him entitled, but he liked having a bed to sleep in.
“I thought I was judgement or something.”
“You’re judgment when I officially become the commander. Right now, I’m just the temporary commander until we decide who will be the real commander. That could take a month or two since War’s still in the demon continent.”
“I have money though!”
“You had a lot of money compared to the people in your town. When you get into the cities, the house prices skyrocket, and so does the rent. I’ll give you enough money to last you for this week, but the rest you’ll have to pay out of your own pocket.” Archie crossed his arms and leaned on one of the walls.
“…”
“Though, I do have a job for you in a week’s time when we announce the Death of the commander. If you’re willing-“
“Yes.”
“I didn’t even tell you-“
“Yes.”
“Alright…” He shrugged.
They spoke for a bit longer before Archie eventually left, leaving Silas in his own seclusion, surrounded by four walls that kept him in the tiny 7×4 room.
He sat there silently for a few minutes before he eventually realized he had nothing else to do…
***
Standing in the middle of a forest that spanned for quite a distance, Silas breathed out and rubbed his limbs as a final form of goodbye.
Standing before him was Death with his blonde hair combed back and piercing blue eyes staring at Silas with a worried expression.
“Uhm. On a scale of 1 to 10, how sure are you of this?” Death asked.
Sure, Silas might have killed their commander, but in the end, he looked like a child.
“Can I count on you or not?” Silas asked with an annoyed expression.
“Can’t you… I don’t know, do it yourself?”
“I can, and then when a beast smells my blood and comes over to kill me, I’ll make sure to leave a note in my room telling everyone that you left me out here to die.” Silas rolled his eyes.
“Bastard.” Death spat.
“At least you’ve seen my dad. Where’s yours? Oh, wait. Did little Death get abandoned by his father? Aww. Don’t worry; I can be your father.”
“This is why no one like you.” Death tried his best to control himself.
“So you’ll break my bones?” Silas asked with a hint of excitement that sent a chill down Death’s spine.
“Yes. Let’s get it over and done with-“
*Swoosh*
Killing intent exploded out of Silas’ body.
“Give me everything you’ve got!” Silas roared as his body disappeared from where he stood before appearing in front of Death with his arm cocked back and his emerald eyes blazing like two miniature suns.
Silas wasn’t using his brain while fighting for the first time in forever. He was moving solely on instinct, allowing his body to do the fighting instead of his mind.
After all, this wasn’t a form of training that would strengthen his mind. It was training designed to destroy and reconstruct his entire body from the ground up. Of course, that also meant that Silas wouldn’t win for a very long time.
It also meant that he wasn’t allowed to use any of the elemental fusions, dropping Silas’ physical capabilities back to the lower pristine topaz level, while death was at the very least capable of taking on a beast in the higher end of the solid amethyst core.
“Remember, you asked for this…” Death muttered while tapping on his chest.
His body was instantly covered in a light armor that could barely be seen under the black cloak.
Death’s arm blurred as his fist clashed with Silas’, creating a bloodcurdling crunch echoing throughout the forest.
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