Bro, I'm not an Undead!

Chapter 1234: Explaining Everything (2)



"You're... you're actually serious," Silrat said as the biscuit he had been chewing slipped from his fingers, a dumbfounded look appearing on his face. He had settled comfortably into his cushion while listening to Replicus' narration, but now, he sat bolt upright.

"Yeah. I'm serious. I don't look it, but I was an undead minion at one point. A miner," the Progeny said.

Theurien barely managed to sip the fresh, cool beverage in his glass, an odd smile on his face.

He pressed his temples.

A series of questions and emotions burst forth from his mind, threatening to overwhelm his mental faculties, but right then, a cool, calming sensation floated through him. The glittery bits falling from the wings of the giant butterfly they were riding, caused all his tension to wash away.

He and Silrat sighed and they once again pressed against their cushions.

Silrat rubbed his chin vigorously. He had no words.

Of the people here, apart from Elita - who hadn't shown any reaction to the revelation by Replicus just now - he had known Skullius the longest. As a Discount Human, Silrat had always found Skullius odd.

He was odd looking.

He had odd catchphrases.

He had odd companions in Red Rage and Ferex.

But the former Guild Association Head had always chalked this collection of oddities up to quirks of those who were talented.

And indeed, Silrat had believed that Skullius was simply a talented Mage back then when he made a Tie of Exchange with him. Tulnas, the Tamer from Inhone City, leader of the Harem Guild, had also noted how 'talented' Skullius was and ignored how weird his speech patterns - and also his face - was.

Silrat had then spent much of his time with the Discount Human, the two allying themselves with Stylla Bryne who wanted Skullius to participate in the Premium Age Royale in order to find a way to save her father, Theurien, who had been cursed.

Never in the months they grew to be partners, and then friends - after Skullius got rid of the UNCoddled curse - did Silrat ever imagine that he was pals with a former undead minion.

On Aigas, because of the days before Jiggorrhax repaired the Rules, when many undead roamed the land, pillaging and destroying, Undeath was not seen favourably. Skullius had learned of this first hand in the Tremur Forest.

Theurien gave a deep sigh.

"Maybe... maybe my mind simply can't wrap my mind around this," he said. "You were under an Arch-Lich and you managed to escape?"

"That's right," Replicus confirmed with a sigh. He knew he had to be patient with these two and explain every detail little by little.

The strength in one of his arms had finally returned... to a modest degree. He raised it, as everyone (Silrat, Theurien, Elita, Yuyui and Soidon) watched.

He then used Maximum Catalyst's Reversion on the arm, and it changed from being a full, fleshy arm of ebony hue and ceramic texture, to a small (proportionally) skeletal arm that had a faint signature of Undeath!

...!!!

Everyone was surprised. Even Elita.

"That's Undeath energy!" Soidon exclaimed.

"This is just an application of one of my abilities. I can devolve and evolve any part of myself and others. Since I used to be an undead - a Moronic Undead - I can access the state I was in back then. This doesn't apply for very long though, probably because Undeath is a power beyond the means of Maximum Catalyst," Replicus explained.

Though pretty much no one fully understood his last sentence, his elaboration on what he had just done remained clear. Better yet, it helped Silrat and Theurien get a better handle on what Replicus was saying about his origins.

"I may have been cut off from Undeath, but I'm not exactly free. I still have ties to the Lich who created me- or rather, abused my soul. And I suppose, that is pretty much a direct reason why the whole situation with this other me exists," Replicus said, glancing at his Hybrid Luman body which was being tended to by the Strawlers a short distance away among the flowers.

He restored his arm to its original state.

With that, he gave a summary of events and reasoning for his actions from when he arrived in the Tremur Forest: How he met Eobald, the man who gave him the Universal Gate Key to the Labyrinth of the Yoke; how he then met Benzard, Denille, Irlen and Reon; how he got cursed by Somanda with UNCoddled; how he entered the Labyrinth; how he met Sila (he figured he might as well tell everyone); how he met the Arch-Luminant Dezrael; how he met a bunch of crazy powerful experts in Fulgardt's Hall; how he met Sause; how he saw Fulgardt's corpse; how he got Fulgardt's legacy and how made a Tie of Exchange with Sause where the Giant would help him reclaim his soul from Somanda in exchange for helping him exit the Labyrinth.

After he explained this, Silrat and Theurien were already feeling bloated, as though the information they were fed was too much for their brains and was thus making for their stomachs.

Even Elita was a bit stunned that when she met Skullius, he had already experienced such things.

Replicus continued, explaining how he met Elita after exiting the Tremur; how they parted - with him thinking she died as a result of the UNCoddled curse; how he got to Inhone City partnered with Tulnas and his Guild to help stop the Evenfall cultists, thereby meeting the man who would lead the Evenfall in the future - Guissepo; how he met the masked man for the first time and faced off against Somanda who was possessing the treasure SoSei.

Silrat and Theurien were gobsmacked. They visibly sweated.

The Progeny felt a bit sorry for them. He hadn't even gotten to the crazy stuff yet. Replicus went on. He told of how he went to Harifrast City and got his core destroyed as a result of Sila's possession; how he recreated his mana core with better standard, and how he found the Temple of Unlusted Tears where he met Yuyui through Sila's guidance.

"I see," Elita said as Replicus reached this point. She looked at Yuyui. "I never would have pegged you for someone with a Hidden Class from that wretched band of women though. I've read about them. The Order of the Trodden Rose, they called themselves. Those twelve

women gave the Purity a hard time back in the day."

"They slaughtered so many men during their time - even powerful experts - that many women were motivated to rise up, take arms and fight, claiming Classes that were - in that time said to be reserved for men. Apparently, in that time, four Paladin Champions were killed by these women, and their replacements were all incredibly driven women, some of whom played a great role in driving the Trodden Rose into the ground."

(A/N: If you've forgotten about this, you may refer to Sila's narration in Ch.399).

Yuyui gave a strained smile.

"We still have their Temple, you know?" she said sullenly. "The proof of the evil those

women did was all over it. I had to get rid of all the bodies at the entrance and scrub it clean, otherwise it didn't really feel like a place I could stay in."

Replicus understood how she felt.

When he first entered the Temple months ago, the sight that greeted him in what was called the Slurred Grounds, was a mockery to all things male. Even if he had only been a fake human

back then, he had felt sick looking at it.

(A/N: Refer to Ch.406).

The Progeny continued his long tale.

For now, he didn't bother to explain what Null Life was and only put an emphasis on his ability to acquire a human form for 24 hours. He felt it would be too heavy of a concept to deal normal people along with all the narration.

Replicus didn't explain much to do with his activities in Genhuis City as Silrat would have known and told Theurien all about the important bits. He did however, explain how he had intended to get help from the Purity to get rid of his UNCoddled curse. He explained how he had been given a mission by a Priest to go to Evic where he met Kenno - whom Theurien knew from when he was sent to the Bryne Estate by Replicus - and his gang, defeated them and

recruited them.

After this, he then explained what might have been his favourite moment of all.

"Because Yuyui managed to steal the Brilliant Dent - sorry, the pouch - from the Grand

Priest, I was able to use the Divine energy stored in one of the artefacts it held to get rid of my UNCoddled curse," the Progeny said and he looked at Yuyui who blushed.

(A/N: Refer to Ch.556).

"Because of this, I was more easily able to enjoy the company of the people around me, and

they didn't have to be wary of being roasted alive for helping me. It's only after getting rid of this curse that I managed to truly grow strong. And perhaps this was when I started to value

relations genuinely."

Yuyui grinned broadly. The moment Replicus referenced was one of the few times in the past when she had proven useful, and to hear that her efforts created Replicus' favourite moment...

It made her truly happy.

Replicus turned from her and his face suddenly turned grave.

"I made a decision on the same day I overcame the curse, however. I chose to split myself with

a power I had acquired long before. I was desperate to increase my rate of growth. That, as I realise now, might have been a mistake."