It was strange. The tension had grown as the barkeep read more and more of whatever it was that was written by the dark eyed man seated next to Skullius.
What was even more strange was how everyone more or less understood who this mistress in silk was, even Skullius.
The realisation even for the slowest of minds brought a chill up the spine as everyone was now even scared to breathe.
The man with dark eyes took back his book from the barkeep when he finished and exhaled a seemingly proud breath.
He then then turned to Skullius, his eyes, tone and mana not flinching or fluctuating even slightly.
"Beautiful, isn't it?" he asked.
There was a genuineness in his words that caused Skullius to both raise and lower his guard, reaching an optimal state of vigilance that wasn't provocative.
"It sure is," Skullius said with a half-meh tone.
"Hmm," the man hummed as he raised his glass emptying whatever was inside and pushing it towards the barkeep.
The poor man who had been standing for several dozens of minutes without much activity quickly refilled the glass.
"You're a Contender, aren't you?" Skullius asked a question of his own as he sipped on his own drink.
"As are you," the dark eyed man replied with a slight, unsettling smile... directed towards his little book.
The Hybrid Luman scoffed under his breath.
It was really hard to ascertain how strong this man was and what exactly made him tick but one thing was for sure.
'It's the WILL of BRUTALITY...' Skullius thought.
He had sort of figured it out.
What kept drawing him towards this man.
It was one of the WILLS he had received upon reaching the Advancement Stage.
The WILLS of Fulgardt.
Of these, the WILL of BRUTALITY was the one responsible.
It didn't take a genius to dissect this man's written thoughts.
This man had written about a mistress from the empty lands. Death, as he characterised it. It was no secret that he might even go as far as to idolise... death.
Such hidden and deep nuances were something Skullius could only read because the WILL of UNDERSTANDING helped him to.
As mentioned before, the WILLS didn't boost his stats or even his body, but edged him towards concepts that were relevant to what their names specified, especially in relation to anything to do with Fulgardt. Subtle hidden meanings could be discerned therefore.
"You have some interest in me," the man stated as he started to write down on his book again, his dark eyes following the thread of scribbles from left to right.
"Yes. Kind of," Skullius said with a breath.
"That's unusual. Most people steer clear of me. I have only ever gotten along with corpses... or soon to be corpses," the man said, giving Skullius a dead glance.
The Hybrid Luman wasn't fazed but he had to admit that line had some unsettling implications.
Instead of indulging the provocative air, Skullius instead inquired.
"What is your name?"
"Gabel," the man said without hesitation. "Though my birth name has long been overshadowed by the many nicknames Pelian has given me."
"Nicknames?"
"Yes," the dark eyed man said as he chugged the contents in his glass. "Of the many, I am especially fond of the least popular one. Restless Mute. Hmmm. Mute."
Skullius nodded his head as if understanding.
The dreadful presence he had been feeling from this man, Gabel, grew weaker and weaker as he conversed with him. He wasn't sure if Gabel was doing this or if he was just getting used to it.
"Restless Mute, huh?" Skullius said as he also drank.
'Mute my flesh!'
There was a silence between the two, everyone else in the joint seeming to hold their breaths as the chilling atmosphere did not wane one bit.
Skullius and Gabel continued to drink in silence for a few minutes before Gabel sniffed, another look of pride appearing on his face as he looked at the page he had been writing on.
He ripped it up from the small book and then turned to Skullius as he slid it his way.
"How's that?" he asked.
The Hybrid Luman couldn't help but wonder what this guy's deal was. It seemed he was more comfortable with writing than he was speaking. Maybe that was why he liked the name Mute?
Skullius took the paper and sighed as he prepared to tell his 'friend' that he couldn't read but he was interrupted by a fairly powerful presence that rapidly broke apart the stale and chilling atmosphere in the tavern.
With loud clanging and heavy steps, a Capital Order Knight entered the establishment.
It was about time someone noticed something was wrong.
The customers all seated and otherwise cheered within their hearts, their bodies going on to quiver with relief when the Knight spoke.
"Please, may you all leave."
The hundreds of drunks and sobers quickly rushed out of the joint, even the barkeep.
When all had gone out, the Capital Order Knight walked up to Skullius and Gabel before focusing his sight on the latter from behind his helm.
"Please exercise restraint with your presence. As powerful as you are, you may cause harm to the ordinary men and women who share this city with you. Are we clear?" the Knight said authoritatively.
It looked like he knew who Gabel was and from how he held the hilt of his sword with every drop of strength he had in his body, prepared for a fight, it seemed he also knew what he was capable of.
Gabel's feeble smile collapsed, only to be replaced by an indifferent and frosty visage.
He stood up, Skullius discovering that this man was way taller than he had initially thought.
Gabel ignored the Knight and instead faced Skullius.
"Let's meet again on the new stage," the dark eyed man said as he packed his little book and walked off, his overbearing dread diminishing until there was none.
The Knight who was now left with Skullius only relaxed when Gabel had left. He then turned to Skullius with a questioning gaze.
The Hybrid Luman pocketed the page he had been given and gave the Knight a shrug.
*
'That was strange. I guess I was right. This guy definitely had the presence of a contender,' Skullius thought.
Still, Gabel hadn't been what he had thought.
He was certainly a bit more tame than the aggressiveness he had expected. But that was probably a facade, a persona that hid the true characteristics that earned him the moniker of Restless Mute.
He marked the man as a potential danger as he continued to wonder why the WILL of BRUTALITY had drawn him to Gabel, besides the obvious answer that they perhaps shared... killy tendencies.
Also, was he right about him being part of the three Stylla had warned about?
In any case...
"Let's see those Tasks," Skullius said as he switched focus, pulling up his guidance field.
~~~
EXP : 500/500
Twelfth Task : Absorb 1,000 pieces of darkness.
Sub Task : Create your own Precept of light.
~~~
"Oh."
Skullius scratched his chin.
-n0ve1、com 'Sub Task?' he thought.
So this was why it was so hard to rise up in the Stages. The existence of Sub Tasks.
'1000 pieces of darkness? Does this mean I have to use [Basic Evil Sanction] to collect... anything related to darkness?'
This must be it.
[Basic Evil Sanction] could collect anything that was dark and extract whatever it had. If that was what the Task meant then this wouldn't be difficult.
The real problem was the Sub Task.
'A Precept of light?'
What was that?
This Task was looking to finally force Skullius to invest more time in [Just Light].
The element was just so hard to learn and with time pressing him, he had temporarily given up on investing time in it.
But here he was.
A precept in general was something of a doctrine or a rule of conduct.
If this was related to light...
'I really have my work cut out for me this time,' Skullius said as he neared the Bryne Residence. He would focus on this after the hosted gathering which was about to begin.
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