Bro, I'm not an Undead!

"A Class?" asked Benzard in surprise.

He felt the powerful hold that had been restraining him get lifted, his ability to answer per his own accord restored.

"Exactly!" Sause exclaimed. "For a seeker of strength like yourself, attaining power beyond that of those that you know should be sufficient, right? I can grant you that, aha ha. What do you say?"

Benzard didn't know if what this giant said was to be believed.

Power.

Strength.

He did yearn for those,but...

Benzard focused his senses and discovered that he couldn't fathom the kind of power that this giant held, regardless of the amount of concentration he invested into the task.

There was no doubt...

This creature was strong.

This alone limited Benzard's options. Quite frankly, he might have only had one option.

From the looks of it, there was a 100% guarantee that this creature wanted something from him and Sause didn't make much of an effort to hide it.

"I refuse."

Reon sighed in relief (in spirit).

'His head is still in the right place at least,' he thought and urged on Benzard. 'Don't listen to this bastard!'

Benzard's response didn't garner any expression of disappointment from Sause, surprisingly. The giant merely kept smiling cheerfully.

"Profound. Despite the burning desire I sense from you, you're not irrational. These qualities make me even more interested in reeling you in," Sause said.

"I'm not interested."

"Why? It's a great deal."

"I don't know anything about you. I wouldn't hand myself over just for pretty words. I'd rather die trying to get a legacy that's guaranteed."

"Oh. Is that right? Are you sure it's guaranteed? Have you yet started to wonder why you're still having to fight all these enemies that are bound by yokes? They are practically spoon-fed to you? Doesn't it all seem strange?

A long journey of collecting cumulative mana after every kill and getting the slightest bit of elevation in the element you were given for free. Does it all... feel right?"

Benzard's heart skipped a beat as he heard this.

It was indeed something that had crossed his mind. What was the point of this? Why were the enemies he had to face bound? Why could they only be defeated by the strange darkness that felt alive?

His faith in this mission was put to the test. Even though he had said that he would gladly die trying to gain the power that Fulgardt left behind, a seed of doubt began to bloom.

This was enough for Sause who grinned even more disgustingly.

Getting a class above 'Advanced' instead of battling who knew how many enemies seemed pretty tempting to Benzard now.

'That does seem... a lot better than this. Should I...?' Benzard thought.

"I still refuse. I'd rather work with something I know more about. I still have strength to spare. I won't die so easily," Benzard said with a stern expression. He didn't believe a word he said. He would probably die quickly against this giant.

Sause's cheerful grin didn't vanish. His eyes merely lost some of their lustful sparkle.

"That's too bad. I really thought you were a perfect candidate. How unfortunate. Well... Reon here told me that unlike the Key that the other one possesses, yours' ownership can be changed by simply killing you. So... thank you for the meal."

Right then, Sause's face stretched as he opened his mouth astonishingly wide to reveal the large molars, incisors and canines that decorated the space within!

Saliva dripped from his mouth as he lunged forward to devour Benzard in one fell swoop!

His movement was too swift.

Benzard panicked. His body wouldn't move.

For some reason, he hadn't thought that giant would simply resort to killing him if it that much interest in him.

He had thought it wouldn't take no for an answer.

Had he placed too much hope in the idea that it saw something that would make it spare his life?

After the blow that was Eobald's true identity and goals making him feel like all that he had done for the past few years was nothing, Benzard had felt hollow.

What would one do after finding out that an investment they made to build a lavish house for years turned out to be only have been for a pigsty?

Perhaps that wasn't the best analogy, but the point still stood that Benzard truly felt the need to have strength he could believe in.

Dying here right after learning that all he had done was for a ridiculous cause made his soul scream.

Not yet. Not yet

NOT YET!

"WAIT!"

Sause stopped. His eyes turned into crescents.

"Hmmm?"

The glow in Benzard's eyes made Sause excited.

A bonfire was lit in those eyes now. A careless one.

Sause withdrew his head, his face returning to normal. Suddenly, he looked like a large, affable grandpa.

"Fine. I will do it," Benzard said with a sickened frown.

Despite his resolve, he couldn't help but feel disgusted with himself. He felt like he was selling his soul to the devil, or worse, to the likes of the Traitorous Deity of the Under.

"Now that wasn't so hard was it, aha ha?" Sause said cheerfully.

He rose and chuckled loudly. The whole room quaked terribly.

Reon who was at the side couldn't help but be shocked. He would have loved to walk over and punch Benzard for making such a decision, but he couldn't.

Sause stretched his large hand over Benzard as his body suddenly started to explode with a ridiculous amount of mana that overpowered the space around them, distorting it and bringing forth a radiant glow to his large body.

Sause's large palm reached Benzard and he touched the man's forehead with the tip of his forefinger, a thick and concentrated light of mana shooting into Benzard!

"Perfect," Sause murmured. "After this, you'll help me steal away that other one too. Can't have Fulgardt getting his way after screwing me over now can we? Aha ha."