Bro, I'm not an Undead!

Chapter 1395: Into The Null Verse?



There were other aspects to Apostles that even Skullius had begun to forget due to the fact that his relationship with his Apostles was somewhat complex.

Red Rage had at one point decided he wanted to become a mother and left to raise little octopi he had saved.

Ferex had once succumbed to his Flaw and transformed into the Full Deck BoneTender who in turn brought upon Aigas the Null Devil King.

Araeyn was a special kind of sockethole who was guaranteed to rebel against Skullius in the future because of his race. His name was even indicative of that: 'He Who Rebels Against Order.'

The only one without an unusual quirk of some kind so far was Beyrmir, but he was still quite new, all things considered.

Asides from Class, races and levels, Apostles had three other ways to grow, all of which more or less centred around their favourability towards Skullius.

The first was Skill Amalgamation. Each time an Apostle was compelled by Skullius' achievements or actions to the point of feeling more favourable towards him - more accurately, reaching 100 points in favourability - they were awarded two chances to combine two skills of their choosing, regardless of the differences between them, into a stronger one.

This was how Red Rage had acquired the skill [Incandescent Attire of the Omnipotent Pelvis- Hegemon].

(A/N: Refer to Ch.213.)

As Apostles grew, just like how they could choose their own race in later evolutions, they could also complete the skill amalgamation on their own.

Alternatively, an Apostle could acquire a Rank with those 100 points to favourability. But as far as Skullius knew from what the guidance field told him back when he found out about these boons for the first time, a Rank could only be bestowed on an Apostle only if Skullius had 5 or more Apostles in his possession.

Skullius only had four at the moment.

"Why would you want a Rank? Do you know its effects, because I don't. Even if you do though, I can't grant you a Rank yet. I'd have to summon a fifth Apostle first," he said to Red Rage.

"I see," Red Rage said. "Is the same true for an Apostle Trait?"

"I'm not too sure," Skullius said, considering that he didn't actually know much about Apostle Traits, if anything at all.

After Red Rage had reached Tier 1, his guidance field status had manifested a tag called 'Apostle Trait'. Like the 'Rank' one, it was also filled with a 'None.'

Skullius inquired the Apostle Trait's purpose from Serenity.

"If I recall correctly, it's a supernatural affix to an Apostle that focuses their growth in a single area. In a way, you could think of it as a bunch of Skill Amalgamations that produces abilities in the same line. The abilities formed won't be mere skills, as far as I remember. In exchange for severely limiting the scope of the Apostle's growth, the powers they awaken will be stronger than any in a similar vein wielded by most enemies," she explained. "But when assigning a Trait - and indeed, YOU have to do it, Skullius - you must ensure that the Trait matches the qualities of the Apostle. Also, two or more Apostles can't possess the same Trait, otherwise... the energy from the Trait will backfire on both you and the Apostles."

Skullius frowned.

'Backfire?' he asked.

"Yes. Essentially, it will make you go extinct."

Skullius hadn't thought the Apostle Trait could be such a nasty thing. On the other hand, the benefits were quite interesting. Having an Apostle focus on one field was greatly beneficial, especially if you had 9 more of them. The collection will be extremely versatile.

Some would argue that evolution already made way for this benefit to be achieved eventually, if it was well planned, that is, but Skullius' counter to that notion would be that any ability that wasn't on the level of a general skill could change the entire nature of a combatant, and achieving something like that sooner rather later was always better.

But Skullius did wonder just what kind of aspects he could choose as Apostle Traits? What exactly qualified?

Where these aspects unlimited such as with the Mastered Void Gate applications?

Beyond that, what was the process he'd have to follow to grant Apostle Traits?

"To that, I couldn't tell you. You'd have to try it out yourself," Serenity said when he asked her, "Or... you can ask a Nullmancer."

Skullius was astonished.

'What?'

"You must have already forgotten. When you reached Tier 4, you were given four rewards - Personal Configuration, Flaw De-demonisation, Class Reinforcement, and In-Verse Glimpse. You never used this fourth reward because you didn't have the time and it didn't yield any immediate benefits," Serenity reminded him.

Skullius facepalmed.

That's right!

He had this all along!

But of course, just as Serenity had pointed out, In-Verse Glimpse didn't exactly have any real answers to the troubles which had been plaguing Skullius when he reached Tier 4 - Caxellac and his possessed self.

'Wait, I could really go into the Null Verse and interact with the creatures there?' he asked Serenity. He was a little suspicious. He had received an ability similar to this before, called [Celestial Hack]. However, this ability only allowed him travel to places he had been before as an ethereal being who couldn't interact with any of the lifeforms there. Skullius had used it to check in on his bros in Deadmanland.

"Yes. You could talk to them. But the effect only lasts for about thirty minutes. Originally, this reward was designed for you to get a basic, broad look at what the Null Verse is like, but you could be more specific. You'd have to search for a Nullmancer yourself though, and while manoeuvring isn't all too difficult, the Null Verse is a reality of its own and Nullmancers can be of any race imaginable."

Skullius rubbed his chin.

He was intrigued. Very intrigued.

But if he spent the whole chunk of the time he was allotted with In-Verse Glimpse searching for a Nullmancer...

'That would be a waste. I don't know the first thing about the places in the Null Verse,' Skullius thought. 'Couldn't you help me find a Nullmancer?' He thought Serenity could help.

"It's been a while since I've actively roamed the Null Verse. The Nullmancers I knew might have already moved on or died by now. But let's give it a try," she said.