Bro, I'm not an Undead!

1414  Preparations

Grim understood the assignment now and how severe and manageable it was.

His role was the most vital, so he couldn't help but feel a little nervous.

The opponent was a Chronocle Fiend, a beast made from strands of fragmented Consternals – time, essentially.

Grim's purpose was to help subjugate it and then copy its properties, which would be a hefty task.

Grim's Hidden Class was called Esurient Hoarder. It gave him access to three beast forms, all with unique abilities.

There was Avhanar the Voracious, a giant wolven head that could consume anything and break it down into energy.

There was Paradon Parody, a beast form that allowed Grim to copy the properties of other beasts and attach them to his body.

And then there was Esurient, the ultimate expression of the Class.

For this excursion, it was the properties of Paradon Parody that were required. Grim would have to copy a large portion of the Chronocle Fiend and attach it to himself.

Whatever Suzamete required couldn't be done with the body of the Chronocle Fiend itself because, apparently, it was extremely aggressive and when engaged in combat, it rapidly used itself up. All its attacks were time-based, and thus it practically used its own being as fuel.

The Chronocle Fiend wasn't a genuine Divine being. It didn't have a Broader Existence or even a soul for that matter. It only had Divine-level abilities. Because of this, it was plausible for Grim to copy its properties, but admittedly, it was going to take a lot of effort on his part.

Thankfully, Suzamete was going to help with this.

<I can't help much because most of my faculties are being spread thin on Aigas. I expended a lot of my energy earlier when some… treacherous beings broke their own restrictions to do battle on Aigas. If I hadn't intervened, most living things in this world would have died. I can only spare a little energy for you two and preserve the rest for after you have completed the task at hand.> she had said to Yuyui and Grim.

Suzamete had bolstered the strength of Yuyui's Eye of the Visitor and Grim's Esurient Hoarder Hidden Class.

She had admitted though, that the two already had the capabilities of Supreme Skill holders, so she didn't have to extend the scope of their power by much.

Yuyui's eye already had a vast range. Suzamete extended it by a small margin, allowing it to reach the position of the Chronocle Fiend she had sighted.

Apparently, they were actually common, and often attacked worlds to steal their time in order to extend their power and life.

Grim took a deep breath. He could feel the boost to his Class.

'If the Chronocle Fiend is as powerful as Suzamete says, if I copy its traits, that will be one free power gained for me. It's a win-win. Now, I just need to calm down,' he thought to himself and looked behind him.

Yuyui was sitting some distance away in the domain in a lotus position. She was getting herself familiar with the full parameters with the Eye of the Visitor and its augment. Bubbles was sitting behind her, curiously wondering what she was doing.

The beast had indeed been obliterated within Franceesta's Majestic Territory, but one death was scarcely fatal to it.

Unlike the Stark Troops, Bubbles didn't have a Granted Armament. Yuyui had requested for Skullius to create for him a spatial storage that applied the Granted Restoration Starmation. Every time Bubbles died, he would be restored within the spatial storage.

After the creature had died during the battle against the Order of the Trodden Rose, Yuyui had forbidden him from coming out of her storage against since the situation had been dire.

'Lucky bastard,' thought Grim before he turned to his own company.

Azila, the frost goblin that had been questioning his and Yuyui's worth, and several other powerful guardian beasts were close by, preparing for the fight ahead. Jiggorrhax and Asthon were closer to the incomprehensible figure of Suzamete, conversing with her, it looked like.

"I don't think I can ever forgive myself for being so pathetic. Being put to sleep like that…" Azila said, his face a mask of embarrassment.

"I smell self-pity. Do you think you're the only one who was made to look like an idiot?" said the goblin with a scowl at the ape. "All of us were humiliated in front of the humans. Though, I will say, to see someone of your stature and important to all beast kind be put down like that was a blow to us."

Azila gave the goblin a sharp look.

"That's comforting to hear," he said and then he turned to Grim. "Have you figured out how we will move or have you left that responsibility to… him?"

The him in question was undoubtedly Jiggorrhax. It was fair to see him as the leader of the excursion, to be sure.

Grim glanced at the dragon.

"Maybe…" he said. He wasn't sure this should even be an argument. Of course, Jiggorrhax should take the lead!

The prestige around the colossal Herald was legendary. Even with his current strength, Grim was in awe at the might radiating from the dragon.

He was older, wiser, and probably stronger.

"Now, now, why do I sense such low self-esteem?" a voice of doubt spoke from Grim's shoulder.

He turned to look, startled and found a small bird there.

"Uhh…" He was stumped on what to say. He could tell that this beast was no ordinary creature. Suzamete had even welcomed it with something akin to cheer and Grim's own bestial senses told him that the bird was, to some degree, equally as impressive as Jiggorrhax.

"Don't be intimidated now. I'm just a bird," said Asthon, "and you are a lot more like Jiggorrhax than you know."

"What?" Grim couldn't believe that he had heard that right. "What do you mean?"

"Don't be fooled. Jiggorrhax is not some supreme beast. He only looks like one. And believe me, he is not as haughty as you may think. This is your stage, is it not? I can sense the excitement within you, buried behind all the anxiety. You have deep-set animalistic fervour. Tempered fervour. Why don't you let it loose? You've been wanting an opportunity like this, I'm sure." Asthon bounced on Grim's shoulder. "Listen, there are benefits to being a beast, just as there are benefits to be a man. As far as I understand your prowess, you might just be the only human who can be a perfect fusion of the two."

Ashton seemed especially excited, much to Grim's confusion.

Unbeknownst to the Unlimited Star, Asthon was having a moment of profound insight, one he had failed to obtain for 4,000 years. He had heard all about Grim's powers from Suzamete's explanation, and that had been a catalyst for a new line of thinking.

 The bird gave a little kick to Grim's cheek, forcing him to turn his head to Jiggorrhax.

"You see that? I considered that to be the very best of what any being could hope to be once. A beast with the traits of a man, down to the progression of strength. That is a near-perfect version of what you should be. Towing the line between man and beast, but being perfect in both expressions. Ha! I'm glad I barged here uninvited!"

Grim understood none of what the ancient bird said. He could only stare at the bird, his eyes exposing his confusion.

Perfection in both beast and man traits?

What did that mean?

Grim had only ever considered using thepowers from the Hidden Class as they were.

I can turn into different kinds of beasts, was the extent of how he interpreted it. Nothing more. He was sure the one who created the Class had a similar interpretation too.

Ashton could see that none of his wisdom was being conveyed. A pity. He sighed.

"It's quite alright. I will show you all of what I mean on our little adventure outside of Aigas," the bird said. "By the way, who are you?"

"What? Don't you already know my name?" Grim said.

"Of course, I do, but what would I glean simply by analyzing your name? I want to know who you are?"

"What would you like to know?"

"Everything!" said Asthon. "But I am a lot more interested in why there is so much doubt in you right now. I am especially good at reading human emotions, you see. Well, I better be after spending 4,000 years raising some. I sense a strong cord of confidence from you. You're often firm against challenges. But that cord of confidence is suddenly drowned in uncertainty. Why? Why now? I don't sense a fear of death from you. You can't really be losing confidence against an enemy when you have all this help, can you?"

Grim was startled to be seen through so thoroughly. He didn't try to deny it though. He hung his head, thinking of the best way to express what he felt.

"Honestly, I feel a little inadequate. Not necessarily because I feel my strength is limited," he said. "I never thought Yuyui would make me feel such a strong sense of… hollowness. I was never the kind of person who was interested in the kind of person I was. I was comfortable being part of a group. Obscure. But when I was recruited by my master, that changed. I adopted the traits of the Hidden Class he allowed me to have. That's what I became. It became my identity, and for a while, I was satisfied, fulfilled even. But now…" He looked at Yuyui, her eyes closed in focus.

"The lack of a profound past has finally caught up to me."