Bro, I'm not an Undead!

[Excellent. You have cleared the Second Trial and increased your chances of subjugating the prisoner!]

The future Hybrid's Amras was reeled back into his body and as though he wasn't exuding the pressure of a Deity, it suddenly disappeared without a trace. Turning, Future Skullius addressed the spectators. The colours on their faces were unnatural and so were the expressions they were wearing. They remained planted on the ground even though the pressing gravitational force from just now had finally vanished.

"Sorry about that. I knew Susu'k would attend to you," he said.

That was hardly enough to make the four on the ground happy and understanding, unfortunately.

They remained dazed for a while. It was only when Elita struggled to a stand, the Strawler armour around her vanishing, that the rest followed the effort.

The look on the former Paladin Champion's face must have told him everything that she was going to say, because Future Skullius raised a hand to stop her before she could pose him a question.

"I'd rather you didn't ask. I'll be forced to lie to you," he said with a stern look.

Elita was dumbfounded. She had indeed been about to ask him how in the world he had expelled so much power and how it kept rising so unfathomably. He wouldn't tell.

Elita surmised that perhaps it was something that she couldn't understand… or perhaps something she wouldn't agree with.

Future Skullius wasn't like the one she knew, after all.

There was something about him – beside his astounding power, and besides the fact that he had supposedly lived for two years on another world – that unsettled her. In all truth, the feel of him had the weight of something greater than a Deity… something approaching a Primeval Deity.

And indeed, Elita had come across a Primeval Deity before so she could compare.

"Well… damn," said Aurolio. He had hoped to get answers too, but…

He gulped.

In the back of his mind, he couldn't help but think that this kind of power was what he wanted. He didn't want to bear such overbearing might while wielding a weapon or some obscure artefact.

But he quickly corrected himself. It wouldn't be so bad if he could do it with an artefact. It wouldn't be said artefact that he would be relying on like a crutch after all, as Skullius said.

Kenno was easily the most impressed. He was practically glowing with reverence towards Future Skullius.

About half an hour ago, he had been tormenting himself with thoughts about what was going on with his boss. Alas, the answer was revealed when the younger Skullius had lost himself to a Lich. A calm had come after that, with Skullius somehow finding insights for growth in such a trying time. But then, a few minutes ago, the older Skullius revealed that pertaining to the Lich problem, his younger self had an extremely risky, treacherous plan and would not hear any suggestions against it.

In all honestly, Kenno's heart had been unsettled. He wasn't quite used to seeing the boss on the backfoot for so long.

But this… this marvellous show of power by the older Skullius bought his mind some much-needed ease. Even if he said he wouldn't help much, even if he wasn't the exact same boss who recruited him months ago, Kenno was glad to see this.

Red Rage wasn't thinking about all this, however.

In his head, he was moreso concerned with how Future Skullius didn't seem to possess the… quality of a Nullmancer. He couldn't quite point to this feeling – where it originated from. This imitation of his master was indeed a Nullmancer, but he seemed incapable of creating Apostles. In that sense, he was no Nullmancer.

"Now. The next Trial," said the future Hybrid.

And they moved on.

The next two Trials were as mellow as the first. They didn't require crazy displays of strength. Instead, they demanded specific information and gestures, all related – vaguely or concisely – to Corrupted Deities.

For instance, the Fourth Trial...

[The subjugator must learn this sequence of forty-seven thousand two hundred and one hand gestures and perform them all thrice between intervals of a thousandth of a Consternal – 43.2 seconds. There will be a single demonstration and the subjugator is expected to perform them accordingly.]

And the demonstration came.

The hand gestures were anything but simple. Four humanoid hands appeared and demonstrated how all 47,201 gestures were to be done, but a common Divine could not have replicated the speed and precision.

All 47,201 gestures were performed in less than a nanosecond, and then there was a pause of 43.2 seconds, then they were repeated again, then the pause, then the gestures again.

'Hmm. It took into account the fact that I have four arms, huh? Interesting,' Future Skullius thought.

The spectators were stunned. They could hardly see what any of the gestures even looked like because of how quickly they were performed.

To no one's surprise, Skullius replicated them perfectly in the manner they were supposed to be executed – with the breaks.

[Excellent. You have cleared the Fourth Trial and increased your chances of subjugating the prisoner!]

'I'm assuming after all the Trials, I will be given an edge somehow – an advantage. I doubt it's necessarily some artificial boost to my strength. It is probably something that doesn't allow me to eclipse Nunax completely. A series of notes, perhaps. Whatever tome this Taming Appixel was ripped from, I doubt the owners wanted the user to have such an easy time even if they happened to be a Deity. It's almost like a game.'

The Fifth Trial hinted towards the fact that Skullius was right. It was yet another strange test that required more of his skill and knowledge than power.

While the future Hybrid anticipated how all the benefits he would receive would work in his favour, his spectators were wondering what the actual battle was going to look like.

Elita for one hadn't lied when she told the younger Skullius that she was going with Future Skullius so as to find some way to grow her strength.

If Future Skullius wouldn't allow her to ask questions, she was more than satisfied simply watching.

She knew she would find something of hers to grasp onto, just like Aurolio.