Bro, I'm not an Undead!

Amidst the clamour that had just risen along with the stylish curve of the sun, two figures carved through a city street, one looking wiry while the other looked impossibly energetic.r

The difference in their sizes, structures and details was stark, but with the conversations bouncing between them, it was clear that they shared quite some common ground.r

The hawkers and suspicious merchants setting up their tents and stalls created the bulk of the noise this early in the morning, most people being annoyed by their yells for attention. However, one of the two passing individuals was delighted to hear the noise instead.r

The fresh items, both cooking ingredients and food of various kinds and quality offered from several newly setup stalls made her grin and sigh in relief. At least food was here was stay.r

Boredom may come.r

Brutal wryness may come.r

But at least, in the end, there was always friend food, the blessed one.r

The lady was adorned in a reddish agile half plate armour with segmented reptilian leather underneath it that helped to accentuate her robust figure. Her lime green hair had a healthy, unnatural sheen to it, its length maxing out right behind her ear. Some of it draped down into bangs that hid one of her eyes while the visible one showed an almost savage vibrance.r

One could hardly believe this was Yuyui.r

She took quick steps towards one of the stalls while her tall companion shook his head and followed after her at his own pace.r

The sheathed dagger that was attached behind Yuyui\'s armour, right above her waist dangled as she leapt to a stop, her eye shining at the assortment of roasted meats that she saw before her. The stall here was the only one with readily made meats, ones that looked to have a rich quality to boot!r

It was perfect!r

For someone who couldn\'t luxurious dine in eateries within major settlements like Yuyui, thus was the best place she could find!r

The fat oozing from the fish, mutton, bird and other unknown slabs of flesh that were skewered over a makeshift yet classy heat source – a heat containing platform with neatly arranged burning coals – was the sole reason why the once petite young woman now had something to show off in various areas. Her efforts were being rewarded. r

Her fancy armour and shapely body caught the attention of more than several people within the same street. Some looked at her with greed while others only showed admiration but she didn\'t cared about those fools!r

Yuyui gave a sagely nod at what she was looking at.r

"Anything you like here, miss?" the man behind the stall whom Yuyui had completely dismissed till now asked with a smirk. He had a slim figure, gaunt really, a simple grey shirt and pants settling over his body. A pair of small, sharp eyes, thin lips and a stubble spotted his face in a rather unkempt style but that, in fact, was his preferred appearance.r

"Yes sir," Yuyui replied as a bulky figure approached from behind, slowly catching up while garnering gawking eyes. "I would like to eat all your meat please!"r

The stall owner\'s eyes reflected the shock burning... in the minds of several men and women from another relevant universe, but his own surprise was only from why this woman wanted to purchase all the meat he had ready, which usually lasted him till noon!r

"Are... are you sure, miss? This is a lot of meat. Are you certain you can take it all?" the stall owner asked with the raise of his eyebrow.r

Yuyui scowled.r

"No one..." she said menacingly, her forehead twitching a bit. "No one... questions what and how much I can eat. Now, serve it all up."r

The stall owner flinched a little before regaining his composure and wearing a grin.r

"Fine then. Since you\'re so dedicated, I\'ll give you a 70% discount on your purchase," he said "The total price is 4,000 gold coins."r

Yuyui had already been reaching into her storage for the money before the stall owner even mentioned about payment.r

"70%? How generous of you. I\'ll just... Wait. Did you just say 4,000 gold coins?!" Yuyui barked with an appalled visage.r

The stall owner\'s grin grew wider.r

"As you can see I\'m the only one with variety here especially when it comes to meat. Bird, beast, fish... I have it all. Judging by your equipment, 4,000 gold coins shouldn\'t be too much to fork out, right? This is a discounted price too. You should be thanking me!"r

Yuyui shrank as she counted the amount of coins she had left. A little over 1,200 silvers and 900 gold coins.r

She quivered.r

She spent a bit too much this time. Her salary and allowance had been rapidly racing to the finish line ever since her master and the group went on that long expedition weeks ago. That was also her first time being left alone without a continuous flow of cash. She had even been neglecting collecting beast corpses to sell since she had a lot of money anyway.r

Sigh.r

What a lapse in judgement.r

Food was an expensive friend.r

As she grew sullen, her belly growling in such a manner that made startled nearby by-standers, the tall figure that had been walking towards her finally arrived.r

The stall owner paled when he saw him.r

A figure decked in what he could only describe as custom made dark silver scale armour stood behind Yuyui. A marvellous large brown fur cloak hid most of his thick armoured body but the wolf shaped helmet he had over his head, its appearance giving the illusion that it was part of his body made the stall owner weak in the knees, the luminous glow coming from the slanted holes in it strangling his earlier energy.r

"Is there a problem here?" this two and a half meter tall giant asked the stall owner while caringly pressing his hand on the sobbing Yuyui\'s head.r

The lime haired girl turned to her companion, Ferex, and pouted.r

"Can you believe it, Ferex? The meat... It\'s 4,000 golds! It\'s surpassed my pocket. I may never eat my fill again," she dramatically reeled back only to be caught by the giant who shook his head and faced the stall owner.r

With a deep and menacing voice that caused a dreadfully tension within the area, Ferex spoke:r

"Is it all really 4,000 gold coins?"r

The man behind the stall nearly collapsed in fear.r

He gulped and opened his mouth with a tremble.r

"I... uh... actually..."r

*r

Minutes later, Yuyui was chomping down happily on a comically large thigh that still had the sizzle of heat. Her smile as she ate made Ferex who walked by her side garnering a lot of long stares feel content.r

"By the way, Ferex. You\'ve become really good at speaking the Known Language. I thought you were going to skip and mispronounce some words like last time," Yuyui complimented.r

The bulky Apostle stared blankly at Yuyui.r

"Your teaching may have been terrible at first, but I must commend your effort, servant Yuyui," Ferex said. "Now hurry up so that we can clear that Cluster before someone gets it first."r

Yuyui deflated.r

"I thought we were taking a break. You\'re already halfway through the second Tier. What\'s the rush?" she said, trying to dissuade Ferex from another unrelenting killing spree.r

"Master will be back soon. I intend to be at Tier 3 when that happens. I can\'t be slacking, like you."r

Yuyui flinched.r

\'I\'m not slacking! I just can\'t handle four days straight of hunting Cluster beasts!\' she screamed in her mind.r

Replicus had left with the rest of their group three weeks ago on a journey somewhere far. Presumably, they were going outside of Pelian on a special mission. Replicus\' last order was for Yuyui and Ferex to grow their strength, otherwise they would be left behind by everyone else.r

Because of Replicus\' quick wit and growing connections, his crew were growing terrifyingly powerful and surely, Yuyui even with her power would grow less valuable with time, all things remaining constant. In that aspect, she understood why Ferex was eager.r

\'<Sigh>. He\'s right. We need to get stronger. At this point, Master might not even have use for both of us. He\'s become powerful. Way too powerful. And he\'s not even slowing down.\'r

The thought of the current level of her master made Yuyui shudder. No one behaved casually in his mighty presence. The only reason she could was because he was friendlier with her.r

The last time Yuyui had seen Skullius, he was close to reaching Tier 4. Finally. He spent most of his time in his Penetrator and frankly, Yuyui was terrified of it.r

She doubted that the original, Skullius, held a candle to how Replicus was right now.r

After contemplating a bit...r

"Fine, we\'ll go but... your mana isn\'t back to full yet. Let\'s wait a little longer. Remember, Master said to not engage in battles you can\'t end really quickly. You\'ll lose everything you\'ve learned so far if your Flaw triggers," Yuyui advised.r

"... I know," Ferex said.r

"Good. And don\'t forget what you promised me.... I\'m ready for it now," Yuyui said with a bit of an emotional tremble.r

"Alright."r

As the two were passing through the streets, several people bumped into them. No, it wasn\'t several people but a group.r

They seemed to have been pushed away violently, making way for something on the road. For someone.r

When Yuyui saw what the source of the commotion was – a stylish carriage with open sides that was passing through – she donned a disgusted expression.r

"This man again?"r