From Human to Skeleton: Revived with Infinite System Crystals

Chapter 385 Damned Question

"Maybe in another time of life, and maybe that time will be within this life, but for the moment, that all takes a back seat to what needs to be done."

"Thank you anyway, though I can't say I need much else right now. Where is the old general anyway? Does he have any idea what's going on?"

"To my knowledge, no, he is unaware and just living the retired life. I have advised keeping scouts off him for now. The slightest slip-up with him could cause a lot of issues. He will be visiting for the Arena at some point, and that's when I plan to have a little one-on-one with him."

Ty nodded, but for a moment, he felt a pit in his stomach. He couldn't help but imagine the shows he'd watched growing up. "Whatever you do… don't go alone."

Lt Daemon chuckled and stated, "Whoa, don't talk like that. I can hold my own, you know."

"I'm sure you can," Ty stated, "just, there used to be this old guy from where I'm from, he was stronger than almost anyone… and well, he went to do some recon work and a 1 on 1 quickly turned into a 7 on 1… so just play it smart. There are people who love you that would fall apart if you didn't come back from something like that."

LT Daemon held a hand over his chest and responded, "Well, I suppose that must be a painful memory. You'll have to tell me more about this world you say you come from... It does sound quite... painful, however."

Ty nodded as he thought to himself, Well, it's just an anime but still, he's giving major red flag vibes right now... hopefully, I'm just being overly worrying with him. "Yeah, I will one day for sure, as long as you don't let some old guy kill you after all."

Lt Daemon chuckled as he walked over to grab a bag that looked oddly familiar to Ty, who couldn't quite place it. "Nice bag, where'd you get a dark leather like that?"

"It was a donation actually," the Lt responded, "an old family heirloom or something like that. It's pretty sturdy and worked well during my travels over here. But I will be watching from the stands, Ty. Also, JJ loves Blue, even if all she does is either never stop talking or sleep during important events." He finished with a chuckle.

Ty nodded, his gaze lingering on the leather bag. "I can't quite place it, but I swear I've seen that bag somewhere before. With everything that's happened recently, it's hard to keep track," he mused, shrugging off the nagging feeling as probably unimportant. Find exclusive stories on empire

Lt Daemon paused briefly, placing a reassuring hand on Ty's shoulder. "Well, until I see you again, Ty. Never thought a demon would turn out to be such a cool guy. Never change."

Ty offered a playful smirk. "Maybe you should consider changing just a tad," he retorted, waving as Lt Daemon departed from the Court.

Returning to where Rosana was sleeping, Ty observed her peaceful, yet tear-streaked face as she rested on her uncle's lap. He felt a pang of sympathy mixed with curiosity.

"So, what exactly is a beast tribe?" Ty inquired, looking over at the man whose hood was still drawn over his face.

The man raised an eyebrow, a hint of amusement in his voice. "Oh, and how does a grown man, or a demon, not know what a beast tribe is?"

"It's a long story," Ty replied, his voice tinged with a mix of embarrassment and intrigue. "I'm not originally from here. Where I come from, there are stories of fur-like creatures, I suppose. Quite different from here."

Throwing back his hood, Ty noticed the man had black ears with grey in the middle, complemented by a fur-like beard around his face. "We have been discriminated against for a long time because we are somewhat new. We only started appearing over the last few hundred years actually."

"So, I'm a third-generation Beast Tribe member while Rosana is a fourth generation. We sort of just appeared during a birth in the late king's reign, and since then, we have fought to be accepted, but most of the world has seen us as less than, or monsters that roam the world."

"Things are better than they were when the original generation was around, but achieving anything more than being grunts or hard labor units is still the highest we have managed. Rosana took it upon herself to raise money to enter this Arena, hearing about the king's promise, and well, we all believe she is our best bet."

Ty, listening intently, responded with a nod. "Wow, she's that strong, huh?"

Ulric nodded. "Not just her unique skill, but when her back's against the wall, she seems to hit a second primal state. I've only ever seen it once, but I believe if she gets to that point, she's just unbeatable..."

"Well," Ty stated, "I will do whatever I can to ensure our team makes it to the next arena, at the very least."

"Th-thanks, you don't seem so bad for a demon..."

Ty smiled and responded, "Well, I feel you can at least understand not everything bad said about us is always true, then? The name's Ty, though. I don't personally like the label 'Demon'." Ty extended his hand as Ulric smiled back and took it.

Ty shook Ulric's hand warmly. "It was nice meeting you, Sir," he said before turning to explore the rest of the court. He soon found John sitting in a corner of a patch of grass, legs crossed, seemingly deep in a meditative state.

Curious, Ty sat down next to him. "So, how does your power work actually, the mind-reading thing?" he asked.

"Why do you ask?" John responded, his eyes still closed.

"Well, it kinda doesn't make sense," Ty pondered aloud. "I've been thinking about it for a bit... You have the power—'skill'—to read minds... That's your initial skill, isn't it?"

John smirked, opening his eyes. "Well, no, not fully. When I come into contact with someone, I absorb their current memories by linking our energies. It pretty much happens on its own, to the point where I limit who I come into contact with."

Ty took a deep breath and blurted out, "Bullshit."