I Refused To Be Reincarnated
Chapter 522: The Mysterious King

Chapter 522: The Mysterious King

Before the towering open gates guarded by four fully equipped knights and a mage draped in luxurious robes, he saw Mathias wave at them with a warm smile.

"Welcome to the Jadeval royal palace. Follow me! Alice and the king eagerly await your answer!"

With a smile to show his appreciation for the man’s upright and kind character, he followed behind him, missing Mathias’ awed expression under his visor.

After all, a ghost wafting golden mist? It was the first time he ever heard of something like that.

Still, the knight diligently guided them through the eastern-themed palace featuring beautiful calligraphies hanging on the walls.

He also saw elegantly carved, long dragon statues and creatures he had never seen before, wondering where they had come from.

After climbing a flight of stairs, they stepped into a broad study the size of his apartment.

The fresh morning wind blew through the open balcony, and the scent of burning incense gave the place a relaxing yet exotic feeling that made his mind travel.

Finally, his eyes landed on the smiling king sitting behind a sturdy desk. He also saw Alice, who stood by her king with a provocative grin etched on her lips.

Not minding her, he smiled back at Leon, noticing the aged man’s interested gaze and parting lips.

"First, I’ll give you the skeleton and explain why its curse won’t bother you."

Leon clapped his hands twice, causing a bizarre diagram filled with the same symbols he had read in the Qingming sutra to brighten on the floor.

Before his enlarging eyes, a humanoid skeleton over two meters tall appeared in a flash of green light.

Sharp fangs extended from its jaws like small knives, and thin wing bones protruded from its back. But the thing that made a deep frown crease his brows was the green miasma swirling around it like a poison.

His soul shuddered at the familiar feeling, and his eyes widened in horror as he roared.

"How dare you reward a demon skeleton to the tournament’s winner?! One still filled with demonic energies, no less! This is madness!"

He had seen and confronted the same miasma before finding the demonic cleaver. No matter what Leon said, he had no use for another cursed item that would corrupt his mind.

"Indeed! A demon escaped an old ruin half a century ago..."

He noticed a flash of guilt pass through Leon’s steady eyes before the man waved his hand.

"The story doesn’t matter. You can ask the cleaver to absorb the lingering demonic energy. I’m sure it’ll jump at the opportunity."

As Leon’s words hung heavy, his mind swirled into a chaotic dance of confusion and suspicion.

’How does he know I have the cleaver? Wait! An escaped demon? Is it the one from the Silvermoon elves’ ruins?’

His jaw dropped, and his eyes enlarged at the increasingly mysterious king. Things made less and less sense the more they interacted, and he felt an invisible pressure suffocate him with more questions.

’Shepard never mentioned this demon, meaning the nine arcanists didn’t subdue him. An archmage would have kept the material if he had, so... how did Leon possess it?

Then, a sudden flash of inspiration struck him as he remembered Shepard’s words.

’Ten! There are ten arcanists, not nine! And the tenth can use spells without casting. Is it him?’

His perception of the weak-looking old king changed, his figure transforming into that of a fierce tiger hiding its fangs.

Meanwhile, Leon chuckled, clearly aware of his suspicions, but ignored them as he rose to his feet and walked to Julius.

"Will you learn under me and aim to reach the highest cultivation realm, my young friend?"

After a glance at his brother but noticing he wouldn’t interfere as promised, a steely glint flashed in Julius’ eyes as he answered.

"Your subjects depict you as a just and charitable king. I’ll trust their judgement and learn from you."

"Excellent! Mathias is your senior disciple. That’s why he’s so strong, even if he’s not a mage. We’ll start after your brother makes the skeleton disappear."

Leon clapped his hands in delight, and his eyes pulsed a vigorous green for a second before gesturing to him to try his plan.

However, Adam was anything but delighted at the unreliable method, and his lips twisted in worry as he spoke.

"What if the cleaver refuses to help?"

"I’ll ask Alice and Mathias to destroy it before it can corrupt you. If your mind sustains any damage, Orion will heal you, so proceed without worry!"

’Do it yourself without worries! I’m risking my skin here... but it’s worth a try.’

Brows twitching, he floated to the threatening skeleton.

Instantly, a notification resounded in his ears and appeared before his eyes.

[Tier-six mythical skeleton detected. Soul binding available. Proceed? Yes/No]

His finger shaking in incertitude and his breath quickening, he pressed yes, causing another notification to appear.

[Tier-six Decarabia, The Master of Natural Dominion’s skeleton soulbound.]

Without wasting a second, he closed his eyes, entering his soul sea to negotiate with the cleaver, hoping that the energy enticed it already.

When he reopened them, he dashed on the lush plains to the sea of demonic flames, fighting against Decarabia’s enticing murmurs filling his ears, and roared.

"I found a powerful demon’s bones and heard you can absorb its energy."

"Summon it, brat. I can’t believe that bastard dropped to the sixth tier and died in this world. Hahaha! Now his essence is mine!"

An icy shiver ran down his spine as more doubts wormed their way into his mind.

With how excited the cleaver’s whispers sounded, its words, and acceptance without trying to negotiate, he knew it would benefit tremendously from absorbing the demonic energy.

But could he give up on the powerful skeleton? Truthfully, its title alone made him drool, not to mention the rarity of items on this tier.

He gritted his teeth, and his jaws bulged as he roared in his mind.

’It’s so frustrating! I would have refused every day if not for my body!’

His fists trembled as he summoned the skeleton and stepped back, vowing in his heart.

’I’ll never agree to anything I don’t want once I get my body!’