Left all alone with the hundreds of Crimson Bulls chasing him as he ran away from them, Felix cursed Sir Graham under his breath.
"Shit! How the hell could he leave me and go...."
He took a peek behind him while boosting his speed with Agility Bursts, and saw the raging bulls getting closer and closer to him.
'I can't fight them anymore, so the only option left is escaping...'
Felix sighed, feeling pity that he wouldn't be able to gain the skill points from the horde of bull monsters.
'Earth Swimming!'
He used his skill as he ran, gliding on the earth as his body slowly submerged into the ground.
The Bulls caught up to him when his speed decreased while sinking, so he had to use other skills to keep them away.
"Dust Blast!"
"Quicksand!"
A mini storm of rocks hit the rushing Bulls, slowing them a bit down and the ground beneath them softened, hindering their march.
Felix used the chance and completely sunk into the earth, his disappearance confusing the Bulls who gathered around to search for him.
However, he didn't waste any time and swam away from there towards the direction he was previously running to.
The more than hundreds of bulls were the only prominent monsters in these grasslands, so they had every land under their control.
As such, Felix couldn't surface anywhere near and had to continue swimming away, while poking his head out of the ground to take deep breaths once every few minutes.
A few moments later, when he left the grasslands and entered back into the forest, he came out of the ground and relaxed his body.
"Oh, you're back? That was pretty quick. I knew my lessons would raise your hopes in surviving in the wilderness."
Sir Graham jumped down from a tree and nodded with a satisfied face.
Felix twitched his lips and spat on the ground, pointing his finger at the man angrily.
"Your lessons? You just left me there to die, you traitor!! No wonder your wife left you!"
Graham grunted and took a step back in pain as he was hurt by what the boy said.
"Ughh Felix, you misunderstood my intentions. I was just helping you gain an important skill necessary for survival...."
"Huh? What kind of important skill are you talking about?", Felix asked in doubt.
Graham coughed and put his hands behind his back, acting like a wise sage.
"I'm talking about 'The Art of Running Away'."
Felix widened his eyes in absurdity and gave up hoping to learn anything useful from this strong yet weird man.
Felix widened his eyes in shock when he heard the man's proposal, but then shook his head after a moment of consideration.
"I'm sorry, Sir Graham. I think you have a misunderstanding regarding my affiliation with Mr.Dealer. We're not in a boss and subordinate relationship, instead, we had a deal in which I had to work for him as his employed fighter for a few days."
Graham tilted his head as he spoke and grew excited.
"I knew that guy was a liar, but I didn't expect him to fool me too. Wait, doesn't that mean you can join my faction without any issues then?"
Felix rubbed his head in confusion and replied unsurely.
"Umm, I've never thought about joining any faction in the Underworld before, so this is a bit sudden. Also, with the guild wars coming up within two days, I don't think I'm ready for something else..."
Graham folded his hands and thought for some time before responding with a sigh.
"Fine then, I won't force you right now. You can think about it after the guild wars. My place is always open for you if you decide to come."
Grinning at the boy, he looked around and asked.
"I guess it's time I return to the Underworld, there's some work do to. What about you?"
Felix glanced at the shortsword at his waist deeply and pondered before asking the man.
"Sir Graham, is there a nice place I can buy a better sword than this one?"
The man looked between the sword and the boy and replied after pondering.
"Hmm, I know of a reputable shop for that. But I think you've grown fond of that shortsword, so why not take it to a blacksmith and upgrade it into a higher-grade weapon."
Felix was surprised by that and nodded as he felt excited about the idea.
"Right! I can do that! By the way, do you happen to know any good blacksmith who could upgrade my sword?"
Sir Graham nodded and smiled as he gestured the boy to follow him as he made his way onwards to the Underworld.
"I got the perfect man for the job."
The two of them disappeared from the streets, entering the secret pathways and finding themselves back in the Underworld.
In the bustling Black Market, which remained crowded and chaotic regardless of the outside time.
Felix followed behind Graham, with his black mask now covering his face, and reached a corner where a simple looking store resided.
There was a constant sound of metallic clangs coming from inside the shop, indicating that someone was working inside without a stop.
"It's here."
Sir Graham pointed at the shop and pushed open the door, stepping inside along with Felix.
The moment he entered inside, the clanging sound stopped and a surprised gruff voice called out.
"Hmm, Phantom?"