Bounty Mission!

Brazenly calling the fearsome dragon "ugly" with such volume, it was clear that the rapport between the God of Death and the evil dragon was quite amiable.

Indeed, after nearly a millennium of collaboration, it would be only natural for them to have cultivated a deep bond.

Curiously though, is it possible for the God of Death from Hell to make an appearance during daylight hours? Legends typically confine his presence to the shroud of night, don't they?

Let's tune in and find out what business the God of Death has with the evil dragon. "Hey, Lance. What happened to the projection of Death from Hell?"

"I disabled it. He dared to call me ugly and expected me to stay on the line. Such folly from little Death," scoffed the evil dragon Lance, who despite not being the fairest among black dragons, confidently ranked himself within the top echelons of draconic beauty.

As the dark smoke billowed from the Death Scythe, signaling the resumption of the severed projection call, the visage of Solomon, the formidable God of Death from Hell, flickered back into existence.

"Lance! How dare you disconnect the projection call I initiated!" he thundered, only to vanish once again as the defiant dragon terminated the connection anew.

Solomon, with his domineering aura, clashed with the brash and rebellious nature of Lance, the evil dragon who wouldn't even extend the courtesy of a conversation to the God of Death.

Watching this unfold, a young dragon marveled at Lance's audacity, wishing she could embody such brazen arrogance herself.

Moments later, Solomon's shadow loomed once more over the scythe. "Don't shut it off, don't shut it off, Lance, my good Lance, I concede my voice may have been overly harsh," he pleaded, the edge of desperation in his tone. "Stop this! Can't I offer an apology? I'm sorry for the jibe about your transformation. You look as majestic in dragon form as you do in human guise. Can we please discuss this calmly?"

Reclining in stunned silence on a boulder, Lucia reflected on the unexpected character of Solomon. The God of Death, whom she had always imagined as a cold and merciless being, was surprisingly lenient and even personable towards Lance, a former trainee under hin and a full-fledged evil dragon.

"Incredible," she thought, reassessing her preconceived notions.

Meanwhile, Solomon, embodying an unexpected friendliness, was pleading with Lance. "I am your boss, after all. Can you show a bit of respect? The young dragon you've been mentoring is watching. Give me some dignity here."

Lance, unfazed and defiant, retorted, "Have you forgotten? I resigned from my trainee position just last night, and you accepted it. You're no longer my boss."

"That's exactly why I sought you out last night. I've renewed your contract. You're still bound by the trainee Death God contract, as evidenced by the fact that the Death God Scythe I entrusted to you hasn't been returned to Hell. Lance, my most formidable Apprentice Death God, I need your assistance on a bounty mission."

Solomon's words left Lance puzzled, "? ?"

"Solomon renewed my Apprentice Death God contract?" Lance mused, recalling the sensations of the contract's binds from that very morning.

"Let's set aside the bounty mission for now. If I recall correctly, you terminated my Apprentice contract last night. You must have signed up a few other outstanding Apprentices afterward, right?" Lance challenged.

With a sigh, Solomon explained, "About that... In a fit of anger last night, I eyed several exceptional necromancers to train and contract. Unfortunately, other gods of death poached them. The two who escaped poaching signed with me as trainee gods of death. Eager to see them succeed, I immediately issued several bounty tasks. Yet, tragically, I encountered them in Hell shortly afterward, they had become trainees of the Shinigami and, to my dismay, perished within just three hours of their first assignments. Their journey as Shinigami trainees ended before it could truly begin."

As Solomon sealed the contract with them, they boasted of their work ethic with just three words: fast, accurate, and ruthless.

"Frankly, in my years as a Shinigami in Hell, I've encountered many ephemeral Shinigami trainees, but none as tragically fleeting as these two," Solomon shared, his tone laced with disbelief. "Becoming a Shinigami trainee and perishing in less than three hours, can you fathom such a thing?"

Lance, stunned, struggled to process this revelation. In his extensive tenure as a trainee Shinigami, he had never heard of anyone's tenure ending so abruptly.

"They were claimed by the cold hand of death before even witnessing the dawn of their first day. The speed of their demise was unprecedented," Solomon continued, Lance's voice tinged with a somber gravity. "What level of bounty mission did you assign to them?"

"A mid-level Death bounty mission," Solomon replied, his voice solemn.

In the hierarchical underworld of Hell, bounty missions are categorized into three escalating levels of peril: Difficult, Death, and Hell.

- Difficult Bounty: Where an Apprentice Death may suffer injuries, but survival is expected.

- Death-level Bounty Missions: These carry a real risk of death, although it is not guaranteed.

- Hell-level Bounty Mission: Often humorously referred to as "Hell welcomes you," these missions are synonymous with both a promotion and a perilous increase in stakes.

"Indeed, there are no straightforward tasks in Hell, only these three grim categories," Solomon explained. "Even the least severe, the Difficult level, holds a mortal risk for a trainee Shinigami."

"For a Death-level mission, taking on such a task could mean Hell is already planning your welcome party," he added with a dark chuckle.

"Normally, it's perfectly reasonable for a trainee Shinigami to undertake a Death-level mission. However, their rapid demise is what's truly unusual."

"That's good. Just give them promotions and raises," Lance remarked casually.

Solomon, however, shook his head. "I can't just hand out promotions and raises right before they meet their demise. I'd be under investigation in no time."

Lance sighed, his thoughts elsewhere. "I haven't had time for bounty missions lately. I've been trying to forge a bond with the young dragon. I'm aiming to become a dragon knight."

Solomon arched an eyebrow, "You know, nurturing a relationship with the baby dragon will cost you. You won't become a dragon knight on good intentions alone. The reward for this bounty mission is 35 gold coins, and you know your monthly earnings are only 20 gold coins. You've not drawn a salary in centuries; your coffers must be nearly empty, right? If you had any wealth, you wouldn't be dwelling in such a remote forest."

"Man, it's time to flex your muscles again. With your strength, you could wrap up this bounty in just a few minutes. Be smart about this, and don't force me, the God of Death, to hand you a promotion and raise," Solomon added with a smirk.

Lance narrowed his eyes. "Old rules then, I'll take on the bounty mission, but don't fuss over how I complete it. However, there are some additional conditions I'm setting."

"Deal!" Solomon responded enthusiastically. He had heard from a fellow Death God's friend last night about a reshuffle in the underworld responsibilities. Some gods of death were being assigned to collect the souls of demonic creatures.

His first-level [Death God] status might soon transition to that division, and he would need a formidable [Apprentice Death God] like Lance to help quell the demonic spirits stirring chaos in the netherworld.

"Have you seen this human in hell?" Lance asked, tapping his dragon claw against his forehead. A spectral image resembling Bruder Donahue emerged.

"I haven't seen him, why do you ask?"

"He's my formidable adversary. Check if he's in hell. If he is, I want to summon him back and have him undertake the bounty mission," Lance explained, his eyes glinting with a mix of anticipation and strategy.

Solomon looked puzzled, "???"