The Grim Reaper felt aggrieved.
Having been in Hell for so many years, he had never seen an "Apprentice Grim Reaper" more capable of staying alive than Lance. If Lance had been a "Grim Reaper" stationed in Hell, living seven or eight hundred years, or even over a thousand, would have been quite normal.
But Lance wasn't. He was a human, and is it normal for a human to live seven or eight hundred years, let alone over a thousand?
No, it's not.
Not normal at all, okay?
Unless Lance were a "False God".
"False Gods" could live over a thousand years normally.
If not a "False God", at most one could live five or six hundred years. If one were to obtain divine medicine as their lifespan neared its end, then living an extra hundred years would also be normal.
Whatever the case, Lance, being a human and living for over a thousand years, was definitely not normal.
He had only heard of Hell "Grim Reapers" who wore out "Apprentice Grim Reapers", never an "Apprentice Grim Reaper" capable of outlasting a Hell "Grim Reaper".
He didn't want to become the disgrace of the Hell "Grim Reaper" community.
In Hell, every time he thought of Lance, this "Apprentice Grim Reaper", he would silently pray in his heart for Lance to die quickly, then give him a promotion and a raise, turning him into an official "Grim Reaper".
Squatting on the ground, Lance scratched his head with a dragon claw. The senior "Grim Reaper" responsible for contacting him was good in every way, except that he talked too much.
And occasionally, he even hoped Lance would die soon.
About hoping for his early death, he had discovered that long ago. Because when he hadn't applied for "leave", this senior would assign him some extremely difficult tasks from time to time. If he truly were a human powerhouse, some tasks could have killed him five or six times over.
Luckily, he wasn't. Each time he completed a mission, he would pretend to be gravely wounded and on the brink of death, just to amuse his senior.
Later, some blabbermouth "Apprentice Grim Reaper" snitched on him, claiming that his blood was all tomato ketchup. When the senior found out, he was so furious that he almost stormed out of Hell, brandishing the Grim Reaper's Scythe.
If he had known this guy was such a complainer, when looking for a senior, he should have chosen a Grim Reaper of the opposite sex.
"Wishing every day for your so outstanding partner to die, isn't that a bit too much?"
"Am I hoping for your death? I'm hoping to give you a promotion and a raise, pal. I'm hoping to make you official."
"Then you're going to hope for a while. Just recently, I went for a little trip to the Elven Kingdom and drank a vat of the 'Spring of Life'. I reckon I can live another five or six hundred years."
"Stop kidding. Every time I ask when you're going to die, you either say you've got lucky and eaten a few divine pills, or encountered a strange adventure where some mysterious powerhouse infused you with a few hundred years of life. Why don't you just say you're the immortal from the legends? Seriously, when are you actually going to die? If you're not going to die anytime soon, I hope you can come to work. I've collected a bunch of dangerous... ahem... I've collected a bunch of high-bounty tasks. After completing them, you can take the money and live lavishly for a long time."
Death God Solomon saw that the long-lived Lance wasn't going to die anytime soon. Having no choice, he resolved to let him come to work. In these few hundred years in Hell, it wasn't like he did nothing.
He had hoarded many dangerous tasks, eagerly waiting for Lance, the Apprentice Grim Reaper, to start working. Then he would assign these tasks to him, all so that he could get his promotion and raise.
"Currently, I'm not in the mood to come to work. Um... actually, I'm considering resigning. You're always hoping to give me a 'promotion and a raise'... it kind of terrifies me... you know me... I'm an 'Apprentice Grim Reaper' with not much ambition.
Striving hard and then going to Hell for a promotion and a raise... it's just not for me. I want to live a few more years."
"Really?" Death God Solomon was overjoyed: "Write it! Write for me, write it now, write your resignation letter. You write it, and I'll immediately approve it on my end!"
Since he couldn't wish for Lance, the Apprentice Grim Reaper, to depart, him submitting a resignation letter was also fine. It was time to look for a new "Apprentice Grim Reaper". Over the years, he had encountered quite a few promising candidates who could become Hell Grim Reapers' "Agents" in the mortal world with just a bit of training.
The salary he was paying Lance could support eight or nine... no! Ten or twenty "Apprentice Grim Reapers".
The reason he hadn't been promoted, aside from not being able to look forward to Lance, this excellent "Apprentice Grim Reaper" taking over for him.
Another reason was because he paid out the most in salaries, yet produced the fewest number of "Apprentice Reapers"....
Who were all these salaries going to?
Lance!
Because of Lance, he didn't have the money to train other "Apprentice Reapers."
"Why don't you just cancel the cooperation contract you signed with me?"
"You really don't plan to be an 'Apprentice Reaper' anymore?"
Death God Solomon thought Lance was just talking off the cuff, but to his surprise, the guy was truly not planning on being an "Apprentice Reaper" anymore.
Being an Apprentice Reaper was a pretty good gig, after death you'd be sent to hell to train for a while, and you'd have the chance to become a formal "Grim Reaper."
For an "Apprentice Reaper" as outstanding as Lance, he would go straight to becoming a Hell "Grim Reaper" after his death.
By giving up his status as an "Apprentice Reaper," Lance was at a significant loss.
For him… he would lose an excellent successor, but it wasn't a big problem, as long as he discovered and trained a few more outstanding "Apprentice Reapers," he could be promoted right away, becoming a second-level "Grim Reaper."
The benefits of being a second-level "Grim Reaper" were much better than those of a first level one.
An obvious perk was his black Grim Reaper's robe, which would turn into a stylish and striking black and red Grim Reaper's robe.
The pitch-black Grim Reaper's scythe would also become a good-looking black and red Grim Reaper's scythe.
Plus, he'd have the chance to tour heaven.
All Grim Reapers of his time had been promoted, except for him, because of Lance. Now, with Lance quitting, it seemed he'd be able to get promoted soon as well!
"We've worked together for so long, and suddenly you're quitting… I am somewhat reluctant to let you go... After all, in my heart, you're the Apprentice Reaper who is most suited to take over my job."
Solomon felt he still needed to express his appreciation for Lance. Eh? Wait, he had always appreciated Lance, right?
If he didn't appreciate him, would he be looking forward to his death?
It should be about expressing his reluctance to let Lance go.
"This appreciation you have coming from your heart... I don't even know how to comment on you... But let me confirm one thing with you, after an Apprentice Reaper resigns, within three hundred years, they can freely summon hell-bound spirits unlimited times, right?"
"Right, right, right, with your performance, summoning some of the undead soldiers from hell wouldn't be a problem, and you'd also have ten opportunities to summon the Skeletal Dragon from outside Dragon Island. Whether you can summon it successfully depends on your own abilities.
A high-level undead like the Skeletal Dragon can refuse a necromancer's summons at any time if it doesn't wish to be summoned, you should know this."
Lance nodded, he was aware of this.
"Ah, originally I came to you this time to offer you a promotion and a raise. I didn't expect it to end up terminating the contract. Well, when you die, I'll still strongly recommend you to become a Hell Grim Reaper. Don't let me down, and die an old man soon.
Wait, how come you're raising a Young Dragon? Don't tell me you're resigning to become a Dragon Knight?
Silly, what kind of combat strength could such a little Young Dragon have? A Skeletal Dragon's combat strength is much higher than this Young Dragon's."
"I'm planning to attempt the Temple of Light's Light Knight examination."
"???"
"So, you're resigning to become a Light Dragon Knight of the Temple of Light?"
"Yeah, the Temple of Light has good benefits."