Logan narrowed his eyes. “You’ll free my sister?”
Pied nodded. “Today. As long as you agree to take me on as a sponsor and sign my contract.”
[420 seconds remaining.]
A flash.
Looking from the glass cells and back to Pied, for the first time, Logan began to wonder if Pied had orchestrated this whole thing. It was convenient that he’d left Logan alone long enough for him to be frustrated that [Threshold Shift] had failed, had left him to savage his hands pummeling the glass. Only for him to arrive at the last-minute right before Logan would have gone searching for a guard.
[Idiot’s Inspect] had mentioned that he was a master of the mind arts… did that mean that he could read Logan’s mind? He had no idea what someone over level 1000 could do, but it had to be a lot. Shit, if Logan could do what he could at level 156, that was barely scratching the surface.
“Don’t trust the furry man. He’s an evil, evil man,” Ernie muttered in his mental voice. “Octopus killer, torturer! He deserves death, Logan, he deserves pain!”
“He’s too strong,” Logan replied. “I know you want to kill him, but we can’t. At least not now.”
“We must get stronger. I must build an army to rival his!”
Logan cleared his throat and pinned Pied with a look. “And I suppose if I refuse, you won’t release Lara and the kids? You’ll keep them imprisoned?”
Pied’s left ear twitched, the tuffs of black hair reminding Logan of a rabbit. “If you refuse, my dear, I’ll kill you.”
Logan’s stomach dropped. “Kill me,” he stated, feeling the hairs on the back of his neck stand up. The adrenaline that had already been simmering in his gut exploded. “Why would you kill me? You’re over level 1000, I mean nothing to you.”
Pied flashed his incisors. “You killed my contract workers, and I let you grind against my army. Although I like charity just as much as any user, I’m not that generous. I don’t give out XP for free. Especially if it benefits my opponents.”
Fuck. What was Logan going to do, refuse? He could use [Threshold Shift] to escape, go to a different floor, but that would leave Lara and the kids trapped. Not to mention that he couldn’t leave Brooke and Chase here. Not after they’d seen him walk by. Logan would never live with himself if he abandoned them. He’d rather go through the torture of a million perception attribute trials.
So. There was no way to open the cells, no way for him to use his skills to do it. He could try using [Life Fabricator] to fuck this asshole up, but again, Logan liked to think that his ranking hadn’t gone to his head that much. Based on Pied’s crushing aura, Logan would be no match against him.
But could he afford to agree to fight in a tournament and leave Lara and the kids on their own? Leave Tasha and Jack? He might have to even leave Ernie.
He was on a strict time limit; the clock was ticking, and in less than a year, the System would kill everyone who was outside of the one percent. That meant that Hunter and Sawyer wouldn’t survive. Every second he spent away from them, distracted, was an inch closer to their doom.
[360 seconds remaining.]
A flash.
Logan clenched his fists, his mouth dry. “And if I agree? What do you get out of it?”
Pied lifted an eyebrow. “What do you think I get out of it? Power, prestige, world XP! All the things that make the Collective go around.”
Logan scrubbed the back of his scalp, rustling his hair, wanting nothing more than to pace. “I can’t afford to leave Earth for an extended period. The survival of my family depends upon it.”
Pied clapped his hands. “Is that the hold up? Never fear, my dear, Pied has a solution! The System is always fair. Well… eventually it is. In the Integration Tournament, time is warped. One week there is one day back on Earth. We couldn’t do it otherwise. Take the top ten from each world? Who do you think is working on the quests to save their people?”
The Save Humanity Quest? Did the people on the other worlds also receive the same quests? People like Logan? “You know about that?”
“You’re so precious,” Pied said with a grin. “I know everything.”
Logan hesitated and then glanced at Lara through the glass. She was standing up, her arm around Sawyer’s shoulders while Hunter stood to the side, biting her lip and giving Logan a worried frown.
He wanted nothing more than to talk to Lara, talk this out. Although Logan had always been jealous that Lara had succeeded in life and in her career, progressed and left Logan in the dust, he knew that he could rely on her for advice.
It was only because he’d been ashamed that he’d avoided sharing what had happened to the family’s cabin. He’d been given a responsibility to take care of the cabin, and Logan had screwed it up. But it was pure embarrassment and shame that had kept him from sharing it with Lara. If the System Integration hadn’t happened, eventually he would have come clean to Lara, and she would have made it all better.
[300 seconds remaining.]
A flash.
“Fine,” said Logan. “If you free Lara, Hunter and Sawyer, I’ll fight for you. But you have to free the people in cell 32 as well. They’re my friends. If you don’t release them, then there’s no deal.” Even saying it made his nerves surge. He was this close to getting Lara and the kids out of here. And if what Pied said was true, he wouldn’t have to leave for this shitty tournament right away. He’d have six days to prepare, to get them to safety, to make sure they could survive on their own.
Pied ran a hand over his snout, his pink tongue flashing. “You drive a hard bargain! But of course you would, you’re ranked number two in your world.” With a theatrical flourish of his arms, Pied dipped his head. “You’ve got a deal. Now, all you need to do is sign my contract, and your sister, the little ones and your friends are all yours!”
Ding!
[Ruler Pied is willing to become your sponsor during the Integration Tournament!]
[Accept the sponsorship?*]
Logan scrunched his nose as he read the System message and then concentrated on the asterisk, expanding it.
[Integration Tournament Sponsorship Contract]
[Clause 1: Logan Hart, otherwise known as hidden name ‘Idiot’ hereafter known as Idiot, agrees to participate in the Integration Tournament to be held in (six) Earth standard days.]
[Clause 2: Idiot accepts that he will compete in the tournament and that all rewards will become the property of Ruler Pied, hereafter known as Pied.]
[Clause 3: Idiot agrees that he will compete until the tournament ends or until his death.]
[Clause 4: Idiot agrees that he will not denigrate Pied, Pied’s Kingdom, or Pied’s allies with slander or actions that would…]
Logan narrowed his eyes, gritting his teeth. For all his talk of Lara being the smart sibling, he wasn’t stupid, and he knew a bad deal when he saw one. ‘All rewards will become the property of Pied’? Hell no.
Minimizing the message like he would a text message, Logan smiled, trying to look clueless. “Legal crap like this has always confused me. That’s why my sister became the lawyer, and I went into sales. But I rely on my sister’s advice, and she’ll be able to comprehend this easier than I can. Would it be all right if she reads it through first before I sign?”
A case of literary theft: this tale is not rightfully on Amazon; if you see it, report the violation.
Pied’s smile had a hint of annoyance. “It’s a simple contract, all my users sign similar agreements. Come on, don’t you want to free your sister? Free the little ones?”
“Of course I do.” But not if it meant you’d swindle me. “But I don’t think I can sign until she looks it over. She’d kill me otherwise; she’d never let me live it down.”
Pied’s smile shriveled. “Fine,” he snapped. “But my tolerance for ‘reviews’ and ‘amendments’ are limited. My time is in demand! I have a Kingdom to rule. Your sister gets one minute to review it, one minute only. That’s it.”
Logan hesitated, but it might be the best he could get. Pied’s aura had increased, that crushing pressure coming back. He was radiating a killing intent, something that made Logan sit up and take notice. It was all he could do to remain standing and not show how much it affected him.
Next to him, Shoot whimpered, cowering and lying down, her tail between her legs.
[220 seconds remaining.]
A flash.
Pied lifted his arm, turning it until a flat gold bracelet flashed in the lights of the arena. He touched a gem on the bracelet, and just like that, the glass wall disappeared.
Stunned, the people in the cell stared, and then with shouts of excitement, they rushed towards the hallway, to Logan and Pied.
The first person, a man in his twenties with torn jeans, made it barely a foot before Pied growled, clenched his fist, and then twisted the air. That was the only way Logan could explain it. It had to be a skill. Whatever he did forced the man to pause with his foot half out of the cell. Then with a wail, as if he’d seen his worst nightmare, he blanched and shuddered, and a warm wet spot spread on front of his jeans, a yellow puddle pooling around his feet.
He’d just pissed himself.
Fuck.
One by one, anyone else who tried to step beyond the cell reacted the same, although others clawed their faces, scoring deep, bloody scratches.
Gradually, the people in the cells got the message and backed up, staying within the confines even though there was no longer a glass barrier to keep them inside.
Lara had already grabbed the kids by the shoulders, keeping them back. “Logan!” she hissed, her face pale as she peered at from Logan to Pied. “I don’t know whether this is a rescue or a nightmare. What the hell happened to you? You look ridiculous! Like a mountain man in a skintight suit!”
“Uncle Logan got muscles,” whispered Sawyer.
Lara was all bluster, but he knew she was happy to see him. Already, there was a wet sheen around her eyes. Logan couldn’t believe how relieved he was to hear her voice. But time was ticking, and they didn’t have the luxury to swing verbal abuse at each other… even though, holy shit, did he want to! Fuck, he’d missed his sister.
“We don’t have time. I’ve got less than a minute for you to review this contract, tell me what I should get rid of, what should stay. This is life or death, Lara. Help me.”
Just like that, Lara’s face firmed with resolve, and she got the look that everyone had when they read their System messages, but this time, her eyes moved so rapidly, it looked like she was power reading through the Magna Carta.
Logan counted the seconds, his heart racing and about to explode out of his chest. Fuck, if Pied had started the timer as soon as he’d opened the cell, she had less than a minute to do this. If she failed, Logan knew that she wasn’t in physical jeopardy, and even Logan would be fine. But if Lara didn’t have enough time and there was a clause in the contract that would force him to become a literal slave of this asshole, he didn’t know what he’d do.
[160 seconds remaining.]
A flash.
“Time’s up,” said Pied in a sing-song voice.
Lara looked at them with a gasp. Swallowing, she glanced from Logan to Pied, and then as if she were in front of a boardroom addressing the partners in her law firm, she said, “Strike clause 2, clause 7, clause 12, clause 22, and clause 30. Assigning awards can be negotiated, say, ten percent goes to you, but Logan must get something out of it. He’ll be competing in a life-or-death situation. All you get in return is bragging rights.”
Pied’s mouth curdled, and he radiated deep annoyance. Hell yes, don’t fuck with his sister, asshole! He’d underestimated her. When Lara got her legal mojo on, she was unstoppable. “Clause 22 stays. It’s non-negotiable.”
The other people in the cell were looking at Lara with befuddled, shocked looks, and those that hadn’t tried to already escape, were inching forward, eyes on the hallway. With a sinking feeling, Logan realized that he’d negotiated for the release of Lara and the kids, for Brooke and Chase’s group, but he’d neglected to ask about the others. Pied would release Lara and his nieces, and the glass wall would come up once again, trapping them inside.
“What’s going to happen to these people?” Logan interrupted.
Pied and Lara came to a stop, both thinning their lips at the interruption. Ah, fuck, that meant Pied had a lawyer mind as well, which made sense, considering that he’d trapped everyone into signing these shitty, clause hidden contracts.
“Some will work, others will be sold,” said Pied, and then Lara and him went right back to it while Logan grimaced. Letting that stand made acid slosh in his throat, something that was very like guilt making him shift and bounce on the balls of his feet.
[100 seconds remaining.]
A flash.
“Or maybe he’ll boil them alive and make them into skill rings,” Ernie muttered from inside his pouch.
“All right, done,” said Pied.
Lara nodded in satisfaction.
Ding!
[Ruler Pied has made amendments to your Integration Tournament sponsorship contract!*]
[Accept the contract?]
[Yes.]
[No.]
Logan looked to Lara. She winked, and Logan knew that whatever he signed would work out. Hovering over his choice, Logan confirmed the contract.
[Congratulations, user Idiot! You are now affiliated with Ruler Pied and will compete in the Integration Tournament on his behalf!]
[You’ve been granted the title, Forerunner, for being the first in your world to be sponsored by an immortal! This title grants a 5% static bonus to all attributes.]
Logan hissed, shocked, just having enough time to take in the new title before the mother of all trips hit him like he’d just gone through a blender. His skin tightened, that hidden layer of steal underneath his skin becoming ever stronger, his perception exploding, sounds from all around him swamping his senses, the odor of unwashed bodies making him flare his nose.
His senses exploded as his wisdom and intelligence attributes jumped, the world opening up. It was all he could do to hold on for the ride.
Ding!
[Congratulations! You have unlocked the skill [Liche Devourer]!]
Holy shit, the increase had brought his Karma pool up enough to finally, finally unlock the skill. All it had took was an encounter with a furry asshole and a shady as shit contract.
Eyeing Pied furtively, Logan brought up his full stat sheet, barely able to hold back his excitement.
Name: Logan Hart [Hidden Name: Idiot]
Rank: 2 out of 6,002,998,197
Level: 156
Class: [Epic] Fabled Creation
Grade: E5
Species: Human
Skills:
* Idiot’s Paradox Lv. 28
* Idiot’s Inspect Lv. 10 (capped)
* Deepwater Explorer Lv. 3
* Regenerate Lv. 15
* Mimicry Armour Lv. 3
* Undead Stamina
* Foresight
* Lodestone Creationist Lv. 1
* Liche Devourer Lv. 1
* Life Fabricator Lv. 3
* Threshold Shift
Titles: Eager Beaver; Mass Murderer; Audacious Corpse; Run Until You Drop; Malicious Meat Sack; Forerunner
XP Progress: 225,000/312,000
Karma: 3,474/3,600
Intelligence: 600
Constitution: 48
Strength: 365
Agility: 381
Dexterity: 302
Endurance: 683
Perception: 141
Wisdom: 587
Luck: 105
Free Attribute Points: 0
KarmaCoin: 252,600
Logan stifled a wide grin, his dimples showing. A five percent static boost to his lowest attributes didn’t do much—constitution had gone up barely two points—but it resulted in a larger increase to his highest attributes. The law of compounding.
But most importantly, since each intelligence attribute translated into six Karma points, he’d just increased his Karma pool to 3600. That had unlocked [Liche Devourer], but it had also better positioned him to utilize skills that required high Karma. When he returned to growing trees for his Save Humanity Quest, that meant he’d have more power, power to grow monsters.
[60 seconds until skill depletion!]
“Well,” said Pied, his tail standing up and his eyes sparkling. “It’s been a pleasure doing business with you, Logan.” He nodded his head at Lara. “Contract worker Lara. I’ll expect to see you in six days time. I think you’ll do well. You’ll be a star.” Pied gestured with his arm for Lara and the kids to come out.
Grabbing Hunter and Sawyer’s hands, Lara inched forward, her eyes cautious. When nothing happened when she stepped over the line, she grew confident and rushed over to Logan, shouting, “What took you so long, jerk!” Punching him on the shoulder and then wincing when she banged against his armour, she wrapped her arms around him, giving him a crushing hug. Or at least it would have been a crushing hug before the System Integration.
Logan sighed, sagging in relief, hit with a feeling of everything being right in the world for the first time in over a week. Lara and his nieces were alive; they were okay. His struggles hadn’t been in vain.
It was only because Logan had advanced so far that he was even here at all. Without the trial dungeon, without the torture of the attribute trials, and the pain of almost losing Ernie in the underwater dungeon, Logan never would have leveled up so much, which meant that he would have been no match for the people within Pied’s Kingdom. Everything had happened for a reason, and that reason was right in front of him.
“I can’t believe what I’m looking at,” Lara mumbled into his shoulder. “You’ve become a monster. Erin is going to faint when she sees you!”
Erin was his ex-girlfriend. Before the Integration, thinking about her would have made bitterness simmer in his stomach, but now, the emotion was faraway, and he could only think of her with a wince. What were the chances that was even still alive? “If she survived.”
Lara gave the kids a quick look. “Quiet. I’m trying to avoid mentioning death as much as possible.”
“Well!” said Pied, clapping his hands. “It’s time for you to go, shall we? Come with me, and I’ll release your other friends and then you can be on your way.”
Whistling, he came to a sudden stop, giving Logan a bright grin. Inclining his head, he whispered, “Just between you and me, you could have gotten so much more if you’d only asked. I got a good deal, Logan. A word of advice, next time, don’t be afraid to push for more.”
[Skill depleted!]
***
Logan blinked, wide eyed, doing everything he could to act normal while Pied re-enacted the same scene that he’d just seen with [Foresight]. It was difficult to believe that everything he’d foreseen hadn’t already happened, and almost crushing to realize that Lara was still behind the glass wall. But he knew that in less than ten minutes, he could get her out of there.
And there was another factor in consideration.
It had turned out that he hadn’t needed [Foresight] to save his life, he’d needed it to outsmart Pied.