The contract binds anyone in relation to its owner, not as a means of promoting slavery or putting them at the mercy of the owner. Rather, the [Rift Shard] sees this as a necessary guideline in accordance with its principles towards life.

However, when a soul or creature bound by the contract disobeys the will of the [Rift Shard], an energy manifests from the crystal in the form of formless energy, exerting pressure on those who violate its rules or will.

Olen took advantage of this rule by pretending to be the manifestation of the [Rift Shard] presence. By merging his aura with the energy and mimicking a godly voice, he shouted the magical word at the right moment, earning him the ability of [Silver Tongue] as a reward for his clever act.

"What can I say, I'm smart," Olen thought to himself, not fully confident that his warriors could win the favor of the yeti, leading him to consider underhanded means.

He remembered that the souls residing in the Gate of Souls were filled with fragments of the past floating in the void. Two of his warriors had even described them as souls or memories of the past wandering aimlessly in the void.

Olen wasn't sure if an otherworldly presence had altered his memories, but he knew one thing for sure. A strange voice would emerge from his consciousness, relaying its past like a link between their souls. He was sure it was those memories from the day when he had gained those visions, the crystal, and the sword.

Olen looked down at the monster with a mixture of pity and disdain, his eyes scanning the two warriors standing by his side. With a hint of hostility in his tone, he questioned, "Do I really need to take matters into my own hands or are you going to help me?"

Feimshall looked at the goblin, its eyes filled with fear, while sliding a glance toward Alfrick. He then approached the Yeti, observing the beast's desperate attempts to break free from the chains that bound it. Alfrick, not wanting to take any chances, kept the goblin subdued on the ground.

Feimshall confused at the sudden events that had happened a while ago, flustered. As the deep voice of his liege reached to his ears, and nervously said: “Ah yes… how could I… forgot my liege.” And with the goblin cornered on the ground, Feimshall reached out his hand towards the Yeti, hoping to calm it down. The Yeti turned its head towards the man in front of it, its rage gradually cooling as it saw its master approaching.

Feimshall quickly looked back and forth between Olen and the Yeti, and a sudden idea came into his mind.

"He's your father," he said, pointing his fingers towards Olen.

Olen “...”

Alfrick “...”

The goblin “...”

Feimshall didn't know how to ease the tension around him, so he thought that maybe his out-of-the-mind idea could increase the familiarity between his lord and the Yeti. In fact, he had only one thought in his mind after realizing the genius idea planned in his head.

‘If he's my lord, then does that make him the Yeti father?’

“Roar?” The Yeti looked back and forth in confusion at its master, trying to picture what its master meant by pointing its finger to Olen and calling it father.

When Feimshall was about to explain what the father meant by carving a picture in the snow on the ground. Olen suddenly appeared and grabbed his shoulder. "If you want to keep your life, you should let me handle the drawing," Olen said, looking at him with a grim look on his face.

Feimshall shuddered in fear, and gave the Yeti one last glance, indicating for it to stay calm. The Yeti's aura dimmed as it sensed its master's command.

Olen nodded and slowly approached the Yeti, looking into its eyes. "Father means god," he whispered softly, as he drew a picture of a monster and a baby gorilla in the snow in front of the Yeti.

For a moment of clarity, Olen thought there might be something amiss at the conjecture he used to portray himself at the drawing. ‘Wait… did I just use the father as a role?’

The Yeti shivered in fear, as it saw Olen's image overlapped with the monstrous figure towering over him. The Yeti's furious aura soon diminished as the chains surrounding its body slowly vanished.

“Good, now that the [Rift Shard] freed you, you must have already accepted me as your god,” Olen indifferently said, still acting like a god.

“Let’s call you Krongus from now, ok krongus?” Olen said in an authoritative voice. He then turned his head at Feimshall, as he point his finger at him, “Master” while also pointing his finger once more to his chest, and said “me God”

Olen satisfied with the idea and nodded, a grunting sound all of sudden rushed to his ears, as the voice struggled to say the word with confusion in its eyes. “Fwather? Gwad?” the yeti spoke for a moment scratching his head, “Gwodfwather?” Krongus nodded, satisfied with the word.

“Godfather,” Krongus repeated and happily said.

Olen “...”

Alfrick and the goblin “...”

"It's always all about me being the old man," Olen thought to himself, feeling frustrated that he was still carrying this burden even after reincarnating into this world. He felt stifled, unable to guide his frustration towards the source of the problem, whether it was the Yeti's fault or the man who taught it to say the word "father."

He glanced over at Feimshall and let out a sigh. "There's no doubt about it, they're both idiots, and both have muscle for brains," he thought to himself.

Olen looked up at the sky for a moment, taking a deep breath. After a while, he looked back at the two warriors in the distance, drenched in sweat.

"Gather the stones outside from the snow and make use of Krongus," he said, dismissing their nervousness. "The Yeti can help with lessening the effort of picking up the pile of rubble outside the area."

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There was no point in getting involved in the problem and making a drama out of it. This had nothing to do with them, and he always took things too personally when someone called him an old man.

‘all for that act and I get called a godfather at the end, damn, stupid damn world reincarnating me with an old body.

***

Olen crossed his legs and sat on the ground. The sound of the group's footsteps on the snow reached his ears as he closed his eyes and meditated beneath the [Rift Shard] as his presence merged with its aura and essence drifting around him.

Olen hummed with the snow falling around him, as his aura fused with the snow, elevating his mind to serene tranquility. He explored at the remains of his memory, transcribing the contents in [Dovahzul Language]. Enriching his knowledge in reconstruction of some spells, increasing their likelihood of survival and understanding the Rift.

The [Rift] was their only means of securing the rations needed for the group. Although he doesn’t know if the [Rift] was stable enough to travel to the other side of the world. However, the [Rift Gate] has unique properties that manipulate the [Rift], making it useful for locating its coordinates.

For an hour, Olen merged words into symbols and runes into spells. So far, the spells in his arsenal were limited to [Illuminate]. The spell was practically useless for battles and can only be used as a strategic counter. His thoughts wandered as he tried to delve deeper into his memory, eventually coming across a book titled "King of the Rings."

"Interesting, finally I could use some inspiration," Olen thought as he flipped through the pages, eventually coming across a chapter featuring an old man battling a demon under steep rocks. The old man stood alone on a bridge, facing the towering demon presence with determination.

The old man's staff then suddenly shone with white brilliance, as he raised his staff to the air and said:

“NONE SHALL PASS!”

The old man plunged his staff to the surface of the bridge, as a burst of light burst forth from the staff, blinding the entire alley and the demon. The bridge broke into ruins, falling from their feet, as the rubbles of rocks carried them through the endless darkness.

Olen rummaged through the entire language, looking for the right symbols and runes to merge the spell from the story he found in the book. After scouring for hours, he finally found the right symbol for the spell, by combining the barrier rune and shout rune with the [Illuminate] spell, creating an offensive replica of it similar to its effect, naming it [Aspro Lux].

Satisfied at the newfound spell he had created, Olen opened his eyes, letting the information of the resulting new spell sink into his mind.

[Due to integrating the new spell, your understanding of [Dovahzul] has increased sharply]

[Language proficiency has increased significantly]

[Your understanding toward the [Arcane] has increased subtly]

[Your understanding toward the [Evocation] has increased sharply]

[You have gained a small amount of [Essence]

Looking at the new information ringing through his head, Olen nodded and proceeding to check his status while waiting for the group to arrive.

[Olen Fairer]

[Proficiency]

Language: 9 (20/100)

Arcane: 7 (4/100)

Speech: 100 (100/100)

Essence: 5 (20/100)

One-Handed Sword: 9 (22/100)

Rift: 2 (69/100)

Evocation: 7 (3/100)

Agility: 5 (69/100)

[Progression]

Rift Dweller: 2 (79/100)

Olen thought for a while and decided to check the description of the [Essence] if any useful information could help him to understand its properties. So far in his understanding, only the information from his vision could explain the memories from his consciousness about the [Essence].

The function of the [Essence] seems to be focused on the internal energy of the body. Aside from that, no established boundaries have yet to receive its limit other than his understanding stuck at level 5.

Essence: It's what makes up the myriad energies in life, where all origins are. It’s an energy that encompasses every source of life there is.

Olen had already a hunch of its definition before. After all, he’s not strange to such concepts back then on earth. Feeling confused, he entered a state of disunity as he let his mind merge to his body. After quite a while, he opened his eyes, and to his surprise, a new piece of information appeared in his mind.

[Essence]

Essence: 20

[1st Stage]

Elated, Olen decided to check the mana lingering in his body.

[Mana]

Mana: 100/100

[Apprentice]

Olen examined the properties of the [Essence], seeking any useful information that could help him understand its abilities. From what he could gather, this power seemed to be unique to those who had attained it through the crystal and the stone. It acted as an alternative chip implanted in the mind, displaying the changes in one's body.

Though he could still sense the changes in his body, the amount of energy remained consistent and could be calculated through sensing it. The only difference was that his eyes could see the numerical representation of the energy in his body.

He wasn't sure if this function was unique to the world he lived in, but he knew that the captive they brought back from the battle understood the changes in the energy within their body. The shadow method was proof of this, and there was no doubt that the other side of the [Rift] possessed similar qualities.

‘It seems we're gonna need a use of her, not that, I mean explore’ as much as Olen hates it, he had never been in a romantic relationship before or anyone close to any woman in his life, well other than his relative of course.

No one could blame him though, as his disorder had taken up much of his life.

Sighing… he looked at his willy wonka below his robe, and thought…

‘not that it matters, anyway. I’m old.'