Faruk seemed relieved by Lucas’ acceptance. Lucas couldn’t even imagine what it was like to be told that he was dead, but Faruk seemed to be taking it surprisingly well. His character surprised Lucas a lot; the man didn’t even take a moment’s rest after receiving such shocking news. Right after, he was back to business, making plans for his vengeance. Maybe this is the right mindset to have in this world, where things are constantly changing, Lucas pondered, when the necromancer spoke again.
“The man’s name was Arthur; but he could’ve changed it. So much time has passed that he may not even look the same. I imagine it will be a little hard for you to track him down. But I’m not asking you to do it immediately, I want you to be sure you can kill him before you even try, understood?”
Lucas nodded in compliance, and the necromancer continued.
“Despite it being hard to track him down, he must have some fame wherever he is. A person with such abilities won’t remain hidden for long. He might not be known for his special ability, but he should be known as someone who is resourceful and powerful. You just need to keep a sharp ear and eyes once you leave your planet. I don’t know how much this will help you now that so much time has passed, but I remember him as being a tall, bulky man with red hair and a big scar on the back of his right hand. Unfortunately, that’s all the information I can provide right now.” The necromancer sighed, wishing he could say more.
“I can work with that,” Lucas said. If what the necromancer said about Arthur’s special ability was true, then he was right to speculate that this man wouldn’t fall under the radar. Lucas was very aware of how important skills were; he was the living proof of it. One single skill had changed his entire fighting style. This might not be the same for everyone, but it still goes to show how important they were. However, a question formed in his mind as he pondered about the man he needed to seek: “How can you make sure I’ll follow through on our agreement, you said it yourself that you didn’t trust others much.”
“I have a method to enforce something like this; don’t worry. You should go back to your mission now, an hour will arrive soon,” Faruk answered dismissively.
“Alone? What will you be doing?” Lucas asked, intrigued.
“I’ll write down the contract,” the necromancer answered casually.
“The… contract?” Lucas asked, wondering if he had heard that right.
“Yes, don’t worry about it. Go before you run out of time,” Faruk said, shooing him away with a dismissive gesture.
“Can I at least take the turtle?” Lucas asked. He had to admit he very much liked riding the turtle, especially for its amazing speed. After being on foot ever since arriving in Ponos, it was nice to have a ‘vehicle’ for a change.
“The turtle only obeys to me. I can’t guarantee it won’t attack you once you’re away,” Faruk answered, shaking his head.
“Is it similar to how you control the undead?” Lucas asked, with ideas already forming in his mind. If the same concept could be applied to the beasts, wouldn’t that mean he could become a beast tamer as well? Then he could not only have an army of undead but also beasts. Who would have the guts to stand in his way then? But Faruk shot down this wonderful dream right away.
“No. I wasn’t the one to tame this beast. I paid for it, and it wasn’t cheap either,” Faruk made a face like he had taken a big hit in his finances when he made that acquisition, and Lucas stopped questioning, leaving the necromancer in the woods and heading towards his target hidden spot.
On the way, Lucas pondered everything the necromancer had said to him. He had tried to adapt to the morals of the new world many times already, and he was making progress in that regard. He still hesitated when facing a human opponent, he wasn’t cold-blooded enough. But he was slowly extinguishing that soft part of him; he could feel the change happening, and he had just given another step when he accepted the necromancer’s proposal.
From a purely moral standpoint, desecrating the dead and creating an army of them was something he really didn’t want to do. But when viewed objectively, he couldn’t deny its usefulness. It would help him a lot, especially considering what was to come, based on what Faruk had told him about all the factions that were sure to arise. It would undeniably be a great trump card to have in case anyone wanted to cause trouble for him.
That was another point Faruk raised his attention to. He had been too preoccupied with his own concerns to think about others. He knew there were other cities, and that different types of people came to Ponos. What would happen if a mass murderer became super powerful? Would Lucas be able to stop him if someone like that turned his eyes toward Zoria? He wasn’t sure. He was much stronger than a level 10 should be, that was true, but he was still too low-leveled, and that could become a problem later on. Hopefully, he could put a few levels under his belt before he left this floor.
He arrived at the designated location a few minutes later. As he descended, he saw only one person again, this one level 10. This time, he didn’t hesitate. Before his opponent could even react, Lucas’ blades were already cutting his head off.
*You have killed Human – lvl 10. Experience earned.*
Ignoring the gruesome sight, Lucas checked his status, but his level hadn’t increased. Seeing that, he fought the urge to continue going down and finished his mission. He had to be patient and keep farming his enemies until there was only the big boss left. He jumped back to the surface.
This was easier than before, he muttered, feeling his guilty conscience weigh on him, before heading back towards the woods.
He found the necromancer where he had left him, sitting in a chair by a table he had probably taken out of his ring, with a paper ready in hand, which he extended to Lucas upon his arrival.
“The contract,” he said, raising it and explaining. “Contracts are different after the system; it has nothing to do with the law or any sort of legal action. This special type of paper that I used to write down the terms—a product especially made by the system itself—guarantees that what we agree upon here will have to be kept, or we risk facing the consequences that were established.”
Lucas nodded in understanding. Like everything in Ponos, a contract seemed to be much more straightforward, without any of the bureaucracy from Earth.
“The terms that I established are pretty simple, and you can read the contract to confirm it. But basically, what I’m asking of you is to keep the goal of killing Arthur, the man who killed my wife, in mind. You can kill him in a decade, a hundred, or a thousand years from now; it doesn’t matter. You just have to make sure you intend to follow through on our agreement when you feel that you are ready, or you’ll face the consequences pre-established. In return, I’ll teach you the method to raise an army of undead, and give you the means to learn how to control dark mana,” Faruk stated.
This book's true home is on another platform. Check it out there for the real experience.
“What are these ‘consequences’?” Lucas asked, frowning.
“Death,” the necromancer said coldly, and Lucas felt a chill hearing that.
Now that things were getting serious, he began to have second thoughts. He had gone a long way since arriving in Ponos, and a big part of his mindset had changed, but his sense of self-preservation still wasn’t so messed up to the point of willingly signing a contract that could kill him later on if he didn’t manage to keep his promises.
“It seemed I got the shorter end of the stick on this deal,” Lucas argued. “Don’t get me wrong, an army of undead seems great, but what stops me from getting one myself later on? And besides it’s a huge commitment to promise I’ll kill someone who, from all I know, could have become a god by now, just for this. If I never manage to reach his level, I’ll forever have this contract hanging over my head, preventing me to rest easy.”
The necromancer seemed to consider Lucas words. “You are right, I’m asking for a lot, but you need to understand that forming an army of undead isn’t so simple either. The only way I managed to do it was by finding a pretty old and forgotten book that slightly mentioned the technique. I had to improve it and fill in the gaps myself. I don’t think the chances of you finding a book like that are high. Also, together with the technique, I’ll give you something that will help you control dark magic, speeding up the process you would need to go through many times. So yes, while you could try to do this all by yourself, chances are it would take a few years, if you were able to pull it off at all.”
He paused and then continued: “But you are right, the risk you will be taking is a lot already, without the consequences of failure weighing over you… how about you lose 30% of your levels and stats if you give up killing him?”
“Can you actually do that?” Lucas asked, surprised. That the breach of a contract could kill him was already surprising enough, but he thought maybe it had a connection with his soul or something. But something as specific as that was another level of detail.
“The system can do anything it wants, and this is a contract recognized by the system,” the necromancer explained. “So, what do you think? This way, I know you won’t easily give up, and you don’t have to fear being killed because of a break in the contract if anything unexpected happens or you just decide to give up. Do we have a deal?”
Lucas thought about those conditions. 30% wasn’t too much on the level he was currently in, but if he reached level 100 and gave up killing that guy, he would immediately drop to level 70. That could be extremely dangerous, depending on the situation he was in, but it was still better than dying. He could still recover from that; it would just be a hassle.
Besides, Lucas had already decided that he wouldn’t give up on it, unless something extremely unexpected happened, so he agreed with the terms and signed the contract after Faruk corrected it.
Right after both of them signed it, a system notification appeared for Lucas:
*New contract active.”
Just like the quest to find Hilda’s cat, he could also see the details of the contract if he wanted to, making it official.
“That’s done. What’s next?” Lucas asked, eager to hear what his next steps should be.
“Now I will fulfill my part of the deal. First, since you’re not a necromancer, you’ll need to learn how to use and control dark mana. And to do that, you’ll need an object that is related to it,” he said, and he fetched a purple rock from his ring. “Like this one.”
Dark Iolite
“What’s that?” Lucas said, seeing that the identify didn’t tell him much. He grabbed the rock that was offered to him, and immediately he felt the weird energy emanating from it. In some ways, it was very similar to the aura the orb emanated, but the source of that energy was different somehow.
“That’s a rock that can contain and absorb dark mana. The energy you are feeling is the dark mana I’m talking about; it’s the same that I used to scare you back then. It’s similar to your death aura, but also different in substance—much more malleable, I imagine, even though not as explosive,” the necromancer said, deep in thought.
“So, what should I do with it?” Lucas asked, still analyzing the rock in his hand.
“That is the hard part. When I found that very rock that you have in your hands, I had just become a mage. I wasn’t sure what it was, but I knew it contained a strange energy inside. I studied for some time until I gave up on figuring out what it was. Sometime later, I was offered to change classes after leveling up. When I became a necromancer, probably due to this rock, everything became much simpler. I had all the knowledge that I needed. I knew what dark magic was and how to control it naturally. You, however, don’t have that advantage,” the necromancer explained, and Lucas had a frown on his face hearing that.
“You know I’m not changing my class, right?” Lucas asked angrily.
“I never said you had to,” Faruk replied calmly.
“Then what’s the plan?”
“Even though you are not a necromancer, you have your aura, and even if they are not the same, they are close. I believe that with time and effort, you’ll figure out how to do it. And I’m gifting you this rock so you can continue to study it even after you’re gone.”
“I can’t take anything from here; I’ve already tried it,” Lucas said, pointing out the flaw in the necromancer’s plan.
“That’s where you are mistaken. You haven’t tried hard enough,” he said with a mischievous smile.
“What do you mean?” Lucas inquired. Previously, Lucas had attempted to place the glass from the bar in his ring, but nothing happened.
“Do you remember that I told you that I quit going down in the dungeon back then, and had tested the system’s tolerance to my stay on a floor because I had found something interesting there?”
Lucas nodded.
“Well, what I found was another sort of rock. One that could conduct mana very well too. My mission on that floor was to retrieve that rock and give it back to my employer. But I thought, ‘That is something I need for myself’, and so, instead of completing my objective, I turned all my efforts to get that stone for myself, and I still have it,” the necromancer fetched another rock—this one crimson red—out of his ring to show him.
“How… how did you do it?” Lucas was flabbergasted by the story that Faruk told him. It was something that would never have crossed his mind, even if he had reached his limits on the tower. To stop everything to try and steal an object. Lucas didn’t understand how someone so smart couldn’t be considered talented, but since it had come from the man himself, he decided to accept it.
The necromancer maintained his mischievous smile as he replied. “The system wouldn’t allow me to take something from the dungeon. So, I had to make that object not something from the dungeon, but something that was really mine. How do you make that? Simple. I made a staff, using my very limited abilities, and placed the rock on one end of it. Suddenly, it stopped being a rock and started being recognized as a magic staff.”
“That’s brilliant,” Lucas said, acknowledging that he still had a lot to learn compared to that willy old fox standing in front of him. Faruk’s plan seemed flawless, there was only one thing bothering him. “Are you sure the system won’t punish me?” Even though the theory was sound, it was hard for him to believe the system would allow him to cheat like that.
At Lucas’ words, the smile briefly disappeared from Faruk’s face. “As it turns out, the system is prepared for situations like this, and part of my points were deducted in order for me to take the staff with me. But I guarantee it came with a huge discount, and I don’t regret it. If I hadn’t done that, my rewards from doing the dungeon would have been truly disappointing.”
Lucas thought about it for a few moments. He had no idea what his rewards from the tower would be, but it sounded like a good idea to make sure at least some of it was something he really needed. However, discussing the system brought a disturbing question to his mind. “Do you think the system knew that this,” Lucas gestured to both of them, “would happen?”
The necromancer didn’t seem surprised by his question, suggesting that he had already pondered it a long time ago. “I believe they knew it could happen. But the decisions we make are up to us. The system only lets the opportunities flow, and people have to be smart and lucky enough to take them, or choose to let them go.”
Lucas pondered the necromancer’s words. I could’ve just walked away when I saw that sign on the Dark Forest, or I could’ve said nothing when I met Faruk. Instead, I chose to follow this path, so that’s what I’ll do, he thought, pensive, looking at the rock in his hand.