"Hey, what are you doing? Are you playing tricks on me?"

"No, sir. Please spare me and make me your subordinate."

"Do you think that I was born yesterday to fall for that trick of yours?" Adrian flicked his fingers, and a floating flame dagger stabbed into Nash's shoulder.

"That's the oldest trick in the book."

Nash groaned in pain but managed to maintain his composure. "I assure you, sir, I have no intention of tricking or deceiving you.

Adrian swiftly jumped off the small hill and approached Nash.

His cold face was inches away from Nash's, his piercing eyes staring into Nash's soul. "Prove it." Adrian demanded. "Show me that you are worthy of being my subordinate, and perhaps I will consider sparing you."

Nash slammed his head to the ground. "What can I do to prove myself?"

"If you still make it out alive after I stabbed all of these floating daggers of mine at you, I'll let you live..."

"I have a-."

Adrian's voice dripped with Impatience as he interrupted Nash. "My patience is thin. Will you accept my challenge or not?"

"I-I accept." Nash's voice trembled as he accepted Adrian's challenge, his heart pounding in his chest.

He knew that this was his only chance to prove himself and earn Adrian's trust.

'This was the only way... I will be alive.'

"Good now, brace yourself." Adrian flicked his fingers and all of the flame daggers that were floating into the air stabbed into Nash's body.

With a searing pain. Nash gritted his teeth, Feeling the burning pain in the different parts of his body. determined to endure the agony and prove his worth.

As the flames burned different parts of his body, he started to lose consciousness due to the extreme pain that he was currently experiencing.

Nash's vision blurred, and his thoughts became muddled as the excruciating pain overwhelmed him.

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Desperate to stay conscious, he bit down hard on his lower lip and tongue, drawing blood in an attempt to focus his mind.

'...'

As he was about to completely lose consciousness, a bottle rolled across the ground in front of him.

Nash's eyes widened as he recognized it, A healing potion.

With his last ounce of strength, he reached out and grabbed the bottle, quickly opening it and downing its contents.

Almost instantly, he felt a soothing coolness spread through his body, alleviating the pain and restoring his energy.

Looking up, he saw Adrian standing before him. The figure's cold face stared at Nash, a hint of amusement in their eyes. "You passed."

"But I don't trust you."

"I have a mana contract with me." Nash inserted mana into his ring, and A piece of parchment appeared on his hand. "We can sign a mana contract."

Adrian's amusement turned into a slight smirk as he observed Nash's determination. "Very well," he replied, extending his hand to accept the parchment. "I hate betrayal. Trust is a luxury that I cannot afford."

"You should've said earlier that you have a mana contract."

"I was about to say it, but you didn't let me finish talking, Mr. Adrian..."

"..."

"..."

Here, read the contents and imprint your mana on it. Adrian carefully read the contents of the contract, his eyes scanning each word.

As he finished, he pressed his palm against the parchment, allowing his mana to imprint on it. A surge of energy pulsed through both their bodies, solidifying the contract.

"If you dare to harm me and my interests, A huge amount of mana will explode inside you." Adrian warned, his voice laced with a hint of menace. "I hate betrayals."

"I understand." The other party nodded, their expression filled with a mix of fear and understanding. "Rest assured, I have no intentions of crossing you.

"All right, let's return to the village and rest. We'll only get a few hours of sleep because we're leaving early."

As I was about to turn and head back to the village, Nash approached me, his eyes filled with curiosity.

"Mr. Adrian, how can you manipulate elements that way? Do you have a magical device on you? What's your profession, Mr.Adrian? Can you please teach me how to do that?" Nash paused, seemingly embarrassed by his own barrage of questions.

"I really want to learn to control water, Mr.Adrian." Adrian was flabbergasted by Nash's sudden curiosity and barrage of questions. He had never encountered someone this shameless.

"I don't have magical devices on me." Adrian replied coldly. "As for my profession, It's a swordsman. And teaching you to control basic elements, I'll think about it."

"Really, you're a swordsman? I thought it was a mage, wizard, or something. Your elemental control is very impressive, especially considering your age. That's why I thought that you have a class like that..."

"Hey, are you dumb? Of course, I'm not a swordsman. My profession is sorcerer. I was just messing with you, and you fell for it." Adrian's sarcastic response left the person feeling foolish for believing his initial claim

"..."

"I'm really amazed at how you changed your attitude toward me. A while ago, you wanted to kill me. Now you're actually engaging in banter with me. You really are shameless."

"I agree, Mr. Adrian. I am really shameless. I became the head of the association on hora not just because of my skills but also because of my social skills and shamelessness."

'Should I just kill him?...'

"What's your profession?"

"I'm a monster hunter."

"How old are you?"

"I'm 25, Mr.Adrian."

"Twenty-five... then, act your age and be quiet while we head to the village."

"Oh... ok, got it."

...

After a few hours of sleep, Adrian woke up and made his way down to the tavern.

He was surprised to see Nash already awake and sitting at a table, sipping on a cup of coffee.

Adrian joined him and asked, "Did you sleep at all?" Nash chuckled and replied, "Sleep is for the weak, Mr.Adrian. I've been up since dawn.

"I shouldn't have spared your life." Adrian raised an eyebrow at Nash's comment, unsure if he was joking or not. He decided to brush it off and ordered breakfast.

"Mr.Adrian, Where are we going early this morning?"

"We're going to Hatar. We will escort a merchant on our way there. We'll depart shortly." Nash nodded, taking another sip of his coffee. "Hatar, huh? Haven't been there in years. Should be an interesting journey."

"Mr. Adrian, do I need to prepare some things? Like a set of clothes or food, potions something like that."

"Can you just. please be quiet. I'm trying to enjoy my breakfast." Adrian's tone was slightly irritated as he tried to focus on his meal.

Nash apologized, realizing he had been talking too much. "Sorry about that, Mr. Adrian. I'll keep it down." He leaned back in his chair, allowing Adrian to savor his breakfast in peace.

"And one more thing, just call me Adrian."