Chapter 8: Soul Contract
Chapter 8: Soul Contract
"Ha... Finally..." Nathan laid down on the bed, burying his face in the sheet. "Today is so tiring."
"It seems that you have thought about your future plan." Fenrir leaped onto the bed.
"Not really."
"I'm not talking about that." Fenrir's tone became soft. "I'm talking about your decision to stay in this world."
"Mhmm..." Nathan fell silent for a moment, his eyes were glistening. "This world is much more dangerous, and I can die at any time. Meanwhile, on Earth... I was abused by my family, and reading novels was just me trying to escape from all those pains."
Fenrir could feel his pain a little bit.
"I know that I'm not the smartest or the brightest. I might make a lot of mistakes along the way. However, I'm not planning to go down quietly." Nathan extended his hand. "I don't know what you feel about me, but I'll be relying on you a lot, Fenrir."
Fenrir looked at his hand for a moment before saying, "You better not die. I want to reach the peak and fight those so-called gods and goddesses. Those weird aliens are probably good opponents as well."
Nathan smiled. "Now that I think about it, you are right. This world allows the summoners to summon humanoid creatures such as Draconians and Archangels. If you think about it, I don't think there is a single human, right?"
"Is there something wrong about it?" Fenrir tilted his head in confusion.
"I'm talking about the possibilities that Gods and Goddesses who, while not humans, are still humanoid, such as the man with a jackal's head, Anubis. There are a lot of mythologies on Earth. Maybe even that Archangel is also among them. In other words, what they can summon is not limited to fantasy beings but also legendary beings."
"Either way, I can fight them. I want to test my might against all those powerful beings."
"That sounds like you." Nathan smiled. "By the way, what can you do in your current form? Can you grow stronger?"
"I'm about to test it. How about sitting first? I want to test if you can sacrifice more Ena.."
"The familiars in this world can't because they're trying to become stronger, not regain their strength!" Nathan understood the difference between them.
"Yes."
"What am I supposed to do?"
"I've been manipulating this link between us for a while and noticed something. Well, I'm also inspired by what you said earlier about measuring Ena with numbers. When I come here, I believe I only take half of your Ena. I'm thinking about getting a bit more."
"How do you do that?"
"This is just speculation, but you might be able to do it. Something that can only be done by two familiars."
"Two familiars?" Nathan's body shook.
"Haven't you thought about that possibility as well?" Fenrir grinned. "Why did you take over this body? How was it even possible? And why would it happen right in his awakening?"
Nathan's face turned grim. "The familiar that the original Nathan was supposed to summon was me. For some reason, I ended up 'killing him' and taking over his body. And because we were in the middle of the awakening, I summoned you."
Fenrir smirked. "I can't sense the original Nathan anymore, but it doesn't change the fact that you are also a familiar that is inhabiting a body. This might be your true power... you can harness the power of familiar and summoner at the same time."
Nathan sucked a cold breath. "In that case, what exactly is my ability as a familiar?"
"That's why I was quiet most of the time. I was searching how to see that... and that was where I figured out two things." Fenrir pointed his paw at the mirror. "Can't you see your own quality as familiar if you see yourself in the mirror?"
"!!!" Nathan rushed to the dressing table and saw himself in the mirror. As Fenrir expected, he could actually see his own information.
Name: Nathan Reckmoon.
Level: 1
Race: Human
Quality: Basic (High)
"Ahahaha. This is ridiculous." Nathan dropped to the chair. "Then again, this might be the only explanation. This contract you're talking about... What does it do?"
"Before that, why don't you check your ability as a familiar first? Close your eyes and concentrate your focus on your mind. You should be able to see something in that darkness."
"Mhmm?" Nathan followed his instruction. To his surprise, he indeed saw something.
Skill: Soul Contract
There was only a single line, but it actually became the answer to all his doubts.
Why would he come to this world? Why would he take over the original Nathan's body? What if everything was due to this ability?
'Soul Contract. What if the price of the contract was the original Nathan body? But why do I not remember it? Is the contract stating that I should lose my memory about it as well? In that case, what kind of thing have I agreed to?'
"Can you see it?" Fenrir asked.
"I can see one skill," replied Nathan while pinching the bridge of his nose.
"I have a lot of skills. For whatever reason, it names all my abilities. However, most of them are sealed. This is my reason for believing that I can actually do this. I only have four weak abilities."
Nathan looked at Fenrir and said, "It might be possible. My ability is Soul Contract. I can't explain it, but somehow I feel like I can use it. It's weird."
"As expected, you are the one who can probably make it true." Fenrir extended his paw. "Let's test it. I'll offer you one of my skills, Deadly Claw, in exchange for 30% of your remaining Ena."
"Are you sure about this? If you lose one of four abilities, it'll be a huge blow."
"In exchange, you can utilize my ability. If you get stronger and fight together with me, it'll be even better. Besides, if this contract really works, it means that I can grow through that contract, unlocking more abilities."
Since Fenrir had made his resolve, Nathan closed his eyes, concentrating. After a few seconds, he extended his palm and muttered, "Soul Contract!"
Suddenly, a golden scroll manifested out of thin air, gradually rolling down. Words appeared one after another.
Contract:
Fenrir is to offer his skill 'Deadly Claw' to Nathan Reckmoon. Nathan Reckmoon will give 30% of his Ena.
"This contract shall be signed by the two parties." Nathan muttered while pointing his thumb at Fenrir as if asking him to cut it.
Fenrir scratched until it bled.
Nathan's eyebrows twitched, but he endured the pain. He then pressed it on the contract.
Fenrir did the same and signed it with his paw.
Now that the contract had been signed by the two parties, the contract burst into flame as blue particles leaked out of their bodies.