0.3 Contract Sealed

"What options are those?! What is this experiment?" Setia said, running her hands through her hair in frustration. The dragon blinked at her.

"We are collecting data on character interaction and world immersion, the psychology of the human psyche placed in various situations. It will require you to transmigrate to multiple worlds, fulfill your goal, and collect the devil's shards. Then you will move on to a new world. If you violate any of the conditions of the world, you will fail the mission."

"What happens if I fail?" Setia asked. She blanched. Go to different worlds? Fulfill a mission? Eli the dragon shook his head.

"Setia will not fail, I have faith in her." He said proudly. That didn't sound promising.

"And if I do this, I will return to my world to live out the rest of my life as I see fit?" Setia asked, raising an eyebrow.

"Once Setia has completed all worlds, she will return to this one." Eli nodded. Setia sighed.

"What are these missions that I have to accomplish? Other worlds? This makes little sense to me."

"I will brief you on the first world after making your choice." Eli said firmly. He sat and stared at her. The pain was slowly returning to her wound. "I suggest you make it quickly, or it will be made for you." He finished. Setia groaned and threw her hands in the air. She didn't want to die. She was so young!

"Fine, help me! I'll do it." She said. Eli nodded, and the entire world seemed to fade out of existence. The scenery changed around them. They were standing in a white void. There was nothing around them in any direction. She looked at her wound to find it completely gone. Eli snapped his dragon claws, and a large glowing orb hovered in the air between them, emerging from the bracelet.

An image manifested in the orb, grassy fields, gothic castles, towering cityscapes. People wandered by the front of the orb carrying swords, axes, medieval weaponry. She noticed their ears were pointed and often stuck out from behind their hair. Luminous waterfalls and foggy cliffs filled the viewfinder. It was gorgeous.

"This is world one." Eli said, gesturing to the image. "This is Andruil, kingdom of the light elves." She sighed.

"Elves?!" Setia said, her voice cracking. Eli sighed and nodded.

"All worlds will differ from human worlds, this includes meeting various mythical races you would not find here." He sounded exasperated, as if it were obvious.

"Oh, of course." Setia snorted and rolled her eyes. Eli growled and a small line of flame shot out of his nostrils.

"In this world you are Setia, daughter of Altair, who is king of the Dark Elves. He has sent you to the kingdom of light elves as part of an emissary group to either start war or keep peace between the two kingdoms. A warrior princess, you are feeding information back to your father." His tone was sharp.

"Princess of the Dark Elves?! And a spy." She sighed. Eli nodded and continued his spiel.

"Your primary aim in this world is to use whatever means necessary to prevent a war between the kingdoms." He said firmly. Setia blanched. Prevent a war? Her? This was asking a lot from someone with no political experience. She was no Helen of Troy. Men didn't fight wars for her.

"As with all worlds, this world will have some conditions attached. Violate these conditions and you may fail."

"What are these points for? Conditions?" Setia gasped. This was just getting more complicated by the minute.

"You are collecting the Devil Shards from each world. The better you do in your mission, and the more side missions you accomplish in the world, the more points you earn. You can exchange these Devil Shards in the store for items that will assist you in your missions." Eli said proudly.

"This world has three conditions: one, you must not reveal your true identity or that you do not belong in this world. Two, the prince and second lead must not get together. And Three, your favor with the courts meter must not reach 0." He listed and held up three little claws.

"So, that's all I get? Go to this world and prevent a war? Hello and goodbye?" Setia ran her fingers through her long hair.

"Of course not! I will be with you every step of the way." He smiled. Setia groaned. "Since you selected romance preference in your questionnaire, each world will have at least one lead character for you to romance. Completing this mission is integral to completing your primary goal!" Eli said slyly. Setia felt the flush creeping up her neck. So that's what the questionnaire was for.

Romancing a character in a fictional world? She thought back to her antisocial days, typing away on her laptop. Setia was used to writing characters who could do all of this and more, but could she? She had romanced no one! Groaning, she rubbed her temples. She was no temptress, practiced at ensnaring men. She was a virgin, for goodness' sake!

"So, if I don't romance the male lead, there will be a war?" Setia clarified.

"Yes, that is one possible bad ending." Eli nodded. One possible bad ending? Oh dear.

This all seemed so insane. Surely she would wake up any moment in her bed and realize this was all a dream. She blinked at the scaly creature in front of her. Feeling the phantom pain from her wound, deep down, she knew it was real. She clenched her fists at her side.

"Is there a time limit?" Setia asked. Eli shook his head.

"No time limit. You will be there until you fail or complete the mission."

Setia sighed, so she could theoretically be stuck in that world for the duration of her life. She would have to accomplish the missions. Her only hope was finishing this experiment and returning to her normal life. At least this was better than death.

"So what happens if the male lead just doesn't like me?" Setia asked, self-conscious.

"Then you will be trapped there until the male lead passes away and you fail the mission. Or if you violate the condition of the male and second lead getting together, and you fail." Oh, great. No big deal.

"Can I prevent the war another way?" She asked, curious. It was entirely possible the men wouldn't like her. She has no experience, for goodness' sake!

"You can, though it is not ideal and will gain you fewer shards." Eli warned.

"I guess we'd better get going then." Setia said with finality. Eli clapped his hands.

"Wee, here we go! This may disorient the first few times."

A bright light filled the white expanse of the room they were in. The world felt as if it was twisting and turning. Haze surrounded her vision. Slowly, everything went black.