Kai's ambition, Haggling with Jack Sparrow, and Magical Contract

Glitch and Facelessness!

This combination already made Kai stand out not only from the Contestants of Chaos but also from the Contestants of the entire Primordial Tower.

Why had Kai been so adamant about learning Facelessness? What were the reasons for him to pursue its true essence with such a zeal, taking such a risk regarding its Comprehension?

This was it.

If Kai were to become a Faceless man, then he would be the single Contestant, and possibly the only one in the billions of years of history of the Primordial Tower, to have both Glitch and mastery over Facelessness.

Yes, the Glitch already let him tower over other Contestants of his generation. But it wasn't like there weren't other Contestants with Glitches of their own, either.

This was Kai's answer to that; this was his preparation… to subdue all beings in the Primordial Tower, irrespective of their uniqueness.

"Jack," Kai said with a touch of finality in his tone. "Do we have an accord?"

Jack's breathing had quickened, and that was saying something in itself. "3 years," he ultimately said, feigning a pained expression as if Kai hadn't picked up on it. "I can lend it to you for 3 years, but you must return it to me after that."

Kai's face had gained a dark tinge. He knew he had entered the last and most troublesome phase of his plans.

Haggling with Jack Sparrow.

Kai had confidence in himself, but his haggling skills weren't half as good as that of Petyr. Not to mention, Jack was a master haggler; armed with the most powerful persuasive skills one could find in the Multiverse.

The ice had just thinned even more.

"You are fucking with me, right?" Kai cursed; ruthlessness, already established and shown, flashed across his eyes. "On one side, you would need to face your worst fear, and on the other side, a second chance at life. Your Compass for my four offers. You better think it over, Jack. Time is running out for both of us."

Jack smacked his lips and kept watching the two boxes as if he wanted to both of them.

Well, what could one expect from a pirate?

Even Kai himself wanted to have both the Philosopher's Stone and the Compass. But he was a Contestant, and he had no other choice but to trade it with the owner.

At last, Jack Sparrow drew a long breath and… shook his head. "No, mon ami," he said, smiling. "Me. Me a simple man. I love…"

The moment Kai heard "No" he already knew he needed to go all in, and he needed to do it now.

And Kai was anything but an indecisive person.

So, even before Jack Sparrow could spit nonsense, his words got stuck in his throat because of Kai's actions.

Kai's left hand, holding the box that contained the crystal, reached behind his back and took out another box. Moreover, it was already open.

There was another Blood-colored crystal inside the box, bigger than the other one.

"I agree…" Jack instantly shouted.

"Humph!" Kai's snort cut his words short. "Do you take me for a fool, Jack Sparrow? It's almost three lives… three! You think your Compass is enough for that."

The corners of Jack's mouth twisted with a knowing smile. "What is it that you want, my lucky friend?" he asked, reaching for the two boxes in Kai's hands. "Go on, tell me."

Kai knew that there were just too many Artifacts on Jack's body. But the ones that were worthy enough for him to get, Jack would never trade them, and those that weren't, using Philosopher's Stone to get them, would be even more foolish.

He had an even better idea, planned for this very scenario.

"I want a promise," Kai said, a smile returning to his face. "A promise that no matter where you are or will be in this world, universe, or beyond, you will help me with one of my adventures unconditionally, serving on my ship, and as my crewman."

A Magical Contract!

Not just any magical contract. No. Kai had learned from the existing ones. This was a Magical Contract that would most probably be valid in all Pirates of the Caribbean Random World in the Multiverse.

How would Jack Sparrow be manipulated according to the Magical Contract in those worlds? Well, that was Chaos' headache, not Kai's. There was no point in thinking about that.

Jack looked at Kai, mulling over the proposal.

Here came to help the first two things Kai had shown to the Character. The shock factor and trust.

Anybody could be ruthless if needed. But mysteriousness, and that too genuine, wasn't something skilled eyes couldn't decipher.

Moreover, there was no reason to not trust Kai, especially when, in Jack's heart, he knew Kai was at the losing end already.

"Very well," Jack nodded. "We have an accord."

Jack Sparrow spit on his right hand and stretched it out through the bars. Kai did the same.

Then they shook their hands over it, grabbing each other's forearms.

Both Kai and Jack looked at each other, not letting go of their arms. Then, as if following an unheard and unknown signal, both looked at their surroundings, their head bobbing up and down.

Jack Sparrow was looking for a sign of misfortune and curse he knew was coming now that he had traded the Compass.

Kai, on the other hand, was searching for the Magical Contract's Notification, knowing well that the Compass would become Named Item only after carrying out the actual trade, i.e. after handing over the Philosopher's Stones.

No ominous sign appeared in Jack's case, making him grin from ear to ear.

In Kai's case, a dull gray color appeared in front of his eyes slowly as if a lot of processing power was being taken to force the notification out.

This thought made him frown.

[

A magical contract is established between Contestant Captain Kai Stormborn (Pirate) and Captain Jack Sparrow

The terms of the contract are:

1. Captain Jack Sparrow, all incarnations across the Multiverse and irrespective of the Timelines, will help Captain Kai Stormborn in one of his adventures by serving unconditionally on his ship as a crewman

2. As the length of such an adventure is impossible to calculate, Contestants Kai Stormborn will need to Sacrifice an Item, Artifact, Skill, Ability, or Attributes to Chaos to keep Clause 1 going on. The frequency of these Sacrifices, and the initial time of Sacrifice, will depend on the Overall grade of the Random World and the Mission's difficulty, if applicable

Warning: Failing to Sacrifice, equivalent to the sacrifice demanded, will lead to the Contract's failure

]

The corners of Kai's mouth twisted as he read the second clause.

At first, Kai had been indeed aiming for the loophole mentioned by the Chaos by not specifying the adventure's time length. In that case, he could have never declared the end of his mission, making Jack a semi-permanent crew member on his ship.

'Fooling the Systems is truly not as easy as taking advantage of the 18th-floor Contestants, it seems,' Kai contemplated.

Jack suddenly lunged at the two boxes in Kai's hand with his empty hand. When did he throw away the bone, even Kai hadn't realized?

Kai pulled both his hands back and snorted.

"What?" Jack asked impatiently. "I already agreed, mate. It's natural that I receive my end of the bargain."

"Not so fast," Kai spat. "I offered you four things in the beginning to show my sincerity. But you rejected it and then forced me to add a fifth, and an even better offer, on top of it. Do you take me for a fool? I want more. Don't worry, I wouldn't ask for more than what I've already offered."

Jack looked over his shoulder and eyed the big hole in the other cell, and then nodded. "Pirates, eh? All are alike. Spit it out."

"It's not much," Kai shrugged. "I just want to hold a few things you have on you for a few moments each."

Jack looked up and down at Kai and then ran his hands over his pants in a knowing way. Even Kai frowned as he realized how odd the words he had just uttered sounded in his head.

"I said things," Kai repeated. "Stop playing the child with me, Jack."

"Ahem!" Jack Sparrow cleared his throat. "That is all well, but… I must know the answers to those three offers first. Start with this William Turner's location, eh?"

Kai looked over to his left and said, "Well, he will naturally come to find you by morning."

Jack instantly frowned upon hearing that, sensing something wrong. It hit him out of the blue. All this while, he had been thinking that Blood Demon had gotten the short end of the stick, but he hadn't come out of this hellhole unscathed, either.

With such a realization, Jack hurried with the second question. "What about my freedom?"

Kai looked back at the Captain. "When William Turner comes in the morning, he will naturally free you from this confinement."

Jack was gobsmacked. "And the piece of information…"

"Ah, that!" Kai scratched his chin. "Your old first mate, Hector Barbossa, will be missing his prized hat soon enough."

Jack: "…"