Chapter 13: Bonded

"What did you do to me?" Ira growled at Elias as she forcefully tried to defy Elias' order

[The Demon king of wrath is resisting the binding contract, your contract is in danger!]

'Hmmm'

"Nothing too special you see. At first, when I opened the store, I was looking for a weapon, a sword, dagger, spear, anything at all, and I did find one.

But then I noticed something interesting as well; a binding contract and then I had an idea, I had to get you to sign the binding contract, but there was a major setback you see, the contract cost way more FWP than I had, so I had to get more fwp first, hence the proposal which worked surprisingly.

I had all the tools for my plan and was ready to set it in motion but I was skeptical, I had no intention of becoming a contractual mage, and the chance that you would willingly sign the contract was low to the point that it was almost non-existent…almost.

I had to increase that chance as much as possible, so I devised a plan. I used your terrible temper and uncontrollable wrath against you, so here we are" Elias explained

"Store? What store? That's impossible, I'll kill you and kill Beraga, you scheming bastards!"

Elias leaned closer to Ira's face, "Don't you get it yet? Beraga didn't send me here, I came here to kill you" he said

"That's impossible, only the demon kings and the Nether King know about the cores. If Beraga didn't send you, then who are you?"

An eerie smile appeared on Elias' face, "I'm your new master" he said, as he patted her head

"I'll give you two options here, first you can resist your fate and die right at this moment, you aren't exactly a good person so it wouldn't leave any stain on my conscience.

Or, you can accept your fate, serve me and I'll spare your life…for now. All you have to do is keep quiet about our meeting, not a word to anyone, even the Nether king"

Ira clenched her jaw tightly to the point that it bled as she tried to resist Elias' command, she considered Elias' options and after a moment of reflection, she came up with her answer.

"I-I choose the…second option" she announced in a low voice, almost inaudible

"Louder, I can't hear you" Elias commanded

"The second option, I choose the second option" she answered, bold and audibly this time, even though she was visibly resisting, Elias could hear the slight tone of defeat in her voice

[Bonded: Ira

Binding progress: 10%]

Elias almost felt bad for her, as she looked pitiful in the state she was in, the great demon king of wrath reduced to a victim.

[Congratulations! You have defeated the Demon king of wrath, Ira, and completed the task given to you:

Task: Defeat the Demon king of wrath, Ira

Reward: 1,000,000 fwp

Failure:????

Task completed!

You have been awarded 1,000,000 fwp

]

'Just as I thought, the task was to defeat Ira, not kill her, although that could have worked too.'

[Because you defeated the Demon King of Wrath using an unorthodox method, additional rewards have been granted;

Skill: Perception

Item: Runestone of Teleportation

You will be transported back to your initial place of being in 5…4…]

'New skills? Interesting, and the timing couldn't have been better''

Elias turned around and began walking away

, "Good, you made the right choice. I'll be taking my leave now, make sure to keep our little secret. I'm sure you know the repercussions of breaking a binding contract "

"Wait! At least tell me your name…master"

"It's Eli—"

[..0]

Elias instantly vanished before he could complete his words

" 'Eli'…I'll make sure you pay for this humiliation! I will break free from this measly contract and I'll hunt you down, and make sure you die a slow, painful death…master" Ira barked at the space Elias once stood in

***********

Elias opened his eyes to find himself back in the comfort of his bed, he heaved a breath of relief, "I didn't think I would make it out of there alive.

It's a relief I got her binding progress up for a bit, If she had resisted just a bit more, she could've broken free.

This system is crazy, taking me to fight a boss at the beginning of the story, but at least I got something out of it"

Elias navigated the system to display the new skill

[Skill: Perception

Type: Active

Description: This skill heightens the user's five senses and significantly boosts sensory information obtained from the user's surroundings.

Cost: 10 mana points

Cooldown: 5 seconds

]

"Ohh? Sounds very useful and it's mana-efficient, the cooldown is cool too. Now for the item"

[Item Name: Runestone of Teleportation

Type: Multiple-time use

Description: Allows the user to set an access point by placing one part of the Runestone at a location and the other access point at another location. This allows the user to freely teleport between set locations.

Note: Once access points have been set, the user cannot change the locations

Cost: Nil

Cooldown: 2 hours

]

"Hmmm, this sounds useful too, but that cooldown though…I already know where I'll place the stones

Time to get some rest, after that whole encounter with Ira, I need a looong nap" Elias yawned as he dismissed the system's displays and shut his eyes to sleep

He was in that blissful, hazy state between deep sleep and waking when a sound pierced the stillness: a cock's crow, loud and insistent.

At first, Elias tried to ignore it, pulling the quilt tighter around himself and burying his head deeper into his bed. But the rooster was relentless, each crow was more determined and louder than the last. It almost felt personal

Elias groaned and peeked outside his window, the sun was already rising into the morning sky and the first hints of dawn filtered in through the open window.

"It's morning already?! Great" Elias grumbled

Nina rushed into the room, "Where have you been? We've been looking everywhere for you. Everyone is waiting outside"

Elias first searched his brain on why everyone would be waiting for him, then he realized, "Oh…It's been two days already"