"Hope you can take this." Luosen threw a basic straight punch, deliberately holding back to avoid killing his opponent instantly.
After his time hunting in the forest and encountering countless ferocious beasts, Luosen had come to understand the meaning behind the status panel's numbers. Though Carol's stats were terrifyingly high, he'd faced magical creatures with similar values before—all reduced to dust with a single punch. Over a month of hunting had honed his control over his physical power to perfection.
**BOOM—**
A devastating shockwave ripped through the forest, kicking up a storm of dust. The violent gust even scattered the dark clouds overhead, revealing a sky full of stars. Carol took the full brunt of the blow, half his body vanishing instantly. His stats plummeted before stabilizing at pitifully low values.
[Name: Carol K. Albert]
[Strength: 193 / 200,000]
[Health: 50 / 200,000]
[Physical Resistance: 0 / 200,000]
[Magic Resistance: 2,320 / 500,000]
[Stamina: 1,010 / 200,000]
[Speed: 53 / 200,000]
[Spirit: 7,820 / 500,000]
[Mana: 300 / 500,000]
A grotesque squelching sound came from the ground as scattered flesh began writhing, slowly reforming into a human shape. Just as Luosen expected—like the other powerful monsters he'd fought, Carol could regenerate from even a single scrap of flesh.
"You could've escaped—I wouldn't have caught you. But you just *had* to stand there and take it." Luosen casually picked up the 'Saint's Blade' nearby.
Carol's body reconstructed itself with visible difficulty, wreathed in eerie blue flames—his last-resort survival mechanism activating. Staggering back, his voice trembled: "W-what *are* you?"
Luosen pried the clinging rocks off the sword, tone indifferent. "Just a normal guy. I let you live because you still owe me something—"
Before he could finish, Luosen swung the blade downward. Dirt and dust exploded as a bottomless fissure split the earth.
"W-wait! Sir, there's no need for violence!" Carol forced a laugh, panic creeping into his voice as a black-gold ring floated toward Luosen's hand.
The moment the Astral Ring touched his skin, Luosen's consciousness connected to a strange pocket dimension. With a thought, the sword in his hand vanished from reality.
"Good. Our deal is settled."
Carol exhaled in relief—until Luosen's grin turned predatory.
"*However*... you mentioned turning me into a slave earlier. That debt remains unpaid."
Carol's face drained of color. "S-sir, I—I can offer greater artifacts! Ten! No, *twenty* divine relics as compensation!"
Despair gripped him. After centuries sealed away, he'd never expected to encounter *this* monstrosity. Unlike the archmages who'd merely imprisoned him, this being could *erase* him entirely.
For a demonic archmage who'd clawed his way to the ninth tier, death was... unacceptable.
"An eye for an eye," Luosen said coolly. "You wanted me as your slave? Then I'll take *you* as mine."
Carol's voice turned sycophantic. "Sir, reconsider! The entire Shadow Sect could swear soul contracts to you! Their holy maidens, their vaults, even the thousands of empires under their control—all yours! Isn't that what you desire?"
"Too troublesome." Luosen smirked. "Owning *you* means owning them by proxy. Refuse, and you can die instead."
Carol nearly wept. Centuries sealed away? Bearable. True annihilation? Unthinkable.
*What era is this? What kind of abomination have I awakened?*
Was this creature some shapeshifted horror from the deepest reaches of the Endless Sea Forest?
"Spare me! I'll prepare the soul contract at once!" Carol's voice cracked. Seeing the killing intent in Luosen's eyes, he hesitated for only a second before complying.
"Wait." Luosen held up a hand. "Explain these 'soul contracts' first." He needed to confirm the terms—no room for misunderstandings.
Carol blinked. *He doesn't even know about contracts?* But he dared not question it.
"There... there are two main types," Carol stammered, wiping sweat from his brow. His voice shook as if hiding something. "The first is an Equal Pact—temporary, dissolving after a set time. Both parties share 80% of each other's pain. Used for... ah... temporary alliances against betrayal."
He glanced at Luosen's expression before continuing. "The second is a Bond Pact—permanent, irreversible. Lives become fully linked, damage split evenly. If one dies, so does the other."
"Just those two?" Luosen's eyes narrowed, gaze flicking to Carol's throat. "That 'Shadow Servant' you mentioned sounded far less... *amicable*." His voice turned icy. "You're withholding a third option."
"Y-you're too perceptive!" Carol trembled. "There... there *is* a third. The others are just... more commonly used."
His adam's apple bobbed violently as sweat dripped down his temples. "The... the third is a Master-Servant Pact. The servant bears all injuries without affecting the master, but the master's pain transfers to the servant. The servant lives only so long as the master does. Even across dimensions, the master can annihilate the servant with a thought. Only the master can dissolve it."
Luosen nodded. "We'll take the third one." He pointed at a nearby feral beast. "Demonstrate it on that creature first."
Best to observe the process—no chances of being tricked into becoming the *servant* himself.
With trembling hands, Carol weakly traced symbols in the air. A scroll of blue-crackling parchment materialized.
He pricked his finger, letting a drop of blood fall on the left signature space, then did the same with the beast's blood on the right. The parchment dissolved into azure light, shooting into the monster.
The once-feral creature stilled, then dropped to its knees in submission.
Carol muttered something—and the beast collapsed lifeless.
"That... that's the process," Carol said weakly.
Luosen had watched closely. The only difference was whose blood went on which side.
"Good. Let's begin."
They repeated the steps—except this time, *Luosen's* blood dripped on the left, Carol's on the right.
But instead of the blue light entering Carol as expected...
It arrowed straight into *Luosen*.