Chapter 116 - Signed And Sealed

Isaac had arrived a few moments ago and gotten the opportunity to observe the Xenos that he was about to meet. As he had been about half an hour early, he hadn't intended to show himself immediately. Instead, he had planned to gather some data and prepare himself for the conversation to come. Still, it really didn't take him long to get a good overall picture of the three, so when the Gargoyle amongst the group started to talk big, an amused smile played across his lips and he couldn't help but join in.

Due to him unblurring his existence and the sudden appearance of his voice, the Xenos were alarmed and surprised, albeit for very different reasons. Lyd was just taken aback and glanced in his direction a bit warily, while Ray got over the initial bewilderment very quickly and shot him a welcoming smile. At the same time, there was a hint of worry in her gaze. She couldn't help but look back and forth rapidly between him and the Gargoyle.

As for the stone creature in question, he jumped away from the tree and turned around to glare at the newcomer. Usually, he couldn't be sneaked up upon by just anybody, so he instantly became guarded. That was when the words that Isaac had spoken finally rang a bell.

"So you're the mystery man? Seeing how you offered yourself to me on a silver platter, I won't be impolite!"

His expression turned violent almost instantly, and with a speed only top Level 5 monsters would be able to match, he accelerated towards Isaac, who was still standing on a branch of the huge tree. Ray's eyes widened in shock, but due to the extreme speed that everything took place at, it felt like her expression was changing in slow motion.

As Gargoyles only had one major weakness - their heart - Gros made sure to shield his chest slightly with one of his arms, using the other to reach out towards his prey, ready to rip the young man's arrogance to shreds and subdue him. A flap of his wings further heightened his speed, making his charge seem inescapable. Even though he appeared to be consumed by rage, he still managed to protect his vitals - after all, he wouldn't make the mistake of severely underestimating a being who could sneak up on him.

Before Ray could even shout the warning that was about to escape her mouth, something that seemed almost irreconcilable with the image of the Isaac that she had met three days ago occurred in a split second.

Like he was swatting an oversized rock mosquito, Isaac calmly waved his hand at a speed that was nearly undetectable to her eyes. The back of it collided with Gros' outstretched arm, then pushed it backwards and to the right until it was pressed directly on top of his other arm that had protected his chest. The impact didn't end here, however. Now in contact with the Xenos' center of gravity, the full strength of the seemingly nonchalant attack erupted, sending the Gargoyle flying away with a speed far, far faster than the one with which he had approached. Gros was utterly helpless and didn't even have a chance or the strength to mount any resistance whatsoever, neither could he change his flight path. His body was completely out of his control and crashed into the earth a few tens of meters away, rocking the surroundings violently, whirling up a massive amount of dirt and producing a nearly eardrum-bursting rumbling sound.

Ray could only stare perplexedly at the slowly settling dirt cloud, her wings awkwardly spread, ready to take off. The words that she had originally planned to utter were swallowed back down when she saw the state that the impact site was in. A crater about twenty meters wide and fifteen meters deep had formed in the mostly earthen ground. Still, the uppermost rock layer beneath it had already been reached and partially shattered.

As for Gros? Aside from the cracks that ran all over his arms and chest, as well as his back and wings - so basically the majority of his body - he seemed fine. Because Isaac had stayed his hand, his heart had only been slightly shaken. His mind, however, was ringing alarm bells at a never before encountered volume. Only now did he realize that he wouldn't even be able to leave a scratch on this enemy, even if he gave his best. The look in his eyes momentarily changed to one of fear, before slowly settling into one of suicidal determination. With a low growl, he lifted himself out of the hole and positioned himself in front of his two companions, more wary of the mystery man than ever. Still, no matter how afraid he was, he couldn't let the others come to harm!

The troublemaker in question only smiled relaxedly at the whole situation before staring directly at the braggart of a Gargoyle.

"Do you still think you can squash me easily?"

Gros clenched his fists tightly upon being subjected to this blatant mockery, but he stayed silent, patiently waiting for the young man's next move. Seeing that he wasn't in the mood for talking, Isaac focused his attention on the other two.

Lyd had already grasped his sword and was cautiously glancing at him. Still, he wasn't charging in his direction like an idiot. The emotions in his reptilian eyes showed clearly that he was hesitant to make any rash moves. Gros was clearly the one who had initiated the aggression, but the Gargoyle was still his friend and it didn't feel good to see him hurt. Nevertheless, wasn't this standoff a bit bad? This really wasn't how he had wanted his day to go!

Ray, on the other hand, wore a resigned and helpless smile. She could understand the responses of both of her long-time friends, but she was also convinced that Isaac had shown no actual hostility. If he had wanted to kill Gros, then he would have died already. He had only wanted to let him know that he was not to be provoked. As for how his strength had increased this rapidly? It probably was related to him being a deity somehow. Because she was the only one amongst the three Xenos present that had a decent understanding of the mysterious god, she naturally had the clearest picture of the situation.

"Lyd, Gros, stand down. He's not the one who started it."

Trying to mend the two sides' relationship at least a little, she walked forward, past the Gargoyle who had been attempting to shield her, and in front of her benefactor, before turning around to face her comrades and speaking in the most pacifying tone that she could muster. Due to her vocal abilities courtesy of being a Siren, this had more of an effect than one would expect, an almost magical one. Lyd almost immediately sheathed his weapon and scratched his head in embarrassment, while Gros slowly lowered his arms. Still he did not let his eyes leave Isaac even for a single moment.

'Phew, that went well enough.'

Inwardly rejoicing over her success, she turned to face the one that she would be serving in the near future, a grateful smile on her lips. She was well aware that he was under no obligation to keep his word, but he had still done so and met her here. While he wasn't offering her kin free support, any help at all was already highly appreciated.

"Thank you for making time to come and meet us, Lord Isaac. I'm happy to see you again."

Isaac raised an eyebrow at her decision to refer to him less casually now, but ultimately accepted it. After all, most deities were called 'Lord' or 'Lady' here in the Lower World. If the Siren wanted to follow such etiquette, then he wouldn't stop her. Reciprocating with a smile of his own, he replied.

"Likewise. I told you that I'd be here, so here I am. But let's leave the pleasantries for later. I think our small scuffle here might have attracted some unwanted attention, we should change locations."

His recommendation was unanimously approved, so the four quickly travelled to another spot on the 18th floor that was similarly secluded. With all of them being at Level 5, their speed allowed them to rapidly traverse enormous distances.

Now sitting in a small and remote clearing, the group exchanged introductions. All three of the ones who had come today - Lyd, Gros and Ray - were considered to be leader figures amongst the Xenos. They were the strongest, and the peak of their kin. While they weren't the ones who had initially rallied the Xenos together and formed their society - or at least this iteration of it - they had come to represent them over time.

"Well, let what happened before be water under the bridge. I couldn't help being on edge after seeing Gros wounded… Anyway, thanks for being willing to help us, Isaac!"

The Lizardman was really friendly and easygoing now that everything had calmed down. He felt particularly excited to get a chance to talk to someone from the surface, someone who would even help them deal with their biggest problem. Although he was being quite informal compared to his Siren friend, he was the kind of guy that nobody could really be mad at. Not that Isaac actually wanted to be referred to as 'Lord' anyway, so this was more up his alley.

When Ray had returned to the Xenos' hidden village a few days ago, she had informed her kin about her decision to serve a mysterious deity in the future, in exchange for their help on the issue of the Xenos being unable to leave the dungeon for too long. Of course, there had been an outcry amongst their ranks, but most quickly came to support her choice when noticing how determined she was. Also, all of them did want to walk under the sun one day, so someone sacrificing oneself for that purpose was far from a rare occurrence. Well, usually, those sacrifices were made to fend off 'villains' from the surface, but this time, it was a bit different.

As fellow leaders, Lyd and Gros naturally couldn't accept her decision easily and demanded to come along when she would go to meet that deity again, to make sure that she wasn't being fooled, and also to potentially be of help with the research needed to free them from their shackles. While they saw the dungeon as their 'mother' and appreciated 'her' for giving birth to them, they also wanted to leave this nest one day. Being chained up in their birthplace as if they were prisoners left a sour taste in their mouths, to say the least.

"Hmph. I admit I'm not your match, but if you try to harm my kin, I will resist until the bitter end. So tell me, what do you want? What do you plan to do to Ray? What's the catch?"

Even though he had already been humbled, Gros was still quite hostile, but at least he had calmed down to the level where one could have a conversation with him again. Considering how impulsively and aggressively he had behaved when confronted with an unexpected encounter, that was already a lot of progress.

With just one look at him and keeping his earlier words in mind, Isaac had been able to make many inferences about the Gargoyle and his personality. He was the kind of being who cared a lot about his comrades, possibly more than most. Due to this, he would be affected far worse than others when inevitable partings came around or some tragedy hit. Many years of combat and hostile relations with the vast majority of those from the surface had turned him cynical and prone to violence, as well as suspicious of everybody. It would take time for him to lower his guard in front of strangers, but once one occupied a place in his heart, he would be fiercely loyal.

An indiscernible smirk appeared on Isaac's face for a moment. This kind of being wouldn't make for too bad of a subordinate, but he carried far too much baggage. That could be clearly seen from the violent clash that they had had minutes prior - someone with a short fuse wasn't ideal. Admittedly, Isaac was also partially at fault for the escalation, as he could have handled the situation very differently, but the one who had chosen to lash out was still the Gargoyle. Although he could understand why Gros had developed the way that he did, that didn't mean that he would be excessively lenient with him.

"You probably think that I want Ray's services for some depraved reasons, am I correct?"

When the Gargoyle nodded, Isaac quickly glanced at the other two before continuing to speak. Lyd was attentively listening, while the Siren who was the topic of the conversation felt embarrassed and unsure of how to behave.

"Well, you're wrong. I'm already in a relationship, and happy that way. I would rather end myself than to betray my beloved. As for what I actually want Ray for, that's simple. To lessen my burdens. I'm just one man, and I already burden myself a lot. While helping Ray grow to the point where she can be truly helpful to me will require some investment, in the long run, it will be worth it."

Even Gros' expression couldn't help but change as he saw the solemnity in Isaac's eyes when the young man was talking about the one in his heart. It wasn't easy to fake emotions like these, so there was a reasonably high probability that he spoke the truth. Lyd therefore grew more fond of him, while Ray seemed both relieved and a bit disappointed at the same time. Even though she had no romantic interest in her benefactor, it still didn't feel good to get outright and cleanly rejected by someone of the opposite s.e.x.

"Let's assume you're telling the truth for a moment. Why Ray and not someone else? I'd gladly offer myself in her stead."

Changing his tune now that he took Isaac a little more seriously, Gros made an offer that took his two friends by surprise.

"Hey, Gros! I should be the one to go, not either of you two! Isaac, if you really have a need for one of us in exchange for your help, let me be the one to go, okay?"

Hastily pleading with him, Lyd made the Lizardman equivalent of puppy eyes, which managed to look far more disturbing than cute, causing Isaac's right eyelid to twitch a little. After noticing that Ray was about to jump into the conversation as well, he quickly waved his hand and audibly cleared his throat, intending to gain everyone's attention and clear some things up once and for all.

"Ahem! Thanks for the offers, you two, but there is a reason as to why I prefer Ray over you two fine gentlemen. And no, get your thoughts out of the gutter, it's not because she is a woman!"

Noticing how their gazes had changed during his explanation, he got slightly annoyed and glared at them for a moment before carrying on.

"She has already met my people and meshed well with them personality-wise. Overall, she is thoughtful, smart, friendly, caring, empathetic and loyal. Her temperament doesn't even have any obvious drawbacks. I've long since made my decision in regards to her. She would be the ideal subordinate."

Both Gros and Lyd felt wronged when they realized what his words implied. Was he saying that the two of them didn't check all of these boxes? But upon some honest reflection, they indeed realized that they were a little bit lacking. Neither of them was as smart or thoughtful as Ray, and Gros was even especially prone to aim hostility at any stranger that he met. While Lyd was an overall better choice out of the two, he was still a bit simpleminded.

Ray felt weird upon being praised like this. Usually, others would compliment the look of her feathers, her beautiful appearance or her enchanting singing voice. Having her character evaluated also wasn't a first, but the conclusion being that she was 'the ideal subordinate' certainly was. So while she was happy, her smile was a bit forced due to these words being completely unprecedented.

After having thought it over for a bit, Lyd released a heavy sigh and slowly nodded his head. He had already understood that he wouldn't be able to convince this man in front of him, but still, he chose to at least try one more time.

"Do you really need her to swear her loyalty to you? What about some other form of payment?"

With the consoling smile of a businessman who was about to close a big deal and wanted to appear compassionate, Isaac shook his head.

"A person like Ray is hard to come across. Any physical rewards that you could offer simply can't measure up. Also, I could procure those at any time, because I have a lot of money to spare. Even dungeon specialties aren't hard for me to acquire, as well as the knowledge that the Xenos hold. After all, Ray should be privy to that information as well, right? I could just ask her."

An embarrassed smile played across Lyd's lips and he nodded, then he stayed silent and looked at the Siren that they had been talking about all this time. Ultimately, the decision rested on her shoulders.

Noticing that she had become the center of attention, Ray snapped out of the happiness of having been referred to as a 'person' and gulped a little, then she spoke up.

"Thank you for worrying about me, Lyd and Gros, but I don't think my life will be bad if I follow Lord Isaac. There are no free meals in this world, and I'm perfectly content with such a small sacrifice if it can help our kin become truly free. I believe that the two of you will be more than enough to keep everyone safe and well-fed until that day."

Tears had formed at the corners of the Lizardman's eyes by the time that her words had arrived at this point, so he quickly wiped them away and blinked repeatedly in an effort to prevent his tear ducts from producing even more. His emotional voice cracked a little as he responded.

"I understand. We won't let you down, I swear!"

Gros silently nodded as well. While he was clearly not happy about this deal, he also knew how to think about the bigger picture. He didn't trust Isaac, but at the very least he wanted to believe in Ray and the path that she wanted to take. Still, if she should ever be in danger or be mistreated, he would fight through heaven and hell to save his dear friend! The determination in his eyes was burning as strong as ever. If Isaac showed even the slightest hint of the depravity that he wanted to protect the Siren from, then he would instantly throw himself at him again.

"Calm down, all of you! I won't whisk Ray away and keep her from interacting with you and the rest of your kin. Well, maybe one day, but certainly not now. Stop it with the farewells! I need to observe more Xenos to create a method to deal with your problem anyway, and to convince you once and for all that I'm not scamming you. Could you lead me to your village? I will need to stop by occasionally to further my research, so let's just start today while I'm already here."

Isaac's request, although it made sense, was a monumental one. Leading him to their safe haven would mean that they would be exposing their weakness to him, so if he wanted to harm them, then they would be inviting a wolf into their flock of sheep. Everyone here was aware of this, but as the Xenos were the ones who were in need of his help, rejecting a reasonable demand like this would simply be counterproductive in creating a 'cure'. They could only choose one of two options: To take the risk, or to wait for another opportunity that may never come.

They chose the former.

With a heavy nod, Lyd stood up immediately.

"Then let's not waste any more time here. The location of our hidden village changes regularly, but we're currently quite a few floors away. Introducing you to everyone will also take some time, so it's best to get it out of the way as soon as possible."

Before the overeager Lizardman could hurry off, Gros held him back and soberly eyed Isaac.

"Wait a minute. Aren't you forgetting something? Ray hasn't sworn her allegiance yet."

In essence, this meant that the contract wasn't signed. They had only made the verbal agreement to perform the deal, nothing more. While he didn't trust this man as far as he could throw him - he wouldn't even be able to successfully approach him - there was still an order to these things that shouldn't just be violated. If they were going to do this, they should either do it correctly, or not at all. Yes, this man could potentially endanger their entire kin if he decided to go back on his word and weed them out by the roots, but now that they had already resolved themselves to take the plunge, they could only hope that Isaac would be as upstanding as he presented himself to be.

"Good point. Then this is your last chance to back out. Are you sure you want to do this, Ray?"

His face sporting a serious expression, Isaac turned to the enchanting Siren. If he was facing an enemy, then he wouldn't mind forcing them to do his bidding, and if he was facing a neutral party, then manipulating them into doing as he intended was a valid course of action. But due to Ray's friendly intentions, he had long since classified her as an allay. At the very least, he would respect her wishes, so long as they wouldn't harm him or those at his side. She had an outstanding personality, but if he got to meet all of the Xenos, then finding someone else similar to her would most likely not be impossible. And in the worst case scenario, he could just settle for Lyd. One thing was for sure, though, he wouldn't be walking out of this place without another Xenos subordinate.

A bit surprised by the offer, Ray blinked blankly. She then recalled how he had treated his people back when they had first met, and a certain warmth spread through her chest. She realized that, although she wasn't even officially following him yet, he had already extended an olive branch of kindness to her.

Yes, he was holding the salvation of her kin hostage, in a way, but she didn't blame him for that. To work for free, for nothing but gratitude - that was an attitude that not many people could afford to showcase, even if they wanted to. It simply wasn't a viable way to live one's life. One would toil away on solving other people's problems until the day one inevitably bit the dust, never once prioritizing one's own goals and dreams. While those one had helped would love having a person like that around, as it would make their lives markedly easier, everything still boiled down to the exploitation of a kind-hearted individual at its core. It wasn't inherently 'wrong' to help others because one thought that it was 'right' to do so, but it certainly wasn't the most responsible course of action in every scenario. Actually, more often than not, it was the exact opposite.

With an appreciative smile, the Siren walked towards her benefactor and came to a stop two steps in front of him. In a smooth motion, she got down on one knee and reached out to lift his right hand with the tip of her left wing, then she lowered her head in a subservient manner.

While Isaac had turned speechless due to her overly ritualistic actions, she planted a symbolic kiss of allegiance on the back of his hand, then she raised her head and looked directly into his eyes with a solemn expression.

"I, Ray, a former leader of the Xenos, hereby swear my absolute loyalty to Lord Isaac Blackshaw. From this day forward, I shall be his faithful servant."

[ Ray has sworn her loyalty to you.

Quest 'Have six retainers.' completed. 600 AP rewarded. ]

Ignoring the welcome system notification, Isaac inwardly lamented.

'Why does she need to be so theatrical about this?'

Little did he know that the Siren's perception of what an oath of allegiance should look like had long since been tainted by the stories of knights and their kings or queens. Even in this world, many adventurers - mainly of the female variety - loved to loudly gossip about topics like these when they rested. Because observing those who came from the surface was essential, not only to prepare for any potential dangers, but also to learn about how to become friendly with them, Ray had had plenty of opportunities to listen to generic tales of heroism and romance over the years.