Chapter 83 83: Contract With The Unknown [Pt2]

Keith did not know what he should do after he had been left in the domain's opening by Alice. She had not given him any instruction on how to get to his destination.

All Keith knew was that the egg in the center of this room was calling out to his soul and he needed to have it. It was the solution to all his problems.

But the nasty swamp in the middle of the room caused him to pause. He did not know how to cross it. But he had an idea he could try.

He took out the mana stone that stored Amelia, one of the protagonist's abilities, and activated it. His body instantly felt lighter and Keith was able to jump the distance. This ability was working, just as he expected it to.

'Man, protagonists are such cheats in their way. I cannot believe Amelia's ability to work in such a dangerous part of the dungeon.'

Keith could not help but be glad and complain about it at the same time. His feet landed on the ground and Keith felt the egg pulse in front of his eyes.

The desire to touch this egg was even stronger now that he was standing in front of it. The colors on its shells mixed and called out for Keith to touch it.

Keith reached out and was about to touch it when the water rose and drenched him. When he opened his eyes again, the egg was nowhere to be seen.

Instead, there was a huge shadow swimming on top of the cave's ceiling and its shadow was being reflected in the water below.

'Foolish humans, choosing to betray me. They will get what is due. And you, another foolish human who dared to trespass. You shall be taught the way of death.'

The huge body above Keith's head spoke in agitation. Ball-sized bombs began to fall from the ceiling but Keith managed to form a shield before he could be crushed.

The earring he wore was a cheat code when it came to defense magic. He could pour as much mana as he could into a defensive spell and it would never break.

The shield did not bulge no matter how much that entity attacked Keith and Keith was beginning to feel the deity's frustration.

"Foolish human. Do you think you can stop my fury? Let me show you how ignorant you are in front of me."

The deity disappeared from the top of the cave dome and Keith looked at the water below. There was a black shadow near the surface but it did not look like a reflection this time.

Soon, a green head exited the water and brought a huge snake-like body along with it. Serpentine eyes looked at Keith with fury as he was frozen in place.

"Foolish mortal. Do you dare to defy one of the guardians of this world? I will show you-"

The dragon raised his tail and brought it down on top of Keith. Keith closed his eyes and braced himself for the impact. He could not dodge it anyway so he was not going to bother.

The shield managed to block that direct hit, causing the dragon to be taken aback.

For the first time since Keith had entered the cave, the dragon paused and took in him for real.

"Puny human, you weird an artifact of those filth gods, and yet you have not gone feral? What is it that you don't look to be in pain? What kind of magic is this?"

The dragon asked as it observed Keith from head to toe.

"You want to know my secret? It's simple - I don't have any mana to drain away so these gods cannot do anything to me."

Keith admitted which caused the dragon to look even more interested.

"Interesting. You are an entity outside the control of the heavens. No wonder you can use their powers without consequence. Well, but I still cannot overlook what my contractor did so I will have to make them pay the price."

The dragon sounded happy that he was destroying someone just like that. And Keith could gather that someone (most likely Alice and Alex) was going to suffer as a result. He will have to compensate them somehow.

"Well, you are an interesting entity but I don't know how an abnormality like you fell into this world and I am not interested to know as well. What I want to know is why you came looking for me."

The dragon asked with an interested voice. He seemed to be in a better mood than before and Keith knew it was his time to ask the dragon for what he wanted.

"I heard that you have the ability to allow one to feel and see mana. I want you to bestow that ability on me so that I can live my life."

The dragon paused in its grooming and cast Keith a look of suspicion.

It was a look that made many people rethink their choices and back off. But Keith held his ground, not willing to second-guess his request. He was going to see this end.

"Ignorance is bliss, kid. You will be happier not to see the mana and not to get involved with this world. Are you sure you still want this ability?"

The dragon asked Keith with a finality in his voice. He did not seem concerned about what Keith would decide to do with his newfound abilities.

"I am sure. You say ignorance is bliss but it is also death in my case. So I would rather take my chances with a chaotic life than sit back and not do anything."

The dragon looked amused, almost as if it did not agree with Keith's reasoning but it decided to put its hand on Keith's chest.

His one nail was big enough to tear apart Keith but Keith ensured that his body did not flinch away. It helped him look not afraid of the dragon.

"Let's see. Yes, this familiar will work for you well. An undying will of flame. May the flames take you to a new height."

Keith's body was burning from the inside. It felt like molten fire was crawling up his skin and threatening to claw out of his skin. When he tried to look down, his body had a layer of molten reddish-orange on top of it.

It slowly settled into his skin but this pain was unlike anything he had ever experienced before.

"You can still give up. You have a last chance to back down."

The dragon asked, trying to get Keith to back down and Keith did consider it for a second.

"N-No, keep…*ugh*...going. If I….*huff*...back down now…t-then, it'll…all be…m-meaning less anyway."

Keith reasoned as he reasoned with himself. This agony was something that would sweeten his future road so he needed to bear with it.

The dragon laughed out loud at Keith's words and then he felt water wash his skin.

"It is done. But whether my contract will bring a blessing for you or a disaster, it is yet to be seen."

The dragon ducked back into the water and Keith had a feeling it would be their last encounter.

Now that he had the power of the dragon, he tried to feel around for mana. There was a weird feeling as Keith tried to feel for that foreign power but it felt weird to touch.

ραпdα nᴏνa| сom 'Ugh, this is such a weird feeling. Is this really how mana feels? This grim and slimy feeling I am having? Or, is it because of this artifact that comes from the fallen gods?'

Keith had a lot to consider. But before that, he needed to get out of the cave and head out back to the guild.

There was not a lot of time left before Master Olivia's competition and Keith had yet to establish a reputation in society.

So the first thing he would do tomorrow is to look for a new town and participate in a high-scale raid.

Thankfully, he knew just the person who had a big mouth and would spread words about 'Noah' into society.

Keith needed to find the social queen of this world - Katy Pell. She and her big mouth were the sources of some of the worst rumors in this world.

If there was one person you needed to go to spread something, you tell it to Katy Pell.

And since Keith knew it, he had kept an eye on her for a long time now. He was lucky enough to notice that Katy Pell was in a nearby town and would be participating in a raid dungeon soon.

Now, all Keith had to do was participate in the same raid and show an aloof attitude that was uninterested in her. That would get Katy all interested in Keith, just as she had been in the first protagonist Horas on his route.

Sometimes, having specific knowledge helped out a lot in planning.