Aria smiled and handed him the mana pen. "Good luck."
Sora held the pen, feeling its light hum of mana. As he touched the pen to the contract, he immediately felt something shift. Mana surged through the pen, flowing into the paper. And for the first time, he realized that this wasn’t just a normal piece of paperwork.
Each contract was more than just words on paper. In this world, contracts signed with mana became something akin to divine rules—immutable laws that bound both parties involved. The moment his mana touched the parchment, Sora felt it come alive. The ink shimmered faintly, and mana rippled through the document, intertwining with the clauses and terms written within.
Once the contract was signed, it was no longer just an agreement; it was a binding force that would enforce its rules on anyone who broke it. If either party failed to fulfill their end of the bargain, the contract itself would impose punishment. It wasn’t clear what those punishments would be, but there was no doubt in Sora’s mind that the consequences could be severe. The system of the world enforced these rules, and with mana involved, breaking a contract was tantamount to breaking a sacred vow.
As Sora began signing the first contract, he felt a strange sensation. His mana, which had always been raw and powerful but somewhat untamed, now seemed to be revealing new aspects of itself. It was as though the act of signing was forcing his mana to take on new shapes, new forms. Parts of it moved in ways he had never experienced before—elegant and precise, instead of the usual chaotic force he wielded in battle.
"This... this is something else," he muttered under his breath, his eyes focused intently on the document. He wasn’t just learning how to sign contracts; he was learning something new about mana itself.
Aria, who had been watching him closely, noticed the concentration on his face. "How does it feel?" she asked, genuinely curious.
"Strange," Sora replied, not looking up. "Like there’s more to this than just mana. It’s revealing something... different."
He finished signing the first contract and immediately moved to the second. The more contracts he signed, the more he felt this new dimension of mana revealing itself to him. It wasn’t just a job; this was a training of sorts, a way to unlock a deeper understanding of how mana could
As Sora continued signing contracts, Aria noticed his growing familiarity with the process and decided to elaborate on one of the most common aspects of his new job.
"You know," she began, watching him as he methodically signed another contract, "most of the contracts you’ll be dealing with here won’t just be employment-related. You’ll also be handling a lot of quest-giver contracts."
Sora glanced up, curious. "Quest-giver contracts?"
She nodded. "Yes, it’s actually one of the most commonly used contract types nowadays, second only to employment agreements. It’s a way to legally and magically bind players to the quests they accept and, just as importantly, to bind the quest givers to reward them properly."
Sora paused, the mana pen still hovering over the next document. "So, if someone accepts a quest, both sides are locked into it?"
"Exactly," Aria explained. "Before this system was set up, people used to take quests or commissions, but there was always a risk of dishonesty—players would either abandon the quest halfway or quest givers would refuse to pay out the rewards. This became a huge issue, especially with larger organizations or rare quests. Now, with the mana contract system, both parties are bound by the terms they agree to."
Sora processed this, understanding how important these contracts must be in a world where so much relied on trust and reward systems. With a contract signed in mana, both the player and the quest giver were held accountable. If a player abandoned a quest, there would be consequences based on the terms of the contract—usually penalties, loss of reputation, or even restrictions on taking future quests. On the flip side, quest givers were forced to provide the promised rewards. No more running off with completed work without paying up.
"That’s why there’s so much demand for this job," Aria continued. "Every day, hundreds of contracts need to be signed for various quests, especially in a bustling city like Córdoba. People are constantly accepting quests—whether it’s gathering materials, defeating monsters, or delivering rare items. And every single one of those requires a binding contract to ensure both sides follow through."
After a 2 days of speedrunning through all 20 offices, Sora finally had a moment to reflect on everything he’d accomplished. He sat down in a quiet corner of an inn, away from the bustling streets of Cordoba, and counted his rewards.
185,000 gold.
It was a staggering amount. More than what most players would earn in several months of work. But what was more important to Sora was the growth of his new job skill.
[Job Level: Human Resources Assistant – Level 17]
He leaned back in his chair, the weight of everything settling in. Level 17 in a single week. It wasn’t just about the money; it was about the knowledge he had gained. Contracts weren’t just mundane pieces of paper—they held real, binding power in this world. They were the foundation of agreements, quests, jobs, and alliances, but there was something more to them. As he signed each contract with mana, Sora felt as though he were brushing against deeper principles—principles that could be applied to mana itself.
Binding power. Equivalent exchange. Trust.
These three ideas swirled in his mind. Every time he signed a contract, he could feel the mana shifting, aligning itself with the terms of the agreement. It was almost like the mana was acting as an unseen judge, ensuring that both parties were held to their word. It was a force of balance, something Sora had never encountered during his time as a swordman.
"This... this could be something big," he muttered to himself.
He couldn’t fully understand it yet, but it was like trying to decipher a new language without a dictionary. The principles behind contracts were tied to mana in ways he couldn’t yet grasp, but he could feel it, lurking just beneath the surface. It was like a puzzle waiting to be solved, and as someone loved by mana, he knew he was already getting hints and nudges in the right direction.
"Maybe it’s like when I was a swordman," Sora thought. He had reached level 49 in his previous life, mastering the intricacies of swordplay and mana control. But that mastery had come with time, experience, and years of refining his skills. Here, in the realm of contracts and human resources, he was still just a beginner—a level 17 beginner.
He tapped his fingers on the table, deep in thought. Maybe that was why his understanding of contracts and mana was still fuzzy. Just like swordsmanship, he needed to level up this job before he could unlock its true potential. Perhaps the difficulty stemmed from how different it was from his previous experiences. Mana in swordsmanship was straightforward—raw power channeled through physical movements. But here, in the realm of contracts, it was more abstract. It dealt with promises, obligations, and unseen forces.
Sora sighed, shaking his head. "I’m going to need more time to figure this out."
But he wasn’t discouraged. Quite the opposite. If anything, this was an exciting challenge—an entirely new field to explore, one that most players had overlooked or deemed useless.
He grinned to himself. "Too weak, huh? Well, we’ll soon see about that."
He knew he had to keep going. The more he signed contracts, the more he would understand. He was just scratching the surface now, but soon, he would dig deeper. Maybe by leveling up his job, he would uncover the basics of how contracts influenced mana. Maybe the answer would come in a revelation, just like when he had mastered his sword techniques.
For now, he just needed to keep grinding. There was a path forward, even if it wasn’t entirely clear yet. And with mana constantly guiding him, he had no doubt that the answers would come.
After all, mana had always shown him the way.