CH4: User Contract! War King!
***
At the river bank, a few metres below the cliff he jumped from, Leo laid in a small solidified molten crater.
His small malnourished prepubescent body was completely charred black.
His clothes were long no more.
However, not everything on his body was lost.
His two heirlooms; a ring that had all but merged with his index finger and a pendant necklace bearing a unique crest around his neck, had somehow survived the heat.
Currently, the dull unassuming ring was glowing in an indescribable light.
[I am the greatest support Artefact in the known Universe, the Arcane Sanctuary.]
Leo heard in his mind at the same time.
[Do you accept to be the user of the Arcane Sanctuary and become subject to the price of Cause and Effect?]
Although Leo was mature for his age, it didn't mean he understood everything.
The ten years old boy could scarcely understand what ' Cause and Effect' meant. However, he knew becoming the user of this strange Arcane Sanctuary would save his life and grant him power.
So, the boy said, 'Yes!'
Outside, the glowing ring on Leo's finger transformed into a beam of light and shot in between the boy's eyebrows, entering his mind.
[Congratulations! You have been confirmed as the user of the Arcane Sanctuary in this world and timeline.]
[As the User's life is in peril at the time of contract formation, for one time only, the User is granted a chance for full recovery at a delayed price.]
[Price: 10 souls of beings of the same species of any level.]
[Time limit: 6 years.]
[Do you accept?]
'Yes!'
The boy said without thinking about it.
Immediately, mystic scripts rushed out of the boy's forehead, between his eyebrows, to cover his entire body.
Ambient energy -not limited to mana- was pulled into the boy's body, gradually healing him.
The golden flame the boy swallowed was caught by these mystic scripts, sealed and then dragged back into the boy's mind– or rather, mental realm.
A portion of the mana rushing into the boy also spilled into the pendant necklace around his neck.
A rune script inconspicuously lit up then disappeared.
Moments later, Leo regained control over his body and found out he was fully healed– as if he was never injured.
"I am alive!" The now naked boy celebrated.
Everything felt surreal but the fact that he was alive meant everything was true.
Even more important, there was hope to remedy his weakness.
Crack!
However, before the boy could celebrate further, he heard the sounds of footsteps walking towards him.
Before he could even move to escape, he found himself surrounded by the pursuing Hunters.
"You survived? How's that possible?" One of the Hunters, a thin middle-aged man said.
"A treasure! He must have a treasure on him. How else would a Manaless brat survive the flames of a Primal Fire?" Another ugly shady-looking man exclaimed.
The three Hunters glanced at each other. The greed in their eyes was obvious to even the ten years old boy.
Leo couldn't help lamenting against fate once more.
Even when he finally found a path to survival, fate still wouldn't let him go.
'I finally found a way. I can't give up now!' The boy became determined.
An idea came to him.
"I indeed have a treasure, and a Manaless waste like me truly does not have a right to keep it. I will hand it over as long as you promise to let me go." Leo said with a look of resignation.
"Sure, no problem boy. We are not bad people. We didn't intend to kill you children in the first place. We just wanted to get back what was ours. As long as you give us all the treasures you have, we will let you and the girl go." The shady-looking man replied.
"Really?" Leo's eyes lit up like a naive child's.
"Really? Cross my heart." The shady-looking man smiled.
Leo almost wanted to vomit. This was perhaps the ugliest smile he had ever seen.
"There is only one treasure and I can only transfer the treasure to one person. Who should I transfer it to?" Leo said with an innocent look.
The three men were stunned.
They looked at each other vigilantly.
"Looks like we will have to fight it out." The shady-looking man said.
He immediately attacked. He threw out his fist and punched...
Leo!
The little boy was sent face-first into the rocky ground.
"Is that what you thought would happen you stupid brat? You are a hundred years too young to think you can sow discord amongst us." He said.
The other two men also laughed mockingly.
"Let's torture him. I bet his tongue will loosen with a few minutes of pain." The last man who looked like a poverty-ridden mage said.
Mana formed visibly in the air and shaped into a spell circle.
"I just happen to have a spell I want to test."
The spell circle shot towards Leo.
Just as it was about to hit, a mana strike appeared out of nowhere and shattered the circle.
"Who is that? Show yourself!" The three Hunters roared.
"You dare raise your filthy hands against an heir of House Kroft?!" An enraged voice sounded from above. " You deserve death!"
The three men looked up and saw a middle-aged standing imposingly in the air above them.
He was dressed in a military-style black suit with a greatsword in his hand. A space warp vortex was closing behind him.
The man had clearly just arrived. He was just in time to stop the attack on the little boy.
Both the little boy and the Hunters were stunned by the man's presence.
The fact that the man could use a personal and directed warp gate indicated his status.
Using public warp gates costs a pretty penny. A private warp gate to a fixed location? An even more exaggerated amount. A warp to a specific location of one's choosing? Such a price was so astronomical that the three men couldn't dream of meeting someone of such a calibre.
However, that wasn't the worst of it.
The fact that the man was standing freely in the air meant only one thing.
The man was at the 7-rings level!
An S-rank, Hero!
The men's legs wobbled.
The strongest amongst them was the mage who was barely a D-rank Intermediate Hunter.
They didn't stand a chance.
The man raised his greatsword and swiped down, sending down a sword energy attack.
There was no suspense. The three men were directly wiped away from existence!
Nothing was left behind.
Leo watched the scene in shock. But in the depths of his eyes, one could see longing.
Yes, the boy wasn't disgusted by the death he just witnessed. He had seen far too many murders and deaths in the slums to be bothered any longer.
Instead, he longed to have the same level of power, or even greater.
The middle-aged man sheathed his sword behind him and descended to the ground before Leo.
The boy didn't even bother to run.
He couldn't even escape from the previous Hunters, much less this man who wiped them away like they were nothing.
The man knelt one knee before the boy and took a good look at him.
His eyes became misty.
"You have your father's face and your mother's eyes. I finally found you." The man hugged the boy.
Leo's mind froze in time.
'He knows my parents?'
"Who are you?" The boy barely recovered enough to ask.
The middle-aged man realised his mistake. He released the boy from his embrace.
"I am Rowland Kroft." The man introduced himself.
Leo's eyes widened in shock.
"The War King?!" The boy blurted out.
How could he not be shocked? Everyone, even a baby in the womb knew the name, Rowland Kroft.
Pryford town was nothing but a small town within the Guildom of DoomMane Guild.
The Guild leader of the DoomMane Guild and by extension the ruler of the Guildom was none other than the S-Rank Hunter, the War King, Rowland Kroft!
"Others may call me by that title, but to you, I am 'uncle'."
"What?"
The information was too much for the young boy. His brain switched off immediately.
The boy was already mentally fatigued from the pursuit and subsequent torture by the Primal Flame. The shock from the War King was the final straw.
The boy lost consciousness and fell into Rowland's arms.
However, before he went under completely, he managed to mutter, "Save Zora... tree hole."
Rowland took the boy in his arms. He thought for a moment then made his decision.
His body flashed as he moved away from the scene at superhuman speeds.
(To be continued...)