"Wait... spare... spare me. Please. I have something to tell you."
Lagartha had pleading expressions on her face as she watched the flames closing in on her. Her wood-element green vines were also catching fire when they got exposed to so much fire-element mana.
After all, a drenched-in-water green wood was only resistant to fire and lightning. But no element was completely immune to other elements. It was only a matter of quantity.
Eren shook his head when he heard Lagartha's plea. He didn't stop his Igni Lotus from assuming his intended state. After looking at her in disappointment, he replied in a neutral tone.
"I told you.
When we make a choice, we also choose the consequence that comes with it. You were planning to kill me and Mia when you first started for a bullshit reason. Would you have spared me if roles were reversed?"
Seer! Seer! Seer!
The flames had almost consumed the two. However, for some reason, Lagartha refused to call it quits. She clenched her grip on her wooden staff and bowed her head down in front of Eren before replying.
"No. I would not have spared you. But I want you to spare me, anyway.
I must live because there is something I must do at any cost.
I'm ready to pay any price for it."
Eren narrowed his eyes when he heard Lagartha's words. He appreciated the honesty she had displayed to him. But he didn't like leaving loose ends behind. Especially a prodigy like her. So he burned all the green vines that were trying to protect her before commenting.
"I am not interested in your body."
Eren said, looking at Lagertha suspiciously. The latter stopped shaking when she heard Eren's words. She stopped bowing and looked at Eren angrily before speaking up.
"Bastard, I am talking about signing a binding contract in exchange for sharing vital information."
Eren raised his eyebrows when he heard Lagertha's proposal. She wanted both of them to sign a binding contract with the hope that they would be able to trust each other. That way, Eren would be sure of the information he'd receive from the Spider. She would be sure he would let her go once he received it.
"What kind of information do you have?"
Eren asked, looking slightly interested.
"Related to upcoming guild wars," Lagertha replied promptly.
Eren didn't want to get involved in matters related to the guilds. But he liked keeping himself safe. It would be better if he was made aware of the traps beforehand so that he could avoid them.
Still, it wasn't enough of a deal maker for Eren. He could always play it safe and select missions that are closer to the city of Ludan to avoid ambushes like these. Therefore, he replied shortly.
"Not enough. Bye..."
"Wait!"
Eren discarded Lagartha's offer right away. But just as he was about to continue his attack, the latter tried to halt him again. It had to be said that he hadn't expected Lagartha to be this desperate to live.
The wood-element ranker had basically scratched off her party members when they became a burden to her. She had tried to save them only because she wanted to use them against him. However, their deaths didn't make her upset on a personal level. It just brought her morale down to fight with Eren, resulting in her begging for her survival.
"Spit it out. And fast. I don't have all night."
Eren's eyes were filled with impatience as he said what he did. Lagartha could understand where Eren was coming from. So she didn't create any suspense and said what she had in mind right away.
"You are a Hexer, aren't you? You guys have your testing grounds that are only suitable for you to visit.
I have information about one of these Hexers' testing grounds. I can give you that along with the information on my guild if you spare my life."
Eren was shocked when he heard Lagartha's words. He observed her face keenly and judged her with the acute senses he had developed from his hustling days to see if she was lying. But it looked like she was telling the truth.
The Bear's armor set was a helpful addition to Eren's arsenal. But it lacked the explosiveness with which he was used to fighting. If possible, he wanted Hex gear sets from other schools of Hexers. Obtaining a new Hex gear set would give him the variation he needed.
Therefore, Eren was especially interested in this info. He spoke after pondering a bit.
"Hmm. Sounds interesting. But we won't be signing a binding contract."
As Eren drew the flames closer to Lagertha, he said. That latter knew what he was doinga��� trying to create mental pressure on her. However, they both knew it was working and there was no way to fight it off even if she knew it was a tactic.
"What do you suggest then? Trust each other?"
Lagartha said and hmphed. She could understand Eren a bit at this point. She wouldn't count on him to spare him just because she told him everything. Moreover, she was unsure if she would provide real information to him if the restrictions of a legally binding contract weren't present.
Eren chuckled before retrieving a scroll from his storage. This was one of the only two Rank-2 items he had bought from Malcolm. At that time Malcolm had told him to carry these things on him while taking missions inside Gilaahan. And he could understand why the bald merchant had given him the advice.
"Do you know what it is?"
Eren asked Lagartha while showing the scroll in his hand. Eren let her scan it with her mana sense.
"A consumable scroll for Awakened rankers. Doesn't seem that much different to me than a binding... wait a minute."
Eren nodded his head before Lagartha could confirm the scroll. He smirked before adding further.
"It's a slave contract. I can only trust you and whatever you say if you sign a slave contract with me. You'd only be able to break free from the slave contract if you exceed the Awakened rank and enter the Arch rank.
I would only spare you if you can assure me by signing this contract."
Lagartha was shocked and aghast when she saw the scroll in Eren's hands. She couldn't believe that such an expensive item could be owned by someone like Eren who was considered one of the small fries in the Stardust guild.
A slave contract was even more restrictive than a binding contract. However, one side was more restricted than the other. Unlike the binding contract which could have many loopholes, the slave contract almost had none. It couldn't be broken by any means available to the average ranker.
One could say that a slave contract was the more extreme version of a binding contract. Where binding contracts were used by organizations to employ rankers into their fold, slave contracts were used to restrict their freedom.
Unlike binding contracts, slave contracts were frowned upon by many kingdoms. The demonic rankers used these contracts a lot more than they used binding contracts.
However, Eren was adamant about using this contract because it assured him greater safety. And that's what mattered to him the most.
"Who... who even keeps a slave contract handy in their storage space? What... what kind of sick bastard are you?"
Lagartha started looking at Eren with some wariness in her eyes. The latter coughed before answering.
"*cough. It's not what you think. I don't use it on women to make them my slaves. If you want to blame someone, blame my fencer.
As I said, I don't want to take sexual advantage of you. I'll not tell you to do something you don't want either. This contract is only there for my safety. Other than that, you are free to draw your own conclusions.
Sign the contract because your will to live is greater than my will to kill you at this point. Or don't sign the contract and die for it.
These are the choices you have right now. This is your choice, not mine. So choose wisely.
If you say no to this, I can only proceed to... you know..."
Eren let his flames convey the message to Lagartha for him. A bunch of Igni Chains sprouted from thin air and approached Lagartha before dispersing. A warning was issued to the female ranker doing this, prompting her to take quick decisions.
Lagartha looked Eren in the eyes and didn't react to the flames touching her wooden armor. She wanted to live. As a price, however, she did not want to become someone's toy or plaything.
Her womanly instincts soon told her Eren wasn't that kind of predator when she stared into his eyes. She took a long breath before answering.
"Al... alright. I'm ready to sign the contract with you."
Lagartha spoke in a serious tone. No matter how tough she acted in the moment, Eren could see the woman was fighting the urge to say no and get burned in his flames.
'I am not heartless. I have just learned to use my heart less.'
A random thought popped into Eren's mind as he proceeded to sign the slave contract with the wood-element ranker.
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