Provider: Rinadle, the Mind Devourer (Female)
Receiver: Mordred Vorthian Arclore
Details: According to the provider's wishes, the contract receiver must supply double the amount of food every time they use the provider's power.
A female Rinadle… this is troublesome. Unlike the males, who are only interested in feeding and reproduction, female ones are rumored to be the curious type. The most common fact is that they usually explore every memory they consume, feeling some kind of excitement from it.
But if I reject her offer now, I don't think I'll be able to form a contract with any others of her kind...
After thinking for a few seconds, Mordred finally agreed to the contract offer. The moment he accepted, he felt some kind of connection with Rinadle in the river.
Is this the synchronization effect? I feel like I can sense everything she feels… and even draw more power from her.
"Ooh, what is this? I feel some kind of itching sensation… Human, is this your doing?"
It seemed he wasn't the only one who could feel this. Since the two of them were already in a contract...
As Mordred commanded, the giant blood circle glowed once again.
"Hmm… Are you bored already?" Rinadle noticed that Mordred was trying to send her back.
"Too bad..."
Biting off the remaining flesh of the fish, the worm-like leech jumped into the portal and disappeared from Mordred's sight.
After she left, the blood circle slowly faded, and the scattered blood spread throughout the lake. It would take at least a few weeks before anyone could enjoy the lake again.
. . . . . . .
"Here, this will cure your daughter."
In Vanessa's hand was a potion bottle containing a golden-colored liquid. She carefully handed it to the old man sitting in front of her at the table.
Holding the potion bottle in his shaking hands, the man looked at it as if he were witnessing a miracle.
Like someone in a trance, the old man stood up from his chair and walked toward one of the upper-floor rooms in the tavern they were in.
Vanessa gazed at the departing old man calmly. She was not worried that he would run away because she knew exactly where he was heading.
Inside the room, a little girl lay on the bed. Although she appeared human, her skin resembled the dry, cracked bark of a tree. The entire room was polluted with a deep, disgusting smell.
"My precious granddaughter, look... Look what I got for you."
The old man slowly rubbed the little girl's head. As his fingers brushing past her forehead. Her skin felt like rough stone beneath his touch.
"There… Open your mouth, little bunny… open it."
The girl barely moved, her only sign of life being the faint rise and fall of her breathing. The old man gently forced the potion down her throat, urging her to swallow.
Seeing the movement in her neck, the old man sighed in relief. Then, he looked at her with hopeful eyes.
Soon, there was a sign of her skin returning to normal, and the texture of tree scales began fading from her body. The soft and alluring touch that should belong to a human girl appeared once more.
The old man cried in joy as he saw this.
While waiting for the old man to return, Vanessa remained seated at the table, gazing outside.
A moment later, she heard footsteps and saw the old man come back. He had a smile filled with gratitude, and in his hand, there was a pearl.
"I'm grateful to you all, and as I promised, this is the only thing I can offer in return as a favor."
The old man handed Vanessa the pearl.
The pearl was light blue in color and seemed to contain an entire sea within it. Despite any movement on the outside, the ocean inside remained completely unaffected.
Taking the pearl offered to him by Vanessa, Mordred examined it carefully.
"Is this the Leviathan Pearl? It's smaller than I thought."
Mordred had expected it to be much larger, considering it came from a Leviathan, but in reality, he could easily hold the pearl in one hand.
After receiving the pearl, Mordred contacted the minor lord. The next day, the lord appeared at his residence.
"Whoa!"
Watching the Leviathan Pearl rolling in Mordred's hand, the man had a dumbfounded expression.
"How... How could Sir find something like this so soon?"
"It doesn't matter. Did you bring what I wanted?"
"Indeed, sir, indeed," the old man brought out the giant egg Mordred had given him earlier.
"Nothing happened, Lord. It's just as you left it."
"Hmm..." After examining the egg and confirming that there was indeed nothing wrong with it, Mordred handed the man the Leviathan Pearl.
"Then, young lord, our deal is complete."
. . . . . . . . .
"What do you want me to do with it, boss?"
Looking at the beast egg given to her by Mordred, Charlotte pondered.
"Can you create a soul-strengthening potion using this?"
"You said It's a mythical beast egg, boss. I think I could work something out with it."
"I want you to be quick. One month is all you've got. How's the status of the thing I gave you?"
Upon hearing that they were talking about the Essence of None, Charlotte's interest grew more and more excited.
"Boss, where did you actually get this... this thing? It's weird."
"Is there any result?"
"Currently, no, boss. Although it's something interesting and valuable, I'm unable to uncover its secrets for now."
"Go then, get back to your work. I want results, not blabbering." Waving his hand, he sent Charlotte out of his room.
However, after a few minutes, a shadow assassin appeared in his room.
"Is what she said the truth?"
"Yes, my lord," the shadow assassin answered obediently.
"Although she's curious and spends most of her time studying the thing, she still hasn't managed to do anything with it."
"Continue to observe her. If she tries anything stupid with the Essence, you know what to do."
"Indeed, my lord."
Blending into the darkness, the shadow assassin disappeared from where he stood.
If I inject a drop of it into someone else, I could see fast and clear results from the Essence of None. But doing it without knowing anything might create a bigger problem for me.
However, if she drags it out for too long and still fails to get results, I may have to do the unthinkable.
[The shadow of death is looming around you.]
The words of the old man still echoed in his mind from time to time as a reminder. After arriving back, Mordred pondered over it for a while.
If somehow Mordred were to die by screwing up his steps, the main results would be the rise of two new villains. One is Vandir, who is waiting for the chance to replace him. The other is Evelyn, who would be freed from her mental burden and gain salvation through his death. Basically, I'm acting as a restraint on these two villains, but I can't forget that, as villains, they are also destined to fight against the heroes. If I could unleash their potential in another way…
"Young lord, it's me." At that moment, he heard Vanessa's voice from outside.
"Come in."
Vanessa stepped into Mordred's room with a stack of documents in her hands. They were a list of private properties Mordred planned to buy in the capital.
"This place should be good."
After looking through the list of properties, Mordred chose one location among them. The main purpose of buying these properties was to open a branch of the factory in the capital. Although it was much riskier than the North, where the Arclore family ruled, Mordred didn't plan on doing much in that place. He just wanted to keep Charlotte and a few others close to him. Since Charlotte was researching the Essence of None, Mordred couldn't leave her behind.
"Also, Master, about the adventurers exploring the mine—they have finished their task, and according to the report, there was no danger in the mine. The mine is also filled with Stellacite."
Just as I thought, the Beast King's legacy didn't appear to anyone else but that person… Shame.
"Is anyone selling it? If so, buy it and destroy it."
"But master, Stellacite—"
"I know it's valuable... but not enough to take risks."
"If you say so, my lord," Vanessa obediently answered. Before she left, Mordred gave her another order.
"…Contact that old man again and ask him to fish out another pair of giant fish. Also... take out Olivia."
. . . . . . .
In a dark room, Olivia lay on the ground like a mentally ill girl. Her fair face was stained with the marks of dried tears, and in her eyes, there was no more hope for escape. She had come to terms with the fact that she would remain in this darkness until her death.
Crank!
Breaking the silence in the room, she heard the sound of a metallic door opening. Knowing it was time for lunch, she slowly made her way toward the direction of the sound.
But today, instead of lunch, a blinding light suddenly fell upon her face. Someone held her and dragged her out of the darkness.
After a short time, she grew comfortable with the light and slowly opened her eyes. For the first time in a long while, she saw the sun in the sky, the clouds, birds, wind, and trees. She never thought seeing these things again would make her cry in joy.
But then she looked at the one holding her—a masked figure. The two of them seemed to be in a carriage.
Olivia tried to speak, but because she had been silent for so long, without uttering a single word in the darkness, she couldn't manage to let out even one.
Soon, she was dragged to a giant lake, where she saw a man with an otherworldly presence. In the lake, there were two fish, but what attracted Olivia's attention the most was their enormous size. From time to time, they twitched, as if worms were writhing beneath their skin.
"Are you the Sister of Desire... Ashborn?"
Olivia nodded, admitting it.
"That's enough for me."
Suddenly, one of the giant fish's stomachs exploded as a massive worm erupted from it with a roar. Olivia looked at the creature in fright, she felt like the worm-like being was staring straight at her.
The next moment, to her growing horror, the worm lunged at her. In an instant, it was right in front of her. Its body had shrunk tremendously, now only the size of her pinky finger. Once close, the worm attached itself to her forehead, and in the next moment, Olivia felt everything disappear.
Thud!
Mordred calmly gazed at the young girl as she collapsed to the ground.
Vanessa prepared to lift her up, but Mordred shook his head, signaling her to step back.
"Do you want to remove all of her memories, Contractor?" Mordred heard the voice of Rinadle in his head.
"Not all of them. Some need to be removed, and some need to be altered."
"Ohh... tasty memories."
Then, following Mordred's instructions, Rinadle began to erase and alter Olivia's memories as he wished.