Enslaved?! Angelica almost wanted to take offense at that word. But what else could her situation be called? She had been forced to do body-breaking labor against her will. And while she’d technically been compensated, it was something no human should have to suffer through. Along with the Achievement notification there came a bit more elaboration. First was the descriptor of the Achievement itself.
[Complete a Named Contract while Bound]
And then a bit more of a cryptic message followed as flavor text.
[So you’ve found yourself in a bit of a desperate situation, haven’t you? Bound to servitude, and they even know your true name. Accept this gift of will, so that should you wish it, someday, you may be able to break free and return to Demon Lord Ferrul’s side.]
[Obstinance notably increased.]
Who the hell is Ferrul? Angelica had never heard that name before. Some Demon? There were no beings like that in the teachings of Vissiem, not that she’d attended any form of religious lessons for some time. Whatever, more confusion for the pile. Despite that, though, which should have only added to her mental taxation, it suddenly felt ever-so-slightly alleviated. It wasn’t like those Vigor messages where her body felt better, rather her mind had recovered a little. She wasn’t as dead-exhausted and could think a little clearer, just the bit of energy she’d need to pick herself up and deal with the aftermath.
[Summoner Rank: Initiate Lv.4]
Another thought she didn’t really understand or care to worry about. But it did tick her off slightly, further proof that she was in fact the Summoner in this absurd mind game. She could dwell on it later. Angelica immediately wanted to rush into the convenience store in front of her, to ease her aching stomach and to head to the bathroom to check on her condition. She’d also need to return to the lakeside briefly to drop off the final bag and return her poker, but that could wait, and it was sort of on her way home.
Before any of that, though, she heard the whimpering of the dog again. It was louder and closer than ever before. Really damn close, like it was just behind the store. Okay, okay, she’d go to take a look at the good boy or girl. Maybe some furry friendship could tide her over until she made it back to Cherub. Once she rounded the building, it didn’t take her long to find the pup. The energetic mutt was scampering back and forth, pacing around a dumpster.
That was when Angelica heard the metal container rattle. There was definitely something inside. Probably not a person, since even as an experienced dumpster diver herself, never would she actually dare to climb inside. Maybe some kind of rodent? She got a hiss as an answer, but not from a rat or possum, no the noise was more distinct.
Angelica took a hesitant step back when the head of a snake lifted above the container’s lip. And it wasn’t alone. Two more joined it, all looking down at the dog that was continuing its yappy dance. She hadn’t heard of snakes roaming together, so this was certainly unusually strange, unless they were… something about mating balls she’d learned about in a biology course. Were there even more in the dumpster? Hopefully not. And they looked rather annoyed that whatever they were doing had been interrupted.
All three snakes started to slither down the side of the dumpster. Yet when they landed on the ground, that was when Angelica realized the reptiles weren’t three separate creatures at all. They were one. The bodies of the trio all led to one end, as if their tails had been fused together, almost like conjoined twins, or rather, triplets. It raised so many questions, none of which she had the energy to ponder. And while she’d never been too afraid of snakes, running into them often during trail runs, she wanted to flee from this freak of nature.
Yet she couldn’t just leave the dog. At first, the pup had continued to yap and prance, excited like it was looking to play. And even though the disfigured reptiles clearly didn’t share the same intent, looking at the canine like it was a meal rather than a companion, the dog still didn’t get the hint. It wasn’t even looking right at the snakes, continuing to bark while searching around, sniffing at the smell it couldn’t quite place. Maybe it was blind?
Apparently, its animal instincts kicked in at some point, because it started backing away from the triple threat, all while never quite looking right at it. Eventually, it turned to run, only for the mutt to find it had been backed into a corner. So it started to growl at the vicious intent that was approaching, hunkering down in its spot while biting erratically in front of itself, trying to defend itself from the enemy it could not see.
Angelica pulled out her phone. Maybe she could call the police or animal control or something. But then remembered its lack of service. She could run into the convenience store and try to get help, or would it be too late by then? Did she even have the strength and cognisance to properly explain the situation to the clerk without coming off like an absolute lunatic? No, it would break her heart if she wasted time and came back to find the dog wounded or worse.
She needed to act now, but despite her burning impetus, her body was betraying her. It barely had the strength to keep her alive let alone to save something else. This wasn’t like before, where it was acting against her will. No, it was done, just done, refusing to take an action that wouldn’t benefit her own self-preservation. So the Summoner gave a new Order, forcing her lips to move and her throat to make the noise.
“Angelica. Protect that dog from the snakes while also keeping yourself safe!” The last part was very important. Maybe it was the experience she now had from leveling up or whatever the hell that meant, but she’d learned her lesson from her first catastrophic failure. Since the Orders were absolute, she needed to account for more caveats, add wiggle room while also not locking herself into something too specific.
[Order accepted without resistance | Current Contract: Protect the dog.]
Her mental voice echoed back the command. Strangely, it left out the caveat, worrying her for a second. But the moment she took her first step forward, a hesitant, cautious, purposeful step, she knew it was still affecting her. If she’d just said “protect the dog” it likely would have made her body do so at all costs, using herself as a shield. But if she died, there’s a good chance the dog would be next, and would have accomplished nothing. So to keep it safe, she, too, had to survive.
Angelica found herself surprisingly light on her feet as she juked forward. While she felt the pain with every motion, her muscles weren’t even taking it into account, not letting it hinder her movements. When she got close enough behind the creature, having quickly skittered down the alley, her body readied her weapon on its own.
She was still holding onto the trash poker. Even after the first contract had been completed, her hand hadn’t let go of the tool. It couldn’t. Her fingers were locked into place, barely able to so much as twitch. She’d likely have to physically pry them open with her other hand, and even then, she wouldn’t be surprised if the handle had become fused with her skin.
But now she was glad to have it, and she jabbed the spiked tip forward, poking straight into the body of one of the heads. And thankfully, the provided instincts from her command took hold, not even attempting a second strike. Her feet shuffled backward, staying mobile, getting a bit of distance as the snake monster turned around and hissed wildly, searching for the source of the pain with all three heads.
Now that she could see the freakish thing up close and more clearly, she realized that the heads weren’t identical. They all had different general shapes, but that wasn’t the weird part. All of their teeth were different. One had traditional fangs that would be expected. Another had a row of sharp triangles, something akin to that of a shark. And the last, well, its teeth were eerily close to those of a human. So she targeted that one first, just because she hated looking at it, the creepiest of all.
As the beast hastily slithered toward her, she met it with a juke forward of her own. This time she prodded thrice toward the pearly whites. One hit missed completely, the second scratched along the other scales, but the third did some damage, jabbing into the head, right between its eye and the tip of its snout. Not enough to kill it, but it was enough to clearly wound it as it reeled back. That would have been the opportunity to follow through, but the other two heads made that impossible, striking toward her.
So Angelica played it safe, shuffling away again, responding in turn with strikes of her own. They weren’t meant to hit, just to serve as a deterrent as she got some distance and escaped the immediate peril. Her moves were oddly reminiscent of a fencer, a sport she’d never played. However, the fencing team had often trained close to the cross-country team, so she must have picked up on some of their tactics subconsciously.
The faux fencer fended off the other two heads while the third got its mojo back, rejoining the fray. But that’s what she wanted, so it could get closer. Somehow her legs had enough nimbleness left in them to juke around the side of the monster, to put herself close to the wounded head while getting out of range of the others. She unleashed a fury of pokes, puncturing the scales repeatedly, causing the straight-toothed head to fall limp to the ground.
And surprisingly, the next kill followed quickly. The death of the one head appeared to cause great pain to the others, and the middle one opened its mouth wide, baring its fangs as a show of intimidation toward the girl as it attempted to strike at her, stopped short by the dead weight now tugging at its end. Angelica struck back, stabbing straight into the mouth and out through the back of its skull.
[Critical Hit. Competence increased]
[Active Skill: Stab Lv. 1 unlocked]
[Competence increased]
[Might increased]
[Destruction Attunement unlocked]
A flurry of rogue thoughts ran through her mind. But she had to ignore them, because the Contract was not yet complete. Still one head left to go. And it was the most wily of the trio. Even with two of its kin dragging it down, it moved nimbly, and no matter how hard Angelica tried, she couldn’t land a hit.
The shark-toothed snake struck back, but not at her. It clamped its jaw around the tip of the poker and began trying to wrestle it free of the girl’s grasp. The hell? It was surprisingly strong, and if the struggle continued on for too long, she might lose in her weakened state. Fortunately, with enough writhing of the tool, she got it to do some damage in the monster’s mouth, making it loosen its grip slightly and ease up on its pull.
That was the moment she needed to swing the poker with all her might, forcing the reptile off of it, causing it to tumble back a few feet in the alley. A sudden instinct flared in Angelica’s mind. This was the opening to end the battle for good. She took a heavy step forward and almost unconsciously mouthed one last word. “Stab!”
[Stab activated. 5 MP consumed]
It suddenly felt like she was being pulled by her weapon as it propelled further forward. With the original trajectory of her attack, it would have been a miss by not even an inch, even with the snake barely moving to recover itself. Her hand acted on its own yet again, course-correcting. The tip of the poker stabbed straight into the bottom of the head, right where it shifted into the neck, and out the other side.
[Critical Hit. Competence increased]
[Malignant Lv.1 defeated]