[Transfiguration Lv.3]
[Beguilement increased]
Angelica woke to that message. It wasn’t what had done the waking; rather, it felt as if it was just floating there in her mind like a notification on her phone, waiting for it to be acknowledged before vanishing a second later. For whatever reason, she had the sudden instinct to check her clothing. It was still there this time, having stayed on through the night.
She glanced around for Cherub, though, since the little rascal had managed to escape her clutches at some point. It was surprising to find him actually laying in his expensive cat tree which he’d used maybe six or seven times since she’d bought it. He was staring at her intently, his tail swishing steadily at a speed somewhere between contentment and agitation, so it was hard to get a good grasp of his feelings. At least he wasn’t hissing at her today.
Maybe it was her smell that had driven him off this time since he was usually willing to be her snuggle bug all night long. She got a good whiff of herself, still in her soiled track suit from the previous day. “Guess a shower is the first thing on the agenda today.” Angelica stripped and chucked her clothes onto the “dirtier” pile and headed straight into the bathroom. The hot water felt great after all she’d been through. Strangely, though, despite her anguish, today, she felt mostly fine.
Angelica had slept well and didn’t really feel tired at all. Her body definitely still hurt, but it almost felt like a good ache, like the invigorating soreness after a solid workout. Potentially foolishly, she prodded the palm of her blistered hand. It was still tender and hurt a bit under the pressure, but it was incomparable to the previous pain. Though like last night, it looked perfectly pristine. Was this recovery a result of all those Vigor improvements her mind kept mentioning? She still had a lot to figure out.
But first, food. While she couldn’t say she was starving, likely still digesting some of her previous night’s feast, Angelica was a bit peckish and craving something. What, she did not know, but an urge in her wanted to eat. That was a bit unusual since food tended to be a low priority for her, often forgetting entirely when consumed with her artwork, which is why she’d ended up in such a scrawny state. Well, that and being devastatingly poor.
Speaking of, Angelica finally went and counted her money, having not gotten the chance the previous night. It felt rewarding feeling the bunch of bills in her hands, even if it was far less than the amount she’d recently had snatched by her landlord. There was also a strange feeling that it was off somehow, not in line with the amount of work she’d done. That was when she’d remembered the little bit leftover that she’d yet to be paid for.
Angelica finally checked the time and squinted. It was the early afternoon. She’d slept for damn-near half a day. Not surprising after the hell she went through, and it was closer to when her body was used to waking up. But it also meant there was no way the trash collection event would still be active since it usually wrapped up around lunch time, and there’d been not a scrap of debris left at that location.
That was when the staff member’s words clicked to the forefront of her mind, remembering the generous offer. She bolted out of her apartment, regretting it a bit since it was into the cold and she was underdressed, but it was just a quick trip to the mailbox. Aha, there we go!
The remainder of her pay was in an envelope waiting for her. It brought her grand total of savings after the previous night’s expenses to $212 and some change. Not too bad for a single day of work, even if it had almost killed her—far more than she’d ever earned from trash collecting previously. The unemployed woman would almost be tempted to do it again without the body-trapping, but if she was going to put in that much effort, she might as well just get a real job.
Maybe she should get a real job… The thought lingered for a moment before she shook it away. No, she wasn’t ready to give up on her dreams just yet. The chunk of cash she had now was a good first step. While it was far from the looming $1,250 of her upcoming double rent payment, it felt doable, especially since it included all her utilities. Ultimately, it would be a fair bit more money than that since she still had to, well, live. And living unfortunately cost money as well. While she could certainly survive on struggle meals, it wouldn’t burden her too much to get that takeout treat she’d been deprived of previously, right?
Angelica doubled back to her apartment for more layers, then went on another walk. There was a pretty good restaurant not awfully far from her place that gave abundant portions for pretty cheap. Just the sort of saucy savoriness she decided she was craving. It didn’t take too long to get her meal after she’d ordered, but at the same time, she couldn’t help but notice there was a bit of a gap around her among the other patrons. No one was getting too close, not the customers, nor staff.
She took another sniff of herself and nearly retched. What the hell? She’d certainly showered. Not the most thorough scrub job she’d ever done, but it should have gotten rid of all of yesterday’s funk. And she’d taken her clothes from the less-dirty pile and given them a quick whiff. They certainly didn’t smell this bad. Maybe her nose was just off since she’d been stinking all night.
Fortunately, the odor was quickly replaced with the smell of yummy food, a high she rode all the way back to her apartment and didn’t let ruin her meal. Even Cherub was drawn in by the aroma, showing no reservations about her anymore, quickly purring by her lap while she ate, wanting to get a bite of the saucy meat. Angelica didn’t bother loading up any form of entertainment during the meal, however, not wanting to get too comfortable. Instead, she spent the entire time staring at the two clothing piles, deciding it was finally time to suck it up and do laundry.
She packed up the piles into two giant bags, nearly bursting at the seams since it was just about all the clothing she owned. Before she left, though, there was one other thing she wanted to take care of. Angelica grabbed her phone and took a picture of the blackened circle on the floor to serve as a reference. She then picked up the Demon Summoning book and tucked it under her chin since her arms would be too occupied. This would give her something to do while she waited.
Regrettably, since her apartment was so small, she did not have laundry appliances. The larger apartments in her complex did, so she was tempted to just break in and use them, but she didn’t want to get into any more trouble with Ms. Gate. And thankfully, the nearest laundromat wasn’t far. Still, it was a pain to get to while lugging so much laundry. And yet, somehow, the trip wasn’t as burdensome as she expected.
Usually, when it got this bad, Angelica would have to “walk” her laundry bags all the way there; hoisting them and moving them a few feet at a time before having to let them plop back down to the sidewalk. But now… now she could carry them endlessly. Her arms were strained, and it was awkward and uncomfortable, but it felt doable like it never had before.
Might notably increased. That had been the wording, right? The reward for that achievement she’d gotten; something-cleanser. Whatever it had been when she killed the snake thing. A malevolent, or malfeasance, or something along those lines. Whatever, her mind was getting off-track. Point being, if this new strength was a result of that action, it certainly was, in fact, notable.
It took four washing machines for the hermit to load all of her clothing, rapidly eating into more of her savings. At least they were side-by-side, basically off in their own little section where she had a bench to herself. Probably for the best since she was probably still smelly. She’d changed into new clothes after the restaurant, making sure to whiff them good, even getting Cherub’s opinion to see if he’d run. But since she’d been wrong before, she had little belief now.
Angelica could return to her apartment while she waited, since it was just a few minutes’ walk, but that sounded like a pain. If it was just once, that’d be more reasonable, but since she’d have to come back and move everything to dryers, it became tedious. So she’d rather just stick around. Plus, there was always the chance of someone messing with or stealing her clothes. Slim of a chance as it may be, her presence would prevent it entirely.
So with time to kill, Angelica dug into the book. Annoyingly, since she could only read a few words on each page, most of them were pretty useless to her. She sure ran into the word demon a lot, and summon, summoning, summoner, all the variations. And then there was a long section where name, named, summoner name, and all the like appeared repeatedly. So what she garnered was that names were apparently important.
Wait, is that what it meant? She remembered when she tried to stop herself and got an error about only summoners able to stop named summons. Was it because she’d used her own name with the initial order but hadn’t when she’d tried to stop herself? It was worth testing.
“Angelica, slap your knee lightly ten times.” She whispered to herself, not wanting to rouse the other laundromat dwellers.
[Order accepted without resistance | Current Contract: Slap own knee 10 times]
As expected, her hand moved on its own obeying the command. After it gave the bend a simple smack twice, she tried to intervene. “Stop. Stop. Seriously, stop doing that.” After each attempt she was hit with that familiar antagonizing message.
[Named Contracts can only be terminated by the Summoner.]
“Angelica, stop.” She spoke with a bit more fervor after the eighth hit.
[Contract terminated by Summoner.]
Well, scuff me, I guess. If at any point she had said her own name again while trying to save herself, that would have been the end of it. If only she had more of a penchant for speaking in the third person. It also confirmed the fact that she was indeed both the Summoner and the “Demon” under her own control. But what if I don’t use my name? “Slap your knee lightly ten times.”
[Order accepted without resistance | Current Contract: Slap own knee 10 times]
So the message was the same whether or not she used her name. That could be annoying, especially since there was an immediate difference. Angelica’s hand didn’t move on its own this time, not so much as a twitch. However, there was an urge, a compulsion, a gnawing desire for her to slap her knee. With every passing second, the anguish intensified, like an addict desperately wanting a hit.
The moment she let her palm hit the top of her knee, her body surged with sweet relief, as if she finally got to use the bathroom after holding it in for so long. Yet the longer she paused for the next hit, that same burning need built up again. “Stop.”
[Contract terminated by Summoner.]
Alright, it was starting to make sense. For a basic Contract, all she needed to do was give a command. Until she fulfilled that command, she would be filled with a compulsion to complete her given task that grew in intensity. The Summoner could terminate the contract at any time with another command.
Then a Named Contract was a more advanced version, she surmised. If her name was included in the command, it became an absolute order that she was forced to obey. And then the only way for that contract to end was if it was completed or if she said her own name again. “Slap your knee lightly ten times.” She wanted to test it some more.
First, Angelica wanted to see just how far she could push herself by ignoring the compulsion. It got to a point that she felt like her body was about to burst, so she slapped her knee once more to reset the agony. Then she tried it once more, attempting to resist even harder, even for another second. But suddenly, the strengthening of the desire waned, slowing down its exponential increase.
[Passive Skill: Order Resistance Lv.1 unlocked]
[Obstinance increased]
The laundromat patron continued the test, attempting to hold off more through each hit. With the new Skill, it became significantly easier… at first. She was only allowed a few moments reprieve after each hit before the compulsion kicked in again and started to build again, though slower than the very beginning. Then just before the ninth hit.
[Order Resistance Lv.2]
[Obstinance increased]
While it didn’t force her to do so, she went ahead and did the ninth slap on her own, wanting to see the difference the level caused. It wasn’t too much more, just a few additional seconds before it kicked in with a slightly slower trickle of impulse. But now she was determined to really strain herself, she would resist with all of her power, until she was on the verge of passing out if needed. No matter what, she wouldn’t perform that tenth hit, at least until it became literally unbearable.
But it didn’t reach that point. As if her mind acknowledged her utter refusal, it presented her with a new message.
[Would you like to reject the Order? Chance: 59% | Cost: 1 MP]
Uhh, yes.
[Rejection successful. Contract terminated]
She was freed from it immediately with no further compulsions, but that wasn’t the end of the messages.
[Active skill: Order Rejection Lv.1 unlocked]
[Obstinance increased]
[Your Bound Demon has successfully rejected the Order. Contract terminated.]
Angelica decided to try it again, re-initiating the Contract. Mostly because she was curious about what would happen if she failed. This time, she mentally muttered, Order Rejection, right after the Contract was given, and she was presented with the prompt immediately.
[Would you like to reject the Order? Chance: 62% | Cost: 1 MP]
The percent chance had gone up. Was that because of her increase in Obstinance? That would make the most sense. And unfortunately, after she gave her approval, she succeeded the check again. But nothing levelled up, and there was no Obstinance increase, only getting both messages about the Contract termination.
So she tried it again, and just by the law of averages, this time she failed the gamble.
[Order Rejection failed. Difficulty increased.]
[Your Bound Demon failed to reject the Order. Your will has been imparted. No punishments available]
Punishments? That was something new. But since there were none, it was nothing she needed to worry about. Order Rejection. She tried it again.
[Chance: 46% | Cost: 2 MP]
So that’s what it meant by difficulty increase. Both the chance had lowered, and the cost had increased. She wasn’t sure what MP was, exactly. From the games she’d watched friends play, it was usually magic something, right? Did she have magic? Could this count as magic? Whatever it was, she apparently had a sufficient enough amount to keep trying. But at the same time, she didn’t want to waste the MP if it was hard to get back, so she let the order finish and completed the Contract.
Before moving on, there was one more thing she wanted to try. “Angelica, slap your knee lightly ten times.” She issued a Named Contract once more and then activated Order Rejection. Was it really true that only the Summoner could break them?
[Chance: 0.00004% | Cost: 51 MP]
Apparently it was, at least functionally. How much MP was that? All she had? Just a drop in the bucket? Either way, it absolutely wasn’t worth even trying, especially since the difficulty would only keep worsening. So once more, she let the Contract finish naturally. Angelica attempted to fight back a bit, to see how well Order Resistance would work when named, but if there was a difference, she couldn’t really tell.
Now that she had a good handle on how Contracts worked, or at least a basic understanding, she felt it was time to move on with the Demon Summoning book. But before that, the laundry machines beeped, signalling it was time to make the great migration of all of her sopping wet clothes to the dryers.