Aria smiled and handed him the mana pen. "Good luck."
Sora held the pen, feeling its light hum of mana. As he touched the pen to the contract, he imdiately felt sothing shift. Mana surged through the pen, flowing into the paper. And for the first ti, he realized that this wasn’t just a normal piece of paperwork.
Each contract was more than just words on paper. In this world, contracts signed with mana beca sothing akin to divine rules—immutable laws that bound both parties involved. The mont his mana touched the parchnt, Sora felt it co alive. The ink shimred faintly, and mana rippled through the docunt, intertwining with the clauses and terms written within.
Once the contract was signed, it was no longer just an agreent; it was a binding force that would enforce its rules on anyone who broke it. If either party failed to fulfill their end of the bargain, the contract itself would impose punishnt. It wasn’t clear what those punishnts would be, but there was no doubt in Sora’s mind that the consequences could be severe. The system of the world enforced these rules, and with mana involved, breaking a contract was tantamount to breaking a sacred vow.
As Sora began signing the first contract, he felt a strange sensation. His mana, which had always been raw and powerful but sowhat untad, now seed to be revealing new aspects of itself. It was as though the act of signing was forcing his mana to take on new shapes, new forms. Parts of it moved in ways he had never experienced before—elegant and precise, instead of the usual chaotic force he wielded in battle.
"This… this is sothing else," he muttered under his breath, his eyes focused intently on the docunt. He wasn’t just learning how to sign contracts; he was learning sothing new about mana itself.
Aria, who had been watching him closely, noticed the concentration on his face. "How does it feel?" she asked, genuinely curious.
"Strange," Sora replied, not looking up. "Like there’s more to this than just mana. It’s revealing sothing... different."
He finished signing the first contract and imdiately moved to the second. The more contracts he signed, the more he felt this new dinsion of mana revealing itself to him. It wasn’t just a job; this was a training of sorts, a way to unlock a deeper understanding of how mana could
As Sora continued signing contracts, Aria noticed his growing familiarity with the process and decided to elaborate on one of the most common aspects of his new job.
"You know," she began, watching him as he thodically signed another contract, "most of the contracts you’ll be dealing with here won’t just be employnt-related. You’ll also be handling a lot of quest-giver contracts."
Sora glanced up, curious. "Quest-giver contracts?"
She nodded. "Yes, it’s actually one of the most commonly used contract types nowadays, second only to employnt agreents. It’s a way to legally and magically bind players to the quests they accept and, just as importantly, to bind the quest givers to reward them properly."
Sora paused, the mana pen still hovering over the next docunt. "So, if soone accepts a quest, both sides are locked into it?"
"Exactly," Aria explained. "Before this system was set up, people used to take quests or commissions, but there was always a risk of dishonesty—players would either abandon the quest halfway or quest givers would refuse to pay out the rewards. This beca a huge issue, especially with larger organizations or rare quests. Now, with the mana contract system, both parties are bound by the terms they agree to."
Sora processed this, understanding how important these contracts must be in a world where so much relied on trust and reward systems. With a contract signed in mana, both the player and the quest giver were held accountable. If a player abandoned a quest, there would be consequences based on the terms of the contract—usually penalties, loss of reputation, or even restrictions on taking future quests. On the flip side, quest givers were forced to provide the promised rewards. No more running off with completed work without paying up.
"That’s why there’s so much demand for this job," Aria continued. "Every day, hundreds of contracts need to be signed for various quests, especially in a bustling city like Córdoba. People are constantly accepting quests—whether it’s gathering materials, defeating monsters, or delivering rare items. And every single one of those requires a binding contract to ensure both sides follow through."
Sora felt the weight of the job settling in. No wonder the position was so sought after—while it might not increase his combat prowess, this job was vital to how the economy and questing system worked. Every adventurer relied on it, and the city couldn’t function without these binding agreents.
He nodded slowly, a newfound respect for the job forming in his mind. "So, I’ll be signing contracts for players to accept quests too?"
"Yes," Aria confird. "You’ll be acting as the interdiary between the players and the quest givers, ensuring everything is properly docunted and bound by mana. Once the contract is signed, neither side can break it without facing penalties."
Sora realized that this wasn’t just paperwork—it was about maintaining the trust and structure that kept the city’s economy running smoothly. Without these contracts, chaos could ensue with untrustworthy parties taking advantage of the system. His role was critical in ensuring that things ran smoothly.
"And what happens if soone tries to break the contract?" Sora asked, curiosity tinged with caution.
"The punishnt depends on the terms of the contract," Aria replied. "For most quest-giver contracts, the player would face financial penalties or reputation loss if they abandon the quest. In more severe cases, like rare or high-risk quests, there can be greater penalties—anything from temporary debuffs to even restrictions from taking future quests. The system enforces these rules automatically, thanks to the mana used in the signing."
After that bit of conversation, Aria who was shocked at his abilities to sign contracts in a row left him alone to work, and quietly left.
Sora continued signing the contracts, feeling the mana flowing through him, locking in the agreents. As he did so, he realized that this job wasn’t about making him stronger, but it could teach him new ways to understand mana. Each contract seed to reveal a different layer of mana’s intricacies, showing him how it could bind, enforce, and control.
As Sora finished his batch of contracts, he leaned back in his chair, stretching his arms. This job, while different from what he had expected, was opening up new possibilities. He wasn’t just signing pieces of paper—he was learning how to manipulate mana in ways he hadn’t before.
And who knew what that knowledge could lead to in the future?
Since he was done with work in less than a hour, he left the office to look for Aria. He didn’t start this job for the money, but signing 100 contracts or so represented an earning of 10000 gold... And it only took an hour.
He felt like soone who found a glitch to make infinite money.
Sora navigated through the core area of the city, surrounded by NPCs, his face calm and composed as he exchanged pleasantries with the locals. Here, among the NPCs, he felt an odd sense of ease.
When the world changed, it was discovered that people—who called themselves NPCs—had appeared, guiding humanity in its growth. These NPCs were bound by strict "rules" and would rarely harm humans. It was unusual to see them leave the core areas of cities and villages, as they often claid they were restricted from doing so. Despite nurous tests and provocations by humans, the NPCs, often as intelligent and powerful as their human counterparts, would simply block attempts to harm them and blacklist the perpetrator preventing any further interaction.
’I rember when they first appeared in Ales,’ Sora thought. ’The police even tried to shoot them, accusing them of taking up space in our city. But they were protected within city limits... and people had dragged NPC farrs outside safe zones just to kill them, "for science."’
Those murderers had been permanently banned from entering safe zones by the system.
The NPCs had families, laughed, and even ford friendships with humans. Over ti, people began to treat them like their own, while still remaining aware of the NPCs’ unique limitations.
But when he was in the presence of other players, especially in the more competitive offices, he kept his guard up. Players could be dangerous in their ambitions, and Sora had learned long ago that showing weakness could be a strength if used properly. In those offices, he feigned a degree of helplessness, downplaying his abilities. He played the part of the humble job-seeker, all the while carefully gathering information and refining his own understanding of the power hidden behind the contracts.
After a 2 days of speedrunning through all 20 offices, Sora finally had a mont to reflect on everything he’d accomplished. He sat down in a quiet corner of an inn, away from the bustling streets of Cordoba, and counted his rewards.
185,000 gold.
It was a staggering amount. More than what most players would earn in several months of work. But what was more important to Sora was the growth of his new job skill.
[Job Level: Human Resources Assistant – Level 17]
He leaned back in his chair, the weight of everything settling in. Level 17 in a single week. It wasn’t just about the money; it was about the knowledge he had gained. Contracts weren’t just mundane pieces of paper—they held real, binding power in this world. They were the foundation of agreents, quests, jobs, and alliances, but there was sothing more to them. As he signed each contract with mana, Sora felt as though he were brushing against deeper principles—principles that could be applied to mana itself.
Binding power. Equivalent exchange. Trust.
These three ideas swirled in his mind. Every ti he signed a contract, he could feel the mana shifting, aligning itself with the terms of the agreent. It was almost like the mana was acting as an unseen judge, ensuring that both parties were held to their word. It was a force of balance, sothing Sora had never encountered during his ti as a swordman.
"This… this could be sothing big," he muttered to himself.
He couldn’t fully understand it yet, but it was like trying to decipher a new language without a dictionary. The principles behind contracts were tied to mana in ways he couldn’t yet grasp, but he could feel it, lurking just beneath the surface. It was like a puzzle waiting to be solved, and as soone loved by mana, he knew he was already getting hints and nudges in the right direction.
"Maybe it’s like when I was a swordman," Sora thought. He had reached level 49 in his previous life, mastering the intricacies of swordplay and mana control. But that mastery had co with ti, experience, and years of refining his skills. Here, in the realm of contracts and human resources, he was still just a beginner—a level 17 beginner.
He tapped his fingers on the table, deep in thought. Maybe that was why his understanding of contracts and mana was still fuzzy. Just like swordsmanship, he needed to level up this job before he could unlock its true potential. Perhaps the difficulty stemd from how different it was from his previous experiences. Mana in swordsmanship was straightforward—raw power channeled through physical movents. But here, in the realm of contracts, it was more abstract. It dealt with promises, obligations, and unseen forces.
Sora sighed, shaking his head. "I’m going to need more ti to figure this out."
But he wasn’t discouraged. Quite the opposite. If anything, this was an exciting challenge—an entirely new field to explore, one that most players had overlooked or deed useless.
He grinned to himself. "Too weak, huh? Well, we’ll soon see about that."
He knew he had to keep going. The more he signed contracts, the more he would understand. He was just scratching the surface now, but soon, he would dig deeper. Maybe by leveling up his job, he would uncover the basics of how contracts influenced mana. Maybe the answer would co in a revelation, just like when he had mastered his sword techniques.
For now, he just needed to keep grinding. There was a path forward, even if it wasn’t entirely clear yet. And with mana constantly guiding him, he had no doubt that the answers would co.
After all, mana had always shown him the way.
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