Sora watched as Sarsha fud, her frustration clear in the way her jaw clenched and her fingers twitched at her sides. He remained silent, letting her work through her emotions, observing the subtle changes in her expression as she processed the situation.
Then, after a deep breath, she finally spoke.
"I take back what I said earlier. Any admiration I had for you is gone." Her tone was cold. She turned toward Alius, narrowing her eyes. "And you. When you told you'd have the last laugh after I mocked you, this is what you ant? I actually thought you were better than Ralph, but I was wrong."
She sighed, rubbing her temples. "I don't know why you pulled this stunt, but you tried to scam . I have no interest in spending the next century frozen in ti, especially after what you just pulled. I'd rather keep training."
Then, her voice softened. "But if you want to stay put, you'll have to show so goodwill."
Sora blinked, surprised by how quickly she had cald down. He had expected more resistance, more anger—but instead, she was already looking for a way forward.
"You can train for as long as you want," he said simply. As he spoke, a ssage from Kara flashed across his interface. After reading it, he added, "And we'll help you to a certain extent."
The change in Sarsha's expression was instant. The frustration faded, replaced by sothing else: satisfaction. She might have been unwilling to admit it, but she thrived in this training environnt.
And knowing ti barely flowed outside, she wasn't wasting her ti.
She didn't want to lose this opportunity.
--------------------------
After that day, the [Ti Space] beca much more lively.
At Sora's request, Kara 'unfroze' Karim Baya from the [ASS] guild. The teenager nearly jumped out of his skin when he saw the players around him.
"Calm down. We're not planning on harming you," Sora said, trying to ease his nerves.
Sarsha, who was tempering her body with her [Body Forging Technique], coughed up a mouthful of blood when she heard those words.
She rembered hearing sothing similar before getting scamd.
Sora observed Karim. The young man was glancing around warily, scanning his surroundings and the people near him.
"I know who you are and who's behind your [ASS] guild," Sora said calmly. "And in this space, there's no way for her to reach you. I've captured you and your guildmates. You've surrounded my friend over here."
Karim's expression stiffened. "Are you going to interrogate ? I'm bound by a contract… I can't say anything," he said, fear written all over his face.
Sora shook his head. "I don't need information. I just want to know one thing. Do you want your freedom back?"
Karim's face froze for a mont. His eyes darted downward, his expression unreadable. He opened his mouth, hesitated, then closed it again, as if even thinking about answering was dangerous.
Sarsha, wiping the blood from her lips, let out a chuckle. "Kid, if you don't say sothing soon, you're going to make him think you actually enjoy being stuck here."
Karim's gaze flickered toward her briefly, then back to Sora. His voice was cautious. "Why is there a dark elf here? And… what's the catch?"
Sora crossed his arms, tilting his head slightly. "The catch? There isn't one. We're going after Hannah. If you want your freedom, I can help you break the contract binding you to her."
At the ntion of Hannah's na, Karim flinched, his breathing turning uneven. He bit his lip, his fists clenching at his sides.
Sora crouched and dropped at his level, his tone softening. "You don't have to say anything. I know what she did to you. I just need to hear it from you—do you want out?"
Karim's lips trembled, but this ti, he didn't look away. His voice cracked as he whispered, "I've dread of being free… for so long. But… it's impossible. Breaking her contract—"
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"It's not," Kara interrupted, stepping forward. "Nothing's impossible. Contracts can be broken. We just need to find ways to do it."
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"You… you don't understand," Karim muttered, shaking his head. "Even ntioning it makes my chest feel like it's being crushed. I don't know for how long I was passed out, but I'll be noticed and punished as soon as -"
Mid-sentence, his words abruptly cut off, as if speaking any further would put him in imdiate danger.
"She can't reach you here," Sora assured him. "This place is completely isolated from the outside world. She has no idea where you are."
Karim hesitated, his body trembling, as though the weight of his decision might crush him. Then, slowly, he lifted his gaze to et Sora's.
"How do I know you're any better than her?"
A small smile tugged at Sora's lips. "Can we be worse? I have no way to prove we're better. In the end, it's up to you to decide if it's worth the risk—if trusting soone again is worth it."
He turned to Kara. "We could always wake up one of his friends and give them the sa offer, can't we?"
Kara nodded.
Karim, however, shook his head and interrupted her. "There's no need. Those guys are even more desperate than . If this is a trap, they'll fall for it without hesitation. I believe you! Start with . If soone needs to be the guinea pig, let it be ."
Sora nodded. "Good. Let's get to work."
He turned to Alius. "Alius, let's start our experints."
Alius, who had been focused on evolving his familiars, stood up and approached the group.
"Show your contract," he said bluntly.
Karim, caught off guard by Alius' directness, glanced at Sora, trying to gauge what was happening.
"Listen to him," Sora reassured. "He's the expert who'll help you the most."
Alius studied Karim's expression for a mont, then repeated, "Show your contract."
Karim hesitated before summoning the contract that bound him to Hannah. A parchnt materialized before him, its edges glowing faintly. The text remained obscured, visible only to Karim.
Alius extended his hand, releasing a faint thread of mana toward the contract. The energy flowed outward but was imdiately repelled by an invisible force.
"There's a barrier," Alius muttered, narrowing his eyes. "It's designed to reject external energy."
Switching tactics, he gathered ntal Power, weaving it into thin, needle-like threads. These threads carefully approached the barrier, probing its resistance.
The mont they made contact—nothing. The barrier consud them instantly, leaving no trace. The faint glow around the contract didn't even flicker.
'So ntal energy can't breach it either…' Alius thought, his curiosity growing.
He turned to Karim. "Mana and ntal Power have no effect. Let's try sothing else. Stay still."
Summoning his Soul Power, Alius focused. A dense drop of soul energy ford in his palm.
As the soul power approached the barrier, the glow around the contract trembled slightly, almost as though acknowledging the new energy. But just as Alius thought he was making progress, the barrier flared, quickly devouring his soul power. The recoil jolted him violently, and he grabbed his chest in pain.
Sora imdiately stepped forward, but Alius waved him off, his breathing ragged.
"Soul Power is the key," Alius said grimly. "But… the system doesn't let us touch another player's contract. The portion of Soul Power I just used is gone. Permanently."
His voice was weak as he said, "I need ti to recover."
Sora and the others exchanged glances. The damage was worse than expected.
After a few monts of rest, Alius exhaled and stood up.
"We'll try a different approach," he said, turning back to Karim. "I'll guide your energy through you. Your connection to the contract might give us an opening."
He t Karim's uncertain gaze and added, "Stay calm."
Karim disliked the idea of giving up control over his body, but he knew he had to comply and follow the man's instructions.
Alius extended his hand again, this ti directing his energy through Karim's body. He took control of Karim's mana, guiding it toward the contract. However, as soon as the energy neared the contract, the barrier reacted just as it had earlier.
Switching to ntal power, Alius got the sa result.
Finally, he used his Soul Power to search for Karim's reserves. He was disappointed to find that the man had almost no Soul Power at all. Stopping the experint, he handed Karim a few [Soul Pearls], leaving Sarsha, who was watching from a distance, flabbergasted.
Resuming his task, he started channeling the young man's Soul Power. This ti, the barrier trembled faintly, allowing a sliver of energy to interact with the contract's structure. The barrier and Karim's Soul Power, guided by Alius, clashed. Karim's energy was repelled, yet surprisingly, he felt no recoil from this attempt to weaken the contract.
Alius withdrew his energy and spoke slowly. "I can't break it from the outside. And I'm not sure anyone can break soone else's contract alone. However, what we just did might be the answer."
He turned to Sora, his expression serious. "He needs to beco stronger. More precisely, he needs to develop his Soul Level. Once he has enough Soul Power, I'll be able to guide him to destroy the contract from within."
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