"What the hell is happening?" Alex demanded, eyes slightly widened.
Behind him, Maya also bore the sa expression as him, but more exaggerated.
Before the two of them, a scene of hundreds of humans kneeling in front of Alia, Anna, and Anita.
Without needing to be said, it's obvious that the row of hundreds were the captives, why they were kneeling in front of the girls, however, was a goddamn mystery.
Hearing his question, Alia turned towards her brother, a wry smile plastered under her multicolored mask.
She approached him and whispered, "They're begging us to take them when we leave."
Hearing this, Alex sighed. He had already figured that sothing like this might happen.
During their journey, Cedrix had elaborated to Alex that he had witnessed other villages and small cities ravaged and destroyed by mbers of the Night group.
Those people kneeling were most likely the folks from those ruined towns.
The reason why the imperial family or the nobles charged to protect these lands weren't doing anything was completely beyond Alex's comprehension; all he knew was that right now...
'These people are free, but have no ho to return to. Though, it's better than being transford into mindless beasts,' Alex remarked in a somber tone.
'There are only level 1s and 2s among them,' Alex remarked, realizing the absence of the level 3s.
Much like the ones before them, the level 3s had probably lost their hos, but unlike this group, their levels and strength made them sought after, whether in noble circles or adventurers' guilds. They didn't need to beg for help from their rescuers.
Level 2s could opt for similar paths, but unlike level 3s, they might not receive the sa warm welco in noble circles due to their commoner status. Discrimination against level 3s might exist, but it's usually less intense. However, this group might face harsher discrimination.
Glancing at the assembly, Alex swiftly concluded that these folks weren't fighters at all. Even if they possessed combat skills, their current malnourished state would likely lead guilds to deem them weak and reject their requests for mbership in the adventurers guilds.
'Well, a poor guild or onf with an incompetent leader might do that,' Alex mused.
'What do I do with them?' Alex pondered.
If trained well, these folks could easily beco skilled soldiers. Even if they didn't aspire to join the military, their ability to use mana put them in a favorable position. It's always beneficial to have a diverse range of mana users on your side, regardless of their level!
The only potential issue would be if Alex didn't have enough money to train them, but after emptying the entire treasury of this base, the cost to train those individuals might very well be a re penny for him.
Thinking about it, Alex really wanted to take these folks with him. He began devising plans to transport them to one of the two cities under his jurisdiction. Maybe he could call upon Grace to assist in their relocation. Given her strength, it would barely take her a few hours at worst to co here and escort them while Alex continued his journey to the Drazen auction. However, there was a problem.
"I can't trust them," Alex muttered under his breath.
He had already spilled the beans to these folks about his ties to an organization called Arcane. If Grace were to escort them to one of the cities, they would inevitably learn about their affiliation with Arcane. Moreover, enlisting unknown individuals as soldiers didn't sit well with Alex.
The trust issue could potentially be addressed with a contract, but with over a hundred people here, Alex didn't have nearly enough contracts at his disposal. Heck, he didn't even have one contract in hand. And even if he miraculously had a hundred contracts on hand, he wasn't sure he'd be willing to use them on this bunch.
At that mont, Anna approached Alex and murmured, "If you intend to take them, there are collective soul contracts."
"Oh," Alex raised a brow in curiosity.
'Well, it shouldn't be surprising. In the end, Night is a gathering of bandits, they surely won't trust each other just like that,' Alex remarked, crossing his arms.
As the na implied, the collective soul contract was a pact that bound multiple individuals with one another or multiple individuals to one person. If the contract that bound two persons to each other was costly, then this one was over the roof.
It's no wonder the church of the god of contracts was the wealthiest on the continent!
Picking up the rings, Alex ntally probed each of them, searching for the specific contract he needed.
Ten minutes later, five parchnts and two beautifully crafted mask rested in Alexm's hands.
'Each of them can include up to fifty individuals,' Alex nodded in understanding.
"Listen to ..."
Alex then started laying out the terms to the kneeling individuals before him. He made it clear that by signing, they'd be provided with food, care, and the opportunity to serve as loyal subordinates.
There were other clauses, but the aforentioned one was the most important.
Following this, Alex detailed the penalties for breaching the contract.
Since he would be using his true na on the contract, not the na of his organization, 'Arcane,' Alex decided that the penalty for betrayal would be imdiate death—a warning he conveyed to the people.
Upon hearing this, so hesitated, but the majority didn't need a second thought and imdiately accepted.
'There are eighty of them, so two contracts should suffice,' Alex said as he inscribed the terms onto two sheets of paper. He then handed each to Alia and Anna, instructing them to oversee the signing process. "Once you're done, escort everyone who's signed out of the base and into the forest, but don't venture too far."
"Also, take these two masks. If the smoke mask were to disappear, wear these instead," Alex instructed, handing the masks to Alia.
Alia and Anna glanced at him curiously and nodded in understanding.
"Follow those two," Alex instructed Maya, who had been watching everything unfold with a curious expression, motioning towards Alia and Anna.
Before Maya could respond, Alex vanished into thin air, leaving her and the captives bewildered by his sudden disappearance.
"Those who want to sign the contract, form two lines and move forward, chop chop, we don't have too much ti!" Alia's urgent tone spurred the captives into action, and they quickly organized themselves into two lines, eager to secure their chance at a better future.
anwhile, on the opposite side of the entrance where the captives were held, Alex could be seen streaking into the boundless darkness, two clouds of smoke closely trailing behind him.
'Status'
An instant after his order, a blue translucent screen appeared before Alex:
[Na: Alexandre Eswald
Age: 60
Level: 4
Strength: 600
Agility: 600
Stamina: 520
Defense: 360
Mana Points: 85
Harem: Lilia Eswald, Annaline Maxwell, Alia Eswald;
Abilities: Soul Linkage, Smoke sovereign;
Soul Points: 20]
Alex couldn't help but let out a low whistle of astonishnt as he glanced over his new stats. 'I didn't expect such a boost; all my attributes without mana had doubled.'
Alex had felt that the enhancent he had received when the black heart penetrated his chest was significant, but at that mont, he had thought it was lacking, given all the suffering he went through. However, apparently, he was wrong.
'But how co I'm not crashing into anything then?' Alex pondered aloud, feeling perplexed.
The last ti he had enhanced his stats was during his fight against Todd and Tobias. At that ti, his strength and speed had been increased by 100 each, but it was enough for him to crash through things each ti he attempted to move, even if it was just to take a single step!
It took him a little while to get adjusted to his body's strength once again. Yet, here he was, calmly running after his speed had been enhanced by 300, three tis the previous increase!
'It must be due to the enhancent to my mind,' Alex theorized, recalling the crippling headache he had felt this ti.
Previously, when he increased his speed, it felt as though his eyes and brain couldn't keep up with his movents. But now, it seed as though it was the opposite. He felt like his body was too slow, which was a bizarre sensation.
This enhancent also allowed him to run through the deep darkness and still see normally, as if the darkness didn't affect his sight at all.
"But why wasn't my mana capacity raised?" Alex wondered aloud, furrowing his brows in thought.
As he continued to run through the darkness, Alex couldn't shake off the nagging feeling that there was sothing he was missing.
His body had been enhanced, as had his mind and soul, so why was his mana capacity still the sa?
'I guess I will never know unless I find out what that black heart was,' Alex sighed as he retrieved a communication talisman similar to the one he had been using to contact Anna, though, this wasn't the sa.
Sticking it to his forehead, Alex infused the talisman with a pulse of mana, 'let's hope it won't take her too much ti to-'
lex hadn't even completed his thought when a bright and cheerful voice suddenly echoed in his mind.
'Finally!'
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