Chapter 9: The Weight of a Contract and a Glimmer of Hope

Only fourteen days remained until the dungeon’s gates would open.

The past two weeks had seen Elara and Hilvyn almost inseparable, their days spent shuttling between the guild, the forest, and their home.

Occasionally, they would indulge in special activities, such as paying respects at the Wind God statue or bustling through the early morning market.

Guided by an experienced hand and possessing considerable innate talent, Hilvyn had swiftly risen to become a B-rank adventurer. Their teamwork had steadily improved, rendering typical B-rank commissions effortlessly manageable.

Life continued in this serene and tranquil manner.

Such a life, it seemed, would be quite pleasant to live for an eternity.

She had a cherished companion, the thrill of adventure, and a comfortably full purse.

Elara gazed blankly at the wind chimes tinkling on the balcony outside, lost in thought.

But then…

‘Hilvyn was someone I had bought with money.’

‘Even if she had lost her memories and I had reshaped her, a person’s heart could always change.’

‘This was especially true for a bond founded on a s*ave contract.’

Elara was keenly aware of the ‘death by comfort’ warning lurking in her own heart.

And what of herself? ‘Alas…’ she mused, ‘With what kind of gaze did I truly view Hilvyn?’

“Bang!” The door burst open, jolting Elara from her pessimistic musings back to reality.

“I’m home, Master!” Hilvyn announced, entering with two cloth bags in hand.

She had gone out to collect the custom-made clothes from the tailor’s shop.

Upon entering, she casually restored her hair to its silver-white hue and handed one set of clothing to Elara.

It was a long-sleeved shirt and trousers, primarily a deep flaxen color.

While the fabric felt quite good and the style was simple, Elara suspected it was the tailor’s taste, not Hilvyn’s, that had dictated the design.

Hilvyn had mentioned they would wear them for the Harvest Festival.

Elara had never formally worn special attire for the festival; in previous years, she had simply gone through the motions in her everyday clothes.

Every September 15th, many nations celebrated the Harvest Festival, offering thanks to the Harvest God, Cela, for a year of successful crops and praying for a bountiful harvest in the coming year.

The Kingdom of Hilmeran, to which Windwhistle City belonged, also extended its gratitude to the Wind God, Hilmerya, for favorable weather throughout the year.

“What about yours? What does it look like?”

Hearing this, Hilvyn playfully concealed her outfit behind her back.

“You’ll find out at the Harvest Festival!” she chirped, before opening their shared wardrobe and placing it inside.

Elara did not press the matter further. It would be difficult not to see it now, as all their clothes were stored together. She might even accidentally catch a glimpse when they changed later that evening.

“Today, we should continue practicing fusion magic,” Elara said, hanging her own clothes in the wardrobe.

She glanced at Hilvyn’s outfit in passing.

It was a light flaxen dress.

‘Not bad,’ she thought. ‘It should suit her quite well.’

“Master, look at this!”

Elara turned at the sound, her gaze lingering for a second before she burst into laughter. “Pfft, what in the world is that? Hahahaha…”

Hilvyn’s long hair had been dyed in strands of over a dozen colors, best described using the ‘non-mainstream visual kei’ palette from Elara’s previous life.

It had thoroughly tickled Elara’s funny bone.

Seeing Elara laugh, Hilvyn was infected by her mirth and joined in, striking several nonsensical poses.

After laughing for quite some time, Elara finally stopped, wiping tears from the corners of her eyes.

“Let’s go.”

Perhaps, she had now truly understood how she felt about Hilvyn.

****

On the outskirts of the Windwhisper Forest.

“Carefully sense the flow of magic, and try to control the ice crystals as they merge into the wind vortex.”

“Ugh…”

Before them, a howling wind vortex spun, slowly coalescing ice crystals within its currents.

“Did it succeed—? Ah… it failed.”

The wind dissipated, carried away by the forest’s own breezes, leaving only a scattering of ice shards on the ground.

Elara stepped forward to offer Hilvyn encouragement.

“Again!” Hilvyn declared, clenching her fist in defiance.

Fusion magic involves blending two spells of different attributes or having one spell augmented by another attribute. This is how the merged magic is released.

For instance, Elara had previously mentioned “using wind to control or accelerate ice spikes,” which served as an introductory application of fusion magic.

This type of magic was highly praised because it combined the strengths of both attributes, with practical effects that could even exceed the sum of their parts, achieving 1+1>2.

However, fusion magic also had significant limitations, requiring the cooperation of two or more individuals, or a single person with dual attributes.

When multiple people cast fusion magic, the drawback was the need for absolute synchronicity, which made complex, large-scale fusion spells difficult to achieve. The advantage, however, was reduced mana consumption for each individual.

Conversely, a solo caster faced the challenges of requiring high proficiency, adequate affinity, and greater mana reserves. Yet, the advantages were enticing: once mastered, one could cast spells freely and consecutively, effectively turning them into a superior new skill within the same tier.

Hilvyn’s practice of ‘Ice Vortex’ and ‘Frozen Wind’ was considered relatively simple among ice-wind fusion spells.

Bringing her thoughts back to the present, Elara could only provide systematic guidance to Hilvyn. Her own attributes were completely unrelated to Hilvyn’s, so she refrained from offering misguided advice.

Elara sensed the connections between her magical attributes:

Dark: 52%

Spatial: 40%

With her Spatial affinity reaching 40%, she was now capable of attempting fusion magic as well.

However, the Spatial attribute was quite unique. Not only were its offensive methods scarce, but its attack spells were also of a high grade, thus it was consistently positioned as an ‘excellent’ support attribute.

Its primary function was, of course, to be used in conjunction with ranged magic. Spatial manipulation could shorten the time to hit and temporarily conceal spells, thereby reducing the chance of interception and counter-attacks.

Elara concentrated, attempting to control the attack of ‘Dark Arrows’ while simultaneously diverting energy to try partial spatial distortion, aiming to shorten the trajectory and hide the spell’s effect. Yet, several consecutive attempts ended in failure.

The Spatial attribute was not only rare and unique, but also incredibly difficult to train. If other attributes were like classical poetry in language arts, where rote memorization of annotations could lead to achievement, then Spatial magic was akin to mathematics, requiring flashes of insight from nothingness to take the first step.

Despite having borrowed relevant materials from the guild, practical application remained an uphill battle.

“Perhaps I’m not as talented as I thought.”

Elara felt a pang of discouragement. She had already expended more than half her mana and needed to conserve some to maintain her mental state and for any unforeseen circumstances.

‘Today’s training should conclude here,’ she decided. ‘It’s not feasible to replenish mana with potions just for practice; those things aren’t cheap.’

As Elara pondered, she was drawn by a tremendous commotion nearby.

“Master, look at this!”

Hilvyn was now controlling a considerably sized ice vortex.

The wind howled, interspersed with the crisp crackling of ice. The surrounding leaves rustled, and where the vortex passed, it pulverized tall grass and shrubs until only stubble remained.

However, it did not last long, dissipating on its own after about ten seconds.

“Splendid!” Elara praised with certainty.

Reaching this stage was already quite impressive. Now, Hilvyn only needed to continue familiarizing herself with it to make it her own.

Just as the atmosphere settled, hurried footsteps and loud shouts emanated from a direction within the forest.

“Hurry! You absolutely must hold on!”

Elara focused her gaze and recognized Pete, the hyena-skinned adventurer.

He was carrying the new vanguard, recruited half a month prior, on his back.

Blood trailed behind him, staining the ground from the man’s ankle.

The other two teammates, a worried woman and a silently frowning man, guarded his flanks.

Elara activated her spatial perception and detected two large gashes on the man’s back, though they were not immediately fatal.

Despite their previous friction, Elara decided to assist the small team.

“My friend can help you. ‘Healing Wind’ can at least stop the bleeding.”

However, Pete, who was at the forefront, heard her words but his expression remained unchanged, still fraught with anxiety. He even quickened his pace, rushing toward the city gates.

“Master…”

Hilvyn tugged at Elara’s sleeve. “I think his two teammates glared at you.”

“Perhaps it’s because I offended them before…” Elara began, then shook her head. “No, it’s because we had a conflict.”