As expected, he's promoted into the backup team. They're all taken into a small artificial world where they were introduced artifacts to be displayed for the event, tastes of each prince and princess as well as code of conduct.
For three full days, they were in a rigorous study routine.
Varian studied it quickly thanks to his divine soul and then he began to show off his knowledge to stand out once again.
Such behavior naturally gained the ire of some and envy of others.
But thanks to the fabricated past, Varian was able to not only justify his behavior, he was able to double down on it.
"This is my only chance to win the favor of those noble beings and have a chance of reviving my race! I will put my life on the line for it!"
Adsher liked the passionate employee and hoped that others worked as hard as him.
He wanted to increase the training level even more but fortunately for the team, he had other urgent tasks to consider and left them under Cyris' supervison.
Once Adsher disappeared, a couple members began to fawn over him, some with an intention to win over him and the other with ulterior motives.
"Hi, Hand'sum!" "Hand'sum, where did you get your triple certification?"
"Hey Hand'sum, do you want to have a drink and chat about the excavations of divine tablets?"
But Varian enjoyed the interactions, especially his own name.
"Hand'sum, come into my room."
"Oh? You're too direct ladyyyyyy…" Varian's voice dropped as he realized it was Cyris.
The appraisers around him quickly dispersed, practically running away from the scary slave and a scarier supervisor.
With a sullen face, Varian followed her into the office room. When the door creaked shut, Varian's tense expression vanished and he slipped into a seat.
Cyris frowned. "If you can't fulfill your promise, I want you to know that I'm willing to die to take you down."
"No worries, no worries. I'm a man who keeps his promises." Laying lazily on the chair, resting his legs on the table, Varian tried to appear reliable. Cyris would've thrown a fit if he didn't say the last line. "Didn't I adjust the slave seal to let you lie to your master?"
Still, she pursed her lips and said with indifference. "It benefitted you. And what I did get for taking that risk? Nothing."
Varian shook his head, clicking his tongue. "You'll be paid fully once my mission is done. The three promises, all of them will be fulfilled."
Cyris narrowed her eyes, wishing to torture the truth out of him. But she didn't dare to confront him and risk losing a chance to realize her wishes.
For the risk she took, her wishes were rather simple.
First, the culprit race who destroyed abyssals. From her own investigations, she realized it wasn't just Zions and Fairies. But she wasn't sure who this third party was.
Second, the killer of Haedon. His remains were never found and it remained a mystery where he died and who he died to.
Third, a chance for revenge. She didn't beg for him to take revenge on her behalf or ask him to take action as a price. She had to do it herself.
It's been almost a thousand years since the end of abyssals and if she couldn't even find the culprits now, even the last chance of revenge would be lost.
And then, she would embark on a journey to revive the abyssals.
Even though she's but one person, a good life ranker would be able to do wonders in increasing the number of abyssals.
As for how that race would survive a thousand years from now, she had no idea.
Due to the brutal experiment she participated in, she was losing her lifespan rapidly and wouldn't survive for long.
If she didn't have such defects, those scientists wouldn't have sold her off. They would've sliced her into pieces to study her body.
Now that her fire was about to be snuffed out, perhaps it was not courage that allowed her to trust this man for such an outrageous deal. It was desperation.
Desperation of dying and ending abyssal race forever.
"The culprit race, the killer and the location. I have them secured." Varian tilted his head, a fleeting emotion flashing in his eyes. "But even if I reveal them, it'll be helpless. You will only despair. It's better to give up and start anew. I can help you with your race's revival. A mother of a close person is somewhat of an expert in that stuff."
A look of desperation flashed on Cyris' face. She was half-expecting this but he might not have the full information. In her opinion, he was likely an agent of some other divine ranker with the goal to disrupt the event.
Even then, she didn't care. "Revival without revenge is shameful. Just uphold the part of your the contract, I'll take care of the rest." Cyris pointed to her forehead and a mark emerged from her skin.
It was 'contract' formed by a priceless treasure, a binding that would force both sides to uphold their part of the agreement.
"The penalty is set to the highest level. If you don't uphold it, you'll die. But before the contract can kill you, I will."
A thick killing intent filled the room. Even though it was nothing for him, Varian couldn't help but show a look of surprise.
An abyssal at peak rank 9, what a twist of fate!
"I cherish my life too much to break the contract. Just prepare yourself to face the answers." Varian shrugged away the shining contract runes on his neck.
Cyris' uneasy heart settled down somewhat.
Such a treasure was the only reason she dared to go this far. Else, why would she do something so dangerous just based on his words alone?
[This woman is really desperate. Contract can only force you to uphold your promise but it doesn't guarantee you actually fulfilling it.
You could just be a pawn sent by someone for some purpose with no way to fulfill your promise. The contract would kill you at most and she'd have done everything for naught.]
A contract could be made with the promise that Party A would reach rank 2 in 100 days. It's a ridiculous promise that couldn't be fulfilled. But even then, a contract could be made as long as the party was willing to bear the penalty.
Contracts were not as great as they seemed.
"Alright, I'll do my best to promote you to the main team. Whatever you're going to do, don't get killed." With those words, she walked to a corner of the room and opened a database of the current main team.
Varian broke into a wry smile. 'This woman is broken. She wants revenge and revival. But more than that, she just wants to die.'
He's someone who dared to infiltrate into a team that's going to serve the ranked princes and princesses.
Doing such a reckless thing diminished his chances of survival to near zero and yet, she was asking him to survive.
[A part of her must be reasoning that once you die, she too can go without making it seem like she abandoned her responsibilities.
Her contractual terms weren't just non-violence toward you, she took responsibility for your safety.
If you die, she too will die.
Whatever her dreams maybe, the life of slavery has broken her badly and she doesn't even realize she's trying to suicide through you.
It's sad but it's also expected.]
'She reminds me of Haedon.'
Just like Abyssals back then, she too was desperate.
With an inexplicable sigh, Varian left the room.