As Raven was facing against the spirit—
Oscar called out to their leader.
"Let’s observe for now."
Clifford said with a complicated expression on his face.
They heard the deal between Raven and the spirit.
"Guildmaster, there are a lot of spectators."
A woman then approached them and said that. The woman is an rank hero specialized in presence and trap detection—her name is Alina.
Clifford and the others looked around... They saw a lot of eyes aimed at them.
And just as they were observing the surroundings—magic circles started appearing in the sky one by one!
Oscar and the others, except Clifford, widened their eyes and looked at Raven.
"Will that boy be fine?"
Alina asked worriedly.
It’s been a minute since the deal.
The spirit and Raven are still motionless. The spirit offered Raven time to prepare, which he didn’t refuse. He said he’ll need a minute.
Meanwhile, on Raven’s side...
He was looking at the magic circles in the sky carefully with [Insight] and [Calm Thinker] activated to their max efficiencies.
And exactly after a minute—
The spirit declared that mischievously, then waved its hand down casually.
Three lightnings fell from the magic circles in the sky, all heading toward Raven!
"YOU KNOW YOU’RE A PIECE OF SHIT!!!"
He ran forward to the spirit while avoiding the lightnings.
Then he leaped diagonally into the air!
Arriving in front of the small spirit, Raven kicked with his right foot.
His kick missed, as he expected.
Raven immediately twisted his body using the momentum of his kick, then landed on a tree trunk behind the spirit.
It’s the tree trunk where his dagger pierced after throwing it earlier. And that dagger is exactly beside him.
Raven immediately grabbed the dagger with his right hand. Then using the trunk of the tree as a foothold—
Raven covered his legs with mana and propelled himself toward the spirit again!
-You haven’t given up on attacking yet?
The spirit asked unenthusiastically and waved its hand.
And after that—a lightning bolt flew horizontally straight at Raven!
Raven, who could see the lightning coming at a terrifying speed, cursed.
He had a cat’s reflexes and balance at the moment by using one of the [Cat’s Earring]’s effects, so he twisted his body midair to avoid the lightning.
Unfortunately, his left arm still got hit. Nevertheless, he didn’t stop advancing toward the spirit—no, he couldn’t stop.
And upon getting near the spirit, Raven thrust his dagger straight at it!
But it was blocked easily by a shield made of mana. The shield was emitting electric particles, so it was easy to guess who produced it.
-You didn’t think I could only attack, right?
The spirit said with a smug tone.
And Raven replied with a smile.
The mana shield got swallowed by a black vortex!
Then Raven consecutively shot ten bullets immediately while his gun was aimed at the spirit!
Lifting his left hand hurt because it got hit by lightning, though that didn’t stop him, as he knew he would die if he bothered with such things at the moment.
After that, Raven started to fall to the ground. He landed softly and, regaining his footing, he didn’t waste any time and immediately dashed to avoid the countless lightning bolts still coming for him.
BZOOM! BZOOM! BZOOM!–
Raven looked up at the spirit while still running around the meadow. It was completely unharmed.
The spirit said with a mocking smile.
Raven ignored it and just continued to dodge the lightnings, though he was pretty irritated inside—his left arm was numb from the earlier hit.
And then, three lightnings—from his left, right, and above—came at him!
Raven lightly jumped and twisted his body in the air to avoid the lightnings from his left and right.
Then, immediately after his right foot landed on the ground, he kicked the ground and dashed forward.
Thus, he avoided the lightning coming from above as well.
-Not going to shoot me anymore?
The spirit asked, looking at Raven running everywhere like a slippery shit.
"Bullets are expensive, you idiot!"
Raven shouted. He removed the thought of attacking and just focused on evading the lightnings coming at him.
The spirit shrugged and opened its mouth.
-You can avoid three lightnings, so let’s increase it.
And after it said that, ten new magic circles appeared in the sky!
"Hey, don’t just jump from three to ten! It’s supposed to be five next!"
Raven exclaimed while frowning.
The spirit just ignored his ranting and muttered a single chant. The winds grew violent, and after that—
Ten lightning bolts fell from the sky and headed for Raven like fast snakes!
’I CAN’T AVOID ALL OF THIS...!’
Raven thought and tried to make a mana shield but failed. It was his first attempt making one.
He cursed at himself in annoyance. He just continued dashing to avoid as many lightning bolts as possible.
"I should have learned how to make mana shields from Ruby before coming here!"
Raven exclaimed, then—
He got struck by three lightning bolts.
I frowned at the sight of a young man getting struck by the lightning bolts in front of us.
Sir Clifford was also frowning. He’s fine now and can move freely, but he can’t do anything hastily because the guild members’ safety is on the line.
It’s not like we don’t want to save the boy.
Alina worriedly called for the guildmaster.
But he just shook his head, indicating that we shouldn’t move yet.
Alina made a solemn expression and looked at where the young man was standing earlier.
I think that Sir Clifford’s decision is right... But I can’t help but be frustrated at the fact that we can’t help the boy.
The guildmaster is known for being righteous and an ally of justice, so I know it’s also hard for him to just watch someone die and do nothing.
I looked at him... A resolute expression on my face.
"What should we do, Sir Cliff—"
But before I could even finish my sentence, a loud curse was heard from a distance and cut me off.
Then I saw Alina with her eyes widened, looking at something.
Even the other members showed surprise on their faces.
Sir Clifford and I averted our gazes and followed where they were looking.
And just like them, our eyes widened.
My mouth opened and closed repeatedly, but no words came out.
The young man, who we thought would have already died, was standing on his two feet.
He was struggling, but he was still standing!
His whole body was wrapped in something like a black suit.
Three potions appeared from a vortex that he produced. Then, his head became uncovered and he drank all the potions.
And after doing that, he glared at the spirit in the air.
-Oh, you survived. Interesting.
It said. Its tone now sounded like it was having fun.
"Sorry, but I’ll get out of here alive."
The young man said clearly and confidently.
He pointed at the spirit.
"You’re strong—have a contract with me."
At his words, my mouth hung slightly open. The same with the others who also heard it.
"The spirit declined the guildmaster. Why would the spirit have a contract with that boy?"
One of the male members of our group muttered.
"Maybe he’s joking, right?"
One of the female members jokingly asked.
It’s because the young man was looking at the spirit seriously.
-You’re funny as hell!
"Well, thanks, but I’m serious about what I said."
The spirit looked at the young man.
-You survived for one minute already.
"No, two minutes. The time is still ongoing even though we’re talking, right?"
The young man replied and smiled mischievously.
The spirit then smiled in a similar manner.
-Oh, you’re right. Sorry for my mistake.
It said and pointed at the young man.
-You know that I’m not using my full power, right?
The young man didn’t answer for a second.
He answered after a bit long pause.
’Why is he answering late? Did his hearing get damaged by the lightning he received earlier?’
The spirit seemed to think so too, as it frowned for a while but then shrugged.
-You know, and still asked me to form a contract with you?
Like earlier, the young man didn’t answer immediately.
-Why would I form a contract with you?
The spirit asked and emitted a heavy pressure everywhere. We felt it from where we were watching.
The boy remained motionless for a while, then a smile appeared on his face.
A majestic aura scattered everywhere, coming from the young man, which surprised us!
He asked back arrogantly.
"Anyway, this talk lasted for a minute and a half, so I just need to survive another minute and a half, right?"
The young man said with a cunning smile.
The spirit smiled. My eyes widened as I realized that he wasn’t answering immediately to stall time, not because he had a hearing problem!
-You’ve piqued my interest. Now show me why I should form a contract with you.
At that moment—another ten magic circles appeared in the sky!
My heart started to beat faster. I don’t know why, but looking at boy made me feel excited and want to cheer for him!
"But doesn’t his aura feel familiar?"
I muttered to myself.