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Chapter 4 - First Contract

Cain's indignation was understandable. The first Contract was the one which would impact a Contractors growth the most. There had been many rich idiots who would Contract with weak Contractees, using huge amounts of money and time to raise them to a barely acceptable standard. Smarter people would Contract with something strong from the beginning, then train it into something more fearsome. The most prevalent mentality of valuing existing strength over potential was taught as the correct way to proceed.

Sustaining more than one contract was extremely difficult at a young age. A Contract acted as a constant drain on the Contractor's willpower, and those without sufficient willpower could do find themselves unable to sustain even two contracts when they first began.

Cain estimated he would be able to maintain three contracts with no drawbacks, any more and he would run into issues. Using one of his three prescious Contracts on a garden snake didn't sit well with him. Cain had actually hoped the warrior himself would agree to be Contracted, but it seemed that wasn't going to happen.

The warrior's expression was one of shock at Cain's outburst. This white snake was what his Lord had relied on in his early years to build his army, could it be that the Lord had not explained to his son what the snake's purpose was? He then remembered that his Lord had told him to explain the hidden abilities of the serpent. His voice, now with a near imperceptible tremble to it, began to explain.

"While the white snake is currently weak oh exalted one, it is because it has yet to grow beyond the infant stage. The Ruler of All Men used the parent of this snake to great effect, he had even said it was the only reason he became as powerful as he did."

Cain noticed the slight tremble in the man's voice, surmising that his displeasure had been the cause. He still wanted to recruit this warrior to his side and so decided to humour him. Acquiescing to his request would indebt the man to Cain, and he could use that to build a rapport and hopefully sign a Contract.

Taking such a man into the school's tiny world would be akin to letting a fox into the hen house. He would be able to easily dominate and exploit the world. If only this mighty warrior would follow him, paying the bills wouldn't be a challenge.

"Alright I trust you…"

Cain realised the man had not given him a name and stared pointedly at him. To his credit the man swiftly realised what Cain wanted.

"Darius m'lord"

"Right then Darius, all I need to do is contract the snake right? I apologise for my prior outburst, I know you must have my interests at heart."

Cain reasoned that by putting his trust in Darius and not asking him to elaborate on the snake's supposed abilities he could demonstrate his sincerity and build a good impression.

If Darius happened to be lying to him and was seeking to cause him harm he could simply dissolve the contract with the snake and retreat to Earth until he had an army capable of defeating him. There were only benefits to earn here, with very little risk. Crushing him with the pure power of a higher existence was also possible but that was a last resort.

Cain walked over to the small serpent and sat down in front of it. He assumed a meditative stance, focusing entirely on the snake. Piece by piece Cain's willpower coalesced into a silver thread connecting from his forehead to the spot between the snake's eyes. Sweat began to pour from Cain, as the effort of constructing a mental bridge had proved quite taxing. Despite Cain's high amount of willpower, a mental bridge still took a fair chunk of his willpower. He had substituted the skilful control most people had to train themselves in by just pouring power in until the bridge formed.

The snake didn't attempt to snap at the mental bridge or reject it. In fact, it just continued to slither around on the stone floor, content and uncaring. The only feedback from the snake was its thoughts, which were transmitted without any input from the snake or Cain.

Inside the snake's mind were revolving images of what Cain assumed were tiny worlds. The images progressed as a gargantuan snake appeared and began swallowing the tiny worlds whole, each world increasing the snake's size. Once all the tiny worlds had been consumed the images would repeat. The giant snake in the images bore an uncanny resemblance to the little rascal on the floor. Pale white scales with deep green eyes.

Cain turned to Darius, his face pale as the he realised what that this snake would be once it grew up. "Darius I changed my mind, explain everything about this monster please"

Darius's face once more broke into a grin. "Your wish is my command divine heir. This snake is the offspring of a species called Librarian Snakes. They were named by the gods due to their characteristic of consuming knowledge to grow and survive. Only entire worlds can sate their hunger when they grow to adulthood. They share their knowledge freely with their master allowing you access to an ever-growing library of information. Their children inherit the parent's library and are highly sought after by all gods. One adult Librarian Snake can genocide a world in mere minutes. The Ruler of All Men had prepared this snake for you, divine heir, to allow you the best possible start in your endeavours."

Cain didn't know how many more mental sucker punches he could handle. The fact that this snake could end worlds was cool, but the knowledge was the real prize to Cain. Knowledge was the one thing Cain could always use more of. Cain re-focused on his mental connection with the infant destroyer. He realised this snake would be an essential part of his army as it grew.

"Can you understand me?"

Cain's mental communication interrupted the snake's thoughts. The repeating daydream of endlessly devouring worlds was replaced with a question mark in the snake's mind. Cain had already figured that despite the vast knowledge the snake had stored away it couldn't freely access its internal library. It just wanted to eat and sleep. It didn't have any meaningful thoughts about a higher existence communicating with it. Only infantile curiosity.

"If you come with me I'll let you eat your fill every day. Once you grow up I'll let you eat all the worlds you want"

Cain's promise had been effective. The white snake slithered across the floor, reaching Cain and proceeding until it had curled up on his head. Cain took this as a sign of consent to begin the Contract, as the infant snake could not communicate beyond sending Cain mental images.

"Darius, did my Lord father indicate any stipulations in regard to the Contract?"

Contracts had to be airtight, stipulate to a king he can't kill his subjects and he'll just order his subordinates to do so. The most common contracts were absolute servitude contracts which enforced complete obedience to the Contractor. For beasts this worked fine, but for intelligent life detailed Contracts were generally better. Cain wanted to make sure he wouldn't get screwed by forming a loose contract.

"The Ruler of All Men indicated the servant contract to be most suitable. Wouldn't want the Librarian Snake to disobey when you need it most." Cain agreed with his father's judgement in this case. The snake might grow more intelligent as it grew up and having a world devouring serpent on a loose leash might have unpleasant consequences.

Cain focused on the mental bridge to begin the process of forming the Contract.

"Do you swear to follow my orders absolutely and completely, with no interpretation, following both the letter and spirit of my commands no matter what?"

The snake responded by showing Cain thoughts of a tiny world followed by a question mark. Cain laughed when he saw this, immediately grasping the tiny glutton's intentions.

"In return for your eternal servitude I swear on my true name, Cain Adams, that you will never go hungry."

Cain felt as though his brain had been set alight as a huge amount of his willpower was sucked down the mental bridge and used to bond the Librarian Snake's soul to his. The burning sensation gradually faded as the Contract took hold in the Librarian Snake's soul. Cain could now feel the snake's emotions as well as read its surface level thoughts. The snake showed no discomfort during the process making Cain rather jealous.

The small snake remained curled on Cain's head, but the previously silver mental bridge transformed changing to a golden hue. Cain immediately felt his mental burden lessen. Purely projecting himself into this world was a constant drain on his willpower and forming the contract had left him with very little left in the tank. Cain estimated he would have enough willpower to continue in his projected state for a while longer but forming any more Contracts would be impossible.

Now that the Librarian Snake was under his command Cain decided to give it a name. To continue referring to it as just a snake felt like an injustice to such a powerful beast. The pale white scales reminded Cain of the ice he would take with his water. Snakes were a cold-blooded species so a name related to ice and coldness seemed appropriate.

"I'll call you Chilled, since you seem to be so relaxed here on my head."

Chilled showed no indication it cared about its new name and continued to remain coiled up on Cain's head. Despite being only a projection Cain could choose to retain corporality by expending a little willpower. The cost was low, and it helped to have a physical presence when forming Contracts. Sometime more intelligent creatures would reject a Contractor's existence unless they could be seen.

Cain was actually rather pleased now. He knew that if this snake was raised correctly it could be the lynchpin for his entire army. There was only one problem. He couldn't take Chilled beyond the confines of this world. For a Contractee to truly join the army of their Contractor they would need to be fully matured and reach a tier 3 in power.

Tiers were the classifications used to describe the power of a Contractee. Tier 1 was for wild animals and weak humans. Tier 2 was for stronger animals and combat trained humans. Tier 3 meant the Contractee could use mana to some extent. Without the ability to manipulate mana dimensional travel proved too great a burden on both body and mind. This was why a mature body and a powerful mana control skill were required for all Contractees.

Cain turned to Darius, intending to inquire into the purpose of the tower but it seemed Darius had realised Cain would question him after the Contract was completed.

"Congratulations on your successful Contract divine heir, may it be the first of many. The Librarian Snake cannot leave the confines of this world due to its immaturity, but by your Contract with it you can access the internal library it holds at anytime from anywhere even in the realm of the gods. I am now allowed to inform you of the Tower of the Forgotten's purpose."

Cain remained silent, as Darius explained.

"The Ruler of All Men performed a great many, shall we say, experiments on various beings. He left the failures here as they either didn't meet expectations or were deemed too powerful to be let loose. Before he departed he left me here as the sole protector of the tower and told me his son would soon arrive, seeking strength. The Librarian Snake is the first of many gifts divine heir, but the Lord instructed that you should not grow dependent on his goodwill.

Cain knew what was coming next but still felt compelled to ask. "So, I can't go beyond this floor until I bring back my second Contractee?"

Cain thought that if Darius's grin grew any wider he would split his lips open. The man hadn't stopped smiling since Cain agreed to his request. "As expected of my Lord's own son you are truly wise. The lord has forbade you from forming too many Contracts too quickly. All residents are aware of the Lord's command and will refuse to join you until I have seen your army grow. The resident of the first floor will allow you to dominate your peers, but until the first member of your army can cross over to this world he will not be permitted to join you."

Cain felt this was a regrettable but fair condition for being able to use the tower. It seemed that he was the only one who could access this world and Darius wouldn't allow anyone else to enter the tower, so even if someone could access the world they would be unable to gain any benefits. The fact that Chilled couldn't leave yet made Cain a little worried. If it died while he was away he would feel like dying.

"These conditions are acceptable, Darius, but what about Chilled will he be okay without me?"

"Forgive my question divine heir but who is Chilled?"

"The Librarian Snake Darius. I gave him a name."

"Ah my apologies for correcting you divine heir but Librarian Snakes are exclusively female. I do not know why this is, I apologise for being unable to offer you an adequate explanation"

"No matter Darius the name fits her well, will she be fine staying here?"

Darius thought for a moment before answering. "Yes, she will be well cared for. You saw the battlefield outside; the discarded weapons have been serving as a fine food source. Librarian Snakes are creatures who naturally grow to become capable of serving the gods in their travels. There is no need to worry for I, Darius ensure her days are spent in comfort."

Darius had puffed his chest up for his final statement which amused Cain. The image of this scarred and rugged warrior, taking pride in serving him was surreal. He was a full-fledged Contractor now, he would have to get used to scenes like this one.

"I leave her in your capable hands then Darius. I will depart now and try and bring you a worthy member of my army when next we meet."

Darius was practically glowing with pride. He had delivered his Lord's messages perfectly, the heir was pleased with and trusted him, and he would be able to take the Librarian Snake out to feed instead of having to haul the food into the tower like before. Today had been a good day.

"One last thing Darius, would you ever consider joining me on my journey?"

"My apologies divine heir but my the Ruler of All Men entrusted me with keeping the Tower of the Forgotten's residents alive and well"

"Ah never mind then. Farewell for now Darius"

Cain began to pull his consciousness back into his body, happy with the gains he had obtained in the Tower of the Forgotten. While the tower offered him an excellent long-term goal he still had the threat of the bills to worry about.

It was time to go conquer a world.