"Are you willing to pay the price?"
Kevin was someone who could be considered as having seen everything that the world has to offer. Having been alive for the last several thousands of years, one could say that Kevin was an experienced Spirit. But this was the first time that he heard such words.
Back then, whenever humans desired for his service or wanted him to be their Blessed Artifact. All of them would be incredibly respectful to him. But this man, this person who had transcended time and space to go back to the past was obviously not a simple man.
Kevin couldn't look at him as if he was an ordinary human.
In other words, he had to seriously contemplate Calvin's offer for Calvin really had the capability to help him escape this nightmare of a place.
"Can you let me see the contract first?" Kevin scratched his cheek. He felt that it was somewhat shameful for him to be doubtful against an ordinary human like Calvin. But since he was going to be Calvin's Blessed Artifact, some formalities were required like the existence and signing of a contract.
"What contract?" Calvin turned to look at Kevin in confusion.
"What?" Kevin also stared at him, "You don't have a contract for me to sign?"
"Yeah, why do I need something like that?"
"You..."
Kevin facepalmed.
"How else are you going to make sure that I am not going to betray you?"
"Oh, that? I trust that you won't do that."
Kevin was speechless.
Was this guy really a centenarian Apex Predator at the Writer Profession who traveled through time and space to rectify his mistakes in the past? Why was he being so carefree? Will he not really bind me with a contract? Kevin couldn't understand Calvin's train of thought.
Calvin could see the confusion on Kevin's face.
"I understand why you are so confused. But I don't really intend on making you sign a contract. It's because I trust you, this may be the first time that we met but you can say that I've already trusted you ever since I laid my eyes on you."
Calvin stared right at Kevin.
His eyes radiating sincerity that Kevin couldn't possibly deny.
But when he heard Calvin's words, Kevin felt a shiver down his spine.
"Fuck off! I may be an androgynous spirit, but I don't swing that way!"
"Hahaha..." Calvin lightly chuckled, "All right, I'll stop. So, what about it? Are you willing to be my Blessed Artifact?"
"Heh..." Kevin revealed a smirk, "If you can release me from this nightmare without making me sign a soul-binding contract, then do you really think that I won't agree? There's no better deal than that!"
"You're agreeing? All right!" Calvin made a fist-pumping gesture.
"All right, then let's go and make that grand formation that we need to let you escape from this place. Are you sure that you can place an illusion that encompasses the entire Mount Spirit Sword Asylum without it being detected by Fivecent?"
"If you can't, then I can help you." Calvin lifted a cheeky smile.
Kevin fumed.
"Of course, I can! Who do you think I am? I lived for several thousands of years, lived through countless epochs, and saw the downfall of innumerable kingdoms and empires..."
"Do you really think that I can't do something as simple as an illusion? I also know quite a bit of Runecrafting myself, so don't think that you're so magnificent because you know a thing or two about Runecrafting!" He couldn't help but rebuke Calvin when he saw the cheeky smile on Calvin's face.
"All right, calm down. I admit that you're that good. I'll go ahead and make the paper that we need for the grand formation." Calvin didn't tarry any longer.
He took out his small notebook and tore a page from it.
Afterwards, he bit his uninjured left cheek and spat a mouthful of blood on his left palm.
He then smeared that blood on the paper that he was holding on his right hand.
"W-W-Wait, stop!"
"What are you doing?"
Kevin suddenly interrupted.
"What?"
Calvin turned to look at Kevin with clear annoyance on his face. The spirit of this Notebook of Secrets that Will Destroy Your Life seemed to be even more childish than what he had expected.
"You're going to use that small flimsy piece of paper as the foundation for the grand formation? Are you serious?"
"Yes, I am. What's wrong?" Calvin raised an eyebrow. Since Kevin knew the ancient art of Runecrafting. He should know that runes could be carved on any surface for as long as it was blessed by the divinity of one of the Seven Gods and Goddesses. Since that was the case, why was Kevin acting like this?
"What's wrong? You are using a flimsy piece of paper to create a grand formation? Do you really think that something like that can hold out against the influx of mana once the formation is started? What's more, I don't even think that it's possible to inscribe that many logical threads in such a small piece of paper." Kevin scolded.
Calvin lifted a smile, "It's possible."
"What?" Kevin was irritated earlier, but now he was thoroughly angry. If he was going to attempt his escape from this place, he must do it with caution and due diligence. He won't let a small variable like a piece of paper ruin everything.
But Calvin was acting so casual about it— was he purposely doing this to anger him, or does he really think that a small piece of paper like a notebook's page was sufficient to squeeze in a grand formation onto its surface?
"Since you know about Runecrafting. Let me ask you, how many logical threads do we need to create that grand formation that we need so the two of us can escape from this place undetected and unscathed?" Calvin proposed a question.
Kevin fell into deep contemplation.
But after only a few seconds, he came out of thinking and gave his answer, "Five-hundred and twelve logical threads."
"Correct."
Calvin nodded his head, pleased by Kevin's answer.
He confirmed that both of them were thinking of the same idea.
Mount Spirit Sword Asylum was being constantly monitored by Fivecent. It wasn't easy to escape from here without being detected since Fivecent installed a lot of formations and early-detection warning systems to see to it that the place would be kept in order.
If someone deployed a grand formation without keeping that information in mind.
Fivecent's employees would instantly teleport beside them and stop whatever they were trying to do.
In a nutshell, escaping from this nightmare undetected was as hard as ascending the heavens.
But was it impossible?
No!
So long as the conditions were right and the variables were controlled along with the other factors. Calvin was confident that he could escape along with the Notebook of Secrets that Will Destroy Your Life.
Of course, now was not the right time to escape. After all, he still needed to guide those newbies out of this place and he still needed to fulfill his promise to both Ziya and Leonard.
However, he needed to prove to Kevin that he was capable of doing the impossible, so he could have his trust.
Thus, Calvin deliberately made a show.
What he said earlier about the contract was part of the show.
While it may be true that Calvin didn't have a contract for Kevin, he had his own plans in mind as well as countermeasures if Kevin decided to betray him.
Having been through heaven and hell in his past life, Calvin wasn't that naive.
He only said those words earlier since he wanted to appeal to Kevin's heart.
He wanted to look sincere and trustworthy.
The first part of his act was done and now it was time for the second part.
Doing the impossible!
In order to prove his capabilities, Calvin planned on doing the impossible!