[7 April 2023, 11:00 AM]
[New York]
The Hero, Chloe, was the character with the most potential in my novel.
She was not called a Hero for nothing; her talents and traits earned her the title. Her Talents were ridiculous.
3 S-Rank Talents similar to Zaiden, and her Trait made her stronger than anyone else when she helped someone. The reason for that was simple.
She has the Hero Trait. She was someone who was born to be a Hero in this world.
She appeared in the story 3 years after Zaiden became an Awakener.
At that time, she was already 22 years old. That meant Chloe was only 19 years old this time.
Even though she was only 19 years old, she was already a B-Rank Awakener.
But, even though she was the character with the most potential, she couldn't fulfil that potential due to people who wanted to use her. Mainly the Awakener Association, which wanted to make use of her strength to clear dungeons all over the world.
They misunderstood the real meaning of her Trait, and that would lead them to ruin one day.
Because dungeons needed to be cleared periodically, Chloe had no time to rest, and she became depressed as time went on.
And nobody knew about that—nobody except the Reincarnator Zaiden and me.
From what I knew about Zaiden, he was content with saving the heroines. But I was not content with that. He had saved his favorite character, which created a headache for me. However, I had yet to save my favorite character.
This time, I would not let her be depressed and suffer alone. I always thought that I should not kill Chloe in the latter half of my story. I honestly regret it.
That was why, right now, I was in a café across from the dungeon that was planned to be raided by Chloe in Rai's clothes.
The news about me rejecting Sacred Relic to create a Mercenary Group had spread on the internet. It seemed like there was someone who was recording my conversation with Rosa.
And surprisingly, that 'someone' was a student called Vincent Dihart. He had uploaded the recording to the internet after cutting some parts. Yes, I had recorded my conversation and spread it because it was the best way to refuse all guilds simultaneously without me repeating myself.
The news spread rapidly. Almost all the guilds knew that I had no plan to join them. As a result, I could enjoy a cold coffee in the café without being bothered. Of course, I drank the coffee through the straw because I was using the Mask of Deceit right now.
"It's delicious. Chloe really takes her time arriving." I mumbled as I turned my attention to the dungeon.
The dungeon across from this café was a famous one. It was called Cemetery, as the dungeon was filled with undead monsters. It had three floors, and each floor had different monsters.
The first floor was filled with zombies, the second floor was filled with skeletons, and the third floor was filled with Liches.
I only found out about it when I tried to investigate the dungeon that Chloe raided. Maybe I was blessed with my Luck again, as I can get Lich's blood in this dungeon. I planned to sneak into the dungeon when Chloe entered it.
There was a crowd forming around the dungeon. They were Awakeners and Non-Awakeners who were fans of Chloe.
Four people from the Association were standing in front of the dungeon to stop anyone who tried to enter. All of them were at least C-Rank Awakeners, so they would be hard to pass by.
Honestly, sneaking into this dungeon would be difficult for me. But I had a plan to sneak in under surveillance. Well, calling it sneaking in was wrong, as I plan to bulldoze it.
Chloe was famous for being a cold girl who never talked to anyone. She even hated it when someone entered the dungeon when she was clearing it.
She clearly stated to the Association that she would clear the monsters in the dungeons by herself even though it was hard.
Periodically, the dungeon would give birth to a strong monster that caused the monsters to multiply faster. Due to the effect that this monster has on the dungeon, the strong monster was called the Boss Monster by the Association.
That Boss Monster had appeared in this dungeon, and Chloe was called to clear it as she could destroy undead easily with Light attribute mana.
After a few minutes, a black car with an A on its door approached the dungeon slowly. Two people from the Association that stood in front of the dungeon yelled to the crowd to make way.
"Hey! Make ways! Don't block the way!"
"Make way for the car!"
The crowd parted, and the car drove by. It stopped right in front of the dungeon, and a man got out of the car.
He was a bald man wearing sunglasses. As soon as he came out of the car, he went to open the backseat door.
A girl with long black hair exited the car as soon as it was opened. She was extremely beautiful and looked exactly like I described her.
She wore a black sleeveless crop top and a short skirt combined with black knee-high boots. There was a cross bag around her waist; it was a magic bag that she used to keep her weapon and other equipments, such as Magic Pills.
For a Hero, her appearance was really dark. There was even a black bag under her eyes, a sign that she hadn't had enough sleep.
After I saw her with my own eyes, I had an urge to kidnap her and let her live as she liked in some countryside. However, I needed her cooperation.
I had prepared something to make sure that she would agree to help me. Something that she really wanted.
"It's time to go." I rose from my seat as Chloe made her way to the dungeon. The crowd cheered loudly as she walked past them.
I approached the crowd while pulling my hood lower. I tried to be as normal as possible while approaching the crowd.
My preparation for today's plan was completed. I had prepared the Arash Bow and the thing that I planned to use to bring the Hero to my side is in my magic bag.
My plan was actually simple. I just needed to enter the dungeon at the time Chloe was about to enter it. I just needed to pass her by and say the magic word near her ear.
It would definitely work, remembering her Trait was a Hero.
She was now talking with the Association's people. She looked uncomfortable and wanted to escape from this place, but the Association's people were talking with a big smile without noticing that.
I couldn't blame them for not noticing it, though. I only noticed it because I knew her personality and my Deceitful Trait.
It also made it easier for me to detect lies. I became better at guessing anything related to lying and deceiving.
And Chloe was currently deceiving the Association people with a fake smile.
'Fools. Just smile right now. You won't be able to have a smile on your face when she comes out of that dungeon.'
They were done after a few minutes, and finally, Chloe was about to enter the dungeon. The people from the Association stepped aside as she walked calmly toward the dungeon.
At that time, I dashed toward the dungeon while pushing the crowd away. My movement was fast, but the Association people reacted almost immediately.
"Hey, wait!"
Four of them moved toward me at the same time, trying to stop me. Chloe also stopped in her tracks, looking at me.
I dodged all of their attempts with the footwork that Smith taught me and dashed to the dungeon at my full speed.
I was able to escape from the Association's people. And when I passed by her, I said the magic word.
"Help me."
I stared at her, and she stared back with widened eyes. She made a small nod and allowed me to pass easily before chasing after me from behind while shouting.
"Don't follow me. It's fine!"
The people who were about to follow me to the dungeon stopped. They trusted Chloe, so they followed her orders.
And so, I managed to sneak into the dungeon with just a little problem.
***
[C-Rank Dungeon - Cemetery]
The dungeon was different from the goblin dungeon that I frequently visited. It was still a cave, but the atmosphere was darker.
I stood near the entrance while waiting for Chloe to arrive. I didn't need to wait too long for that.
From the entrance, Chloe appeared and looked at me with narrowed eyes.
Although I said the magic word that would certainly move her, she was still wary of me.
"Who are you?" That was the first question that she asked. "Take off your hood and mask." And she ordered.
I was planning to work with her from the start, so I have no problem with that. I slowly pulled my mask off and put my hood down. My face turned back to Vincent, and I looked at her with a smile.
"I am Vincent Dihart, an Academy student. Well, because of some circumstances, I registered as an Awakener named Rai."
"You used a fake identity to register?"
"Yes, due to some circumstances."
"I see. What is your goal? Why did you say 'help me' when you passed me earlier?"
"About that…" I stopped my sentence midway and looked at her seriously. "…because I need your help for something big."
"And that is?"
As usual, she only commented on something that interested her. And all of her sentences were short.
I tried my best to smile in front of her. Showing my weakness would only make her doubt me.
Her eyes were sharp and glared straight into mine. Her velvet eyes carried fiery spirit even though she was tired.
My plan to make Zaiden save this world needed Chloe by all means. I needed her help, and she needed a reason to help me escape from the Association.
Hero Trait was troublesome, both for Chloe herself and for me.
She wouldn't be able to ignore a call for help, and it could expose any lie. It worked like an intuition of a certain superhero from a big movie. She would have a tingling in her head when someone lied in front of her.
But I was someone with a Deceitful Trait. Telling her a lie by twisting the truth was easy for me.
"I need your help to save the world."
I technically didn't lie. I did plan to save the world so I would be able to survive until the end of the story. Well, my way of saving the world was to make Zaiden suffer, though.
"Save the world?" Asked Chloe, confusedly. "The world is in danger?"
She asked more questions, which meant she believed me.
"That's right." I nodded my head. "That's why help me."
"I can't." She shook her head. "I am helping the Association now."
I had expected that. In the story, she was bound to the Association because she promised to help them when she was Awakened.
They twisted their words like a snake and made her promise something that bound her to the Association.
But I had prepared an item to counter that.
"Then, let's make a contract." I pulled a paper from my magic bag.
It was a contract that stated only two things.
"Contract?"
"Yes, the clauses are simple."
However, this was not a simple contract. This was a Magic Contract that I created this morning that used all my Enhancement Dust.
I threw it at her, and she read the contract carefully.
_____
[Magic Contract +3]
[Null Attribute]
A Magic Contract created by a Genius Enhancer to bind two people.
Effect:
- Binding
Binding two people with clauses stated below.
Clause 1
The Hero, Chloe, will help Vincent Dihart and join his Mercenary Group.
Clause 2
Vincent Dihart will help the Hero, Chloe, and will treat her normally.
If a side doesn't uphold the clause, he/she will be penalized.
Penalty: Death
______
It was simple, but I was confident that Chloe would accept it.
I managed to get the effect that I wanted after I enhanced it three times; hence it had +3 in its name.
"If you help me, then I will help you. If you join my Mercenary Group to save the world, then I will treat you normally."
Chloe's biggest wish was to be treated normally. I would be there for her and grant her wish. I would treat her normally, as she deserved that.
Her eyes were trembling. They were teary. She understood that I was seriously asking for her help after she read the penalty for breaking the clause.
"So, will you help me?"