"What the hell is happening?" Alex demanded, eyes slightly widened.
Behind him, Maya also bore the same expression as him, but more exaggerated.
Before the two of them, a scene of hundreds of humans kneeling in front of Amelia, Anna, and Anita.
Without needing to be said, it's obvious that the row of hundreds were the captives, why they were kneeling in front of the girls, however, was a goddamn mystery.
Hearing his question, Amelia turned towards her brother, a wry smile plastered under her multicolored mask.
She approached him and whispered, "They're begging us to take them when we leave."
Hearing this, Alex sighed. He had already figured that something like this might happen.
During their journey, Cedrix had elaborated to Alex that he had witnessed other villages and small cities ravaged and destroyed by members of the Night group.
Those people kneeling were most likely the folks from those ruined towns.
The reason why the imperial family or the nobles charged to protect these lands weren't doing anything was completely beyond Alex's comprehension; all he knew was that right now...
'These people are free, but have no home to return to. Though, it's better than being transformed into mindless beasts,' Alex remarked in a somber tone.
'There are only level 1s and 2s among them,' Alex remarked, realizing the absence of the level 3s.
Much like the ones before them, the level 3s had probably lost their homes, but unlike this group, their levels and strength made them sought after, whether in noble circles or adventurers' guilds. They didn't need to beg for help from their rescuers.
Level 2s could opt for similar paths, but unlike level 3s, they might not receive the same warm welcome in noble circles due to their commoner status. Discrimination against level 3s might exist, but it's usually less intense. However, this group might face harsher discrimination.
Glancing at the assembly, Alex swiftly concluded that these folks weren't fighters at all. Even if they possessed combat skills, their current malnourished state would likely lead guilds to deem them weak and reject their requests for membership in the adventurers guilds.
'Well, a poor guild or onf with an incompetent leader might do that,' Alex mused.
'What do I do with them?' Alex pondered.
If trained well, these folks could easily become skilled soldiers. Even if they didn't aspire to join the military, their ability to use mana put them in a favorable position. It's always beneficial to have a diverse range of mana users on your side, regardless of their level!
The only potential issue would be if Alex didn't have enough money to train them, but after emptying the entire treasury of this base, the cost to train those individuals might very well be a mere penny for him.
Thinking about it, Alex really wanted to take these folks with him. He began devising plans to transport them to one of the two cities under his jurisdiction. Maybe he could call upon Grace to assist in their relocation. Given her strength, it would barely take her a few hours at worst to come here and escort them while Alex continued his journey to the Drazen auction. However, there was a problem.
"I can't trust them," Alex muttered under his breath.
He had already spilled the beans to these folks about his ties to an organization called Arcane. If Grace were to escort them to one of the cities, they would inevitably learn about their affiliation with Arcane. Moreover, enlisting unknown individuals as soldiers didn't sit well with Alex.
The trust issue could potentially be addressed with a contract, but with over a hundred people here, Alex didn't have nearly enough contracts at his disposal. Heck, he didn't even have one contract in hand. And even if he miraculously had a hundred contracts on hand, he wasn't sure he'd be willing to use them on this bunch.
At that moment, Anna approached Alex and murmured, "If you intend to take them, there are collective soul contracts."
"Oh," Alex raised a brow in curiosity.
'Well, it shouldn't be surprising. In the end, Night is a gathering of bandits, they surely won't trust each other just like that,' Alex remarked, crossing his arms.
As the name implied, the collective soul contract was a pact that bound multiple individuals with one another or multiple individuals to one person. If the contract that bound two persons to each other was costly, then this one was over the roof.
It's no wonder the church of the god of contracts was the wealthiest on the continent!
Picking up the rings, Alex mentally probed each of them, searching for the specific contract he needed.
Ten minutes later, five parchments and two beautifully crafted mask rested in Alexm's hands.
'Each of them can include up to fifty individuals,' Alex nodded in understanding.
"Listen to me..."
Alex then started laying out the terms to the kneeling individuals before him. He made it clear that by signing, they'd be provided with food, care, and the opportunity to serve as loyal subordinates.
There were other clauses, but the aforementioned one was the most important.
Following this, Alex detailed the penalties for breaching the contract.
Since he would be using his true name on the contract, not the name of his organization, 'Arcane,' Alex decided that the penalty for betrayal would be immediate death—a warning he conveyed to the people.
Upon hearing this, some hesitated, but the majority didn't need a second thought and immediately accepted.
'There are eighty of them, so two contracts should suffice,' Alex said as he inscribed the terms onto two sheets of paper. He then handed each to Amelia and Anna, instructing them to oversee the signing process. "Once you're done, escort everyone who's signed out of the base and into the forest, but don't venture too far."
"Also, take these two masks. If the smoke mask were to disappear, wear these instead," Alex instructed, handing the masks to Amelia.
Amelia and Anna glanced at him curiously and nodded in understanding.
"Follow those two," Alex instructed Maya, who had been watching everything unfold with a curious expression, motioning towards Amelia and Anna.
Before Maya could respond, Alex vanished into thin air, leaving her and the captives bewildered by his sudden disappearance.
"Those who want to sign the contract, form two lines and move forward, chop chop, we don't have too much time!" Amelia's urgent tone spurred the captives into action, and they quickly organized themselves into two lines, eager to secure their chance at a better future.
Meanwhile, on the opposite side of the entrance where the captives were held, Alex could be seen streaking into the boundless darkness, two clouds of smoke closely trailing behind him.
'Status'
An instant after his order, a blue translucent screen appeared before Alex:
[Name: Alexandre Eswald
Age: 60
Level: 4
Strength: 600
Agility: 600
Stamina: 520
Defense: 360
Mana Points: 85
Harem: Lilia Eswald, Annaline Maxwell, Amelia Eswald;
Abilities: Soul Linkage, Smoke sovereign;
Soul Points: 20]
Alex couldn't help but let out a low whistle of astonishment as he glanced over his new stats. 'I didn't expect such a boost; all my attributes without mana had doubled.'
Alex had felt that the enhancement he had received when the black heart penetrated his chest was significant, but at that moment, he had thought it was lacking, given all the suffering he went through. However, apparently, he was wrong.
'But how come I'm not crashing into anything then?' Alex pondered aloud, feeling perplexed.
The last time he had enhanced his stats was during his fight against Todd and Tobias. At that time, his strength and speed had been increased by 100 each, but it was enough for him to crash through things each time he attempted to move, even if it was just to take a single step!
It took him a little while to get adjusted to his body's strength once again. Yet, here he was, calmly running after his speed had been enhanced by 300, three times the previous increase!
'It must be due to the enhancement to my mind,' Alex theorized, recalling the crippling headache he had felt this time.
Previously, when he increased his speed, it felt as though his eyes and brain couldn't keep up with his movements. But now, it seemed as though it was the opposite. He felt like his body was too slow, which was a bizarre sensation.
This enhancement also allowed him to run through the deep darkness and still see normally, as if the darkness didn't affect his sight at all.
"But why wasn't my mana capacity raised?" Alex wondered aloud, furrowing his brows in thought.
As he continued to run through the darkness, Alex couldn't shake off the nagging feeling that there was something he was missing.
His body had been enhanced, as had his mind and soul, so why was his mana capacity still the same?
'I guess I will never know unless I find out what that black heart was,' Alex sighed as he retrieved a communication talisman similar to the one he had been using to contact Anna, though, this wasn't the same.
Sticking it to his forehead, Alex infused the talisman with a pulse of mana, 'let's hope it won't take her too much time to-'
lex hadn't even completed his thought when a bright and cheerful voice suddenly echoed in his mind.
'Finally!'