Raven leaned forward, resting his chin on his hands. "Interesting. I didn't think you had any knowledge of that speech I gave. I thought you wouldn't have accepted me if you knew what I really wanted."
Ace shrugged. "Honestly, I didn't think you would win. Killing innocent civilians in their sleep is not an impressive accomplishment. Many of the other players had more combat experience, I just needed to pad the numbers."
Kara furrowed her brows. "Okay stop. Someone needs to explain what 'exterminate all life means'."
Raven smiled. "It's pretty self-explanatory, actually. My main goal is to kill every NPC in the whole game."
Kara paused for a moment. "Well, yeah... but why?"
Raven looked away, his gaze distant. "It's hard to explain. I think it is partly the challenge, and partly to see what will happen."
Raven looked back at Kara. "Honestly, just thinking about it gets me excited. It sounds like fun! I want to be pitted against everyone and everything in this whole world, and to be despised and feared by them all."
Kara leaned back in her chair and crossed her arms. "Huh. Yeah, I get it now. Man, the ones who could manage that would definitely be the best, wouldn't they?"
Ace nodded. "Indeed. They would be the ultimate enemies of this world. The gods, the demons, humanity, and all the players would band together to try and defeat them. If Raven grows strong enough, I imagine the whole world will go crazy trying to hunt him down."
Raven laughed. "You must obviously know that includes you, right? Why would invest so heavily into me?"
Ace smiled. "It's simple, really." He leaned forward, and pointed a finger at Raven. "I am going to make you my bitch!"
Raven raised an eyebrow. "Oh?"
"Yep! You may think you are special, but you are not. Sure, you have a 'system' and some nifty enhancements, but in the end you are still a nobody."
Raven sighed. "Yeah yeah, whatever you say. Can you cut the crap, and just reveal why you are saying all of this?"
Ace shrugged, and grabbed a small satchel strapped to his waist. "Sure, why not. You and I both have our dreams, and under normal circumstances we would never abandon them..."
He opened up the satchel, and pulled out a knife. It was ancient, and rusted thoroughly. It was also simple, not adorned with any fancy decorations.
Ace smiled. "Let us make a wager! Whoever can crush the other's aspirations and dreams will win, and the loser will become their slave forever."
Ace gently placed the knife down on the table. "It will be a simple game. The condition for loss will, specifically, be losing faith that their dream can ever be accomplished."
Raven nodded. "Interesting. So merely killing each other will not be enough to win?"
"Exactly. The only way to win is to crush the other person's dreams. Even if I die, the contract will stay in place."
"And how will this wager be enforced, exactly?"
Ace smiled, and tapped the knife. "We cut ourselves with this knife, and let our blood touch. Clasping hands, we make our vow. There will be no backing out after that."
Raven cocked his head. "Interesting. And if I say no?"
Ace laughed. "Of course, I am a big believer in your freedom to say no! If you'd like, I can instead crush you here, and then trap you in this room! There will, of course, be no escape for you. I will also ensure you are fed and watered, so you can never die."
'Well, I can't exactly say no. First of all, I don't know what losing access to the game system entails, exactly. Besides that, even if I left the game, my character would still be trapped here. I might have to sacrifice this character and start again, which would mean losing everything.'
Raven smiled. "Thanks for the offer, but I will accept your wager. It works out for me, as well."
"A wise decision." Ace grabbed the knife. He then cut into the palm of his hand, and offered the knife to Raven.
Raven grabbed it, and cut his hand the same way. He placed the knife on the table, and put his hand forward.
Ace grasped it tightly, smiling. "Alrighty then. Repeat after me~ I agree to the contest of dreams, whoever has their dreams crushed will become the other one's eternal slave."
"I agree to the contest of dreams, whoever has their dreams crushed will become the other one's eternal slave."
The knife glowed a deep red, and their hands burned. The cut healed, leaving behind a glowing purple scar.
Ace picked up the knife, putting it back in the satchel. "Awesome! Now that we got the important bit out of the way, we can talk about your mission! Might as well tell you the details here."
Raven looked at his hand, rubbing the scar. 'Now, even if I kill him, I will still have to abide by the contract... Then, if I win, that wouldn't really be a betrayal, either. In that case, the conditions for [Bondbreaker] will most likely not be met.'
Raven looked back towards Ace, listening as he explained their mission. 'Whatever. I never had any intention of entertaining his stupid game, anyways. The deluded fool left in such an obvious loophole...'
Ace stood up, putting his hands behind his back. "As I said before, your mission is to kill the Emperor and his heir. This is all to ensure a civil war starts between the guilds and the nobility. Then, I will use the ensuing chaos to take control of this nation myself..."
***
Out in the real world, in a house like any other, a man stared at his capsule.
'A simple plan... recruit players, and convince Beastguard's guilds that we can replace the monarchy. If I do that, my place in the guild will be secure!"
He took a deep breath to steel his nerves, and calmly stepped into the capsule. It closed around him, as his consciousness was transferred into Leigthaven.
His mission was indeed simple. As a beta player, he had plenty of experience. He would secure a country for Taktik, one of the dynasty families that controlled the government, giving their guild in Liegthaven a huge advantage.
With a flash of light, and flurry of wind, he appeared in the game world.