Azel signed the mana contract with relative ease. It was just a matter of releasing his mana into a signature, then supposedly, if he breaks the contract his soul will suffer backlash.
The concept was simple, but still foreign to Azel. Usually he found himself quick on the uptake to certain things, like he was remembering how everything functioned, in other words mana contracts didn't exist when he was still "alive".
In a strange way Azel was curious what the backlash would be to him. After all the soul was typically connected to the mana core... but Azel didn't have one of those, instead of producing mana his body constantly consumed it like an engine.
And then there was the lenses, they seemed to function independently from Azel, but he could feel that they were burning through a finite amount of mana stored within.
In other words Azel would have to fill them up at some point. Not that he minded, it shouldn't be too much trouble for the zombie.
Soon after the deal was struck, Gryphon chased Azel out, muttering something about "If you're not a paying customer..."
And so Azel sat outside the store waiting for Colwyn to return, not quite sure what to do he begun testing a theory he had first thought up when he signed the contract.
Just like how he had willed the mana to enter and bind with the contract, the plan was to create shapes out of condensed mana, such as a dagger, to use offensively.
Of course Azel was aware that without incredible control and experience the "mana constructs" were naturally going to be fragile, but just attempting them was a productive way to practise mana manipulation.
He began to shape the mana into a dagger, visualizing the blade's edges, the sharpness of its point. The energy pulsed in response, forming into a vague, shimmering outline in his palm. It flickered slightly, unstable, but it held its form longer than his previous attempts. Azel narrowed his focus, pouring more concentration into refining the construct, trying to balance the flow of energy within it.
The dagger wavered, becoming more defined with each passing second. But just as he was about to solidify the shape, a loud voice broke his concentration.
"Azel! There you are!" Colwyn's booming voice echoed down the street, causing the mana dagger to dissipate instantly. Azel looked up to see the knight striding toward him, and Lyra trailing behind, carrying a small satchel.
Azel didn't try to keep the annoyance out of his expression when he saw Colwyn, the knight however, seemingly didn't notice. "I was worried you were going to run off from all the waiting!"
Azel frowned further, only just realising how much time he had spent outside the shop when he looked upwards to see the sun falling behind the horizon.
Apparently doing such a repetitive task was a a quick way to loose track of the outside world.
"Good to see you're finally back," responded Azel after a moment. "Where are we going now?"
"I'm going home," Said Lyra rather quickly, "But you and Colwyn are going to find a place where you can stay whilst in the city."
'If she was going home anyway why did she bother coming along to pick me up,' thought Azel, not that he said anything aloud. The Zombie hadn't interacted with Lyra much in the grand scheme of things, but he had quickly figured out she got annoyed over those kind of questions.
Azel stood up, brushing off the dust from his trousers as he tried to shake off the remnants of his interrupted concentration. The fleeting frustration of losing his mana construct to Colwyn's loud arrival still lingered, but he decided to let it go. There were more pressing matters to deal with now that the knight and Lyra had returned.
"Well then," Said Azel as he watched Lyra walk away, "Lead the way,"
<---o--->
"You can't be serious," said Azel with a deadpan look. "It barely has a roof."
"Ahh, But the rent is cheap," responded Colwyn rather smugly, as if he had just disproven Azel's argument.
"There aren't any windows, the walls are covered in vines and I can hear a bird inside." continued Azel, seemingly not as happy with the arrangement as Colwyn.
"Did you hear me say the rent is cheap?" responded Colwyn rather casually.
"Cheap rent doesn't cover the fact that this place looks like it's going to collapse on my head," Azel muttered, confused on how blatantly Colwyn ignored his disapproval.
The knight chuckled, completely unfazed. "Look, you're only going to be here for a short while. No need to get too picky. Besides, it's got… character."
Azel raised an eyebrow. "Character? If by 'character' you mean structural instability, then sure."
Colwyn laughed heartily, clapping Azel on the back with a force that nearly made the undead stumble. "You'll be fine! Just think of it as a temporary base. As a seeker you won't spend much time here anyway."
Azel sighed, realizing that arguing with Colwyn about the living arrangements would be pointless. The knight had a way of brushing off concerns with his easy-going attitude, and Azel could already tell that this "temporary base" was the best he was going to get for now. Still, it was hard to ignore the unsettling creak of the door as it swung open, or the musty smell that greeted him as he stepped inside.
'Damn it,' thought Azel surveying the lone room. The house was made up of a living room, and on top of that, an attic. From a quick glance Azel realised he would have to buy all the furniture himself at some point.
"...How cheap is the rent?" asked Azel slowly, deciding that he may as well have found an abandoned building to sleep in instead.
Mumbling under his breath Colwyn responded, "I'm actually starting to think I was overcharged, which is definitely saying something,"
The zombie wandered further into the room, eyeing the cobwebs hanging from the ceiling and the broken floorboards. The place was practically screaming "fixer-upper," and Azel wasn't exactly in the mood for home improvement.
As he explored, he found a small, battered table shoved into one corner, missing a leg and propped up by a stack of old books. It looked like it might have been left behind by the previous tenant, who had likely abandoned the place in a hurry. Azel nudged the table with his foot, watching as it wobbled precariously before settling back into its tilted position.
"Charming," he remarked dryly. He looked back at Colwyn, who was probably smiling under his helmet as if he'd just handed Azel the keys to a castle. "You know, when I said I needed a place to stay, I was hoping for something a bit more... inhabitable."
Despite his grumbling, Azel knew there was little he could do about the situation right now. The city was unfamiliar, and without more funds, he was stuck with whatever Colwyn had managed to find. It wasn't ideal, but he'd have to make it work—at least until he could figure out something better.
"You'll be fine! look forward to tomorrow, Azel, I'll be picking you up early and then we'll have you registered as an initiate." Said Colwyn, as he tossed a small key to Azel, before turning and leaving through the door with a wave.