Gray thought over it for a moment, looking between Doctor and the massive door at the end of the hallway. Forming an alliance would be beneficial, no doubt. But the question was, could he really trust this guy?
He had just met him, and although they had exchanged superficial information about each other, Gray wasn't certain whether 'Doctor', if that was even his real name, was the kind of guy to betray and backstab.
"I'm not a murderer you know," Doctor said, breaking the silence. "The world may have gone to fire and brimstone, but that doesn't change the morality of it. We of good faith, remain as such," he added, taking another step closer.
~What, is he some kind of priest as well?~ Gray thought to himself, inspecting Doctor's expression. He seemed serious about that statement.
"I never said you were," Gray replied, not taking a step back this time.
"And you aren't either, or I wouldn't have made this offer," he added, holding out a black-gloved hand.
"How can you be certain?" Gray asked. Did he perhaps have some sort of skill that allowed him to see that?
"I can just tell," Doctor replied, right as the glow in his eyes dispersed, revealing their natural emerald color.
Gray looked at him for a moment, before sighing. ~Well, at least he seems a little saner than Joshua.~
The two shook hands. For better or for worse, Gray had made his first of many alliances in the apocalypse.
Exciting.
"That's quite the grip you have there," Doctor mumbled, pulling his hand back before caressing it with the other. He stared at Gray with a straight face; it was hard to decipher just what he was thinking about.
Right then, Doctor's hand began sparkling with a golden hue... Gray felt a warmth coming from his, and as he raised it he found that the same thing was happening to him as well.
『'Contract of Intent' has been evoked!』
『Linking 'Quest' and 'Map' information...』
"Is this a skill of yours?" Gray asked. Doctor just shook his head, staring at his hand.
『Checking if Quest requirements have been met...』
『'Universal Citizen' has bypassed restricting requirements...』
『New quest received: 'Acolynth Library Access'.』
『Complete the challenges of the Scholar and gain access to the Acolynth Safe Point Library.』
As Gray read the notifications, Doctor marveled over the sparkles his hand was still emitting. Once it died down, Gray noticed that there was a faint golden outline surrounding Doctor, with an icon floating above his head. It looked like three blue rings, with an eye in the center of each one.
"Seems like some sort of party mechanism," Gray said after a moment of silence had descended upon the two.
He wanted to do it again, he wanted to feel that magical warmth embrace him once more. It was different from that parlor trick he could do after touching a magical object. This warmth was heavier, it felt like it came from someplace deeper.
"Party mechanism?" Doctor asked, now looking at Gray.
"Party, like a team. Usually, it allows you to share quests and other information with your teammates," Gray said, holding out his hand.
"Where did you learn that?" Doctor asked, staring at Gray's hand hesitantly.
"A few games," Gray replied, before taking a step forward and making a gesture toward his hand.
"Games? That's your source?" Doctor asked, caressing his hand with a sort of pained expression, before slowly reaching for Gray's.
"So far there's been a good amount of correlation. But you can take it or leave it, I'm just sharing what I know," Gray said, a little annoyed, before grabbing Doctor's hand. He was careful not to use too much force this time. He was still getting used to his increased strength, so he wasn't really certain how much pressure he was applying.
For a moment nothing happened, and the two just continued shaking hands awkwardly.
"Nothing," Gray whispered thoughtfully.
"Perhaps, intent is required. After all, the part ee mechanism called itself the 'contract of intent'," Doctor replied.
"Hmm... you're on to something. Well, the intent this time is to break our contract. Let's test it out with that."
The two of them went silent for a moment, and after a few breaths, their hands began glowing again. That warmth returned, and Gray closed his eyes so that he could better feel it. It was coming from somewhere in his stomach.
~A manacore?~ he thought excitedly.
『'Contract of Intent' has been revoked!』
『Delinking 'Quest' and 'Map' information.』
"And another mystery has been solved," Doctor said, a somewhat satisfied expression on his face.
"I can tell you'd sooner explore this 'part ee' mechanism than open the gates. But I must remind you we remain on a tight schedule. The others will arrive soon, and I'd rather not they catch up to us," Doctor added, eyeing Gray who was currently clutching his chest.
~I have a manacore,~ Gray thought to himself. Doctor was right, at this moment Gray would've rather gone back to his room to try and learn more about this. His enhanced strength and speed had been cool enough but with this...
~Am I actually overpowered?~ Gray thought to himself.
"There isn't much time, 009. We must move now," Doctor said, snapping his fingers in front of Gray's face.
Gray was snapped out of his daydreaming and stared at Doctor with furrowed eyebrows. "Why are you in a rush anyway? The more people that come here the better, no?" he asked.
"And what if the next person that walks in here is a murderer or person of bad faith? I was lucky to have someone like you come in here first, let us not test just how deep my luck runs," Doctor replied, holding out his hand.
Gray had nearly forgotten, perhaps due to his excitement, about what kind of place an apocalypse was. In a land with no rules, humans would show their true colors... black and red for most.
"Yeah... you're right," Gray whispered, before shaking Doctor's hand.
『'Contract of Intent' has been evoked!』
『Linking 'Quest' and 'Map' information...』
~I need to hurry up and get Joshua. Who knows what sort of people he's surrounded by right now,~ Gray thought to himself, before quickly rubbishing the thought. Joshua was more a danger to those innocent people than they were to him. Still, the boy had proved useful during their escape to the Superdome, and Gray wasn't one to betray goodwill.
"Now, about the gate. I've already surmised how to open it. Only a single piece of the puzzle remains a mystery," Doctor said, his eyes setting ablaze with blue flames, before relaxing into a gentler glow.
"And that's the piece I'm hoping you will find," he added, now staring at Gray.