Chapter One-Hundred and Seventeen: The System Summits.
<span style="font-weight:400">“Then. Where did you get this particr information?” Natto asked pointedly, licking her fingers of the scraps from her meal.
<span style="font-weight:400">“Pardon?” Uta replied.
<span style="font-weight:400">“Please, you do not wish to believe I am ignorant enough to not know you are abat construct and are not privileged to this information? This is information only a Rank F Information or Administrative Construct would know. And I only have it avable because the ape happened to gain a Forerunner Title in thest quest. So, again, I ask you where did you obtain this information from,” Natto reiterated.
<span style="font-weight:400">Uta looked down nervously, her bodynguage hesitant as she seemed to think over the question.
<span style="font-weight:400">“Then,” Natto suddenly said, “If you wish not to give such information. We are done here.”
<span style="font-weight:400">Uta raised her hand and voice in objection.
<span style="font-weight:400">“Wait! I- We..”
<span style="font-weight:400">“Yes?” Natto pressed, crossing her legs on the edge of the bed she was eating on.
<span style="font-weight:400">Gritting her teeth Uta exined.
<span style="font-weight:400">“My Master…. My Master had another friend within the tutorial when they were brought here. A woman named… Haru. She was a Priest at the beginning, and during her time progressing she eventually became invaluable to the group, as she was to my Master,” she exined, the clenching of her hands around her leather pants squeaking slightly, “On her rank up, she received an Information Construct. Through the construct, we learned quite the amount of information to progress us through the quests avoiding pitfalls and allowing the core group to optimize their skills and stats. But she was taken. A crazy man named Kohoo.”
<span style="font-weight:400">Natto, flinched from the mention of the name, her memories of the events at the outpost shing in her mind. Her subconscious hate for the man that caused Drake such grief burned like a rekindled ember in the back of her mind.
<span style="font-weight:400">But she stayed silent, allowing Uta to continue her exnation.
<span style="font-weight:400">“The man was just a regr member of the initial group and seemed rtively useful. But once Haru changed sses and became more and more important to the group, he swiftly changed. He suddenly became more attached to her, even obsessed. And one day while we were surrounded by Kobolds, he took her from the back lines. We desperately searched for her for days but we couldn’t find a trace of her or Kohoo,” Uta recalled, taking a moment for a breath, “Then after we had taken the outpost we currently reside in, the morning after we found a body at the gate. Battered, bruised, and mutted. It was obvious who it was and what.. What they had done to her…”
<span style="font-weight:400">Gasps came from ire and Chelsea from the side of the tent. ire struggled to keep herposure as she felt the vition of what Haru had most likely gone through.
<span style="font-weight:400">“I see. So from her construct, you obtained information about the World and System Summit. But of what else do you know?” Natto asked.
<span style="font-weight:400">“Is that not enough?” Uta replied.
<span style="font-weight:400">“It is not. For you are missing arge part of what leads up to those said summits. And if you do not understand the process the end result is pointless,” Natto said with a wave of her hand, “Is your Master prepared to fall in line in the truest sense?”
<span style="font-weight:400">Uta frowned.
<span style="font-weight:400">“What is your meaning…”
<span style="font-weight:400">“I am telling you, that if your master will not bend the knee, all of this is pointless in the first ce. There can only be one King,” Natto said, her face turning to a scowl, “And it will be mine.”
<span style="font-weight:400">As if in tune with the outside, the tent lit up in brilliant white, the sound of thunder reverberating through the tent.
<span style="font-weight:400">“What was that?! What’s going on out there!” Chelsea shrieked, turning to the entrance.
<span style="font-weight:400">“We have to go see. Miss Natto we will be right back!” ire called back over her shoulder, Natto nodding briefly as she kept her eyes on Uta.
<span style="font-weight:400">Both the girls exited the tent leaving Uta and Natto in a staring match until Natto sighed.
<span style="font-weight:400">“It would seem that we are at odds then. Whether your master decides to fall in line willingly or has to be forced it does not matter. He can notpete with Shot,” she mused.
<span style="font-weight:400">“Th-that is not true!” Uta snapped, pulling her de from her back, rushing forward, and holding it to Natto’s neck.
<span style="font-weight:400">Natto remained still, unperturbed, a sneer on her face as she looked back at the slightly quivering body of Uta.
<span style="font-weight:400">“It is. And you should be d, for he will take on everything our new home will have to bear in theing years. Do you think your Master canpete with Primordials? Does he have what it takes to slog through the blood and dirt that is required to take the second? What of the system, the other universes, the tournament of ranks? Shot may be a fool, but he is a pragmatic and intelligent one when required. And most of all he is a tenacious asshole,” Natto smiled.
<span style="font-weight:400">Uta clicked her tongue, cursing under her breath. A momentter vanishing into a wisp of inky shadows.
<span style="font-weight:400">Left alone, Natto touched her neck gingerly.
<span style="font-weight:400">“I do hope this does not scar….”
<hr>
<span style="font-weight:400">“Shot! Shot! Damn it, he’s out cold…” Bjorn chuckled.
<span style="font-weight:400">Drake’s group quickly surrounded Bjorn and Drake. Their faces filled with concern.
<span style="font-weight:400">“Here love, let me see him. Ahhh… what a bloody mess, does he have to always go wildin’ about like this?” Jacqueline scoffed, cing her hands over his chest, a faint glow of white exuding from them.
<span style="font-weight:400">“Well hot damn Miss, that sounds like some genuine concern there,” Hudsonughed, kneeling down next to Drake, “Pup’s got balls that’s a sure thing. Putting the Number one on his ass”
<span style="font-weight:400">“I’m still standing bro,” Bjorn countered.
<span style="font-weight:400">“Eh, we all know you woulda lost, don’t be such an idjit,” Hudson fired back.
<span style="font-weight:400">Bjorn scoffed, shaking his head.
<span style="font-weight:400">“Are all the people around this guy like this?” he chuckled wryly, looking down at Drake.
<span style="font-weight:400">“I happen to be quite normal, sir,” Amir piped up standing behind Hudson.
<span style="font-weight:400">“I would like to say I am also part of the normal club,” Tom added, but the turning of the group''s heads to give him confused looks forced him to cough, “Ok, rtively normal?”
<span style="font-weight:400">A light chuckle sounded from the group but was quickly deafened by the shoutsing from the other group.
<span style="font-weight:400">“What is the meaning of this?! What is he talking about Sir Bear?! Why would he want to kill you?” Shigure roared, his face frowning deeply as he inched his hand toward his sword.
<span style="font-weight:400">“Whoa whoa whoa,” Bjorn said trying to pacify Shigure, “It’s not like that Shigure.”
<span style="font-weight:400">“Then what is it?! Exin!”
<span style="font-weight:400">Bjorn scratched his beard thinking over how to respond.
<span style="font-weight:400">“It’s a long story. And I can’t tell you the full story… You’ll just have to trust me, bro. It’s nothing to worry about.”
<span style="font-weight:400">“Of course, I need to be concerned! What he just disyed, he could have clearly killed you! What is going on, and why can you not exin it!” Shigure shouted back.
<span style="font-weight:400">“Because I won’t!” Bjorn roared, suddenly snapping, “Enough badgering.”
<span style="font-weight:400">Shigure recoiled from the shout, but he quickly recovered to stand his ground.
<span style="font-weight:400">“I need to understand if he is a threat to the people under our care,” he said evenly this time, his head cooled slightly from Bjorn’s shout, “If he is capable of fighting beyond even you, what is stopping him from turning on the rest of us at any time?”
<span style="font-weight:400">“Mr. Shot would never do something like that!” Harley interjected.
<span style="font-weight:400">“Yes, my Lord would never feeleth the need to ughter the weak and defenseless. Quite the contrary, he wouldeth give them safe harbor instead,” Theodore added.
<span style="font-weight:400">“How am I supposed to believe something like that from his followers!” Shigure asked, “I am responsible for the safety of everyone within these walls. How am I supposed to guarantee that while he is still breathing!”
<span style="font-weight:400">The air chilled at that moment.
<span style="font-weight:400">“Are you saying you want to kill him?” Bjorn asked.
<span style="font-weight:400">“N-no… I just need a guarantee that he will not turn against us!” Shigure asked again desperately, “I do not wish to lose anyone else!”
<span style="font-weight:400">“How about the fact that he hasn’t done it already?” Bjorn said coldly.
<span style="font-weight:400">“That does not mean he will not do itter!” Shigure shouted back.
<span style="font-weight:400">“Th-then… How about a contract?” Drake said, raising himself from the ground shakily, “Thank you, Jacqueline, I didn’t know you cared like that,” he said smiling.
<span style="font-weight:400">“Fuck you,” she spat, turning her head away.
<span style="font-weight:400">Giving a quickugh, then patting Bjorn’s shoulder, “It’s alright man, honestly I’d be more concerned if he didn’t get this uptight. It’s kind of his thing.”
<span style="font-weight:400">“Contract?” Shigure asked, his posture rxing slightly.
<span style="font-weight:400">“Yeah sure, we can just make a mutual agreement for the remainder of the tutorial. No killing each other. If we do, mutual destruction. Sounds cool right? We’ll be like two superpowers pointing nukes at each other,” Drake grinned behind his mask.
<span style="font-weight:400">“That joke is in bad taste bro,” Bjorn said, a slight grin recing his previously scowling face.
<span style="font-weight:400">Drake waved him off.
<span style="font-weight:400">“Well, Shigure? How about it?” Drake asked.
<span style="font-weight:400">“How do I know this is not a trick of some kind?” Shigure countered.
<span style="font-weight:400">“Wow, ever the to the books stickler huh? Because everyone in my group, well besides Bear here, has one with me already,” Drake answered casually as he rolled his arm, wincing slightly from the fatigue.
<span style="font-weight:400">“What are the details of these said contracts?”
<span style="font-weight:400">“Basically I can''t hurt them, and they can hurt me, even kill me and I can’t do a damned thing about it,” Drake replied, moving his mask to the side of his head.
<span style="font-weight:400">“Are you a fool? Why would you do such a thing!? It’s absurd!” Shigure shouted.
<span style="font-weight:400">“That’s rude… and maybe, but only when it suits me and it just happened to when I needed to force myself to trust those around me. Just like you, I have some problems with trusting others. So what’s the word, yes or no?”
<span style="font-weight:400">Shigure looked to the rest of Drake’s group, scanning their faces.
<span style="font-weight:400">“Is this true?” Shigure asked.
<span style="font-weight:400">Nods came from the other side, no one denying what Drake had said.
<span style="font-weight:400">Shigure did not fully rx but gave a huff of air as he sighed.
<span style="font-weight:400">“How would we go about doing this contract?” Shigure finally asked, conceding his suspicion enough to go further. The fact he was now against a fully awake Drake and a still able Bjorn having no influence on him. None at all.
<span style="font-weight:400">“Great. Sherry!!!!” Drake shouted.
<span style="font-weight:400">A somewhat short, side bob-cut ck-haired girl with broken sses stepped forward from their group.
<span style="font-weight:400">“Is it lunchtime yet…?” she asked.
<span style="font-weight:400">Drake sighed, shaking his head.
<span style="font-weight:400">“You just had breakfast! Double portions!” Drake chuckled.
<span style="font-weight:400">“Yeah but we skipped second breakfast…” she grumbled.
<span style="font-weight:400">“Susmaryosep, I have the female Pippin,” Drake said exacerbated, “Fine more food when you do this ok?”
<span style="font-weight:400">Sherry gave a veryzy double thumbs up only the very corners of her mouth curling upwards then going back to their even position, “Nice, sounds good dude.”
<span style="font-weight:400">Drake walked forward, his head beginning to hurt for who knows what. But he quickly shook himself from it, directing his focus to Shigure.
<span style="font-weight:400">“Then let''s get started,” Drake said, extending his hand.
<span style="font-weight:400">Not fully clear of his suspicion Shigure pensively extended his hand to meet Drake’s.
<span style="font-weight:400">Drake wasted no time though, snatching Shigure’s hand in his, tightening his grip so the teen couldn’t run away.
<span style="font-weight:400">Seeing them grip hands, Sherry began chanting.
<span style="font-weight:400">“<em><span style="font-weight:400">Infallible Mistress of Truth and Law. Be my witness in the writing of this tying of destiny. Form Creation. Of Truth and Law.”</em>
<span style="font-weight:400">The spell began with a bright light, ending with the dimming of the blinding light around Drake and Shigure.
<strong>Would you like to form a Contract with Shigure Kenzo?</strong>
<ul>
<li><strong>Details of this contract are as follows.</strong></li>
</ul>
<ul>
<li><strong>You may not harm the contractor in any form.</strong></li>
</ul>
<ul>
<li><strong>You may not retaliate in any form to the contractor or contractee.</strong></li>
</ul>
<ul>
<li><strong>The Parties of the Contract will receive lethal retribution for killing the other party.</strong></li>
</ul>
<ul>
<li><strong>The Recipient will be required to maintain the contract for the full duration of the tutorial, under penalty of death.</strong></li>
</ul>
<span style="font-weight:400">“And there we go! That’s not so bad is it?” Drake said, giving a soft chuckle.