A Contract Across Time

"You... you you! It's you!!"

Lainer's eyes nearly popped out as he stared at the skeleton emerging from the void.

That iconic red soulfire, that iron sword exuding an ominous aura... this was definitely that damned skeleton!

"How is this possible?! How did you get here?!"

Extreme fear made him lose his mind. Lainer roared, gripping his short knife tightly, and slashed fiercely at Su Li again.

"Die! Monster!!"

"Clang!" Another crisp impact.

Su Li hadn't even drawn his sword, merely raising his left forearm's bone structure to block casually.

With a constitution of 26 points after evolution, plus the inherent bone hardness of a Revered Corrupted Skeleton Soldier, Lainer's ordinary mundane iron short knife didn't even leave a white mark on it. Instead, the blade chipped.

The immense recoil cracked Lainer's hand, and the short knife flew out of his grasp once more.

"This... this is impossible..." Lainer stared at his trembling hands, his face ashen.

Before this monster, he was like a toddler learning to walk.

"Run! I must run!" The instinct for survival overcame his fear. Lainer let out a strange cry, turned, and dashed towards the alley entrance.

The soulfire in Su Li's eye sockets flickered with a hint of amusement.

"Want to run? Did you ask my opinion?"

Then, he slightly opened his mouth, and an ancient power gathered in his throat.

"Fus--!!!"

"Boom!" An invisible impact slammed into Lainer's back like a heavy hammer.

Caught in mid-stride, Lainer lost his balance and crashed heavily against the wall, spitting out a large mouthful of blood.

"Cough... cough..."

Lainer struggled to get up, but Su Li was already standing before him like death itself.

"Swish! Swish!" The corrupted iron sword flashed like two cold beams.

Without any wasted words, Su Li cleanly severed Lainer's two thigh tendons.

"Ahhhhhh--!!!" A piercing scream echoed through the dead-end alley.

Su Li expressionlessly extended a hand, grabbed Lainer's collar like a dead dog, and dragged him all the way to Rosalia.

"Bang." Su Li tossed him aside casually. Lainer collapsed like a puddle of mud before the girl.

Su Li looked at the girl with tear-streaked cheeks and vacant eyes, sighing inwardly.

I wish I could pull up a chair and ask why Lainer isn't sitting... but alas, I'm a mute skeleton right now.

He picked up Lainer's dropped short knife from the ground and offered the hilt to Rosalia.

The meaning was clear: your revenge, you take it yourself.

Rosalia stared blankly at the skeleton before her, then at the blood-stained short knife on the ground. Tears gushed out like a bursting dam.

"Suliya... you're Suliya, aren't you?"

Su Li's heart leaped. Su Li? How does this little NPC know my name? My ID has always been anonymous!

Before he could figure it out, Rosalia suddenly lunged forward. Ignoring Su Li's hard bones, she hugged him tightly.

"I'm so glad... sob sob... you finally came to save me..."

The girl's warm body pressed against his cold skeleton. The real touch made Su Li feel a bit flustered.

Uh... a beautiful girl throwing herself at me is nice, but this is too sudden! And isn't this plot going in a misunderstood direction?

As a soulless skeleton, Su Li could only stiffly allow her to hold him, his hands unsure where to go.

After a long while, Rosalia finally stopped crying.

She released Su Li, tears still on her face, but a tragically beautiful smile appeared.

"I'm sorry... I lost my composure."

Actually, she had known for a long time.

The little skeleton she had revived couldn't possibly be Suliya. The undead magic had only revived the shell, not the soul.

Before, it was just her wishful thinking, but now...

Rosalia looked at the short knife Su Li was offering, her eyes gradually becoming resolute.

"Thank you, little skeleton. You want me to become strong and cut off the past nightmare with my own hands, right? I will, don't worry."

She took the short knife, took a deep breath, and walked up to Lainer.

"No... don't... Rosalia... we're from the same hometown..." Lainer was still begging.

"Pfft!" The blade sank into flesh.

Rosalia closed her eyes and fiercely plunged the short knife into Lainer's heart.

One, two, three...

As if to vent all the fear, grievance, and anger of the past few days, until Lainer completely stopped breathing, until blood splattered all over her face.

"Hoo... hoo..." Rosalia dropped the knife and knelt on the ground, panting heavily.

After a long while, she looked up at Su Li, who had been quietly standing by her side.

"Thank you..."

Su Li looked at the girl who had grown up in an instant, feeling a little emotional.

He thought for a moment, extended his right hand made of bone, and made a special gesture towards Rosalia:

Fist, thumb up, then twist the wrist outwards twice, and finally make a heart shape.

This was a very complicated secret sign he used to encourage his younger sister, meaning: "Keep it up, you're the best, I'm here."

He had used it subconsciously just now.

However, the moment Rosalia saw the gesture, she froze on the spot, and tears quickly welled up in her eyes again.

"Suriya... you really are Suriya! Right?!"

"Only you know this gesture! Only you!"

Su Li: "???"

"Huh? No... I invented this gesture to coax my younger sister? Are you my long-lost second sister? No, this is a game!"

Before he could figure out what was going on, a white light of return suddenly lit up around his body; his summoning time was up.

"Suriya! Don't go! I don't want to lose you again!!" Rosalia shouted anxiously as Su Li was about to disappear.

Just then, three semi-transparent option boxes popped up before Su Li's eyes.

[The newly born undead mage "Rosalia" has requested to form a contract with you.]

[Option One: Sign a contract with me and become a magical girl!]

[Description: Accept Rosalia's request, form an equal symbiotic contract, you will achieve each other and share magic power.]

[Reward: Obtain Rosalia's first magic replenishment, Free Points +3]

[Option Two: Become a maid!]

[Description: Accept the request, but as a servant contract, you will need to supply magic power to Rosalia, and if the master dies, you will also be severely injured or even die.]

[Reward: Free Points +10]

[Option Three: Are you kidding me?]

[Description: Accept Rosalia's request, but do not sign the contract. Just say yes, but if you really sign, you won't hear it.]

[Reward: None]

Su Li looked at the three options and was speechless.

"System, you're really sick. Agreeing but not signing, this Option Three is like Tangshan promising to take the Master to the God Realm. What are you doing here?"

"And there's no reward..."

"And..." Su Li glanced at the girl with expectant eyes.

"As a Gada Gemu master, choosing an equal contract at this time might increase NPC favorability, and perhaps there will be hidden plot later?"

As for Option Two? Be a dog for someone else? Not even in his dreams! And what the heck is a maid?

"So, it can only be Option One."

"An equal contract, getting magic power and earning points, and maintaining favorability. This is called a win-win."

Su Li decisively chose [Option One], "I promise you."

Although he couldn't make a sound, he nodded and reached out to touch the contract formation.

"Buzz--" A complex chain of runes connected the two.

Su Li felt a warm and pure magic power flow into his body along the contract; it was the original magic power of Rosalia as an undead mage.

[Contract successfully formed! You have received magic power feedback from Rosalia! Spirit +3! Magic Power Cap increased!]

The light grew brighter and brighter, and Su Li's figure began to become illusory.

"Wait a moment! Suriya!"

Just before he completely disappeared, Rosalia seemed to remember something, suddenly pulled something off her neck, and stuffed it into Su Li's hand desperately.

"Take this! You must accept it!!"

The next second, Su Li's vision went black, and he returned to the Ghoul Tomb.