"You... y-you! It's you!!"
Lainer stared at the skeleton emerging from the void, his eyes nearly popping out of his head.
That signature red Soulfire, that iron sword radiating an ominous aura... It was definitely that damn skeleton!
"How is this possible?! How are you here?!"
Overcome by terror, he lost his reason. Lainer roared and gripped his Short Knife in both hands, swinging it viciously at Su Li again.
"Die, you monster!!"
"Clang!" Another crisp impact rang out.
Su Li didn't even draw his sword. He casually raised the bones of his left forearm to block the blow.
With 26 points of Constitution after evolving, and the bone durability that came with being a Revered Corrupted Skeleton Soldier, he was more than a match for Lainer's ordinary Mundane Iron Short Knife. It didn't even leave a white mark on his bones; instead, a chip broke off the blade.
The tremendous recoil split Lainer's palm, and the Short Knife flew from his hand again.
"This... This can't be..." Lainer stared at his trembling hands, his face ashen.
Before this monster, he was like a baby who had only just learned to walk.
"Run! I have to run!" His instinct for survival overcame his fear. With a strangled cry, Lainer turned and made for the alley's exit.
The Soulfire in Su Li's eye sockets flickered, amusement in its glow.
"Trying to run? Did you ask me first?"
He parted his jaws slightly, and an ancient power gathered in his throat.
"Fus—!!!"
"Boom!" An invisible shockwave slammed into Lainer's back like a sledgehammer.
Lainer lost his balance mid-run and crashed hard into the wall, spitting out a mouthful of blood.
"Cough, cough..."
Lainer struggled to get up, but Su Li was already standing over him like the Grim Reaper.
"Slash! Slash!" The Corrupted Iron Sword flashed twice.
Without a word, Su Li cleanly severed the tendons in both of Lainer's thighs.
"AAAAAAH!!!" His anguished scream rang through the dead-end alley.
Su Li impassively reached out, grabbed Lainer by the collar like a dead dog, and dragged him all the way to Rosalia.
"Thud." Su Li casually tossed him down. Lainer collapsed before the girl like a heap of mud.
Su Li looked at the tear-streaked girl, her gaze vacant, and sighed inwardly.
I'd like to pull up a stool, sit down, and ask why this Lainer isn't sitting too... Too bad I'm a mute skeleton now.
He picked up the Short Knife Lainer had dropped and held it out to Rosalia, hilt first.
The meaning was clear: This was her revenge. She had to take it herself.
Rosalia stared blankly at the skeleton, then at the bloodstained Short Knife on the ground. Her tears poured out like a breached dam.
"Su Liya... You're Su Liya, aren't you?"
Su Li's heart skipped a beat. Su Liya? How does this little NPC know my name? My ID's always been anonymous!
Before he could figure it out, Rosalia suddenly threw herself at him, wrapping her arms tightly around him despite his hard, unyielding bones.
"Thank goodness... Sob... You finally came to save me..."
The girl's warm body pressed against his cold bones. The vivid sensation left Su Li at a loss.
Um... Having a beautiful girl throw herself into my arms is nice and all, but this is so sudden. And isn't this plot going in the wrong direction?
As a skeleton devoid of emotions, Su Li could only stand stiffly and let her hug him, unsure what to do with his hands.
After a long while, Rosalia finally stopped crying.
She released Su Li. Tears still clung to her face, but she managed a bittersweet smile.
"I'm sorry... I lost control."
The truth was, she had known all along.
The little skeleton she had brought back to life couldn't possibly be Su Liya. Necromancy could revive only the body, not the soul.
Until now, she had only been fooling herself. But now...
Rosalia looked at the Short Knife Su Li held out to her, her gaze gradually hardening.
"Thank you, little skeleton. You want me to be strong and put the nightmare of my past behind me with my own hands, right? I will. Don't worry."
She took the Short Knife, drew a deep breath, and walked over to Lainer.
"No... Please... Rosalia... We're from the same hometown..." Lainer continued to beg.
"Squelch!" The blade sank into flesh.
Rosalia closed her eyes and drove the Short Knife into Lainer's heart with all her strength.
Once, twice, three times...
She poured out all the fear, hurt, and anger she had felt over the past few days, stabbing until Lainer finally stopped breathing and blood spattered across her face.
"Haah... Haah..." Rosalia dropped the knife and knelt, gasping for breath.
After a long while, she raised her head and looked at Su Li, who had quietly stood watch beside her the entire time.
"Thank you..."
Su Li looked at the girl who had grown up in an instant, feeling a little moved.
He thought for a moment, then raised his right hand of bone and made a special gesture for Rosalia:
He made a fist, raised his thumb, turned his wrist outward twice, then formed a heart.
It was a complicated little Secret Sign he had once used to encourage his younger sister. It meant: "Keep going, you're the best, and I'm here."
He had done it just now without thinking.
But the instant Rosalia saw the gesture, she froze in place. Tears soon spilled from her eyes again.
"Su Liya... You really are Su Liya, aren't you?!"
"Only you know that gesture! Only you!!"
Su Li: "???"
What? No... I made that gesture to cheer up my little sister. Are you my long-lost second sister? Wait, this is a game!
Before he could make sense of it, a white light suddenly glowed around him. His summoning time was up.
"Su Liya! Don't go! I don't want to lose you again!!" Rosalia cried out in panic when she saw Su Li beginning to disappear.
Just then, three translucent option boxes appeared before Su Li's eyes.
[A newborn necromancer, "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 and form an equal, symbiotic contract. You will empower each other and share magic.] [Reward: Receive Rosalia's first mana replenishment; free points +3] [Option Two: Become a maid!] [Description: Accept the request, but form a servant contract. You must supply Rosalia with magic, and if your master dies, you will be gravely injured or even die.] [Reward: Free points +10] [Option Three: Are you messing with me?] [Description: Agree to Rosalia's request, but don't form a contract. Basically, say yes, then pretend you didn't hear her when she tries to seal it.] [Reward: None]
Su Li stared at the three options, at a loss for words.
The system really is sick in the head. Agreeing but not signing? Option Three is just like Tangshan agreeing to take the Master to the God Realm. What kind of nonsense is this?
And there's no reward...
Besides... Su Li glanced at the girl, her eyes full of hope.
As a Gada Gemu expert, choosing an equal contract might increase an NPC's favorability. Maybe it'll even unlock a hidden quest later?
As for Option Two? Make him someone else's dog? No way! And what was with the maid thing?
So Option One is the only choice.
An equal contract means I get magic and points while keeping her favorability up. That's what you call a win-win.
Su Li decisively chose [Option One]. "I accept."
Though he couldn't speak, he nodded and reached out to touch the contract magic circle.
"Vmmm—" A complex chain of runes connected the two of them.
Su Li felt a warm, pure magic flow through the contract and into him. It was Rosalia's innate power as a necromancer.
[Contract successfully formed! You have received a magical infusion from Rosalia! Spirit +3! Maximum Magic increased!]
The light grew brighter and brighter. Su Li's figure began to fade.
"Wait! Su Liya!"
Just before he disappeared completely, Rosalia seemed to remember something. She suddenly tore an object from around her neck and desperately pressed it into Su Li's hand.
"Take this! You have to keep it!!"
The next moment, Su Li's vision went black, and he returned to the Ghoul Tomb.
Before you continue