Chapter 25: Contract

Arin put her index finger over her mouth.

"Do not fret, I wouldn't do such a distasteful thing as to question what happened to you. It was just meant to be a colorful experiment, every member of our team has went through it at least once,"

Aria's brow twitched at her words.

"At least once? There are people who took the drink more than once?"

"Yes, there are even those outside our team that have experienced this drink,"

'There are such masochists?' Aria winced. Just one sip made her stomach churn. She didn't know how others would bear it.

"I'm sure that you're thinking of a very rude thing right now, and I must say that the sentiment isn't completely correct. The drink works in many ways. For example, instead of thinking about a tragedy, what do you think will happen if you switched the topic into your happiest moment in life?" Arin chuckled as she called for the clerk once more, this time ordering a hot chocolate.

Aria realized the trick.

"..They will relive that memory?"

"Indeed. Thus, this is technically a therapy drink. You just have to direct the purpose accordingly,"

Aria nodded in acknowledgement.

Her memory of that scene was refreshed when she drank the liquid. It would also work the other way, in which someone's good moments will surface.

She stared back at the cup. The color reverted back to the first time she saw it arrive- completely nothing.

"What, do you have something you want to search for?" Arin's long eyelashes fluttered as she gazed at Aria's daydreaming stance, her lips curved up into an arch. "A lot of people do that, you see.. It's just that some of them get too absorbed in the drink and end up always coming back for more, not able to take their minds off it,"

Aria put her hands on the cup's grip one more time.

This was her first time coming in contact with such a mystical item. Was it magic? It must've been magic, but what type of magic is it?

Her first guess went to Illusory Magic. However, she had never seen such a convenient magic that could act up in mere seconds without notifying the consumers.

Illusory Magic usually required a huge deal of energy because of how sensitive and dangerous it was. Compared to that, the drink was displayed in such a simple manner, making it hard for her to trust.

"Even so, Miss Aria is really naive, huh? I can't wrap my head around your existence," Arin grinned.

In fact, Arin didn't think Aria would gulp the drink down. She thought that the woman would refuse the moment she saw 'peculiarities' surrounding the item.

No matter how trustworthy Jin-kyung might be, she was a stranger. Drinking the liquid without thinking a thousand times over, did Aria not fear death?

Poisoning, Control Magic, weakening agents, there were many possibilities that could seep into that drink.

If she was able to clear a dungeon by herself, shouldn't she be wary enough to not do what she just did?

"Naive... Well, you're not wrong, but I just don't particularly care about my life," Aria started to regain her power, but it was too slow and pointless.

It was a headache to think that she had to redo everything from the start. Especially after the System changed.

Before, as long as one had potential, they were able to learn magic. But now, you needed the concept of Mains and skills.

Another thing was a 'purpose'. She didn't have a proper reason why she should climb back to where she first started.

"To say that at such a young age, it's such a shame. Especially when you are a promising seed,"

"...Being a promising seed doesn't guarantee that you know what to do," Aria retorted, tapping her fingers on the table surface rhythmically.

Arin tilted her head to the side, meeting Jin-kyung in the eye and snickering.

Jin-kyung averted her gaze, knowing that her sister had finally set her targets on Aria. In this case, there was almost a 100% chance that Aria will be joining their ranks.

After all, Arin possessed a special power.

"Would you like us to give you a purpose, then?" Arin held her laughter, covering the mouth with her palm.

Aria was deterred by how the siblings acted. She felt as if she was a small mouse caught in a trap of temptation.

"Perhaps what you needed was a change in environment. I don't know where you came from, but I can guarantee that all who are affiliated to us will not be treated badly," Not waiting for Aria's response, Arin reached over to her tote bag, from where she pulled out a piece of paper and a pen.

Simple words were written on top of the paper.

It started with a sentence that had a blank line, a position for the writer's name.

[I, ____________, willingly entangled myself with Golden Insignia.]

Below that were the conditions, such as requirements in terms of power and utility.

It also discussed the applicant's rights and tasks, which were also able to be adjusted according to each individual.

Vague statements were also put in, such as "obligatory tolerance towards other members" or "handling privacy with the utmost respect".

Like an informal contract, this paper didn't provide as much detail as normal ones do, but it still captured the meaning perfectly.

"Golden Insignia is just a normal team name, we stole- I mean adapted it from one of our member's Main name," Arin clarified.

Aria's eyes swept through the lines of words, scanning each and every point.

The short sentences could be deciphered and interpreted in so many ways. It created a loophole that could be exploited by both parties involved in the agreement.

Her eyes were drawn to some of the claims.

[Claim 6: The applicant is allowed to detach themselves from the group after undergoing certain procedures. (Exceptions could be made. The applicant is obligated to inform the rightful authorities of their departure at least one week before the date.]

[Claim 9: The applicant is allowed to utilize the team member's human resources with proper permission from the giver. The applicant shall be submitted to the same treatment. The applicant will automatically fall under the category of a giver the moment the agreement is signed. Givers are allowed to refuse requests with logical reasons.]

[Claim 11: The applicant shall be paid and commissioned according to their contribution and role. The applicant who deals the most work is allowed to have the first pick in deciding their primary reward. In cases of a solo-cleared dungeon, the dungeon's rights will be given entirely to the subjugator (given that no other external help has been accepted).]

The claims totaled up to 15. These three were the only ones that interested her, since the other claims dealt with basic information and rules.

"Claim 6, 9, and 11," Aria read out the numbers and directed her gaze back to Arin.

"Claim 6, the procedure is one that will guarantee your secrecy and forbid you from spreading insider information. One week because the one who does this procedure needs time to prepare,"

"Claim 9, all members are considered human resources. We are able to request others to extend their help. Logical reasons can be anything from lack of time, or a serious schedule apart from the team activities,"

"Claim 11, payment. The dungeon's materials and runes. Some of the members like the runes, the others prefer the materials. In case of a group-cleared dungeon, it's whoever shines the brightest that gets the loudest voice in reward distribution,"

"Anything else?" Arin asked.

"No," Aria replied,

She was able to feel fluctuations of mana inside the paper. Indirectly, it entailed that the contract would be signed under magic, which explained why they were so confident.

If a magic-signed contract was taken into account, it was indeed hard to go back against the claims depending on the complexity of said contract.

"What's your decision?"

The contract was beneficial for both the signer and the team. From Jin-kyung's words, the team was just a small group of ten people. Meeting Aria and immediately handing a proposal, it seemed that the team didn't deliberately keep their numbers small.

"We're picky, you know? Invites are rare. And no, we didn't just invite you because of Jin-kyung's matter. I am genuinely interested in you," Arin's lips spoke sweet words. Added on to her beauty, Aria was certain that this woman was used to using her resources to entice others.

"I'll sign it, but I want you to let me do two things,"

"Do tell,"

"First, let me destroy this contract,"

"...By that, you mean deconstructing the object to research the magic behind it?" Instead of being weirded out, Arin quickly figured out a possible reason for Aria's sudden request.

"Yes," Aria responded.

"Very well. I shall give you another contract. That contract is prepared by Jin-kyung, so in case you want to ask questions, just drag the girl," Arin patted Jin-kyung on her shoulder as she took out another paper and slid it to Aria.

Aria accepted the other contract and nodded.

"Second, tell me what goes on inside this drink," Aria was drawn into the magic behind it. She wanted to look into it.

"This drink isn't as interesting as our other features, you know?" To Arin, it was just a simple drink.

"...I'm interested in this one,"

"Alright.. You would have to deal with me. I created this silly little thing," Arin said. "Anything else?"

"No. I will sign it," Aria said, picking up the pen and writing her name on top of the paper.

Arin burst into a smile, her eyes curving into crescents as she watched the paper be signed.