Nick showed his right hand to the group of the Werfur race, made direct eye contact with them, and shared the first detail about himself.
“I was a slave in the Blue Tear School.”
After hearing this, the four Werfur beings looked at each other, and Rabial asked a question.
“I can see you are a mage. I had heard that in most cases, humans do not like mage slaves being close to mage students. How could you be a slave in that school when you are a mage?”
Nick explained with a smile.
“They did not know I was capable of using magic. Everything that I learned about magic was in just two days and was all my own ideas, nothing more.”
These words shocked the Werfurs, including Rabial. If this was indeed true, they were clearly dealing with a genius.
At this time, a thinner-voiced Werfur started talking. From the voice and face shape, Nick gathered that the gender of this Werfur was female.
“I understand what you are saying. If this is true, then it is clear that you are a genius. But it seems that you have lost your left arm. Will you tell me about it?”
Nick recounted his face-off with the undead. He realized that hiding things would only make everyone suspicious of him. Also, he did not know anything about these creatures or their motives. Being upfront was the best decision at this moment.
“During my escape, I ventured into the Anderium Forest. I killed an undead using a spell I had created…”
Rabial interrupted Nick at this point and asked.
“Wait a minute. Are you saying that with only two days of magic learning and research, while you were still a slave without any resources, you actually created a magic spell or at least thought about it and managed to cast it?”
The shock not only in Rabial’s but also in his fellow Werfurs’ eyes, was evident.
Nick calmly looked at them and continued.
“Yes, I created a spell using my imagination and my magic control. I had no reference for studying, except my own mind.”
Rabial took a deep look at Nick, before looking at others meaningfully. They subtly nodded as if silently agreeing on the next course of action. Rabial took the lead again and said, “I have a deal for you. I wonder if you are interested.”
Nick nodded slowly. Rabial took this gesture as an indication to explaining his proposed deal.
“We can give you protection from the human race, and you can stay in this Werfur Anderium Base as long as you want. We will also give you a weekly sum of five ether stones, which is equivalent to 50 gold coins of currency used by humans. In return, you and I will cooperate on fixing some matters in the forest and we will research magic and magical studies. What do you say?”
Nick was instantly excited with these words. There could be no better deal for him at this time. The Werfurs promised him much-needed protection, in addition to a home and continued payment. In return, they just wanted him to work with them on practical and theoretical matters.
He would never have agreed to such a ‘good’ deal, had he been talking to humans. Going by just human nature, it would be too good to be true, and hence completely suspicious, if humans were to present such terms. In Nick’s mind, he trusted the Werfur race much more than humans.
It seemed foolish to trust a race that he did not know anything about, but he believed in his own gutfeel and that his instincts would not lead him to make a wrong decision.
Nick then asked one thing.
“I would gladly accept, but is it possible for you to grant me a left arm that I can work with? Having only one arm harms my mind and limits my practical movement.”
Rabial looked at others and started mulling over this. There was in fact a way for the Werfur Anderium Base to give Nick what he wanted, but the problem was confidentiality.
He thought a little bit and asked.
“I can do that but in return, you need to sign a Magical Binding Contract, agreeing that you will never share with anyone how you got your arm back. Breaching this contract can even lead you to lose your life.”
Nick hissed at Rabial words, but he understood the reason behind it. They did not know him and there was a chance that he could try to sell the arm rebuilding magical knowledge to others. Doing so would create severe problems for them, and especially for Rabial, as he was the one who brought Nick into the Werfur base in the first place.
“I can agree with that.”
As soon as Nick’s words ended, a contractual document manifested in front of him. It was levitating in the air, as Nick read its contents.
“Magical Binding Contract”
“Werfur Base – Anderium – Explorer – Battlemage (Rabial)”
“Human Mage – Nick”
“‘Werfur Base’ will give 50 Ether Stones weekly to ‘Human Mage – Nick’”
“‘Werfur Base’ will rebuild the left arm of ‘Human Mage – Nick’”
“‘Werfur Base’ will give protection to ‘Nick’ from ‘Human Race’ and give him a home in the
‘Werfur Base’ without any kind of ‘Monetary Value’ requested.”
“‘Human Mage – Nick’ will give his assistance on magic research and help ‘Rabial’ in his explorations and battles from time to time.”
“‘Human Mage – Nick’ will not disclose any information in the matter of ‘Left Arm Rebuilding’ to any other race or humans.”
“Signed By – Werfur Base – Anderium”
After giving Nick a few minutes to read and understand the contract terms, Rabial guided him.
“Use your magical energy to sign with your name. Beware that this is a binding contract; not abiding by it usually means death or loss of magical energy.”
Nick closed his eyes, used his magical energy to sign the contract after reading its contents. There was nothing in the contract that could create future problems in his mind. At the same time, he trusted himself. If he had a safe place to work, he could well improve his power in a short period of time.
