Chapter 155 Dragon contract

Additional Chapter.

2/2.

Thank you very much to the reader Swcowboy for supporting the book; it means a lot to me. I wish you a pleasant reading.

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Adam could easily imagine the scene of Veronica dissecting Dereris' body. Considering this woman's curiosity about anything unknown, her desire to study everything ignited in the most dangerous manifestations when she discovered the dead body of a dragon, which, according to legends, existed in ancient times as ruler of this world. However, as history tells it, she eventually lost interest because everything inside the dragon was hollow as if someone had left only the external shell, stealing all the internal organs.

"Decomposition in dragons is extremely slow, and I died over a hundred thousand years ago, while my body has already passed half of the way. This proves the absence of internal organs that, having lost the support of magical energy, completely disappeared, unable to maintain their former state," explained Dereris in a calm and composed voice. "That's why she found nothing, but I still remember that sight when she was angry. It was horrifying."

Adam chuckled softly, just thinking about it. Indeed, Veronica's curious nature seemed like a curse, or maybe like that of a small child who had never seen the world. She touches everything and even destroys it just to satisfy her curiosity, which could be a commendable quality, but not when it involves "destroying."

"And considering that I am currently weak, I could easily become her plaything," lamented Dereris, turning to Adam. "So my only assistant in this matter is you. Besides, you have the first part of the inheritance! *&#^... huh? For some reason, I can't say his name aloud."

"Interesting. Very interesting," murmured Adam, a smile appearing on his face.

Presumably, he was able to understand who she was talking about, and considering that she was talking about inheritance, it was clear that it was Casanova. Since he inherited it, Dereris believes that he has the skill for it. And she's not wrong.

[Skill Card]

[Name: Support]

[Type: Class Ability]

[Effect: allows the user to borrow magical energy from those creatures whom the user considers subordinates or wives. Magical energy is transformed into the user's energy, in simpler terms, it becomes his own]

[Limitations: 1. The skill can only be used once a day. 2. Only 50% of magical energy can be borrowed. 3. The user can store magical energy for only 15 minutes, otherwise, they will die. 4. For one use, only three targets can be selected]

[Current targets (available): Amarantha, Elyra, Elara, Claire, Mary, Ekaterina, Juliet, Queen of Darkness Squad (5 creatures), Guardians of the city of Sedyon (524 people)...]

He lay in his place and looked at Dereris, who remained silent for a few minutes before saying, "Contract."

"Contract? That sounds interesting, but what do you mean?" Adam asked.

Dereris sighed... or made a similar sound. For some reason, Adam felt like she was looking at him, and a sudden pressure descended upon him, but it lasted only half a second. However, even that was enough to understand the greatness of the dragon. While Adam was puzzled, Dereris continued, speaking in a commanding and serious voice.

"The Dragon Contract. In simpler terms, you and I will become lifelong partners in exchange for you awakening me," she said, sighing again – this sigh was filled with various emotions, and felt as if she was parting with something. "This is probably the most serious contract that we, dragons, are willing to enter into. It requires serious preparation, and after it's completed, you and I will be partners for life."

Adam raised an eyebrow and straightened up, showing his interest in the conversation. He narrowed his eyes when all six of his senses detected the scent... the scent of profit. It would be more accurate to say that he smelled the scent of profit from a hundred kilometers away.

"A lifelong contract, eternal partners..." he repeated Dereris' words and smirked. "Sounds like marriage."

Although this was initially a joke, but...

"In principle, it is," Dereris replied.

"What? Uh... you're probably infinitely embarrassed and happy that such a first-class beauty offered to marry you?" Dereris teased him with a smirk. "But no. Our concept of marriage is very different among dragons. Besides, few dragons would consider such a contract as a marriage, so you can relax."

"I wasn't worried... and, 'beauty,' huh?" he quoted Dereris' words and grinned. "In principle, not bad. You look quite cute, like an egg."

"What the hell are you babbling about, mortal? Do you think this is my true form? You would have seen my beautiful black scales, a sight to behold!"

***

It took two hours of preparation. Adam decided to relocate the ceremony to the basement of the estate, where he found an available room and, under the guidance of the all-knowing egg, drew a magical circle that he redrew hundreds of times. All because the magical circle used the dragon language, which was easy to copy in writing but extremely difficult to replicate in meaning and power. It was like a student simply copying material from a textbook without paying attention to anything. In the end, he would have a ready text but no knowledge.

The same principle applied here, which is why he had to invest his soul repeatedly in writing the runes. It took a lot of time, but the result somehow satisfied Dereris, although she still complained about the extremely inexperienced work and the very clumsy handwriting.

"And so, stand in the center, and I will stand in this square. When I give the signal, you must start infusing your energy into the magic circle, which will then help me awaken. This way, we'll kill two birds with one stone, understand?" Dereris explained the principle of the magic circle's operation.

"Yes, right here, correct?" Adam nodded and stood in the center as the egg rose into the air and flew to its place. It looked quite amusing.

"Yes, exactly. Now, at my signal... one... two..." Dereris nodded and began counting. After a second, "Three! Start!"

Immediately, Adam used the [Support] skill and selected three targets: Amarantha, Amarantha's squad, and Ekaterina, who had the highest level of magic. Right after that, the transformation began, and Adam's body visibly strengthened, while his overall aura soared into the air. Immense pressure was exerted on his own body, and his bones creaked.

SWOOOSH!

The magic circle brightly lit up, and its radiance grew stronger and stronger with each repetition. Somewhere in the distance, Amarantha, her subordinates, and Ekaterina winced from sudden fatigue, but none of them panicked, as Adam had long informed them about this ability.

"But... what's happening there?" Amarantha murmured, holding ten bags of cosmetics and clothes in her hand. She handed all of this to the maids and disappeared from her spot.

A similar scene could be observed throughout the city when Ekaterina, along with five members of Amarantha's squad, who were all women, headed to the estate. They moved very quickly and reached the estate within a minute, then descended to the basement at an accelerated pace.

"Master!" Ekaterina exclaimed worriedly as she burst into the room, but suddenly collided with someone's back. "Ouch... Lady Amarantha?"

Raising her head, Ekaterina saw Amarantha, who, with her arms crossed on her chest, was watching the bright glow enveloping Adam and Dereris. In the subsequent moments, Ekaterina noticed it too, as well as five women dressed as ninjas.

"What are they doing?" Ekaterina wondered but didn't comment out loud. historical

She could subtly feel the sensation when magical energy left her and flowed somewhere, but it was unclear where exactly. In real-time mode, she saw her magical energy transforming into something dark and flowing into Dereris. The volume of all the energy was so dense that it could be observed with the naked eye.

"How dreadful... my husband's new ability is truly frightening," Amarantha murmured, looking concerned. "If he concentrated all our energy on himself, there's a 98% chance of dying from overload. His body can't handle such an amount of energy."

"Y-yes, but... what are they doing there? Could it be..." Ekaterina began, but Amarantha interrupted her.

"Awakening, I suppose," Amarantha replied with a sigh. "They must have come to some agreement. Adam has been cautious ever since she arrived, so I'm a little surprised by this sudden trust."

Amarantha narrowed her eyes, closely observing what was happening. She could see cracks forming on the egg, and from those cracks, light emerged. It was an amazing sight.

Six hours later, a deep sound resonated. Adam helplessly collapsed to the floor, feeling exhausted. His face looked as if he hadn't slept for a whole month, and his breathing was heavy. He could barely stand straight and swayed in place as if he had been drinking heavily. However, with the help of Amarantha and Ekaterina, he managed to reach a comfortable chair brought by Amarantha's subordinates.

"That's it..." Adam murmured, watching as Amarantha removed something from his chest. "She said there should be a mark here. Look..."

"Yes... oh, I see," Amarantha muttered in surprise as she opened her eyes wide. "You have a tattoo on your left chest in the form of a large black dragon with a long tail... an unusual dragon. It looks more like a serpent."

(A/N: The illustration is available on my Discord server. In the #adam channel.)

Adam sighed heavily and could barely bring himself to look at the tattoo. Amarantha also discovered faint outlines on his shoulder, upper arm, and forearm on both arms.

To be continued...