[ANCIENT OATH HAS BEEN SUCCESSFULLY ESTABLISHED]
[ALDEN DRAVEN HAS BEEN DESIGNATED AS THE MASTER]
[VANYAA HAS BEEN DESIGNATED AS A SERVANT]
[CONGRATULATIONS, YOU HAVE SUCCESSFULLY COMPLETED A RITUAL LONG LOST IN HISTORY.]
[NEW SKILL IS BEING ADDED]
[SKILL – LINK RESONANCE IS ADDED]
Alden stared at the system window, dumbfounded.
For a moment though, his mind refused to comprehend what had just happened.
But then, like a well-oiled machine rebooting, his thoughts realigned—probably thanks to Voidheart.
That skill was good at suppressing mental chaos.
Emotionally, though? He was still spiralling.
He scanned the status window again. This time a bit calmly.
But before he could understand something.
He heard a loud shout.
"W–wha–what did you do?"
Vanyaa's panicked voice shattered the silence. "W-What's this window saying? What do you mean by 'servant'"?
Alden didn't answer immediately.
Because the word servant echoed in his head like a curse.
This wasn't a contract.
This was something deeper.
"Booohoooo, Mom's going to kill me for real now…" She started crying.
Vanyaa's legs gave out as she collapsed onto the floor like a puppet with its strings cut off.
She covered her face with her hands; her shoulders started trembling as tears began to stream down her cheeks.
It wasn't just fear. He could feel it—shame, panic, helplessness.
Alden just stood beside her. He scratched his head, taking a small step back.
How do you even handle a crying beast girl who accidentally made herself your servant?
Is there any manual for this?
Okay… uhh… How should I start?
He didn't know how to calm her down.
To be fair, her reaction was valid. She just became a servant of someone she didn't even know properly.
How should I stop her from crying?
Just as Alden was thinking about what to do.
A low sound echoed again.
"Take… responsibility."
She suddenly looked up, her eyes still brimming with tears, but locked onto his.
Hey lady, I didn't have anything to do with this, okay?
"Hey…." Just as Alden was trying to say something, she cut him off.
"No," she cut him off. "I don't care what you say. You need to take responsibility. Save me from my mom."
Her voice cracked. "She's definitely going to kill me now."
Alden sighed in his mind, rubbing the back of his neck.
This is getting out of hand.
"Okay, look," he slightly crouched down in front of her.
He kept just enough distance so she wouldn't feel threatened—or worse, get the wrong idea.
"I'm not going to let your mom kill you. Alright? Happy?"
Vanyaa sniffled, her cyan eyes still shaking.
"Yeah. I mean it. Because if she kills you, I'm pretty sure I'll get caught in the crossfire," he muttered under his breath. "And I like living."
She still looked unconvinced.
But at least it got a small blink out of her. It was progress, right?
He sighed again and added, "Besides, whatever this… 'oath' thing is, it dragged me in too. So, fine. I'll deal with it."
He glanced at the faintly glowing rune on his hands which had appeared magically.
He stood up, offering her a hand—not with tenderness, but the dry, businesslike kind you'd give someone who looks pitiful but isn't your problem.
"Stop crying. You're not dead yet. And I've survived worse things than a pissed-off mom."
Yeah, that was a lie.
He recalled his mom's angry face… Just that was enough to make him feel scared.
Definitely. Nothing is as dangerous as a pissed-off mom.
But she doesn't need to know that, does she?
Vanyaa hesitated before taking his hand. He helped her up and immediately let go of her hand.
"Don't thank me. Just stop doing stupid things like stealing cursed jewellery." He dusted off his hands and turned toward the door. "We'll figure this out."
"So," he said, crossing his arms, "care to explain where you found that thing?"
Vanyaa looked away, her ears twitching. "I was… wandering in the abandoned garden."
Alden raised a brow. "As one does."
"I saw some men meeting with a hooded figure. They had this collar in a glass case. I overheard them calling it an ancient artefact… so I thought it might be valuable and… I stole it."
She said it all in one breath, her voice a little too innocent.
Girl, what is wrong with you?
But out loud, all he said was, "How'd you manage that? You're barely at the intermediate initiate level. Those guys looked way stronger."
He had already felt her strength to be at Intermediate Initiate Rank.
It seems she had awakened this year as well.
So, how did she steal it?
From what I observed, those guys were at least at Apprentice Rank.
She hesitated. "I… used my special ability. It's called Steal."
That got his attention.
She nodded slowly. "It lets me steal anything in my line of sight. I don't even have to get close."
Why is she blurting out information so easily?
Man, she really is too naive.
"Isn't this ability too overpowered?" He muttered unconsciously.
Vanyaa looked slightly embarrassed.
"I can't really control it," she muttered, scratching her cheek. "Sometimes it just… steals random things instead of what I'm aiming for."
Her face flushed slightly. "I tried to steal the whole case. Only the collar came."
Her cheeks turned slightly red at the revelation.
Still, that ability was dangerous in the right—or wrong—hands.
But he had to accept this was a kind of cool ability to have.
"And after that, they chased you?" Alden asked.
"Yeah," she said. "The hooded guy vanished, but the others came after me. That's when I ran into you."
She took a breath and looked up again. "When I saw you, I recognised you immediately from the files. So I thought… maybe I could ask for help. That's why I revealed myself to you."
"And then", she gestured vaguely at the air, "this happened."
This definitely qualifies as "this".
Alden didn't respond anymore.
He already got all his answers.
Instead, he was already calculating how much trouble this ancient oath was going to cause him.
And more importantly, how was he going to handle this naive little kitten who can't even lie properly?