Cipher's voice broke through his sharpened focus, snapping him back to reality.
His heightened rationality effect faded.
So that's how it works.
He'd assumed Voidheart's effect was always at its peak—but now he understood it surged strongest during key moments.
He then looked towards the audience.
Cipher's eyes were widened slightly.
Even the hooded man beside her gave a slow nod.
Cipher leaned back in her seat.
"Well", she murmured, "You're better than I thought."
Vanyaa, wide-eyed, blinked. She had seen him defend against James, but it was for only a few attacks, so she couldn't really tell if he was strong.
Alden met her gaze. "So, do I get in?"
Cipher only gave him a slight nod. "Follow me."
She walked out of the room without a word.
Neither Vanyaa nor the mysterious figure followed them.
Alden followed without hesitation.
After walking for a while, they arrived in the same room they had been in before – Cypher's office.
Cipher walked towards her table and took a seat, signalling Alden to sit as well.
"Are you sure about becoming a member?" She asked one last time.
"Yes," Alden answered.
A white paper flew in front of Alden.
The paper looked ancient and mystical. It has many runes carved on its backside.
On the front an agreement was written.
"This is the soul contract of the highest level. You have to sign this before you can become a member." Cipher spoke.
Alden scanned the contract.
It only had a few terms on it:
You cannot betray the Luminous Accord. You cannot reveal important information about the organisation to anyone.
Only those terms and a few other supporting clauses.
Soul contracts worked simply. They were higher level than mana contracts.
The Mana contract, which could be broken using many loopholes. Alden himself knew at least three ways to nullify mana contracts.
The soul contract was different. It directly bound a person's soul.
So they were mostly unbreakable. If they were broken, they directly injured a person's soul.
But Alden didn't care. His Voidheart provided him complete immunity to soul damage.
"The Luminous Accord?" Alden acted like he didn't know what that meant.
"If you sign this contract, you become part of our family." Cipher just smiled. "Only then can I inform you of more information."
"Well? Are you signing, or not?"
Alden acted like he was thinking for a few moments before he channelled his mana inside the contract.
The contract vanished, merging within his body.
He felt the invisible bind try to wrap around his soul. Futile.
Just a quick beat to show the contract attempting to do its job before being casually nullified.
[Soul Contract Is Being Established]
[Skill: Voidheart has negated the effects of the contract.]
Cipher didn't know the soul contract had already been negated and smiled widely.
"Congratulations. You are one of us now."
"So mind explaining what The Luminous Accord is now?" He asked about acting all curious.
He only knew the basics—that it was one of the most powerful organisations.
"Obsidian exchange is our front. Our real name is Luminous Accord. We have existed within shadows for nearly a thousand years."
The organisation was nearly a thousand years old?
This was new information.
"Our goal? Peace—but the kind born in silence. We handle what the Empire won't touch."
"The organisation was created by one of the previous emperors of Valloria who feared corruption."
"But today the organisation is independent from the imperial family, and they don't even know about our existence anymore."
Alden calmly took all the info dump at once. His mind tried to process it calmly.
So the organisation was created by the empire once.
"So what do I have to do as a member?" Alden asked, although he didn't have any intention to do any shady stuff.
"Nothing, actually." She answered calmly. "We work on a contribution system."
"You will rise in rank as you contribute to the organisation. Right now you are C-Rank members."
She looked at him to see if he was paying attention before continuing.
"Most members start at F-Rank. You are only at this level because Father liked your attitude and strength." She spoke. "He evaluated you quite highly."
"Father?" Alden asked, confused.
Was he the mysterious figure?
But wasn't Cipher an orphan?
It wasn't mentioned explicitly. Only the information about her being sold as a slave was mentioned. So he assumed she was an orphan.
"Father is one of the leaders of this organisation."
So it was a title, huh?
"The organisation has ten leaders. Each of them were referred to with different titles." She explained. "Father is the title of the hooded figure in the training room."
"I see." He nodded, understanding the hierarchy of the organisation.
"What about you?" Alden asked. "What's your position?"
"Well, I'm one of the thirty seats of the organisation." She answered without hiding anything.
Before he could ask, she answered.
"Thirty seats are just under the leaders in the hierarchy. Below them are S-Rank members and so on."
After her explanation was done, Cipher shuffled through her drawer.
She pulled out a wristwatch from it.
It was sleek and black in colour.
"Here, this is one of the high-tech artifact of our organisation." The watch floated towards Alden. "It has your member ID and password to access all the important information and missions to increase your contribution points."
"As a C-Rank member, you will be provided a 30% discount on any service, and your request will be prioritised for completion."
"You can also access the members-only shop to buy and sell information and various items."
Alden observed the watch for a few moments before strapping it on his right hand.
The watch vanished as soon as he put it on.
"Built-in invisibility features—cool, isn't it?" Cipher looked at him for some reaction, but he didn't show any. "You are very boring."
After Alden signed the contract, Cipher's demeanour had changed slightly.
She acted more friendly than before.
After talking about a few more important things and the receiving items he had previously commissioned, Alden stood up from his position.
"Well, if everything is over, I'll take my leave now." He said plainly. "Pass my regards to Vanyaa."
"See you later then."
Cipher simply nodded.
Alden got up and exited the office.
He didn't notice a smirk on Cipher's face.
We might meet much sooner than you expect, Alden.