Su Wan sent a message in the group chat.
[Su Wan: The hero rejected the equal contract. What should I do? Help! It's urgent.]
Shi Linglong couldn't believe it.
[Shi Linglong: What?! Why? By offering an equal contract, you have already shown your sincerity.]
They couldn't figure out why the hero had rejected Su Wan.
The contract between the Lord and the hero, although many people said it repeatedly, depended on luck as much as anything else.
But in reality, luck didn't play as big a part as that. Innate talent, bloodline and such held important weight when making a contract.
Su Wan, because of her talent and aptitude, did not encounter a goblin. It was near to impossible for her to encounter one.
Those who were chosen to make a contract with her would be of her level. The dark hero in front of her was a testament to her talent and her skill. She didn't understand why the hero refused her.
She could understand its rejection if she offered a slave or master-servant tract. An equal contract was beneficial to them both. Both had their freedom, and no one could order the other around.
'Why would he refuse?'
In the group chat, Shi Linglong and Zhao Qingrong discussed the situation.
In the end, it was Lin Yao who made some suggestions.
[Lin Yao: Wanwan, there could be another explanation. There was a case before where the hero was too weak compared to the Lord, so it rejected the offer fearing it would drag the Lord down with it.]
Lin Yao explained but Su Wan was still doubtful. Shi Linglong expressed the same doubts in the group chat.
[Shi Linglong: You are right, sister Yaoyao. But logically, the heroes would have similar corresponding skills to the Lords. In that case, how do powerful Lords get paired with weak heroes?]
[Lin Yao: reciprocity is only relative. It's not absolute. These cases do happen. There are cases where a weak Lord also makes a contract with powerful heroes. These cases are very rare but not unheard of. Wanwan, you can take a look at the hero's Attribute Panel and judge the situation based on that.]
Su Wan agreed to Lin Yao's suggestion. She looked at Xu Yuan in front of her with a dazed face.
She quietly checked the hero's Attribute Panel which appeared in front of her.
...
The moment she saw it, Su Wan's body went numb. Her eyes widened and she began to doubt everything about herself. His Attribute Panel was blank. This hadn't been mentioned in the textbooks!
'What's going on?' she thought anxiously.
Xu Yuan opened one of his eyes and glanced lazily at Su Wan. He had sensed her attempting to check his Attribute Panel. But the Dark Demon Dragon came with his own shielding function. Without his willingness, the young woman in front of him could not see his attributes.
Xu Yuan was amused at her expression of confusion. She looked like an elementary school student who couldn't solve her homework. She looked so anxious as though she was going to cry any minute.
Su Wan was in despair. Everyone's contract with their heroes was going well. She wondered why it was not working when it came to her. She couldn't even see her hero's attributes, to say the least.
'Is it because the hero is so strong that he could hide his attributes? Or is it because he is too weak for the system to display anything?'
Su Wan's face showed shades of despair and helplessness
"Alright," said Su Wan after a while. "We don't need to make a contract if you don't want to. But we do need to stay together. Please help me in the future."
The contract wasn't necessary, but it had its benefits. After forming the contract, the Lord would get a special bonus. But even without it, the Lord and the hero were on the same side, wandering the Overlord Plane.
"May I ask how I should address you?" asked Su Wan.
"My name is Xu Yuan." He closed his eyes and continued to sleep. He was gaining experience every second.
Su Wan patiently explained the rules of the Lords to Xu Yuan.
"Next, we will proceed with the Novice Trial. For this, we need to choose an initial talent. Each Lord gets only three talents."
Su Wan needed to choose one of the talents to start the trial. In order to make a good impression, she talked and explained everything to Xu Yuan, just as she would with a friend.
"I am a little bit talented. The three initial talents I have are good ones."
Su Wan might not be very lucky but she had talents. She also was a hard-working person. 'I will show him that my talents aren't ordinary.'
She looked at the three talents that appeared on the panel, which were in the icons of three differently colored bottles.
[Golden Bottle Icon: Increase magic long-range attack damage by 250%]
[Silver Bottle Icon: increases physical melee attack damage by 150%]
[Bronze Bottle Icon: increases physical and magical resistance by 100%]
With these three talents, Su Wan had already made a decision in her heart.
In terms of the strength of amplification, the Golden Bottle increased the damage by 250%, which was 2.5 times stronger than normal, while the Silver Bottle only increased the damage by 1.5 times.
In terms of enhanced attributes, the Golden bottle increased magic damage, which meant that she would be walking the path of a mage.
The Silver Bottle was for the path of a warrior.
Between a powerful mage and a warrior with a large blade, Su Wan felt that the mage would be more handy and powerful. The Golden bottle was the best choice in all aspects!
Just as Su Wan was going to choose the first option, a small claw reached out and tapped on the very last icon.
Su Wan froze. Her eyes widened. "Xu Yuan! What have you done?!" She was always calm and composed but couldn't help roaring at this moment. Even if he had selected the second option, she would have agreed.
But the third talent...
It had only a 100% bonus compared to the first one that had a whopping 250% bonus! Anyone would choose the option which provided more bonus.
In terms of attributes, the first and second talents both increased damage output.
The third talent was no more than a turtle hiding in a sturdy shell.
Su Wan didn't want to hide and stay in the shell!
Xu Yuan smiled in satisfaction. He had thought everything through. For him, damage or attack output wasn't a problem. His attributes were far superior to any hero. He was absolutely superior in all aspects. With him and Su Wan's strength combined, they didn't lack output. The only problem was the Lord he was with. If the Lord died, he would be affected as well.
What Su Wan needed to do was protect herself and survive. So, he had chosen a talent of 100% physical and magical resistance for her.
He thought she was just a weak little girl who needed to increase her defense and survive.