Seeing that Ron still didn't understand, Ian finally spoke.
Did Ron take him for a fool? There were many types of contracts in this world, and the Magical Contract ranked at the bottom.
In the event of a violation, all it did was destabilize one's path or, in severe cases, cause severe injury.
Moreover, it was a two-way contract. Ian wasn't foolish enough to sign such a deal when he clearly had the upper hand.
"Soul Contract?"
Ron's heart skipped a beat as his last hope of deceiving Ian with his limited knowledge crumbled.
A soul contract, as its name suggests, was binding to the soul. Moreover, most soul contracts were designed for slavery, as they could completely dominate the weaker party.
"I can't sign a soul contract. My soul is already in a pact with the organization. If there's any issue with my soul, they'll know."
Ron had never felt as grateful for the organization's mandatory requirement to sign a soul contract as he did now. At least, it was lenient on the user.
"It seems you really don't take me seriously."
Of course, Ian knew how those organizations operated. He was just trying to pressure Ron, as a Magical Contract was truly inadequate.
Sure enough, as soon as Ian showed signs of attacking, Ron became vigilant and spilled everything.
"Okay, stop, stop! I have a temporary pact: Sigil of Subjugation. It lasts for six months. However, the terms must be reasonable, and you must promise to release me on time. Otherwise, let's just fight. It's just death anyway."
This time, Ron was totally cornered. So, he finally resolved to fight if Ian insisted on leaving him no options. At least dying like this would create problems for Ian.
"Hm... Sigil of Subjugation?"
Ian heard the familiar name making him intrigued.
In the realm of Wizards, when a contract directly bound individuals through their bodies or souls, a pact was formed under the supervision of a supernatural entity.
Such an entity could be a spirit or a demon. Once a pact was formed, if either party violated the terms, they would be killed inexplicably, and their body and soul would be extracted by those powerful entities.
It was a rule: unless one was strong enough, they couldn't escape it.
"Okay! Let's sign the Sigil of Subjugation."
As its name suggested, this was a temporary pact used to subjugate an individual for a set period under specific terms.
As long as the dominator adhered to the terms, they could subjugate the other party to a certain extent.
"That's good."
Ron visibly relaxed upon seeing Ian put his blade away again. However, Ian was still showing only his reptilian blue eyes, remaining on guard.
'Damn! Why couldn't I have been this cautious before?'
Ron cursed himself internally and pulled out a scroll from his mana ring with distress.
"Wait a minute. Give me your mana ring. While you're at it, don't forget to erase your mental signature."
Ian suddenly remembered he could still extract some value from Ron. Why would he waste an opportunity to loot a wizard?
Hearing his blatant extortion, Ron looked at Ian's expectant expression and heavily sighed. After that, he still removed the ring from his finger, as there wasn't much left in it anyway. He had already used everything valuable during the fight.
"There isn't much in there. Just don't touch the identity token and a few of my personal items."
He still requested that Ian not take everything.
"Don't worry. I just want the spell model and mana stones. Oh? How about that staff of yours?"
Ian quickly scanned the Mana Ring and swept everything of value. There wasn't much inside, as Wizards typically used treasures immediately rather than letting them gather dust.
After that, noticing the shiny staff in Ron's hand, Ian asked, clearly tempted.
"No, it can't be given to anyone. It's coded with my soul signature by the organization."
Ron quickly hid the staff behind him, afraid Ian might take it even though he couldn't use it. After all, even as scrap, a staff was still a valuable treasure.
"Tch... okay, let's sign the pact then."
Ian grumbled in annoyance. He had only asked on a whim. Besides, he had the Staff of Ethos, which, though old, was sufficient for now.
"Okay!"
Ron breathed a sigh of relief while accepting the mana ring returned by Ian. He was really afraid that Ian would strip him naked. That would be too embarrassing.
"Swirled!"
As Ron slowly unfurled the scroll in his hand, mana began to overflow, circling around both of them.
"Hm?"
While Ron noticed nothing unusual, Ian immediately felt a gaze from beyond.
His Veilbourn Shroud skill passively heightened his sensitivity to such things, and he sensed an inexplicable power watching them through the scroll.
"Okay, let's state our terms," Ron said to Ian after confirming the pact was effective.
By unfurling the scroll, they were already connected. All that remained was to use their mental power to state their terms, completing the pact.
"One term must be no harm to either party during the pact's duration," Ron stated first, as he was the one being subjugated.
"Okay."
Ian didn't make things difficult and agreed to a relatively loose contract that mostly favored him until they reached the Calvora Continent.
Since the pact was temporary, they agreed it would last until their arrival at Calvora. Ian was fine with this, as extending the terms might alarm Ron.
"Okay, now leave your mental signature."
Ron infused the scroll with his mental power while Ian did the same.
"Whoosh!"
Suddenly, their agreed-upon terms revolved and were absorbed into the scroll, which in itself vanished bit by bit from their vision.
"Hah..."
Seeing the process complete, Ron sighed in relief, his tense nerves finally relaxing. However, due to the severe mana depletion, he appeared extremely weak.
"That's done. Can I go now?" he asked Ian, who had already dispelled his Ethereal Disguise and stood before him.