Chapter 71 : Rest at the End of the Uproar (2)

For the <Dragon’s Pact> to activate, the target had to be in a state of ‘complete subjugation’.

Meaning, whether by lowering their health or binding them with restraint-type magic, any method was fine as long as the subjugation

judgment was triggered.

Obviously, I didn’t intend to draw blood like with Yejin, so I had to completely bind Hyewon with restraint magic.

<Quicksand Mire>, <Touch of Darkness>, <Jupiter and Vines>, <Blasphemy>….

Restraint-type debuff spells were instantly calculated and bound Hyewon.

Startled by the sudden surge of mana, Hyewon instinctively tried to cast <Blink> to escape, 

The <Restrict> spell activated, interrupting the casting of <Blink>.

Thus, she was completely ‘subjugated’.

I had already set up a sound-blocking barrier nearby in case she screamed, so there was no worry about someone else showing up after

hearing her previous shout.

The reason I didn’t tell her this beforehand was simple.

If I asked Hyewon, who was already scared of me, ‘I’m going to cast binding magic on your body so you absolutely cannot resist, will you

allow it?’, she wouldn’t likely agree.

So, I tempted her by saying I’d remove the debuff magic and then just proceeded with it.

Well, from her perspective, she might feel wronged, thinking it’s a scam… but considering the outcome, it would actually be good for Hyewon,

so she would understand once everything was over.

“From now on, we will form the Dragon’s Pact.”

Green vines had rapidly grown and completely covered her mouth.

I had deliberately blocked it to prevent screaming, but thinking about it, forming the pact required feeding her blood.

Meaning, I had to release her mouth.

Not wanting to hear those ear-splitting screams again, I slowly approached her.

“Hyewon-ah. Shh.”

Whispering into her ear had an immediate effect.

Her wriggling body, making muffled sounds, froze completely.

“If you don’t want to end up like those researchers, shut up… no, be quiet.”

As I warned her with the annoyance starting to build up, Hyewon stopped all movement, sweating profusely as if she had even forgotten how

to breathe. Seeing this, I dispelled <Jupiter and Vines>.

The vines binding Hyewon’s body disappeared, seeming to let her breathe, but she still looked at me with tense eyes.

“Hey, I’m doing something good for you, why are you so scared?”

“Th-this is good, right? I’m not going to die or get broken like this, right…?”

“I told you no.”

As I waved my hands dismissively, Hyewon also forced an awkward smile.

Finding her obviously awkward acting amusing, I stifled a laugh and playfully slapped her bound butt once.

With a satisfying slap sound, the reddening skin was pleasing to see.

“D-don’t tell me you wanted to do bondage play, if so, I should prepare…”

“It’s not like that, so be quiet and open your mouth.”

I mixed the blood I had drawn beforehand into apple juice and fed it to her.

She was a succubus, not a vampire, so this was a consideration out of concern she might feel repulsed by drinking the blood of another

sentient being.

The process of removing constraints and forming the pact was meant to gain favorability with her; forcing her to drink blood and lowering

her favorability would defeat the purpose.

Although, given the commotion during the subjugation process, achieving the original goal seemed difficult anyway.

“Y-you didn’t put an aphrodisiac or something… in it, right? You said you didn’t like me earlier! You’re doing this to forcibly take my purity

while I’m not in my right mind, right?!”

“No! Hitting your butt just now was also just a joke!”

Befitting a succubus known for strong desires, I gave her a light flick on the head for her wild imagination.

After the situation calmed down somewhat, I clapped twice, and the forms like swamps and chains binding her body vanished all at once.

Hyewon’s body, which had been floating halfway in the air, fell with a loud thud, but by user standards, it wasn’t a significant impact, so I

wasn’t worried.

Her body now free, Hyewon seemed a bit more relaxed. She stood up abruptly, rotating her wrist joints, and observed the changes in her

body.

As Winter had said, all the debuffs cast on her were gone.

Except for one thing: the indecipherable mana engraved on her heart.

“…Is this the <Dragon’s Pact>?”

The circle enveloping the heart, tantamount to a mage’s life.

The mark of the pact engraved upon it was making the mana circuits within Hyewon’s body wider and clearer.

This feeling, like having consumed a peerless elixir.

Feeling refreshed and cool, Hyewon opened her status window to check her mana stat.

Mana: 110 (+30)

Hyewon’s jaw dropped at the total mana, which had increased by nearly a quarter.

“Surprising, right? It’s a buff effect from the <Dragon’s Pact>. As long as you don’t violate the pact with me, it’s a constantly active buff that

massively increases the mana stat.”

The <Dragon’s Pact>, which originally only had the effect of restricting the opponent’s hostile actions, gained additional effects as the

assimilation rate increased.

Namely, a buff that increased total mana.

Yejin, the other pact target, was a martial artist completely unrelated to mana, so it wasn’t noticeable, but Hyewon, belonging to the same

mage-type class line, Summoner, noticed the change in mana amount immediately upon forming the pact.

“I spent so much money on various equipment just to increase my mana…!! And it increases by 30 all at once?”

Hyewon stomped her feet, seemingly pleased.

The reason for her immense happiness was simple.

For a Summoner, the mana stat was far more crucial than for typical mages.

A mage with low mana stats, resulting in low total mana and purity, could simply choose and use spells with low mana consumption.

However, for a Summoner, the amount of mana directly affected the number and quality of summons, making them desperately rely on the

mana stat that increased mana capacity.

“You like it that much?”

“Of course, I do! It means I can summon more of my kids!”

Looking happy, she summoned a water spirit and hugged it like a teddy bear, attempting to converse with it.

The relationship between a Spirit Master and a spirit is direct.

Standing outside it, I couldn’t know what conversation passed between them.

“Do you know what this kid is saying? She said it used to feel like breathing on a day with bad fine dust levels all the time, but now that she’s

been summoned, the mana purity is higher, making it much easier to breathe! It always pained my heart because she struggled to breathe…

Thank you, Winter-nim.”

“Yeah… well.”

I expected her to be happy once the restrictions on her body were gone, but I didn’t expect her to shed tears and be this delighted.

Even if the mana stat was good for a Summoner, to summon a spirit, hug it, and smile so happily like that.

Unexpectedly, I felt good, having gained more points with Hyewon than anticipated.

I shared additional information about the pact that she wouldn’t know.

“Now that the pact is formed, you’re free to do anything except attack or act hostile towards me. All restrictions have been lifted. Instead…”

“Instead?”

“Later, you just have to grant me one request.”

“A request? What kind of request are you talking about…”

“There’s something to discuss. I’ll call everyone in the group to this room, so be ready.”

Leaving only those words, I stepped back into the hallway.

I planned to gather everyone to discuss the ‘Day of Judgment’.

Within just these five hotel rooms, nearly half of the entire domestic user strength, consisting only of top-tier rankers, was concentrated.

If just we planned ahead, the difficulty of dealing with the ‘Day of Judgment’ would become significantly easier.

And after we coordinate—I will inform the South Korean government about the ‘Day of Judgment’.

They probably know disaster is coming, having their own information network… but with monsters pouring in from all directions, the only

thing the government could do was evacuate citizens.

‘How much can I get for resolving the Day of Judgment event?’

The previously promised Amethyst Cave was out of the question.

Wouldn’t a pile of diamonds be acceptable?

As someone who played a major role in clearing a hostile event tantamount to a national crisis, if they have any conscience, they should

provide fair compensation.

If they refuse to pay up, I can just fly off to another country.

Winter looked at the world map placed in the hotel floor and imagined what the rankers from other countries she met in the game might be

doing now.

America’s No.1, Germany’s Witch, Italy’s Hunter, the Vatican’s Saintess… countless names came to mind.

They too must be busy running around trying to prevent the coming disaster.

Korea, comparatively, has a very high ratio of rankers and high-level users.

The national trait of being a gaming powerhouse won’t just disappear; even if one or two of us drop out, the country probably won’t suffer

damage severe enough to make it collapse.

‘If I have time, maybe I should help other countries too…?’

It would be even better to receive rewards along the way.

Preferably in the form of sparkling valuables.