~ Somewhere in the West, dining room of a certain mansion

“So you’re saying that this ‘challenge’ is a contract made by the old man, and the terms are such that say, intruder A is caught, then he would become a servant of the mansion? Then for intruder A to be released, he would have to catch and defeat another intruder, say, intruder B, in an official match. And if intruder B is defeated, then intruder A would be released and intruder B would become the servant. Is that right?”

“Umm, yes.”

“Surrendering is allowed as well right?”

“That is true… but surrendering is considered of the greatest disgrace to a man possible… are you sure you want to do that?”

Woah, really? Surrendering equals throwing all of one’s pride away here? C’mon, a tactical retreat is an important step in gaining success! Are all men muscle heads in the west?

“I am just a young boy, my pride can always be earned back. Don’t sweat the small stuff.”

“Small stuff you say…” Suddenly her look at me changed, as if pitying me a little.

“OK, so that guy whatever-his-name-is wants to be released from the contract, so he wants to use me. How does the contract work anyway?”

Though I’m not really an intruder… but until that old man is back, I’ll go along with this and see how it goes first. I’m also interested with how the contract is able to work in the first place as well.

“He’s called Feng, and the contract works by binding the target to its terms… I have not completely understood how it is made, but since Grandmaster made it, only those stronger than him can break the contract. Somehow when the contract is made to a new target, a bit of Grandmaster’s ki would be injected into the target by the contract, and if the terms are disobeyed, it will destroy the internals of the target.”

“How about you?”

“I’m the disciple of the Grandmaster, and the one keeping in charge of everything here. I’m not happy with the terms, but Feng’s been here for almost a decade already… boy- I mean Earth, aren’t your parents going to be worried about you?”

“Oh, don’t worry about me, my parents were gone a long time ago, like, a few thousand years ago.”

“A few thousands years ago? A young boy like you shouldn’t joke about things like this, but are you really alright with this?”

“Well, what can I do? His mind is made up and even if I can change his mind, I still sympathise him for being stuck here for so long. Still, I too, don’t want to be a servant of such an irresponsible old man, unless… there’s more to the rule than what you said. Is that really all to the rule? Where’s the contract at?”

“Umm, the contract is inscribed on a stone wall at the stage.”

“The stage?”

“It’s a place in the mansion backyard used for official duels… I’ll bring you there.”

And so I followed Yun once again. The sky is starting to turn dark, but the hallways are still brightly lit by the ceiling lamps. Wind blows through the windows across the hallways, the increasing chilly air made my hair stood on ends. This would be a great time for me to take a slow stroll down the gardens at this time, actually. Oh well, for another day I guess.

Walking through one of the back doors to the backyard of the mansion revealed a wide open area at least the size of a football field (from history books) which is surrounded by a forest. While the grass is mostly well-trimmed, there are patches of dirt without any grass and the ground is uneven. The bumpiness of the ground is obvious when walking on it.

Yun brought me across the backyard to a certain large grey rock placed near the boundary. If it was seen from behind, it would looks like any other large round rock, but when seen from its side, it will seem as if somebody had cut off the front of the rock like a hot knife through butter. The front side was flat, and smoothened until it was reflective. Mana- or ki, emanates from the rock faintly, but shows great presence. (Mana and ki are basically the same thing, but since I’m in this region may as well use ki, for ease of understanding when talking to people here)

However, the most important part is the words inscribed on the rock face itself which is most powerful in both its meaning and ki stored in it as well.

It reads:

Intruders shall fight or die. The loser shall become a servant of the house. The winner will be granted freedom.

The first two lines are familiar enough. However, it is the third that I was kind of expecting.

Whoever wins against the guardian of the house, will be granted an exception.

An exception? Oh, yes. This makes things simpler.

As of the current situation, best solutions to my predicament, will either be simply for me to defeat Feng (that butler) somehow and let him continue to be a servant and save myself (and likely upsetting everyone in the process), or, a much better solution for both parties, is to let him win, then I will somehow defeat the guardian of the house. That is, after all, a better end result. The guardian of the house probably referred to Yun, since she guards the house in place of her master, that twisted old man.

I don’t know whether Feng has thought of challenging Yun at all in the first place. If anything, the fact that this entire place is so well-maintained by just 2 people (or mostly just Yun?), is already terrifying enough.

Plan is- surrender to Feng, and defeat Yun to win my freedom. Easy. Just another walk in the park. Yeah.

Oh, and talk about the devil. Looks like the plan is commencing in no time at all. Let’s call this Operation Stag Beetle. No reason why, just that it’s a cool insect, that’s all. Operation Stag Beetle, COMMENCE! *punches the sky with my fist in my mind*

“Looks like Yun have already told you about the contract. You know what to do. Don’t resist, or else it’s going to hurt more. Now let’s just get this over with.” Feng entered the scene trying to look serious but anyone can tell that he has something else on his mind at this point.

He is probably already thinking about what to do after he obtained his freedom. Not a single thought of him getting defeated by me. Hah, you’re in luck today. My plan involves some ‘happily ever after’, but looking at that face that doesn’t even consider me a bug? He should thank the gods that I’m surrendering right away today, or he wouldn’t be sitting straight for half a year.

We stood about 10 metres apart. He started to do some warm-up, neck stretches and the like, getting ready to jump forward and end it quick once the duel begins. He is expecting to knock me out unconscious, and definitely not expecting my next move at all. He is going to fight bare-handed. No surprise there.

Yun acted as the referee to judge the outcome of the duel. Once she saw we are ready, she stood forward and announces, “The duel may begin!”

“I surrender!”

I shouted before Feng could even begin to move. They were shocked - even Yun. I guess it is to be expected. I mean, in their eyes, I just threw away the most precious thing that a man could possess like a stone in a sidewalk.

One glance at Feng’s face, and I could already predict what he is going to say. “Surrender?! How could you-” “This fight is not over!” Or the likes.

However, before Feng could actually say anything, though, a strange energy exited his body and entered mine, like a transfer of curses. It anchored itself inside my mana organ and but it stayed dormant there, even blending in into the flow of mana.

That must be what binds a target to a contract. And it meant that my surrender was recognized as a legitimate defeat. Though, that does mean that I’m no more than an intruder to this place, for some reason.

A big smile appeared on Feng’s face. How is he so happy after transferring his duty to a seemingly young boy like me? Oh well, I’ll just give him that. He is relieved of that troublesome curse of a contract after a decade after all.

I shook my head and looked over to Yun, who is both worried and confused at the same time, not sure of how to deal with the situation now that it has happened.

Now, for part 2 of the operation.

“I request an official duel with you, Yun.”

“Wh… what?!”

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