Wanderer's Realm, somewhere... After conducting an extensive debate with myself, I raised my head up and looked at the middle of the room and answered the entity. “Your Divine Ladyship Highness Majesty's proposition is very tempting, but I'm not really interested in the whole package. Can I change some options?” Why did I have to say that! Damn it! She's going to kill me, isn't she? [...] [You are kidding, right?] Yep, I'm dead. While I was imagining in what atrocious ways that entity would kill me, my musings were interrupted by the sound of her hysterical laughter. Despite the mocking tone that I could feel from her, my poor heart still started to calm down a little. After all, I've always been told that if you made a woman laugh, it meant that she found you interesting. That or she wanted to kill you. Yeah, that advice did not really help, did it...? When she finished laughing, the female voice explained her attitude. [I have never seen someone so unremarkable...] Oh come on Lady! Did you have to poke at my shortcoming at our first meeting. [...whether it be about looks or personal power...] How was it possible for me to feel like I was dying, when she did not do anything to me? What a fearsome skill! [..., act so thoughtlessly in front of someone who could obliterate them with a thought, and that while being scared out his wits.] I can see the light at the end of the tunnel... Oh wait! That's just the weird silver light that covered the whole room. [You are a very interesting Mortal. I think my choice of attracting you to that door was the right one. At least, you are better than the others before you.] Oh God! Could you please stop playing with my nerves. I feel like I'm fifty years older, right now. Mmmhh... What did she just say? “Your eminence, Lady of Majesty, you said you attracted me specifically? Does that mean that I'm special? Maybe a special physique, bloodline or amazing comprehension for the Magic Arts?” I could hear the teasing in her voice when she answered me. [None of the above. You are as normal as you can be with no special talent.] Although, I felt a bit disappointed at her reply, I still insisted. “But then...why?” She understood my question and replied. [Exactly because of the latter. Talent may be a boon or a curse, depending on what you do with it. In the place I come from, many people wasted their talent because of lack of effort or a wrong state of mind. Before meeting you, I had found several cultivators in the Wanderer's Realms to help me, all of them more talented than you. However, they could not pass my tests. Most of them letting their urges control them. A bunch of trash.] Did she just say Cultivators??!!! Oh God, Oh God, Oh God!! This is so cool! Does it mean that all those novel are real? Can I become one too? Would I get to... [Mortal!] “Yes ma'am!” I said while straightening my body and putting my arms alongside it. [When I answer your question, you would do well to listen.] “Yes, ma'am! I'm sorry, ma'am!” [Good. As I was saying, I wanted to check if your lack of talent would make a difference or not in passing my tests. At worst, I will just erase your memories and let you go, if you do not succeed. Of course, that is if you were interested in my offer in the first place.] Focusing on her words and what they implied, I pondered for a few seconds and then asked. “Although I understand that I would need to pass your tests if I accepted your offer, you still didn't tell me what it was.” I stopped talking, waiting for her explanation, with my heart beating quickly as my mind went over everything I had read about those kinds of situation in those cultivation novels. Would I get to have cultivation scriptures like the Heavenly Lightning saber or the Divine Yang Sword? Would I have to, in the future, destroy demonic sects, steal powerful magic pills from Immortal Empires and conquered the hearts of country-toppling beauties? And all that to end up being the most powerful cultivator in the universe? That sounds like a lot of work but I guess I cou... [You need to open and develop a store.] ...Could sacri...Wait, what!? A store? “A store?” [Right. A store.] “I...” was completely underwhelmed. What the fuck?! I was bored out of my mind with the normal life that I lived on Earth and now that I had the possibility of going on interesting adventures thanks to a powerful entity, I only got to open a FUCKING STORE!! [It is not a 'fucking store', but a magic store.] I said that out loud, didn't I? [Also, it is any kind of store you could imagine. But don't forget that you need to develop it to become the best in what you call the Universe and even beyond.] Any kind you say? Sh.. Cough! “Any kind you say?” [Yes. You would be the Head manager. The details of how it will function will have to wait until you've chosen the type of store. By the way, we can discuss together about it, if you are not sure about which kind to choose.] She explained in her calm tone of voice. “Well, it does sound interesting...” I said, slightly hesitating. “You talked about cultivators before... Would I get to cultivate? And if my talent is nonexistent, does that mean that I can't reach far as a cultivator? After all, to be the manager of the best store in the Universe, I would need to be powerful. Also it might take longer than my current Lifespan. I've read that the average life expectency on Earth is simply around 72 years old. I would probably be dead before succeeding if that's the case.” I could hear a smile of amusement in her voice when she answered me. [If you accept my offer, we would sign a soul contract. Since I don't expect you to work for free, I would offer you a few benefits, such as help with your cultivation. So your talent won't matter too much. At least until a certain point. But remember that if you fail, I will scrap your cultivation and return you as the Mortal you are today. Although you would probably live longer than an average Mortal, your accumulated power would be gone. When someone loses everything in that manner, it can figuratively destroy one's mind. That is despite the fact that your memories would be erased. So you should be aware of the risk of it all. Also, as long as you do not get killed, you would basically work forever.] She paused a few seconds before adding. [I understand that it's an important decision, so I will you give you as much time as you need to think it over.] “Thank you.” I said simply. I then started to review the advantages and disadvantages of the offer. I did not want to jump to a decision, since my soul was at risk. If my body died, then if there was a reincarnation, I could come back to life. But if my soul got destroyed, it's game over. Or not. I was not really an expert on that kind of topic, just because I read some Online Novels, so I shouldn't speculate too much. But, at least being cautious would not be a bad thing. Although the lady seemed very amiable, and with her apparent power, she would probably be able to do anything to me without me being able to retaliate. Or it could be a bluff, and she needed me to willingly sign that soul contract to be able to perform nefarious deeds on my innocent body. That's... a conundrum. (I don't get to use that word often, okay?) Let's say for the sake of argument that she was telling the truth. On one side I got to become more powerful and live a lot longer. I didn't know about my other previous speculations about the powerful scriptures and beauties, but just that was already tempting. Like, REALLY tempting. After all, who wouldn't want to be immortal and be so strong that you could destroy planets with a punch? Not that I wanted to destroy any planet. I mean, the poor things did not do anything to me. Those crazy cultivators all wanting to cut innocent mountains and destroy innocent planets. What a bunch of barbarian! Anyway, I'd ask her about the other benefits in details, but let's say I was already sold on the one she told me about. On the other side, I would work forever... Okay that's a pain... That means I'd have to pay my dream of retiring in a tropical island goodbye... That kind of sucks but at the same time, that also means that I won't end up in a retirement home, drooling, pissing and shitting on myself because my body and mind decayed too much to be able to live normally. That's a HUGE plus. There is only the whole fail the test and you lose everything downside... I'd be alright! Do you think that if I prayed to every deity that has ever existed on Earth, I would improve my chances? No? Too bad, I guess. I'd just play it by ear, then. When I finished pondering, I asked her to see the details of the soul contract. A paper appeared directly in my hand, which made me jump a little from surprise. Don't act like you wouldn't be surprised if a paper suddenly appear in your hand from nowhere. It's an INSTINCTIVE reaction. Anyway, I decided to check the paper thoroughly, even if I knew that if she wanted to hide something, I would probably be incapable of discovering it. I read the whole thing multiple times to make sure that I did not miss anything, after which I closed my eyes to review everything. If what was written on the paper was true then the situation was a bit more complex than what she shared with me earlier. It was still completely fair, though. Although, I can now understand why a contract was needed. I'd do my best to sum up the different clauses that it contained. First, the contract would be used as a way to link the Magic Item [Magic Store] with me. (I didn't really know how I felt about that one...) Second, tests would be conducted to deem the applicant (Again, me) worthy of becoming the full soul-bound companion of the Magic Item [Magic Store]. However, before then, the bonding would only be partial. (A trial period, how typical!) Third, the applicant agreed to run the store for his entire life, no matter how long it may be. Every details about it such as vacations, days off, daily schedule, etc would be dealt with by the two parties' agreements. If one of the parties believed that the other abused the third clause, then the contract may be voided without the other's consent. (Since I wouldn't be able to retire, do I have to pay taxes for it?) Fourth, the store's strategy would be at the will of the applicant in light of him being the Head Manager of the [Magic Store], which meant that things such as the customers targeted, the type of product sold, the advertisement, etc. would be dealt with by the applicant. (That sounds like a lot of work...) Fifth, once the type of store was chosen by the applicant, the creation of the items sold in the store would be taken care of by the [Magic Store]'s spirit. (I'd never been good as a crafter, so I don't really mind that part.) Sixth, the benefits are that the [Magic Store] would help the applicant with his cultivation with resources and personal guidance. The details would be chosen by the store's spirit to match with the applicant's needs. (Sounded good to me, even if it's very vague) Seventh, if there was a need for more staff, the applicant would take care of any hiring and would discuss with the store's spirit to determine a reasonable salary and reasonable benefits. (Did I need to ask them stupid questions like 'What do you think of garden gnomes'?) Eighth, any breach of the contract would void it. The consequences of such are the destruction of the soul link, the erasure of memories of the applicant and the entire amount of power gained during the process, leading to a reset of the applicant's cultivation base to the level he possessed at the moment he signed the contract. No harm to his life was allowed. (At least, she wouldn't hurt me even if I fail. But that still sounded bad. After gaining *does a palpatine impression* UNLIMITED POWER!!!!! *instant poker face* it would be horrible to lose it. So I better not mess up the whole thing.) Alright, so in conclusion, I can say that this contract was useful and useless at the same time. Although the things mentioned in it were what she informed me about, there were so many loopholes that even I who know only a little about how the Law work (I guess I should thank netflix for their show about those Lawyers. I can't remember the name... I think it was something about clothes... Baseball hat? Jersey? Tuxedo? Anyway, it was alright, even if I got confused many times.) can see them. So it's a high risk, high rewards type of situation. Risking my boring but peaceful life, for a potential somewhat adventurous and interesting one. Well, despite all my internal monologue, I pretty much made my decision at the instant when she gave me that offer. I mean, just think about the potential benefits! They were so huge, that I couldn't even wrap my mind around them... After 9 years of drifting from crappy job to another crappy job, from small but overpriced apartment to another small but overpriced apartment, I've had enough. I've had enough with this mediocre life where no one would care whether I lived or died, beside my close family. I've had enough with being treated as a pawn, a small cog in the machine that only served the will of those at the top. Most of them looking at those below them in disdain, exhorting them to do better, to work harder, as if that would change their fate, when those hypocrites perfectly knew that it would change nothing... I'm tired... So very tired... Sigh... Anyway, we should get back to the story or you would think that this is a sob story... Spoiler alert: It's not! While I was reminiscing about my life, I came to a decision that should have been obvious from the start: I will do it! Once I was sure of myself, I raised my head up and looked at the middle of the room and said with confidence in my voice that displayed my fighting spirit. “I will do it, [Magic Store]'s spirit. I will sign the contract.” [Very well, then. And since you will become the store manager, you can call me Ali. Have you decided on what kind of store you wish for me to turn into?] “Well, before meeting you, I've been thinking about what kind of business I would like to set up if I had the money and expertise... What do you say we open a bar?” I said with a stupid grin on my face showing my current feelings at the thought of it.