Over the next two days, Mathew soon realized just how strong he was. Not just with offensive spells, but physically. He had down played just how powerful an extra 20 to all stats really was. Even with Zack’s theory that stats were not a flat increase and were based on one’s true and core strength, he was really much stronger.

It wasn’t until he was forced to grapple against a bear that he became aware of this fact. Jeffery at the time didn’t fight along with Mathew cohesively, and the Summoner doubted that Jeffery could hold off three bears alone long enough for him to blast them away.

When Mathew realized there were three bears, he swiftly killed the first one, while Jeffery luckily distracted a second. If not for that, Mathew surely would have died. The third bear was on top of Mathew too quickly for him to draw his knife. The bear’s heavy attacks forced his rod to be knocked out of his grasp and soon Mathew had a giant brown bear on top of him.

Mathew was able to hold off the bear's attacks with his own two hands. The action was surprising to him. He never held so much weight before in his life, yet there he was holding half the bear's weight on his own. He held it off long enough for his wisps to blast it in the face enough to blind it. The pain was too much, and the bear tried to run away. Mathew didn’t let it, and blasted it away with a high powered [Mana Bolt] from his hand.

The sheer amount of mana pumped obliterated the bear, leaving a huge chunk of missing flesh. Mathew groaned in pain as the effects of Mana Drain kicked in. Jeffery almost finished off his bear by that point, and the two wisps finished it off. That had earned him a level, putting him at 17. He stared at his menu.

Name: Mathew McGonald

Race: Human [Beginner]

Class: Summoner

Profession: Contract Scribe

Level: 17

Universal Currency: 19,059

Titles: Classy, Forerunner, Lawyer, Pack Leader, Soloist, Survivor

Strength:

46

Vitality:

75

Dexterity:

64

Endurance:

46

Intelligence:

144

Wisdom:

136

Unallotted Stat Points: 0

A questioned floated out of Mathew’s mouth “Just how much does 46 strength give?” He was not physically strong before The System showed up. He rarely worked out and when he did, he focused more on cardio like bike riding than anything else.

Yet, he was able to hold off the bear from mauling him to death. If 46 strength did that, just what did 144 Intelligence do to him? If he was that much smarter, then why did he let Payne win over him like that? How did he not see such an order being used on him?

He was still frustrated. Pushing himself all day till he was out of mana, or took too long looking for something to fight. When the Goblin Dungeon opened, he grew ecstatic. Goblins, all less than Level 10, started showing up. The little guys however, did travel in groups and Mathew could tell they were worth more experience than the animals he had been fighting due to how much UC he earned.

That was the new way to tell how strong things were. A single goblin gave him around 200-300 UC, depending on their level he assumed. The three bears he just killed gave him the same amount.

He was curious as to why that was. The bears were clearly stronger. Was it because the Goblins had crude weapons? Maybe they had some level of cunning that was better than a bear?

He didn’t care enough to think about it more than that. He assumed Zack or someone could figure that out. He had more pressing matters to worry about. Such as getting Jeffery to Beginner 0.

The wolf was making decent progress, and by far the one thing that has so far leveled up the fastest. Already Jeffrey was showing how strong of a companion he was even at Novice 4. Both bulkier than his wisps and faster. The only drawback was it was hard to communicate battle orders, and Jeffrey had to fight in the melee. He had yet to summon him with his rod’s buff. Mathew wanted to see just how strong the wolf could become without outside influence.

Compared to his [Mana Bolt], and [Staves] that each only leveled up once. His [Knives] on the other hand, had increased to Beginner 4. Once he started to apply what he was learning from Numa’s style to actual combat, it jumped in levels swiftly

“I need to get stronger. I want to be Level 20 before the war, and that Dungeon was my ticket to power!” Mathew fumed to himself.

Jeffrey sat up and looked into the air at something flying. Mathew ignored the movement, trying to come up with a plan to achieve his goals. He had less than four days to figure something out.

Mathew was in the middle of his mental rant when his entire face was engulfed with fire. The attack caught him by so much surprise it knocked him onto his back. Jeffery let out a loud bark and continued barking at something in the sky.

Mathew slapped his face, putting out the flames that singed his hair. “The he-” Was all he was able to say as another flaming bolt slammed into his lower torso.

He was able to tell where it came from, but not able to dodge. He rolled over and stood up, pulling out his rod and aimed it up toward where the spell came from. He had a sneaky feeling he knew what was attacking him.

“Come on out Imps, I know you are out there. Let me blast you out of the sky like the pesky gnats you are!”

Mathew kept his head on a swivel, looking for any sign of the flying pigs. He could easily blast one with a strong enough bolt of mana, so he wasn’t afraid of a fight. He really needed to blow off some steam.

A voice spoke from his right, “A human who speaks the Ky’ clans tongue? Blasphemy! Who are you? Why are you hiding amongst the others as if you are one of them? I demand an answer!” It sounded deep, but smooth. He did not expect the small Imps to have such a voice.

Mathew knew whatever was said, was not English, but his skill translating it for him. He quickly turned toward the voice and fired an attack from his staff. He missed whatever was there. The Imp was already gone from the spot. Mathew heard branches break as it flew overhead.

“Don’t know what you are talking about.” Mathew shouted, “However I do know you are one slow reaction away from being blasted back to whatever Hell you came from. Your kind came to the wrong neighborhood.”

Mathew ordered his Wisps to attack any Imp they saw. He had no clue how many hide from his sight. Jeffrey was also crouched and ready to attack. Sadly Mathew doubted he would be useful in a fight against a flying creature. “Stay alert Jeffrey, if you can snag one, go for it.” Mathew muttered just loud enough for him to hear.

“Lies! I was there when we attacked the Base, I never saw you. The Ky’ clan will not tolerate others interfering with our business. Which family do you hail from, human? If you comply, we won’t attack your people. Our goals do not involve war with others not from this planet.”

Mathew was starting to grow confused. Why did the Imp not think he was with the base? He realized he was probably not seen since he was hiding under some trees, but that still didn’t add up. He was having problems tracking down where the talking Imp was. Compared to the ones he fought a few days ago, he was worried that this was no normal Imp.

He might as well let the Imp believe he was someone else. “What goals do you even have coming to this planet?” Mathew saw one of his Wisps fire a blue attack to his left, and spun to follow up. Mathew missed, but his wisp did not. A grunt of pain was heard.

“Our goals are the same as your family.” The voice said. A stiffness was heard in the words, proving that his wisp attacked the one that was talking. “We are willing to work alongside others. The Ky’ clan has always upheld their deals. We fall under The Council’s laws. Surely your backwater family at least understands that.”

Mathew hesitated. “The Council’s Laws? The Infernals are not barbaric? What is-'' Mathew stopped focusing just long enough for the Imp to hit him in the back with another ball of flames. He was fortunate to have proper leather armor underneath his robes. Otherwise he would quickly be turned into a crispy corpse.

“Stop attacking me then! If we can work out a deal, then let’s do that.” Mathew wanted to do anything to convince the creature to stop attacking him. This way, he can get the drop on it when he attacks it with a full powered [Mana Bolt].

“A parlay under The Council’s rules then?” The imp asked, and a blue screen appeared in front of Mathew.

You have been offered a parlay with Agnox, Imp Horde Leader, of the Infernal Dungeon [Beginner]. As a Lawyer under The Council’s law, you may accept or deny the offer on behalf of, Military Base 331, Under the New Continental America.

Neither party participating in the parlay may make any hostile moves against the other.

Accept / Deny

Mathew didn’t look at the screen, afraid the Imp would attack him while he was doing so. After a moment of nothing happening he quickly read it over. He smiled at the blue screen and accepted it.

Internally, he knew himself, Jeffrey, and this Agnox were the only three involved. He assumed that because his Wisps were under his command, they didn’t count as another member. However, it was interesting that Jeffrey counted as an individual. “Was it because he has free will?”

“Jeffrey, don’t you dare attack the imp. I would rather not suffer any consequences because you can’t read.” The wolf didn’t respond other than walking over next to him and sitting down.

A moment later, an Imp floated out from the tree foliage. Compared to the Imps he had seen so far, this one was much slimmer. It also looked somehow more human. The Imps he fought before were like flying pigs. The Imp in front of him looked like a red skinned child. His head was more angular and sported two small horns. It wore a small black cloth around its body. From what Mathew could see, it was completely hairless. He also noticed the smell of sulfur was stronger, but he refrained from gagging.

“Military Base 331? A Hearth Crystal? Just who in the universe are you?” Agnox demanded.

Mathew looked at the floating imp. “Well, you probably know I am Mathew. I represent the base your people are attacking. Why?” He had a prime chance to get answers. Answers he might be able to use to not only survive, but to maybe beat Payne and get the Hearth Crystal under his control.

Agnox had a sour look on his face. “Why? Why not? A newly integrated planet that The System gives us rewards for attacking? You know how rare it is to be given a quest from The System? It’s rare! You would do the same if the whip was on the other hand. Listen, you and I can work out a deal.”

“You follow The Council’s laws right?” Agnox’s voice turned a little hopefu as Mathew nodded confirming that bit of information. Almost too hopeful. “We can make a trade agreement, you and your family can survive this if you can convince your leader to hand over the Hearth Crystal. Heck, even a few of the humans from that base you like can be included even. I’ll even make the contract! This way, nobody has to die in war when we easily out class them.”

Mathew narrowed his eyes, “We can do that? Make deals with other Dungeons?” He thought about making deals for power, but if he could make trade deals with people from other worlds…”What is in it for us?”

Agnox looked around, “We don’t destroy your dungeon?”

Mathew scoffed, “You and what army?”

“Listen, we scouted that base already. My Mistress is Level 23. She is almost at the point where she is going to rank up. She just needs to kill about a third of those people to get to Level 25. Trust me she can easily wipe those people out. I get it, you are scared, and unsure what is going on.” Agnox put on a smile. “I don’t want to do that. I’m just a lowly ranked Imp. If you do this, you can prevent hundreds of deaths of not only your family, but the humans from here.”

Mathew took a couple things from this conversation already, however, he needed to play it smart. He already was against this deal. Something seems fishy, primarily why was this ‘low ranked imp’ allowed to speak and make deals on behalf of his own people?

He wasn’t that strong, Mathew survived three attacks and was only slightly damaged. The Imp wanted to parlay, why? To get something? Was it because he was afraid of me?

Mathew stared at the imp, “Can I see this contract?”

The Imp nodded and a new screen popped up in front of Mathew. “It’s not on paper, and looks similar to the one The System showed me that first night. Why did he have this prepared?”

Instantly several sections in the contract stood out to him. Firstly, nowhere did it specify that he would remain unharmed, just that he won’t be outright killed. There was no mention of where everyone would go afterwards. Would the entire base be forced to leave? Would Agnox and his Dungeon get to keep everything on the base?

There were plenty of explanations on how Mathew would have to convince Payne to give up the Hearth Crystal, going as far as to killing him. Mathew did not want to resort to outright murder, he had some standards.

It even went into details on how Mathew was not allowed to harm anyone from the Infernal Dungeon. He did not like this one bit, even a normal person like Zack could tell something was wrong with this contract.

He quietly opened up his menu and checked the timer left on his [Bind Familiar] Spell. He frowned when he confirmed he had just over a day left. An idea popped up into his mind.

“Tell me, Agnox. Why are you the lowest ranking one? You obviously are stronger than the other Imps I fought.”

“That’s none of your business. Now accept the contract and we can move on from this ordeal.”

“What if I have a better offer for you? One where you won’t be a lowly ranking Imp, but a highly welcomed familiar?”

Agnox looked confused, “Firstly, that’s outrageous. There is no way you can make me your familiar. Just because you can write a contract it wouldn’t work that way. Secondly, why would I even want to be your familiar? You are just some low leveled mage.”

Mathew gestured toward his wisps. “I have these guys, and my wolf. I’m a powerful Summoner. You surely know that much, plus you know I can write contracts. Even you are smart enough to know I am not a simple human.”

Agnox looked Mathew up and down, then glanced at his three summoned creatures. “Even so, why should I? I have everything I want with my clan.” Agnox claimed.

Mathew crossed his arms, “At the bottom rung position? With me, you can go above and beyond. Tell me Agnox, are you limited by The System, The Council, or even your clan? With me, there are no limits. We can grow stronger together. I won’t lie and say I know everything, I am still new and inexperienced. You appear to have a great understanding of how things work. You even had this contract prepared.”

Agnox had a hint of curiousness flash over his face before it quickly went back to it’s sour expression. “Enough games, accept the contract and we might talk about a familiar bond.”

Mathew shook his head. “Why can’t we? I have the spell, but it’s on cooldown right now. Give me a day, Agnox. You are an interesting...Imp.” Mathew almost said ‘person’, and had to stop himself.”

Agnox signed and looked around, “Listen Mathew. You seem like a decent guy, but I’m already bound to someone else. It would take someone of a stronger level to overrule the bond. Which, you are not. Plus, I don’t even know which family you belong to. You could be one of those slave traders, or really barbaric families.”

Mathew nodded, “I understand.” He was refraining from continuing his bribe. He understands when he can’t push anymore understood there was a point where you can’t push anymore. “If you don’t mind me asking, if you are against slaves, why are you bonded to someone else?”

Agnox raised an eyebrow. “Why wouldn’t I? Becoming attached to someone stronger, as a familiar? The chance of growing beyond what I could alone is astronomical. Plus, our clan rules over their Familiars not as some normally do. Plus, our clan treats Familiars not as others do. How does your family do the contracts typically?”

Mathew was in a hard place. He only had one source of how Familiars work, and that is from those stupid games Zack played. “Well, it depends on whether they are sapient or sentient.” Mathew pointed at Jeffrey. “He’s smart, and understands me, so I treat him as that so long as he behaves. He isn’t a person, but a companion at the bare minimum. Someone like yourself would be similar. It would be a 51/49 split. I hold the extra share simply because I am the Summoner. It’s how I ran things in my business with my partner before I became who I am today.”

Agnox seemed genuinely surprised. “Huh, that’s a first. We do things differently.” He looked off to his left at something. Mathew couldn’t see what he was looking at, but knew that was the direction the Infernal Dungeon was, albeit very far away.

“Last chance Mathew. You can stop blood shed, or you can let these people die. Even if your family head would be against it, we won’t offer another chance like this.”

Mathew shook his head, “I have to deny it. Too many sections I find suspicious. I hope you understand.” He did not want the Imp to be hostile once the parlay ended. This close up, he could easily pull a surprise attack.

Agnox nodded, holding a neutral face., “See you on the battlefield then. Just know I won't go easy on you simply because we talked now.” He gave a grin and started to fly away.

Mathew received a notification that the parlay ended. Right then and there he could attack Agnox in his back. A full blast [Mana Bolt] from his rod would easily kill him. Yet, he didn’t. He learned something very important. Something that made him deeply worried for himself and this planet.