I watched, hoping that Lannah could push her mana into The Necklace of Cores. Sadly nothing happened. We worked a few more minutes with me, trying to teach her how to imbue. I went and pulled on the skill memories the best I could to see if I could find something to use to teach her. However, after all our work and trying, I couldn’t get her to imbue the necklace at all.

“Is there anyway to share mana?” I asked.

Lannah looked a little nervous and blushed some. “There is a way but I am not sure it is something we want to do.”

Judging from her looking nervous and blushing, I had a strong guess that whatever method she knew of it was in some way too serious. The thing was, if she was able to share her mana with me, then I could hopefully get the cores we needed to be made, and we could perhaps survive. If we could last the three or four days till her rescue showed up, then things would be much better.

“So what’s the method?”

Lannah looked at me for a few moments. I could see warring over her face the decision to answer the question. She knew that I was clueless over everything about this world or, as she called it, a few times realm. Yet, whatever it was we needed to do to share mana was causing her pause.

I cleared my throat, “Look, we need several more cores to finish what I started with the bow. It is a gamble that it will work out the way I want it to. That being said if it does we might have enough of a weapon that we can live long enough for the rescue to make it here.”

I was laying it on kind of thick, but it was what it was. I didn’t see other options right now, and if she could be an energy bank for me, then we could get more done. If she could share at a distance, then I might even be able to take the fight to the goblins to finish them off.

Lannah took a deep breath and then sighed it all out. “I have to share my stats with you so that you can see how much mana I have. Then we have to synchronize ourselves and form a contract.”

“What?” I practically yelled.

“We have to synchronize and then form a contract.”

“Yeah, that is the part that I am lost on.”

Lannah looked down and turned about eight shades of pink. Before she started to try to figure out how to say what she needed to say. “We must hold hands and get our breathing and hearts to match. Then we have to enter into a contract.”

“Okay so the syncing up is doable. Tell me more about this contract.”

“Sharing mana is like sharing a life. It is magic that binds people. A contract to share mana is sometimes called a Familial contract.”

“You mean a familiar? Like a wizard with a pet lizard? Like Blink and me?”

“No and yes. You two are bonded but she isn’t your familiar. She bonded to you at hatching and that is different that wasn’t a contract of equals.”

“A Familial contract would connect us as closely, it’s sometimes done with great mages, or in adventuring parties to boost one person at the expense of being able to draw on the other person.”

“So if we do this we can draw each other’s mana whenever we need to?” I asked.

“No Familial contracts are one way. As you are needing the mana for the necklace it would let you draw from me.”

“Okay so you turn into my mana battery but what do you get out of this? You call it a contract.”

“I don’t know what a battery is but those who enter it negotiate what they get. Most of the time it is teaching for those working with a great mage. In many adventuring circles it is a greater percentage of the loot. Most of the time it includes protection and a name change. Sometime it even unlocks other classes that couldn’t be opened before.”

I chuckled just a little, “a battery is from my world it is a device to store energy. So I guess here it would be an imbued item or mana stone.”

“Yes, that would be correct only I can still gain my own power back.”

“Okay so say we do this, what do you want from it?”

It was like a light switch had flipped with her. The kind of shy girl went away, and I saw a negotiator show up. For some reason, I felt like a fish that had just been tossed into a tank full of sharks, and it was feeding time.

“Well, you lack many of the skills that most have when it comes to this type of contract. Also, you lack the levels needed to truly provide protection. Your name is worthless as you only have Arn. You are a wild human and so there is a sigma about you being dumb and savage that would get attached to me in many ways. So a Familial contract is going to have to require something that you can provide.”

She took a breath and looked me over with the eyes of an appraiser who was paid for by the other person. “Honestly, you don’t have much to offer in this type of exchange. However, I am going to take some risks with this. So I will take your name once you find it or earn it, I will ask to be given protection as is custom. I ask one of your cores a week and a 10th of your experience earned.”

I looked at Lannah with a little shock. The bashful lady had turned into a business person, and I found myself nodding in agreement with what she was asking for. The thing was, I wasn’t sure what all she was asking for.

“Okay so I am not sure what you mean by my name once I find it or earn it. THAT sounds like marriage from where I come from. I also don’t know what you mean by experience earned.”

Lannah smiled at me and folded her arms. She pulled them in tight, which raised her chest up and out at me. Which caused me to look down. When I brought my eyes back up, she was smirking. Then she dropped her shoulders a bit.

“No, not marriage. I would still be my father’s daughter and if Ranval Embershard will still have me after being out here I will marry him. However, I would hold your name as my final name showing that I am under contract with you. As for experience you get it for everything you kill, and every level. You should have seen it on your stats already.”

“Okay, so not marriage but you would be related to me in some way?”

“Yes, I become part of your house.”

“Okay… As for experience, I haven’t seen it on my stats at all.”

“You should see it. Try to will the words ‘Experience Level’ the same way you do stats.”

Experience Level

Experience held till level 1

Experience needed to level Redacted

Total experience Redacted

“Wow, it says that my experience is held till level one.”

“That happens, if your skill levels aren’t high enough to qualify you to level than your experience is held until you can level. How much total experience do you have?”

“It says redacted,” I replied coldly.

“Redacted? What does that even mean?” Lannah asked.

“From my world, it means that it was removed by the people in charge.”

Lannah’s face paled a little, and the smile she had once we started to negotiate faltered. “So the gods removed your experience total?”

“Looks that way. Do you still want experience to be part of what you get?” I asked.

With me returning to negotiations, she smiled and leaned a little forward. “Yes, I do think that is something that I want.”

“Okay so, there is no way I am giving you one of the cores every week. I don’t know where I am going or what I am doing once we get out of here but I know I need to level if I am going to live so I need to be able to study and learn to read. I can agree to one core every 3 months, .5% percent of my experience earned and everything else you asked for.”

“One core every 2 weeks and 5%”

“1 every other month and 1%”

“1 every month and 4%”

“1 a month and 4% until I hit level 10, I have no idea what I am giving up here you know that right.”

“I agree, but I have seen your stats you don’t have much mana and this should help you. Once you start to level you shouldn’t even notice 4 percent. After you hit level 10 .5% of your earned experience?”

“Fine but, if I am out of town or you’re not around I don’t get in trouble if I can’t hand the core over to you. We just count how many we need.” I replied.

Lannah smiled one last time, “Agreed.”

I sighed; I felt like I had to be getting cheated on this. She had even told me that she had a skill that would help her, and I knew she used it; I just knew it. “So now what?”