Contract

As they finished eating, Magnus called out to Auric, "Young master, since you have finished eating, I think we need to talk."

"Okay," Auric replied.

Auric was eager to learn more about his mother. In the novel, the Emberclaw clan was portrayed as a powerful clan, with some of the heirs present in the Odyssey Institute.

Both of them left the room, and as they were walking, a Dragonborn soldier came running to Magnus with a troubled expression.

"Sir, the news of two human children in the military base has been leaked to the elders. They have summoned you to the capital with the children tomorrow. Here is the official document," the soldier informed him.

"Hmm," Magnus took the document and started reading it.

But as they were having the conversation, Auric noticed that they were not talking in Arcanese but in Draconic. It must be because of his language skill that he understood it, which was quite good.

[ Yes, it is. Since it is at level 2, you can understand their basic language ] the system chimed in.

< Good > Auric acknowledged.

"Okay, you can go," Magnus dismissed the soldier politely.

The soldier bowed to him and left.

"Sir Magnus, I have an request, can you please make Ellie an exception? I don't really want to put her in danger," Auric requested.

Even though he knew he didn't have a say in the matter of the elders, he didn't want to put Ellie in any kind of danger.

"Young master, do not worry. There will be no danger. When they know that you are Lady Evangeline's son, your great-grandfather, the patriarch of the clan, will not put you in any kind of harm. And since young Lady Ellie is with you, they won't put her in any harm either. So there is no need to worry," Magnus assured him.

"But won't they hate me since I am kind of half?" Auric asked with concern.

"Haha, no, young master. There is no need to worry. You are not a half... well, not currently... well, it's very complicated. I will explain later. And even if you were half, they would not do anything to you. Actually, the patriarch... well, let's get to the room first," Magnus said, changing the topic.

"Okay," Auric agreed.

"Oh, by the way, young master, how did you understand what we were talking about? We were talking in Draconic," Magnus inquired.

"Ah, well, I don't know. I just understood," Auric replied vaguely.

"Haha, must be because of your mother's blood," Magnus chuckled, brushing it off.

"Haha," Auric awkwardly laughed in response. There was no way he could reveal the truth.

'Well, this is interesting,' Magnus thought. He knew there was no way Auric would be able to talk in Draconic with just his mother's blood. But seeing the look on Auric's face, he decided to let it go. Maybe he would reveal the truth later.

They reached a room, and Magnus opened the door.

Inside, there was an office-like room.

"Young master, welcome to my humble office. Please have a seat," Magnus gestured.

"Yeah," Auric replied, taking a seat on the sofa in the middle of the room. The room was quite spacious, adorned with various decorations such as monster heads, teeth, swords, and weapons. There was also a beautiful glaive displayed prominently on the wall behind the office table.

The intricate designs captivated him, emanating a sense of danger and mystery.

Magnus gazed at Auric's face and smiled. "Young master, that was bestowed upon me by my master. It is known as the Dragon Glaive, one of the rarest SS-rank weapons. It was discovered in a dungeon 300 years ago and eventually found its way to my master's possession."

"Oh~" Auric's interest was piqued.

"We can discuss it further later. Now let me to introduce myself properly this time," Magnus said, rising from the adjacent sofa he had been seated on. He bowed respectfully before Auric.

"I am Magnus Emberclaw, one of the twelve guardians of the Emberclaw clan."

Auric reciprocated the gesture, standing up and bowing in return. "Nice to meet you too. I am Auric Everlight, son of Earl Avalon Everlight and Evangeline Everlight."

Magnus smiled and nodded in acknowledgement.

Auric noticed that Magnus was still standing, and realizing his own error, he promptly sat back down, prompting Magnus to follow suit.

"Young master, how much do you know about the Emberclaw clan?" Magnus inquired.

"Not much, just that it is one of the four prominent clans of Drakoria," Auric replied.

"Alright, let me enlighten you about the things you should know regarding our clan. The Emberclaw clan was established by its founding patriarch 5,000 years ago, known as Emberus Clawborne."

Auric's eyes widened in surprise. This information was not present in the novel.

"Do you know the legend of the 21 pieces?" Magnus asked, to which Auric nodded in response.

"It's not merely a legend; it's a part of our history. However, since common people don't have access to the concrete evidence supporting it, they simply label it as a legend," Magnus explained.

He then produced a piece of paper and handed it to Auric. The paper contained numerous writings and intricate magic circles. Confusion and curiosity flickered in Auric's eyes as he looked at Magnus, silently questioning the purpose of this document.

"The information I'm about to disclose to you is among the most classified knowledge known only to the top five families of Drakoria, including the royal family. Therefore, I request you to sign this mana contract, which states that in the event of any information leakage, you will bear full responsibility. In certain circumstances, it may even lead to your death."

Auric vigorously nodded and carefully read through the contract. As Magnus had stated, it emphasized the importance of keeping the information confidential. Any breach of the contract, resulting in harm to the clan, Drakoria, or the world, would lead to an unimaginably brutal death, with the soul tormented relentlessly for all eternity. The contract also detailed the circumstances under which it would come into effect.

The mere act of reading the contract sent shivers down Auric's spine. However, it became apparent that as long as he didn't leak the information, nothing adverse would happen and there was no need to worry about it. Thus, he signed the contract.

Looking at Auric, Magnus smiled. It truly required courage to sign such a contract. The breach of this agreement would lead to the most brutal death one can imagine, and even after death, the soul would be tormented endlessly. Many of the descendants did not sign, their fear outweighing their curiosity. They lacked the confidence and believed it would be better to remain unaware until a certain age.

In the Emberclaw Clan, every direct descendant of the main family had the right to know about "it," and Auric could be considered a direct descendant because of his mother.

As Auric signed the contract with his blood, the document burst into red flames and vanished.

Magnus leaned in and began telling Auric about the subject he had just committed to.

"As you know from the legend of the 21 pieces, the hero Tristan blasted his soul with pieces of the heart to seal them, and they were scattered across the world.

To our knowledge, seven of these pieces came to Drakoria and sealed themselves away. Currently, five of them are in possession of five different families, each family safeguarding one piece. As for the remaining two, their whereabouts are still unknown."

Auric took a sharp breath, the revelation sinking in.

Out of the twelve known pieces, he was aware of the locations of three in Drakoria. One was with the royal family, another with the Sky Clan, and the third with the Khata Tribe, hidden deep in the mountains of Lyron. That meant he now knew the whereabouts of six out of the seven pieces that fell in Drakoria.

Auric's heart pounded as he realized that in the future, the Asuras would attempt to steal the pieces currently held by the Sky Clan and the Khanta Tribe. He snapped out of his stupor as Magnus continued.

"Now, let's discuss the five families of Drakoria: Drakeheart, the royal family, Sky Clan, Emberclaw Clan, Odentes Clan, and Ouroboros Clan."

"Except for the royal family, the other families are the four prominent ones in Drakoria. They maintain the balance within the realm and possess considerable power."

"Our clan primarily engages in the business sector of Drakoria. The current patriarch, your great-grandfather, has two descendants: your grandfather and your granduncle. Your grandfather, however, had only one child, your mother, Lady Evangeline," Magnus said solemnly.

"As the sole daughter of the Emberclaw Clan at that time, your mother was engaged to the Odentes family, which she wasn't particularly thrilled about. She expressed her desire to explore the world and make a name for herself among the world rankers."

"However, once the engagement was announced, the family couldn't simply cancel it without tarnishing our reputation and the family's standing.

There is a strict rule within the family that states if any descendant refuses to abide by the family's decisions, they would be banished and receive no support," Magnus explained.

.

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{ A/N: Oh dear, my impending doom is approaching! The end semester exams are lurking around the corner, and to be completely honest, I haven't studied a single thing. The results of the second test of the semester hit me like a slap from a disgruntled octopus.

Now, brace yourselves, for the great exam extravaganza is set to take place from the 15th of June to the 22nd. During this period ( starting from this week) , my upload schedule will be as sporadic as a squirrel on a caffeine high. Three chapters a week shall be the mantra, and I apologize in advance for the temporary disruption in your reading routine.

But fear not, for once these dreaded exams are over, I shall rise from the ashes like a phoenix on steroids! Daily uploads shall resume, and you'll be bombarded with chapters faster than a cheetah chasing its prey.

In this time of academic chaos, I humbly request your unwavering support. Send me your good vibes, your lucky charms, and maybe a barrel of laughter to keep my spirits high. With your encouragement, I shall conquer these exams and emerge victorious!

Wish me luck, hold on to your hats, and let's embark on this hilarious exam rollercoaster together!

{ P.S - behnchd, Exam results dekhte hi gand phat gya baal. Is baar kharab hua to baap ghar se nikal dega... }

On a different note, is there anyone from Assam here? It's always great to connect with people from the same region. India wale to bhot hai { attendance in the comments }

[ Shiroi ]

}

thanx for the powerstones, gifts and golden tickets!

Shoutout to Philippe_Millot, blankaccount, Thexan, DaoistTrgTOS

Themba_Langa, AccidentalGenis, Jade_Rhodes ;], Lumiou, Smiley_Charlie , Silver_Nova , REX777 , Zentle_Man, MIN_Cue, Rajat_Kaushik_7692