Contract

Hey folks, listen up! This guy, let me tell you, he's not messing around with carriages anymore. Ever since he hit level 1, he's been zipping around like there's no tomorrow. With his [Lightning Flesh] skill always on, he's basically a human bullet train! However, he prefers zooming straight through forests to train his reaction time without relying on any fancy nerve acceleration tricks.

Now, even though his Lightning Flesh power is like an endless fuel tank, he's not a machine. His body still takes a beating over time, despite the durability boost from the spell. So yeah, he's gotta take breaks and walk it off every now and then.

But here's the kicker – his body is getting tougher by the day thanks to the always active [Lightning Flesh]. So, give it a month or two, and he might just turn into a real-life locomotive, chugga-chugga-choo-choo! Ahem Sorry, got carried away there.

Anyway, back to the grind. Now that he's a level 1 wizard, he's thinking about his next moves. First off, he's gotta keep his progress under wraps, even after that two-year apprentice deadline. 'Cause let me tell ya, only a divine talent could hit level 1 in that timeframe.

See, every six months, the Lightning Magic Tower takes in 500 apprentices, but out of that bunch, only a tiny handful – like 1 or 2, maybe 3 if you're lucky – make it to level 1 after two years. So that's, what, 3 to 5 level 1 wizards per year out of a thousand hopefuls? Crazy odds, right?

Oh, and here's the kicker: Out of those 3 to 5 folks who make it to level 1, only one of them is a true commoner from the outside world. The rest? They're all wizard kids, born and raised in the tower, getting all sorts of perks from their folks. So yeah, to be "the one" who makes it, you gotta be one heck of a talent. You catch my drift?

So, moving on to the next plan. He's thinking about checking out the actual contract the magic tower gives to those apprentices who don't level up. If it's not too binding, he's considering sticking around. I mean, who'd wanna give up access to that sweet treasure trove of knowledge in the tower's library, right? Heck, he'd even be willing to pay extra for it, even when he's no longer officially an apprentice.

But here's the catch: He's worried that the contract might be, like, magically binding to his soul or something. You know, like those level 1 wizard contracts. But hey, there's a chance the apprentice contract isn't as hardcore since they're pretty much disposable to the tower.

So, he heads to the teleportation circle that zaps him straight to the magic tower, sending his mana to his badge. And poof! With a flash of bright light, he's outta there, leaving the forest behind.

At the mission hall, he hands over the mission item – a swift tiger's fang. After snagging his rewards, he decides to grill them about the deets of that apprentice contract.

So, the contract does not latch onto his soul. Whew, dodged a bullet there... or so he thought. Turns out, that contract may not latch onto his soul, but it's still got its hooks in his mana heart. Yup, breach the contract and boom! Say goodbye to your mana heart, or worse, your life.

So, it seems like he's gotta bid farewell to the magic tower, right? Wrong! Turns out, he's got a sneaking suspicion that his [Thousand Faces] ability from [Hidden Boss] might just be the loophole he needs. That's why he's suddenly all about boosting that progress bar like there's no tomorrow.

Sorry to get your hopes up, folks. No way is he leaving the magic tower. I mean, come on, picture this: a regular ol' apprentice, just chilling at one of the tower's small businesses, secretly a top-tier level 1 wizard! How awesome is that?

Sure, it's a bit cliché, but hey, it's cool. And as for the whole convenient timing of filling that [Hidden Boss] progress bar right before facing the boot? Or the hunch that [Thousand Faces] can outsmart the contract? Ha, what did you expect? This is a wish-fulfillment tale – everything's gotta be smooth sailing for him.

Ahem... anyway, he's currently holed up in his room, staring at his status window.

************************

Name: Zack

Age: 11/100

Occupation: Apprentice wizard

Mana: 60/60 (3556/3556)

Overt Talent: [Low Mana Manipulation Correction], [Low Mana Sensory Correction]

Hidden Talent: [Limitless Mana Well], [Advanced Mana Manipulation Correction], [Advanced Mana Sensory Correction], [Advanced Intelligence Correction] 

Hidden Boss Abilities: [Hidden Strength]

HBP: 1

HB Progress Bar: 0/100% 

Expand Hidden Boss abilities Store? yes/no

************************

He expanded the Hidden Boss abilities store. 

************************

[Hidden Boss]

HBP: 1 (Hidden Boss Points - use this to redeem one [Ability])

HB Progress Bar: 0/100% (fill this progress bar to 100% to get another HBP)

[Thousand Faces]

Old, young, men, women, tall, short, fat, thin, handsome, ugly, fugly are all me.

[Paralyzed Face]

Throw all the things life has to offer right at my face and you can see my won't change *dead fish eyes…

Scroll down to see more…

************************

He wasted no time and quickly snagged [Thousand Faces]. And let me tell you, as soon as he got it, he felt like he could switch up his whole identity on a whim. Yep, you heard that right – not just his body, but his entire identity.

Now, what exactly makes up a wizard's identity? It's all about their mana wave signature. See, every wizard's got their own unique mana signature. When mana gets sucked into a wizard's mana heart, it gets influenced by the wizard's soul, giving it that signature touch.

Changing that signature? Forget about it. It's like trying to swap out your soul itself. And it's not just wizards – everyone in this world with mana has their own signature. Wizards and magic knights can leave traces of their signature in the environment when they use their mana.

So, for the crooks out there, their only option is to wipe away their mana residue after they pull off a job. But that's easier said than done – only high-level wizards or fancy artifacts can pull that off. That's why law enforcement not only relies on physical descriptions but also mana signatures to nab criminals.

Level 1 wizards or certain artifacts can spot a person's mana signature. And most magic contracts bind wizards based on their mana signature. But guess what? If he can change his mana signature, those contracts are toast!

With this trick up his sleeve, he can lay low behind the tower for way longer. Plus, he's itching to sign up as a tower member ASAP. Every apprentice gets the chance to do it, and it's got some sweet perks. Like, hello, borrowing some of the juiciest aka modified spells from the tower's library? Count him in!

So get this, the contract he's looking at has the same length as the working contract for apprentices who couldn't level up to 1 – a whopping 40 years. And get this, if they don't make the cut and become level 1 wizards, that contract gets bumped up to the working contract automatically.

But here's the twist: if an apprentice does level up, that contract gets upgraded to the level 1 wizard contract, which is only 20 years. But here's the kicker – once you sign that library member's contract, you're locked in. No backing out. So you better think long and hard before putting pen to paper.

Off to the mission hall he goes, heading straight to the contract section. Yep, you heard right – gotta go to the mission hall to sign a contract. It's way quieter over there compared to the hustle and bustle of the mission section. Makes sense, considering it's still three months away from the usual enrollment time, which also happens to be when some apprentices get the boot from the tower.

The receptionist calls over a staff member, who guides him to a quiet room in the back. And guess what they bust out? A parchment swirling with magic – gotta be the magic contract, right?

The staff opens it up and runs through the requirements, benefits, and consequences. Time to read the fine print and make some big decisions.

The requirements are pretty standard stuff, like not joining any other organizations while you're an apprentice, keeping the tower's layout a secret, and all that jazz. Oh, and you gotta renew the contract once that two-year deadline hits.

Now, onto the good stuff – the benefits. You get to chow down on some magic beast meat every day, check out more lucrative missions at the mission hall, and more. But the real kicker? The ability to browse and borrow those sweet advanced spells from the library.

After scanning through the contract with a fine-tooth comb, he gives the staff the nod. The staff tells him to send his mana to the parchment, and boom! It starts glowing with this cool blue light and sends a blue light into his mana heart. He's not surprised though – they briefed him on this before he signed on the dotted line.

Next up, the staff tweaks his badge to update his info and perks according to the contract. With his shiny new badge in hand, he thanks the staff and heads back to his room.

Sitting on his bed, he checks out his mana heart. He signed using his original mana signature – gotta keep it consistent, especially since his original one's already in the tower's database from when he got his badge. Smart move, if you ask me.

Near his mana nucleus, he spots this hovering blue light ball. It's like there's this faint link to it, almost like a shackle. Kinda makes him uncomfortable, but he brushes it off.

Checking out his status window, he notices something new – a whole new attribute called "contract." Looks like things are getting official now.

************************

Name: Zack

Age: 11/100

Occupation: Apprentice wizard

Contract: [Lightning Magic Tower - Member]

Mana: 60/60 (3556/3556)

Overt Talent: [Low Mana Manipulation Correction], [Low Mana Sensory Correction]

Hidden Talent: [Limitless Mana Well], [Advanced Mana Manipulation Correction], [Advanced Mana Sensory Correction], [Advanced Intelligence Correction] 

Hidden Boss Abilities: [Hidden Strength] [Thousand Faces]

HBP: 0

HB Progress Bar: 0/100% 

Expand Hidden Boss abilities Store? yes/no

************************

Since that pesky light ball is part of him now, he decides to give it the ol' invisible treatment using [Hidden Strength]. Lo and behold, his status window updates accordingly. 

************************

Name: Zack

Age: 11/100 (300)

Occupation: Apprentice wizard

Contract: -

Hidden Contract: [Lightning Magic Tower - Member]

Mana: 60/60 (3556/3556)

Overt Talent: [Low Mana Manipulation Correction], [Low Mana Sensory Correction]

Hidden Talent: [Limitless Mana Well], [Advanced Mana Manipulation Correction], [Advanced Mana Sensory Correction], [Advanced Intelligence Correction] 

Hidden Boss Abilities: [Hidden Strength] [Thousand Faces]

HBP: 0

HB Progress Bar: 0/100% 

Expand Hidden Boss abilities Store? yes/no

************************

But hey, just because he's hidden the contract doesn't mean it's null and void. He's got this nagging feeling that if he ever breaks it, that light ball is gonna make his mana heart go boom.

Time to put [Thousand Faces] to the test. He changes up his mana signature and bam! That shackle feeling from the contract disappears. Jackpot! Changing it back, and yep, the connection's back.

Hot damn! Now he's got some options. With a different signature, he could probably shove that light ball right out of his body and maybe even destroy it. But he's not about to risk tipping off the tower. So for now, he's gonna keep that light ball cozy inside his mana heart.