A Pact With Hades
Could it be the same person? There was a high chance that man followed us all the way to the city and the mansion right after.
But I couldn't be sure of it. The shadow ran away before I could see anything.
I went back to the mansion and called Yula and Julie for a private conversation. We decided to talk outside in the garden.
There was no one there, and that's why I chose that area. The people working inside the mansion could hear it if we were to talk inside, and I didn't trust them.
We sat on a bench in a secluded part of the garden. No one was around us.
"So you saw who it was or not?" Yula asked me.
"No, I didn't. It happened fast. But remember what happened that night? It could be linked," I said.
Julie looked lost in the conversation. She had no idea about the tavern incident.
Yula, on the other hand, looked concerned. "There's a high chance this is connected, and if it is, then we are in some trouble here. If they find out we have weapons inside the carriage, they will want to steal us. You know, this ain't cheap."
That was in my mind, too. Weapons were expensive, especially the high-quality ones Steward wanted for his warriors. If the person stalking us was a bandit — a high chance it was — we could get killed and robbed afterwards.
I didn't know what to do. In fact, there was nothing we could do. Lucius couldn't help us, and we had to leave his mansion right after getting the weapons.
The village needed us to return with the weapons and Julie as fast as possible. We couldn't lose time waiting for the stalker to leave or forget about us.
"Can we fight against the bandits if they come?" I said, moving my gaze to Julie. "Now we have her with us."
Julie was the one who answered. "I will certainly help you. Don't worry."
The fact she was there, and she was a powerful mage, made me less anxious about the events happening.
We returned to the mansion, each one of us doing what we wanted to pass the time.
No one said a word to Lucius or any of the people in the mansion. We didn't trust them completely.
During the night, Lucius called us for dinner. The table was fart with all kinds of foods. I ate a lot, savoring the moment. It was not everyday I had that much food to eat.
He also offered us drinks. The wine was pretty good, and while drinking it, I recalled the mission Thor gave me.
'Maybe I can use the strawberry seeds I have to make a strawberry mead.'
I went to my room to rest after dinner. My head was dizzy, and the wine made me sleepy. The room Lucius gave me was incredible.
It was so big it had a unique balcony, a bathroom, and a closet for clothes. When I jumped on the bed, I felt like my body was floating on the clouds.
There was something I had to do before going to bed, and that was to lock the door and the windows. That was the only way I would sleep.
What happened next was odd, strange, and it even made me question my sanity.
I had a dream. That alone wouldn't be something to concern me, but the dream was so strange it did.
The dream started with me walking through the woods, and it looked like the same woods surrounding the mansion I was staying. I knew it because it was exactly like the area where I saw the shadow the other day.
Someone showed up out of nowhere. It was a skinny man with long black hair. His eyes were green, and he wore a long dark robe.
"Don't freak out, young man," he said while staring deep into my soul. "I am Hades."
"Hades?"
After hearing his name, I knew why the dream felt so real. There was more to it. It was not just a dream.
"The God of Death, Hades. I've heard you have a way to enter the realm where the other gods meet," he said.
"Why does it matter to you?" I asked.
I was expecting Hades to not answer me, but he went straight to the point. "I'm trapped in a different dimension. You may help me get out of here in the future."
"And why should I help you? What can I gain from it?"
Hades knew what I wanted. "You can get power, way more than what these stupid gods are giving you. They are just playing with you, using your faith to get stronger. I'll give you true power, but it comes with a cost. They call me the God of Death for a reason."
How did he know the other gods were giving me power? I've never talked to him, and he couldn't enter the dimension where all the gods were. Could he read minds?
"To make you believe me, I'll give you a special skill that I created. This skill is only passed to a few selected individuals. Just so that you know, you are the third person to get it in… 5000 years or something," Hades said.
Hades walked toward me. I couldn't move. It was like an invisible force restrained my movements. He touched my forehead, and a dark energy came from his hand.
[Dark Devotion (SSS Skill)]
[Death is a natural part of life, but those who can harness its power are among the strongest. You can drain some energy from your fallen enemies and get stronger.]
[There are limitations to what you can drain, and the more you level up this skill, the better you will get.]
He gave me a legendary skill, just like that, for free. It was his way of making me work with him.
"I can give you more if you start working for me. What do you think?" Hades said.
It was tempting. Hell, it was really tempting.
"Will this make me unable to work for other gods?" I asked.
Hades smiled. "No, not at all. But you can't talk about me to them."
I wanted power. That was the day I made a pact with the God of Death, and for me, it was worth it.