"The Hesmaton Kingdom would be forced to capture you with all their might and hand you over to the Necron Empire as a slave."
"So the Hesmaton Kingdom vs. the Nature Tower. Which side would you choose?" Hilda's voice was cold and unfriendly.
"What?" The Headmaster was confused. That was surely not the way he expected this conversation to go.
"You expect me to hand over my son as a slave to the Empire without fighting back?"
"Yes! This is far bigger than any of us. How can we sacrifice hundreds…" The Headmaster was rudely interrupted by his own disciple.
"Master. The Silverton family would stand side by side with the Nature Tower. If you try to enslave my future brother-in-law, then you are my enemy." Jasmine's words were as harsh as her tone. "Additionally, I won't hand over my sister to anyone, especially not unprotected."
"Jasmine, would you prefer the Necron Empire to raid the Hesmaton Kingdom?" the Headmaster argued.
"If the Hesmaton Kingdom had any real worth, then the Necron Empire would be physically present with at least a diplomat. Everyone would know that the Hesmaton Kingdom is just a substitute for them." My tone was the epitome of an insult. "The only reason that isn't the case is that we are so worthless that eradicating us takes too much effort.
"You dare?" The headmaster had jumped to his feet at this insult.
"Come at me!" I also jumped to my feet and took a combat stance.
My actions confused the Headmaster. He wasn't here to fight and couldn't understand why I was suddenly so fixated on fighting him. To be honest, I also had no clue why I was suddenly so aggressive and ready to fight. I guess it just rubbed me the wrong way, and it escalated.
The situation transformed into a staredown between me and the Headmaster where no one was willing to make the first move.
"What if we don't refuse?" Esy spoke the voice of reason. "What about our family and friends here? What will we gain after we complete our 2 years of compulsory military service?"
"I don't know. It is the first time the clause comes into effect. You are the first Dominating affinity Mages that have appeared since the creation of the Hesmaton Kingdom."
"You can't be serious?" Hilda exclaimed.
"I am serious. I couldn't be more serious. I need to hand them to the Necron emissary once he arrives, and until then, I need to teach them as much about magic as possible."
"I say, if it is so immensely important for the Hesmaton Kingdom to send us to the Necron Empire, I want the King himself to kneel down in front of me and beg me to go." My voice was vicious, and the Headmaster's face was pale like snow.
"You want what?" His voice was nothing more than a whisper.
"He can't be that important. After all, he is just a substitute for the Necron Empire. A puppet that has to hand over every dominating affinity mage that appears inside the Kingdom. That can only mean one thing. The Hesmaton Kingdom is laughable and weak."
"You are a vicious person."
"I am vicious?" I laughed, "I show you viciousness!"
I was about to attack the Headmaster for real as Hilda pulled me back.
"Thorus Sweety, you need to cool down. You are fighting the wrong person, and losing your cool will only result in trouble."
"Then who is the person I need to fight? I am not going to the Necron Empire coming from this dump of a kingdom, only to get insulted by the next normal citizen. I am not going anywhere representing this shithole of a kingdom. I want them to make me an offer, not to try and strong-arm me into compelling their wishes. I am part of the Nature Tower by choice, and I am not going to serve the Kingdom because I have a rare affinity."
"No, you are part of the Nature Tower because it is my faction, and you still think I am your mother. You don't want to represent the Kingdom because of Aktun Rafal. And you have no intention to serve anyone without being compensated for your actions according to your own worth," Hilda said, "You want to live a free and unrestrained life and the prospect of serving as a soldier under someone incompetent triggers you into oblivion. There is no need to fight the Headmaster because of this, and there is certainly no need to have the king beg on his knees. You will accompany Esy to the Necron Empire and study at their Academy. You are allowed to kill everyone who stands in your way."
"..." The headmaster wanted to contradict this statement but decided against it as he saw how I calmed down.
"I will make sure that the King has a satisfying reward for you once you return."
"When will the Necron emissary arrive? How much time do we have left, and how long until they return?" Jasmine asked the Headmaster after Hilda calmed me down.
"I don't know! The emissary can take 3 days or 6 months, depending on who they send out to get them." The Headmaster replied.
"What 3 days?" Jasmine exclaimed."How are we supposed to hold the wedding with such an insanely short notice? My parents can't even arrive in such a short timeframe."
"Whose Wedding?" The Headmaster asked dumbly
"The wedding between Thorus Maxima and Esmeralda Silverton, of course." Jasmine said in a matter of fact voice.
"You want to marry them before they are 18?" Hilda's astonished voice spoke for everyone.
"Do you think I let him leave only for some Necron Empire noble to try and steal away his wife? Without an official marriage, he has no legal ground to defend her honor." Jasmine was exasperated at the thought of all their meticulous planning going into the gutter. Only because of some stupid formality.
—
We decided unanimously that if the emissary arrived before the wedding was held, then we would refuse to comply and fight a civil war until we had the chance to hold this wedding. Well, Jasmine decided, and we had to agree, or we would receive a beating.
The next few days were extremely hectic. Between studying the book I got, having lessons about magic from the headmaster, and the preparations for a hasted wedding, I barely had time to sleep, much less train or familiarize myself with my new abilities.
It was a blessing that my dreams did that for me. I trained in the manipulation of my physique while testing the waters of how to manifest the Element of Chaos. I tamed a beast via soul contract and feasted on the souls of my slain enemies.
The Titan physique soon proved to be extremely useful. Jeremy had neither wings nor tail. but with the Titan Physique, that wasn't a problem anymore because the natural armor was able to form fully functioning wings and tails. It was also able to form weapons. Jeremy soon found out that it didn't matter how the natural armor was molded, I still had total control over it.
In my dream, I used natural armor to form rope-like extensions from my hand to bind a Stage 4 Beast, which is equal to a very strong D-Class or a weak C-Class Beast. After I failed to subdue it with the soul contract, I killed it by growing blades all over the ropes and started to retract them. A few gory seconds later, the Beast was sliced into pieces.
The skill Soul Eater is just as the name suggests the power to feast on souls. Souls have no defined appearance. Every soul looks different, but they all look rather misty after the body they inhabit has died.
The feeling that I felt every time I consumed a soul was addictive. The stronger the soul, the more euphoric the feeling.
The soul contract was also straightforward. as long as my soul is stronger than the soul I am trying to submit, I win. It should be obvious, but the higher the disparity between me and the other party, the more control I can leverage.
For example a forceful contract between me and something else where the power balance is only 51-49 in my favor is a lot harder to maintain and to enforce than a contract where the power balance is 60-40 in my favor.
After a lot of trial and error, the following ranking system has been established:
If my opponent has a powerscore of 50-45, they become my equal. The only thing the contract can enforce is their loyalty to me. It basically just prevents betrayal. I have to convince them to do what I want, like every other equal that I met somewhere else.
If my opponent has a powerscore of 45-40 in comparison to me, they rank among the generals. Someone like that has most of its free will remaining and the power to argue with me about critical topics. Their loyalty is unquestionable, and every order can be forcefully enforced by focusing on the contract. They retain their autonomy and can live a normal life.
If the opponent only reaches a powerscore between 40 and 35, they rank among the officers. An officer is the last rank that remains completely normal after being contracted. Unable to refuse or debate orders but able to consciously take the best way in their execution.
Should someone only reach a powerscore between 35 and 30, they rank among the soldiers. They do what they are told and never stray from their parth. If you order them to march from A to B, they will do just that. If you haven't allowed them to take breaks or something similar, they will march on until they collapse and continue as soon as possible, if necessary, until they die. If they get attacked on their way, they will defend themself against their attacks but continue after the battle.
If the powerscore falls below 30, I gain total control over your body. You will do what I say as I say if I say jump down this bridge, you will do so if you want to or not. if the power score falls below 20, I gain control over your mind, and you will only be able to think in my favour. I will become your everything. You will try to please me as best as possible of your own accord, and every order I give you will make you feel euphoric. At this point, you would willingly sacrifice yourself for my pleasure. If the powerscore falls below 10, your soul is instantly consumed, and your body becomes a mindless puppet.