After his discussion with Ashvattha Rana, Jon focused his attention back towards the four aliens gathered around his campfire. Wearing the white collared shirt he planned on wearing to job interviews or to university once or twice a week, Jon sat back down on his designated log, taking a deep breath while clasping his hands together.

He had not had this discussion with Sariel and Shamael quite yet.

Although he did not quite trust the two satanas as much as he did Wilheim and Avahni, Sariel and Shamael were both polite and well-mannered in the limited interactions he had with them.

Jon did not quite have a comprehensive understanding of either their personalities or mannerisms, but given their Mana Cores and manifested abilities, both seemed quite suitable for the Guild that he had in mind.

Considering that Jon had integrated twenty-six fragments out of a potential thirty-six, it meant that he only required ten more fragments before reaching the maximum that a Mortal could integrate.

With the addition of almost a hundred fragments in his possession, most would go to waste until Jon was able to find a Safe Zone and interact with the other participants in the System Introduction.

'Hopefully, one with a human or two,' Jon thought to himself.

Switching to Nain, the language that Wilheim had become near-fluent in, and the one that Sariel and Shamael had started to learn, Jon spoke.

"Tomorrow, I will be leaving North. I will travel through the lakes and forests in search of Dungeons and Safe Zones. I will search for other people, and those who might seek to join my Guild," Jon observed the reactions of the four aliens gathered around the campfire.

Avahni glanced towards Ru Luan Di and Titus Claudius, the former crossing his root-shaped arms as he stared at his summoner, while the latter just gave a small nod in return. After a few seconds, Ru Luan Di just shrugged his shoulders, giving Avahni a wave as she smiled towards her little ginseng king.

Wilheim did not hesitate for a single moment before giving Jon a nod in return. The eighteen-year-old smiled, thankful that the floresiensis desired to join his Guild and accompany him throughout this inversed world.

Sariel and Shamael sent each other a glance, muttering between themselves as they attempted to understand his words. Shamael possessed a Fragment Of Perception, which, if was anything like the Fragment Of Instinct that Jon possessed, increased his memory retention.

'[Perception Maledictum] was the name of the ability, if I am not mistaken.'

The green-skinned and blue-skinned satanas discussed things with each other for a few seconds, before Sariel gestured for Jon to continue.

"This is an open invitation to everyone present. This Guild that I have in mind, will bind us together. Members will protect one another. Offer shelter to one another, and assist in the requisition of fragments, Mana Cores and Mortal Title Fragments for one another."

"Regardless of whether the intent behind it be righteous, or malignant, we will all be tied together through the use of a Fragment Of Contract. Although I would prefer trust and faith to be what ties us together, a Fragment Of Contract should remove whatever doubts anyone has about one another," Jon declared, opening his task reward page and selecting the Fragment Of Contract as one of his task rewards.

A prismatic, diamond-shaped gemstone appeared in the space above Jon's palm. The Fragment Of Contract sat motionlessly in the air for a couple seconds, before falling on the palm beneath it.

Just at a glance, Jon could see that the Fragment Of Contract was hollow, containing some form of strange honeycomb-shaped construct within. The hexagonal internal structure of the fragment was unique, even in comparison to all the other fragments in Jon's possession.

Fragment Of "Contract" discovered.

Would you like to integrate this into your Spear Mana Core or War Mana Core?

Y/N

Jon accepted the integration notice, the other four watching as the Fragment Of Contract melted in the palm of Jon's hand. As if ice left out under the hot sun, the prismatic gemstone melded with the flesh around it, integrating with Jon's War Mana Core.

Wilheim and Avahni were somewhat surprised that Jon integrated the Fragment Of Contract so willingly, the former able to inspect the details of the fragment [With Eyes That Pierce Through The White Winter Plain]. The lutin and floresiensis knew that Jon had exceeded them both in terms of number of integrated fragments.

Jon would normally wait until he found the perfect fragment to integrate into one of the empty slots in his Mana Core. The fact that Jon was just sitting on close to a hundred fragments spoke volumes of his personality and how he evaluated specific fragments over others.

Ru Luan Di had informed Avahni that Jon was still a Mortal at the Fifth Initiation. Although whatever traces of spiritual energy the little ginseng king had left inside Jon had dissipated over time, Ru Luan Di was sure that the human had obtained the full set of universal fragments.

The presence of two pseudo-independent spiritual constructs were unmistakable, and a signature ability of most close-quarter combatants. If Ru Luan Di was being perfectly honest, he would have thought Schwarz Eis or Ashvattha Rana suggest for Jon integrate his Fragment Of Incarnation into a Memento Source Fragment, although knew that the likelihood of him obtaining one was still miniscule all things considered.

Glancing towards the notification in the corner of his vision, Jon read the effect description of his newest ability out loud, once again in Nain hoping everyone would understand him.

[Fragment Of Contract] [Thy Name Shalt Be Written In Blood And War] (War, Contract, Spell, Binding, Buff, Debuff)

Effect (Mortal): Perform a ritual in order to forge a [Crimson War Contract] between oneself and another willing individual. Both parties will exchange a minute portion of their spiritual energy with each other, forging the foundation of the [Crimson War Contract]. Both parties will agree upon the details, forging the essence of the [Crimson War Contract].

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Both parties will seal the [Crimson War Contract] will a blood oath, solidifying the contract in the physical world. The details of the [Crimson War Contract] will be upheld, or specified consequences will be enacted.

[Crimson War Contract]: Enforces a binding agreement between two parties. This effect cannot be resisted. This effect cannot be cleansed. This effect cannot be refined. This effect cannot be transferred.

Lifting his head, Jon could see the different expressions across the faces of everyone present.

Sariel and Shamael whispered something in Vaayli to one another. Jon was not even close to fluency in the language, so could only assume what the two satanas were talking about. The effects of [Thy Name Shalt Be Written In Blood And War] were left open to interpretation, nothing quite specific other than the fact that the [Crimson War Contract] could not be removed after being accepted.

Jon noticed Ru Luan Di pull on the hem of Avahni's jumper, or at least, the jumper that Jon had let her wear while her other clothes were drying. The Liver Of The Ginseng King and Custodian Of The Fire Swarm communicating with their summoner, the green-haired lutin making no outward change in expression other than the occasional nod or shake of her head.

Wilheim on the other hand…

Everyone present, including Jon watched as the floresiensis stood up and walked over towards their human companion. The short, freckled-faced, hazelnut-skinned humanoid nodded his head as he extended his right hand towards Jon.

The human widening his eyes as he tilted his head back to look up at Wilheim. Jon opened his mouth to speak but found that Wilheim was just half-a-step faster than himself.

Wilheim spoke in English, albeit with quite the accent.

"I have given your proposal quite a bit of thought, and in the end, have come to the conclusion that the System Introduction would not nearly be as interesting without you present Jonathan."

"Perhaps it is the longing for more knowledge and experience that I seek. Or like yourself, perhaps it is the desire for greater strength and martial prowess that fuels your ambition. Nevertheless, despite our differences, Jonathan Randall Guilliman, I consider you to be someone I could call a friend," Wilheim declared, his hand unconsciously reaching for the symbol of House Freytal-Isenburg on his chest.

Despite how worn and tattered his once fanciful clothing had become, Wilheim still tried his best to maintain the glorious heraldry of House Freytal-Isenburg on his blazer. Splotches of faded, purple-coloured blood could be seen across the maroon jacket, alongside several holes where objects or weapons had slashed or pierced through the piece of clothing.

The symbol that Jon found Wilheim staring at over the past couple months. An enormous, grand castle adorned with numerous golden-coloured battlements and ramparts was stitched over the breast pocket. Surrounding it, multi-coloured flowers and rose-petals laid at the bottom of each wall, each appearing somewhat faded, although still noticeable up close.

Jon did not notice just how detailed the stitching was until Wilheim was standing right in front of him. With how short the floresiensis was, the image of his House was eye level with Jon sitting down, the human glancing between the blazonry on his chest, and the hand extended towards him.

The eighteen-year-old just grinned, extending his own hand towards Wilheim's, clasping his much larger hand around that of his alien companion. The loud, but picturesque sound of two hands locking together echoed throughout the riverbank.

"I am proud to call someone like yourself my friend Wilheim Freytal-Isenburg," Jon replied in Pluntian, causing the floresiensis to smile in response.

The atmosphere around the campfire was removed of whatever tension existed between the five of them. Two individuals of Races that had never once interacted with one another had found common ground, sitting around an open campfire while sharing their food and cultures with each other.

Avahni seemed to ignore the words of Ru Luan Di and Titus Claudius, her mind made up as the green-haired lutin strode over towards Jon and Wilheim, placing her hand on top of their own, smiling as she nodded vigorously.

"Don't leave me out of this! Jon is the first friend I ever made after arriving in the System Introduction, and Wilheim is the second! If you two are planning on exploring the small realm, then you cannot possibly think of leaving me behind?" Avahni said in Pluntian, causing Wilheim to beam on the spot, and for Jon to smile while nodding head.

"Apologies Avahni. Why the two of us would ever think of leaving you behind is an outrageous blunder on our part. The group would not be the same without the presence of your smile," Jon replied in near-perfect Nain resulting in the lutin to grin, placing her hands on her hips with an overexaggerated nod.

"You are absolutely right Jon! The strength of the group is greater than the strength of the individual, and I am an entire group in of myself! Ru Luan Di, Titus Claudius, Metzli, Xochitl, and even Huo Liyu whom I have yet to summon back will make us stronger than anything else in this inversed world!" Avahni declared while pointing her free hand towards the sky.

The green-haired woman glanced towards Sariel and Shamael, both of whom were still sitting off towards the side, somewhat awkwardly if the lutin was being completely honest.

"Sariel! Shamael! C'mon! You two are included in this too right Jon?" Avahni asked, watching as Jon nodded, a few strands of loose hair falling across his brow.

Avahni gestured for the pair of them to come closer, and Sariel, with a faint dark-green blush scattered across her cheeks nodded, before standing up and walking towards the group. The female satanas could not help but shift her gaze between Jon and Avahni, just now noticing how tall the human was in comparison to the rest of them.

Shamael on the other hand, glanced towards his sister with a surprised expression on his face, before rushing to follow Sariel, not wanting to be left behind. The five of them all gathered around the log that that Jon had claimed as his chair, not noticing shivers creeping up the hair-shaped roots on the neck of the little ginseng king.

Ru Luan Di could not help but lift his head, turning towards the tree line and peering at it with a strange expression on his face.

Ashvattha Rana too noticed something through the echoes of foreign vibrations coursing through her extended roots. The bodhi tree shifting some of her leaves and branches to focus on the source of the sound.

Jon felt the corners of his mouth turn upwards into the shape of a smile.

'Everything is going according to-.' His thoughts coming to a halt as he instinctively lifted his head towards the tree line, trying to gaze past the shadows and shrubs that obscured his vision.

Jon felt his eye twitch and his [Monstrous Intuition] scream at him as he lunged forward, placing himself between Sariel and the approaching danger. Chalk white pauldrons manifesting on his shoulders and biceps as he shouted the Spell contained within his summoned armour.

"Thou is the white dawn which pierces through the ash and blood. Thou is the pure frost which halts the growing darkness. Thou is the chalk shield that prevents night from encroaching upon thy walls!".

Glaucus hummed with a reddish-silver spiritual energy. War natured spiritual energy enveloped the entirety of Jon's figure. His breath hitched, feeling the familiar emanations of spiritual energy far off in the distance.

His Minerva-Sagacity Eyes caught the faintest glimpses of dark yellow, as a horrifyingly dark-yellow beam of putrid corruption pierced through the shadowed tree line, crashing straight into his spiritual shield of war natured spiritual energy.

The sheer amount of spiritual energy contained within that single ability was enough to shatter his Heretical Chalk Pauldrons, piercing straight through his shoulder blade and out the other side.

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