Ezra
Powered up by the nature of his class, which increased his Agility and Endurance when on the shore of a large body of water, Ezra Walker cut through a small swarm of demon crabs with his sword, blocking claw attacks from the monsters the size of German Shepards with the shield in his left hand.
Then, when all the crab demons were dead, he looked around and found he’d somehow been separated from his squad. Focusing on his senses, he could hear the sounds of them fighting one beach over, and he was about to go join them, but then he noticed a woman seemingly sunbathing on the beach a little inland from where he’d been fighting the crabs.
She was beautiful, with blond hair and blue eyes like him, and she was wearing a grayish green gown that, along with a dark azure fingerless glove on her left hand and her beauty, made her look like a goddess. She was also looking at him, and, when their eyes met, he couldn’t think about anyone other than her.
A mysterious stranger has sent you a contract request.
Terms:
You may not reveal any secrets about the mysterious stranger to anyone for any reason You may not take any actions with the intention to harm the mysterious stranger You must follow all the orders of the mysterious stranger
Punishment:
Silent Pain
Do you accept?
Yes/No
The cloud of lust dominating his brain faded and Ezra realized he’d fallen into a trap.
“Answer all of my questions honestly.” The woman stood up and smiled at him as she walked a bit closer, her bare feet immaculate on the rough sand. “And you can relax. There is a very low chance I will kill you, at least today.”
She walked up to be only two feet away from him and, even though she was shorter than he was, he felt dominated, her aura was far stronger than even Diana’s.
“You are Ezra Walker, the leader of the third legion of the Territory of Florin, correct?”
He considered lying to test what Silent Pain in the punishment section of the contract meant, but he quickly decided against it. “Yes.”
“And who do you serve?”
“Diana Alvaro, the leader of—” Pain started wracking his entire body and he fell to his knees, the pain in his chest making it hard to breathe and impossible to raise his voice to more than a whisper. “The Anderson Family of the Five Families Alliance.”
The pain stopped and the woman looked down at him, face expressionless. “What are your intentions toward Diana Alvaro?”
“To marry her.” Ezra took several deep breaths, very much desiring to never feel such pain again and thus willing to tell this mysterious woman anything.
The woman squatted down so they were at eye level. “Why?”
“She’s the most powerful human on Earth and the most likely to become Sovereign of the planet. Were I to marry her, I’d have power over the entire planet.”
“What are the Anderson Family’s intentions when it comes to Diana?”
A part of Ezra was wondering why the woman was so interested in Diana, but there were a million possible reasons and he felt the pain would likely return if he delayed answering too long. “As far as I know, peaceful coexistence. The family is aware how much more beneficial it is to be high up in a large force in the universe compared to the head of a small force.”
“Alright then.” The woman stood up and turned to leave. “Try not to hurt yourself too badly in the near future.” Then, with that warning she took a step and disappeared, completely gone from Ezra’s senses.
* * *
James
James Robinson walked into his own dwelling after a hard day’s work fighting monsters to find a blond haired blue eyed woman sitting on his couch, wearing a beautiful gown and eating his food, specifically potato chips.
He immediately summoned his spear from his spatial storage ring, but then he noticed how pretty the woman was and attacking her seemed like the dumbest idea ever so he put the spear back.
A mysterious stranger has sent you a contract request.
Terms:
You may not reveal any secrets about the mysterious stranger to anyone for any reason You may not take any actions with the intention to harm the mysterious stranger You must follow all the orders of the mysterious stranger
Punishment:
Silent Pain
Do you accept?
Yes/No
He accepted without thinking and, as the cloud of lust faded, he started to grow scared.
“Answer all of my questions honestly.” The woman put another chip in her mouth and smiled at him. “Also, take a seat.”
She gestured at the big comfy chair opposite his couch and James didn't risk not sitting down.
“You are James Robinson, the leader of the second legion of the Territory of Florin?”
“Yes.” James quickly nodded.
“But your true loyalties lie with the United State’s Smith Family, correct?”
James felt his heart start to beat even faster. “No.”
Pain wracked his body and he quickly changed his answer, whispering, “Yes.”
The woman just watched him for several seconds, eating a few more chips. “Good.”
Then she paused again, telekinetically grabbing a can of soda from his kitchen, popping it open, and bringing it into her right hand before taking a sip. “What are your intentions toward Diana Alvaro?”
“Marriage.” James tried to calm his heart, willing to tell this mysterious woman anything to not feel such pain again.
The woman took another sip of her drink. “Why?”
“She’s the most powerful person on the planet, the most likely to become Sovereign of Earth. Were I to marry her, my future advancement would be easier.”
“What are the Smith Family’s intentions when it comes to Diana?”
James wasn't even thinking about why the woman was asking these questions, as it was obvious. Diana was the most powerful person on the planet and this woman was trying to figure out the relationship between her and the other human forces. Whether this was good or bad for Diana, he had no idea. He just didn’t want to hurt again.
“As far as I know, peaceful coexistence, but I wouldn’t know for sure. I’m just a peripheral member, and the leadership of the family are mostly arrogant assholes.”
The woman smiled at that. “Thank you.” She then stood, telekinetically grabbed three more bags of chips from his kitchen along with a whole set of soda cans, put the food all under her arms, and then took a step and disappeared, completely vanishing from his senses.
* * *
Francis
Francis Davies, practicing his Telekinesis skill with three coins floating in the air in front of him, was walking home from a long day’s work when he saw someone sitting on a bench in the park near his dwelling.
She was pretty, with long blond hair, a thin waist, and absolutely mesmerizing blue eyes. As he looked into them, he couldn't help but compare her to his wife when they’d first met 20 years before, and she didn’t come up short.
A mysterious stranger has sent you a contract request.
Terms:
You may not reveal any secrets about the mysterious stranger to anyone for any reason You may not take any actions with the intention to harm the mysterious stranger You must follow all the orders of the mysterious stranger
Punishment:
Silent Pain
Do you accept?
Yes/No
Anyone who reminded him of his wife couldn’t be bad, so he accepted, but then the lust faded and he realized something very bad was about to happen, the coins he was levitating falling to the ground.
“Come sit here and then answer my questions honestly.” The woman patted the other half of the bench next to her and Francis moved to sit down, utterly terrified.
“Please, if you are going to do something to me, leave my wife and daughter out of it.”
The woman raised an eyebrow at him and then laughed. “Relax, Mr. Davies. I’m not out to hurt anyone, just to find information. Sure, if you don’t answer my questions honestly, you’ll experience the worst pain of your life. But, if you answer honestly, nothing bad will happen to you. And, no matter what, I’m not going to go after your family.”
Francis nodded, aware that in his muddled state he'd probably revealed more than he'd needed to, possibly putting his wife and daughter in more danger in the future, and he felt ashamed.
“First question, you are Francis Davies, head administrator of the Territory of Florin?”
Francis nodded. “Yes.”
“Second question. Who do you serve?”
“Diana Alvaro.”
“Oh.” The woman raised one of her eyebrows again. “That’s a first today. I questioned both the legion commanders in the area and they work for other families.”
“We’re aware.”
“Yet you keep them around?”
“Mr. Li only confirmed his suspicions a few months ago, telling both me and Ms. Alvaro. They aren’t malicious as far as we can tell, just opportunistic, so we’ve continued to make use of their talents. Was our assumption correct?”
“Yes.” The woman nodded her head, either marking her as a human from any of the majority countries which used nodding as a sign of agreement, or maybe someone from the Daybreak Empire as, when it came to the cultures of the invasion forces, he was pretty sure that was the only one where nodding had the same meaning.
“Interesting. I gave myself away a bit there, didn’t I?” The woman smiled at him and her appearance changed, becoming a beautiful young woman with dark brown hair and eyes, the same figure as before, and features that made him think she was bi-racial. “I haven’t been interacting with the outside world much since the tutorial ended, spending more time with our planet’s hidden D rank rather than other earthlings, and it seems I’ve gotten a little rusty.”
She held out her right hand, which Francis shook. “My name is Li Mila. It’s nice to meet you.”
Francis felt his heart start to beat faster, but from excitement not fear. He didn’t recognized her, as he hadn’t been watching the news on his vacation, but Li Mila was Li Dai-Zhao’s granddaughter and a woman who used to date and spy on Diana’s younger brother.
She was supposed to be dead, killed by the Chinese Communist Party, but, if she was alive, she would likely be an ally. And, if that was the case, given the powers she’d shown, and the fact she was Li Dai-Zhao’s blood, of course she’d check out everyone around her grandfather and almost sister-in-law before meeting them.
“Why do you serve Diana?” The woman’s form changed again, back to the blond haired caucasian beauty.
“She helped get my daughter back to me, rescuing her from a bad situation, so she has my loyalty just for that, but the more important thing is her personality. She’s not the type of person who would pursue power in the old world and she’s smart enough to know what she should do herself and what she should delegate. She’s also constantly working to improve herself.”
Mila nodded, likely not needing an explanation for why those things were important.
“Alright. Final question.” She smiled in a friendly and relaxed manner. “Why do you wear a goatee that makes you look like a count with six fingers?”
Francis couldn’t help laughing, remembering Diana asking him the same thing half a year before. “My wife likes it.”
“Good reason.” Mila stood from the bench. “I’ll be going then. Accept the position I’m offering within the next half hour.”
Li Mila has offered you the position of servant on behalf of the Heavenly Spark Soul King.
Will you accept?
Yes/No
“Um, what is this?” Francis was now scared again, as it seemed Dai-Zhao’s granddaughter might have different intentions than helping Florin.
“Functionally for you, just a boon.” The woman smiled at him. “Accepting that will immediately increase the effectiveness of both your Soul and Attunement stats while also increasing your affinity with all Laws.
“The Heavenly Spark Soul King is an injured D rank crafter who’s been hiding on Earth since before the integration, and he’s now ready to start making his move. Within twenty-four hours, Diana will accept him as her overlord. Then, within the next two weeks, all the Pillars of Conquest on Earth will be captured and all human forces will have surrendered to Diana. I personally will make sure of that.”
“What if Diana doesn’t capitulate?” Francis felt scared, but Li Mila just laughed.
“Oh, you don’t have to worry about that, Mr. Davies. Diana has already met with the Heavenly Spark Soul King quite a few times. Sending me over to finalize the deal is just to formalize the arrangement. And you’ll start seeing the benefits of having a D rank overlord almost immediately, so look forward to feeling safe from monsters within your own Territory.”
Please only read at https://www.royalroad.com/fiction/48991/shadow-of-the-soul-king and https://www.scribblehub.com/series/461729/shadow-of-the-soul-king/. It is free and anywhere else this story has been stolen.
Ezra
Powered up by the nature of his class, which increased his Agility and Endurance when on the shore of a large body of water, Ezra Walker cut through a small swarm of demon crabs with his sword, blocking claw attacks from the monsters the size of German Shepards with the shield in his left hand.
Then, when all the crab demons were dead, he looked around and found he’d somehow been separated from his squad. Focusing on his senses, he could hear the sounds of them fighting one beach over, and he was about to go join them, but then he noticed a woman seemingly sunbathing on the beach a little inland from where he’d been fighting the crabs.
She was beautiful, with blond hair and blue eyes like him, and she was wearing a grayish green gown that, along with a dark azure fingerless glove on her left hand and her beauty, made her look like a goddess. She was also looking at him, and, when their eyes met, he couldn’t think about anyone other than her.
A mysterious stranger has sent you a contract request.
Terms:
You may not reveal any secrets about the mysterious stranger to anyone for any reason You may not take any actions with the intention to harm the mysterious stranger You must follow all the orders of the mysterious stranger
Punishment:
Silent Pain
Do you accept?
Yes/No
The cloud of lust dominating his brain faded and Ezra realized he’d fallen into a trap.
“Answer all of my questions honestly.” The woman stood up and smiled at him as she walked a bit closer, her bare feet immaculate on the rough sand. “And you can relax. There is a very low chance I will kill you, at least today.”
She walked up to be only two feet away from him and, even though she was shorter than he was, he felt dominated, her aura was far stronger than even Diana’s.
“You are Ezra Walker, the leader of the third legion of the Territory of Florin, correct?”
He considered lying to test what Silent Pain in the punishment section of the contract meant, but he quickly decided against it. “Yes.”
“And who do you serve?”
“Diana Alvaro, the leader of—” Pain started wracking his entire body and he fell to his knees, the pain in his chest making it hard to breathe and impossible to raise his voice to more than a whisper. “The Anderson Family of the Five Families Alliance.”
The pain stopped and the woman looked down at him, face expressionless. “What are your intentions toward Diana Alvaro?”
“To marry her.” Ezra took several deep breaths, very much desiring to never feel such pain again and thus willing to tell this mysterious woman anything.
The woman squatted down so they were at eye level. “Why?”
“She’s the most powerful human on Earth and the most likely to become Sovereign of the planet. Were I to marry her, I’d have power over the entire planet.”
“What are the Anderson Family’s intentions when it comes to Diana?”
A part of Ezra was wondering why the woman was so interested in Diana, but there were a million possible reasons and he felt the pain would likely return if he delayed answering too long. “As far as I know, peaceful coexistence. The family is aware how much more beneficial it is to be high up in a large force in the universe compared to the head of a small force.”
“Alright then.” The woman stood up and turned to leave. “Try not to hurt yourself too badly in the near future.” Then, with that warning she took a step and disappeared, completely gone from Ezra’s senses.
* * *
James
James Robinson walked into his own dwelling after a hard day’s work fighting monsters to find a blond haired blue eyed woman sitting on his couch, wearing a beautiful gown and eating his food, specifically potato chips.
He immediately summoned his spear from his spatial storage ring, but then he noticed how pretty the woman was and attacking her seemed like the dumbest idea ever so he put the spear back.
A mysterious stranger has sent you a contract request.
Terms:
You may not reveal any secrets about the mysterious stranger to anyone for any reason You may not take any actions with the intention to harm the mysterious stranger You must follow all the orders of the mysterious stranger
Punishment:
Silent Pain
Do you accept?
Yes/No
He accepted without thinking and, as the cloud of lust faded, he started to grow scared.
“Answer all of my questions honestly.” The woman put another chip in her mouth and smiled at him. “Also, take a seat.”
She gestured at the big comfy chair opposite his couch and James didn't risk not sitting down.
“You are James Robinson, the leader of the second legion of the Territory of Florin?”
“Yes.” James quickly nodded.
“But your true loyalties lie with the United State’s Smith Family, correct?”
James felt his heart start to beat even faster. “No.”
Pain wracked his body and he quickly changed his answer, whispering, “Yes.”
The woman just watched him for several seconds, eating a few more chips. “Good.”
Then she paused again, telekinetically grabbing a can of soda from his kitchen, popping it open, and bringing it into her right hand before taking a sip. “What are your intentions toward Diana Alvaro?”
“Marriage.” James tried to calm his heart, willing to tell this mysterious woman anything to not feel such pain again.
The woman took another sip of her drink. “Why?”
“She’s the most powerful person on the planet, the most likely to become Sovereign of Earth. Were I to marry her, my future advancement would be easier.”
“What are the Smith Family’s intentions when it comes to Diana?”
James wasn't even thinking about why the woman was asking these questions, as it was obvious. Diana was the most powerful person on the planet and this woman was trying to figure out the relationship between her and the other human forces. Whether this was good or bad for Diana, he had no idea. He just didn’t want to hurt again.
“As far as I know, peaceful coexistence, but I wouldn’t know for sure. I’m just a peripheral member, and the leadership of the family are mostly arrogant assholes.”
The woman smiled at that. “Thank you.” She then stood, telekinetically grabbed three more bags of chips from his kitchen along with a whole set of soda cans, put the food all under her arms, and then took a step and disappeared, completely vanishing from his senses.
* * *
Francis
Francis Davies, practicing his Telekinesis skill with three coins floating in the air in front of him, was walking home from a long day’s work when he saw someone sitting on a bench in the park near his dwelling.
She was pretty, with long blond hair, a thin waist, and absolutely mesmerizing blue eyes. As he looked into them, he couldn't help but compare her to his wife when they’d first met 20 years before, and she didn’t come up short.
A mysterious stranger has sent you a contract request.
Terms:
You may not reveal any secrets about the mysterious stranger to anyone for any reason You may not take any actions with the intention to harm the mysterious stranger You must follow all the orders of the mysterious stranger
Punishment:
Silent Pain
Do you accept?
Yes/No
Anyone who reminded him of his wife couldn’t be bad, so he accepted, but then the lust faded and he realized something very bad was about to happen, the coins he was levitating falling to the ground.
“Come sit here and then answer my questions honestly.” The woman patted the other half of the bench next to her and Francis moved to sit down, utterly terrified.
“Please, if you are going to do something to me, leave my wife and daughter out of it.”
The woman raised an eyebrow at him and then laughed. “Relax, Mr. Davies. I’m not out to hurt anyone, just to find information. Sure, if you don’t answer my questions honestly, you’ll experience the worst pain of your life. But, if you answer honestly, nothing bad will happen to you. And, no matter what, I’m not going to go after your family.”
Francis nodded, aware that in his muddled state he'd probably revealed more than he'd needed to, possibly putting his wife and daughter in more danger in the future, and he felt ashamed.
“First question, you are Francis Davies, head administrator of the Territory of Florin?”
Francis nodded. “Yes.”
“Second question. Who do you serve?”
“Diana Alvaro.”
“Oh.” The woman raised one of her eyebrows again. “That’s a first today. I questioned both the legion commanders in the area and they work for other families.”
“We’re aware.”
“Yet you keep them around?”
“Mr. Li only confirmed his suspicions a few months ago, telling both me and Ms. Alvaro. They aren’t malicious as far as we can tell, just opportunistic, so we’ve continued to make use of their talents. Was our assumption correct?”
“Yes.” The woman nodded her head, either marking her as a human from any of the majority countries which used nodding as a sign of agreement, or maybe someone from the Daybreak Empire as, when it came to the cultures of the invasion forces, he was pretty sure that was the only one where nodding had the same meaning.
“Interesting. I gave myself away a bit there, didn’t I?” The woman smiled at him and her appearance changed, becoming a beautiful young woman with dark brown hair and eyes, the same figure as before, and features that made him think she was bi-racial. “I haven’t been interacting with the outside world much since the tutorial ended, spending more time with our planet’s hidden D rank rather than other earthlings, and it seems I’ve gotten a little rusty.”
She held out her right hand, which Francis shook. “My name is Li Mila. It’s nice to meet you.”
Francis felt his heart start to beat faster, but from excitement not fear. He didn’t recognized her, as he hadn’t been watching the news on his vacation, but Li Mila was Li Dai-Zhao’s granddaughter and a woman who used to date and spy on Diana’s younger brother.
She was supposed to be dead, killed by the Chinese Communist Party, but, if she was alive, she would likely be an ally. And, if that was the case, given the powers she’d shown, and the fact she was Li Dai-Zhao’s blood, of course she’d check out everyone around her grandfather and almost sister-in-law before meeting them.
“Why do you serve Diana?” The woman’s form changed again, back to the blond haired caucasian beauty.
“She helped get my daughter back to me, rescuing her from a bad situation, so she has my loyalty just for that, but the more important thing is her personality. She’s not the type of person who would pursue power in the old world and she’s smart enough to know what she should do herself and what she should delegate. She’s also constantly working to improve herself.”
Mila nodded, likely not needing an explanation for why those things were important.
“Alright. Final question.” She smiled in a friendly and relaxed manner. “Why do you wear a goatee that makes you look like a count with six fingers?”
Francis couldn’t help laughing, remembering Diana asking him the same thing half a year before. “My wife likes it.”
“Good reason.” Mila stood from the bench. “I’ll be going then. Accept the position I’m offering within the next half hour.”
Li Mila has offered you the position of servant on behalf of the Heavenly Spark Soul King.
Will you accept?
Yes/No
“Um, what is this?” Francis was now scared again, as it seemed Dai-Zhao’s granddaughter might have different intentions than helping Florin.
“Functionally for you, just a boon.” The woman smiled at him. “Accepting that will immediately increase the effectiveness of both your Soul and Attunement stats while also increasing your affinity with all Laws.
“The Heavenly Spark Soul King is an injured D rank crafter who’s been hiding on Earth since before the integration, and he’s now ready to start making his move. Within twenty-four hours, Diana will accept him as her overlord. Then, within the next two weeks, all the Pillars of Conquest on Earth will be captured and all human forces will have surrendered to Diana. I personally will make sure of that.”
“What if Diana doesn’t capitulate?” Francis felt scared, but Li Mila just laughed.
“Oh, you don’t have to worry about that, Mr. Davies. Diana has already met with the Heavenly Spark Soul King quite a few times. Sending me over to finalize the deal is just to formalize the arrangement. And you’ll start seeing the benefits of having a D rank overlord almost immediately, so look forward to feeling safe from monsters within your own Territory.”
Please only read at https://www.royalroad.com/fiction/48991/shadow-of-the-soul-king and https://www.scribblehub.com/series/461729/shadow-of-the-soul-king/. It is free and anywhere else this story has been stolen.
