Chapter 528 Forced Contract
‘You must take it no matter the cost!!’ said Jayna through their bond.
‘Your feather?’ asked Angus.
‘Yes. That’s a phoenix’s feather. I don’t know which Phoenix, but it’s mine.’ thought Jayna.
‘So, it is Fire Phoenix’s feather?’ asked Angus in confusion.
‘I don’t know. Just get it. You must get it or you will sleep on the ground tonight!!’ replied Jayna coldly.
‘Weird… Well, no matter. It is probably related to one of the Fire Phoenix secrets.’ thought Angus.
Angus and Jayna may be connected through [Allegiance], but they still could hide something from each other. Of course, if they want, they could force the other using their bond power, especially since Angus knows Jayna Phoenix’s true name.
However, Angus rather kills himself than force Jayna like this. Likewise, Jayna never wants to force her possessive boyfriend to tell all his secrets, such as his idle system or anything related to his past life.
They know they will tell each other if they feel it is important enough to share. Their trust in each other is not just a recent occurrence through bond but a trust that has already been tested through many life-and-death situations.
Then, Angus begins to observe the protected rune closely in the surrounding jar. As he initially thought, Angus found dozens of deadly trap runes safeguarding the material. If he didn’t have [Analyze], he might miss some of this deathly rune.
“These runes… Is he crazy?!!” yelled Angus in frustration.
After a few more inspections, he finds the rune has enough power to destroy a whole major town. One wrong move could trigger the trap and destroy everything in the vault.
Moreover, he also finds a few similar runes in other materials. In other words, it will trigger a chain explosion once it explodes. By that time, Angus will leave nothing but dust, even with his ridiculous regeneration.
After wasting a few hours of hard work, Angus finally diffuses the trap runes and slumps on the ground, exhausted. During these past few hours, he keeps using [Analyze] and mind to tinkering the runes without triggering the trap.
At this time, he begins to miss the artificial intelligence and supercomputers in his past. Unlike the human mind, a supercomputer could process all the calculations without getting tired. Moreover, it could do thousands or millions of calculations simultaneously.
Compared to the human brain, which can only do a few calculations at the same time, supercomputers and artificial intelligence are definitely much better for this kind of job.
“Haaa.. I hope Vigo and the others succeed in their project.” muttered Angus.
After taking a break and meditating, he decided to come out of the Vault. He already noted all the material in the vault. Most of them are natural wonders who could only be found once in a hundred years.
He is interested in some material that could only be found in legend or myth. However, most of these materials are protected with complex, deadly runes. Some runes are more complicated and stronger than the Phoenix’s feather trap rune.
Leaving the vault is quite simple for Angus since it is the first thing he notices since entering the vault. All he needs is to stay still at the spot when he first arrives for thirty seconds.
*Whish* After standing still for 30 seconds, he arrives at some sort of dimly lit long corridor. The corridor is covered with the same material as the vault wall. Suddenly, a blue-colored woman appeared in front of him.
“Congratulations on inheriting Archmage Bern’s vault. Will you return to the vault or go back to the main lobby to process the ownership transfer?” asked the blue-colored woman.
“Let’s go to the main lobby now.” replied Angus while stretching his arm.
‘Urgh.. Tinkering those runes for a few hours is making my whole body stiff.’ thought Angus.
“Certainly. Please follow me.” said the blue-colored woman.
A few minutes later, they are already back in the main lobby. Angus could find Jayna sitting in the waiting area with Aunt Extalia. Angus smiles after seeing the pouting Jayna, who keeps complaining about being bored through their bond.
Approaching the two women, “I am back.” said Angus.
“Slow!!” replied Jayna shortly with a cold glare.
“Err… Jayna, you know it is protected with so many deathly runes. I need to…” said Angus.
“I don’t care!! What if someone tries to hit me when you are gone?!! Hmph… Men are always the same. So, irresponsible!!” grumbled Jayna while pouting.
Hearing this, Angus smiles and immediately hugs her. He knows all her perception is blocked. Therefore, Jayna feels restless when she can’t sense or feel Angus nearby.
If Angus didn’t keep their bond connected and her superb calming skill, she might already be going snapped to search for Angus long ago.
Jayna didn’t only inherit Fire Phoenix’s ability but also her experience when she lost her lover. She may not show it but compared to Angus, she is more afraid of losing him. Being hugged by Angus, Jayna subconsciously snuggles her head to Angus’ chest.
“Excuse me, Baron Victory. Would you like to complete the transfer of ownership now?” asked the blue-colored woman guide.
“Ahh.. Sure. What is the process and is there something I need to know about the vault?” asked Angus.
“Nothing much. We just need you to sign a new ownership contract. As for the vault and contract, you could read it from the guidebook inside the ‘key’.” said the blue-colored woman.
Then, Angus notices a few thick books inside Archmage Bern’s ring. As soon as he took it out, massive books appeared before him. Each of them is as thick as a pro wrestling arm.
“Err… Which is the one that contains about the contract?” asked Angus as he was surprised at the size of the book.
“All of them. All these books are guidebooks about the vault and contract. This one is about the Vault’s rules. This is about..” explained the blue-haired woman professionally.
‘This is troublesome.. From her rough explanation, every single one of them is quite important in case a problem occurs in the future. It means I need to read and understand it to avoid trouble. So much work…’ grumbled Angus inwardly.
“Ahhh… I want to sleep.” commented Angus weakly.
Unfortunately, Angus needs to complete the transfer ownership process first. Angus needs to sign a contract with the Ancient Vault. Archmage Bern’s vault is categorized as a special vault. It has its own condition and rules.
Angus couldn’t change any previous rules or contract clauses even if he is now the new owner. Therefore, he needs to follow all the prior contract arrangements. He could only add a new clause or rules as long as it didn’t contradict the old clause.
Moreover, if Angus didn’t agree to these conditions, he could only abstain as the new vault owner. He also couldn’t access the vault anymore and the legacy ring will be forcefully taken from him.
Once again, he is forced to accept the condition as he doesn’t want to cause more trouble. Fortunately, the blue-colored woman has some sort of summary for the contract rather than just reading the whole guide books.
Reading the contract’s summary carefully with Aunt Extalia, Angus finally decides to sign the contract after making sure nothing is dangerous. Normally, Angus will never do this since it is too forceful and he needs to know all the detailed clauses first.
However, Aunt Extalia reassures him that the Ancient Vault never makes a contract that harms its customers, especially the owner of the special legacy vault. Since Angus’ mind is too tired to read all the thick guidebooks, he decides to trust his aunt’s word and sign it.
To his surprise, he didn’t feel some sort of shackle on his being like the usual soul-bound contract. He only feels a slight change in the surroundings for a moment.
“Err.. Just to make sure. This is a soul-bound contract, right?” asked Angus.
“Ohh… Did Baron Victory want the soul-bound version? Since it is a special vault, we thought you wanted to use the World Contract. Did you want to sign the soul-bound one?” asked the blue-colored woman with the same professional expression.
“W-World Contract?!! Huft.. Calm down. No need to get emotional. She is just artificial intelligence. Huft…” said Angus while trying to not flip the table in front of him from anger.
“Well, I think it is better to use a World Contract since it will be less strict and fair. So, there is nothing wrong with it. Besides, it is not like you need to do or pay something for this vault.” commented Aunt Extalia.
After reading the contract summary, they find Angus didn’t need to do or give anything to the Ancient Vault. He didn’t even need to pay for the maintenance and administration fees. Therefore, Angus practically gets the vault for free for the rest of his life.
Because of this condition, Aunt Extalia wants to beat the ungrateful young Baron for complaining about signing a harmless World Contract. No matter how often she reads the summary contract, she finds it gives too much advantage to Angus.
Besides the need to follow the previous owner’s rules and contract, Angus could keep the vault until his death.
As the Duchess of the Heart Kingdom, she knows they must pay an exorbitant price for the Vault maintenance and administration fee. Moreover, the Ancient Vault only receives payment at least 50 years in advance.