The sun rose and with it came a glow that doused the world in its light, brightening trees and spreading warmth to the forest.
A short figure wearing a tattered grey cloak opened up one the tents, letting rays of sunlight enter the tent, exposing the sleeping young man with golden locs within it.
The cloaked figure, Greg then walked up to rouse him.
Alex still dozy yawned "why'd you have to wake us so early?"
"After your oh so glorious fight yesterday, we had to stop and rest to heal you, so we're now getting quite close to the deadline of the deadline of our quest." Greg sent a glare towards the still drowsy nobleman.
"He's right, we have to act now to ensure we get to colen before the deadline, as we plebians can't face the wrath of your mother. So, are you sure you want to participate in the extermination of the werewolves den?" Captain said as he donned his armour.
"Of course I will go, I am the leader of our expedition!" Alex said these words with confidence even though he winced whenever he spoke.
Cap now fully armoured said "In that case, to ensure your safety, I propose that I stand at the forefront and soak up whatever the rabid wolves throw at us while Greg sneaks in behind and sneak attacks them, while you oversee everything from the back."
Alex of course started protesting with a frown "That's the same as me not being on the battlefield at all, as I won't be part of the fight from that position."
He pointed a finger at himself and shouted "The whole reason my family organized this expedition with you John, is because they want me to gain real life combat experience. If not for that, this quest would never have been issued to your guild."
Alex took a deep breath and puffed up his chest "So you don't have a choice in the matter captain John."
Greg doubled over laughing and began to roll on the floor ''He does have you there cap, we have to listen to our''
he chuckled while pointing at Alex ''employer over here''
Captain John then walked out the tent and raised both hands in the air helplessly "The bear that nearly ripped you to shreds yesterday strongly disagrees with your determination"
Greg then nodded to John, stood up, quietly withdrew his dagger and pressed it against Alex's Adams apple "Listen here you arrogant little shit, I recommend you leave the werewolves alone as you aren't even capable of beating a tier 0 beast, those little buggers will have a field day with your weak ass and I don't want to have to deal with an angry noble lady crying on your corpse."
John came back with a suitcase and placed it on a log near them.
He then strolled to Greg and place a hand on his shoulder " Put it down Greg, let's give our little friend a chance to talk and understand what's happening."
Greg scoffed and put him down saying ''you're right cap, we don't want mister fancy pants over here to piss himself.''
John pointed at his suitcase and pat "Come, come and sit Sir Alex."
And so Alex stepped forward under the scrutiny of Greg.
John then took out a paper with golden words that seemed to jump onto the air with a thin translucent body. "Let's set some conditions, you see I've been quite patient with you sir Alex, but you seem to keep taking advantage of that thus forcing me to treat you roughly. "
Alex scowled "Your henchman already di-Greg teach him some manners."
A slap soon echoed out into the forest the ears of those close by and the red hue of the slap mark on Alex's cheek began to spread across his face.
Greg grinned "I've been waiting for this since he made me waste my healing salve on him, though my palm kind of hurts, can't expect anything but thick skin from those shameless nobles."
"And your wish has now been fulfilled. Now back to the main topic. What was it again?"
"Ah,ah,ah oh yeah it was this." John pointed at the paper "You see this here is an oath of the soul. If you break this oath you die, regardless of place and time."
'It's manufactured by talisman makers and cost around 100 gold. Now I have to use it on you, it cost me a lot of favours to acquire, don't forget to reimburse me."
John sat up and looked straight at Alex's eyes "You see by going with us you're endangering both Greg and i's lives by being a burden, because in the occasion of your death, your family will hunt us down. So you have to compensate for that, plus you have to pay Greg back for his healing salve and your antics since you joined us on the quest."
"The first condition will be that you give us a small tip of 1000 gold coins. The second is that in the event of your survival you don't mention anything that just happened. The third is that you sign here where it confirms your consent to go and complete responsibility for your own action. The fourth condition is you help us sell all the captured werewolves to your noble friends. I'm done, I give you permission to speak."
"What happens if I don't agree" Alex sent a glare at him
Greg walked beside him, licked his ear and whispered "They're a lot of worse things in this forest than a tier 0 bear."
"Now you would want to be on your best behaviour. There's more than one beast that will be happy about a free meal." Alex visibly tensed up at those words
John passed the paper over to Alex with a wide grin on his face "now, just sign here and we're all good, You'll keep your dignity safe from Greg, while I'll get to finish this quest without your ego. By the way you have to prick your blood on the pen."
So Alex hurriedly punctured his finger and signed the oath with his blood as a solemn feeling seemed to compress the air around them while a gust began to circulate making Greg cough.
It vanished soon after and John used the same pen to sign the paper. But this time there was no pressure though Alex and John began to sweat more and more with every letter added to the signature.
The paper rose into the air, emitting a blinding light and then vanished.
John shook Alex's hand nice and firm and said" welcome aboard our little group Sir Alex."
"I believe we should each explain our blessing so we know what to expect in battle."
John then spread his arms and said "I'll start, mine is body of the giant: it allows me to passively get physically stronger and tougher over exposure to mana."
"So right now, I would say the bear you fought wouldn't even be able to cut my skin."
He then clicked his fingers at him "You next."