[Welcome to the Azure Dragon World.]
[Please establish a contract with the summoner and complete the summoning mission to become an official Immortal For Hire.]
Floating red text appeared in front of his eyes, and for a moment, Shura felt as if he was in a dream.
Just moments ago, he was ready to sacrifice his own body in a desperate gamble and was sure he would die.
But not only did he not die, he successfully travelled to another world and saw the welcome text from the Supreme Rules that he had only read about in clan archives.
"Hahahaha!!!"
Realizing it was not a dream, Shura burst out in laughter like a madman, venting all his emotions, and he laughed for quite a while before regaining his bearings and clenching his fists in excitement.
'Finally, I have succeeded. I have been summoned successfully… Huh? Wait, my fist…'
And it was only then that he remembered about his condition and focused on his body, only to notice that the torn muscles, burnt flesh, shattered bones, and ruptured meridians that should have left him crippled for life were somehow all healed and repaired as if none of it had ever happened.
Not only that, for some reason, Shura even had this strange sense of freedom, as if after leaving that world of Han Clan Asuras, some shackles that had weighed him down like mountains for his whole life had been shattered, and he felt… invincible.
Of course, he was rational enough to understand that this feeling of invincibility was a misconception caused by the fact that he had not yet adapted to his sudden surge in strength.
Still...
'This isn't normal.'
Han Clan Asuras, having grown up on the farthest end of the nearby region of a neutron star, would naturally feel a sudden surge of strength when they traveled to other worlds, but to experience a near resurrection-like healing coupled with the huge increase in strength that one's body couldn't adapt to in a short time was something completely unheard of.
'The same goes for my summoning… I have never heard of anyone forcing their way into a Gate.'
In fact, when the Gate rejected him at first, Shura had no hope that he would succeed, but he was desperate, and it was a do-or-die situation, so he simply didn't care and gave it his all.
'But now it's clear that something strange has happened to me.'
Rubbing his chin in deep contemplation, he couldn't help but recall the moment before he traveled to this world, and he remembered that before he was sucked into the Gate, the strange tattoos on his bones seemed to have glowed for a moment.
"Ugh! I can't remember clearly," he grunted and clutched his head.
The memory was hazy, but he clearly remembered his bones having the same tattoos as his skin.
Also, he had a strong hunch that the reason for all these anomalies was almost certainly these strange tattoos, considering how even after his body had been miraculously restored, the tattoos had regrown with his flesh.
As for the origin of these tattoos and what they actually were, Shura didn't know, and he wouldn't be getting any answers soon anyway, so he pushed the issue to the back of his head for future him to solve.
'Right now, I am alive and should focus on the present.'
Taking a deep breath, he surveyed his surroundings and found himself standing on an altar carved with glowing runes in a small, stone-walled room.
'A typical Red-Gate altar, just as described in the clan archives. I just don't know how long the Summoner has been trying to summon someone, but since I'm here, they should have sensed it.'
Speak of the devil, no sooner had he thought about it than the door to the room flew open with a loud bang.
A clumsy-looking girl of about fifteen or sixteen years old, with delicate features that seemed almost unreal, rushed in, and…
"Ah—!"
She screamed the instant she saw him and then turned around, slapping her hands over her eyes. Even so, she couldn't resist peeking at him through the gaps between her fingers.
"What?"
Shura asked, bewildered and completely taken aback by her bizarre reaction.
"M-Mighty sir… y-you are not wearing any clothes..."
"…"
This time, it was Shura's turn to freeze in shock before his expression changed violently.
"Oh, hell—!"
With a yelp, he placed both his hands over his crotch and scrambled behind a thick stone pillar for cover.
For a second, the room became deathly quiet, but due to his enhanced senses, he could hear the girl trying to suppress her small giggles.
Shura felt his face heat up due to embarrassment.
All the bullying and humiliation he had suffered in the Han Clan paled in comparison to this.
Luckily, a second later, a folded set of black clothes came flying toward him.
"I-I will turn around," the girl said hastily. "Please take your time."
This time, she spun around sincerely without peeking, showing only her back.
Seeing his chance, Shura snatched the clothes and quickly pulled them on, keeping his body half-hidden behind the pillar.
Yet even as he dressed, he couldn't help but inspect his body again and again, sensing the changes within him.
There was a strange fullness inside his body. His blood surged like a flood, and his flesh felt dense and powerful.
Not to mention the Astral Essence constantly flowing from the surroundings into his body, and then being circulated throughout his body without him having to force it, unlike before, when he had to work hard for a whole day just to circulate a wisp of it.
'At this rate… I'll reach the mid-stage Iron Body realm in no time… Is this what it feels like to be a genius?'
Waves of excitement and anticipation surged in his heart, but he forcibly suppressed them and reminded himself not to be overconfident, lest he capsize in a gutter.
"Mighty sir. I am Shu Zeshi. I… I am the one who summoned you... How should I address you?"
Having his train of thought broken, Shura came back to reality and finally looked up at the girl named Zeshi, getting a clear view of her.
She was undoubtedly one of the most beautiful girls he had ever seen in his life, like a piece of spring sunlight.
A delicate oval face, skin like porcelain, long lashes, and dark, silky, wavy hair. Her bright eyes carried the timid softness of a deer, and she was wearing a pale blue dress that made her seem more fragile and pure.
'Is this innocence genuine? Or has she purposely dressed like this?'
Considering all the cases of Asuras being lured into traps by seemingly harmless summoners, Shura was cautious in his heart and knew better than to trust appearances.
Though despite his guard against her, he acted as if he didn't notice anything and replied casually.
"Call me Shura… And tell me, for how long were you trying to summon me?"
"This is the third day." Zeshi clasped her hands together nervously.
"Three days?"
She nodded and started explaining. "I paid a huge price to purchase the cheapest Red Summoning Crystal and then set up this altar here at my house three days ago. But then, for some reason… the Gate suddenly started consuming energy at an extremely frantic rate, and I had to throw every remaining purple crystal I had into it, just to keep it from collapsing. In fact, I was on my way to get the last piece I had left to maintain the portal... Luckily, you came just in time."
There was a sense of relief in her voice, but her eyes lowered guiltily as she spoke.
"Now I have almost nothing left."
Subconsciously biting her lip, she took out a thumb-sized purple crystal from the pouch at her waist and gave it to him.
"Please forgive me. This is my last one. I am sorry, but I truly have very little to offer you for a contract. I will not bind you into a forced agreement. If you wish, you can take this final purple crystal as compensation and return to your world."
Shura looked at the purple crystal in her palm.
Even without touching it, he could sense the dense energy contained within it, and he felt something wrong about the situation.
One had to remember that, simply based on the quality, this purple crystal was easily worth a couple of hundred Dust Shards and was simply not something a summoner would give out to a mere lowest-level red gate-summoned Asura as compensation.
And if she had such wealth in the first place, why not purchase a higher-quality summoning crystal? Why purchase the lowest quality one and still say that she paid a huge price?
'Wait... was she scammed? Or is she pretending to be naive to lower my guard?'
Shura was not one of those fools who would think that they had found a dumbass summoner and struck it rich.
As for her statement about the Gate, which suddenly started consuming energy frantically, he could guess that it was true, and the energy was most likely used to repair his body.
But he had no intention or obligation to tell this to her. He didn't even mention to her that she was scammed.
On the contrary, he pretended to be a greedy Asura, took the crystal, and asked the main question.
"So, care to explain your situation and what you summoned me for?"
"Ah, yes, yes. It's like this…"
With that, Zeshi started explaining.
She was the youngest daughter of the City Lord of Bluewind City.
According to her, a few months ago, explorers from their province stumbled upon a hidden ruin, which was most likely the final resting place of an ancient being with dragon blood.
However, the entrance was sealed by an age restriction, so no one above the age of twenty could enter it.
Perhaps seeing an opportunity in such a situation, Zeshi's father, the City Lord, announced a contest that whichever of his children could retrieve the legendary Dragon Marrow Bone from the ruin would be named his chosen heir, the future master of Bluewind City.
Zeshi's two elder sisters both had strong allies, powerful retainers, and noble supporters, while she didn't.
All she had was money she saved up, and since she didn't trust someone local who could betray her for bigger profits, she used all her savings to open the lowest-level Gate she could afford in the hope that the summoned person would be able to help her.
After all, she and the one she summoned would be bound by a contract, and they wouldn't be able to betray each other until the contract expired.
To Shura, her words were full of loopholes, but what did her deception matter to him?
What he understood was that there was a ruin, a powerful treasure, and a chance for him to earn real resources far beyond anything the Han Clan could provide.
Besides, she only needed the Dragon Marrow Bone, and everything else belonged to him.
"Then… let us make the contract."
Considering it all, Shura said and bit his finger without hesitation, causing a bead of blood to well up at the tip.
"The contract duration will be seven days," Zeshi said and imitated him.
Soon, the two blood droplets floated into the air between them.
At the same time, they both detailed out the contract terms one after another, and Shura formed a simple seal, the way all summoned Asuras were taught from childhood, causing their blood drops to fuse and a faint red symbol to blossom in the air, which split into two and entered both their foreheads.
[Contract has been established. Duration: 7 days.]