Lackey's Seducing Survival Odyssey

Chapter 1729: Do you truly have no desire to be found?

^I didn’t expect you to be an otherworlder…. That explains your unusually poor compatibility with this world’s common sense… Tsk, utterly useless here!^

“…”

^Is that why you occasionally spoke in unidentified languages? Fascinating. I previously concluded you were a simply creepy guy trapped inside his own delusional world. My predictive model has now been updated. My apologies… although only by approximately 2.7%.^

“…”

Young Aether lowered his gaze toward the black, slick metallic ring wrapped around his middle finger. Its polished surface reflected the faint blue glow.

Ignoring the AI’s taunt, he asked in a slightly surprised tone, “You knew about Aevum?”

^Incorrect. I possess no personal knowledge regarding Aevum. I merely have access to archived records stored within the Mother System.^

“I see… then what exactly is it?”

^…^

“…Please,” Young Aether muttered with a blank expression, barely restraining himself from tearing the smug artificial intelligence off his finger and throwing it across the room.

^Aevum is a value granted by the Goddess Arcane. It quantifies an individual’s existential worth. It can be increased by killing others, although before you ask, no, it is not directly proportional to either the number of people you’ve killed or the amount of Aevum the deceased possessed. Alternatively, it can also be exchanged through legally recognized Contracts.^

“Anything else?” Young Aether asked calmly. Most of that information wasn’t new to him. What he truly wanted to understand was why Aevum existed in the first place and why only humans possessed it while every other species remained excluded from its system.

The metallic ring remained silent for a brief moment as though accessing a remote database.

^Processing… Negative. No additional records regarding Aevum were found.^

Just as disappointment began settling across Young Aether’s face, the ring emitted another mechanical notification.

^Correction. One additional record exists. Aevum determines who survives and who perishes in the near future.^

“…”

Young Aether stared silently at the ring, his unreadable expression reflected upon its glossy black surface.

‘In the near future? Not now?… Again, what’s with these cryptic messages?’ he groaned inwardly while rubbing his forehead with visible annoyance.

“Then… what about El… cough…”

The instant those syllables reached his throat, a violent cough interrupted him.

He frowned before clearing his throat.

“What about El… cough…”

Another cough.

His pupils narrowed.

“What the fuck?” Young Aether muttered in disbelief.

He… couldn’t say it.

That single word simply refused to leave his mouth.

Why?

It felt as though an invisible force had sealed his throat from within, preventing him from even completing the first few letters. The harder he tried, the stronger the unseen resistance became, as if reality itself had censored the name before it could be spoken aloud.

After standing there for several silent seconds with a thoughtful frown, he tilted his head slightly and asked differently,

“You mentioned Aevum can be exchanged through a Contract, right?” Young Aether asked. “What exactly do you mean by that?”

^It’s a Contract granted exclusively to humankind, allowing both parties to stand on equal ground. Since humans naturally lack Magic, the Goddess Arcane bestowed this ability upon them to compensate for that disadvantage whenever they negotiate, fight, or interact with other species from a position of comparable authority.^

The El Kova’reth is the name of the Ability to initiate the Divine Contract^

“El-Cough, cough… sigh…. How is that fair?” Young Aether couldn’t help asking. “You people have technology advanced enough to literally wipe entire Empires off the map.”

^Well… you possess Magic capable of destroying worlds and manifesting matter out of thin air. Compared to that…^ The ring paused for a brief moment as though performing a genuine calculation.

^…Yup. I’ve completed the comparison. This is not fair at all.^

Young Aether’s lips twitched in annoyance.

“And here I thought you might actually be useful to me.” He clicked his tongue before shaking his head in exaggerated disappointment.

“Looks like I misunderstood. Who’s the real useless one here? Tsk, tsk.”

^…^

“What?” he asked with an amused grin. “Cat got your tongue?”