The intruder stepped into the moonlight.
It was a human. Female. Approximately twenty years old.
Zephyr floated in the darkness of the rafters, his consciousness zooming in like a camera drone.
[Scan Object]
[Name: Elara]
[Race: Human]
[Level: 3 (Civilian)]
[Status: Exhausted, Fear (High), Malnutrition]
[Affiliation: None]
"Level 3," Zephyr noted. "Trash mob. But acceptable as a starter unit."
The girl, Elara, didn't look like a hero. She wore a rough tunic stained with mud and dried blood. She limped, favoring her left leg. She stopped in the center of the shrine, looking around with wide, terrified eyes.
She wasn't looking for treasure. She was looking for a hiding spot.
She collapsed near the base of the broken altar—right where Zephyr had placed the Crumbling Stone Tablet.
"Please," she whispered, her voice cracking. "Anyone. Any god. I don't care which one. Just... help me."
Zephyr watched the numbers tick above her head.
Emotional State: Desperation (95%)
Faith Receptivity: High
In Theos, there were two ways to gain a believer.
Method A: The Benevolent Path. Feed them, heal them, slowly build trust. Cost: High. Time: Long.
Method B: The Transactional Path. Offer an immediate solution to a critical problem in exchange for submission. Cost: Variable. Time: Instant.
Zephyr checked his wallet.
[Faith Points: 5/100]
He couldn't afford a heal. He couldn't afford a smite to kill whatever was chasing her.
He could only afford a lie.
Step 1: Establish Authority.
Zephyr focused on the air directly in front of her.
"System, activate [Minor Illusion]. Target coordinates: X-10, Y-0, Z-1.5."
[Cost: 2 FP. Executing.]
Elara gasped as the dust motes in front of her began to swirl. They didn't form a face—that was too expensive. Instead, they coalesced into a pair of burning, golden eyes floating in the dark. Simple. Intimidating. Classic high-level aesthetic.
"Who are you?" she stammered, scrambling back against the cold stone.
Step 2: The Hook.
Zephyr triggered [Whisper].
[Cost: 3 FP. Remaining FP: 0.]
He didn't speak with a human voice. The System modulated the sound, making it echo from the walls, the floor, the very stones.
"I am the Architect of this ruin," Zephyr projected. "And you are bleeding on my floor."
Elara trembled. "I... I didn't know... I'll leave! Please, don't kill me!"
"Silence."
She froze.
"You asked for help," Zephyr intoned. "The Gods of Light require tithes of gold. The Gods of Dark require blood. I require only one thing."
He paused for effect. Pacing was everything.
"Efficiency."
"E... efficiency?" Elara blinked, confused. The terror faded slightly, replaced by bewilderment.
"State your objective, Mortal. Why do you hide?"
"The... the Wolves," she choked out. "The Iron-Tooth pack. They're tracking me. They're right behind me. I... I can't outrun them."
"Correct," Zephyr replied coldly. "Your agility is 12. Theirs is 25. You will be intercepted in approximately 120 seconds."
Elara's eyes went wide. "You... you know?"
"I see the numbers," Zephyr lied. He saw nothing but the scan data, but the bluff worked. "You have a choice. You can die here, and I will salvage your soul for spare parts. Or..."
The golden eyes flared brighter.
"...You can enter a contract."
"A contract?"
"You provide me with Faith—your absolute, unwavering loyalty. I provide you with a Solution."
Elara looked at the door. A howl pierced the night air, close. Too close.
She looked back at the floating eyes. It wasn't a kind god. It was terrifying, cold, and transactional.
But it was answering.
"I accept!" she cried out. "Save me! I'll do anything!"
[System Alert: New Believer Detected.]
[Conversion Rate: 100% (Desperation Bonus)]
[Faith Points Received: +10]
Zephyr mental-sighed in relief. The +10 FP hit his account just as his reserves hit zero. He wasn't dead.
Now came the hard part.
He had 10 FP. And a pack of Iron-Tooth Wolves was about to breach the door.
"Contract Accepted," Zephyr announced. "Stand up, Elara. Stop crying. Crying burns calories you cannot afford to waste."
He opened the [Skills] menu. With 10 FP, he still couldn't buy a combat spell. Thunderbolt was 500. Even a Magic Missile was 50.
But he noticed something in the *Environmental Interaction* tab.
[Remote Manipulation (Telekinesis - 1kg limit)]
Cost: 5 FP
He looked at the roof. The "Coverage 40%" he had noted earlier.
Directly above the entrance, a massive stone lintel was hanging by a thread of ancient ivy.
Weight: ~200kg.
Stability: Critical.
Zephyr calculated the trajectory. If the wolves entered in a standard formation...
"Elara," he commanded. "Move to the left corner. Do not move until I command."
"B-but the door..."
"Trust the Me. Or die."
She scrambled to the corner.
Zephyr positioned his consciousness near the ivy.
He waited.
The growling was at the threshold. A massive paw, claws like daggers, stepped onto the shrine's stone floor.
Then a snout. Snarling, drooling, gray fur matted with blood.
An Iron-Tooth Wolf. Level 5.
And behind it, two more.
They stepped in, sniffing the air. They smelled the blood on Elara. They crouched to spring.
"Now."
Zephyr cast [Remote Manipulation].
He didn't target the wolves. He targeted the ivy holding the stone block.
Snip.
Gravity took over.
CRASH.
The massive stone block fell like a guillotine. It didn't just hit the lead wolf; the impact shattered the unstable floor beneath them, sending the beast and its immediate flanker tumbling into the flooded crypt below.
Yelp—Splash—Silence.
The third wolf skidded to a halt, terrified by the sudden collapse. It looked up, seeing only dust and darkness.
And two floating golden eyes.
"Get out," Zephyr whispered.
The surviving wolf didn't need to speak a language to understand the threat level. It turned tail and dissolved into the fog.
Zephyr dismissed the illusion.
[Faith Points: 5/100]
Elara stared at the pile of rubble, then at the empty air where the eyes had been.
She fell to her knees, placing her forehead on the dirty stone.
"Thank you... Lord Architect."
Zephyr watched the notification pop up.
[Quest Complete: Survive.]
[Reward: Divine Spark Stabilized.]
[Reward: +100 FP.]
[New Title Unlocked: The Dealmaker.]
"Efficient," Zephyr thought. "Now, let's see about that expansion plan."