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Faulty Contract
Chapter 1 – The Distorted Magic Circle
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The academy's summoning hall was submerged in faint purple light.
Magic circles overlapped each other, rotating in a steady rhythm like an ancient machine. On the stands, third-year students watched with a mixture of excitement and tension.
At the center of the formation, Elias Nocthar stood silently.
His black cloak did not move even though the air vibrated with magical power.
"Summoning is not coercion," he said, his voice calm and low.
"It is a negotiation between two existences."
The students began chanting.
The magic circle lit up.
Then… it shifted.
A rune line fell out of rhythm. Just a small distorted corner.
The light turned into a dull white.
The academy's summoning management system appeared in the air:
> [Classification: Failure]
[Adjusting...]
The air froze.
Elias frowned. There was no explosion. No magical backlash.
There was only… a patch of darkness opening within the magic circle.
From inside it, someone stepped out.
Not a spirit beast.
Not a demon.
A teenager.
Black hair, and eyes so empty they did not reflect light.
The system trembled once again.
> [Target confirmed…]
[Name: Rei]
[EQ: 0]
[Stats: ERROR]
[Classification: … … …]
[Undefined]
The entire class began whispering.
"Professor… is that a human?"
"He's not in the summoning catalog!"
Rei looked around once.
Not out of curiosity.
Only evaluation.
Distance to the emergency exit.
Number of people.
Ceiling height.
Blind spots of the magic circle.
Elias looked directly at him.
"Do you understand what I'm saying?"
Rei nodded.
"Yes."
His voice was flat. Without emotion.
"Who are you?"
"No data."
One student laughed, thinking it was a joke.
But the system above continued flashing bright red ERROR letters.
Elias stepped closer.
No hostile reaction.
No fluctuation of soul energy.
Not human.
But not non-human either.
He touched the air, activating a verification contract.
A thread of magic extended from the core of his darkness toward Rei.
The reaction was instant.
The magic circle trembled violently.
It did not explode.
It only distorted.
> [Link established]
[Warning: Soul structure does not meet standard parameters]
Elias paused.
The link had formed.
It could not be immediately undone.
Rei looked down at the strand of light connecting them.
"Is this a contract?"
"Yes."
"Conditions?"
"You assist me within the academy."
Rei thought for exactly three seconds.
"Accepted."
No hesitation.
No bargaining.
Only acceptance.
A tool receiving an assignment.
The students began whispering louder.
"The professor really summoned a person by mistake…"
"Or maybe a spirit beast that turned human?"
The system tried scanning the stats again.
> [Power: ERROR]
[Mana: ERROR]
[Species: Does not exist]
[Suggestion: Report to the Council]
Elias closed the status panel.
"The class is over."
His voice did not change.
But the shadow beneath his feet became slightly darker.
---
When the hall was empty, Rei was still standing there.
"Do you intend to attack me?" Elias asked.
"No."
"Why?"
"No benefit."
The answer was so simple it felt cold.
Elias looked at him for a long time.
"Do you have emotions?"
Rei tilted his head.
"Not necessary for survival."
Not necessary.
That answer made the darkness around Elias shift slightly.
He had heard words like that before… on the battlefield.
"Have you killed people before?"
"Yes."
No pride.
No regret.
Only a fact.
Elias closed his eyes for a second.
"Here, you are not allowed to kill."
Rei was silent.
"Unless I permit it."
A brief pause.
"Understood."
No question.
No argument.
Only acceptance of an additional clause to the contract.
---
At the highest level of the academy, the Council had already received the report.
"Stats equal to zero?"
"No. The system cannot read them."
"An entity not in the catalog that still formed a stable contract…"
"The summoner is Elias Nocthar."
The room fell silent.
"Him again."
---
That night, Rei was assigned a temporary room.
A small room with a window facing the distant monster forest.
He checked the wall structure.
Thickness.
Breakability.
Distance to the ground if he jumped.
Then he lay down on the bed.
Sleep.
It took only ten seconds.
His body automatically adjusted its breathing rhythm.
Reconstructed muscle fibers.
Purified magical residue from the summoning circle.
But his mind did not dream.
No memories.
No emotions.
Only empty darkness.
---
The next morning.
An alarm bell rang.
A training beast had gone out of control in the combat practice area.
Students panicked.
Elias had just arrived when he saw Rei walk past him.
"I have not given an order."
"Risk will spread. Early handling is more optimal."
Rei entered the combat area.
The giant crustacean-like beast roared.
Students around it chanted spells chaotically.
Rei did not chant anything.
He observed.
Movement rhythm.
Reaction speed.
Attack cycle.
Gravity in the area was slightly distorted by mana.
Rei's body adjusted.
Muscles tightened.
Center of gravity lowered.
After two minutes of evasion, he had already read the pattern.
Minute three.
When the beast prepared to slam its claw down—
Rei stepped into its blind spot.
One precise strike at the armor joint.
Not beautiful.
Not flashy.
Only effective.
The beast collapsed.
Silence.
The students looked at him as if he were something unfamiliar.
"He… didn't use magic?"
"He just analyzed and broke the structure…"
Elias walked over.
"Why did you not finish it?"
Rei looked at the unconscious beast.
"Not necessary. It is no longer a threat."
Do not kill if unnecessary.
Do not spare if danger remains.
Only optimization.
Elias looked into his eyes.
He saw no malice.
But he also saw no humanity.
Only a pure survival system.
In that moment, he understood.
This was not a summoning error.
This was an existence that the world had no category for.
And the contract between them—
Might be a mistake.
Or the beginning of something beyond the framework.
---
On a hidden system panel that only Elias could see:
> Rei (零)
Classification: [Determining…]
Status: Stable
Note: Soul structure does not meet summoning standards
Elias's shadow stretched beneath Rei.
But it could not swallow him.
For the first time in many years—
His darkness could not find an anchor.
And that…
Made him uneasy.
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