After another series of twists and turns, the pixie led Douglas and the Paladin elder to the center of the small tribe. Although Aria and Feidric had no intention of signing a contract, Aria's curiosity got the better of her, and she tagged along. As for Feidric, with his teammates gone, he couldn't very well stay behind alone.
A dilapidated wooden cabin appeared before them. It looked like an abandoned forest ranger's cabin that hadn't been maintained in a long time. Even the wooden door was missing a piece, and the window beside it had no glass, leaving just a square opening.
The pixie flew directly through the window and announced, "It's in here~!"
Douglas carefully pulled the door open, afraid that even the slightest bit of extra force would tear it from its hinges. With a creak, the scene inside came into view.
The room was completely empty except for a wooden table in the center. On this table lay a very thick, black book.
Feidric frowned slightly, his gaze sweeping across the cabin's interior. He could feel a continuous stream of magic power radiating outward from the cabin—or more precisely, from the book. If a massive magic circle had pulled the entire Father of Oaks into the Dream Realm, then this book was its core.
The moment he saw the book, Feidric realized that this object was undoubtedly the true body of the Warlock Divine Artifact.
The pixie hovered above the book and waved her tiny hand. The book automatically opened and began flipping through its pages with a rustling sound. It quickly stopped about a dozen pages in. The pixie snapped her fingers, and a quill pen materialized beside Douglas and the Paladin elder. "Just sign your names here," she said, "and the contract will be complete~"
Douglas stepped forward. The left page was already filled with countless densely packed names, indicating that an unknown number of people had signed contracts with the pixie before them.
"So that's how it works," Feidric suddenly said. "I understand now."
He then explained to the others, "A Warlock's power comes from their Lord. When a Warlock casts magic, it's essentially their Lord casting on their behalf, consuming the Lord's own power. This means that, under normal circumstances, a Lord wouldn't have too many Warlocks under them."
"Otherwise, if hundreds or thousands of Warlocks cast magic simultaneously, wouldn't the Lord be drained dry?"
"But the situation in the tribe just now was different. Nearly one hundred Legendary-strength Warlocks—did they all sign contracts with this pixie? That makes no sense!"
"Now, it seems the problem lies with this book. You could say the pixie only contributed her Authority, but the book itself is what's truly casting the spells and supplying the mana."
"The Warlock Divine Artifact, the Book of Contracts... It connects upward to a Lord willing to contribute power and downward to all Warlocks willing to abide by the contract. With the Divine Artifact as the conduit, power is shared almost limitlessly."
"Every Divine Artifact is an overpowered item. When Cipher first met that Elf Girl and recognized her as a Divine Artifact User, she might have seemed only moderately strong. But what if... there were hundreds of Divine Artifact Users like her?"
"This Warlock Divine Artifact can practically mass-produce powerful individuals."
Hearing this, the pixie gave Feidric another look. She didn't deny it. Instead, she said, "That's right. Just a little while ago, a strange fellow came to me with this book. He invited me to form a connection with it and share my power to protect this world."
Feidric asked, puzzled, "'A little while ago'? 'A strange fellow'?"
The pixie replied, "It was probably a few hundred years ago? I've forgotten the exact time. Back then, I had no intention of dealing with him and just turned and fled. But he always managed to find me, no matter where I went. He kept pestering me until I got so angry I fought him. But I was completely outmatched. In the end, I had no choice. I made her stand still and let me play a prank on her, then reluctantly agreed to her request."
A few hundred years ago was 'a little while ago'? Feidric decided not to comment on the pixie's sense of time. However, he sharply noted that the 'strange fellow' she mentioned had started as a 'he' but somehow became a 'she' later in her story.
It was worth noting that in the Common Tongue the pixie was speaking, the pronunciations of 'he' and 'she' were vastly different.
Feidric asked, and the pixie replied, "That's right! That was my prank. I turned that filthy, stinky old man into a sweet-smelling, soft little girl. What disappointed me, though, was that she didn't seem bothered by it at all. Tsk..."
"Wait!" Douglas suddenly realized something. He finally understood why the warlocks in the tribe outside—the entire village—were all female. "Does signing the contract turn you into a girl?!"
The pixie said, "Yes. Is there a problem?"
Douglas immediately threw down the brush in his hand. "You never mentioned this side effect before! I'm not signing!"
The pixie put her hands on her hips. "Side effect? This is a benefit! You get to shed those smelly husks you're in now and become adorable. Isn't that great?"
"No, I don't want it!" Douglas yelled, bolting out of the wooden hut without a backward glance, as if staying another second would kill him.
Feidric, for his part, wasn't surprised. Hidden clauses in magical contracts like this were practically a given.
The pixie pouted. "Tsk, what a boring fellow."
She then turned to the elderly paladin beside her. "What about you? Are you going to run too?"
But the old paladin simply shook his head. "This book exists to protect the world. If signing my name grants me more power and a better chance in the battles to come, why would I run?"
"It's merely a price that can hardly be called a price at all." As he spoke, the old paladin signed his name in the book without hesitation: Elijah Burns. But the moment he lifted the brush, the name twisted as if warped by some unseen force, transforming into Daphne Russell—a distinctly female name.
The pixie grinned. "A wise decision. Now, get ready to embrace your new name and new identity~!"