Nightmare Realm Summoner

It took a fairly impressive force of will for Alex to keep himself from letting out a disbelieving laugh. Things had seriously gotten twisted up in the timeline for him to have found himself here.

Sure, his new ability had made it clear that it would let him make some form of contract with the beings that his monsters stemmed from. Alex had been prepared to bargain. But at no point had he ever considered the possibility that he would be the one getting propositioned to.

There was no amount of preparation that could have gotten him braced for this. Alex nearly cracked on the spot. Hysterical laughter valiantly battled in hopes of escaping his chest. He crushed it ruthlessly.

No matter how ridiculous this was, even if he’d been willing to blow his cover and let on that he hadn’t been expecting this, the complete sincerity in Ein’Zahl’s features was too much.

Anyone who made fun of someone who was being completely open with their desires was unforgivable.

“Okay,” Alex said, holding his hands up before him. He dug through his memories in search of what he could recall about job interviews — or interviews in general, for that matter. “Let’s slow down a moment, shall we? There’s a reason we’re both here. We want the same thing. I obviously wouldn’t have shown up to speak with you if I wasn’t interested in letting you work with me.”

A flicker of relief passed through Ein’Zahl’s eyes.

“Yes,” Ein’Zahl said. “Of course. Is there something in particular you would like to know? I am an open book. You will be hard pressed to find a more suitable candidate, I can assure you that.”

He really wanted this. And despite everything, that set Alex’s hair on end. Everything that Ein’Zahl had said up until now made it quite clear that this was no weak man.

There was a good chance he was more powerful than the vast majority of people on 274-50… if not all of them. That didn’t really line up with the desperation clearly showing through.

Is there something he gets out of this contract that I’ve missed? Or is he really that bored? I guess he’s been stuck in prison for a hell of a long time. That does sound like torture. I suppose I’d do anything I could to get some entertainment if I were in his situation.

“Let’s pretend we were to agree on the contract here and now,” Alex said. He interlaced his fingers and rested his palms on the table. “What kind of deal would you be looking for?”

Ein’Zahl’s brow furrowed. “What do you mean? I seek a contract.”

Alex grimaced.

Man. I wish Claire were here. She’d know exactly how to work her way around this. Why didn’t I apply for more internships back in college? All I’ve got to go off are shitty movies. What am I going to do, ask a cosmic entity to sell me a fucking pen?

“Your goals,” Alex said. “What do you want from this contract? A job comes with requirements, you know. Rules. Restrictions. For us to both end up satisfied with our deal, we need to know what it is the other is looking for.”

“I see,” Ein’Zahl said slowly. It didn’t seem like he saw much at all. “Yes. I understand.”

“Then…”

“I wish to kill,” Ein’Zahl said. His hands clenched into fists as his gaze lifted upward, as if reliving some rapturous memory. “To feel life drip across my fingers and fade into the air before me once again. There is no feeling greater than knowing that you have ended the existence of another being. Of knowing that all that they were, all that they had achieved and every piece of their future potential… it ended with me. There is no greater power. That is what I seek.”

Right. Does the System have an HR department? This guy is a grade A psychopath. Like, a legitimate one.

He’d probably make a damn good monster though. Suppose that’s why he put in the application.

“All well and good,” Alex said with a knowing nod, as if they were just discussing the weather. “But that’s just the job itself. What about the terms around the job? Are you going to hop into my monster and then run around killing everything you see? Because I can’t have that.”

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“Of course not,” Ein’Zahl replied. “I have been a soldier. I am more than capable of following orders. So long as my desires are sated, then I will do whatever it takes. Point me in the direction of your enemies and I will reduce them back to nothingness.”

“That won’t be enough.” Alex shook his head. “Do you know what the most valuable thing I can expect from my monsters is?”

“Killing potential,” Ein’Zahl replied without an instant of hesitation. His confidence was such that he even jabbed a finger down into the table as he spoke. Nobody could say he wasn’t passionate about his job.

“No,” Alex said. “That’s a good one, but no. It’s reliability. The greatest advantage that a summoner bears is the fact that they can control a miniature army. Everyone else is working alone. And a well coordinated army can bring down opponents far more powerful than any individual.”

“That is only true if the individual is not sufficiently strong. I am Ein’Zahl. You will not even have need for you other monsters. With my powers at your side, there will be none who stand before us.”

“Sure. Let’s entertain that thought for a moment,” Alex said. He leaned back in his chair and crossed his arms in front of his chest. “All this power you have… are you going to be able to use it when you’re puppeting my monster around?”

Ein’Zahl hesitated. Then he grimaced.

“No. But my skill and experience—”

“Is valuable,” Alex said, raising a hand to cut the other man off. “But you’ll be limited by the monster’s body. And that means you are no longer going to be the most powerful person on the battlefield, at least until the form you inhabit grows more powerful. Correct?”

“Correct,” Ein’Zahl admitted reluctantly.

“So what do you provide when you are limited?” Alex pressed. “In a situation where your true strength is sealed and you have to work with reduced abilities, how do you stand out above others? Will you be able to work with the rest of my team? Or are you just going to do your own thing? Can you refrain from attacking everything you see and completely ruining my plans because you were too bloodthirsty to hold back for a few minutes?”

“I am capable of such things,” Ein’Zahl said. He leaned forward, pressing his hands to the table. “I am no fool. Do not take me for one. Should restraint be required, then I am capable of it. But do not discount my abilities. Even in a lesser form, your monster still aligns with my path. Its abilities are not dissimilar from my own. You will be surprised to find just how much I can accomplish.”

“Perhaps,” Alex said. “But I can’t bet on surprises. I need to know that you are capable of following orders.”

There was a moment of silence. Then Ein’Zahl’s head dipped slightly.

“I am. So long as my needs are granted, I am.”

“And how long can you restrain yourself?” Alex asked. “Are you going to start raving if you don’t kill something every few hours? Or will you be able to wait for the opportune moment to act?”

“I have waited this long,” Ein’Zahl replied stiffly. “I am more than capable of waiting longer. Minutes, days, hours. There is no difference to them. They are one and the same. So long as you have enemies for me to kill, then I will be satisfied.”

Well, he’s certainly eager. Honestly speaking… I don’t know what my options are anyways. It’s not like I’m going to say no to the contract as long as it doesn’t completely screw me over. But how do I even ensure that doesn’t happen? Claire could definitely make a deal that doesn’t have loopholes in it, but she isn’t here.

“Let’s talk specifics, then,” Alex said. “What kind of contract would you be willing to agree to?”

“I want free rein,” Ein’Zahl replied. “Let me roam as I will. Whenever you have a command, I will obey it.”

“No,” Alex replied immediately. “I’m not letting you wander about freely without restraint.”

“I will not be a slave,” Ein’Zahl said. He narrowed his eyes. “Power comes at cost. I am capable. You know this. That is why you are here. I am not asking for much.”

Except for the part that he’s definitely the kind of guy that will immediately start looking for a way to leverage things in your favor. No way am I letting Ein’Zahl just sniff around on his own.

“I don’t want a slave,” Alex said. “I want a warrior. And that’s what I’ll give you the opportunity to do. I find myself in fights quite frequently. You’ll have access to that whenever you want to, but you won’t be forced to fight when you don’t want to.”

“That is quite limiting.”

“I’d be open to adjusting the terms of the deal in the future, once you have proven yourself,” Alex allowed. “And I don’t mind letting you have more fun when we’re in controlled environments such as dungeons. But I have plans. Large ones. The kind that I cannot afford to let someone interfere with just because they happened to be bored and wanted to kill something. This is not negotiable.”

The two of them stared at each other in silence for several long moments. Then Ein’Zahl’s finger twitched.

“In the future, a more open deal would be possible?”

“It would be possible,” Alex allowed. “So long as you follow the spirit of my requests. Given what I know of you… I will not be making requests that you are uninterested in. You’ll get the blood you’re after. But if you’re constantly looking for loopholes or ways to disobey my requests, then we’re going to have a problem. We can call this a preliminary deal. Nothing too restrictive. It’ll be open ended. The only requirements are that you follow the spirit of my orders and refrain from attacking any of my allies when you are summoned. If that goes well, we can expand. If it doesn’t… we can end things.”

Ein’Zahl tilted his head to the side. “I have never heard of such an offer. It is possible?”

Hell if I know.

“Of course it is,” Alex replied. He held his hand out. The System hadn’t given him a writing utensil, so the contract was probably a verbal one. “Should you be willing to accept it, that is.”

The two of them were silent for a short while longer. Ein’Zahl’s eyes lingered on Alex’s outstretched hand.

Then, slowly, a smile stretched across his lips.

“I accept your contract.” Ein’Zahl took Alex’s hand. A cold, hungry smile pulled across his lips. “The Silver Conclave will fight at your side.”