What is a hero, really?

This had to be a second protection or filter or whatever. John had first hand experience of her strength and it was clearly above a 13. But not only that. The level and stats in general didn't resemble her abilities at all. Also no mention of her being a hero.

"She is protected?" John asked to be certain but the Hero Maker shook his head.

"No. What you are scanning is her real power. We figured that out a few months ago. It is a perfect undercover opportunity. No hero seems to be more than an ordinary human, even to the strongest and most capable of information scans. And that is the problem. We need someone who looks strong and powerful. Someone who can step into that moral mudpit in the darkest part of the tainted abyss and still shine bright. And none of us could do that. So we needed an outsider. That's why we need you, John Newman." John slowly nodded.

"The only problem is that I am neither. First, I am not strong. I merely got abilities four days ago, and they are far from being polished or strong. Second and that may be even more important, I am not a good person. I like to think of myself as just and fair but I am not. The second I got powers that resembled a game, I felt like the overlord that got pulled into a game. I treated everyone around me disgustingly. So yeah, I might have seen my mistakes and will act better now, but making me the shining hero won't be possible, I'm afraid." Now the Hero Maker smiled brightly.

"Impossible for others maybe. But you might have forgotten what I do. I am the Hero Maker! I turn people into heroes. And that includes you. Just you wait." He hadn't expected that.

"Fine." He waved the thought aside and sighed. "But what about the strength?" He smiled again. This guy was entirely too enthusiastic about everything.

"Oh we will see about that one. I might have an idea or two for that problem as well." And with that he stood up and walked away, a smiling (and naked for that matter) Layklé walking after him.

John closed his eyes and thought about what just happened. First, it seemed to easy. All the people just accepted him back. Sure, Paw and Layklé were mad at him, but under the line, they all were okay with it. And then this weird mission. Spying on a potential underground overlord husband candidate.

No. He was only trying to divert his own mind away from what he knew was needed. He had to talk to Naomie.

Naomie was still holding her stomach laughing. "You HAVE to be joking. Please tell me you are joking so I don't have to beat you up a second time." Her tone was as light and at ease as if she made a joke but John knew she wasn't.

"I am deadly serious, Naomie. I want to form a contract with you. I don't plan to enslave you or demand any services from you, but if you have an ability to strengthen yourself as it seems, then with a contract, I may be able to replicate that. And you know better than me how much I need to be able to become stronger for what we have to do."

She sighed, understanding just now that he was not making a silly joke. "Listen, John, we all pay a price for our powers. If you can somehow copy them, you probably have to pay it, too. Or maybe we have to pay it for you. Either way, we can't have it. Find another way." John nodded. She was right, Henrietta had mentioned the prices that came with this. And if he understood his contract powers correctly, he only got a small percentage anyway, so paying the full price would be a stupid idea. Except...

"Say, if that isn't something private, but who has a price they can afford? Just so I can test with them what it is, if I pay it or them and how much." She thought about it then reluctantly offered her hand to him.

"Me. I can take it and you feel my price instantly. It is a stretching of your skin. Also I won't allow you to endanger anyone else." He raised an eyebrow, uncertain how that price actually can be comparable to being tortured, like Henrietta. "I age, okay? The stronger I become, the faster I age while being strong. I literally am burning away my life when fighting. And that feels like your skin is being stretched a bit."

John gulped down the stone which was suddenly stuck in his mouth. "What? Scared now?" She mocked him.

With new found resolve, he grabbed her hand and spoke some basic lines. He had no intention of tricking her so he kept it very basic. Just as he was done, he added the new line to seperate the **** link.

For a second that felt like an hour, John had to wait to see if it worked, only to get a disappointing window pop up.

Okay, this was new but not a problem. He read it out to Naomie and she shrugged.

"Just wait here for a minute, I will talk to him." John said and walked away. Given all the running from spot to spot he did today, he had the feeling that this game was dragged out, just to prolong the playing time. No, stop. Bad brain, this wasn't a game. Why was his instinct still telling him that it was?

Once he reached the leader of the heroes once more, he explained the situation which resulted in a heartfelt laughter. "That's a brilliant idea, John," he stated. A second later John saw a window pop up in front of him.

[Click here for the high res picture]

John blinked twice at this. How had he done that? First of all, these contracts were his power. So how could he make one with John instead? Second, since when does a contract trigger a pop up? Usually the spoken word sufficed. Third, the fuck WAS that contract. It was basically just a contract saying that nothing goes between them. A not-contract. Only there to make him able to form other contracts.

He hesitated, but since the contract clearly stated that either side could nullify it at any point, he didn't see why he wouldn't do it. He only benefitted from it, right?

With a shaking hand, John pressed the 'Yes' button. The reaction was immediate. It was like his soul, he was certain by now that he used a part of it for these contracts, was dumped in a sticky barrel of goo. He suffocated, while still breathing, his head felt as if it was exploding any second and every muscle in his body both relaxed and cramped at the same time. He fell on the ground, or he would have, if the Hero Maker didn't catch him, again, with a bright smile.

"The fuck did just happen?" John spat out once he regained control over his body. "Didn't the contract say I wouldn't gain anything from you? Cause that just felt like I gained a load of crap. Literally." He stood back up and looked at... nobody? The Hero Maker was gone? He just stood next to him and even touched him and now he just disappeared? What the hell? John was liking what he did less and less by the second.

He cursed himself for getting in the situation where he had **** but to stick around now. Surrounded by more powerful beings than him. Shit.

Deciding that he would care about the Hero Maker's disappearance later, due to him being a weird freak anyway, he went back to the original plan. Well almost. First he checked his character screen. After all, it had listed the levels and HP of his contractors.

And lucky that he did. Because apparently there was a patch. His entire sheet looked different!

Well, shit. Not only did it no longer list his contractors, he also had apparently upgraded to the 'Edge Lord Mc Edgerson'-Version of the sheet skins. What the hell was this red on dark colour scheme? But not only that. He also had different Health and Mana values now. And a bigger Inventory... and... A whole lot of open space still. Also it was hard to read in this colour, and apparently the resolution has gone down as well. If someone redid the sheet, wouldn't it make sense to reform some more things than just the god damn colour and some values?

Disappointed in even believing he would get info like that, he closed the screen. John decided to try his luck back where he first intended to.

Once he was back with Naomie, he rephrased the contract he was making with her. Mainly because he was unwilling to experience the same he did before again, but also due to her costs.

"Should either party be pained, or in any way negatively treated due to the forming of this contract, it will be canceled automatically in that instant." Naomie smiled at him, taunting him. He knew what she was thinking. 'Scared to get some days older?' If only she knew.

Once the contract was formed John sighed in relief. No more pain or soul baths in slime. The only thing he got was a nice pop up.

Fighting style rank up: Rank 3.

Choose:

A:

• a new fighting style skill which let's you switch places with your contractors.
• all contract buffs you currently gain will increase slightly.

B:

• all current and future contract buffs will increase strongly.
• you will not be able to have more than 5 active contracts at the same time.
• your fighting style will lose it's rank and won't gain them anymore. For all calculations it will be considered as Rank 10.
• Unique and otherwise unobtainable style skills will be unlocked.
• a boost to all style skills you currently hold.

John stared at the options. This was big. Really, this was massive. It wasn't a choice like 'which attribute do you increase', or the other choices he had to make before. This was more. He had to make a call about how he was going to be in the future. This was probably comparable to his specialisation. Option A represents his old way. Enslave monsters or people and gain stronger every time. Part B limited him to five contracts. It would be a matter of quality over quantity then. John rethought the options. Would he want to be a General, commanding armies to lead into battle? Or would he rather be a Leader, who guided a small team of experts.

It didn't take him as long as it maybe should have, but given the situation he was in right now, it wasn't even a call. He had to go with the experts.