Shadow's Hand-Chapter 23: Manhole Cover

Shortly after the wisps of dark, blue, and purple hues dissipated from the scene, the atmosphere turned solemn.

Karl seemed to be in a trance momentarily, his eyes closed and he sat down with his legs crossed.

"I don't want to be that guy, but if you're going to test some theory. It's best to do so after leading me to the sewer." Damien suddenly interrupted. He had no time to be waiting patiently for Karl to finish his thing.

Startled, Karl snapped out of his daze and realized the current situation. He stood up, bowed, and apologized for being distracted.

"Yes, Master. I'll lead the way right away." He then said, referring to Damien as Master. With the contract signed, it was equivalent to being a servant of him. Thus, he believed the form of address must be changed.

However, he failed to understand that Damien was not the type who wished to seek attention. Although he did make a bunch of flashy orders such as locking down Velgrave or causing a Detective to meet his demise, it was all inevitable.

He might not like the attention, but that didn't mean he was afraid of it. As long as it was required to ensure his survival, then he would do it in a heartbeat.

But the form of address wasn't anything required.

"Don't call me Master in public," Damien warned. "Refer to me as Sir in public and do not reveal the matter of the contract to anyone else. I'm sure you have read the term already before signing it."

Nodding, Karl swiftly corrected his mistake. "That is correct, Sir."

"Recite it for me."

"Yes, Sir."

The term in the contract was rather simple, to be honest.

First, he was not allowed to betray Damien in any form whatsoever. Even having thoughts of doing so or having the knowledge of someone attempting to harm Damien but doing nothing about it was still considered betrayal.

For having the thought of betraying, the pain would be induced upon him, whereas the latter was more severe—potentially resulting in his death depending on the situation. If he was truly incapable of stopping it, then it wouldn't be counted as a betrayal as long as he really did his best.

Second, he was disallowed to divulge the Shadow Contract to anyone unless permitted by Damien himself. If there were ever a circumstance that forced Karl to open his mouth to talk about such content, then he would be eliminated.

Circumstances such as being interrogated by a Transcendent who could possibly control his mind or invade it to search for information.

In other words, the second term was a deadly one in which Karl must prevent himself from getting involved in such a situation.

Finally, the last term was that the Shadow Contract could never be dissolved and shall remain active forever unless Damien dissolved it himself.

The null of the contract must also be willing by Damien. Otherwise, the contract would remain as it was.

After reciting the term, Karl waited for Damien's response.

"Not bad. With the power of the contract, you are capable of constructing a mana core, but you should probably wait till you get admitted to an academy." Damien calmly said.

He had no idea of how to construct one and had been informed about the academies. He believed it would be better suited for him to wait until then.

Meanwhile, Karl's eyes lit up and his admiration for Damien soared to a new height. Others might not know or take a few minutes to comprehend the meaning, but not for him.

'Master is going to recommend me to an academy.' With a Seventh Order personally making a recommendation, it was almost guaranteed to be accepted.

Feeling like there was a bright future ahead of him, Karl clenched his fist.

"The sewer location should be around this path. I've heard from my colleagues previously that there was a bad odor smell when they took on a big client." He explained as he walked forward.

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Sometime later, Karl found the opening and was surprised by the manhole cover being slightly shifted. Stunned, he halted his footsteps and knelt down on one knee.

"Sir, the manhole cover lid seemed to have been opened recently," Karl explained, his eyes narrowing at the disoriented dirt. It was clear that the cover lid had been shifted slightly, so unless it had been moved, the dirt would have aligned perfectly with no gap or oddity in between.

"Not bad for a Coachman," Damien commented.

Karl scratched his head awkwardly. He was somewhat embarrassed but proud at the same time.

Having been a Coachman for so long, he developed the conscious to constantly check around the surroundings. After all, any mishap or abnormal things around could become disastrous.

There was an incident of a fellow Coachman who failed to pay attention and caused discomfort to the customer. The next day, the Coachman was found dead in a dark alley.

Although police officers tried to investigate, the clues led to a dead end. As for passing the case to a TI, it was even more impossible. The dead Coachman showed no sign of having a Transcendent involved.

While Karl was reminded of the past incidents, Damien, on the other hand, was focused on the manhole cover lid.

'Scratch mark.' His eyes narrowed at the three large marks in the lid. With the appearance of the mark, followed by the previous robber's statement of a cat, he found it hard to not believe the two things were linked together.

"Open the lid." He commanded.

"Yes, Sir," Karl heeded the command and mustered his strength to open the lid. However, to his surprise, the lid was surprisingly light. He had thought it would take a lot of strength to open it, but it wasn't.

"These lids were embedded with magic to prevent accidental sabotage. How come it's this light?" Karl's eyes widened in shock. He stared at his palm and wondered when did he become strong?

Could it have been the effect of the Shadow Contract?

But not even a second of joy later, Damien destroyed his fantasy. "Don't act surprised. The magic was shattered because of the scratch mark. You, who don't even have any ounce of mana, couldn't possibly lift it up."