Became the Unjust Contract Slave of the Archamage’s Book

“I’m back!”

Despite Binaeril’s cheerful voice, the fight was still in full swing. He approached the man whose life he had just saved, none other than Oswald, the guard who had driven them out of the village.

“Ugh…”

Oswald was clutching his injured leg and looking up at Binaeril, his expression unreadable against the backlight of the sun. Embarrassed, Oswald lowered his head. It was humiliating to be helped by the very kids they had thrown out.

“Let me see.”

The young mage knelt to inspect Oswald’s wound. Fortunately, it wasn’t deep, but it was still concerning. Wounds inflicted by monsters carried a taint of dark magic. Without proper magical treatment, even a minor wound could become serious.

“Rike! Take care of him,” Binaeril called out.

Having confirmed the presence of dark magic in the wound, Binaeril handed Oswald over to Rike. He then surveyed the battlefield. Sylvia was drawing as much attention as possible with loud and flashy attacks, using a strategy similar to Binaeril’s. While one or two wild hounds couldn’t harm her, her talents were less effective in a multiple-opponent scenario.

“Where should I start?”

With the guards and monsters scattered chaotically, a reckless attack seemed unwise. This was Binaeril’s first experience with such a chaotic skirmish.

“We need to separate the front lines and deal with the hounds all at once,” he thought.

As he was forming his plan, Veritas interrupted.

-Hey, you’re borrowing my power, so shouldn’t you ask for my permission?

‘What do you suggest? It’s better than dealing with them one by one.’

-You need to offer me something in return to make it worth my while.

‘What do you want?’

-Magic stones.

“Magic stones?”

Binaeril frowned.

-I need them to replenish my strength. Do you think I’ll just give you my power for free?

Veritas fed on the magic stones of monsters. However, feeding it these stones would have a direct impact on Binaeril. He recalled the trouble he had when he fed Veritas the magic stone of a dire wolf.

-If you don’t like it, fine. Then I won’t help.

Given the circumstances, Binaeril had no choice. His own magic alone wasn’t enough to handle the pack of hounds.

‘Fine, but you’ll consume them gradually.’

Taking in all the stones at once might cause Binaeril to lose consciousness. After securing a promise from Veritas, Binaeril gained its cooperation.

“Eden, get ready to receive the people.”

With the negotiations settled, it was time to execute the plan. Binaeril stretched out his hand and cast his spell.

“Grasping Hands.”

One by one, he grabbed people by the scruff of their necks and tossed them backward. The soldiers, locked in battle, flew through the air like toys.

“What the—!”

In the landing zone, Eden had prepared a soft sandpit to safely catch the soldiers.

As the soldiers who had been holding the line suddenly disappeared, the wild hounds momentarily lost their focus and were thrown into confusion. Taking advantage of this sudden lull, Binaeril leaped into the midst of the hounds.

“Let’s go!”

Binaeril dispersed a thin layer of his magic. It was a bait tactic inspired by Gospelt Louis’s method of luring monsters.

“Bark! Bark!”

Sensing the magic, the excited hounds turned their attention to Binaeril. Even the monsters that had been focusing on Sylvia were now attracted to the scent of his magic. This gave Sylvia a brief respite to catch her breath and finish off the remaining few hounds on her side.

As she dealt with the last few hounds, she noticed Binaeril had already lured a large group of them far away, resembling a skilled shepherd.

“What’s he doing? Is he crazy?”

The number of monsters was too many for one person to handle. But when Sylvia moved to assist him, Binaeril shouted,

“Don’t come!”

Sylvia stopped at a safe distance, trusting that he had a plan and wasn’t acting recklessly.

“Let’s do this, Veritas.”

This was the first time Binaeril was attempting a large-scale magic spell. He wasn’t confident in controlling its power. The prison he had created earlier to trap six hounds had already consumed a considerable amount of his magic, and now he was facing at least twenty hounds.

-What’s the plan?

“Burial.”

Binaeril expanded his imagination. He envisioned an antlion pit—a trap that would engulf all the hounds. It was hard to gauge the effective range of this new spell.

‘Oh well, I’ll just make it as big as I can imagine.’

To ensure no one else got caught in the magic, he had to draw the monsters far from the village.

“Come on!”

Even as Binaeril envisioned the structure of the antlion pit, the excited hounds continued to chase him. Eden provided defense, striking down the charging hounds with stone fists that sprang from the ground. However, even Eden’s power had its limits. Binaeril could see that Eden was losing strength.

“Gah!”

Veritas’s magic flowed into Binaeril explosively, almost overwhelming him. The unprecedented influx of power made Binaeril feel like his head was going to burst. With Eden’s power waning, she formed a circular stone wall around Binaeril to protect him.

Crash! Crash!

The hounds, now frenzied, clawed and bit at the stone barrier. Binaeril could see cracks forming in the wall. Enduring a splitting headache, he began to chant the spell, crafting it with words that best captured his mental image.

“Contracting earth, binding sand.”

Words held power, 

“Under your feet lies a voracious maw.”

The words carried intent.

“The hungry maw seeks its prey. Devour them, maw. It is you who will be eaten.”

Magic is born wearing the language of humans.

Binaeril envisioned a large sand pit that would suck in and bury the hounds, a pit that would contract tightly to ensure they could not escape. However, as he unconsciously chanted, he felt his imagination spiraling out of control. The image became more intense and distorted, diverging completely from its original form. It felt as if the magic itself had a will of its own.

In the end, the completed incantation became a long spell that seemed capable of summoning a demon. And Veritas’s power was more than sufficient to fulfill his spell’s requirements.

With a rumbling sound, the ground shook. The soil trembled like prey in fear. Then, with a crunching noise, the earth split open. Binaeril’s magic manifested as a gaping maw that seemed to be born from the depths of the earth.

The monstrous maw, with a gnashing sound, greedily swallowed the monsters. Eden lifted Binaeril high into the air to keep him safe. Binaeril felt a wave of dizziness and collapsed to his knees. The enormous maw that had emerged from the pit devoured the hounds and quickly vanished back into the depths of the earth. 

As the magic concluded, a faint tremor ran through the ground, lingering like the aftertaste of a predator’s meal. 

Thud.

Binaeril descended and collapsed onto the ground. His fall sounded particularly loud in the sudden silence.

“Is that…a mage?”

The question hung in the air unanswered. The villagers who had come out to observe were struck silent by the scale of the magic.

Sylvia and the uninjured village youths took charge of the aftermath. They repaired defenses, tended to the wounded, and cleared away the monster corpses. The villagers, now much more respectful towards Binaeril, moved carefully around him.

‘What about the magic stones from the swallowed hounds? There should be a few since we took down several.’

-They went into my belly.

‘We agreed. You’re only supposed to consume them gradually.’

-I’ll manage it myself.

Rike continued treating the injured while Sylvia took care of the remaining hounds that Binaeril had trapped. During this time, there was no sign of Chief Billwood.

“Where is the chief?”

“He took his injured son to their house. He should be there,” said Oswald, now deferential towards the mage who saved his life.

Binaeril followed Oswald to the chief’s house. He wasn’t looking for a reward; he just wanted to speak with the village leader.

Entering the house, Binaeril found the chief in a heated argument with someone.

“What do you mean you can’t fix it? You can’t say that!”

“I’m telling you, I can’t do anything about wounds inflicted by monsters. Applying ointment won’t help. A specialized mage needs to treat it.”

The chief grabbed the man by the collar.

“You call yourself the village doctor, and you can’t even treat a simple cut? Save my son, save him!”

Despite his unreasonable outburst, the doctor, held by the collar, could do little to resist. Oswald called out to the chief.

“Chief Billwood!”

A young man with a pale complexion sat in the rocking chair the chief usually favored. Judging by the situation, he was likely the chief’s son.

“Hmm? What is it, soldier?”

“We have defeated all the monsters.”

“Good. Now leave.”

“The mage here helped us.”

Chief Billwood glanced at Binaeril and frowned deeply.

“Fine, I understand. Now go.”

“…Is that all you have to say?” Oswald retorted, sensing the chief’s dismissive attitude.

The chief let go of the doctor’s collar and turned his attention fully to Oswald.

“Can’t you see I’m busy? Can’t you see my son’s wound? I said I understand, so what’s your problem?”

Suddenly, the chief seemed to have an idea and changed his demeanor.

“Wait a moment, a mage? Hey, kid! Come here and take a look at my son’s wound. Come on, get over here!”

Binaeril was taken aback by the chief’s tone. Seeing the chief raise his voice, Oswald couldn’t hold back any longer.

“Chief Billwood!”

The chief flinched, then his face turned bright red with anger.

“How dare you raise your voice at me! I told you to leave!”

Oswald’s throat bobbed with restrained fury.

“While the villagers were risking their lives fighting, you hid here just because your son got hurt? Do you think that’s acceptable?”

“What did you say? My son? You dare speak like that to the future leader of this village? My son will be your master someday!”

“Master—?”

Oswald’s voice trailed off, laden with rage.

Unable to watch any longer, Binaeril stepped in.

“Chief, calm down. Even if you’re the chief, you shouldn’t speak so harshly…”

“Listen, kid. Who are you to tell me what to do? Just come and treat my son!”

-Tasty, tasty!

Veritas’s digestion of the magic stones had begun. Whenever Veritas consumed magic stones, Binaeril’s emotions became erratic. This did not bode well for Chief Billwood, whether he realized it or not.

Binaeril felt his mood souring. He fixed the chief with a rebellious glare.

“Chief Billwood, I’m not your servant. In fact, considering what my friends and I have done, we deserve your gratitude, not your orders.”

Binaeril deliberately lowered his voice, infusing it with his magical power. The dark energy from the magic stones swirled within him, tainting his words with a menacing aura.

Everyone present, including Chief Billwood, felt an inexplicable chill run down their spines. Binaeril narrowed his eyes, his voice dripping with threat.

“Do you want to end up like those monsters, devoured alongside your beloved son, Chief? Show some respect.”

Oswald, standing just behind Binaeril, trembled. Having witnessed Binaeril’s magic firsthand, he was the only one who truly understood the gravity of the boy’s words.