When Anbaixiu invited Naomi to become his "beast companion," Catherine, who had kept silent all this time, finally could not take it anymore.
"How can you do this? You've gone too far!"
To Catherine, this was using divine power to intimidate and coerce a defenseless girl. This was not contracting a beast companion at all—it was acquiring a slave!
Moreover, Naomi was a human. This completely violated every rule rangers had for finding a beast companion.
A contract tainted with ownership and servitude should have been impossible to form.
Setting everything else aside, Catherine hurriedly urged Naomi, "Don't agree! Don't submit just because of a god's presence! This contract cannot be forced. As long as your heart refuses, even a deity cannot force you into becoming someone else's slave!"
The God of Alchemy rubbed his nose awkwardly. Somehow, he had become the villain in all this.
Anbaixiu said helplessly, "Why call it slavery? Don't you have several beast companions of your own?"
"I have never forced any creature to sign a contract! What you're doing is wrong! Enslaving others by force is not the way of a true ranger, and you'll never draw out real power that way!"
Catherine assumed Anbaixiu was merely being short-sighted and eager for quick gains, and she still wanted to talk him out of it.
Yet Anbaixiu simply replied, "You said it yourself—this sort of thing depends on destiny. When destiny arrives, a resonance naturally forms. Right now, I feel she's quite suitable."
"Liar! How could that even be possible?!"
Catherine did not believe him for a second. Fully sapient humans rarely possessed pure, uncomplicated thoughts, making them incapable of completing a contract that required total, wholehearted devotion.
This lich had only heard she might be able to wild shape into a time dragon and wanted to take advantage of her. There was not a shred of sincerity in it.
Catherine was about to explain that this was not how a ranger found a beast companion—that it took love, care, and... but a burst of emerald light flared between Anbaixiu and Naomi, coalescing into intricate magical runes that branded themselves onto each of them.
Catherine stared in disbelief at Naomi. The young girl's body was wrapped in shimmering magical light, and vast power continuously poured into her, systematically enhancing her entire being.
The contract had taken hold.
A ranger and their beast companion strengthened each other. Because the gap in power between Naomi and Anbaixiu was vast, Anbaixiu felt very little change, while Naomi gained a tremendous boon, her inner magical energy swelling at an astonishing rate.
"How is this possible?"
The contract required sincere mutual consent. How could this girl willingly submit to becoming Anbaixiu's pet?
Anbaixiu found it rather wondrous as well. The moment he met Naomi, he had felt a faint stirring in his power. Perhaps this was what Catherine had mentioned earlier—when one met a suitable beast companion, the power would respond on its own.
As for why Naomi was suitable, Anbaixiu was somewhat in the dark himself.
Perhaps... druids counted as beasts too?
After all, many beasts possessed intelligence on par with humans. If one could contract a true dragon, why not a human?
The surging influx of power overwhelmed Naomi's fragile frame, plunging her into unconsciousness. Anbaixiu quickly caught her as she collapsed and carried her gently to the inn's bed.
"What happened? Why did she faint?" Anbaixiu asked Catherine.
"Once the contract is complete, the beast companion shares your power. This girl is far too frail, so your strength is currently fortifying her. It might take some time," Catherine explained, before bursting out with another question: "Why did she agree? She must understand full well what this contract means! Even though rangers and beast companions are relatively equal, there is still a master and a servant. How... how could she possibly agree?"
Anbaixiu had not understood at first either, but once the contract was finalized, he could vaguely sense her thoughts.
He could only explain somewhat awkwardly, "Probably... because in this entire world, I was the only person who was ever kind to her."
To Naomi, her past life had been a nightmare. Every pleasant memory had proven to be a lie. When the truth finally came out, all her loved ones turned into enemies, whereas Anbaixiu, an absolute stranger, had extended a helping hand time and time again.
In the City of Alchemy, druids were treated with contempt. Naomi had struggled for so long trying to save her clan, yet no one had paid her any heed. It was Anbaixiu, a lich, who helped her in her despair.
The second time, she was paralyzed by panic, not understanding what was happening or why everyone had suddenly become her enemies. It was Anbaixiu who stepped in and laid bare the cruel truth.
The third time, after being betrayed by everyone and pushed to the brink of madness, when no one cared whether she lived or died, Anbaixiu had intervened, putting her to sleep out of mercy.
It was almost laughable—as a druid, the only being who had ever treated her kindly was a lich.
Naomi had been driven to the brink of a mental breakdown by harsh reality, which was why she had chosen to take her own life upon waking.
Yet that most venomous man had stripped away even her right to die, leaving her trapped in this half-dead state. Naomi was tired; she no longer wished to struggle.
When Anbaixiu offered her the contract, Naomi had agreed with virtually no hesitation. Standing before her was the only person in the world who had ever been good to her, someone powerful enough to protect her from harm. What was there to hesitate about?
It could only be said that the more miserable a child's early life, the easier it was to win them over later.
Perhaps it was precisely this attitude of total self-surrender that had sparked the resonance within Anbaixiu.
As previously mentioned, Anbaixiu was long accustomed to the existence of an undead. Expecting him to win over a beast with patience and love was simply asking too much. Thus, the moment he encountered Naomi, he felt he had found the perfect "beast companion."
It worked out well for both sides. Each got what they needed. Anbaixiu was pleased, Naomi was willing, and the God of Alchemy was content. The only dissatisfied one was Catherine.
Even after understanding Naomi's reasoning, Catherine still felt Anbaixiu was taking shameless advantage of someone in distress.
Anbaixiu remarked quizzically, "You know, I'm finding you rather discriminatory. Why is it fine to keep a panther as a companion, but keeping a human is unacceptable?"
Catherine retorted, "Humans and elves are humanoid races! We are sapient beings of similar appearance, so naturally we cannot accept one of us being treated like a pet. Isn't that perfectly normal?"
Anbaixiu chuckled. "Ah, but I'm a lich. I'm not a humanoid race! I could remodel myself into a spider or a giant dragon right now if I wanted. If humans can raise panthers as pets, why can't a lich take in a human?"
Liches truly could not be classified as humanoid races; by nature, they were undead. This rack of bones could be altered however he pleased. If Anbaixiu felt like it one day, he could transform himself into a bone dragon, even if his soul was not a dragon soul.
"Th-that..."
Inexperienced in the ways of the world, Catherine found herself completely at a loss for words, though she still felt something was fundamentally wrong.
Anbaixiu did not blame her. Most humans, elves, orcs, and dwarves thought that way. They treated creatures resembling themselves as their "own kind" and were willing to treat them as equals.
Judging by appearances was not just an elven habit; other intelligent races were much the same.
Still, most deities chose humanoid forms, which led humanoid races to think themselves superior to all others. If all the gods had taken the form of slimes, slimes would probably be running the continent.
Anbaixiu had no desire to debate ideological philosophy. The contract was sealed anyway, and there was no taking it back.
While Naomi was undergoing her baptism of power, Anbaixiu urged Catherine to contact the elven realm at once to see if they could secure that artifact.
Harvey had less than two months left. Anbaixiu needed to seize every minute and second.
Catherine was thoroughly displeased, but unable to formulate a counterargument in logic or words, the Elven Queen could only pout angrily as she made contact with the elves.
Catherine was the sort of person who never redirected her anger onto innocent parties. *Harvey is blameless,* she reminded herself.
So despite her reluctance, Catherine did her best to communicate with the elven kingdom.
Evidently deeply concerned for their former queen's safety, the elves sent back a reply almost immediately. It began with an extensive outpouring of warmth and concern, asking how Catherine was faring out in the wide world—oozing the doting anxiety of an old father. Only after confirming that Catherine had met with no mishaps or hardships did the elves provide the information Anbaixiu sought.
Back then, when Arthur Ryan contended against the Demonic Dragon Tyrant, he had indeed stolen the time-reversing artifact from the tyrant beforehand, allowing him to successfully slay the beast.
However, only those with dragon blood could utilize the item. Consequently, Arthur Ryan had secretly entrusted the artifact to the elves for safekeeping. According to the old king's recollections, he had hidden it deep within the sea.
So much time had passed that the old king could now give Anbaixiu only a general location, unable to pinpoint the exact coordinates.
"Why didn't your elven race keep the artifact in your own treasury?" Anbaixiu asked, puzzled.
Catherine looked a bit sheepish. "Back then, who could have predicted that Arthur Ryan would truly manage to slay the Demonic Dragon Tyrant? If the artifact had been kept in the Silvermoon High Court, the tyrant would surely have sensed it and might have attacked our homeland. Besides, elves couldn't use the artifact anyway, so sealing it deep beneath the ocean seemed far more sensible."
Simply put, they did not want to keep such a hot potato under their own roof.
While the reasoning held water, leaving the artifact untouched even after the Demonic Dragon Tyrant was dead seemed terribly wasteful. Even if they could not use it themselves, they could have traded it to the dragon race for a mountain of gold. Overseas dragons would surely have leapt at the chance to buy it back.
"Alright, now that we have the coordinates, let's head out and find this artifact at once!"
Having just tasted the thrill of adventure, Catherine was already eager for another journey.
Besides, she had never seen the ocean before.
Chapter 154