-----
"Ken, huh?" Maria touched the ice, her flames quickly melting it into vapor. The Golden Core Expert fell to the ground with a loud thud, groaning and barely breathing.
"Uuaaagh... I need... food... water... someone..." he begged weakly, like a starving beggar.
"Fufu, what an unexpected gain," Maria smiled. The young man slowly looked up, noticing her grin. "From now on you're part of the Ghostly Fist Sect! Welcome!"
"W-Wha...?" Confused, Ken flinched as Maria's blazing hand touched his forehead, burning a hand-shaped mark into his skin and forcing a Soul Contract upon him. Phantasmal chains bound his soul. "Aaaaaggh! W-What...! What did you do to me?!"
As he screamed in agony, Maria patted his head. The mark vanished, and she quickly opened her inventory, offering him plenty of food and water.
"F-Food... Water?! You're... giving it to me?" he asked in disbelief, eating like a starving child.
