"Habika?"
Victor froze slightly, and the memories from the game began to surface in his mind.
That was one of the many gods in the game's lore.
A character who only appeared in the background story, mentioned solely in collectible quest storybooks.
No one had ever seen its true form.
According to the game's records, every time Habika appeared, it either brought natural disasters or human calamities.
There was even one recorded instance where Habika's appearance wiped out half of humanity.
A wicked, terrifying god.
"Of course, you can also call me by my current name, Vega."
The raven, who called itself Vega, politely folded its wings across its chest and bowed.
Victor couldn't read the other party's intentions, so he didn't respond.
Seeing Victor's silence, Vega fluttered its wings once, straightening its posture.
"How interesting. Looks like you've heard of me."
Victor said flatly, "Don't know you."
He understood very well, getting entangled with a god was never a good thing. All players knew that.
Especially with evil gods that existed only in the game's background lore, they were always dangerous.
But why was an evil god that had never appeared in the game story suddenly seeking him out?
Before he could think further, Vega opened its beak and croaked in a hoarse, crow-like voice, "You are not Victor. Your soul isn't dirty enough."
Its single eye stared intently at Victor, trying to find a trace of panic on his face, but Victor's usual expressionless demeanor disappointed it.
"Gods can see through souls," it said.
"But that's fine. I came specifically to find you."
Vega shook its feathers, and a single long black feather fell onto the desk, turning into a piece of black paper. White, twisted lines began forming words, like a demon's contract.
Victor looked at the paper and felt a headache coming on.
He had just arrived in this world. He hadn't done anything yet, and already, in a single day, he'd signed two contracts.
'I'm a booster-for-hire, not some overworked corporate slave!'
He took the paper, scanning it as he mocked, "Aren't you supposed to be a god? Fallen on hard times?"
He never thought even gods had to go out signing clients now.
The document was a contract, if he signed it, he'd be responsible for providing this raven's food and shelter, and even for helping it build a church and recruit believers for this evil god.
According to the contract, the more believers it gained, the stronger its power would become.
And… that was it.
Victor, "…"
Not even the most exploitative contracts were this ridiculous. He had to feed it, house it, and find followers for it, and in the end, it got all the benefits while he got nothing?
He silently stared at the raven. It was elegantly preening its feathers, like some noble bird.
If only one could ignore that single glaring eye.
"My power is mostly sealed. I can only seek someone's protection," Vega said. "If you take this deal, you'll gain the friendship of a god. Worth it."
It cawed as it continued grooming itself.
Victor was speechless. 'The friendship of a god? Yeah, right.'
The raven's single eye glanced at him, seeming to read his thoughts. It added coolly, "It could save your life."
"Deal!"
Victor swiftly signed his name across the contract with a flourish.
He wasn't too worried about being tricked, gods were known to keep their word.
Even evil ones.
Once the contract was signed, he could feel a subtle, almost tangible connection form between them.
It was as if, with just a thought, he could locate the raven no matter where it was.
The raven flew up to perch on Victor's shoulder, preening again.
Liya hadn't been wrong, keeping a raven as a pet really wasn't a mark of refined taste.
But since he had just arrived in this world and already signed the contract, he might as well treat it as an uncultured pet.
After all, all he had to do was feed and house it.
As for the church, he could always spend money to build one later.
He then turned his attention to the other contract beside him, the one also requiring his signature.
This was the High Magic Academy's contract, sincerely inviting him to join the academy as a teacher and granting him a professor's title.
That's when he remembered, Victor, though a villain, was also a magical genius.
Countless mages were stuck at the second tier, yet Victor had reached the third tier by age twenty.
In game terms…
Victor silently muttered in his heart, and a familiar game interface appeared before his eyes.
[Name, Victor Clavenna]
[LV: 39]
[HP: 1000/1000]
[MP: 4900/4900]
A standard glass-cannon mage.
That confirmed his suspicion, he really had transmigrated into the game world.
A third-tier mage corresponded to level 30–39 in the game. Beyond that, it progressed similarly.
According to the lore, Victor had never advanced further. His reputation as a "genius" had long been forgotten.
Only after transmigrating into Victor's body did he realize, the man had been hiding his strength.
His experience bar was filled far beyond the limit; he could've easily broken through the third-tier barrier and become a fourth-tier Holy Mage long ago.
But he hadn't. He'd been scheming, waiting for the right moment.
So yes, his character might've been questionable, but his talent was undeniably real.
This contract, he had to sign it.
Not to mention, the professor title was something his sister and fiancée had fought to secure for him.
With the title came the protection of the Magic Academy, meaning the duke wouldn't dare cause him trouble so easily.
At least, on the surface, he'd have a reasonable excuse.
An unmarried daughter betrayed by a scoundrel? That excuse wouldn't hold up.
Everyone appreciated beauty, was his daughter supposed to remain single forever?
Victor picked up the pen and signed the contract, ordering a servant to send it to the Magic Academy, then stood up and headed toward the mansion's backyard.
Vega finally stopped preening and asked what he was going to do.
Without turning his head, Victor replied, "Teaching starts tomorrow. I'm practicing magic so I don't get rusty."
"Take me with you," Vega said, perching on his shoulder, chattering nonstop.
Soon, they arrived at the training grounds, where several enormous stone targets stood tall.
Victor looked up at the towering statues, a bit surprised.
In the game, players' backyards had similar magic stones used to increase skill proficiency.
When struck, the stones would display damage numbers, based on which players could judge their skill mastery and elemental affinities.
Now seeing the same thing in his mansion's yard filled him with mixed feelings.
Vega, mistaking his silence for awe, started rambling like a real crow.
"Magic, huh? It requires real technique…"
It went on and on, lecturing him about efficiency, power output, and focus.
"If I still had my power," it cawed, "I'd show you what real advanced magic looks like."
Victor said nothing, letting it ramble.
He glanced at his skill list, and was very satisfied.
The spells Victor could use were already second nature to him.
As the final boss of Chapter 7, The Kingdom's Chaos, he was a challenge every player had to overcome.
And as a booster-for-hire, Victor knew his skills by heart.
When the boss raised his hand, Victor already knew what move was coming.
Vega was still jabbering, "There are so many things to pay attention to in magic! Drawing circles, chanting speed..."
Before it could finish, Victor raised a hand...
BOOM!
A black lightning bolt exploded forth.
[First-Tier Spell: Black Thunder Spear]
Not a flicker of emotion crossed Victor's face. Casting magic, to him, was as simple as eating or drinking.
Then came a flurry of second-tier, third-tier spells, bursting like fireworks and leaving marks all over the stone targets.
The entire backyard glowed brilliantly under the bombardment.
Vega, perched on Victor's shoulder, went silent.
Victor looked at his nearly empty MP bar and felt dissatisfied.
'The boss stats are really pathetic. Just a few spells and I'm out of mana.'
If this were a player, loaded with gear, their mana would easily be in the tens of thousands, no need to worry about efficiency.
"You didn't even draw a magic circle before casting?" Vega asked.
Victor ignored it.
Among players, the mage class was nicknamed "the spell machine gun."
Because in the game's settings, casting circles were automated.
Players just pressed a hotkey, waited out a short casting delay, and the spell went whoosh.
And for someone like Victor, who had played every class, casting spells was child's play.
Magic? He could cast it in his sleep.
Satisfied with his control and precision, Victor was about to leave when Vega suddenly said, "Wait, don't go yet! Your way of casting magic really interests me. Do it a bit more, won't you?"
Victor didn't feel like humoring it.
'What, you think this is a fireworks show?'
Just as that thought crossed his mind, he noticed Vega's single eye light up, a dazzling blue glow enveloped his body.
He felt as though a rope had tied him and the raven together.
Victor opened his status panel again.
[MP: 995,099/999,999]
He looked down at Vega.
'I'm reporting you. This bastard's using cheats!'
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