Kylen felt a sudden wave of dizziness, and a strange, stabbing pain erupted at the base of his neck.
Glancing down, he saw a woman with hair like blazing fire nestled in his arms. Her scarlet eyes glinted with a light that was both dangerous and alluring.
Most unusual of all were the several semi-transparent crimson tentacles extending from her back—they coiled gently around his arms and waist, soft yet unyielding.
"Master, I'm hungry…" she murmured, her voice carrying a strange, echoing lilt as if calling from the depths of an abyss. "I need your blood… how could I ever hurt you, Master?"
Kylen was pinned to the bed by the woman in the dark crimson gown. Her pale, almost translucent skin stood in stark contrast to her vivid red hair—a striking, unsettling pairing.
What disturbed him most, though, were the tentacles writhing slowly around her. They shimmered with a luster like polished gemstones, beautiful yet eerie.
This woman was none other than the foreign exchange student, the most mysterious beauty of Saint Laurent Contract Academy—Avelia Selis.
The story of how they ended up here began a few days earlier…
Kylen had transmigrated to this world. It was similar to modern Earth in many ways, yet fundamentally different.
Here, abyssal rifts opened constantly, threatening the very survival of human civilization.
Everyone dreamed of awakening an ability during the Contract Ritual, becoming a Contractor who could form pacts with otherworldly creatures.
Unfortunately, Kylen had awakened no ability at all during the ritual. He was doomed to be an ordinary person.
Being ordinary might not have been so bad—until that day.
Outside the ritual hall, Kylen's girlfriend Jessica waved her ability assessment report excitedly.
"I awakened an ability! It's even a B-Rank Ability · Thorn Resonance!" Jessica rambled eagerly about their future, her eyes shining with ambition.
But by the next day, everything had changed.
"Kylen, let's end this," Jessica said, her voice cold and flat. "I'm working hard to master Contract Arts—what about you? I'll be a Contractor someday. How could I possibly marry a nobody like you? Besides, Young Master William has been pursuing me lately…"
"You can't really stop me from chasing a better life, can you?"
Kylen thought the world was absurd. Did he even have to face betrayal like this in another world?
Jessica had expected Kylen to break down in tears, or at least beg her to stay.
Out of a twisted impulse, though, Kylen only smiled gently and reminded her to remember to get plastic surgery—after all, men cared about things like that.
His words earned him a string of shrill insults from Jessica.
As Kylen turned to leave, her screams still rang in his ears: "Selfish bastard!" "Pathetic loser!"
On his way home, Kylen looked up at the alien stars of this world. A faint sadness welled up in his chest. He didn't really care about Jessica's betrayal, but she had been right about one thing—this society was ruled by Contractors.
The Arcana Empire had seven abyssal rifts in total. The one near Saint Laurent City was infamous for spawning terrifying creatures.
Since the rifts had appeared, the social structure had changed drastically.
Areas closer to the rifts were more dangerous, so housing prices there were cheaper. They also needed large numbers of ordinary people to build and maintain defense works.
Kylen's family lived in the Coastal District, just twenty miles from the rift.
On his way back to the Coastal District from the city center, Kylen detoured into a dim, narrow alley.
In the shadow of a corner, he heard a faint, labored gasp. Then, a breathtaking figure emerged from the darkness and into his sight…
She wore a tattered dark crimson gown. Her pale skin was covered in wounds—some so deep that glimpses of white bone showed through.
Most striking of all were her fiery red hair, her matching crimson eyes, and the semi-transparent tentacles hanging limply around her body.
The tentacles had a gel-like crimson texture, and their surfaces glowed with an uncanny light.
"Please… help me…" she whispered, her voice weak.
"Miss, are you alright?" Kylen stepped forward instinctively to support her.
The moment their eyes met, her deep crimson gaze seemed to pull his very soul into an abyss. Her beauty was enough to make any man's heart race.
Avelia's beautiful crimson eyes fluttered shut. She seemed to steel her resolve. "I'm sorry… I will make it up to you..."
"What?" Before Kylen could react, Avelia wrapped her arms around his head. Her sharp fangs pierced the skin of his neck.
At the same time, several of her tentacles coiled gently around his arms, leaving a strange, cool tingling sensation in their wake.
"What… what are you doing? Why are you biting me?"
As his blood flowed away, Kylen felt his vision blur. Dizziness washed over him, and he could barely stay standing.
Had the monsters from the abyss broken through the defenses? Was he going to die here?
Just as his consciousness was about to fade completely, a sharp, electronic beep sounded in his mind:
[Ding! Detected that you are being fed on by the Vampiric Slime Queen. The first male human a Slime Queen feeds on will become her Contractor!
[You have formed a pact and become a Contractor! Due to the uniqueness of your contracted creature, the Divine Pact System has been activated!]
[Host: Kylen Noctis]
[Rank: One-Star Awakening Realm]
[Contracted Creature: Vampiric Slime Queen]
[Mental Power: Average]
[Obtained Ability: S-Rank · Crimson Temptation. Your blood holds a fatal allure for all abyssal creatures. The higher the sequence rank of the creature, the more easily it will be drawn to the unique scent emanating from you.]
[Obtained Ability: S-Rank · Primordial Blood Pact. Any abyssal creature that drinks your blood will become your contracted creature. Contracted creatures that consume a large amount of your blood will trigger the "Ancient Awakening" phenomenon. Creatures that consume a small amount will temporarily become your blood servants.]
[Unlock more abilities by increasing the number of your contracted creatures!]
A system!
Kylen had activated a system at the very moment of crisis!
And the woman in front of him was actually the Vampiric Slime Queen? It seemed… she didn't want to kill him?
A crimson panel appeared in his mind:
[Name: Avelia Selis]
[Race: Vampiric Slime Queen]
[Sequence: No. 007: Crimson Goo Throne]
[Rank: One-Star Awakening Realm]
[Ability: Eternal Symbiosis (SSS-Rank)]
[Powers: Blood Coagulation Control (SS-Rank); Primordial Assimilation (S-Rank)]
[Favorability: Will Follow Through Life and Death]
Avelia Selis?
Kylen suddenly remembered. Wasn't she the mysterious genius school beauty of Saint Laurent Contract Academy, the one often featured in the news?
Her appearance now was so different from what he'd seen in reports that he hadn't recognized her at first.
In just one year at the academy, she had been promoted to a Four-Star Contractor. She had an impressive record on the abyssal front lines. Combined with her breathtaking beauty and quiet, reserved demeanor, she had become a favorite subject for reporters.
So… her true identity was the Vampiric Slime Queen?
What could have happened to her? Why had her rank dropped all the way to First-Tier?
And how had she gotten injured so severely?
Overcome by blood loss, Kylen's vision went black. He collapsed into unconsciousness.
When he woke up again, he was greeted by the scene from the beginning.
Was this legendary, ice-cold school beauty actually so passionate and forward beneath her exterior?
What Kylen didn't know was that his ability, "Crimson Temptation," was influencing her.
After drinking his blood, Avelia had smelled an intoxicating, irresistible scent that had made her heart race wildly.
Moreover, she had just lost everything.
In her moment of despair, Kylen had been the first person to use his own blood to heal her wounds—a gesture that had melted her cold, guarded heart.
The blood pact unique to Vampiric Slime Queens was sacred to their kind. Once formed, it meant a permanent soul bond.
She leaned close to Kylen's ear, her breath warm against his skin. Her tentacles brushed gently across his cheek. "Master, I'm hungry… I need… your blood."
Avelia lifted Kylen's chin with one of her tentacles. Her voice was soft, laced with temptation.
Kylen had never dreamed that this girl—admired and looked up to by so many—would now gaze at him with such deep affection in her crimson eyes.
Especially right after he'd been dumped…
How could anyone resist that?
A queen… offering herself to him?
"I'm still badly hurt," she whispered. "Only blood can heal me…"
"Will you let me?" Her tentacles tightened slightly around him, sending a strange, thrilling sensation through his body.