Chapter 3

In the Whispering Forest Arena, Allegri faced off against the Gray-furred Magic Rabbit. Allegri suffered a regrettable defeat.

The cute rabbit was munching on its favorite wild lettuce, its eyes closed in bliss, when it was suddenly and inexplicably attacked, causing it to become instantly irritable.

Even clay figurines have a temper, let alone a great rabbit. The "magic" in its name indicated that it was different from its carrot-loving, cowardly kin—so it believed.

Its long ears drooped, and a grating, glass-scraping sound echoed. Their exceptional hearing endowed them with a unique magical ability—the ear-piercing scream.

Allegri, charging forward, was struck by the sound, instantly feeling a ringing in his ears and a loss of strength. He dropped his staff and clutched his ears, but to no avail.

More terrifyingly, with the scream, cries for help echoed from a distance and quickly approached. It turned out that the surrounding rabbit allies were coming to the rescue, ready to encircle and eliminate this public enemy of the rabbits.

If Allegri had read the "Beginner's Guide to Summoned Creatures" more carefully, he would have known that herbivores surviving in such forests often had extraordinary reproductive abilities and typically lived in groups of dozens or even hundreds.

Allegri never expected to be outnumbered. In a panic, he pulled out a scroll from his chest and chanted, unleashing his ultimate move:

"By the sacred covenant, I call upon your power, O Walker in the Darkness, O Fearless Warrior, descend upon this place!"

The scroll in his hand was swallowed by a dense black mist, which then transformed into a bizarre inverted hexagram magic array. With a "pop," it vanished.

"What the—?" Allegri was dumbfounded. This was his ultimate move, and it didn't even look right.

The next moment, a heavy object landed on his head, leaving the poor magic apprentice dazed and sprawled on the ground.

The magic rabbit's scream abruptly stopped, and a terrifying pressure swept through the forest, leaving it silent. A hoarse, authoritative voice slowly echoed above Allegri:

"Where am I? Oh... a powerful magician, the Dark Warrior is willing to serve... huh? Mr. Magician?"

"My dear Dark Warrior... could you take your foot off my head?"

******

"My dear... Dark Warrior?" Seeing the magic rabbit scatter in fear of his summoned creature, Allegri struggled to stand up, heartbroken and wanting to command the Dark Warrior to catch the rabbits for lunch. But when he saw the appearance of his summoned creature, he was immediately dumbfounded, stammering, "No... no way—aren't you just a low-level skeleton warrior?"

"Hmm?" The "Dark Warrior" in a cool pose inserted a rusty iron knife into his ribcage, his skull face showing what he thought was a very friendly smile, his voice full of the sound of bone fragments, "Hehe, I was once glorious."

"But you don't even have a full layer of flesh..." Allegri was heartbroken, his voice trembling.

"There's no need to worry—"

"Stop!" Allegri waved his hand to stop the skeleton's explanation, thought for a moment, then shook his head and ordered, "Forget it, a skeleton is a skeleton. Here, catch a rabbit for me for lunch, remember, make it well-done."

The skeleton looked Allegri up and down, "So, you're just a young apprentice..." He straightened his back and patted his chestbone, the sound of his bones clattering as he spoke with a sense of righteousness, "Sorry, dear magic apprentice, our contract has been fulfilled."

The little skeleton, pretending to be a Dark Warrior, had fallen from the sky, scaring away his lunch with a mere aura, and now boldly claimed the contract was complete. Allegri was so angry he felt like he was on fire! If everyone was bullied by their summoned creatures like this, how could they ever survive in the world?

But seeing the iron knife stuck in the skeleton's ribcage, Allegri's cowardly nature took over. This guy could easily deal with him. So, with a sense of despair, Allegri waved his hand, letting it be.

Sighing, Allegri gathered his things and walked away dejectedly. However, soon he heard a sound behind him, like the clattering of bones.

"Hey—Mr. Magician, the contract is fulfilled, send me back, will you!"

Hearing this, Allegri felt a sudden change, as if a refreshing spring had poured over his head, bringing an indescribable sense of relief.

He slowly stopped, turned around, and sneered, "Dear Mr. Dark Warrior, I don't understand what you're saying."

"Respected Magician, since the contract is fulfilled, send me back to the dark realm, please?" The skeleton bowed deeply, a sight that made one worry he might shake off his coccyx.

Facing the two expectant eye sockets, Allegri shrugged, saying helplessly, "I don't know how..."

"You don't know?" The skeleton ran a few steps to catch up, unwilling to waste time, "Then how did you summon me?"

"Of course, with a summoning scroll." Allegri glanced at him, his face full of disappointment.

"A summoning scroll should have a return array, otherwise, it wouldn't form a perfect magic loop." The skeleton was getting anxious.

"So, you're a well-educated skeleton, huh? You know a lot..." Allegri took a step back and said slowly, "The scroll seems to be a bit damaged, otherwise, it wouldn't have summoned you, a defective product."

The skeleton's eyes darkened, and he felt a sudden bone density loss.

******

By the time the matter was finally sorted out, it was already afternoon tea time.

Although the exact reason was still unknown, both of them confirmed one thing: the return array that should have existed was no longer operational, turning the temporary contract into an eternal one.

Allegri finally caught up with his injured "lunch rabbit" and was now feasting. Across from him, the seated skeleton hung his head dejectedly, counting his vertebrae, feeling like a victim of coercion.

Putting down the charred rabbit leg, Allegri swallowed a mouthful of meat and patted the skeleton's shoulder, smiling, "Don't be upset, the contract is sacred and cannot be broken. If I die, you won't survive either... In the future, you'll charge forward, and I'll support from behind, a perfect match."

The skeleton swatted his hand away, huffing, "Mr. Magic Apprentice, you haven't read the contract carefully, have you? If I die in the front, you won't survive either."

"Huh?" Allegri was slightly stunned, then cried out, "Why! Why is it an equal contract? It should be a master-servant contract..."

The skeleton leaned back against a tree, "How should I know? So, what should I call a young apprentice who can't even defeat a rabbit?"

"Call me Allegri..." He mumbled, tearing at the rabbit meat, "What should I call you, the skeleton Dark Warrior?"

The skeleton was taken aback, thinking for a long time before shaking his head, "I forgot..."

"You seem really pitiful," Allegri chuckled, "How about I give you a name, reluctantly?"

The skeleton waved his hand indifferently.

"Let's call you Dios." After much thought, Allegri finally decided.

"Sounds interesting?" The skeleton asked curiously.

"In ancient magic language, it means a legendary warrior, fearless and mighty."

The skeleton slapped his leg bone, excited, "I am exactly that kind of person!"

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