Trying to find an excuse to reject Old Drake's 'invitation', Jason couldn't help but sigh as he knew that it was impossible without looking suspicious.

Nodding his head, he asked Max where exactly Old Drake was before he stood up from his seat.

Separating from the Fler's to talk to Old Drake, Max decided to lead him, with Seron accompanying the two youths.

Jason looked calm on the outside, but his inside was chaotic, with thousands of thoughts tormenting him.

'Will Shane be there if I need him?! Should I call him once I'm alone? What is this bullsh*t? Can't I have my peace please?!?' 

Cursing inside his mind for some time, they already arrived in front of a large high-graded wooden door that released dense mana currents.

However, this couldn't distract Jason's firm gaze which already perceived one almost broken mana core, Till's familiar mana fluctuations at the Lord rank, and two sovereign ranked mana cores with a single somewhat crude shaped prismarine crystal which was somewhat calming, even if his heart skipped a beat.

'Two Lords would have been even better' Jason couldn't help but think for a second, but it was only obvious that not everything could go according to his desire.

As such, the three youths entered the room where Max walked towards Old Drake while Seron halted his steps next to Till.

To Jason, it felt as if they wanted to interrogate him or maybe even worse, however, Till's faint smile assured him to a certain degree as he tried to calm down.

Clearing his throat, Jason straightforwardly asked, without trying to waste any time.

"Old Drake, is there a specific reason for me to come here? I think I'm interrupting something..." Glancing at the two sovereign ranks that stood nearby Old Drake, Jason couldn't help but feel uncomfortable under their stares that seemed to threaten him.

Gulping down his saliva, he averted his attention back to Old Drake, who answered him calmly.

"That's not the problem Jason, rather than that, we talked about you! I watched your fights and asked the patriarch to come over and see your magnificent combat prowess.

Unfortunately enough, he couldn't come because there seems to be a small issue he has to solve, however, instead he was generous enough to send over his subordinates, which are able to determine your strength!"

When Old Drake finished talking, Jason felt that his bad premonition came true, as his fear intensified, as he asked to be sure.

"....And what exactly….does that have to do with me being called here?"

He was already aware of the answer, but Jason had to be sure, even if he didn't want to hear the obvious answer.

Old Drake started to smile at Jason innocently, as he said 

"I think you already know what the Drake family patriarch wants. In order to defend ourselves against the foreign races, we need to strengthen our clan strength, and what would be better than nurturing prodigies? Obviously, the Drake family patriarch won't nurture anybody and also not without being assured about their loyalty. 

The outcome is obvious, right? If you want to receive the Drake family's resources, you need to sign a soul contract with the Drake family patriarch or someone he trusts!"

Sighing deeply, Jason couldn't help but shudder as his premonition came true, as he looked at Old Drake, asked sarcastically

"What if I don't want to receive the 'glorious' change to receive the Drake family's resources?"

He was extremely pissed at Old Drake, who looked at him as if everything he did was for Jason's own good without feeling remotely bad about what he was doing right now.

'Hypocrite!' Jason cursed inwardly, as one of the sovereigns next to Old Drake suddenly exploded.

"A peasant like you without any background should feel thankful to be even able to talk to the Drake family and after showing this puny combat prowess which barely meets the requirements you want to decline such an opportunity? Are you f*cking kidding me?"

Releasing some of his mana with killing intent to envelop Jason, his eyes turned cold as he added.

"If you don't accept the offer the Drake family gives you, you might as well be our enemy, and I think it's obvious what happens if we capture an enemy! You'll die!!"

Intensifying the killing intent, Jason could barely breathe, and there was nothing he could do as Old Drake lifted his finger, telling the sovereign rank to calm down.

Jason was released from the killing intent that almost killed him, as he slumped to the ground, barely being able to breathe, as Till appeared next to Jason to look, if he was fine, with healing currents enveloping him. "These bastards…" 

Till was surprised to hear what Old Drake said, and it was as if he changed completely and Old Drake's gentle expression turned cold.

Old Drake was known as gentle and kind but he would only behave like this if he could gain something from such behavior.

Max, who stood next to his grandfather a moment ago, retreated several steps when he realized what was going on.

Not believing it, he looked around the room, only to see Seron's shocked expression, which also seemed to say 'What is going on here?'

Both youths didn't know what happened and it felt as if they were thrown out of their own playground into the cruel reality within seconds.

They neither imagined that the Drake family would force prodigious youths into a soul contract nor that they were so overbearing, threatening Jason with his death.

Max averted his gaze from Jason to the two Drake family subordinates that came with him.

While the one that almost killed Jason was still enraged, Max could see deep pain and pity glimmering in the other middle-aged man's eyes, telling him that Jason was not the first one to be forced into submission.

Yet, he was still unable to believe that this happened in front of him.

Taking deep breaths he tried to calm down, as he saw Jason standing up with his golden eyes turned extremely cold without any trace of warmth and kindness left.

Looking at Old Drake, Jason couldn't help but hold back anymore, as he said 

"Is that the only reason I was asked to come here, or is there even something important you wanted to say?"

Hearing this, Old Drake smiled, as the sovereign rank was about to release his killing intent once again in order to kill Jason cruelly after tormenting him for a while, only to be held back by Old Drake.

Smiling brightly, Old Drake looked more like a devil than a human to Jason, as he said.

"Young boy you're really interesting due to multiple reasons and you know that, or am I wrong? Your soul-awakening rating is a bad joke, otherwise, how would you be able to contract three mid to peak evolved ranked beasts at your age...However, other than that your eyes and combat prowess are what I'm really interested in, while your personality is pleasing to my eyes….hahaha. If I could, I would just force you into submission right now without wasting a single second, unfortunately, I'm not allowed and neither is now the perfect timing."

Frowning, Jason was unsure what exactly Old Drake meant, as Till stood up next to him, looking serious at Old Drake as he said.

"If you were to force Jason into submission right now or even kill him, it would create bad blood between the Drake family with the Greil- and Gier family because we still need him!"

Old Drake who was astonished about this revelation, and lifted his eyebrow as he said in a cold, yet overbearing voice

"Why exactly do you need Jason? This has nothing to do with the Greil and Gier family! Don't involve yourself in our family's business only because of a single youth! I don't think you can take the responsibility to start a war, or am I wrong?? 

Next to Old Drake, the enraged sovereign rank once again released his mana fluctuations to underline the spoken words, however, instead of being forced to retreat, Till's eyes turned cold, as he said.

"You are budding into our business if you force Jason into submission right now, and I give a sh*t whether I have the responsibility to wage a war or not, but I don't think you should mess with the direct heir of the Gier family and me, the Greil's patriarch second son! Once we finish our business you can do whatever you want! We already have an agreement with the Drake family patriarch about our business and I don't think YOU are eligible to take the responsibility to start a war against us only because you're impatient!"

Jason's heart felt warm when he heard Till's words, even if he might be after his own benefits, but this didn't matter for the moment as he could breathe more freely without the fear of being forced into submission or killed right now.

When Till finished his words, the sovereign rank next to Old Drake almost immediately retraced his killing intent, as Old Drake sighed deeply, mumbling

"Jael never said that he should be forced into submission immediately, right? What else did he say…."

As if he remembered something Old Drake averted his gaze back to Jason, as their eyes met.

"The Drake family patriarch told me to offer you a better soul contract if you win against the strongest youth on Astrix...That should be Greg Fler, whom you're fighting soon…"

Hearing this Jason frowned deeply, as Old Drake added, smiling craftily.

"Because I like your attitude and strength, I might even be able to offer you a better contract than that! That is under the condition that you defeat Greg Fler in the Top 25 and your next opponent in the Top 13 tomorrow!"

'Huh?' Jason thought, and he couldn't really understand Old Drake's reasoning for this.

'What is so special about the Top 13 and why does he even bother to give me the possibility to receive a better contract...it's not like I can do anything against it either way, except dying….'

Seeing Jason's suspicious face, Old Drake's hideous smile widened, as he said while laughing cruelly

"Your opponent in the Top 13 will be Max! Isn't that interesting?!"