He let out a shaky sigh and finally opened his eyes.
"I am from a planet called Earth." Wang Lei confessed quietly. "And when I was summoned here, I got this ability to transform into anything I eat."
He looked down at the floor.
"I ate wolf meat first." Wang Lei explained. "The monsters that you guys fought... The dire wolves. That was the only meat I could actually chew and swallow by myself. But then the Elves force fed me the meat of a dead ogre."
He let out a disgusted sigh.
"I hate the fact that it actually tasted good." Wang Lei admitted. "It looked really gross and unappetizing. But after I ate it, I got the ability to mix both of the monster meats together and transform my body into something that is a mixture of both."
He looked back up.
"I have a total of three slots." Wang Lei revealed. "And I can mix and match whichever animal or monster I eat to create a hybrid form. That is my power."
He took a desperate, shuddering breath.
"Please don’t kill me." Wang Lei begged. "I will swear on my soul that I will work for you. Just please treat me right and I will support you with everything I have. As you can see, my power is special. I can do things that other guys cannot. So please don’t kill me... I can be very useful, just think about it please."
Adrian just stared at the guy.
"Is that all you can do?" Adrian asked flatly. "Is there anything you’re hiding?"
Adrian didn’t plan on killing Wang Lei. After all, there were so many ways he could use this gullible guy. On top of that, he had great survival instincts, which was even more valuable to Adrian than the transformation system.
Wang Lei just stared at Adrian.
The tiny spark of excitement completely died, and he looked even more terrified now.
’That’s it?’ Wang Lei panicked in his own head. ’He wants more? Is he going to just slit my throat if I say no?’
He immediately looked for a lifeline.
"Status screen." Wang Lei thought out loud.
And then, he just stared blankly at the space right in front of his face.
Adrian could instantly tell. Just by watching the specific way Wang Lei’s eyeballs moved, locking onto random, invisible "something" floating somewhere behind Adrian’s shoulder, he knew exactly what was happening.
As someone who also possessed a system interface, Adrian could tell that he was looking at the system screen. It was almost like he was witnessing those dumb protagonists he had read in multiple novels.
Adrian didn’t smile. He controlled his facial muscles to not show a single ounce of reaction. He just maintained his straight face.
And while he did that, he couldn’t help but think about the times he did the same. The times he stared straight in front of him even though there was nothing to see and it only made him feel a little embarassed.
After a few seconds of reading, Wang Lei quickly shook his head.
"I can only transform into a mixture of three or two different creatures that I consume." Wang Lei confirmed nervously. "But... but..."
He started talking really quickly, desperate to prove his worth.
"But I can also use the innate magical abilities of those specific monsters!" Wang Lei blurted out. "And every single time I use these combinations in combat, I can level them up and get stronger! I can make each of these combinations physically stronger over time. So I am not going to be stuck at this exact same weak level forever. I can keep evolving. I can keep getting more powerful and being more useful to you!"
Adrian just listened in silence as Wang Lei practically talked himself into a panic attack.
Then, Adrian finally smiled.
He raised his hand and gently patted Wang Lei on the shoulder.
"Well done." Adrian praised him warmly. "I will treat you really well here. I will make you one of my closest retainers. Someone who I actually trust with the most important, high-level tasks in my territory."
He pulled his hand back.
"But." Adrian added, his tone dropping. "You will have to sign a formal contract for me first so that I can actually trust you. You know how it is... It is really hard to trust people, even your own family sometimes. People backstab a lot. That is the dark side of human nature. Greed and multiple other petty reasons always push a person to do the things that you never expect them to do."
As he spoke, Adrian reached into his spatial ring.
He pulled out a blank parchment. It was none other than the Soul Contract.
He stared at the blank paper and sent his mana in. Black letters slowly began to form directly on top of the sheet, magically burning the exact terms and conditions into the parchment.
After almost a full minute of writing, he held it out for Wang Lei.
"Can you use mana?" Adrian asked casually.
Wang Lei just shook his head.
"I can’t use magic." Wang Lei admitted. "I tried."
"Okay then." Adrian nodded. "That is fine."
Adrian used the sharp edge of his hunting dagger to cleanly slice through the ropes tying Wang Lei’s arms to the stone pillar. The ropes fell away, leaving the man’s hands free.
Adrian handed the steel dagger hilt-first along with the soul contract and pointed down at it.
"Prick your finger with the blade." Adrian ordered. "Let a single drop of your blood drip directly onto this parchment. That will magically seal the contract for us. Now come on, do it."
He just held the paper out and watched the guy.
What Wang Lei couldn’t see, and couldn’t even sense, were the dozen invisible mana threads hovering right around his body.
Adrian was ready to push him down the moment he made a single suspicious movement with that dagger.