Asher felt he already knew what the pact would entail. It would likely allow him to share some of the energy he had obtained from slaying monsters. If he could continue to empower himself, his allies would benefit as well. They very well could even surpass him one day if they were to obtain his powers. "What should I know about these pacts?" Asher demanded.
"Anyone under your command would benefit from your power and have to follow the rules of your pact without question."
"So if I form a pact, I set terms on anyone who accepts?"
"That is correct. For one to disobey would incur horrible pain and potentially even death."
Asher mused on that part heavily. He could create super powered followers who could never betray him. It was an interesting thought. Even those who he didn't know if he could trust would be forced to enact his will. It seemed like the perfect way to boost his own goals forward and also continue on with the companions he already knew and trusted.
He could almost sense the impatience of the creature. It seemed to be pushing him towards unlocking every bit of his potential. But why? What was the gain? Asher decided to ignore his own questions for now, as he was positive the shadowy being wouldn't answer him. There was no point in arguing with it or picking a fight, because it would just disappear without an explanation. For now, Asher would just go along with the beast's directions.
Asher had already decided on who he was going to forge a pact with. The shadowy being had gone back into whatever hiding place it came from as soon as Asher had made up his mind.
Asher wandered back to town from his most recent job, he had slain a minotaur. With all of the power he had gained from the monsters he had killed, the beast that had once nearly killed him and his entire expedition before, fell to Asher alone. As soon as he felt the power coursing through him once again, he knew that one of his passive abilities had become slightly better. It was a mostly unused skill that was essentially a sixth sense, allowing Asher to sense attacks coming from behind him.
The only issue with that ability is that Asher had discovered a new one that was superior in every way. Precognition was capable of giving Asher a split second to sense where the attacks were coming from. He could almost see phantom images of every move his enemies made. If he were to upgrade it, he felt as though he would be capable of winning fights against the most talented fighters in the world.
Before he knew it, Asher was back in the city limits of Imperia. The organization that had made an attempt on his life had not made another move on him so far. It had been some time since they had attacked last. Asher could only guess they were biding their time, waiting for a better opportunity to strike. In the meantime, he would be working on becoming stronger than anyone they could possibly send. There was one worrying thought however. There was no telling how powerful some of their members were with the group never giving any information on each other.
He sighed at the thought. There would be nothing he could do until it came time to face them once more. In the meantime, he had work to do. He collected his pay from his latest job and proceeded towards Willow's room.
He knocked on the door lightly and heard Willow's voice urging him to come in. She looked surprised to see him visiting and asked, "What do you need, Asher?"
He didn't speak for several moments. He had already decided that he wanted to form a pact with Willow, but he didn't know how to approach the subject. There was no telling whether she would agree or how she would react to the information. He wasn't even entirely sure how to do it in the first place.
"I may have a way to make you more powerful," Asher stated flatly. "I understand if you aren't comfortable with it, I don't fully understand it myself, so tell me now if you don't wish to go through with it."
"You don't understand it? How do you not understand it? Asher, if it's your power, you should know what it is and how to use it."
"Because I don't think it's fully my own power," Asher answered. "There is a being, I haven't brought this up to Leah because we had an encounter with this thing. It scared her. Terrified would actually be the right word. This being has been assisting me in unlocking my powers. I'm not sure what it's true goal is, but it is powerful. I couldn't even begin to track it's movement when I encountered it before. It is also what helped me destroy the lich before."
Willow shook her head. "Asher, I don't know about this. If this thing is as powerful as you say, why is it attached to you? Why would it be bothering to explain how to use your powers? It makes no sense to me. I will not tell anyone what you have said here, but I refuse to be experimented on, knowing what I do now. I trust you, but I do not trust the devil on your shoulder. And neither should you."
Asher nodded and simply stood back up and left her room. He heard the door latch behind him and he sighed. "Let's try Killian," Asher muttered. He didn't know how the older and more experienced guild member would react to the deal, but Asher figured it was worth a try.
He made his way to Killian's room and knocked before entering quickly. The tall man was sitting on his bed, sharpening his great sword. There was an armor stand in the corner with all of Killian's plate armor sitting on it.
"What do you need?" Killian asked plainly.
"Do you wish to help me with something?" Asher asked.
Killian eyed him carefully before answering, "It depends. What is it that I am helping you with?"
"I have a power that awakened a while ago and I am discovering new abilities with it. There is one that I wish to try on you. The way I understand how it works is that you will follow rules of an agreement in order to share some of my power," Asher explained.
Killian sighed, "Why would I be worried about sharing your power? I am the head of the B ranks and you sit at rank C currently. Even if you were promoted today, there is such a huge gap in power between us that it would take years for you to catch up to me."
Asher argued immediately, "That isn't necessarily so. I absorb the power of monsters for my own gain. You could as well. It could boost you even farther. Haven't you been curious how I defeated the frost giants? Even after they had defeated you."
Killian didn't answer for a long time. When he did finally answer, he asked, "What do I need to do?"
Asher smiled as he prepared to ask the mysterious being how to prepare the pact. Within moments, information flooded Asher's mind on how to form a pact. His head felt like it was ready to split open. Past the searing pain, he heard Killian ask if he was alright. As his blurry vision returned to normal, Asher noticed he had dropped to his hands and knees.
Asher looked up to see Killian's concerned expression. "I'm alright," Asher grunted. He stood up to face Killian and said, "What you need to do is cut your palm open and I will do the same. Once we have done that, we will join our blood together and I will set the conditions of our pact."
Killian shrugged and said, "Seems simple enough to me."
They proceeded with the ritual and a soft glow emitted around them. Asher said, "For our pact, the conditions are that you will follow my commands and to seek more power with which to further our goals, do you accept?"
Killian nodded and stated, "I accept the conditions of the pact."
Asher felt a new kind of power flooding his body and there was a feeling of energy being exchanged towards Killian. Killian himself seemed to be adjusting to the vast amounts of power flooding into his body.
Killian clenched his fist repeatedly and then asked, "So I gained part of your power, correct? How do I use it?"
Asher smiled and said, "By doing exactly what you have been doing. If you hunt monsters, you will absorb their powers."
Killian muttered, "That's it?"
"That's it," Asher answered. "If I am correct, you actually enhanced my own powers by accepting the pact and I will also receive a boon from every creature you slay."
After that, Asher left Killian to his own devices. There wasn't much more to tell the big man. Asher felt weakened from the pact, but he figured that would change quickly.
Asher decided he had one last stop to make before he concluded his activities and went to rest. He knocked at a door in the guild hall and the door opened to reveal Leah's face. It was clear she had been sleeping from her bleary-eyed expression. Asher immediately asked, "Do you want to get stronger?"