Chương 6: Unexpected Alliance For Mutual Survival

The Mountain Troll Queen was frozen in shock the moment she heard Alex speak in clear, intelligible words instead of the strange grunting noises she had expected.

"I always could, but... my body is strange. I had to find a way for you to understand me."

"U-Unbelievable... Just who are you?!"

"A player who died and became a skeleton. I'm being perfectly honest with you because trust cannot be built on lies."

"... A player?! A human?! You... became a skeleton?! Hahahaha!" She burst into mocking laughter and poked him repeatedly with her finger, teasing the skeleton.

"What a fool! So you're a monster now? Why are you even fighting us?! You're supposed to kill humans! Isn't the system giving you quests for that?"

"No such task has been assigned. I remain my own self."

"You're not... under the system's influence?!" The Troll Queen's yellow eyes widened. Her long white hair fell across half her face as her mouth hung open in shock. She had finally realized the anomaly standing before her in the Tutorial Zone.

"Who are you, exactly? My name is Alex. I originally believed all monsters were mindless beasts, but your tribe is clearly intelligent... to an extent."

"They're mostly stupid idiots. Only us females—born once every ten thousand trolls—possess superior intelligence. We are meant to lead the tribe and produce stronger offspring by mating with the mightiest warriors."

"I see. That's fascinating."

"Why would that fascinate you? You really are a strange one, aren't you?"

"I would say so. Yes, quite."

"Hmph. You speak so oddly. You really are a filthy human... or rather, you used to be one."

"Now tell me more. What is your name? Where did you come from? What is the system making you do?"

"... My name is ###### and I come from the Realm of ######. I was sent here as part of the #####."

"...?!" Alex was perplexed. He heard only censored, glitched words. The system was actively blocking him from learning the truth. But why? What was the system's true goal?

"It's a unique opportunity to conquer a new world. If we survive the Tutorial and kill enough humans, we're rewarded with strength and power. We could even claim our own territory on the new planet." Those words were not censored. It seemed only specific names and origins were hidden.

"I see. The system actively censored your name, your origin, and your affiliation," Alex explained.

"May I give you a nickname then?"

"Nickname?!" she growled, baring her sharp teeth.

"Why would I ever accept a nickname from a little worm like you?"

"Troll Queen it is, then."

"Hmph!" She groaned and glanced at the boulders, sighing heavily.

"To think I would die so quickly... not even a week has passed. You damn anomaly—you've ruined everything."

"I represent humanity, so I couldn't let your kin slaughter my people," Alex replied.

"You're a skeleton now. Why do you still care about those stupid little humans?" she demanded angrily.

"Join me and let's kill them all instead!"

"No. Absolutely not."

"What?!"

"Although becoming a skeleton has suppressed my emotions... I still want to follow certain rules—a morality that keeps me from going too far. Not because I would feel guilt, but for the sake of my past self and my identity. If I abandon everything, I will stop being myself."

"..." The Troll Queen clicked her tongue and crossed her arms, glaring at the healing potion. After speaking with him for a while, she was beginning to understand him better. Though she remained wary—they had tried to kill each other only minutes ago—she was running out of options.

"So you want me to teach you alchemy?"

"Yes, if possible."

"And you'll leave me alone afterward? So I can kill humans? You won't stop me?"

"I will stop you."

"Then what do you want from me?!" If you discover this tale on Amazon, be aware that it has been unlawfully taken from Royal Road. Please report it.

"Let's work together."

"What?!"

"Is there no way?"

"..." She groaned and sighed, utterly humiliated by the words she was about to speak. Yet she had no other choice.

"If I become your familiar... the system's rules might change. I could become part of the human system instead."

"...! Is that possible? Do you really want that? You could simply stay hidden, avoid killing humans, and I'll let you live."

"You think that's possible?! The system will sacrifice all of us who fail to meet the kill count!"

"... Hm. Fine. Deal. I promise I will treat you well. But instead of a familiar or slave, we'll work together as equals. This will reduce the chance of betrayal. Let's start a guild together—a monster guild. What do you think?"

"... This guy is seriously a nutjob." The Troll Queen stared at Alex with an incredulous expression. Her white eyebrows twitched for a long moment before she finally sighed and nodded.

"You've got me against the wall! Can I even say no?! Damn it! Fine!" she growled.

"Whatever. Let's make the contract quickly."

"You know how to make one?" Alex asked.

"Never mind, I can handle it." He issued a mental command.

"Create a Familiar Binding Contract for the Troll Queen." FLASH! The Troll Queen gasped as the skeleton skillfully wove the same spell she had intended to use. He filled in the runes with precision, expending several mana stones and monster cores to fuel the magic. A magnificent magic circle glowing with three hundred golden runes appeared between them. Alex raised his skeletal hand toward her.

"Troll Queen, let's make a contract."

"Tsk! I have conditions!"

"Sure." She swiftly added several conditions: complete freedom, no direct control, and full independence. She also demanded payment in TP for her assistance. Though the exact amounts could be negotiated later, she was surprisingly lenient given their situation.

"What do you think?" she asked with a vicious smile.

"Sure. It looks good to me," Alex said.

"But let's add that you cannot kill innocent humans who haven't attacked you first, or those you know to be malicious toward other innocents."

"Tsk! What kind of biased rule is this?! You're clearly favoring humans!" she snarled.

"Naturally. I am—well, I was—a human," he replied.

"I don't want to explain it again. Are we done? Let's proceed."

"..." She nodded and placed her finger on the magic circle. Together, they forged a Mutual Contract of Alliance, modified from a standard Contract of Subordination. It still registered the Troll Queen as Alex's Familiar, allowing her to shift from the Monster System to the Human System. Ding! [You have successfully established a Familiar Contract with the [Troll Queen (F+): Level 20].] [You have gained bonus stats from establishing a contract with a powerful Familiar.] [You gained +5 to HP, MP, Strength, Endurance, Toughness, Wisdom, and Spirit.] [You learned the Skill: [Tame Monster (Tier 1: 0%)]!] Alex felt a surge of euphoric power as the notifications appeared. These bonuses were far more valuable than the experience he would have gained from killing her. FLASH! He had even acquired a new taming skill, opening the door to taming more monsters in the future. Golden light linked their souls through a thin thread woven by hundreds of runes.

They now felt faintly connected—an intimacy that left the Troll Queen utterly disgusted.

"Disgusting... To think the day would come when I would beg an undead for help," she sighed.

"Ahhh, how far you have fallen, Gyrg... The days when you dominated the Eastern Plains are long gone." Her voice grew bitter.

"Foolish Mother, why did you let Elder Sister Huldra convince you to send me to my death?! Tsk! If I ever return home, I'll put that bitch's head on a stake!"

"..." Alex felt the energies shift. For a brief moment, he thought he had heard her real name and origin clearly. More importantly, his stats had increased the instant the contract formed.

"So your name is Gyrg. Hard to pronounce."

"Tsk, and you think 'Alex' sounds fancy?" she sneered.

"Anyway, if you ever feed me poison, your soul will explode—so this had better not be poison!"

"It's not. These are the potions I took from your men," Alex said.

"Damn bastard..." she growled, downing four potions until she looked satisfied.

"Oh yes, much better! Hmm... Dig Tunnel." RUMBLE! Like a giant mole, Gyrg began carving a massive underground passage, carrying Alex on her shoulders.

"Alright, let's go."

"Wait." Alex quickly returned to the cave, slipping between the boulders. Behind the Troll Queen's former throne, he found a large treasure chest. Thanks to his small size, flexibility, and strength, he maneuvered the boulders just enough to conceal it completely with bones before storing it inside his body. He returned to her and nodded.

"I'm ready."

"What were you doing? You're such a weird little guy," she said, raising an eyebrow.

"Anyway, you'll have to keep feeding me mana. This will take a while."

"That's fine. I still have some stones," Alex replied with a nod. As they traveled, he steadily supplied her with mana. It took roughly a day and a half to carve a tunnel that finally emerged on a cliff hundreds of meters above the ground. A misty forest stretched below them—it was now the morning of the fourth day.

"Woah! We almost fell," she muttered.

"Even I wouldn't survive that easily. What about you, skeleton?"

"I would've died, no doubt," Alex nodded.

"How do we get down? Hm, perhaps if I use the centrifugal force of Fireball..."

"What are you even talking about? We're building a staircase," Gyrg said confidently. She waved her staff and began slowly shaping the mountainside into a long staircase leading downward.

"This will take time... but it's the safest way. Watch out for monsters. Wyverns roam here... Don't worry, they're not intelligent, so they're free for us to slaughter."

"Good to know," Alex said, scanning their surroundings. While standing guard on the massive staircase, he retrieved the treasure chest from his Bone Storage and removed the covering bones. Then he opened it.

"...!" His glowing eyes brightened further at the sight. The chest was packed with coin-shaped stones brimming with spirit energy and mana, five human-sized potions, two pieces of equipment, a strange book, and a scroll. It was an excellent haul.

[You have opened the [Troll Queen's Nest Treasure Chest] and received the following items: [Spirit Coin (D Grade)] x100 [Mana Potion (D Grade)] x5 [Five Elements Crystal Ball (D Grade)] x1 [Sinister Cursed Staff (D Grade)] x1 [Race Exclusive Skill Book (D Grade)] x1 [Profession Scroll – Shamanistic Alchemist (D+ Grade)] x1] Alex could barely express emotion, yet his excitement was clear. He wanted to examine the items immediately, but—"Hey, skeleton! What are you doing? Come down or I'm leaving you behind!"

"Oh. Sure." He closed the chest, covered it with bones, stored it again, and jumped down to join her.

"I heard growls in the distance. It's misty here, so be careful—""GRYAAARRR!" As if answering her warning, shadowy silhouettes burst from the mist. Glowing red eyes locked onto them as massive jaws spewed flames.

"Damn it! Wyverns!" Gyrg panicked and conjured a magic shield. Alex expanded his Spiritual Senses, piercing the mist with ease. He spotted four large wyverns—Level 21 to 23 monsters.

"I can tell you where they are. We'll hit them with magic, draw them in, and finish them off," Alex said calmly.

"What?! Fine!" Gyrg reluctantly agreed. The wyverns hissed and bombarded them with fireballs.