10 Not All Random Omnipotent Being is On Your Side

Morning arrived, and I looked over at Foire, still fast asleep.

I climbed out of bed, feeling the need for a shower to start my day.

As the warm water cascaded over me, I found myself gaining some clarity about the situation I was in.

I reflected on the night I encountered Gaunter O'Dimm at a crossroads.

He had appeared out of nowhere, but now it seemed like he had been waiting for me all along.

He knew about my life as a mercenary, both in the past and present.

He might have even known that I had played The Witcher 3 DLC: Hearts of Stone.

And he needed a proxy to fulfill the last wish.

In simple terms, someone, likely a reincarnator, had struck a deal with him.

In exchange for three wishes, this person would give up their soul.

I wasn't sure how the negotiation had unfolded, leading to this pact with O'Dimm.

He also mentioned that the fourth Phenex was a reincarnator or transmigrator, confirming my own theories.

Implying that the current Ryzen Phenex was not the same person as before.

The pact they made stated that once the three wishes were fulfilled, Ryzen would surrender his soul.

Perhaps he had misunderstood the terms or underestimated the consequences.

Or he may be well aware of it.

Anyhow, now, the time had come for the third wish to be fulfilled, and that's where I came in.

I was to act as a proxy and fulfill this final wish.

My guess was that Ryzen would make outrageous requests to prolong his life, gain more power, or ultimately try to kill me and eliminate me from the equation, thus nullifying the pact.

Not all R.O.B is on your side, and there is a reason for the word Random in R.OB.

Nothing comes free.

In one way or another, there will be a price to be paid.

He couldn't harm me directly, nor O'Dimm couldn't directly assist me either.

A move that I would do if i'm in his situation.

But personally, I would negotiate the part where it involves my soul from the beginning.

Or blatantly refused, because the pact didn;t state that O'Dimm was the one that reincarnated him there.

However, a moment of clarity washed over me, even more profound than the post nut clarity one experiences after certain personal activities.

I began to understand why O'Dimm sought me out.

Firstly, I knew who he was and what he was capable of. Secondly, like any mercenary, I had laid out my terms, including operating costs and insurance.

Technically, he hadn't helped me; he was merely fulfilling my terms as a mercenary and not "directly" aiding me, despite giving me a Sacred Gear called Telos Karma.

Returning to the pact itself, there were small prints hidden on the paper, disguised as decorative elements.

Ryzen probably hadn't noticed them, but I did.

These intricate and ambiguous words allowed both O'Dimm and me to navigate the requests with clever wording and wordplay.

I recalled a story where a nobleman had a pact stating that the devil could only take his soul in Rome.

However, the nobleman ended up going to an inn named Ryzm, which meant Rome in Polish, fulfilling the pact.

Another example was from The Witcher 3, where Geralt asked Olgierd to meet him at the temple of Lilvani.

Olgierd had a pact stating that the three of us (himself, O'Dimm, and Geralt) had to stand on the moon.

By technicality, the moon tile ornaments on the temple of Lilvani's floor fulfilled the contract.

In both cases, it was not about power play but wordplay.

Depending on how I fulfilled the requests, I could tip the scales in my favor.

I just needed to get creative and rack my brain for ideas.

I finished my shower and let out a sigh.

Retrieving a dark gray suit and a red tie from my storage scroll, I reminded myself that whoever Ryzen was now, he was a nobleman, while I remained a commoner.

As the saying goes, "When in another's lair, show him respect or else do not go there."

Everyone has their place, and they should acknowledge it, make peace with it, and then take action.

I had long made peace with my position as a commoner devil, and lately, I had been doing something about it.

It took me a while to realize that I could rise to the top through my knowledge and imagination alone.

But it wasn't as simple as that.

Nothing worthwhile comes without a price, as the scars on my body attested.

Looking at myself in the mirror, seeing my reflection looking ready to face whatever challenges lay ahead, I couldn't help but feel a sense of confidence.

Stepping out of the bathroom, I noticed Foire still peacefully sleeping on the bed, her naked form exposed. I left a note by her side, whilst resisting the urge to playfully poke her cheeks.

Walking out of my room, a faint smile played on my lips.

My small experiment with using Telos Karma while slightly intoxicated had proven successful.

Although I had only used it to create minor opportunities so far, the mere thought of an opportunity was enough to activate the Telos Karma.

And that's how I ended up meeting the matron, who was a terrible liar.

Somehow, the theories I had explored the previous night, coupled with the power of Telos Karma, allowed me to absorb her trait of being a bad liar.

It might seem useless or even detrimental, but if utilized correctly, it could serve me well.

I could manipulate situations in my favor, for instance, by saying something that would prompt others to do the opposite.

With Telos Karma in my possession, I had the ability to engineer the requests Ryzen would make to me.

I just needed to create the right circumstances and steer them towards my advantage.

As I passed by a somewhat similar stranger on the street, I smiled, knowing that the O'Dimm I knew was always lurking in the background.

He embodied the saying "the devil is in the details," proving that small prints and hidden clauses could completely change the meaning of a pact.

Truly, he was a terrifying man.