As soon as he said yes, the lucky draw activated and a giant roulette table flashed with numerous unknown items. After a while the needle stopped and a box bathed in golden light emerged.
[The host has received a 'Golden Treasure Box']
[Note: Silver Treasure Box upgraded as part of newbie gift!]
James started at the glowing box and then immediately entered the system shop. He tried to find any instance of treasure boxes in the shop but to no avail, it seems that you could only get them as part of the lottery. Still, James was very excited.
[Would the host like to open the Golden Treasure Box? Yes/ No]
"Yes."
Then there was another eruption of light and the sound of something unlatching echoed in his mind.
[Congratulations! The host has received the special contract, 'Instant Love']
[Instant Love: Increase the favorability of the target woman to 75 instantly.]
[Note: Only works with Mages Level 6 and below.]
[Note: Cannot be used against those protected by ancient noble bloodlines.]
James was stunned.
"Instant Love?"
What the hell? This is too overpowered! He was just bemoaning how he couldn't do anything without a strong backer and now the system truly answered his prayers.
He looked at the glowing parchment in his mind and furtively looked around the arena. James was a little nervous holding such a powerful thing.
This was a level 6 mage! They were on the verge of crossing the boundary of mortals at that point. Level 6 mages could cause huge amounts of devastation and they had extremely large mana reserves. You could be a professor at a school like Ainsworth if you were a level 6 mage…wait a professor?
At this moment Lydia, who had stopped walking, turned to James.
"Alright, you can just stay here. I will practice with Kira first." She motioned to the quiet girl just ahead of her.
James nodded and stepped back from the small arena. He didn't have time to deal with anyone right now, so he was grateful regardless of what her intentions were.
Staring absentmindedly at the two girls who had started dueling, James' attention returned to the system.
[Does the host want to use the contract 'Instant Love'? Yes/ No]
"Yes." James said firmly in his heart.
[Compatibility Radar activated. Searching for eligible targets…]
At this time, James could see a dome of light spread out in his mind.
The people in the surrounding radius of 500 metres, basically the entire arena, were all marked with status symbols. Red for ineligible, green for available. Most were green, afterall how many people had an ancient noble bloodline or were above level 6?
His eyes drifted across the red dots.
Only three people. Ryan Everheart, Lydia Clearwater and…
James turned to look at the girl who Lydia was dueling. His eyes hardened. How could it be her?
It seems that Kira could feel him staring as she immediately turned to glance at him while retreating from an incoming water spell. Seeing this James quickly put his head down as if he was nervous.
Kira Nocturne. A genius, about to become a level 2 mage. A beautiful girl with raven black hair and dark eyes. She was quiet and stern but she was also very popular, many nobles wanted to be her friend. Because she was a civilian.
He knew this for a fact because he was constantly compared to her by students and teachers alike.
"Look at Kira and look at you!"
"Why can't you be more like Kira?"
These were phrases that the original James had heard constantly. But now the system was saying she was not illegible?
His eyes hovered over the red dot.
[Ineligible: Ancient Noble Bloodline Detected]
From his reading of what the system had said, James asserted that the so-called ancient noble bloodline must be the bloodline of the Thirteen Houses. So Kira was from one of them? Then why would she hide it and pretend to be a civilian?
James smelled a conspiracy.
He shook his head, it had nothing to do with him anyway. She had never bothered the original James so he ignored her and turned toward the front of the arena where a bright greet dot glowed.
[Selena Vaughn: Eligible Target]
There were no surprises here. To be a head combat instructor Selena had to at least be a level 6 mage, and as far as he knew while the Vaughn family was powerful they were not on the same level as the Thirteen Houses.
"Instant Love huh?"
James knew that if he used the contract on Selena, her mind would probably be uncontrollably manipulated but he hardened his heart. If it was anyone else he might have felt bad but not Selena.
All the bruises and broken bones this body had endured could all be indirectly linked to her and her indifference.
"Contract Selena Vaughn."
[The host has chosen Selena Vaughn, Level 6 Mage. Contracting in process...]
[Contract successful!]
[Gigolo contracts 0/1. Note: Please let the host increase his level to a level 1 mage to gain additional contracts.]
James looked at his panel and sure enough Selena was listed under the contracted women. Her favorability was still [-15] however.
"So you need to increase your level to gain more contracts?" James noted this carefully in his mind.
Then he looked at the glowing parchment and motioned the system to use the Instant Love ticket on Selena.
[Using Instant Love on contract Selena Vaughn…]
[Successful!]
[Congratulations to the host for increasing the favorability of the contract! The host is rewarded 2000 affection points.]
"Only two thousand affection points?" James had looked at the system mall, so it wasn't as much as he'd expected. "Is it because favorability is not as important or is it because I used the special ticket?"
James decided to think about it later however, as the woman he was thinking about was now walking towards their group with a stern face.
He looked above Selena's head.
Selana Vaughn [-15 → 70 (Love)].