The Grand Duelist

[You are now a traitor of the Kingdom of Nether.]

[Every resident of the Kingdom of Nether will be alarmed when they see you.]

[No establishment within the Kingdom of Nether will accept your presence.]

[Probability of Item Acquisition within the Kingdom of Nether is dramatically lowered.]

[Guards will chase you whenever they recognize you.]

[Once a player affiliated with the Kingdom of Nether kills you, your penalty upon death is tripled.]

[You are dismissed from your duties as an Inquisitor of the Underground Penitentiary For Heinous Crimes of the Kingdom of Nether, vassal to the Empire of Trudawn.]

[Item: Compendium of Effective Torture Methods For All Kinds of Species has disappeared from your Inventory.]

[Item: Inquisitor's Medallion has disappeared from your Inventory.]

[You are now a traitor of the Underground Penitentiary.]

When Joseph opened his eyes, these system notifications that appeared right in front of him.

"Now I've done it..." A bitter mumble escaped from his mouth.

After skimming through the system notifications. He dismissed them all before staring at the young woman standing right in front of him.

Unsure about how he should approach her. Joseph maintained his distance from her before saying.

"Uh... Hello?"

The blonde-haired young woman tilted her head towards him and said.

"Are you the one that brought me here?" Her voice was somewhat cold and full of suspicions. 

"Uh... Yes?" Joseph mumbled in apparent confusion.

The blonde-haired young woman's deep brown eyes shone in enlightenment. She nodded her head and replied. 

"I see..."

But afterward, she turned silent and sat cross-legged on the ground.

Not minding about Joseph anymore.

What? Joseph was baffled. Why is she sitting down so calmly like that? Don't she have questions to ask from me? 

In contrast to the young woman's calm and composed attitude. Joseph was confused. A frown could be seen on his face as he approached the young woman and said.

"Uh... Are you okay?"

The young woman opened her eyes and calmly replied.

"Why wouldn't I be okay? Is there something that I need to worry about?"

Joseph almost keeled over from astonishment. 'Is there something that you need to worry about? What?! Shouldn't this be the time for you to ask some questions about what this place is, who am I and where you are right now? You're being too vulnerable right here, young woman!' A lot of thoughts flashed through Joseph's mind in an instant.

But in the end...

He still managed to reply.

"Erm... Are you not concerned about where you are right now, and who I am?"

The young maiden stared at Joseph as if he was joking.

"Aren't you friends with Grandpa?" She asked.

"Uh... yes? Technically, we are not really friends. But we're united with a common goal." 

The young woman nodded.

"In that case... I don't think that there's no need for me to ask about where this place is and who you are." She declared and a twitching smile appeared on Joseph's lips. But when he recalled what the young maiden had said. He finally confirmed the theory that he had in his mind all along

Back then, when Krid talked about his circumstances with Ezreal and Joseph. The latter already had an idea about what was going on. Although he didn't dare confirm his ideas without further concrete evidence. 

But now...

Now that the young woman who was the reason as to why Krid let himself be captured by the hands of the Kingdom of Nether mentioned Krid as her 'Grandpa'.

Joseph finally confirmed that the two indeed have a familial relationship. Nodding his head, Joseph erased all the doubts that he had in his mind about Alice's identity as he said with a frown.

"But Alice, aren't you being too vulnerable? What if I am a bad guy?" Alice's casual attitude concerned Joseph. It was as if Alice didn't understand the scale of what was going on. Right now, he and Alice were stuck within the Arena of the Gods, Colosseum.

If the Grand Challenge ended, they would once again appear at the Central Square of Reinhardt.

In other words, they weren't really that safe. This was why Joseph was so concerned about Alice's attitude. Does she not understand their current situation? Even if they were safe right now since they were within the Colosseum.

Once they exited this place, they would be like sitting ducks at the Central Square of Reinhardt!

Yet, why was she acting like this?

Does she not...

"Wait..."

... I still haven't explained to her the current situation we are in, right now!

Joseph immediately facepalmed himself upon this sudden realization. But in the next moment, Alice replied to what he had said earlier with a cool expression on her young face.

"Alice... So you know about my name already? I see... But don't misunderstand. I am not acting vulnerable. I don't find the need to be cautious." The young maiden stared right at Joseph and the latter's frown deepened.

"What does that mean?" He asked and the young maiden replied. 

"If you really want to harm me, shouldn't you have done that to me already? Why would you bother talking to me like this if you wanted to harm me in the first place."

Joseph nodded his head. Relief flashed on his face. He was concerned that the reason why the young maiden didn't bother to put up a guard against him was that she considered him weak.

Although Joseph wouldn't deny such an accusation...

Being treated as a weakling by a young maiden such as Alice just doesn't feel right for him.

But what the young maiden was saying made sense.

He wanted to say something, but the young maiden continued.

"I'm sorry if I am coming out as rude, but I don't really want to talk right now... I must recover my strength. Recover my strength, get out of here and then rescue my grandpa." Alice replied, her anxiety could be felt from her words alone.

Joseph shook his head and lightly chuckled, 'So this is the reason why she's acting so cold and unfeeling? It seems like I misunderstood her.' 

He then proceeded on explaining.

"You do not have to worry about rescuing your grandpa. What you must worry about is how we can get away from this place."

Alice turned to look at Joseph and asked in confusion.

"What do you mean?"

Joseph sighed and explained: "My friend has already rescued senior Krid through the use of the Bead of Absolute Escape. They are probably safer than the two of us right now."

Astonishment flashed on Alice's face when she heard the words "Bead of Absolute Escape".

But she then replied in a fierce manner which shocked Joseph.

"Grandpa escaped through the use of the Bead of Absolute Escape? You're lying! Grandpa only has a single Bead of Absolute Escape! Since you managed on successfully rescuing me from the hands of the Kingdom..."

"You obviously used that one and only Bead of Absolute Escape, so Grandpa is still out there and in danger!" She spouted a lot of words amidst her hysteria.

But Joseph promptly explained.

"No! You're greatly misunderstanding something. What I used to rescue you isn't the Bead of Absolute Escape. I used a unique method that enabled me to save you. As for the Bead of Absolute Escape..."

"It was in the hands of my friend who used it to rescue your grandpa, didn't you see what happened earlier? Your grandpa and my friend entered the void made by the Bead of Absolute Escape." Joseph added. He even described the void made by the Bead of Absolute Escape since it was most likely that even though Alice knew about the Bead...

She probably didn't know about how it worked.

The young maiden trembled for a moment, and after a few moments...

A smile leaked on her lips.

"I see... In that case... Thank you..." 

"Uh... No problem, I guess?" Joseph subconsciously took a step backward. He didn't expect that the young maiden right in front of him would suddenly reveal such a dazzling smile.

"But can we now go to grandpa? I really miss him right now, and I'm so worried about him!" The young maiden pleaded and Joseph awkwardly scratched his head. 

"I also want to do that, you know? But we have a big problem..."

The young maiden's eyebrow lifted and she asked: "What problem?"

"Well..." Joseph looked somewhat hesitant to explain, but since he knew that Alice must know the truth so that the two of them could work together. He must explain everything to her.

"Right now, we are absolutely safe in this place. But once we are out of here..."

"We will be in danger once again." A bitter smile emerged on Joseph's face and the young maiden looked at him with a frown on her face.

It looked like she was hinting at him to continue so, after taking a deep breath...

Joseph further explained.

"It's like this... Once we're out of this place. We will appear at the Central Square of Reinhardt where we first vanished, so the moment that exit this place. We will be in danger once again. I am telling you this not because I want you to be anxious, but because I need your cooperation so that we could escape from Reinhardt."

Alice nodded her head in understanding, but then a bitter smile emerged on her lips: "I see... I will try my best on cooperating with you but don't expect too much. I am still afflicted with the curse of the Heart Binding Worm. With a single thought from those people, they could kill me in an instant."

"Wait, you're still affected by the Heart Binding Worm? I thought that getting the other pair of that worm is enough for it to stop working." Joseph said with a frown, and Alice explained with the same bitterness, but this time. It was clear that there was some helplessness. 

"It is not that simple... Just getting the other pair of the worm is not enough for it to stop working. The one afflicted with its curse should ingest the other pair of that worm. Only when that happens would the curse stop working, and the cursed one would finally be free from the effects of the Heart Binding Worm."

A pale expression appeared on Alice's face. It seemed like the effects of the Heart Binding Worm was far crueler than Joseph expected. 

But then a light smile suddenly appeared on his lips.

"In that case... What is your name? Is it just Alice, or do you have a surname?"

Alice looked confused about the sudden question but she still answered.

"My full name is Alice Zaxwei. But why are you suddenly asking?"

Joseph didn't reply.

He took some paper and pen out of his Inventory and after scribbling some words on it. He handed it over to Alice who was astonished when she read it.

"Today. I, Alice Zaxwei swear under the oath of the Divine Goddess Rhinna that I owe Joseph a great debt that must be repaid within my lifetime?! What is this? Why did you write something like this? What are you trying to do?"

Alice's eyes widened in shock when she saw the contents of the piece of paper that Joseph handed over to her. She glared at Joseph and stared at him with suspicions and doubt.

But Joseph looked unfazed...

He merely smiled and thought: 'Ever since I knew about the concept of an Unbreakable Oath. I knew  that I must take advantage of it whenever an opportunity arises...'

'Right now, the perfect opportunity is right in front of me. I must make this so-called write a Promissory Note so that she will owe a debt of gratitude from me!' 

Dozens of thoughts appeared on Joseph's mind in an instant, but on the outside.

He maintained a calm facade as he replied. "Isn't that obvious? I wrote that Promissory Note so that I can be sure that you will really owe me one since I will be saving you from the curse of the Heart Binding Worm!"

Joseph proudly declared, but he himself knew that he couldn't push Alice too far. After all, he needed Alice.

But of course, nothing was stopping him from attempting on taking advantage of such a precious opportunity.

If Krid's disciple and granddaughter really signed such a Promissory Note under the Unbreakable Oath then, he could make her his subordinate in the future by capitalizing on the promise written within the Promissory Note!

Alice was taken aback by Joseph's declaration.

But a sneer appeared on her face as she said: "What if I don't want to?"

She coldly replied, and Joseph awkwardly scratched his head before revealing a fierce expression.

"Well, if you do not want to then... I don't know about what should I do with this..." Joseph opened his palm and revealed the squirming worm on top of his open palm.

"That's..." Alice's eyes widened in shock once again, and her expression turned pale. She acted condescendingly against Joseph's demands since she wasn't so sure that Joseph had something on him that he could use as a bargaining chip...

Without a bargaining ship, how could he be qualified to coerce her into signing?

But now that Joseph revealed that the other pair of the Heart Binding Worm was within his hands.

Everything had changed, he now had the higher ground, and Alice was disadvantaged.

But still...

Her eyes suddenly welled up with tears, and her pale expression turned pitiful.

When combined with her ragged clothing, Joseph felt like he was definitely forcing somebody into something that they didn't want to do.

"Sigh... I guess my plan failed. Oh well, it doesn't really matter that much. I was just testing if she would bite my bait, but looking at her like this. I guess, I failed."

Joseph revealed a disappointed expression, and he was about to place the other pair of the Heart Binding Worm when Alice's pitiful expression suddenly changed into a desperate one.

"W-w-wait!" 

"Oh?" Joseph revealed a confused expression which angered Alice as her cheeks flushed in embarrassment and irritation. 'He clearly knows about why I stopped him, yet he is acting so confused like that? What a terrible man!'

She inwardly exclaimed before she taking a deep breath and saying.

"Are you... are you not giving that worm to me?"

Joseph raised an eyebrow and he was about to hand over the worm towards Alice when he suddenly halted in his tracks. His eyes narrowed and he stared right at Alice. Taking a deeper look into her body language, enlightenment flashed on Joseph's face.

'I haven't failed yet... I can still continue!' He inwardly exclaimed, before replying...

"Oh? I thought that you were not interested?" He feigned ignorance and once again moved to pocket the worm into his Inventory when Alice hand suddenly turned into a blur as she quickly signed the Promissory Note and hurled it over to Joseph.

'Fast!' Joseph cried out to himself when he saw the speed of Alice's movement. But on the outside, a calm expression was maintained on his face as he stretched his hand out and received the Promissory Note.

After checking that she had indeed signed on the Promissory Note...

A strange sensation suddenly surrounded the two as Alice helplessly sighed...

[The Divine Goddess Rhinna has understood your intent and has granted your request.]

[The paper you are holding has been enchanted with her Divinity. It now has effects similar to the Unbreakable Oath.]

'Just as I expected...' Joseph surreptitiously glanced at the skies. He was about to thank the Divine Goddess Rhinna in his mind, but Alice interrupted him from his trance.

"Can... Can you hand over that worm to me now?" 

Joseph turned to look at her, and when he saw the frown on her face. A complicate smile emerged on Joseph's lips.

He really couldn't blame Alice's attitude towards him right now since Joseph pretty much coerced her into signing the Promissory Note.

Shaking his head, Joseph chuckled before handing over the other pair of the Heart Binding Worm towards Alice who caught it in mid-air and hurriedly stuffed it into her mouth. Seeing her directly swallow the Heart Binding Worm without any hesitation...

Joseph couldn't help but mumble in shock.

"What? That quick?"

"What? Is there anything wrong with ending this despicable curse of the Heart Binding Worm as soon as possible?" Alice coldly retorted and Joseph awkwardly scratched his head.

"No... I mean... I'm just shocked... That worm looked particularly hideous and disgusting so, I thought that a young maiden would hesitate on consuming it." 

"Hmmph! A young maiden? Who are you talking about?" Alice sneered and stared at Joseph in derision.

But after a few moments, her disdain turned into seriousness as she mumbled: "Strange... Why do I not feel from you the desire that others feel whenever they look at me?"

Alice then chuckled: "Perhaps, could it be that you swing the other way?"

Joseph almost keeled over when he heard what Alice was saying and he fiercely retorted: "I'm not Ezreal, and I don't swing that way!"

"And also, how dare you assume that just because you look cute means that everyone would be head over heels at you? I'm going to give you a lecture right now, so keep this in mind, alright?" 

Joseph paused for a moment before saying...

"Cuteness is not equivalent to sex appeal! Remember that!"

"..."

"Shit!"

Joseph inwardly exclaimed: 'I got too carried away!'

He nervously glanced at Alice and instead of a cold expression and a fierce scolding.

He was met with an amused look on Alice's face as she laughed out loud.

"Pffft!!! Look at you furiously explaining everything to me... Just admit it already... Just admit that you swing that way and that is the reason why you are not attracted to me!" 

Joseph's lips repeatedly twitched when he heard what Alice said.

"You... You know that you owe me a great debt, right? How dare you treat me like this... Remember your place!" Joseph was too speechless that he subconsciously used the Promissory Note against Alice who replied with a menacing chuckle.

"Yes... You're right about that. I indeed owe you a great debt after I signed that Promissory Note. It was stated that I must repay you back that great debt within this lifetime of mine..."

A cold and distant expression appeared on Alice's face as she clutched her tunic and fiercely ripped it apart, revealing her stark-naked body in front of the astonished and thoroughly shocked Joseph.

"A great debt can only be repaid with something equal or greater than that debt itself. Since that debt was you saving my life... I can only pay you back with my entire life, or something equally precious..."

"I cannot pay you back with my life until I have achieved my grandpa's wishes, and..."

"You... what are you doing..." Joseph mumbled in shock.

Alice maintained her cold expression as she continued.

"For a young woman like me, there's nothing more precious than my first time. Apart from my life. I can only pay you back that great debt using my own body..."

She stared right into Joseph's eyes.

"So..."

A challenging smile appeared on Alice's lips.

"Do you dare accept my repayment?"