I Died and Became a Noble's Heir

Chapter 472: Cost of Life

Consciousness returned to Jack in fragments.

Cold stone beneath his back, wind carrying the faint residue of electricity across his face, and the constant rumble of thunder overhead.

Jack’s eyes opened, and the world looked fundamentally different.

Altred in ways his previous perception couldn’t have registered.

Electrical currents flowed through the air in golden threads, visible now where they’d been invisible before.

The storm clouds overhead weren’t just weather clouds. They were massive reservoirs of power, each one containing enough electrical potential to level cities.

And everything conducted. The stone beneath him. The air around him. Even with the massive form of Stormfang sleeping ten feet away, the wyvern’s body was generating faint electrical fields that Jack’s new eyes could read like text.

Jack sat up slowly, his body responding with coordination that felt both familiar and completely alien.

Every movement generated faint sparks, golden lightning trailing from his fingertips as nerves adjusted to their new conductivity.

He raised his right hand, studying it in the storm’s perpetual twilight.

His skin looked the same. Pale, unmarked except for old scars. But when he focused, he looked with his transformed vision, and he could see patterns beneath the surface.

Electrical pathways running through muscle and bone, circuits that hadn’t existed a week ago.

The system notification appeared:

[Contractor Integration Complete]

[New Utility Skills Acquired]

[Dragon’s Scales (Passive): Skin density increased by 300%. Physical resistance to cutting and piercing attacks is significantly enhanced. Weapons below Legendary-tier will struggle to penetrate.]

[Ichor Veins (Passive): Blood composition altered. Highly pressurized circulatory system. Blood is mildly acidic and flammable to hostile entities. Bleeding damage increased against enemies.]

[Dragon’s Tongue (Passive): Ability to communicate with draconic entities regardless of language barriers. Understand and speak Draconic instinctively.]

[Dragon’s Flesh (Passive): Internal organs reinforced with an additional mana layer. Bone density increased by 400%. Complete immunity to natural poisons and toxins. Resistance to magical poisons increased by 75%. Organ damage is significantly harder to inflict.]

Jack processed the information, his mind cataloging each change methodically.

His body had been rebuilt at a fundamental level. Transformed into something that could survive what would kill normal humans.

Another notification appeared:

[New Active Skill Acquired]

[Contractee State (Active): Channel Tharaxis’s power directly through your body. Increases all physical and magical capabilities exponentially based on usage intensity.]

[WARNING: Each activation consumes lifespan proportional to power drawn and duration of use]

[Current Limitations: Power output capped at 30% until Contractor reaches Level 30]

[Limitation Release Schedule:]

[Level 30: 50% Power Output]

[Level 50: 65% Power Output]

[Level 75: 80% Power Output]

[Level 100: 100% Power Output]

[Note: Excessive use at current limitations may result in severe physical damage]

Jack stared at that last notification, his mind working through the implications.

The Contractee State was his trump card. The ability to channel a Demi-God’s power directly.

But it came with strict limitations until his body grew strong enough to handle the full output.

And every use would cost him time he’d already traded away.

’You’re awake,’ Tharaxis’s voice echoed inside Jack’s skull, not through his ears but directly into his consciousness.

The sensation was disorienting. Like having someone else’s thoughts occupy the same space as his own.

It was different compared to Oscar, the system, and the Soul Link.

Jack’s hand instinctively went to Oscar’s hilt before he realized what was happening. ”You’re inside my head.”

’Inside your soul, technically,’ Tharaxis corrected, his tone carrying amusement. ’The contract created a permanent link between us. I exist simultaneously on Floor Fifty-Two and within the essence that now flows through your body. Convenient for communication, though it takes some adjustment.’

Jack forced himself to relax, his hand moving away from the weapon. ”Where are you? Your body, I mean.”

’Hunting,’ Tharaxis replied. ’Stormfang needed food after the binding, and I required... space to process what watching you transform reminded me of. Nostalgia is uncomfortable for creatures as old as myself.’

The dragon’s tone shifted slightly. ’How do you feel? The integration was successful, obviously, but most contractors experience significant disorientation for hours after waking.’

Jack took inventory of his body, testing each limb, checking his balance. ”Stronger. Like my body’s operating on rules that didn’t exist before.” He paused, then added, ”And starving. I’m absolutely starving.”

Tharaxis’s laugh resonated through their connection. ’Expected. Your body burned through enormous amounts of energy during the transformation. You’ll need to eat. Significantly more than normal humans require for days until your new metabolism stabilizes.’

”The Soul Link,” Jack said, changing topics. ”Are you still suppressing it?”

’No,’ Tharaxis confirmed. ’I released that restriction the moment the contract was sealed. Your connection to your bound army should function normally now.’

Jack reached for the Soul Link immediately, searching for the familiar presences that should have been there.

The connection snapped into place like a door that had been closed, suddenly opening. Three hundred sixty-four souls are all responding to his awareness simultaneously.

The sensation was overwhelming for a moment. Every bound creature on Floor Twenty-Three registering at once, their locations and general conditions flooding through the link in a rush of information, Jack’s enhanced mind processed faster than should have been possible.

’Kaedor, Loryn,’ Jack projected through the connection, focusing on the two demons he’d left in command. ’Start cutting down trees. Build fires. Large ones. I’ll be returning soon, and I need them ready.’

Both demons responded with immediate acknowledgment, their consciousness conveying confusion about the purpose, but absolute obedience came first.

Then another presence pushed through the Soul Link. Pho’s consciousness touched Jack’s awareness with relief that quickly shifted to concern.

’Brat, where have you been? Rhys has been...’

’Be quiet,’ Jack interrupted, his mental voice carrying an edge that made the Deathfrost Demon’s presence recoil slightly. ’I’ll be there in a couple of hours. Have Rhys wait at the entrance to Floor Four. We have floors to seal.’

Jack severed the connection before Pho could respond, his attention already shifting to the practical matter of returning to Floor Twenty-Three.

The yellow portal that had brought him here was gone. Closed when Stormfang had fled through it. Which meant he needed another way back.

”Tharaxis,” Jack said aloud, standing slowly and testing his balance. ”How do I leave Floor Fifty-Two?”

’The normal way,’ Tharaxis replied. ’Ascend through the floor portals. Fifty-Two to Fifty-One to Fifty. It’ll take time, but you can move quickly if you’re not stopping to fight everything you encounter.’

Jack grimaced. That would take hours, even moving at full speed. But there wasn’t another option unless....

’Or,’ Tharaxis continued, his tone carrying amusement, ’you could use your new access to my power to fly. The Contractee State grants limited access to my abilities, including my ability to fly using electrical propulsion. Crude compared to my natural grace, but functional for short distances.’

Jack’s eyes narrowed. ”That would cost lifespan.”

’Minutes, at most,’ Tharaxis replied. ’The power required to fly from here to the portal is minimal. You’d lose more time sleeping tonight than you would using Contractee State for basic mobility.’

Jack had already traded forty-two years. What were a few minutes in comparison?

”How do I activate it?” Jack asked.

’Will it?’ Tharaxis said. ’The contract responds to intent. Visualize channeling my power through your body, and the Contractee State will activate.’

Jack closed his eyes and reached for the connection he could feel pulsing at the edge of his consciousness.

The contract was there. A golden thread linking him to something vast and ancient.

He pulled on that thread gently, carefully, visualizing power flowing through the pathways the transformation had created.

Golden lightning exploded across Jack’s body, wrapping around him like a snake that made the air crackle.

His muscles flooded with strength beyond anything he’d experienced, his senses sharpening until he could perceive individual raindrops in the storm clouds overhead.

The world slowed slightly, his enhanced perception processing information faster than normal consciousness could handle.

[Contractee State: ACTIVE]

[Power Output: 15%]

[Estimated Lifespan Cost: 3 minutes per hour of continuous use]