Aetherios System [Slow Build OP MC, Isekai LitRPG/Cultivation] Chapter 112: Book 2: Chapter 27.2: Back to the Drawing Room

Read chapter 112 of Aetherios System [Slow Build OP MC, Isekai LitRPG/Cultivation] by TTReynolds on NovelPedia.

Book 2: Chapter 27.2: Back to the Drawing Room Book 2: Chapter 27.2: Back to the Drawing Room /Part 2 Devon tried not to fidget, but it was a battle that he was losing, horribly. He’d wandered into the side chamber half by accident. The noise of the gala had been pushing against the inside of his skull for an hour, and the quiet here had been a relief. Until Vess Auralde found him. She arrived like a prowling panther. Her movement were soundless, effortless, and as she approached there was already a false smile etched across her visage. “There you are,” she purred, the words leaving her mouth like they were old friends who’d simply lost track of each other in the frivolity of the party and had found each other again. Devon froze mid-step. He’d already turned toward the corridor when she spoke, and if he continued now it would appear like he was trying to flee from her. Which, of course, he was. “Ms. Auralde,” he said carefully. “Devon.” She let the name hang in the air between them. “Your team’s proving very popular. But I was hoping to speak with you.” She gestured toward a velvet-cushioned seat by the windows. It wasn’t quite a command, but it was close. Devon sat anyway. Vess followed with practiced grace, her dress a river of charcoal and gold-thread accents, subtle enough to pretend to be humble. She produced a glass tube from the folds of her robe, the same one as before in the dinning room. “Do you remember this?” Devon’s jaw tightened. “Yeah. The salvaged piece from a prior Strider event, right? Very curious material. I’m still unsure how much damage it endured crossing into this world.” Her face was casual as he spoke. Her fingers were not, they gripped the glass with surgical care, like it was the most important object in her life. “But that’s not what I brought you here to discuss,” she said. Devon watched her carefully. “No?” “I’m afraid our arrangement has changed.” He said nothing. Vess smiled wider. “I’ll be blunt. I won’t support your vote unless you give me the enchantment schematics you’ve been working on. Two of them, in fact.” Devon blinked. “What schematics?” “The energy stabilization lattice for focal casting tools, and the modular energy resonance loop you’ve been developing based on the palace’s heat-less light sconces.” She said it like reading off a grocery list. His mouth went dry. He hadn’t written those ideas down, nor had he discussed them with anyone. Not anywhere public at least, not where she should’ve seen it. “How do you—” “Oh, Devon.” She gave a sympathetic sigh. “You’re a smart boy, think . Of course someone’s watching.” She held the glass tube out now, delicately, with both hands, like it might break at the slightes pressure. “And there’s one more thing.” The etchings on the glass caught the candlelight just enough to shimmer. The markings along the glass came sharply into focus under the light. Devon could see them then, glyphs and sigils. Thread-lines along the interior surface. A runic script detailing conditions and obligations. It was a contract script. Devon stared, dumbfounded. “These markings—” “Are terms,” Vess said. “Etched into the glass surface with glyph styluses. A rather niche style. Technically legal, though rarely used.” “You said this was a container for the technology . ” “It is. And also a document. You held it. I asked, ‘Do you agree?’ And you said—” Devon felt it drop in his stomach. He remembered what he said as he held the glass in his hands, he had said... “Yes.” “Which activated the binding sequence,” she said cheerfully. “It was quite elegant, really.” He stood. Fist clenched at his sides and teeth bared. “You tricked me.” Vess didn’t flinch. “You were intrigued. I provided that intrigue. You agreed.” He stared at her. “What did I agree to? ” “A contract to provide information,” she said. “Nothing too invasive. It obligates you to share a portion of any replicable advancements you develop. A little knowledge, here and there. A trickle of innovation. Think of it a