Why does a contract with a demon come with a sigil?

Is it just to show that the demon claims ownership over its contractor? That could be part of it—demons are known for their possessive nature. But the core reason is different.

The essence of the contract sigil lies in connection.

It is the link between the demon and the contractor. When my heightened awareness touched the sigil, a door that had been blocking my path swung open.

The sigil carved into my back is essentially a pipeline. It connects me, a small vessel, to Seir, a vast ocean of power.

Through that passage, Seir's mana surges into me, filling my body. The amount is enormous, more than enough to overflow within me. Yet, compared to the infinite well of Seir’s power beyond the sigil, it’s only a mere drop—a single cup drawn from an endless sea.

But still.

‘This is more than enough.’

I could keep going all day with this.

There was no ceremonial exchange of names like in the earlier duels. There was only a deep contempt from the Illusionist toward me as a Demon Summoner, and my fury in response.

There was no lukewarm sentiment between us, no chance of forming any kind of bond.

"Begin!" the instructor’s voice rang out.

The moment the order was given, my opponent shouted:

"Come forth, beast of the abyss!"

With his cry, a massive creature appeared in the sparring ring.

It resembled a crocodile, and it was about the size of a small car.

Its weight gave it an intimidating presence, but—

'So what?'

Compared to Seir, that creature was like an ant in front of an elephant.

And I was carrying Seir’s power on my back.

I channeled the mana coursing through my body, focusing it all into one spot. The torrent of power surged into my palm, almost too much to contain, as I struggled to hold it back.

‘Put everything into this one strike.’

Half-hearted power would only waste my opportunity. When I attack, it has to land perfectly.

With all my strength gathered, I released the dam just as the monster lunged at me.

"Get lost—!!"

Kassaber wasn’t worried.

Worried about losing, that is.

Why would he be? His opponent was a Demon Summoner.

That Demon Summoner.

It was laughable to think he could lose.

Demon Summoner magic always comes with a cost. Sometimes it’s lifespan; other times it’s more varied, but one thing remains true: they always end up eating away at themselves.

Why would any Demon Summoner willingly pay such a price for a mere sparring match?

'At best, he’ll throw out some generic spell or a weak fragment.'

Even that would be weak. The kid couldn’t even properly control his own mana.

'And he probably doesn’t even realize this is an illusion.'

Kassaber’s class was Illusionist.

His specialty was creating illusions from his imagination. Higher-level Illusionists could even imbue their illusions with physical power, though Kassaber hadn’t yet reached that level.

But what did that matter? This clueless Demon Summoner would waste his mana trying to fight an illusion, and in the meantime, Kassaber would strike with a basic spell and end it.

At least, that was the plan. But then something happened that shook Kassaber’s confidence.

Right after casting his illusion, he felt the Demon Summoner’s mana surge dramatically.

'What? Why is he using his power like that?'

Had the contract with his demon driven him mad? Kassaber struggled to rationalize it.

'No... it’s just an illusion. Even if he uses mana, it won’t affect my illusions...'

Trying to regain his composure, Kassaber prepared his next move. But before he could react, he saw something that made his mind go blank.

"A...?"

His illusionary creature vanished—swept away by the surging torrent of mana.

The core of the illusion, the anchor point of its magic, had been obliterated in a single blow.

It wasn’t even a spell, just raw, brute-force mana being unleashed recklessly.

There was no finesse, no control—just an explosive outburst of raw power.

'And yet, that was enough...'

To produce that kind of power, what kind of price must the Demon Summoner have paid?

Kassaber couldn’t even begin to guess.

One thing was clear, though.

"That guy’s insane..."

There was no way that Demon Summoner was in his right mind.

Thud!

With a simple technique—concentrating my mana into a single shot—I fired off what I called Matan, a magic bullet, and knocked Kassaber unconscious. The sparring match was over.

I wanted to completely crush him, but this was just a sparring match, and I didn’t want to attract too much attention from the instructor.

‘He wasted his time with those pathetic illusions. I thought it was a summoning spell.’

As the match ended, I dragged my sore body out of the ring.

'Damn, that was way more exhausting than I expected.'

Channeling mana through the sigil is useful. Having endless mana without having to pay a price is like having an infinite wellspring of power. But there’s a problem—my body can’t handle the strain.

My body accumulates fatigue in the areas used to channel the mana. During the surge of power earlier, it felt like my body was about to cramp up, like I was twisting myself apart.

‘If I rely on Matan alone, I’ll be in real trouble against a stronger opponent.’

I need to use my mana more efficiently. Or I’ll need to strengthen my body.

"Roman."

"Yes, sir."

Hearing the instructor call my name, I stopped.

"I’m not going to compliment you. Winning isn’t the issue here—your method was reckless. I don’t know what price you’re paying for your power, but using it like that will make everyone around you nervous."

"I’ll keep that in mind."

"And... Never mind. Dismissed."

The instructor clearly knew how to push my buttons.

When I returned to my team, they both stared at me in disbelief.

"What kind of Demon Summoner fights like that...?"

"Yeah, Roman, that was way too reckless."

They were worried unnecessarily, but there was no way I could explain it to them.

A Demon Summoner with no cost? If word got out, other Demon Summoners would stop at nothing to uncover my secret. And not just them—other magic users, too.

Instead of defending myself, I extended my hand.

Both of my hooded teammates just stared at it blankly.

Is there no such thing as a fist bump or high five here?

Just as I was about to awkwardly pull my hand back, Leaf seemed to realize something and gasped.

"Oh!"

She raised her hand to meet mine, but it didn’t quite make the expected sound. We just awkwardly touched palms, which made me laugh.

"Ah, is this wrong?"

"...No, it’s right. What about you, Ray?"

"I’ll pass."

Ray, who had been stretching, cracked her knuckles and stepped forward.

"I’ll finish faster than you did."

Is she like Guan Yu now? Trying to finish before the wine cools?

Without waiting for permission from the instructor, Ray leaped into the ring.

"Next up, come forward."

Once all the duels had finished, the recruits gathered in small groups, forming four distinct cliques.

One group centered around a red-haired woman. Another around a silver-haired girl. The third group clustered around a blue-haired youth.

The last group consisted of those who didn’t quite fit in with any of the others. They eventually dispersed, leaving the three main groups.

The largest gathering was around the red-haired woman, making that group the most boisterous.

"How about a drink before we head to the dorms?"

"What, a drink? There’s nowhere around here for that."

"The training was tougher than I expected. What do you think—was this batch of recruits more difficult because someone special is here? Isn’t that noble lady over there?"

The woman speaking glanced over at the silver-haired girl across the field.

At her comment, the atmosphere shifted instantly.

Everyone started throwing daggers at the speaker with their eyes.

"You... Watch what you say..."

Just as someone was about to scold her for her careless words, the silver-haired girl approached them.

"Seems like you have some interesting friends."

The red-haired woman, who had been silent until now, finally spoke.

"Friends? Hardly."

With a smirk, she dismissed the idea that she’d ever associate with people like them.

"Is that so? Still, it wouldn’t hurt to choose your company more wisely."

"Well, whether they come or go, it doesn’t matter to me."

The silver-haired girl’s eyes narrowed slightly at the woman’s indifferent tone.

"You haven’t changed."

"I could say the same for you, Grand Duchess."

There was no love lost between the two of them. The girl referred to as Grand Duchess suppressed her irritation and delivered a parting remark before walking away.

"I’ll be keeping an eye on you, Alejandra Rubio."

As the Grand Duchess left, her followers quickly dispersed as well.

The tension between the two groups dissipated, and the atmosphere became more relaxed.

"I may have said too much..."

Before the woman could continue, a brown-haired man grabbed her by the collar and pulled her away.

"Cool it, will you?"

"Ah, Juan, always so cold."

"It’s not about being cold, Amaya. You just need to think before you speak."

Amaya shrugged, ignoring Juan, and turned to Alejandra.

"So, what do you think?"

"Hmm..."

"You said you came to the training school because you were looking for something interesting, right? That’s why I followed you here! If there’s nothing exciting, what’s the point?"

"There is."

As Alejandra’s lips parted, everyone around her held their breath.

"The Demon Summoner—what do you think was going through his mind?"

She casually tossed out the question, but it sparked a flurry of reactions.

"Oh, that guy. I remember him. What an idiot."

"Could there have been any thought at all? I think he’s just clueless, flailing around with power he doesn’t understand. There’s nothing to be concerned about."

Even Juan, who didn’t usually agree with Alejandra’s followers, nodded this time.

"He couldn’t even control his emotions and just exploded. It was embarrassing to see. Can you even call him a mage after that?"

The murmurs of agreement echoed around, but Alejandra ignored them, walking over to the blue-haired youth.

"What did you think?"

The youth blinked in surprise.

"You're asking me?"

His unspoken question was clear—weren't there plenty of others she could ask?

There were many people eager to answer her. She could have easily turned to them.

Alejandra’s response was simple.

"Arthur, your eyes are the sharpest here."

She didn’t bother with pride or pretense. Her straightforwardness coaxed an answer out of Arthur.

"It was a crude method. He simply overpowered his opponent with the sheer density of demonic mana."

"As I thought. That was all there was to it?"

"It was rough but effective. Above all, it was fast. A decent tactic for an ambush."

After all, the Illusionist hadn’t been able to defend himself. He was swept away before he could even cast a proper spell.

"But it’s not a method that’ll last."

"And that’s what makes it more beautiful."

At her words, Arthur narrowed his eyes.

‘That curiosity of hers is acting up again.’

He decided to stop paying attention to Alejandra and instead refocused on the Demon Summoner. Had he missed something in the guy’s technique?