"Welcome to our home. I will take you to see the farm area we have prepared."
Andrew led Clara to the backside of the mansion, where a huge plot of land had been cleared for her to use. The land had already been tilled and watered for sowing.
Clara looked impressed with the space.
After all, it was not every day that a rich young master was willing to sully his own hands to prepare the soil for sowing.
"So, you were not lying about wanting to farm and hiring me? I guess there is no harm in taking a look at the contract once."
Clara muttered, and Andrew immediately took the opportunity to buy a contract and present it to her.
"Here, you can look at it and sign it if you are interested. I will tell you the short of it—you work on the farm for me, and in return, I will protect you and help you procure resources to run the farm. It's a simple deal, right?"
Andrew asked, and Clara took the offered contract and started to read it.
"Simple or not, I will only sign the contract once I have read through this."
She told Andrew, and he had no problem with it.
"You are welcome to take your time. For now, we should head inside and eat something. It would be much more comfortable for all of us. Miss Clara, feel free to join us for lunch."
Andrew offered, and Clara only raised her brow before she followed him inside.
Lunch was cooked well, and the welcoming taste helped Clara relax. She also went through the contract a few more times to make sure she understood it before she made a decision.
"I will sign this contract. The terms seem fair, and the protection is nice. Being with the rank #1 is not a bad idea."
She told Andrew before she signed the papers.
Andrew quickly pocketed the contract and gave the female a huge smile. It almost made Clara feel like she had been scammed somehow.
"That is good to know, Miss Clara. Now, since you are a member of my party, let me advise you about a few things—your stats. You need to take care of them since they are too unbalanced. Your strength is the only thing that is too high. Did you invest everything in it?"
Andrew's question caused Clara's face to redden in embarrassment.
"I…did not have a choice. I needed more strength in order to get through the previous rounds. I don't think it's a problem…"
Clara defended, and Andrew just shook his head.
"It might not seem like a problem for now, but it will become a problem in the future. I cannot afford to lose someone as important as you, Miss Clara. So, I have another offer to make to you. Would you like to join me and Lilianna for 'something important?'"
Andrew extended his hand toward the buff female, and she felt startled.
The gesture Andrew made toward her felt a little intimate, and she did not recall when she had been treated so delicately before. Most people were too afraid of her and her muscular physique.
"I…sure?"
She placed her hand in Andrew's outstretched hand with an almost shy smile. Little did she know what kind of trouble she invited onto herself.
__________
"Huff…how long…do we need to keep running…? My legs…hurt…"
Clara complained as she tried her best to keep up with Andrew and Lilianna. Andrew was running at a moderate pace, but Clara had started to fall back as well.
They had been running for over a whole hour now, and the two females were exhausted.
"Just a little more. Since both you and Lilianna have low speed stats, your stamina is abysmal, even if your strength stat is high. Toning the body like this might only work to a certain extent, but it will help you out in the earlier game rounds."
Andrew assured the two as he kept his pace.
The other two were not in a condition to understand what he meant, but they followed his lead anyway as they tried to keep up with him.
The bright sun shone in the sky, and it was a calm day…until the sky started to glitch.
"Hey, look, the countdown is back."
Lilianna pointed toward the system that showed a clock. It had a countdown for two days.
"Looks like the next game and the time for it has been decided."
Andrew spoke softly.
The glitching in the sky stopped, only for a huge countdown clock to appear in the sky. Along with it, the same half-dragon from the last round also stood there.
"Since the games are so much fun for us all, we have decided to gift you all a universal clock. This way, none of you will forget when the next game starts. Please keep an eye on the sky for more details in the future."
The female half-dragon's voice was soft and smooth. It did not betray a single thing she thought about.
"Tsk, these people are bastards. They won't even allow us to forget about the game and relax for a few minutes."
Clara commented as she looked up.
The huge clock in the sky felt like a mocking reminder of their new and grim reality.
"Anyway, I will also do you all another favor this time and reveal the theme of the next game early—it's hide-and-seek. I am sure you humans have played this game before. You all will be the hiders, while our side will be the seekers. This is a reward for your excellent performance till now. I wish you the best of luck."
The female half-dragon disappeared back into the rift she had appeared from once she was done speaking.
A tense silence fell around the group as they watched her leave.
"Do you think this is a trap?"
Lilianna asked in a tense voice. She did not trust the system or any being that was associated with it and the games. Clara was also suspicious about the validity of that claim.
But Andrew was not as suspicious.
"No, I do think the next game will be hide-and-seek. The fact that we were given this knowledge in advance must not have violated the system's protocol…but we should still not let our guard down."
Andrew muttered as he recalled the female half-dragon's last words. It seemed like humans were turning out to be much more capable than the system had estimated them to be…but was this truly a good thing?
After all, this could result in the difficulty of the games ramping up in the future.