My System Just Exploded, And You Ask Me to Become a God?-Chapter 50 --Sealing Spell and Oath Contract

The dumb parrot was so frightened that a few of its feathers came loose. But it quickly regained its composure.

Although Joad had placed a ridiculous number of sealing spells on it, he hadn’t tried to finish it off. In fact, he had even healed its injuries. What did that mean? It meant that, for now, Joad still saw value in keeping it alive.

Just as it was deep in thought, the bird saw Joad stand up from his chair. He crouched down and grabbed the parrot, holding it up to his face with a trace of impatience.

"Listen, dumb bird, my patience has its limits. Those recovery potions I used on you? They’re expensive. Miracles and magic don’t come for free, you know."

The parrot became even more confused.

Logically speaking, a prodigy like Joad—someone who had already reached the archmage rank at such a young age—shouldn’t care about material compensation.

After all, weren’t all those so-called holy sons from the Sacred Realms or royal princes nurtured by entire kingdoms fabulously wealthy and practically untouchable? Instead of asking for payment, wouldn’t it be more efficient to just sign a slave contract and use it as a battle companion?

But Joad made his stance crystal clear, leaving no room for negotiation. The parrot could only accept reality.

"Alright, alright. What do you want?" the parrot sighed.

Seeing the parrot give in, Joad finally showed a hint of a smile.

"What I want is simple—mana stones. There’s nothing more universal or valuable than those, am I right?"

"Just mana stones? Nothing else?" the parrot asked, a bit dazed. "How many?"

Joad stroked his chin. "Well, there’s an old saying: a mana stone has a price, but a life doesn’t. So tell me—how many mana stones do you think your life is worth?"

Having had plenty of "negotiation practice" with Ivy the rich girl, Joad had learned a thing or two. The first rule of business: always let the other party name a number first. That way, you can gauge their bottom line.

The parrot pondered for a moment. Then, with a wave of its wings, a small storm whipped up in the room. From the eye of the vortex, glimmering mana stones began to pour out, quickly piling up into a small mountain.

After a rough calculation, the parrot said, "That’s one hundred thousand mana stones—all yours as payment. Satisfied now?"

Joad frowned, clearly unimpressed.

"Pfft, just a hundred thousand and you think that’s enough? Or are you saying your life is only worth that much?"

He really wasn’t satisfied. Back during his time at the Royal Academy, he might’ve gritted his teeth and accepted it.

But not this time. This time, he had risked his life. One hundred thousand mana stones were nowhere near enough to calm his fragile little heart.

The parrot lowered its head, rubbing its previously cracked beak with both wings, and muttered with some grievance, "This really is all I have. If it’s not enough, can I pay the rest after I return to my territory?"

Joad waved a hand dismissively. "Go back? As if I’d let you run off. But I’m not fixated on just mana stones. If you’ve got any high-grade magical items or powerful potions on you, those will do too."

He was loosening his stance. While converting those items into mana stones would naturally incur some loss, Joad no longer cared. He just wanted to squeeze a bit more out of this feathery little scammer—a few extra feathers, if you will.

The parrot just stared blankly at Joad. It genuinely couldn’t understand how someone with such a money-grubbing mentality had actually managed to ascend to archmage rank.

If someone like this could achieve such power, what did that say about humanity’s future?

Though it was thinking all that, it didn’t show any of it on the surface. Instead, it put on a dramatic sigh. "To be honest, I really don’t have anything else. Even if you kill me, it won’t change that. If you want more mana stones, you’ll just have to wait until I get back."

Joad clicked his tongue in annoyance. "So you’re not a bird—you’re an egg. A poor, undeveloped, broke egg!"

"Fine," he said, giving in a little. "You don’t look like some wealthy phoenix anyway. I’ll undo the sealing spell—but you’ll need to sign a contract."

The parrot flinched. "Here it comes... you’re gonna make me your slave, right?"

But then Joad continued, his tone turning serious. "The contract’s simple. You’re forbidden from sharing any information about me with anyone—whether human, magical beast, void creature, magical construct, goblin, orc, elf, outerworlder, or..."

"Stop, stop, stop!" the parrot interrupted, exhausted. "Why not just say, ’Don’t tell anyone about me’? Wouldn’t that be easier?"

Joad rolled his eyes. "No way. A contract has to be precise."

The parrot gave up entirely. It plucked out one of its own feathers and handed it to Joad.

A dark purple magic array lit up slowly beneath them. Man and bird sat at opposite ends, solemnly reciting the oath.

[Witnessed by the Goddess of Magic, from this day forward, I shall uphold this oath until the day I die.]

[I shall not reveal any information regarding Joad to any human, beastkin, goblin, elf, magical construct, void creature, or outerworlder. This vow holds true today and for all days to come.]

Once the contract was established, Joad fulfilled his side of the bargain and removed all twenty sealing spells in different languages.

But the parrot didn’t fly away immediately.

Instead, it collapsed straight to the floor—completely unconscious.

Startled, Joad rushed to check on it. It wasn’t injured; it had simply overexerted its mana and passed out temporarily.

Clearly, it wasn’t going anywhere anytime soon.

So he placed the bird back on his shoulder and began transferring mana into its body through physical contact.

Just then, waves of sinister mana began to stir outside the Ilan Royal Academy.

Everyone within the school felt a chill down their necks. Goosebumps prickled their skin, and an instinctive sense of dread swept over them.

Their eyes all turned toward the academy’s main gate.

And there, they saw several archmages—each exuding overwhelming pressure—standing solemnly at the threshold. Judging from their cold, frozen expressions, they were clearly not here to chat.

"You’ve got to be kidding me... You passed out and still found a way to cause me trouble?" Joad muttered.

He didn’t even have to look. He already knew these powerful figures had been drawn here by that dumb bird.

Quickly, he took the bird off his shoulder and stuffed it into his pocket. Then, without hesitation, he hurried out of the small cabin and made his way toward the academy gates.

At the same time, Grand Duke Ilan and Headmaster Simar had also stepped outside. Their expressions were dark and solemn.

"I wonder," the Grand Duke said, maintaining the elegance of old nobility, "what might have brought such esteemed archmages to grace our humble academy?"

The man standing at the forefront of the group—the apparent leader—replied in a calm, low voice:

"We’re here for a magical beast..."