My gaze shifted back to the panel, this ti landing on the loyalty rating.
A flat 2.
Sensible, really.
Our relationship couldn’t possibly be worse.
There was no trust to speak of, only hostility, and after the way I had just beaten her into the dirt, I doubted she would ever look at as anything other than an enemy bound by chains she couldn’t break.
Still, the number concerned .
Not because I expected better, but because it reminded just how fragile this so-called bond really was.
Then my eyes moved further down to her skills.
The first ti I had used [Analyze] on her, the information had been incomplete. I’d seen only fragnts of what she could do—hints at her tricks, enough to know she was dangerous, but not the full scope. Now, though, the bond stripped away those barriers. Lengthy details of her skills lay exposed to .
Then my attention shifted to sothing I had only ever heard about in passing.
The small line beside her status:
[Bond Info]
I had been curious before, but never enough to dig deeper. Most of what I knew ca from words of her mouth, which, from looking at her loyalty was obviously sothing I shouldn’t believe without confirming for myself.
If my survival truly hinged on hers, I needed answers.
Was it permanent? Could it be broken? What were the advantages and the drawbacks? And most importantly, if she died, did that really an I died too?
I opened the tab.
The system responded instantly. Multiple lines of text scrolled into view, etched sharp and glowing across my vision.
[Beast Bond Information]
You have been bonded to this beast under the Ember Clan law, making you partners forever with this beast.
Until death do you part.
I exhaled slowly through my teeth. "Damn... there goes my plan to get rid of this annoyance."
The panel shifted again, new lines forming below.
[Bond Benefits] ~ These benefits can only be unlocked by improving your relationship with your beast.
Essence Share: You gain a fixed 20% of the essence this beast earns from killing monsters, and she gains the sa from you. The percentage can only be adjusted each ti loyalty crosses a 50-point threshold.
Skill Share: When loyalty reaches 50, you can utilize one of your bonded beast’s skills as if it were your own.
Fusion: When loyalty reaches 100, you and your beast can rge temporarily, combining your power to create a stronger whole.
I let out a long, heavy sigh, the sound carrying more weight than I intended. My chest tightened as I stared at the glowing text, an uneasy knot of thoughts churning in my mind.
There were benefits, that much was clear. The essence share alone ant faster growth, and the potential of borrowing her skills once her loyalty climbed past fifty was tempting, to say the least. And the fusion at full loyalty... that was sothing else entirely. I couldn’t help but picture it—the idea of rging with her form, wielding fire with her strength layered over mine.
For a fleeting mont, I thought of that old ani, the image of the nine-tailed beast fusing with its host, power swelling beyond imagination.
But fantasy did little to drown out the reality staring in the face.
The bond couldn’t be undone. The system had made it clear—until death do us part. And that wasn’t just her death. If she fell, I went with her.
My survival was chained to an unpredictable creature.
And worse, it hadn’t been my choice.
This wasn’t a pact made willingly, a partnership forged through trust.
It had been forced on , shackled by rules I didn’t understand or comprehend.
My eyes drifted down to her. She lay in the dirt, battered, her body trembling as flickering blue flas licked across her wounds. Slowly, impossibly, they were closing, her cursed resilience refusing to let her die.
I turned away with a sigh, suspicion tugging at , sharp and persistent.
What else didn’t I know?
What else was hidden behind this so-called bond that wasn’t revealed?
There was no way the Matriarch had allowed this bond to form out of kindness.
A proud, powerful beast like her wouldn’t simply hand over her daughter’s life to a goblin unless there was sothing to gain.
Sothing not listed in the neat little lines of system text.
There had to be another layer—sothing hidden, sothing of value that tilted the scales in their favor.
Perhaps it had to do with my potential, the strange edge that set apart from ordinary goblins. Or maybe it was tied to the simple, undeniable truth that I wasn’t from this world at all.
The thought sat heavy in my chest.
Did the Matriarch know? Was that the reason she had chosen , of all creatures, to shackle her daughter to? If so, then this wasn’t a bond—it was a calculated move, one I didn’t yet understand.
Either way, the whole thing stank.
I shifted my gaze back to Ariel.
Her eyes were half-closed, her breathing uneven but steady, and most of the wounds I had carved into her flesh were already gone, sealed over by the relentless lick of her flas. For all the damage I had inflicted, her body had clawed its way back from the brink, leaving only faint traces of blood in her fur.
It sucked. That was the blunt truth of it. Killing her was no longer an option, not unless I had so hidden desire to take myself down with her.
So what was left?
I exhaled slowly tightening my fist.
There was no use denying it anymore.
I would just have to accept the fact that I had been bonded to this beast, like it or not. Adapt, endure, and keep moving forward with what I have, rather than wasting ti chasing what I didn’t.
The fox had recovered enough strength to push herself upright. Her legs trembled beneath her, flas guttering faintly along her fur, but sheer stubbornness dragged her back to her paws. She swayed, breathing hard, then fixed her eyes on .
"Crazy goblin," she rasped, her voice rough, smoke curling with every word. "You almost killed . Don’t you value your own life?"
I let out a low breath, crouching so my gaze t hers evenly. "I do," I said quietly, my tone edged with steel. "But I can’t say the sa for you. You’ve done nothing but throw yours away."
Her ears flicked back, her jaws clicking together in sharp frustration. I leaned a little closer, my voice cutting through the space between us.
"What exactly did you think would happen when you chose to attack one of mine? Did you expect rcy? Did you expect to simply stand there and watch?"
For a mont, silence hung heavy.
She turned her head sharply to the side, refusing to et my eyes.
The tension in her fra was still there, but the weight pressing on her shoulders was heavier than pride.
Her teeth clicked once more, a sharp, brittle sound.
Then she exhaled through her nose and looked away, her tails drooping low.
I didn’t need [Analyze] to read what I was seeing. I could sense it plain as day—helplessness. She had fought with everything she had, but the reality of the gulf between us was undeniable.
And in that mont, with her pride cracked and her defiance faltering, I understood sothing important: Her mother coming to her aid wasn’t an imdiate option or an option at all.
I couldn’t be sure, but the absence was telling.
And honestly, it was a relief.
If the Matriarch had appeared now, I wouldn’t have been equipped to deal with her. Not yet.
Still, the thought lingered like a shadow at the edge of my mind. That threat was out there, and sooner or later it would co. The only way forward was to keep sharpening myself, faster and harder than ever before, so when that day ca, I’d be strong enough to face it without flinching.
I straightened slowly, eyes fixed on the fox:
"What are you going to do now... fox? Because I cannot allow you to stay near my clan, not if I believe your only intention is to harm them."
Her ears flicked back, and she gave a narrow look. "And what will you do about it? Kill ? You’d be putting your own life at risk as well."
I didn’t rise to the bait.
Instead, I said with a steady voice.
"All I ask from you is simple. Keep your claws off my goblins. That is the only thing I require of you. Beyond that, I don’t care what you do. I’m not interested in this bond, nor in...
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