4 - Link

He thinks about it for a while then suddenly yells in frustration

"I have no idea if i can trust you. This is such a stupid situation" He grumbles. I don't say anything in response, 'normally i wouldn't choose the first person i come across but realistically i don't have much choice here, however, it's not that bad, you seem decent enough' i think tempted to shrug at his outburst.

"Whatever, lets do it then. You'd better be useful" he says approaching me suddenly.

"Oh you decided! I'll be very useful, guaranteed" I say proudly then stand promptly. He stops mid stride looking up at me annoyed.

"Don't stand, you're too tall, kneel" he demands then continues to approach. I do as he says and kneel. When he's within touching range he pulls his sleeve up and shoves his arm in my face.

"Here, bite"

I take his arm in my hands and pause for a second "It'll hurt"

"I said bite".

I extend my fangs and bite down into his arm, the sudden taste of fresh blood on my tongue almost pulling me into a feeding frenzy. I resist and mentally request a link. After a few seconds, blood leaking from my mouth and my discipline beginning to slip, a notification popped up

LINK ACCEPTED

PAIRING...

PAIRING COMPLETE

NEW SYSTEM FUNCTIONS AVAILABLE

Ignoring the messages i was beginning to get swept away in the taste of blood that seemed to get insatiably sweeter, i swallowed mouthfuls wanting more.

"HEY! That's enough!" My new master demanded grabbing me by the hair to pull me off his arm. I didn't resist and let go of his arm.

"Ah, i'm sorry, i got carried away" I say slightly dazed.

"I can see that. It looks like the link worked just fine" He mumbles looking off into thin air at what i assume is his system. "what? you're immortal?" He asks suddenly

"That's right, so i can do all the dangerous stuff for you and it won't be a loss" i say proudly.

'i wonder what contract style he chose' i think. When a link is requested the contractee gets the option to choose the power dynamic as either 'slave', 'guard', 'partner', 'employee', or 'friend' which determines how some features of the system interact with both parties. Most of the 'links' i've had previously opted for the 'slave' or 'guard' dynamic which didn't bother me, but it would be interesting to have something different.

NOTICE: CONTRACT STYLE HAS BEEN SET TO SLAVE

RESTRICTIONS WILL BE PLACED ACCORDINGLY

Not too surprised by the notification I take a look at my system to see what changed. The first thing i noticed is under my 'abilities' tab my power limiter was no longer locked, additionally i had an xp bar at the bottom of my status.

In my 'link' tab it had information about my master

"LINK:

NAME- Victor Henry Steven Ross

Species- Human

Age- 21

Level- 11

Class- ???

HP- 32/150

Power- ???

MP- ???

Speed- ???

Agility- ???

Durability- ???

Skills- ???

Link format - Slave

Restrictions: You can no longer refuse orders, Pain felt by your owner will be partially transferred to you, Your power can never exceed your Master's, You cannot deny a summons'

I wasn't sure why most of it wasn't shown but it was good enough being able to see the name and health. My quest tab had also been updated

"QUESTS

NAME - Rise from Rubble

CONDITION-

- Find a link from earth/COMPLETED

-Increase your 'links' level to 50 before completing the tutorial

-???

-???

Time limit: 20 years

PENALTY UPON FAILURE - ???"

'The penalty isn't showing?' i wonder. That never happened before. 'Tutorial?' i read in confusion, is it talking about the dungeons?

"Looks like i can summon you, that's useful" Master Victor says still looking at his system

"Yes Master, since i'm directly linked to you i can be summon to you at anytime from anywhere, even across realms" I say proudly

"There's an option to name you, did you not already have a name?" He asks, 'hm, he seems to approve of me calling him 'master'' i mentally note

"I have had many previous names, all given by previous Masters'. My most recent one was Tex but i would never dare use the name given after the link breaks" I reply still kneeling in-front of my master.

"Why not? a name is just a name"

"I'm a magical creature, born not by biological means. A given name to a magical creature is like a soul binding. If i were to use the name given by a deceased master it would be like getting my soul torn every use as it tries to reconnect to the master that gave the name. If i weren't immortal it would even be potentially fatal" I reply

"Harsh. Well what sex are you? it's not showing up on your status and i can't tell just from looking. I don't want to give you a male name if you're a girl"

"Ah, Master. I'm a magical creature, i wasn't born naturally so i don't have the same biology you're thinking of. I have no sex" i reply cautiously, i didn't want to insult his intelligence.

"Right, so it doesn't matter then" he mumbles rubbing his chin in thought. "You'll be following me around a lot, calling me master might be weird if i give you a girl name" he mumbles. 'You could just order me not to call you 'master' in public' i think to myself chuckling inwardly, 'he must like the title to much'.

"Aaron will be your name" he says finally. As soon as he finished speaking black mist erupted around my neck to form a binding collar, whisps of black smoke emanating from it, a chain began to form rapidly and attached itself to my Masters chest where his heart sat.

"What the fuck is this?" he yells alarmed

"It's a soul bind Master. Since you not only chose the 'slave' contract dynamic but also gave me a name, i've now been soul bound to you. Don't worry it won't do you any harm" I reply as the chain and collar disappears from sight in a burst of black smoke whisps.

"It's gone?" he asked looking around

"From sight only" i reply holding back a small laugh

"Alright. What does it even do?" he asks confused

"Link is used to connect you to my system. It is also a contract of subordination which allows you to use a certain degree of my power depending on the dynamic chosen. Certain dynamics allow me to act independently in some situations and even disobey orders if i believed it necessary. However, the slave dynamic strips that free will away, it's the condition required for a being of my power to be soul bound to a mortal. With that condition met, once named, your words become absolute, regardless of my own thoughts on the matter" i explain, "if i were a lesser magical creature then just a name would be enough to bind me" i add

"So if i ordered you to kill me you could?" he asked scowling

"Absolutely not Master! While your words are absolute my soul is bound to yours, i cannot attempt to harm my own soul by killing you" i reply quickly

"But you could injure me?" he asks

"...if ordered to do so, then yes Master" i say nervously.

"Then right now i will give you an order" he says looking down at me "Never, under any circumstances, even if i were to order you, are you allowed to harm me physically" he orders. The black collar and chain flash momentarily implanting the order into my very soul

"Yes Master" I reply prostrating myself on impulse, in the past, many of my masters who chose the 'slave' dynamic demanded this sort of behavior from me.

"Calling me Master is fine but don't prostrate yourself just nod your head in acknowledgment instead"

"Yes Master" i say somewhat confused, 'perhaps it was too embarrassing for him?' i wonder.

"also why are you still kneeling?"