Chapter 13: Oathbound

Narg looked absolutely stressed like a kid caught sneaking snacks in class.

It reminded me of a personal disaster:

The time three female classmates visited me in the hospital out of nowhere.

I couldn't even speak to them. Just sat there, sweating bullets like a broken faucet.

Then, to top it off, I barfed on one of the girl's skirts.

They left immediately and never came back.

I snapped back to the present, shaking my head to erase the cringe memory.

"Alright, Narg," I said, taking a step closer.

My voice was firmer now. "You're out of time."

He panicked, holding up his hands in desperation. "Wait! Can you swear?"

"Swear?" I blinked, confused. "What are you on about?"

"Can you swear," Narg said, his voice trembling but firm, "that as long as you're chief, you won't torture me—or anyone in the clan—for experiments or your own enjoyment? If you can do that, I'll pledge my loyalty to you. I swear on Drugar's name, the one who protects us all."

I blinked. "Hmm."

That was... unexpected.

Before I could even respond, a notification popped up in front of me.

Ding!

Narg has sworn allegiance to you, invoking the name of Drugar as his witness.

This pledge is bound by the following conditions:

As long as you honor your promise, Narg cannot betray you. Should you break the conditions, the pact will turn to enmity. Narg will become possessed, transforming into a relentless beast of vengeance, unable to rest until your life is taken.

Do you accept this oath?

I froze, rereading the message.

Wow… that's a lot to take in.

Basically, if I broke the vow, Narg wouldn't just be mad—he'd turn into some cursed, mindless beast fueled by vengeance.

The kind of monster that would track me down and kill me no matter where I ran.

Not scary at all. Nope. Not terrifying in the slightest.

I frowned.

What the actual fuck, Narg?!

I glanced at him, his wide, hopeful eyes practically begging for mercy.

This guy just whipped out some ancient magic vow like it's no big deal?

Screw you and your oath, Narg!

You're lucky I don't just end you now.

I took a deep breath and forced myself to calm down.

This wasn't just about Narg. This was about who I was—or who I wanted to be.

I thought about it. Really thought about it. Torturing?

Sure, I doubted I'd ever do anything that cruel to my own clan members.

They were my people now.

But… what if they stopped being my people?

What if someone crossed the line?

My gaze landed on Narg's scars, scattered across his green skin like jagged battle maps. They weren't the kind of scars you got from a fight.

They were the kind you got from being broken, over and over.

The sight hit me harder than I expected.

It wasn't just his scars I was looking at—it was the pain they carried. Pain that reminded me of my own, buried deep. Not on my skin, but in my heart.

I bit my lip, hard enough to sting.

Only a monster could do that to someone.

And if I ever got to the point where I could hurt someone like that… what would that make me?

Would I even be me anymore?

Sure, I wasn't human now—at least, not physically.

But my mind, my soul? Those still felt human.

For now, at least.

But how long would that last?

This world wasn't kind.

If I wanted to survive, I had to be strong.

If I wanted to thrive, I had to be ruthless.

And if I wanted power, real power, I'd have to make sacrifices.

Was my humanity going to be one of them?

The thought made my chest tighten.

I didn't want that.

No matter how much I adapted to this world, I didn't want to lose the part of me that made me me.

Maybe that was naïve.

Maybe I'd end up regretting it.

But no.

I shouldn't have to adapt to this world. This world should adapt to me.

Easier said than done, though. Much easier said than done.

I wasn't naive enough to think I could avoid doing cruel and questionable things in this world.

But there was a difference between doing it out of necessity and doing it just for the sake of power.

If I had to make tough calls, if it would benefit me and my clan, then fine.

I'd do what needed to be done.

But I wasn't going to harm the people I was supposed to protect—my own clan. 

My responsibility.

I balled my fist, feeling the heat of resentment burning in my chest.

But, I exhaled slowly, forcing the anger to fade. 

Emotions aside, I needed to look at the bigger picture.

Narg was the only goblin here with real magic potential. 

He was valuable.

And as much as I hated the idea, I could use him. 

The rest of my clan? They were fighters, strong and loyal.

But they weren't much more than muscle.

Flogga, maybe, had her potions.

But could she throw a fireball? Highly doubt it.

Poison, on the other hand?

I made a note to ask her later about what kinds of potions she could brew. 

But Narg? He was the only one with any real magic. 

That made him important—too important to just throw away. 

But, if I didn't take his oath… there was no real alternative than to just kill him. End him here and now.

But I didn't want that. 

I also didn't want to be bound by anything, especially not some oath or vow.

But then again, the pledge with Narg meant I could be sure he wouldn't stab me in the back. 

It was a trade-off, a sacrifice.

I was just starting out, and sometimes, you had to make tough decisions early to secure your future. 

So, I made my choice.

"Fine," I said, my voice steady. "I accept the condition and your servitude."

Narg immediately dropped to his knees, his entire attitude shifting. 

"Thank you, esteemed totem," he said, his voice full of gratitude. 

I didn't care much for the formalities, but I did care about the results.

So I quickly used [Analyze] to check his loyalty.

[Narg] - Goblin Acolyte | Level: 2 

Skill: Fireball | Loyalty: 80%

I blinked, shocked.

From 10 to 80?! That was a massive jump.

It seemed like accepting his oath had won over Narg's trust, and now I had his loyalty.

That was good for me. 

Still, the whole idea of pledging loyalty made me uneasy.

I didn't plan to offer or receive anyone else a vow like that unless it was absolutely necessary.

The consequences of breaking was quite terrifying.

"Rise," I said to Narg, my voice firm.

"Thank you for accepting the oath esteemed totem. I'll serve you forever."

I ignored his declaration and corrected:

"Don't call me esteemed totem. Just call me chief."

"Thank you, esteemed totem chief."

Seriously, dude? Are you messing with me?

I just sighed and gave up.

Then turned to the rest of the goblin. It was time to find a new home.

"Alright everyone, let's go!" I yelled, excitement building up as I looked forward to exploring this new world.

But the excitement quickly faded as we moved deeper into the forest.

Reality hit me hard.

This wasn't some safe, cozy world.

This was a hostile place where you could just bump into a monster at an intersecton.

We froze.

In front of us stood a massive, ugly troll.

Its eyes locked with ours in a tense, unblinking staredown.

Talk about bad luck.

The troll let out a guttural growl, and I instinctively took a slow step forward.

I tried to keep my voice calm and soothing.

"Easy, boy. Just take it easy."

Yeah, no.

The troll was having none of that.

With a roar, it lifted its giant, spiked club high above its head, and swung it down toward us with a terrifying force.