B2 Ch 93 - The Power of Bonds

[Stronger bonds may unlock additional Authority Bound effects.]

That was the system message Jester received after using Authority Bound on the twelve servants who were now connected to him through the system.

And after studying it further, he realized that this feature was far more useful than he had first expected. Apparently, each person connected to him had their own individual Bond Strength. The closer Jester became to that person, and the stronger the trust and connection between them grew, the higher their Bond Strength would rise, gradually unlocking additional features from Authority Bound.

A good example was Elora.

When Jester brought her into the battle against that Level 200 Raid Boss the other day, Authority Bound had not even been established between them yet. Even so, it seemed the system still recognized everything they had gone through together and counted those past experiences when calculating the strength of their newly formed bond.

[Authority Bound: Previous shared experiences and significant events have been recognized. Bond Strength with Elora has been established at 65%, improving synchronization and shared benefits.]

The battle itself had taken place before Jester formed the Authority Bound with Elora. Apparently, though, the system did not start measuring their connection only from the moment the bond was formed. Everything they had been through before that, including their battles, the trust they had built, and their time together, had also been taken into account. That explained why Elora's Bond Strength had already been so high from the start.

For now, Elora was probably the only person whose Bond Strength had reached such a high percentage. Because of that, Jester had already unlocked several additional features through the bond he shared with her.

Like this one.

[Shared Sense: Temporarily perceived through one of the Bound individual’s senses.]

Jester had unlocked this ability after his Bond Strength with Elora reached 20%. It was actually pretty useful because it allowed him to access Elora's senses even from a distance. The easiest ones to connect with were mostly her sight and hearing. Though the connection only lasted for a brief moment, and sometimes what he received was not entirely clear.

Still, there was one very important thing Jester had learned. He absolutely could not use Shared Sense whenever he felt like it.

The first time he tested the ability, he happened to connect with Elora while she was... yeah.

Seriously. What kind of terrible timing was that?

Why the hell did Elora have to be taking a bath the very first time he tested the ability?

Moving on.

[Mind Link: Directly exchange simple thoughts, emotions, or information regardless of speech.]

This one unlocked when Bond Strength reached 30%.

Basically, it allowed Jester and Elora to exchange thoughts directly. Nothing too complicated yet, more like short conversations or brief pieces of information. As their bond became stronger, Jester could connect more clearly with her, receiving not only her voice through the link but also traces of her emotions.

That alone made the feature surprisingly useful.

It also reminded Jester that he needed to put more effort into strengthening his bonds with Igrio and the others. If every increase in Bond Strength unlocked something useful like this, then leaving the others at a low percentage would simply be a waste.

At 40% Bond Strength, another feature became available.

[Skill Link: Connect compatible skills so their effects can interact or enhance one another.]

This was different from borrowing a skill like he could do with Lucia. The bond Jester shared with Lucia was on a completely different level compared to Authority Bound, so Skill Link did not work in quite the same way.

Instead, Skill Link allowed one of Jester's skills to connect with a compatible skill belonging to Elora. Once connected, the two skills could interact with each other and potentially enhance their effects.

It was a pretty convenient feature, especially because Jester did not even have to figure out which skills were compatible by himself. The system handled that part for him, automatically determining which skills could connect and strengthen one another.

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The only problem was that Skill Link worked best when they were fighting together. And Elora was not here right now. Which meant Jester had to work harder on his own, or place more trust in the bonds he was currently building with Shade and Michel.

Then, at 50% Bond Strength, another ability unlocked.

[Damage Link: Redirect or distribute a portion of damage between the Player and the Bound individual.]

This one could be incredibly useful when Jester and the Bound individual were fighting in the same battle. Being able to redirect or divide incoming damage could easily become the difference between surviving a deadly attack and getting killed by it.

Unfortunately, Jester had not gotten the chance to test it properly yet.

And then there was the feature unlocked at 60%.

Skill Sharing. This was where things became much more interesting.

Unlike Skill Link, Skill Sharing allowed Jester to directly use one of Elora's skills during battle. There was just one annoying condition. Once again, they had to be fighting together.

Jester really did not understand why so many of these features required the Bound individual to be physically present in the same battle.

If he could use Skill Sharing whenever he wanted, regardless of distance, then strengthening his bonds with everyone would become far more valuable. He could potentially gain access to different skills depending on who he was connected to.

That should include Goruk as well, considering Jester had already used Authority Bound on the vice chief of the Ironhorn Tribe.

Still, Jester did not know whether every person's Bond Strength would unlock exactly the same features.

Maybe Elora's progression was the standard path. Or maybe each individual could unlock different abilities depending on their personality, skills, class, or relationship with him.

There was only one way to find out.

Starting today, Jester planned to take each of the maids on missions with him one at a time. He would rotate between them, giving each person a chance to fight and spend time alongside him while gradually strengthening their individual bonds.

If battle, trust, shared experiences, and time spent together could raise Bond Strength faster, then he might as well make full use of it.

During the journey here, Jester's Bond Strength with both Shade and Michel had finally increased as well.

[Authority Bound: Shade feels valued after being entrusted with an important role and chosen to accompany you on a dangerous mission into enemy territory. Your trust in her has strengthened your connection. Bond Strength with Shade has increased to 49%.]

[Bond Strength with Shade has surpassed 40%. Skill Link is now available, allowing compatible skills between you and Shade to connect and enhance one another.]

[Authority Bound: During the journey, Michel has grown more comfortable with your presence as you rested closely against her transformed body. The prolonged physical closeness has strengthened your connection. Bond Strength with Michel has increased to 43%.]

[Bond Strength with Michel has surpassed 40%. Skill Link is now available, allowing compatible skills between you and Michel to connect and enhance one another.]

Both Shade and Michel were finally showing some progress with their Bond Strength, and so far, the features they unlocked seemed to follow the same progression as Elora's.

What caught Jester's attention, however, was what seemed to make their Bond Strength increase.

Shade's had risen after he placed his trust in her, gave her an important responsibility, and chose her to accompany him on a dangerous mission into enemy territory.

Michel, meanwhile, seemed to gain Bond Strength through more... physical interaction.

A rather ridiculous thought immediately crossed Jester's mind. What if he actually accepted Michel's offer to sleep on her?

She had already offered to transform her body into something resembling a bed or mattress for him, after all. If simply sitting comfortably on her throughout the journey had already increased their Bond Strength this much, then actually accepting that offer and spending an entire night sleeping on her might push it even higher.

Maybe he should try it. For research purposes, obviously.

Jester had only taken a few steps when Shade, who had been standing not far from him, suddenly dissolved into a mass of dark shadows. Her form flowed toward him before merging with his body, and a moment later, Jester was wrapped in a thin layer of shifting darkness. Michel, meanwhile, remained transformed as the cape hanging from his back.

“With this, you’ll be better protected and much harder to detect, Your Highness,” Shade’s voice came from within the shadows surrounding him.

“Can you cover Fang too?”

“Yes. I can conceal both you and Fang at the same time. It should make traveling through this area much safer, especially since we’ll need this ability once we move deeper into demon territory.”

Shade’s shadows immediately spread outward, flowing from Jester onto Fang until both rider and mount were completely covered in the same layer of dark, shifting shadow.

“Let’s go. I want to see how these demons are living in this territory,” Jester said as Fang began moving forward. “Especially when they shouldn’t have any right to be living on this land in the first place.”

The Kingdom should have raised its banners for war and driven these demons out completely. Instead, they had only sent Rania to hold the border, allowing this conflict to drag on for far too long without any real resolution.

There was no way it was simply because the Kingdom had to divide its forces across several fronts and could not afford to focus everything on this one region, right?

Or perhaps there was something else going on here. Something far deeper behind this conflict than Jester currently realized.

However, as they continued forward, Jester quietly activated the connection in his mind.

“Elora, Elora, can you hear me? I may need some backup here. Send a few people my way. Ask Igrio to decide who is available and have them follow my position.”

[Mind Link activated between Jester and Elora.]

[Connection confirmed.]

[Reinforcements are already on their way to you. Igrio sent them shortly after you began your advance. They should reach you soon.]

Jester blinked, a little surprised by how quickly Elora answered.

“Oh? And they sent backup before I even had to ask? Were they really that worried about me?”