The [Flame Up] spell drained from the wellspring of spirit⁠—or was it mana?⁠—inside of Luckner’s center. This source of power felt like an intangible place, even if it was highly personal.

Luckner had no idea how such a thing could exist or how it was possible for anything magical that was happening to occur. He simply understood what he was feeling with the aptest description he could give it.

So when the current linking the incredible potential of power to awe-inspiring power made real⁠—the link between his mana and the fire spell that covered his dick and ass⁠—was interrupted, he was a tiny bit concerned at first. Before the flames snuffed out completely, he felt the transfer of energy pour immediately toward the hand that was channeling [Mythic Bond]. At that point, the gobbo leader’s knife was already pressing into Luckner’s back.

Oh wow, he could feel the blade piercing flesh and drawing blood. It was directly behind his heart. His [Zeal] was intense, but the images of another gory death flashed before Luckner’s eyes and nearly staggered him.

He felt that a spell called [Backstab] would produce a horrific effect that was greater than a normal backstab. Maybe he didn’t deserve a second chance at life if he would waste it by getting murdered again.

The blade stopped going any further than flesh-deep. Then it pulled out. Luckner felt his back slicked with sweat that ran with the blood trickling down from the open wound. It was only a little blood, but he knew it could’ve been a lot more, which begged the question. What did [Mythic Bond] do?

Luckner slowly turned around to see.

The gobbo leader’s face twitched, and her ears fanned up and down. She started to snarl a little before transitioning into a mewl. Then she returned to snarling. She went back to mewling seconds later. She shook her head, stomped her feet, and slashed at the air between them.

The bedazzled girl glared at him. “You’re trying to enslave me!”

Luckner flinched. “You were going to kill me.”

“I told you to stay down, and you didn’t. It’s only fair, now!” She hopped up and down. “Now I can feel your magic trying to take me. Stop it, hooman!”

“But… you’re not taken,” Luckner said. “I don’t even know what it’s doing.”

When he had used [Compulsion] on the winged reptilian earlier, Luckner took control almost instantly. This was definitely a different case. Besides, nothing about [Mythic Bond] suggested such heavy-handed control.

Regarding the energy transfer, Luckner felt his mana was blasting out of him way faster than with [Flame Up]. There was a powerful connection between him and the destination, which he surmised to be the goblin girl.

Whatever this spell was doing, it took a lot of energy, and it was kind of thrilling. His [Zeal] was burning hotter, spreading a wide flame inside of his chest. Something about this [Mythic Bond] spell felt right with him, but it wasn’t complete yet.

Still, the idea that he was enslaving her was a little disturbing. But on the same token, he really wanted to see [Mythic Bond] completed.

“It’s… it’s settling down now—the magic. Now there’s a message. The Circle System is asking me if I want to serve you,” she said. “I can say no or yes.”

What’s the Circle System? Luckner wanted to ask, but he figured it wasn’t the right time for it.

More importantly, what would happen if she said no. Would there be a backlash? Would a failure waste his energy and leave him vulnerable? There were so many things Luckner didn’t understand, and he was starting to realize he put himself in an awful position to learn what could be life-threatening.

The other goblins grew closer. Luckner was not blind to being surrounded again. They might jump in at any given moment, and they looked eager to do so.

The goblin leader gestured at the other goblins. They broke the circle that had Luckner pinned and retreated. Huh, maybe the spell was⁠—

“[Dash].”

The goblin girl became a blur again, but not to the side this time. She zoomed straight into Luckner and latched onto him. One hand grabbed behind his neck while she planted her feet on his thighs. Her grip was strong enough to hold her up while she pointed her knife at his eye.

“Why should I serve you?” she snarled.

Luckner blinked between the blade and the goblin’s angry face. He could babble something, anything, just to keep her from stabbing his eye out. He was not as afraid compared to when she had the opportunity to screw his backside. But he was not going to let his [Zeal] act recklessly right now. He had done enough of that.

“What do you want?” he asked.

“Answer my question!”

“Part of answering your question is answering mine,” Luckner said calmly. “You said the Circle System is giving you the option to say no. I got no freaking clue what a system entails with all the hocus pocus, but it sounds like you don’t have to serve me.”

So, what was keeping her from saying no?

The goblin leader licked her lips. The anger in her eyes faded, and a glint of hunger revealed itself.

“Can you give me what I want?” she asked. “I don’t care if you’re pretty for a dum-dum hooman. Your prettiness is nice, but it’s not everything. Will there be riches to take? Can I take power? Will serving you allow me to take more so I can grow?”

She moved the knife out of the way and pulled herself closer, their noses touching. Then, with a husky rasp, “You're a low adept now, but I can tell you'll be strong. If I let you take me, will you take me to the top with you?”

Ah, ambition. Maybe it wasn’t just her appearance and fighting ability that made her cut above the rest. She might be the type of goblin that hungered for more than the others who had settled with their lot in life. In a sense, that was entirely human. It was almost too human.

It made Luckner think of the times he was in bed with⁠—that bitch⁠—speaking aloud their dreams and aspirations. That… his ex had always been a big dreamer. She had always wanted more than they could have at the moment, and no matter how much he worked to give, it was never enough. Maybe, in the end, he wasn’t enough.

Luckner’s body cooled suddenly. His [Zeal] dimmed. The flashes of memories spent with that traitorous woman held onto him like glue. Before he could free himself, he suffered the consequence of his hesitancy and plummeted mood.

The goblin leader’s face sagged with disappointment. “I thought you would be special.”

“I…” Luckner clenched his jaw, struggling to say something.

Fuck. Fuck, fuck fuck. Why couldn’t he shake his ex’s influence? This was a new opportunity, wasn’t it? This was his new life! But half his heart was still human. And he was still hurting.

The goblin leader kicked off of him and dropped among her own. “My answer is no to you. I won’t let you take me now.”

The power streaming to feed [Mythic Bond] snapped. Part of it felt like a bridge crumbling from collapse. The other part felt like precious resources fizzling into the nothingness, wasted on a failed attempt. When the wellspring of power sealed, Luckner felt how very empty it was, and that took a bite out of his stamina and his morale.

[Zeal] dimmed further. The sore spots along his head started to hurt more. It made Luckner lean against the wall to help hold himself up.

“Shit,” he said. “I fucked that up. I didn’t mean to.”

The goblins started down the alley with his stuff, the leader at the front. He wasn’t even mad about his clothes anymore. That was small. The failed bond, however…

“What’s your name?” Luckner asked.

One of the female gobbo mooks turned to reply.

“Not you, her! Your leader.”

The bedazzled princess paused. She didn’t turn to look at him.

“I am Gixzha.” She flicked her hair. “Don’t let me see you again, or I’ll take your big-big man-spear.”

“Be careful, Gixzha,” he said, his chest heating a little. “You might get what you wish for.”

Gixzha snorted. She was giving him her backside, but he almost wanted to believe that she was smiling. Then the goblins departed and left Luckner beat up and bleeding in a dirty alley. His boxers were gone, too, a sacrifice to [Flame Up].