“What?” Nicholas bites out, immediately furious. That the candidate would dare? His eyes scan Sarran’s form as if such a Bond might be visible to his naked eyes. Then, his mind finally getting over its initial outrage, he remembers to activate Inspect Bond. Threads of light spool away from his manservant’s form, all different colours and different thicknesses, but something puzzles Nicholas: there’s no thick grey thread wrapping around Sarran and Binding him to the will of another. There aren’t even the traces of where a recent Bond has been.

  Nicholas frowns. Did Sarran manage to fight it off? He knows that his manservant is strong-willed, but he also knows that Sarran’s Class doesn’t require him to put many points into Willpower. Although, as his employer, he technically could ask about Sarran’s exact attribute distribution without causing offence, he never has and Sarran hasn’t volunteered the information. Attempting to see it for himself is an insult he won’t offer his loyal manservant and friend without grave cause. Nonetheless, he doubts that the man continued putting points into Willpower after reaching twenty in the stat. If he even raised it that high. Considering the number of beasts he’d seen come through the Gateway, Nicholas has to guess that the candidate’s Willpower is far above twenty. Which means….

  “The candidate released you?” he asks incredulously.

  “He did,” Sarran confirms, seeming far more entertained by Nicholas’ shock than he should be. Maybe he sees it as a bit of revenge for the worry Nicholas has no doubt put him through by falling unconscious right in front of an unknown surrounded by dangerous beasts.

  And it is shocking. Considering the vulnerability which even intentionally failing a Battle of Wills causes, he isn’t sure what it says about this man that he was willing to chance it in a completely unknown location. Perhaps he felt safe enough, surrounded by his Bonded. Or perhaps he realised that Dominating one of the men who were his reception into this world was a worse move than a few seconds of paralysis.

  “I guess his Bonded closed ranks while he was paralysed?” Nicholas questions – the reactions of one’s Bonded are a good indication of how one rules them. Nicholas is fully aware that unwilling Bonded held only by the Bond are far less proactive than those who are willing, though even they will tend to come to their Tamer’s defence in the face of an obvious threat.

  “He suffered no paralysis,” Sarran answers calmly even though he’s been with Nicholas for long enough to know how unexpected that is. Nicholas’ eyebrows climb his forehead without his permission in his shock. So convinced that he’s misheard, he almost asks Sarran to repeat himself but the man’s slightly mischievous smile is enough to tell him that yes, he heard correctly. The candidate intentionally failed a Battle of Wills and yet suffered no penalty.

  Nicholas knows what stone he sent the candidate, and the Skills contained within it. There are only two possibilities he can see here. First, that something in the candidate caused the stone to mutate when he absorbed it. It’s unusual, but not unheard of – there’s a reason why Classes transform over time, after all. Second, that he’s failed enough Battle of Wills for the paralysis to have been removed on a rank up of Dominate. Which in turn implies that he intentionally failed the Battle of Wills since rank ups rarely take unintentional failures into account, and usually the consequences are negative in those cases anyway. Which means…what?

  “Why did he use Dominate on you if he didn’t even intend to Bind you?” Nicholas asks Sarran. “Just to communicate?”

  The manservant shrugs. “It seems so. He introduced himself and received my own introduction, made it clear that he meant us no harm as long as we didn’t try to attack him or his Bonded, offered to try to heal you, and then when I told him I would prefer you to see your own healer, asked merely that I take him somewhere his Bonded would be more comfortable.”

  “And he didn’t get upset at his offer to heal me being denied? Or threaten you in any way?” Nicholas watches Sarran intently – the behaviour of someone towards a servant is often very telling as to what kind of person they are. He’d offered to heal, yes, but Nicholas has met plenty of self-important, pompous healers who thought that their ability to rid people of pain and disease made them worthy of immense accolades.

  “He did not seem concerned about his offer being denied and accepted my explanation that your healer knows you better than anyone else without demur. He seemed more interested in you receiving healing than who should offer it.”

  Nicholas nods slowly. Those were good signs. “And did he threaten you?”

  Sarran hesitates. “He…did not,” he says finally. Nicholas gives him a hard look.

  “You don’t seem too sure.”

  “I…he said merely that if I did not return in a short enough time to lead them to somewhere more natural than the Great Hall, he and his Bonded would seek a better place themselves. And, of course, he warned that any attempt to attack him or his Bonded would lead to equal retaliation on their parts. They were not exactly threats, more warnings, which is why I hesitated to label them as such.”

  “More reasonable than I was expecting,” Nicholas comments after a moment of thought. “Especially since there’s an unexpected language barrier.” He stays in thought for a little while longer, trying to fit the pieces of the candidate together in his mind.

  Intentionally failing a Battle of Wills, using it purely for the objective of communication in the first place, offering to heal him, not being offended when the offer was rebuffed, being remarkably reasonable considering the situation…so far, it’s looking quite positive. “What of his Bonded? What have you observed of them?” It’s a pity that Nicholas himself has only the faintest of memories of big and dangerous beasts emerging, but no details. He will have to get a better view when he goes to meet the candidate, but for now Sarran’s judgement will help him draw some conclusions.

  This tale has been unlawfully lifted from Royal Road. If you spot it on Amazon, please report it.

  “There are many. I counted nineteen beasts in addition to the candidate.”

  Nicholas’s eyebrows rise again. Nineteen is more than he was expecting. No wonder he collapsed – though the majority of the Energy came from the candidate’s side, Nicholas himself had to contribute a considerable fraction of it too. Though he’d chosen a Passageway out of the few transportation options open to him since it didn’t require him to know exactly how many beings were travelling through it, the number and strength of the beasts who traversed the space between worlds did make a small difference to the Energy requirements. Nicholas had thought that he’d accounted for all possibilities but it seems that he was proven wrong.

  “Weak? Or powerful?” he checks, though knows they can’t be too weak or even nineteen of them wouldn’t have made enough difference to make Nicholas collapse.

  “I do not have your eyes,” Sarran prefaces his observations. Nicholas waves at him impatiently – he knows that. “But I suspect that the majority of the beasts are into their second tier.” Nicholas nods slowly. That ties up with what he’s already concluded. “And one might even be a Tier three.” That is unexpected.

  “You think the candidate has grown enough in a single year to have Bound a Beast Lord?” he asks incredulously.

  “I cannot be sure,” Sarran reminds him, “but the massive beast that came through at the end…I’ve seen pictures of it in a book from the library. I took the liberty of seeking it before coming here.” He pulls a book from his Inventory. Nicholas recognises it as a bestiary he’s consulted many times before. It’s one of the most comprehensive he has, making it a good resource when he encounters an unknown beast.

  His manservant opens it to a certain page, revealing a snarling feline with rosettes all over its pale fur. The page is familiar enough from his study of the book, but he doesn’t think he’s ever encountered this beast in the flesh. Not until earlier, that is, if the beast the candidate brought with him is indeed this creature. Nicholas doesn’t remember much, but he does remember spots and sabre-like teeth. In those respects, the illustration matches.

  “A nunda?” he murmurs, scanning the information before him. Phrases jump out at him: known to have a strong potential for magic….believed to have been brought from the Lost Continent with the original settlers….very dangerous….independent and stubborn….long-lived and slow to reproduce….grows significantly bigger as it increases in tier….found mostly in Damaya and occasionally in the mountainous regions of Moriax…. “And you think that this…nunda is Tier three?”

  Sarran grimaces. “It is a conclusion based on its size and the presence it gives off. I didn’t get within a body’s length of it, yet I felt like prey pinned beneath its gaze even when it wasn’t looking at me. And it was just short of double my height. If that isn’t a Tier three beast, I would hate to know what it will be like if it reaches that level,” he confesses frankly.

  Nicholas trusts Sarran’s judgement – the manservant has been with him for years, exposed to all sorts of beasts, including multiple Tier threes, both Bound and not. While Nicholas has never encountered a ‘nunda’, Sarran’s description of the beast’s presence certainly has similarities with what Nicholas himself has experienced when encountering a hostile Tier three.

  If the candidate has indeed Bound a Tier three beast – and with a Dominate Bond since none other would allow the beast to accompany him through the Passageway – the very achievement indicates this candidate is someone to watch. To have gained enough Willpower to Dominate a Tier three in a year is an unheard of achievement. Such powerful Willpower will be a blessing – if it is used on behalf of Nicholas’ House.

  Nicholas will have to be sure to get the candidate’s measure quickly to know what he’s working with – and how amenable the candidate might be. He needs to understand how the candidate will react to unexpected events, or threatening ones. At the same time, he doesn’t want to provoke a fight. Nicholas is confident that he would come out the victor – gifted or not, the candidate has only had a year to amass power; Nicholas has had decades. Nonetheless, hostility once built can be hard to overcome. Nicholas will have to balance things carefully.

  “And his other Bonded? Do you have any more surprises for me?”

  Sarran gives him a slightly-amused smile.

  “Nothing so dramatic. Those around him appear to be predators, none had the appearance of herbivores. He has beasts which fit in multiple roles: scouting, defence, attack…and capable of using spears.”

  “What?” Nicholas demands again. His eyebrows are really getting a great deal of exercise today. “There weren’t supposed to be any humans on that world!”

  “Oh, they’re not humans. They’re some sort of humanoid lizard, but at least two of them were carrying spears.”

  Nicholas shakes his head slowly.

  “I think I’d better investigate myself. I need to introduce myself to him anyway.”

  “Are you sure you should leave? Has Healer Jermaine given you permission to depart?”

  “Who’s the lord here?” Nicholas grumbles, though he knows that in his own domain, Jerry is the sole authority. “Anyway, you heard Jerry. I haven’t done myself any lasting harm, and the remaining aches should heal by themselves soon enough. If a Tier three decides to go on a rampage, we’ll have far more to worry about than my headache.”

  “As you say, my lord,” Sarran accepts, though Nicholas can tell that his manservant would prefer him to stay in bed a little longer. Nicholas pretends not to notice – if he leaves an opening, the man will nag him to stay and Nicholas won’t get any rest while worrying what might be happening with the candidate.

  “I’ll meet you by the main doors and you can show me where you’ve led the candidate and his Bonded.”

  Sarran eyes him, probably wondering exactly what Nicholas has planned that they cannot go straight to the main doors from here, but evidently he decides not to ask.

  “As you wish, my lord.”

  Nicholas watches as he leaves the room and then goes over to Jerry’s door. He’d better get a headache draught before he goes to fetch the multi-language stone – he will need to be fully alert in the coming interview.

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