Arc#4 Chapter 41: Dominance (Patreon)

When the White King realized he had been living in a cage his whole life, he learned that what he hated most.

It was being forced into doing things.

He could somewhat reconcile with any situation he fell into if it was the result of his failure or inadequacy, but being forced by something he could not even resist was unbearably enraging. That was why he hated the world's preference for creatures that didn't even live in it, and he also despised the humans who lorded their undeserved privileges in front of him.

It was this personality that urged him to seek the not-human in front of him for a bond.

If he was going to be poisoned anyway, then he may as well eat the entire bush of berries. If he was supposed to fall into a bottomless pit anyway, then he may as well jump into it. And if he was going to die anyway, he wanted to be the one to choose which death it would be.

No matter what the future held for him, the White King wanted to be the one to choose.

Perhaps it was just making things overly complicated. The results did not change after all. Such semantics most likely mattered only to himself.

But it did, in fact, matter to him.

Even if the world was one giant cage, he was still its king. And a king went where he pleased, did as he pleased, and lived as he pleased.

A king also chose his fate as he pleased.

The White King knew that the not-human could not be convinced to let him go nor forced to do so, so his fate as its slave was already decided. And since he was already going to be enslaved anyway, he may as well walk into his new cage on his own, rather than be shoved or dragged into it.

He had been thoroughly defeated by the not-human, even surviving the lethality of his bite — a bite that had felled countless foes throughout his life, including a dragon the size of a mountain.

With a master so strong, perhaps the White King could learn something from that strength. Or maybe make it his own.

'Besides...'

The White Wolf felt his heart grow lighter at the satisfaction of seeing such a stupid look on the not-human's face at his unexpected action.

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Reivan couldn't help but freeze, his jaw growing slack as he reread the words on the screen.

'This isn't how I imagined it would go...'

Joy and celebration should have been the first thing in his mind but Reivan simply didn't understand how it came to this. He directed a confused glance at the wolf but eventually decided to stop caring about the beast's reasoning — he was a human, after all, and would probably be unable to fully understand a spirit beast's mindset.

The most important thing was that he could now form a permanent bond with the beast without using his only orb.

'Well, alrighty then. Moving on, I suppose.'

Reivan immediately selected the only logical selection in his mind.

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The bond has been established.

One side of the bond does not have a true name yet.

Help your bond decide a true name to establish a permanent bond.

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'Ah, fuck. Right. I have to come up with a damn name...'

Reivan clicked his tongue, unconsciously gravitating towards a generic name for a big white legendary wolf — like Fenrir or something unoriginal.

'Eh. I already started a tradition with Serendipity, so let's just go with it...'

The first name that came to mind was Regality or Majesty, which paid homage to the beast’s crown and how it probably lauded itself as the ruler of the Sanctuary.

But after a moment of contemplation, Reivan realized that those didn’t seem appropriate.

The wolf wasn’t a king, after all. And although it looked majestic, it was no ruler. A king wasn’t the king because they were the strongest — otherwise, the Aizenwald clan wouldn’t be where it was, and the Sword Star would sit on the nation’s throne.

No, a king was someone who guided a nation into nurturing strength, and deciding how that strength was to be used for the good of that nation.

And something told Reivan that the wolf definitely wasn’t that kind of existence for the world. The beast probably just ran around killing things and scaring the shit out of others.

‘Hm… I got it.’

“Dominance.” Reivan let the word roll off his tongue, deciding that it was good enough. He might just go crazy and name the beast Shiro if he had to think of names even more than he already had. “For an outward name, I guess I can just call you Dom. Dommy sounds wrong and you aren’t cute enough for it anyway.”

Dom the winter ghostwolf variant sniffed in acknowledgement, but Reivan could have sworn he caught a glimpse of satisfaction in the beast’s clear golden eyes.

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A True Name has been decided; A bond has been formed.

Spirit Beast affinities are shared.

…

Unable to share affinities.

You have perfect elemental compatibility with the spirit beast!

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“Oh, that’s new…” Reivan muttered under his breath, signaling for Zouros to stop squeezing Dom to death.

A whole lot of nothing followed the fanfare of having perfect elemental compatibility with his newest companion, but eventually, something else happened.

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As a result of Perfect Elemental Compatibility, you will both obtain an inferior copy of one special ability from each other, converted into an extra skill.

This can only happen once in a lifetime and cannot be done with any other spirit beast afterward.

Would you like to proceed?

...

Error: Refusal is impossible due to the contract already being established.

Proceeding with the random selection.

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Reivan’s eyes almost bulged out of their sockets. “I can get a new special ability!?”

He had never even heard of such a thing being possible. Sure, it was apparently inferior to the original and would be an extra skill instead, but what did that matter?

‘It’s a free special ability! Please get me [Frost Domination]!’

Reivan tightly clasped his hands and closed his eyes, all while ignoring Dom’s skeptical gaze. As for Zouros, it had already slinked back into his soul to recover from its injury faster, but not before spitting out all the wolves it had stored inside its stomach — something that wasn’t very supportive of life and its preservation, and hence couldn’t be done for too long.

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Random selection in progress.

…

[Spirit King Seed] has been randomly selected.

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“NO! FUCK!” Reivan cursed and kicked the ground, throwing snow up in the air.

He was about to explore just how vast his vocabulary of profanities was when another error message popped up.

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Error: The unit is not of the skill’s required species.

The selection process will be repeated.

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‘There’s a chance! Let’s go! Reroll time, baby!’

Reivan clasped his hands once again, praying to Sormon for luck.

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Random selection in progress.

…

[Predatorial Insight] has been randomly selected.

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“No…!”

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Error: This unit already has the highest-ranked Insight ability.

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“YES! I didn't know that was even a thing, but YES!"

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[Frost Domination] has been selected as the last remaining ability.

You have obtained the [Frost Mastery] extra skill as a result of Perfect Elemental Compatibility.

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“Nice…” Reivan pumped his fist, though he was a bit annoyed at how convoluted the process was. It was short, but he’d experienced quite a bit of an emotional roller coaster.

‘How shit is my luck though…? I only wanted [Frost Domination] but I only got it on the third roll. And that’s because it was the only remaining option. What the hell!’

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Random selection in progress…

[Indomitable Willpower] has been randomly selected.

Dom has obtained the [Will of Steel] extra skill as a result of Perfect Elemental Compatibility.

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“Cool.” Reivan nodded, glancing at Dom, who had already realized the unexpected gift it received. “See? Aren’t you glad you did what you did? Would’ve been even better if you came willingly from the very start… It would’ve saved us all the trauma.”

Dom stared at him for a moment before acting as if he’d said nothing at all, proceeding to lay down and closing its eyes.

'Fucking asshole...'

Reivan let him rest for a moment, intending to examine their newest extra skills later. It seemed the process of bonding would continue now, so he wouldn’t have been able to in the first place.

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One side's abilities are far below that of the other side.

Capabilities are forcefully raised.

...

Due to Perfect Elemental Compatibility, the increase will be doubled.

Error: This unit’s maximum potential is 1200. Unable to increase until the next realm is reached or if certain skills are acquired.

...

Capabilities have been forcefully raised to the unit’s maximum potential.

...

Grievous injuries have been detected. This unit’s energy reserves are also extremely low.

Excess resources are automatically diverted to restoration.

...

The bond has been established.

Please note that Spirit Beasts cannot dematerialize in Spirit-affiliated environments and will suffer a True Death upon taking fatal damage.

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Reivan marveled at the wonderful — though somewhat disgusting — scene of his arm literally being regrown in a matter of seconds. Newfound strength also flooded his muscles, filling him with a mysterious power that restored his mana to full as well.

‘Awesome… Also, hybrids like me have a hard cap of 1200, huh? I think Pure warbeasts have a soft cap of 1400… Though, the growth range slows to a snail’s pace at that point, they can still get stronger. That's not too ideal for me and any of my kids, but whatever.’

Anyway, the main takeaway was that he had grown quite a bit stronger, gaining the result of multiple year’s worth of hard work in a single moment.

In the same way that Dippy’s capabilities were forcefully increased due to the gap between his and its base Might, Reivan received a boost because the gap between his and Dom’s Might was equally vast.

‘Man… I kinda wish I had come here earlier. Would’ve saved me months of training.’

But then again, he probably wouldn’t have defeated Dom if he was any weaker than he was now. The only way to do so would be if he knew about Dom in advance and prepared a whole box full of appropriate runestones to use against the white wolf king.

Perhaps the current course of events was the best one.

“Hm?” Reivan looked to the side, where Dom slowly got up, apparently having benefited from a similar restorative effect. “Darn. I wanted you to be injured for a bit longer. Just so you could learn from your mistakes.”

Dom snarled at him before standing up and howling, consequently rousing the rest of the wolves from unconsciousness. It seemed he silently gave them some orders because they all dispersed in various directions.

Reivan watched them go with a small smile on his face, knowing that he could summon the pack to Aizen once he got back to his real home. It would be an opportunity to have a bunch of knights establish bonds with spirit beasts.

‘Anyway. Time to take a look at my newest skill~ Man, nothing makes me feel like a LitRPG protagonist more than moments like this. I sure wouldn't wanna be one though since that'd imply I'll never have a peaceful life until the author drops the story or something.’

In a terrifically good mood, Reivan brought up the skill’s effects.

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[Frost Mastery]

Passive:

This unit's [Ice] element powers ignore any and all resistances and immunities, while also receiving 50% reduced damage and resource consumption in sufficiently cold environments.

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“Hm…” Reivan compared the skill to its original form and found that three effects had been entirely removed.

The sub-skill that passively changed the weather for free was gone, including the unconditional usurpation of ice-attribute energy in the area. He also wouldn’t be granted [Elemental Resistance] when in the right environment.

Still, it allowed him to bypass resistances and also gave him some buffs in the cold, which were still very good effects.

‘This trip to Arkhan has served me greatly. Thanks, Spirit Tower folk!’

Next, he brought up the skill Dom obtained.

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[Will of Steel]

Passive:

All attacks on the mind can be endured without suffering permanent damage.

Mind-control abilities are also nullified at the cost of being more stubborn.

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“Yep, I guess this is good enough too… I benefited a lot more from this though.”

Reivan wanted the wolf to inherit [Formless Will] or [Intent] since those two were his most used aspects of [Indomitable Willpower]. But having an indestructible soul and immunity to mind control was good enough.

‘So far though… I don’t think I’ve ever encountered mind control yet... Wait a minute, am I going to meet someone who uses it now that I've thought about it...? I fucking hope not.’

He shrugged to himself and was about to get on Dom’s back, only to get kicked away by the very angry wolf. Despite the surprisingly strong force behind the kick, Reivan didn’t get mad.

Truthfully, he was just joking around and didn’t expect such a proud creature to allow itself to be ridden like some horse. Not yet, at least.

“We’ll take things slow, boy.” Reivan chuckled and took out a small pocket watch, checking the time. He usually had a very good internal body clock, but his most recent bout was a bit too intense for him to keep track of something as mundane as time.

‘An hour left, huh…’

Reivan took out the orb that he was supposed to use on Dom, contemplating. With how strong Dom was, there was absolutely no way he would reveal the white wolf to the tower. That would just be asking for special attention — something he didn’t want at all.

‘I wonder if I can hide him anyway…’

But then again, since he would transform into Clover Salwyn during the return, he technically wouldn’t have a bond with Dom, so maybe he could work around that.

In any case, the orb would preferably have to be used on something for Elsamina. It would be even better if it was strong and had perfect elemental compatibility with her so it would increase her physical prowess, extending her lifespan before ascendence — just in case the spirit beast’s ascendence took too long.

‘I doubt I’ll find anything in the hour I have left. I think it’s already been established that my luck is shit when it comes to these things.’

Suddenly, Dom nudged him from behind, almost toppling him over. Before Reivan could scold the big wolf though, Dom spat something out.

“The hell is this…?” Reivan frowned as he used [Formless Will] to suck the object into his hand, observing it carefully. “A spatial storage ring… Where’d you even get this?... And also, you were hiding this in your mouth through our entire fight? That’s actually crazy… and mildly insulting.”

Through their connection, Dom explained that he had actually killed two dozen humans today, surprising Reivan. There were a lot of parts that Reivan couldn’t understand because of the nature of their connection, but now he knew why he just couldn’t find any other tower entrants.

It was because this mangy mutt took out a quarter of the humans who entered the Sanctuary.

‘This crazy bastard…’

Reivan sighed in exasperation and shrugged. Despite the beast’s brutality, he couldn’t really be mad at it.

It was a beast, after all.

Anyone who expected an untamed beast to value human lives was a fool. Spirit beasts aside, even ordinary animals got violent when something violated their territory — that was just how they worked.

‘May whatever gods are up there have mercy on their souls... Now then, let’s see what’s inside… though it's probably just spellballs and underwear.’

Reivan expected maybe another orb, which would already be a great boon, but he sure didn’t expect to see twenty-four orbs inside. He looked at the numerous orbs and gawked at the ease by which he’d obtained them when he had spent hours looking for a human to rob.

‘Why... have I been running around so diligently for? This is a good thing, but somehow, I just can't help but feel like an idiot.’

With a sigh and a lethargic pump of his fist, Reivan stowed away the orbs and moved to give the white wolf a quick hug. It looked disgusted and tried to swipe at him with very sharp golden claws but he was already gone before it realized what happened.

"Thank you, boy. I forgive you for everything you've done to me."

‘With this, I have a few more options.’

Reivan didn’t plan to use all of the orbs, intent on sending a few to Aizen for studying. Perhaps in a few years or decades, they could produce a replica.

That didn’t mean he couldn’t use them at all, however.

‘Let’s see… Now that I have more orbs than I know what to do with, I have to catch a relatively weak spirit beast to act as Clover Salwyn’s spirit beast. Dom and Dippy can be hidden instead, which will ensure that I won’t get any attention at all.’

Then, if fortune permitted, he could get a spirit beast for Helen too. They had been apart for too long and she was probably a bit upset at him. Though she wouldn’t complain since he was just doing his duties as a prince, he had been around women long enough to realize that they weren't creatures of logic, but of emotion. The reason for his absence wasn't very important, anyone, even him, wouldn't feel good about being apart from their loved ones for so long.

A gift would smooth things out tremendously.

He would also get plus points because it would prove that he was thinking of her even when they were apart — which he actually did, every single night.

‘Then… Uh, I’ll get one for Hector too, I guess. The bastard’s probably busy shagging my sister though… Well, he better be, with all the goddamn advice I’ve given him.’

And if possible, he could get one for his mother and uncle too, as they spent a lot of time in dangerous situations. Dom’s kin would probably be good enough despite their current weakness.

He knew it was wishful thinking. Meeting a whole bunch of strong spirit beasts in the one hour he had left was incredibly improbable and would likely place him in debt with the God of Luck — if there even was one. Nonetheless, he had to try anyway.

If he gave up now, he would definitely not meet anyone. But there was always a probability, no matter how small, that he would get something if he tried.

“Hey, let’s go. We have to pick up Dippy.” Reivan gestured for the grumpy wolf to follow as he kicked off from the frozen ground. “That’s your roommate, by the way. Both of you live inside me rent-free, together with Zouros — the big long guy you saw earlier.”

Dom followed silently, seemingly uncaring. Apparently, if they weren’t tethered together by their bond, he would have preferred to stay in place until they left the Sanctuary.

With their physical capabilities, it didn’t take long for Reivan and Dom to reach the little black blob of fur named Dippy, who was bouncing around in happiness. Reivan had told it in advance that he was okay after all, so it waited patiently for his return.

“Got you. C’mere, little guy.” Reivan picked Dippy off the ground and gave its soft flesh a little squeeze before placing the furry creature under his arm.

Together, Reivan and his two-beast gang of misfits left the Hexagon in search of worthy spirit beasts to catch.