Post by CrystalClearChurch557 7:34 AM April 23rd, 20XX

We’ve noticed some older members of our congregation that shall remain nameless have taken to disappearing into that devil game. They seem to think it will prolong their lives. Those members are at risk! The Passivity Precept is a false god. It is a temptation from the devil! Tell it to get thee behind ye!

While watching her bathe, I had the urge to ask for my soap back… but she needed it more than I did.

She stepped out of the pond and equipped her soaking wet gear. Then she smirked at me — blindingly brilliant — her Charisma debuff obviously gone. My traitorous heart stuttered. Suddenly, she stood a few feet away from me with the scent of my favorite soap and her natural campfire aroma wafting off her, invading. I could touch her if I desired. And I desired.

Before I could even reach out, she saved me by speaking.

“Fuck! I thought teleporting would dry me off.”

Oh? I cleared my throat. “The water will disappear on its own. Congratulations on learning your class’ movement technique.”

“Thank you!” she said then pouted. “I haven’t seen you use one.”

“Unfortunately, the Ravenborns have so far refused to allow me to learn one. As if I’ll be able to use it to escape from them. I do however have the spellbook for it.”

She nodded but her hands clenched into fists and a vein bulged in her forehead. Was she furious on my account? How adorable. I could just... Shit! I was doing it again.

Why was I having so much trouble keeping myself in check but she looked fine. Sure I noticed her appreciative looks every now and then but it just seemed like she had it easier. Was it because I was keeping her in the dark? Could knowledge of a bond make it grow and ignorance make it easier to deny? Then at all costs, I had to convince her that what she felt for me was my class’s natural charisma drawing her in. And she could never be made aware that this bond existed. Bonds destroyed lives. I’d seen it.

A faint voice in the back of my mind whispered and cajoled. It said that perhaps my life was already ruined and couldn’t get any worse. That maybe, in this one instance, it could work out for the better instead of the worse. With a loud distracting clap, I squashed that voice like the insignificant insect it was.

“Shall we go?”

She grinned. “Let’s speed run this bitch!”

***

We paved a long bloody path through the dungeon. For nine hours I watched as my bonded became used to the basics of her class and even gained her third level. She learned how to do things so quickly, it was like she was born for it. Her high intelligence may have been a factor, but there was something else too. Maybe prior knowledge? It made an urge to discover more about her world coalesced in my chest. To go there myself. See what her real-world’s race looked like. Maybe it was sexually incompatible with mine. That would help keep us apart. Maybe it had tentacles or feathers! But considering how easy she moved, that was unlikely. Her race had to be obnoxiously bipedal, but there were plenty of bipedal races that were incompatible. Plenty. Like those tri gendered mucus guys. Or those friendly little insectoid hivemind folk.

Once we left this place I would have to see for myself. But first, I needed to give her a reason why I could show up in her world.

We stood before an entrance to a huge cavern filled with glowing crystals and centuries-old stalactites and stalagmites. The Rat King, a creature the size of a cottage, sat on a throne made of precious woods and inlaid with crude stones.

“Mia,” I started. She looked up at me with her big adorable eyes and the lie froze on my tongue.

“Yeah, Lore?”

I cleared my throat. “Become my partner.”

“Aren’t I already your partner?”

“The PPVS has various levels of teams. Temporary groups are known as parties while semi-permanent groupings are known as official teams. I want us to become an official team of two. A team with a goal.”

Her eyes moved down to my neck, where my prisoner’s collar rested. “The goal is to free you?”

I nodded.

“Okay, but in exchange I want you to help me with something.”

That caught me off guard. Just what could a noob like her need? I raised an eyebrow at her.

“My goal for playing this stupid game, aside from earning a bunch of money, is to find out who murdered my father and why. I was promised by the naked elf dude that the information exists somewhere here.”

“PPVS advisors don’t lie. You can trust him.”

Her shoulders appeared to have a weight lifted off them and she nodded in appreciation.

“In exchange for becoming your partner and helping you free yourself, I want you to help me. We can take care of your issue first. It will be easier to find more information if you’re free from that Ravenborn clan. Deal?”

That sounded reasonable. Too reasonable. So where was the catch? Oh right. If I had to help her, that meant spending more time in her vicinity… but I could endure. For freedom.

“Deal.”

Congratulations! You have become official partners with Mia! You agree to share hardships for the foreseeable future, until a time when you both agree to part. Not that this was necessary...

Shut up. I know it isn’t necessary.

Keep lying player Lorevinel. It won’t bite you in the ass too hard.