Rick's life had become a blur of quests, combat, and constant grinding since his first dungeon run a week ago. He was so into adventuring that even Sebastian was surprised. He took on every E-rank quest he could find and pushed himself to the limit of exhaustion every day.
The results spoke for themselves.
[STATUS WINDOW]
[NAME: RICK ROLLAND]
[AGE: 24]
[LEVEL: 7]
[PROFESSION: MATURE AFFINITY USER]
[HP: 220/220]
[MP: 180/180]
[STRENGTH: 15]
[AGILITY: 14]
[ENDURANCE: 16]
[INTELLIGENCE: 18]
[WISDOM: 16]
[CHARISMA: 9]
[LUCK: 18]
Rick sat in his guild room and stared at his status window, hardly believing how far he'd come in such a short amount of time. It took him just one week to gain seven levels.
For a normal adventurer, it would have been impossible, but his Mature Affinity System let him grow exponentially when he was with the right people. And he had found the perfect people.
Carmilla and Natasha had become his main party members over the past week, but calling them a party was a bit much. They were more like two very different packages of his survival insurance and experience farming machines.
Carmilla had taken him on patrols around the edges of Thornwick, where she taught him how to use a sword and be aware of his surroundings. When he made mistakes, she was patient and gave him helpful criticism instead of the harsh judgments he had expected. Every time she showed real concern for his safety, every successful patrol, and every monster she killed made her love him more.
[CARMILLA CRIMSONFORD: LOVE 6 → 9]
Natasha, on the other hand, was all about getting things done. They ran Hollowshade Cave three more times, and each time it went more smoothly than the last.
She never directly complimented him, but she did say "not bad" twice after he did well in battle, and her criticism became less frequent. That was almost a love confession from Natasha.
[NATASHA RAVENSCAR: LOVE 4 → 8]
The problem was that even though Rick had made a lot of progress, he still felt like he was missing something important about his power. The love levels were high, and the experience gains were big, but he couldn't break through the ceiling. He could feel it, like there was something else about the system that he hadn't figured out yet.
Sebastian appeared on his desk, clearly pleased as he adjusted his monocle. "Well, well. Look at you, really trying to be like the main character you are. I'm almost impressed by how hard you work to not be completely useless."
Rick said, "Thanks for the vote of confidence."
"Don't be too sure of yourself. You're still level seven, but the real threats are level fifty and even further. You're a little bit polished trash instead of regular trash."
"Congratulations."
"Are you just here to roast me, or is there a point to this speech?"
Sebastian's face became unusually serious. "Yes, actually. You've hit a very important point with both Carmilla and Natasha. Their love for each other is strong enough to break Spirit Bonds."
Rick sat up straighter. "Spirit Bonds? You haven't brought those up before."
"Because you weren't ready. The Mature Affinity System's real strength is in Spirit Bonds."
"You can make a permanent spiritual connection with a woman when her feelings reach level eight or higher and certain conditions are met. This bond gives you many stat bonuses, passive abilities, and most importantly, it lets you draw on their strength directly."
"Holy shit...! That sounds very helpful. Why didn't you tell me this sooner?"
"Because making a Spirit Bond takes something that most people in your line of work never get." Sebastian floated closer, and his little face was very serious. "Real trust and emotional openness between each other."
"Both sides must be willing to fully open their hearts with no tricks, no lies, just a real connection. Most people who use this system are too focused on winning to ever get there."
Rick took in that information. "So I need to talk to both of them honestly about how I feel and this strange power?"
"Basically, yes. I would suggest not calling it strange during the conversation, though. That doesn't usually go over well with women."
"When do I do this?"
"Tonight. I've already told both of them in my mind to meet you at the guild's private meeting room at sunset."
"They'll come, but they probably don't know why. You decide what happens next."
"Why the fuck did you do that...?!"
"Relax. My talk just felt like an unusual feeling for them, so better choose your words wisely for tonight."
...
Rick spent the rest of the day getting ready in a nervous way. How could you explain a magical system that needed you to form deep emotional bonds with grown women without sounding like a total nutcase? He thought of different ways to explain things, but they all sounded worse than the last.
Rick was a bundle of nerves by the time the sun went down. He went to the guild's private meeting room, which is a small room on the third floor that is usually used for planning quests and talking about strategies. Carmilla and Natasha, sitting on opposite sides of the room, appeared equally confused about their summons.
"Rick," Carmilla said, and her face changed to worry when she saw him come in. "Is everything okay? I had a strange feeling that I had to come here, but I don't know why."
Natasha's blue eyes got smaller. "Same. I will leave if this turns out to be a joke."
Rick quickly said, "It's not a joke. I need to talk to both of you about something crucial. This is something I should have mentioned earlier."
The two women looked at each other. They had only talked briefly in the past week when Rick accidentally double-booked quests, but they had never really talked. Carmilla's warm professionalism and Natasha's cold efficiency were completely unique, which made things awkward whenever they were in the same room.
Rick took a deep breath and decided that being honest was the only thing he could do. "My profession title, Mature Affinity User, isn't just a strange one."
"It tells me how to get power through a whole magical system, like making real emotional connections with older women that makes me level up fast and get stronger."
"Not by tricking or doing anything creepy, but by building real relationships based on trust, respect, and love."
Carmilla's eyebrows went up. Natasha's frown got worse.
Rick went on, "You've both helped me more than I can say this past week."
"Carmilla, you've taught me how to fight and supported me when I felt completely lost. Natasha, you encouraged me to improve and trusted me enough to watch over you when things became dangerous. Because of you both, I've become stronger than I ever thought I could."
"Where is this going?" Natasha asked, but her tone was more curious than frustrated.
"My system has a feature called Spirit Bonds."
"I can make a permanent connection with someone when I love and trust them enough. It helps both of us by giving us better skills, stat boosts, and a deeper understanding of each other. But it only works if both sides are honest and want to make the bond."
Rick looked back and forth between them. "Would you both be willing to form Spirit Bonds with me?"
"Not because I'm trying to use you, but because I really care about both of you, and I think this connection could make us all stronger."
The room was quiet. Carmilla looked at Rick's face with a thoughtful look on her face. Natasha's constant frown had gotten a little less harsh, which Rick had learned meant she was really thinking about something.
"This bond," Carmilla said slowly.
"What does it really mean?"