Leveling Up by Seducing Milfs-Chapter 59. The Impossible Bond

When Rick woke up, he saw Sylvia already dressed and standing at the entrance to the pavilion. The light from the early morning sun framed her silhouette.

She looked different in some way, like she was more tense than she had been in days. Last night’s calm closeness felt like it came from a different world.

Rick said, "Something’s wrong?" And then he immediately wished he hadn’t when he saw her shoulders tense up.

"The Council of Elders sent word this morning," Sylvia said without looking back. "They’ve made a decision about what your last trial will be like."

"The Character Trial." She clenched her hands at her sides. "I tried to change their minds, but they all agreed. After the council votes, I can’t change their minds."

Rick got dressed and went to stand next to her. "The Character trial, huh... What’s that supposed to do?"

Sylvia finally looked at him, and he was shocked to see real fear in her amber eyes. "They want you to connect with me on a spiritual level. Right now, in front of all the people in the Dragon Court at the Altar of the Sacred Dragon."

Rick blinked. "Isn’t that what we’ve been working toward all along? I thought the whole point was for me to get to know you better and bring the Seven Powers together."

"You don’t get it." Sylvia’s voice sounded strained. "A mere mortal and Dragon Queens have never been able to form a Spirit Bond."

"The difference in power is too enormous. My soul, my true self, is a hundred times stronger than yours."

"When we try to connect, my dragon nature will try to eat you whole. It’s not on purpose... it’s just what happens when something much stronger tries to join with something weaker."

Rick’s stomach dropped. "So this trial is meant to kill me."

"Not always." But the way Sylvia spoke made it sound like she didn’t believe what she was saying. "With a strong will, strong ties to others, and complete trust in me, you could theoretically survive."

"But... Rick... I’ve seen warriors who have trained for decades try to connect with ancient dragons. Most of them died within minutes, and only a few who lived were never the same again because the weight of dragon consciousness broke their minds."

"And the Council is aware of this...?"

"They are aware, of course. This is how they find out if you’re really worthy or if I’ve been blinded by my feelings and loneliness." Sylvia turned all the way around to face him and took both of his hands. "I don’t want to do it."

"I want to tell them to go to hell and take it with them, but if I do that, it means I don’t believe in you. This means that I believe you will fail, and the Council will use that as proof that you don’t deserve it."

Rick thought about the last few weeks. The horrible physical tests where he was beaten to the brink of death every day for a week.

The Trial of Mind made him emotionally weak because he had to show his deepest fears and shames. And now this is a trial that could really break his mind and soul.

"When is the trial going to start?" he asked.

"At noon tomorrow. The whole Dragon Court will be there for the ceremony, so it needs to be planned."

"Thousands of people will see this." Sylvia’s hands got tighter around his. "Rick, you don’t have to. You’ve already passed two tests, and it wouldn’t be wrong for you to say that this is too much."

"Would you respect that choice?" 𝐟𝗿𝐞𝚎𝚠𝐞𝚋𝕟𝐨𝚟𝐞𝕝.𝕔𝕠𝚖

For a long time, Sylvia didn’t say anything. "I would get it, but what about respect? No. Part of me would always wonder whether you said no because you were scared or because you didn’t trust me to keep you safe during the bonding."

"That’s what I thought." Rick hugged her and felt her shake a little against him. "Okay, I’ll do it! I’ll make the Spirit Bond with you even if right now... I’m still not strong enough to qualify for it!"

"You could die," Sylvia said softly.

"I could, but I still could also succeed, and if I do, we’ll have something that has never existed before. A bond between a mortal and a Dragon Queen! That’s worth the risk."

"You’re crazy."

"Maybe, but I also love you and trust you completely! You are the only one who can help me get through this as the hero who needs his hearts."

Sylvia pulled back to look at him, her eyes shining with tears. "Don’t you dare die on me, Rick Rolland."

"I just started to remember what it was like to be alive, and I’m not ready to go back to just living."

"Then we’ll both make sure I live."

When they got back to Rick’s room, Sebastian appeared on his shoulder. The little butler looked more upset than Rick had ever seen him.

"ARE YOU FUCKING CRAZY?!" Sebastian yelled, and his mustache stood up in anger. "A Spirit Bond with a Dragon Queen at this level!?"

"What are you trying to do? This is SUICIDE! No...! This is more than suicide!"

"This is like walking into a meat grinder on purpose while singing show tunes! You should’ve convinced all of them that one day you’ll start the spirit bond with Sylvia when you’re ready with high levels!"

Rick said calmly, "I don’t have a choice," but his hands were shaking as he tried to get his thoughts in order.

"You always have a choice! Oh, great heavens... you’re getting carried away just because of that gooner mind of yours, huh?"

"You think you’re that main character that you can’t even say, ’No thank you, I’d rather keep my sanity and my life!’ than just being all stupid and shit!" Sebastian walked back and forth on Rick’s shoulder. "I’ve been in charge of this system for sixty-seven thousand years!"

"I’ve seen connections between mortal and powerful beings before! Do you even know how many people survived a bond with something a hundred times stronger?!"

"THREE. Out of THOUSANDS of tries! And none of them were trying to get close to a Dragon Queen!"

"What about the ones who made it? What set them apart?"

Sebastian stopped walking. "They had something you don’t have, of course! One of them is higher levels!"

"And also... they had years of training and spiritual preparation, and in two cases, they were already connected to other powerful beings that could help them stay stable!"

"Even though you have Spirit Bonds with Carmilla and Natasha, they’re not as strong as people. They won’t be enough to—" He stopped in the middle of a sentence. "Hold on... you have a spiritual connection with Liora as well... A High Priestess."

"Will that help?"

"Maybe, it can actually... Divine energy and dragon fire are very different, but they are both basic forces."

"If Liora’s connection can send healing energy during the bonding, you might have a chance. Maybe. Instead of one percent, I’m talking about a five percent chance."

Rick was shocked hearing that, but still he won’t give up on his soon-to-be dragon’s wife. "I’ll take those chances!"

"You’re still fucking crazy! All this agreement and bravado started just because you wanted to have sex with the Dragon Queen... Oh, my days...""

"Yeah, but at least I’m always crazy! And it’s called motivation, you old fuck!"

...

The rest of the day passed in a whirlwind of preparation. Sylvia brought in dragon healers who examined Rick closely, inspecting his spiritual pathways and ensuring his existing bonds were robust.

They looked worried but didn’t say anything, which Rick thought was worse than if they had just told him he was going to die. Rick couldn’t sleep that night.

He lay in bed and stared at the ceiling. There was a lot of strange activity in his Spirit Bonds.

Carmilla and Natasha, who were so far away in Valdris, seemed to know something was wrong. There were waves of worry and protectiveness that flowed through the connections, but they couldn’t know what he was about to do.

And then, even though they were so far apart, Liora’s voice whispered through their spiritual link.

"I can feel your fear, my love."

"No matter what you have to go through tomorrow, know that I’m with you."

"The gods are watching, and my prayers will not stop."

"Have faith in your connections."

"Have faith in yourself."