“Huff~ Huff~ Huff~” I was breathing heavily as I desperately forced myself to stand upright. However, there was a sense of dissatisfaction in the depths of my heart.

Sylvidia, who had picked up my dissatisfaction voiced out her concern, “What’s wrong? You fought well, what is there to be dissatisfied about?”

“I don’t like it…… that Goblin is obviously in a better state than me, I can barely stand as it is, if he decides to continue, I will really be down for the count. Am I so weak that I can’t even beat a single Goblin?!” I gritted my teeth and voiced out my complain via telepathy.

“That can’t be helped, that black Goblin is out of the ordinary. His strength is equivalent to that of a high-ranking Hobgoblin. Simply put, his strength is at the peak of Rank 3 in the Power Ranking chart. You did well to have fought against an Advanced level opponent to a standstill. Furthermore, you were handicapped when you fought him. If you were in the peak condition, no doubt you would be able to come out victorious.” Sylvidia tried to come up with reasons to cheer me up.

“That’s not the point, whether I was handicapped or not, the outcome is all that matters in the end. Even with ‘Overlimit’, if the power of the rune didn’t activate at that time, I would really be dead by now…… The first time it activated, it was purely beginner’s luck. The second time, the third time, and even now! If I cannot control the power of these runes and activate their abilities any time I wanted, it’s meaningless. I am alive now only because I was lucky!” I reprimanded myself for my own weakness.

“You said your goal is to become the most powerful one in the world right?” Sylvidia posed a question to me.

I tried to recall what I had been telling myself continuously after the fight with the Abyss Beast and answered, “Uh… no I don’t think I ever said that, I only said I wanted to become stronger. At the very least, strong enough to protect myself and the people who are important to me.”

However, Sylvidia answered with, “That is the same as wishing to become the most powerful in the world. Power, skill, wisdom, empathy, and luck. Those are the five indisputable quality you need in order to become the strongest.”

“Luck…… I don’t know about that. I just can’t bring myself to leave my life in the hands of something uncertain like luck.” I shook my head as I said that.

“I agree with you that luck is very uncertain. However, you have to try to think out of the box. What do you think a miracle is?” Sylvidia rebuked me and posed yet another question for me.

“Miracle?” After thinking for a while, I recalled a famous quote I once heard in a drama, “Miracle is another word for Hard Work!”

“Exactly!! I’m surprised you know about it! Pretty impressive~” Sylvidia was honestly surprised when I answered correctly, then she continued, “Then think about it again, do you think a miracle would occur if you were to give up in the middle of a fight?”

After thinking for a while, I shook my head in response. Everything would have ended the moment I gave up, it was impossible for any miracle to happen.

“Now, do you understand? You never give up until the very end, that’s why a miracle occurred. You can take pride in that……” Sylvidia ended her lecture with that.

I slumped on the ground with my knees and picked up the card that was on the ground. Then I embraced it and expressed my gratitude to Sylvidia, “Ah…… I understand now… I understand now… Thank you, Sylvidia…… Thank you…”

***

As the black Goblin was observing me, he was surprised when my transformation wore off, but he was still able to keep his composure. He sized me up from the distant to see if I had the quality to be his Master. However, he was disappointed when he noticed my lifeless expression.

Even though he had already admitted his defeat, he didn’t know that I could understand the Goblin’s language, that’s why he was disappointed because it seemed like I had lost all my will to fight back.

“Dar a talkaan. (What a shame.)” The black Goblin shook his head disappointingly and was about to leave. However, he was shocked when he took a quick glance at me one last time. The expression on my face had changed, it was an expression full of joy and resolve. It was a good expression.

The black Goblin was very satisfied with that and nodded his head, then he moved closer and knelt down before me with one knee touching the ground, “A al Zain or daan Rhan Huukec Dekaan, A maagaakec draalagaan A tach taagaan an daan dhalkel’der or daan Haar Gharaar rhaakluugaan ghaan. ⌈¹⌋”

He was saying something in Goblin’s tongue, but strangely, I couldn’t understand him anymore. Just when I was wondering what had happened, Sylvidia explained, “The Beast Form Transfiguration also provides the ability to comprehend any demi-human’s language, including the Goblin. Goblins used to be classified as a demi-human race after all.”

“Ah… So that’s how it was…” Thanks to Sylvidia, I finally came to understand the reason I was able understand what the Goblins were saying.

“By the way, this little one just performed a Bond of Equal on his own volition.” Just as Sylvidia finished saying that, a bright magic circle with complicated designs appeared on the forehead of the black Goblin.

“What…… what is going on?!” The audience, I mean Sheena and the rest, who were watching from the side were shocked by the bright light. Two of the riders were about to attack due to the unexpected situation. However, they were stopped by Caelum when he realized what was going on, “Stop! This is the sacred ritual of forming a contract with familiars! You are not to attack the Goblins no matter what! Do you understand?!”

When the riders heard Caelum’s declaration, they lowered their weapons immediately. They knew how important a ritual between the Master and the familiar was so they didn’t dare to intervene. They also knew the black Goblin was strong from the confrontation earlier so they had no complain. If it was a normal Goblin, the monster that was considered as the weakest monster in the world, who in their right mind would actually make a contract with it?

In just the blink of an eye, the complex magic circle on the forehead of the black Goblin shoots toward my forehead and embedded itself there. After a while, the bright light dimmed and the magic circle disappeared.

“I have successfully performed the Bond of Equal, from now on, I am yours. However, I have one request. Depending on your answer, I will end your life here and now!” As soon as the ritual was completed, the black Goblin talked to me via telepathy and demanded for something!

Author’s Note:

What will the black Goblin demand for? How will Sylvia respond? Stay tuned for the next chapter!