Stepping into the large room, I was immediately met by a crushing pressure so oppressive that it almost made me fall.
"…Ack!"
It took all of my energy just to keep myself from immediately kneeling down. Though, just a few seconds later, the oppressive energy in the room began to fade, and I could finally breathe again.
'Curse whoever did this shit!' I thought, gritting my teeth in irritation.
Now that I could finally move my body again, I lifted my head to scan the room. It was a very beautifully decorated office with a large, mahogany desk dominating the center of the room.
A beautiful woman in her late thirties, who was probably the one who emitted the oppressive energy that had engulfed me, sat in the chair behind it, resting her chin on her hand. She had flawless ivory skin with beautiful long flowing azure hair. And an eyepatch covered her left eye, giving her a look of intriguing, yet severe, authority.
Sitting on the side of the table in front of her was a little girl who looked barely over eight years old. She had a large lollipop in her mouth and was hugging a very large and unsettling porcelain doll. Anyone seeing the girl for the first time would probably dismiss her as just a cute little child, but I knew immediately that this was not the case.
Looking at her, I could tell that this little girl was the Bond of the Dean who sat by the chair.
I swallowed as my gaze moved from the girl to the Dean, who smiled warmly and said:
"Welcome, Cedric."
I nodded politely then replied, "Thank you."
The Dean stared at me for a bit, then her gaze slowly shifted from me to the documents on the table in front of her. Watching her, I couldn't help but feel nervous and even though she had retracted her aura, just standing before her still felt incredibly crushing.
'Just how high is her level to make me feel this way?' I wondered as I slowly lifted my gaze to the side where a screen popped up.
[Activating Gamer Privileges…]
[Retrieving Character information.]
~~~~~~ Character Profile ~~~~~~
Character Name: [Veronica Wilson]
Age: [36]
Level: [...]
The screen was still typing the words of her profile when all of a sudden, the little girl who sat by the side of the table pointed to me and asked in a stern tone, "What do you think you are doing?"
'What?' Instantly, I felt a cold dread slither into my stomach, seizing my breath and my thoughts.
The girl narrowed her eyes and spoke again. "Are you trying to use some sort of ability on us?"
'Huh? Wait… Did she figure out what I was doing?'
Before I could even begin to question how the hell that was possible, the screen, which had begun displaying the Dean's profile, suddenly blinked off, and a new notification popped up in vivid red:
[Due to the Gamer's level being extremely low to withstand the high level of information of the target, Gamer Privileges has temporarily suspended the retrieval of character information.]
'What?!'
I blinked several times in shock unable to comprehend what had just happened. When my gaze finally landed on the Dean, I found her already looking at me with a very suspicious expression.
'Crap!'
I began to silently pray that she wouldn't press the issue.
Luckily, she didn't seem interested in pursuing it; she simply smiled, then leaned back on her chair.
"I'm sure you already have an idea as to why I called for you."
I heaved a barely suppressed sigh of relief. 'Thank goodness she didn't press... If she had, I don't know what I would have said.'
Then I cleared my throat and asked. "Is this about me having a bond?"
Veronica nodded slightly. "Indeed. It is a miracle that has never been heard of before."
As she spoke, she reached into the drawer of her desk, then took out a large lollipop similar to the one her bond was chewing on.
The moment she put it in her mouth, I got a notification:
[The Character Veronica Wilson has activated the bonded ability: Truth or Dare.]
'Huh? What sort of ability is this?'
Despite playing the game, I did not have knowledge of everyone's abilities as most were not shown during the entirety of the game. And so I was stumped and began to grow a bit nervous.
"A few weeks ago, you were Bondless. Even though we were aware of this, we still admitted you as the first son of your Barony's lord. You then left a week after due to the Barony calling you back. However, you returned a few days later, and suddenly, you could manifest a Bond. Now, do you mind explaining how you suddenly ended up with a Bond?"
Her words were analytical, and her gaze was cold, almost as if she was dissecting my very soul with her eyes.
In this case, there was no better excuse than the truth. What else was I supposed to say if not that?
I sighed inwardly, then replied sheepishly. "A few days ago, I woke up to find that a bond had just miraculously appeared on my arm. At first, I couldn't believe it, but it was real." I shrugged. "Who knows, maybe the gods decided to take pity on this poor fella and bless him with a bond."
The Dean kept staring at me intensely, almost as if she didn't believe me. Well, that was the truth.
Also…
[Due to the bonded ability: Truth or Dare, the character Veronica Wilson has figured out that you are telling the truth.]
She leaned back and her brows furrowed lost in thought. It was hard to believe. After all, such a phenomenon had never occurred before.
"…A miracle indeed."
She looked back up to me, gave a warm smile, then said. "You are really lucky to be blessed by the gods."
I smiled awkwardly and nodded.
"Anyway, since you now have a bond, we would need to update the information we have on you." Veronica continued, her fingers lightly tapping the table, seemingly out of habit. "We would also need to change your status. Which means you would be given a proper dorm and will now have access to all the other benefits of being a Dominant in this academy."
Hearing that, I couldn't contain my excitement.
'Finally! I'm moving up in the world!'
A large smile creased my lips. Though it faded a bit when I heard the Dean's next words…