Episode 5: Link (3)

"Oh. So this is your house, huh?" Happily waltzing into Jace's house, Landon began excitedly looking around the area, scrutinizing his new surroundings. "It's much bigger than I expected!"

"...you know, when I said to discuss things at my house, I didn't mean for you to come at six in the damn morning..." Following up from behind Landon was Jace who had a frown on his face.

"Hey, it's better to come early, right?" he laughed. "Besides, if you weren't gonna answer the door, I would've just stopped by at that coffee shop nearby your house while waiting for you to get up!"

"...that coffee shop? Ugh. That place sucks," Jace folded his arms.

"Eh, really? Huh! Good thing I didn't go there," Landon nodded his head. "Why though?"

"The service there is horrible," he bluntly replied.

"Is it now? Haha! Cerulean Cafe truly reigns on top, huh?" he grinned.

"Yeah, sure." Jace shrugged, throwing his phone onto the couch. "But seriously, 6 AM?" In the next moment, his body fell onto the couch as well.

"Hey, I should be the one asking you that!" Landon refuted. "I never would've expected that you'd be a morning person!"

"That's because I'm not," Jace tiredly glared at the blonde-haired man.

"Hmm...?" In reply, Landon blinked in confusion.

"I haven't slept yet," Jace yawned.

"Huh...? You haven't slept yet?!" he cried out. "What were you doing up all night??"

"Playing games. What else?" Jace blankly stared at Landon. "For your information, I took an evening nap. So I can still function."

"Jee... What kind of game were you playing?" Landon raised his brow, soon taking notice of Jace's phone that was still on. "...Rankers War?"

"Yep. You got a problem with that?"

"Oh, right! Hey, add me in that game! We should do some multiplayer sometime! What's your main? I wanna see how you play!"

"..." Jace blinked at Landon. "...can we just get down to business already? I wanna get some shut-eye after this."

"Alright, alright!" Landon sighed. "So what's this all about? What exactly went on in that boss fight? You said you were testing a skill, right? What the heck did it do??"

"...err," Jace scratched his head, unsure of how to put it into words. "To start with, I guess you can say the gimmick of my class revolves around making a connection."

"Huh? Connection?" The blonde-haired man tilted his head. "Aren't all Synergists supposed to make connections? How are they going to function alone otherwise?"

"That's not exactly what I meant..." he coughed. "To put it simply, the gimmick of my class requires me to form a connection with another person, in this case, you. Then, after linking, you and I will gain certain benefits from this."

"Benefits...??" Landon blinked. "I still don't get it."

"..." Jace sighed. "Here, take a look at this."

With a swipe of his fingers, the young man pulled up his status window. In the next second, he entered into the skill description of [ Soul Linkage ], which had updated after linking with Landon yesterday.

[ Soul Linkage (SSS) ] [ Passive ]

One's essence can be connected to another; forming an unbreakable bond.

When a connection is successfully formed between you and another person, your stats will increase by 2 and the strength of your abilities on them will grow stronger. At the same time, the more connections you successfully form, the more benefits this skill will gain.

*Soul Linkage List (1):

1. Landon Von Davies (Whiff & Indolence) - [Rank 1]

2. None. Continue making friends.

*Each link will provide individual buffs. Please select a name for further details.

*The link cannot be removed by you. It can only be removed by the person linked after you reveal the person's bond description to them.

...

[ Soul Linkage: Landon Von Davies ] [ Bond ]

Bond Name: Whiff & Indolence.

Rank: 1

Basic Info:

-The Whiff and the Indolence. When either you or Landon are near each other, the damage dealt from bullets shot out by either one of you will increase by 10%. When [Soul Channeler] is activated on Landon, the damage is further increased to 14%.

-[ More benefits will be gained as you rank this link up. ]

-Next Rank Up Conditions: More time must be spent with Landon.

...

Opening up the screen of [ Soul Linkage: Landon Von Davies ], Jace pushed the description towards the blonde-haired man before him, allowing him to view the skill's detail.

"...oh?? What's this??" Landon's eyes opened wide in shock. "Soul Linkage: Landon Von Davies?? What's my name doing here as a skill??"

"That's the gimmick of my kit," he helplessly stated. "Something that revolves around making connections."

"10% damage increase when shooting out bullets... Woah, that's pretty cool!" Landon's eyes brightened. "Your kit's not as useless as you said it was!"

"Well, as I've said before, I don't have much utility," he sighed. "I couldn't do much even if I wanted to. This linkage thing is pretty much important to kick-start whatever this kit has going for. But, to be frank, I'm still not impressed at the moment."

"Huh??? You're not amazed?" Landon raised his brow in confusion. "What do you mean you're not impressed?? With such a skill as this, couldn't you make plenty of links? I mean, if it's anything like the one you just showed me, something-something Bond, doesn't that mean if you link with others, you'll get just about the same benefit?? What's stopping you? The conditions? The hunter limit? I don't get it!"

"...that's..." Jace helplessly shook his head. "I've thought about it. But... I've decided to be more reserved when it comes to this skill. So, I'd rather only use it on people who can I trust. Or rather... Just people who I would be going out on dungeons with," he coughed. "In fact, you're the first person who I've linked with."

Although the description of [ Soul Linkage ] never implied any sort of limitations, he was still reserved when it came to the skill. Though, no longer because of the fear of the unknown. Rather, with such a skill as this one, it was best to keep the number of hunters linked to a minimum, for his own safety.

"...I'm the first???" Landon was left speechless. "So you're telling me... You didn't test out a single skill until that boss fight?"

"Yes..." he sighed. "I've been just attacking up until that point."

"Huh?! Seriously! What took you so long to test it out?!"

"As I said before, I can't link with just anyone," Jace stated. "I have to fulfil a certain condition before I link, so it's not so easy. In addition, I would prefer to link with those who I can trust. That's the most important part."

"So you're saying... You trust me?" Landon blinked.

"..." Jace kept quiet. "...I guess, in a way, yes." With a deep breath, he continued to elaborate. "I need to start somewhere, and since I've been with you for a while, I might as well start here. I trust that you won't run your mouth somewhere?"

"Haha, of course not!" Landon grinned, happily pointing at himself. "I, Landon Von Davies, swear to not say a single word regarding this!"

"That's good..." he sighed with relief.

It was the first step forward to see what his new Synergist kit has to offer.

"I'm glad you can trust me, Jace," he smiled. "I won't let you down! In fact... I've got something to say myself!"

"...?"

"Let's go duo a dungeon together!"