Can't live without You

[Elijah's POV]

<<January 14, 2023>>

<<Manila, Philippines>>

Jonathan helped me stand up by supporting me with his body. It was at that moment that William and the First legion approached us with worried expressions of their faces.

"Are you well, Sir Elijah?" William politely asked as a hint of concern could be heard in his voice.

"Yeah, I think I just need to rest for a bit," I replied with a tired smile.

"That's good to hear," William replied with a nod of relief, followed by his legion members. "We are already investigating the 'leechers' that had caused the incident, so please rest assured that they will not escape the punishment that they deserve," William promised with a cold and freezing voice. It was obvious that he isn't gonna let the leechers get away unscathed.

"So, how did the battle go?" I asked, curious to know how the battle went after I became incapacitated.

"It didn't last long," Zehira answered proudly. "After commander William cut off the head of the Kobold commander, the rest of the Kobolds quickly lost their morale. From thereon it was a cleanup job"

"I see, that's great to hear," I said with a genuine sigh of relief. It has truly been a long day and all I would really want to do right now is to go home, take a warm bath and go to bed. "Well if everything has already been handled, then I think it's time for us to take out leave."

"You're leaving already? Don't you want to be looked at by the Association's medic first?" Zehira asked with a worried voice.

"Nah, there's no need. A little rest at home and I'll be good as new," I reassured Zehira

"Alright then, you go rest up coach. And when you get better, we'll catch up, yeah?"

"I'd love that," I said with a small smile.

"It was truly an honor working with you, Sir Elijah. I hope we can get the chance to work with each other again in the future." William said as he stretched out a hand to shake.

Taking his hand to mine, I shook it and said "I'm sure our paths will connect once again."

And with that, after saying my goodbyes with the rest of the legion members, Jonathan and I left. Hailing a cab, Jonathan and I rode home in total silence, but Jonathan never once left my side. Ever since the incident, clingy Jonathan had appeared and it seems like he won't be going anywhere, anytime soon. Jonathan always stuck to my side and stayed close to me.

It was already dark when we arrived at our destination. We got off the cab before walking inside the condominium building where I live. After being greeted by the receptionist, she informed me that all the stuff we've bought at the mall had all been safely delivered to my apartment. After giving her my thanks, Jonathan and I rode the elevator and got off to my floor. Entering the main foyer, I saw all the stuff we've bought from the mall, neatly placed in front of the door of my apartment. Scanning my hunter's license on the front door. The door automatically unlocked and opened.

You see, after the catastrophe, every required government identification, and document have all been compacted into just one, The hunter's license. Well, at least for hunters, that is. Because every hunter's license has a unique mana signature of one's owner, injected into them. This unique mana signature, cannot be forged or tampered with, so it has really been a great asset. It can be used in almost everything, just like how I used my hunter's license as a key to my apartment. The scanner wasn't actually scanning my hunter's license per se, but it's actually scanning my unique mana signature. Since every hunter's license is registered with the Hunter's Association, they can also tell if the hunter is still alive through their license. Since once a hunter dies, their mana completely disappears, which also includes the mana injected into the hunter's license. But of course, it's not all 100%, since a hunter could still be alive, while their license has been destroyed, giving off false alarms. So to prevent false alarms from frequently happening, the Association would require hunters to pay an astronomically high amount for a replacement license, if one were to lose theirs. Also, having a hunter's license has basically made life easier for a lot of hunters, since they would no longer need to worry about many things and instead just focus on one.

Swinging the door open, I looked back at Jonathan with a soft smile and said "Welcome to your new home."

As we both entered, I kept my eyes on Jonathan's expression as wonder, marvel and amazement painted his face. I mean, I was the same when I first moved in. The sheer grandeur of the place is enough to make one stand in place, stupefied. The place demands respect.

Giving Jonathan a gentle nudge with my elbow to get attention, I said "C'mon let's get all your things inside, so you go exploring the place."

Jonathan just nodded, while still keeping his eyes fixated on the beauty before him. The apartment has two floors and is decked out in modern contemporary, and luxury design. After we successfully brought everything we bought inside, I began giving Jonathan a tour of the place. And let me tell you, he looked just like a little kid the whole tour. He looked so cute with the childlike wonder and innocence plastered on his face. Once we got to his bedroom, a frown appeared on his face, but he stayed quiet. After going through his room, I showed him my room and also gave him a brief tour inside. Once everything has been settled, I told Jonathan to make himself at home, because this is literally his new home. As exhaustion slowly started creeping in, I informed Jonathan that I'll be heading to bed early, after taking a bath.

With a nod, Jonathan quietly gave me a gentle embrace before leaving the room. I was quite stunned but it seems like I really need to start getting used to Jonathan being very affectionate.

After taking a warm and relaxing bath, I changed into my pajamas and headed straight to bed. As I was getting under the covers, I heard a light knock on the door. Thinking that Jonathan might've something he's forgotten to tell me, I told him to come in. And behold, when the door opened, what greeted me almost made me faint. Jonathan entered, wearing only a pair of sweatpants, that hang dangerously low on his hips, leaving his shirtless body in full display. Looking extremely sexy with his damp hair, Jonathan just quietly walked towards my bed and actually got in, leaving me speechless.

"I'm never gonna leave your side," Jonathan said with a soft voice, as he warped an arm around my waist and snuggled closer to me. And with that, his breaths evened, telling me he's already asleep.

With a helpless sigh, I gently brushed his hair, as a soft and tender smile appeared on my face.

"Suit yourself," I said with a low voice, before giving him a light kiss on his forehead.

Laying down, Jonathan pulled me closer to him, enveloping me in his warm embrace as he spooned me. With a deep breath, the moment I closed my eyes, I immediately entered a deep slumber.

***

[William's POV]

<<January 14, 2023>>

<<Manila, Philippines>>

I just stood silently as my Brother complained without end. Although not without merit, all I can really do is to stay quiet and let him rant to his heart's content. I could only pity my brother for being under constant stress day after day, after becoming the Hunter's Association president. Now, he just returned from attending the Hunter's Association summit that was held in Switzerland, and the first thing that greeted him was work.

"Ya boy can't really catch any break! F*ck!" Ben cursed in frustration. "What hell were the old geezers doing all this time?"

"They just sent me to deal with it," I answered with a helpless sigh.

"F*CK! Do they think that just because I'm young, they can treat me like a f*cking kid! I'm the association's president for f*ck sake!" Ben said, seething in wrath, as he mercilessly crumpled the reports given to him, regarding the recent gate break.

"Some advisors they are! All they do is laze around and pretend to work hard when I'm present. P*ta! I haven't even landed yet and the first thing they send me is a report of a f*cking gate break. What f*cking guild is even responsible for the area that was affected?" Ben turned to his assistant with a furious expression on his face.

"It was under the jurisdiction of the Buhawi Guild." Lucas, Ben's personal assistant, and best friend answered.

"P*tang Ina! It just had to be them. If I didn't have to worry about the Association losing its footing, then I would've demolished those f*cking rats to the ground. Do we even have enough evidence that they planted a mole inside the association?" Ben said as he took a seat, rubbing his forehead tiredly.

"We're slowly gathering them, but they're still not enough," Lucas said, trying to reassure his best friend.

"Then gather faster! If we don't move quickly, the Association might crumble down at any given second." Ben said with an exasperated voice. "You know what, I can't f*cking deal with this right now. I'm way too f*cking tired. You guys deal with this, I'm going to bed." And with that Benjamin, walked straight to his room and slammed the door behind him.

William and Lucas could just look at each other with wary gazes before, letting out a weak sigh. It was going to be a long night.

***

[Elijah's POV]

<<January 15, 2023>>

<<Manila, Philippines>>

Waking up the next morning, I felt well-rested and rejuvenated. Slowly opening my eyes, I was first greeted by the sight of Jonathan's peaceful expression as he sleeps. And I have to say that waking up first thing in the morning with this kind of view, I can really get used to this. Also, I have to say that Jonathan is a man of his word. For the whole night, he never once let go of me, ever.

Slowly and gently pulling away from Jonathan's clutches, I quietly got out of bed and headed to the bathroom. After freshening up, I felt like I could face the day head-on. Heading downstairs, I began preparing a mighty breakfast for Jonathan and me since it was going to be a long day for the both of us. As I was just about to finish cooking the last batch of pancakes I had prepared, I heard steady footsteps descend down the flight of stairs. Since I knew that it was Jonathan, I just continued with what I was doing. It was then that I heard Jonathan's footsteps quickly near me and before I knew it, I was once again enveloped in a warm embrace, as Jonathan wrapped his arms around my waist and nuzzle my neck, making me chuckle.

"Morning sleepy head. Had a great sleep?" I asked with a tender voice, as I gently pat his head.

"Hmm" Jonathan hummed as he nodded.

"I've prepared breakfast, go set the table and I'll be there with the rest of the food," I instructed Jonathan. Although he was reluctant to break away from our current position, he still complied, albeit begrudgingly.

Jonathan released me from his hold, but before he walked away, he planted a soft peck on my cheek, making me smile like a freaking fool.

As I brought out the rest of the food, I saw that Jonathan has also finished setting up the dining table.

"Alright, I cooked plenty, so eat to your heart's content," I encouraged, to which Jonathan didn't have to be told twice. The moment the plate of bacon landed on the dining table, half of its contents were already on Jonathan's plate. Making sure that Jonathan has enough strength for what I'm about to ask him to do, I made sure that I cooked plenty.

After we finished our food and Jonathan completely polished off all the plates, it was time to talk to Jonathan about a lot of important stuff. Calling out every window that could be called, I then gave Jonathan access for him to view them.

"I don't want to hide anything from you. And you, knowing about what my class is and what I can do, will give you a better understanding of our situation." I told Jonathan when he gave me a confused look upon seeing my personal information spread out to him.

[Status Window:

Name: Elijah Reyes

Level: 15

Class: Duke <<Mythic>>

Title: The Duke who cares for his people

HP: 550/375 (+175)

Mana: 400/150 (+250)

Stats:

STR: 5 | AGI: 5 | INT: 10+20 | VIT: 10(5)+25 | DEX: 5 | LUCK: 10

Unused Stat Points: 10]

[Skills:

- Transcended Creative Imagination (Unique Skill) (Lvl:2)

Your innate gift and talent of creativity and imagination now have the chance to manifest into reality.

- Duke (Passive) (Lvl:20)

A duke exists by how much influence one has. The more influence gained, the more powerful the duke gets.

Influence: 50/2000

- Bestowal (Passive)

A duke's ability to contract and appoint trustworthy worthy vassals. Once a vassal has been contracted and appointed by the duke, the vassal in question will gain a massive increase in power in order to meet the duke's standards. The newly appointed vassal will be branded with the duke's crest on their body (The duke has liberty on where to place it.), to symbolize their undying fidelity.

Vassal: 1

Warning! If a contracted vassal has disobeyed or rebelled against the duke, the duke can remove a vassal from their position. Once removed from the position, the vassal in question will revert back to the being they are before being contracted, and completely lose all their memories regarding the existence of the duke. Also, the crest they were branded with will disappear, replaced by a scar in its stead.

Once a vassal has been dismissed, a penalty will be given to the duke.

- Commanding Presence (Passive)

Has the ability to influence the people around the duke, to a certain extent. The higher the level of "Duke (Skill)", the stronger one's influence on others.

People under the duke's influence will gain a boost in their stats, depending on how high the "Duke (Skill)" is. The duke has full control over who to influence, and when to remove one's influence. The boost in stats will also disappear once the influenced is no longer within the skill's range.

The duke's influence will not affect a person that has a hostile or doubting heart against the duke.

Current bonus stat given: +100 STR | +100 AGI | +100 INT | +100 VIT | +100 DEX | +100 Luck

- Duke's Training Manual (Passive)

The duke has the ability to further strengthen their own vassals by personally training them. The harsher and more intense the tasks provided and completed, the higher the rewards are as well.

- A Duke's Image (Passive) (Lvl:2)

A great duke will not dirty his hands as much as possible.

The duke is not able to gain experience points by himself. The duke can only gain experience points through his trusted vassals.

EXP gain: 60% from the EXP gained by the vassal.

- A Master's Sacrifice (Active) (Lvl:2) (Mana cost: None) (Cooldown: None)

A duke treasures and cherishes the trustworthy vassals under him.

When activated, damage taken by the duke's vassals will be 100% mitigated and be transferred to the duke instead.

Damage transferred: 95%

- Duke's Authority (Active) (Lvl:2) (Mana cost: 100) (Cooldown: 1 hour)

The duke has the ability to empower and encourage his people, raising their morale.

When activated, all of the duke's vassals will gain a sharp boost in stats for a certain amount of time.

Current bonus stat given: +20 STR | +20 AGI | +20 INT | +20 VIT | +20 Dex | +20 Luck

- Duke's Benevolence (Active) (Lvl:2) (Mana Cost: 50) (Cooldown: 3 hours)

A duke has the ability to provide his people with extraordinary power, in order for them to do his bidding.

When activated, a single, targeted vassal's physical and magical attack, speed, and tenacity will have a 50% boost for 40 minutes.

- A Duke's bond (Passive)

The deeper the bond you have with your vassals, the more trust, respect, and admiration they have for you.

Increasing your bond with a vassal will further enhance the strength and power that they have.

Vassals:

> Jonathan (Lvl:5) - 321/500

Vassal Bonus stat points: +100 HP | +100 Mana | +10 Physical Attack | +10 Magical Attack | +10% Movement Speed

Vassal Bonus skill: None]

[Equipment:

Weapon: Brooch of the Fallen Duke <<Mythic>> (Exclusive) (Bound)

A brooch that bore the will of the fallen duke. Pouring all his will into the brooch before his death, the previous duke wishes for it to find a suitable successor, to fulfill the role that he was unable to.

(Growth type weapon)

Weapon bonus stat: +20 INT | +25 VIT

Weapon Skill: Undying Will (Cooldown: 1 Day)

Can withstand and survive any kind of lethal attack, then gain a 3-second immunity to all types of attacks.

Armor (Upper): None

Armor (Lower): None

Armor (Feet): None

Accessory 1: None

Accessory...]

[Title: The Duke who cares for his people.

Because of your extremely caring heart, you are now known as a Duke that cares for his people. This, in turn, has strengthened their fidelity and love towards you.

Title bonus: +10% EXP gained from your vassals. | +50 HP | +50 Mana]

My stats have grown exponentially fast with just yesterday's gate break, given that it's a Silver-Ranked abnormal break. Jonathan read through all of the information spread out to him and from his expression, I can see that he's trying to absorb everything there is to know about me.

After Jonathan finished reading everything, he slump back on his chair with a slightly dazed expression.

"Just as what you've read, it just goes to show how much I need to depend on my vassals. I managed to survive stuck at level 1 for half a year, with the help of my wits and creativity. But as time passes by, it's becoming clearer and clearer that I can no longer survive with my past methods. As the world gets more dangerous, I also need to adapt. You've seen my stats and skills, everything revolves around the word vassal. Now that you've become my vassal, I want you to sincerely understand that I literally can't live without you." I said with utmost sincerity, wanting Jonathan to know how much I really need him in my life.

"And I can't live without you," Jonathan said with an intense gaze. "You gave me a second chance at life. My life is yours, use it however you want. From the very beginning, I pledged that I would only live for you and that will always stand. I would lay my life for your sake. I promise with all my entirety that I will work harder to become even stronger so that I can protect you."

"Thank you for thinking that of me, but you always have to remember that, we protect each other and look out for each other," I said with a raspy voice, because of the intense emotions raging inside of me.

With a nod, Jonathan replied with a tender smile, "We do protect each other."

"So in order for you to get stronger, I will have to train you myself," I said before giving him the list of my training regimen. "You think you can handle it?"

"I will not disappoint you!" Jonathan said unfaltering as a determined fire blazed in his eyes.

[- Duke's Training Manual:

100 Sit-up and crunches

100 Pull-ups

100 Push-ups

100 Squats

10km Run

5min Front and Side Planks (Each side)

10min Jump Rope

Reward: ???]

It might seem overkill, but I have faith that Jonathan can do it. And so, Jonathan didn't even bother changing his clothes as he head towards the mini-gym that the apartment has while stretching his muscles.

After I finished washing all the dishes and cleaning the table, I went ahead and started unpacking all of Jonathan's clothes, since we really couldn't do it yesterday, due to extreme exhaustion. I put all Jonathan's clothes in my ginormous walk-in closet since I have a strong feeling that he would be staying in my room, permanently. After unpacking his clothes, I then proceeded with unpacking his personal PC and placed it in the rec room.

When I finished, setting up Jonathan's PC, I then headed to my office and started doing some work. And by work, I mean, writing a lengthy and very detailed report of yesterday's gate break.