Chapter Thirty-Two: Upheaval

Life-and-death enemies were nothing to him; at worst, he could simply walk away. This world belonged to the Silver Tower, so there was no need to worry that Shakas would escape and come back as an arcanist to seek vengeance.

Yet, the premonition that surfaced only now gnawed at him profoundly. If he'd had this feeling back when he was suppressing Prince Shakas with the generator, Lando would have braved the wraith's backlash just to sever Shakas's head.

Several thoughts collided in Lando's mind. In the end, he spat out two words coldly: “Destiny’s Child?!”

Lando vaguely sensed that the repeated accidents were all due to Prince Shakas’s destiny exerting pressure on him. However, since his own strength and preparations outstripped those of Shakas by so much, Lando had never noticed anything was amiss.

Now, the talent he carried—[Fractured Destiny]—had shaken off its suppression, allowing him to sense far more.

His murderous intent and resolve only intensified. With a thunderous explosion behind him, Lando leapt high, hurling his longsword with all his might.

At that moment, Prince Shakas had already spotted the massed city guards rushing toward them in the distance. But the smile on his face froze forever; looking down, he saw a longsword driven through his back, nailing him to the ground.

Lando caught up from behind and delivered a single, clean slash—Shakas’s head soared skyward.

“I went for the head this time!”

As expected, the system prompted him with the extraction of the soul. Confirming the extraction, Lando instantly felt something different this time. Glancing at the city guards, now almost upon him, he wasted no time and made his escape.

Shaking off his pursuers with ease, Lando followed his pre-scouted route toward the city gate.

From afar, he glimpsed the firmly shut gates, heavily guarded by city soldiers. With a sneer, he slipped to a secluded stretch of wall, transformed his elemental shield generator, activated optical camouflage, and soared over the capital’s ramparts atop his shield.

“Ha! Outsmarted you all—I can fly!”

Once clear of Azurewater’s royal city, Lando ducked into the forested wilderness, caring nothing for the chaos he left behind.

After running for a long distance, he checked the system again, only to be stunned: the newly extracted soul of Prince Shakas had vanished, absorbed and fused by the [Grandson of Destiny] soul he carried. Now, this [Grandson of Destiny] soul had become a blurry haze, its name and attributes unreadable.

“What’s this? Destinies devouring each other? A bunch of protagonists battling to the death, and in the end, only one true protagonist remains?!”

This wasn’t something Lando had learned in this world, but rather a deduction drawn from his past life’s “experience.” It made sense.

He didn’t have to wait long. When the process ended, the soul now shone with a blue-violet light, and both its name and attributes had changed.

[Child of Destiny (Blue): Fractured Destiny (Violet), Water Element Manipulation (Blue), High-Grade Life Energy Affinity (Green), Listening (Green)]

It was still a blue soul, yet it now possessed the violet talent [Fractured Destiny (Violet)]. Most crucially, he was still carrying this soul.

Lando checked the talents in his system:

[Talents: Fractured Destiny (Violet), Elemental Affinity (Blue), Water Element Manipulation (Blue), Primal Overlord Physique (Blue), Savage Beast Constitution (Blue), High-Grade Life Energy Affinity (Green), Listening (Green)] (Available for condensation: 1)

The violet [Fractured Destiny (Violet)] glared at him from the list, without causing any discomfort.

This puzzled Lando deeply. It didn’t fit with his previous theories. When he was still at the green soul stage, he’d been unable to carry a blue soul. So he’d assumed both soul loading and talent condensation required him to possess a matching soul. But now, was it his deduction that was wrong, or did [Fractured Destiny (Violet)] have some unique property?

After all, destiny was primarily a gift from the world itself, so perhaps the requirements for the carrier’s soul weren’t so demanding.

Casting a glance at the other violet mark in his talent records, then at his depleted soul essence, he sighed, knowing he wouldn’t be able to test his theory again anytime soon.

With several days ahead before anything urgent, Lando relaxed, deciding to set out for the Kingdom of Flames, letting fate take him where it would.

He even considered that, once the world had been explored a bit further, he might apply to re-enter. After all, he was now the Child of Destiny here—surely he’d be showered with benefits!

As Lando pondered where to erect his wizard tower and what style his floating city should take, the world transporter bracelet on his wrist—which supposedly only “monitored health and enabled return transport”—suddenly lit up, transmitting a message.

“……”

How difficult it was to maintain trust between people!

Lando sighed, channeled a surge of energy into the device, and then his mentor’s voice rang out.

“Hello, Lando, can you hear me?”

“Loud and clear!”

“Huh? Really? That shouldn’t be possible!”

“…So the world transporter bracelet has a communication function after all. How magical!”

“…There’s been an incident in this world. The other explorers have already returned for various reasons. I’m just here to tell you to return to the Academy as soon as possible. The world transporter bracelet could lose effect at any moment.”

“What? Why? Don’t tell me we’re using defective goods?”

“What are you thinking? The transporter will become useless not because of any flaw, but because the world itself is changing. If you want details, come back and ask your teacher. Hey? Hey?! Moritz, what are you doing?!”

“?”

After a bout of commotion, a familiar voice came through: “Lando, it’s Moritz.”

“Professor Moritz? You’re here too? I’ll return at once.”

“No, I’m here to tell you something. Wait until you decide after hearing me out.”

“This world’s changes will probably remain sealed for about three months. That’s the longest the Silver Tower will wait. If the seal doesn’t lift by then, the fleets waiting outside will breach the world’s membrane by any means necessary, to investigate what’s happened.”

“In other words, even if you don’t leave now, you can choose to return three months later, and I’ll apply to take part in the mission myself.”

“So, what will you choose? Leave now, or wait three months?”

“……”

Lando fell silent, and Moritz said nothing more.

When it came to changes in the world, Lando’s first thought was the destiny he now carried. From what he’d learned in recent days, Prince Shakas had never been considered a good man. Yet when Lando went to kill him, the strength and resolve Shakas showed were hard to reconcile with his former reputation as a wastrel.

Every sign pointed to a transformation coinciding with Lando and the others’ arrival—within less than a month, Shakas had gone from mediocrity to a resourceful, powerful genius. If not for his incorrigible vices, which had crossed Lando’s bottom line, he wouldn’t have died so easily.

He looked at the [Fractured Destiny (Violet)] in his list of talents. An even more powerful premonition surged from within.

If he stayed, he would reap enormous benefits!

“Heh! Interesting! Professor, I choose to stay!”

“Very well. I’ll send you some knowledge. It’s not exactly secret, but you wouldn’t normally use it until stage three. Take a look—just in case!”

PS: The contract is signed! For me, that’s worth celebrating. I’ll treat myself to some crayfish tonight, hehe. Please support me! Votes, favorites, comments, likes, shares—I want them all! Love you all!!!