Chapter 26

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Episode 5 - Hunting Festival [6]

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When I left the classroom, my mind was racing.

But I shook my head; I already had an idea of how my destiny would be filled with so many things.

I knew Adel’s story, I knew the stages of her growth, and, above all, I knew how it would end.

All the words I said to Professor Melissa were about a destiny full of darkness.

Misfortune, oblivion, abandonment, suffering, and death.

Those words are what my destiny will bring me.

Above all, the last word.

Death.

The setup for Adel’s death as one of the final villains was as follows.

Adel uses one of his traits that boosts both his stats and the power of his traits.

The problem is the only side effect of that trait.

’His body simply self-destructs with no way to prevent it.’

When Adel keeps that trait active, he can only live for three minutes.

After that time, he self-destructs, resulting in his death.

’But am I really destined to die?’

That was truly my fate.

Would my ending really be exactly the same as in the game?

Maybe my death will be different, or maybe it will be the same.

So many questions, and my anxiety is growing.

Not knowing what my future will be in this body I know almost nothing about.

I only know its story and its ending.

But this world is Holy Land, a game where every action leads to a completely different ending.

My ending probably won’t be fighting Lumina and the other characters and self-destructing on the spot.

No, maybe it will be different, not the one programmed into the game.

’Although it’s a small hope, at least I know I won’t die the way Adel originally did.’

I was sure of that, but at the same time...

’I don’t know what my fate will be.’

If my destiny is dark from beginning to end, I will probably die.

’Then why am I wasting time at this academy, trying to figure out how to pass all the Chapters?’

A deep feeling that I couldn’t explain arose within me.

What am I supposed to be doing if I’m going to die anyway?

Is it really worth it to reach the end of this game?

Do I really need to find the answers to the questions I asked myself on the first day?

Why did I transmigrate right after finishing the Adel character?

’What am I supposed to do?’

I sat quietly in the pavilion from yesterday, looking at the lake.

The sound of the wind and birds reached my ears, but at the same time, I didn’t hear anything.

I simply sat there; no more thoughts passed through my head.

I didn’t even try to see the lake using my True Sight.

The fairy that had been sleeping in my head had already woken up.

She stood on my shoulder and patted my head with her small hands.

Then, Alice’s voice managed to pull me out of my blank state.

〖Don’t tell me you’re thinking about what you’re supposed to do and that everything you planned to do is pointless.〗

"..."

She seemed to let out a long sigh.

〖No one knows this, but I’ve devoted my entire life to the sword. I was born an orphan in an orphanage when the world was constantly under attack from the Abyss. I could die any day.〗

She fell silent for a few seconds.

〖Then, one day, a swordsman appeared, saw my talent, and said he would be my master. One of his friends was an invoker, and his invocations saw the darkness at the end of my destiny. I knew what that meant, just like you, but...〗

I knew what she was going to say next.

〖I didn’t stop; I grew strong, and I even created my own sword art. Since I was going to die anyway, I threw myself into the battlefield, fighting nonstop. In the end, I didn’t die immediately; years passed, but I didn’t die. I had probably overcome my destiny because I was strong enough.〗

Yes, she was so strong; she had reached the 11 stars, also known as a demigod.

Someone who can live for thousands of years without aging and maintain their youth forever.

It would be hard to imagine someone like that dying.

However, she died in the end.

〖Although I died, I never gave up. Throwing myself into the battlefield didn’t mean I was giving up; I simply wanted to see if fate would really take my life. In the end, it did, but I didn’t die because I was weaker.〗

"..."

〖You know, I actually died because I wanted to. I could have lived; I wasn’t badly injured, but as someone who reached 11 stars, I looked back and realized that I hadn’t done anything particularly special, nor anything that made me smile.〗

Wherever she went, she saw only violence and blood; a life like that offered nothing to smile about.

So Alice longed for rest; her future was already uncertain.

She would live without any purpose or anything to accomplish.

〖But, until now, I have seen that you, my disciple, are searching for answers, goals, or dreams, while I had none of that, yet I overcame my destiny. But, at the same time, I decided to stop there.〗

I lowered my head as if looking at my hands.

The fairy flew in front of me, crossed her arms, and seemed to pout.

She seemed to be telling me to ignore my destiny and focus on the present.

Then Alice finally said:

〖If you think you’re going to die and that what you wanted to do will be meaningless, don’t give up. I may have only known you for a week, but I’ve seen more of you than anyone else. Believe in yourself, Adel.〗

At her last words, I finally opened my mouth, raised my head, and looked at the fairy.

"What if I really die no matter what I do?"

〖Then, become the strongest. Do what I did: be so strong that no danger can threaten your life.〗

Ironically, even the strongest die someday.

But I don’t want to die someday; at least, I want to fulfill all my goals. No.

If I accomplish all of that, dying afterward won’t matter.

It would simply be something natural: every beginning has an end.

And every ending has a new beginning.

’Well, that new beginning might not exist, but... that doesn’t matter.’

I let out a soft sigh, taking in my teacher’s words of comfort and encouragement.

"Thanks. I guess I just overthought it."

〖Yes, I overthink things. Back then, I simply ignored the fact that I was going to die in the end.〗

If Alice had a physical body right now, she would probably hit me on the head.

"Then, if you decided to end it all and rest, why am I talking to you?"

Alice answered my question without hesitation.

〖First, because I wanted to pass on my swordsmanship to someone else, and second, my past self is gone, and my current self is someone else.〗

"That makes some sense."

〖Think what you will, but if you spoke to my past self, you’d notice the difference. My past self no longer exists; it’s at rest, and my present self is experiencing a new event.〗

Shaking my head, I grumbled.

"Yeah, yeah, whatever you say."

Lost in my thoughts, I looked at the fairy sitting at the table across from me.

She smiled when I looked at her, as if she had noticed that I was looking at her.

"What name should I give you?"

I thought about it for a moment, but honestly, I didn’t know what to call her.

If there’s one thing I’ve always been bad at, it’s names.

You have to acknowledge your own flaws, unlike those protagonists who think the names they come up with sound good or are cool.

"How about... Liora?"

A soft, yet extremely low voice reached my ears as clearly as day.

Diana sat down across from me, her gaze fixed on the fairy in front of her.

"Liora, a name inspired by yellow or white lilies... No, wait. What color are this fairy’s hair and eyes?"

Now that I think about it, she’s a Light-attribute fairy; normally, in games or novels, she’s depicted with yellow or golden colors.

But the color of the Light attribute is white in Holy Land.

Diana answered my question.

"White. Eyes. Hair."

I looked down at the little fairy who was exchanging glances between Diana and me.

"I suppose that’s fine, then. Let it be Liora."

The fairy, or rather, Liora, smiled as she hopped around.

’It’s a shame she can’t speak, but she’s as intelligent as a human.’

As a newborn, her intelligence is at least that of a young child, not a baby.

’But if I get the blood of a real fairy and give it to her as food, she can evolve into a real fairy and be able to talk.’

If I get the chance, it wouldn’t be a bad idea to get the blood of a real fairy.

It may be difficult, but at the auction that will kick off Chapter two, there could be bloodshed.

Shortly after, Liora came to mind. She lay face down as if on a bed and fell asleep.

"She’s adorable."

Diana said. She no longer stuttered around me, but her way of speaking was almost impossible to change.

’Well, she’s still an adorable character.’

I’m not the creator of Diana; my assistant actually created her.

Of course, I helped her a lot, but it was her creation.

"You’ve never seen a fairy before, have you?"

She shook her head.

"No. Never."

"That’s right, you managed to hatch your egg."

Diana’s expression changed. When I realized this, I sighed and smiled.

"Well, it’s a shame, but maybe you’ll succeed next time."

She nodded energetically, as if my words were more than just a small consolation.

"Yes. Yes."

Then, I simply talked with her for about thirty minutes, and then we decided to go hunting.

Besides, tomorrow is the day the Demon Beast appears.

’I just hope this damn fate doesn’t play a trick on me.’

Maybe I’ll get lucky and it’ll just be the Demon Beast.

And not some anomaly that never appeared in the game.

’But if I’m Adel... then it’s not impossible that an anomaly will appear.’