Concealed Fate

Aaron's face twisted. His teammate started shivering slightly before looking at him.

"Um... Will I still get paid?" He asked Aaron, his voice trembling.

Aaron only looked at him coldly before returning his gaze to Stell.

Instead of feeling dissatisfied, his teammate reacted happily, as if he had just received a present.

While the teammate was reeling in his happiness, everyone ignored him and focused on Stell's words.

"Tomorrow afternoon, Hyun's restaurant. I'll tell you then." Stell smiled before disappearing with Felix.

Aaron only snorted before he also disappeared, leaving the spectators with an empty arena.

***

Stell and Felix appeared in blank white space again.

[Congratulations! You have won your first game. ]

Both of them received a message.

"Hey, show me the rewards." Stell ordered the system.

[ Peak-Tier Common Rank achievement. ]

[ Level 1 clearance question. ]

"Nice!"

"Hey, is Peak-Tier so much better?" Felix asked after he looked at his own rewards.

"It should be. It's just a Tier before Rare Rank. In other words, if you bet it in a game and win, you will most probably get a Rare Rank achievement that either allows you to get double the affinity or a rarer affinity." Stell patiently reasoned.

"I guess it is, then."

After thinking for a while, Stell addressed the system.

"Hey. I want to use the clearance. The question I want to ask is:

"How does Order work? How do I advance?"

[ Clearance level 1 information: ]

[ Order specifically means an Order of a being. It could be a divider between an apprentice and a mage or a Qi cultivation Realm and Foundation Establishment Realm. ]

[ To get to the First Order, a person must wish five wishes using Volo and be granted affinity related to the wish. If a person wishes for a lightning bolt, then he will get lightning affinity. ]

[ To reach Second Order, a person must cultivate their existence. ]

It wasn't much, but it left Stell with a gaping mouth. 'Cultivation is real? Magic is real? Holy shit!' Just as sleepiness appeared, it was immediately dispersed by the overwhelming information.

"Holy shit!" Stell shouted in reality, too, taking Felix by surprise.

"Hey, what did you see?" Felix was curious. If it wasn't for his rational mind telling him to ask another question, he would have just asked the same question as Stell in order to quickly satisfy his curiosity.

After a while, Stell finally returned to reality. The answer left him with even more questions.

"It's like this..." Stell explained his message to Felix, making Felix's eyes sparkle.

"That's awesome! Hell yeah! I love this world!" Felix shouted.

"I love this world!" Stell shouted as well, swept by Felix's energy.

"Lemme ask now." Felix excitedly said to Stell.

"How do we learn cultivation manuals or magic manuals or whatever else there is?"

[ Clearance level 1 information: ]

[ You can buy them from the third floor of the games pagoda, or you can learn them in games. It's possible to make your own power system or even get it from a stranger. You can also wish for one with a Volo. ]

[ The other possible solution is to explore a planet populated by new exiles. ]

"A planet populated by exiles?" Felix asked aloud.

"Hm?" Stell looked at Felix half-expectantly.

After Felix explained the short message he received, he stared blankly.

"What are you thinking of?" Stell asked him.

"I am not sure... I am getting a vague idea, but it's really vague." Felix furrowed his brows, surprising Stell. That was the first time he saw Felix that serious.

"It doesn't matter, then." Stell commented, making Felix nod. "It doesn't."

After wishing to exit the blank space that Stell later learned was called White Room, they found a cheap inn and spent the night there.

***

On a mountain peak, a thin person with dark brown hair, a brown robe, and a giant greatsword on his back, unbefitting of his thin body, was eating on top of a dead giant dozen-meter-tall white-furred gorilla.

"Um... This meat is really awesome when you are hungry! Ah... This brings back the memories." The person reminisced. Although he was on the peak of a mountain, no creatures dared to attack him.

"What is the achievement again? System, what achievement did I get?" The person asked after not remembering the achievement he received for killing the giant gorilla.

[ You have received a High-Tier Rare Rank achievement. ]

"Damn, every time I look at this text, I get jealous of those bastards that get the real thing." The person commented after receiving the response.

"Hm... High-Tier. Not bad for appetizers. I should start hunting for Epic Rank soon." Not putting Stell's most prized achievement in his eyes, the person leaped from the gorilla and jumped from a cliff.

In mid-air, he took out his greatsword and placed it just under his feet. The greatsword was just wide enough for him to keep his balance and not fall.

Then, as if by magic force, he started controlling the greatsword to fly.

"Li family, just wait for me." The person swore as he flew into the horizon.

***

Inside a small cave in a mountain, a person was sitting cross-legged with a sword beside him.

Controlling his breathing, he slowly raised his order of existence. Breathing in and out, the person looked ordinary.

Wearing a silver-like t-shirt and black pants, he gathered the energy inside the cave.

After a while, the person picked up his sword and stood up.

"This should be enough." He casually said as he exited a cave and found a giant boulder close to the entrance.

After lifting his sword, the person's demeanor changed as he closed his eyes. Slowly but surely, his aura started getting sharper.

After a whole minute of facing the boulder, he opened his eyes and slashed. If a normal onlooker saw the scene, he wouldn't be able to point out anything extraordinary in the person's slash.

As the person's sword reached the boulder, it split the boulder in two with a clean cut.

"At least it looks decent." The person smiled slightly before picking up the two halves and dropping them from the cliff.

The two halves fell onto an unnaturally formed mountain that resembled a pile of giant stones.

Then, the person found another boulder above his cave and placed it in the same position as the previous one.

"The technique needs so much polishing." He sighed.

***

An old man with a green robe was traveling through space before he suddenly stopped in a certain area.

"Hm? Do I sense a concealed change in fate here?" He appeared to be sensing something.

"Seems like something interesting is happening. Should I involve myself?" With a slight smile, he looked at a certain territory.

Then, he disappeared from the place as if he was never there.