Chapter 202: A New Future

In the royal palace, Wendy, the Saintess, was in her private chambers. She had just returned from a meeting where she shared her recent foresights. She didn't have much control over her fate readings, so they were usually random. Most were mundane visions like weather patterns, crop harvests, and other events that were useful to know ahead of time. Occasionally, she would foresee important events such as natural disasters, dangerous monster attacks, or, recently, the appearance of a legendary fruit in the Orna Mountains.

She removed her white hood, revealing her short blue hair, and flopped onto the bed exhausted after a long day. Wanting to rest, she soon got up, intending to attempt once again to see who had altered the fate of the city and the individuals involved.

"Even though the ripples are gone, I still can't find any trace of what they did... Still, I must try."

She sat down in front of a table with a unique pattern, etched with many sigils. It had been crafted by the kingdom's finest runesmiths to help her channel her powers better.

Before she could activate the table to enhance her abilities, her skill suddenly activated on its own. Her eyes turned into a starry blue night sky as she peered into the vast web of fate. A few seconds later, she blinked, and her eyes returned to normal. Though it had only been a short moment, time seemed to stretch when viewing the web of fate, feeling like minutes had passed to her.

"Someone changed the future?"

Events she had previously foreseen had now shifted. Instead of battles against orcs that she had predicted for the coming months, she now saw humans and orcs working together to explore a labyrinth of tunnels. The idea of humans and orcs cooperating felt preposterous, and she wouldn't have believed it if she hadn't seen it with her own eyes.

She stood up from her scrying table, no longer intending to peer into the future. Once she had seen the future, whether actively or passively, it would enter a long cooldown, forcing her to wait until she could try again. She pulled the hood of her robe back up and left to report the changes she had foreseen as soon as possible.

...

A week later, the squad arrived at the city gates of the capital without incident. Kirgar ordered the orcs to let them through, and aside from the occasional monster attack, they faced no obstacles on their journey back.

Despite their successful mission, the squad returned with a somber mood. Some might have considered their mission a great success despite its complications, but the squad themselves did not share that sentiment. It had been their first mission together, and one of their members had died, among other problems. Duncan and Rex, who had experienced similar events in the past, tried to maintain morale, but their efforts had only a partial effect on Aron. Nataly was furious that Sol had spared Kirgar's life, despite the benefits. From her perspective, if she had been the one to die, she would have wanted her comrades to seek revenge, no matter what.

Sol spent almost the entire journey in silence. He only moved or spoke when directly addressed or when making camp for the night but would then return to his silence. The squad wasn't sure if his silence stemmed from regret over sparing Kirgar or from grieving the loss of their companion. At one point, Duncan attempted to lift his spirits with a pep talk, but received only a lukewarm response.

"Captain, we're here."

Unknown to the group, Sol wasn't silently dwelling on the past with regret. While he mourned Lapis' death, he was focusing on the future, determined never to repeat the same mistake again.

[[Snap Punch] evolved into [Flash Fist]!]

[[Intermediate Weapon Mastery] leveled up! (8 -> 9)]

[[Backstab] transformed into [Vorpal Blade]!]

[[Vorpal Blade] leveled up! (6 -> 7)]

Sol opened his eyes after another successful training session but to him it wasn't enough. He channeled all his anger and frustration into self-improvement. He despised feeling helpless when faced with a true A-Ranker and was determined never to experience it again. Previously, becoming an A-Ranker had been a distant goal, something he would achieve slowly over time. But how many more of his comrades would die before he reached that level? He no longer simply wanted to become an A-Ranker; he needed to become one. He opened his status page to review his progress.

Name: Sol

Race: Human

Talents: [Siphoner], [Transformer]

Level: 82

Exp: 13,732,000/98,417,000

HP: 1450

MP: 1650

Str: 85 (+70)

Vit: 80 (+70)

Agi: 80 (+70)

Int: 85 (+70)

Wis: 80 (+90)

Talent Skills:

[Siphon] Lv 5, [Analysis] Lv 7, [Aggregate] Lv EX, [Reinterpret] Lv EX

Siphoned Talents:

[Create Magic Hands] Lv MAX, [Impact Bubble] Lv 2

Passive Skills:

[Muffled Movements] Lv EX, [Reflect] Lv 1, [Precise Coordination] Lv 6, [Basic Psychic Mastery] Lv 8, [Intermediate Weapon Mastery] Lv 9, [Wild Hunt] Lv 2, [Invincible Body] Lv 8, [Perfect Balance] Lv 2, [Death Absorption] Lv 6, [True Sight] Lv 6, [Superior Mana Control] Lv 2, [Fortified Soul] Lv 2, [Relay Magic] Lv 8, [Cooking] Lv 7, [Omniway Footwork] Lv 6, [Basic Smithing] Lv 6, [Enhanced Sight] Lv 4, [Basic Alchemy] Lv 4, [Basic Carpentry] Lv 5, [Poise Stance] Lv 4

Active Skills:

[Cross Slash] Lv 9, [Ground Shrink] Lv 8, [Flash Fist] Lv 1, [Invisibility] Lv 7, [Terra Manipulation] Lv 8, [Rock Throw] Lv 4, [Burrow] Lv MAX, [Primal Rend] Lv 4, [Debilitating Strike] Lv 2, [Telepathy] Lv 3, [Unpassable Bulwark] Lv 1, [Intermediate Elemental Magic] Lv 5, [Overpower] Lv 4, [Create Undead] Lv 6, [Weapon Enhancement (Variant)] Lv 8, [Disable] Lv 1, [Vorpal Blade] Lv 7, [Bombardment] Lv 2, [Storm Blitz] Lv 8, [Piercing Lunge] Lv 8, [Seeking Shot] Lv 7, [Mana Slash] Lv 6, [Intermediate Light Magic] Lv 7, [Shadow Hands] Lv 7, [Shadow Form] Lv 5, [Empowered Strike] Lv 4, [Polychromatism] Lv EX, [Low Sweep] Lv 8, [Basic Ice Magic] Lv 8, [Mana Burst] Lv 4, [Repair] Lv 5, [Rising Slash] Lv 4

After briefly acknowledging the changes, Sol stood up and gazed out of the carriage window. He saw the towering wall surrounding Crestal and the people waiting in line to enter the city. As Royal Knights, they were able to bypass such lines and proceed directly to the gate, where regular soldiers welcomed them.

"Welcome back, sir knights."

Upon confirming their knight emblems, a soldier approached with hesitation.

"Um, sir knights, we need to inspect your carriage. Please step outside for a moment."

Sol, Aron, and Nataly stood up, prepared to comply, but Duncan and Rex were surprised. They knew something was amiss.

Duncan fixed his gaze on the soldier and asked, "What's the meaning of this?"

Clearly nervous, the soldier stuttered slightly before responding.

"W-we've received orders to inspect every Royal Knight carriage. One knight squad was caught smuggling illegal goods, so now we have to check all knight squads. Please cooperate…"

Duncan frowned upon hearing this. The Royal Knights were generally considered clean compared to other organizations. While there had been some corruption among the lower ranks in the past, Commander Zaman had purged those elements long ago. Since then, promotions to higher ranks verify their character and moral integrity, including Sol, who had been unknowingly subjected to moral tests during his training.

For a Royal Knight squad to be involved in illicit actions was serious. It suggested that their captain likely knew about it, which could tarnish the reputation of the entire organization if word got out and judging from how this matter didn't get secretly buried it likely already did.