Chapter Twenty-Nine: Fate

The overwhelming stench of blood darkened Rando’s expression—he sensed immediately that things here were far from what he had imagined. As he ventured deeper, the sight that met his eyes turned his face almost pitch black with fury.

Scattered instruments of torture lay everywhere. In the center of the secret chamber’s hall, several mangled corpses hung suspended, their flesh torn and bloody. Though their bodies were ravaged beyond recognition, it was still possible to discern that they had once been young girls.

Ignoring the system’s prompt that souls could be extracted, Rando pressed on to the inner cells. Each one imprisoned one or more girls, all naked and covered head to toe in wounds; their expressions were vacant, their minds seemingly broken.

It was then he realized that the bizarre devices outside may have had more sinister purposes.

“Prince Shakas, is it? Thank you for giving me a reason to kill you,” Rando murmured, his tone now calm. He looked at the girls—taking them all with him was impossible, and to go to war with a kingdom would be sheer folly.

To leave them here would be to let them suffer. Judging by the corpses outside, none were old—all had died recently. By the time Rando could find someone trustworthy to rescue them, they would likely not last that long. Rather than allow them to be tormented to death, perhaps it would be better…

He stepped into the first cell. The girl inside recoiled in terror, curling into a corner and trembling.

“Can you still understand me?” he asked.

There was no answer for a long while. Rando drew his sword and did his best to spare her pain. The girl’s face showed no relief, and even at death, her eyes were filled with fear.

By the time Rando left the last cell, his blade was slick with blood.

He gazed at his sword with a cold serenity. He knew that perhaps not all the girls had lost their minds completely, yet not one of them resisted or tried to explain as he ended their suffering.

A chill surged from his hand as he froze the bloodstained sword and stored it in his wristband.

As he exited, he extracted all the souls the system indicated were available—thirteen in total, one of which was blue. Most of their talents were related to charm, allure, or seduction—abilities that enhanced one’s own charisma. After breaking them all down, his soul essence reached over 13,000, but Rando could feel no joy. These were the vengeful spirits that haunted this hellish chamber.

He glanced in the direction of Prince Shakas’s quarters, then turned silently away, leaving the inner palace without a sound.

The next day, the entire royal city was abruptly placed under martial law. City guards patrolled everywhere, and inspections for entry and exit became unusually strict.

None of this concerned Rando. He should have already set out for the Kingdom of Flames, but a promise yet unfulfilled kept him here.

He now prepared to repair the blue soul fragment he’d acquired—a system function he had not yet tried. It was much cheaper than repairing a purple soul, making it perfect for experimentation.

He found the blue soul fragment in the system and selected “repair.”

Countless streams of soul essence began to converge on the fragment. Rando could sense that this was not a matter of brute force absorption or patchwork. Instead, the system used some method beyond his comprehension to perform a deep restoration.

The process was far from brief, lasting nearly an hour.

When the soul was finally restored and its attributes revealed, Rando was astonished.

Fated Grandson (Blue): Fragmented Destiny (Blue), Advanced Life Energy Affinity (Green), Listening (Green)

The effect of Fragmented Destiny (Blue) was to receive the blessing of fate in this world, enabling feats beyond normal limits. However, as it was incomplete, there were some restrictions.

“When heaven and earth lend their power at the turning of fate? Pity it only works in this world. Leave, and it becomes ‘when luck departs, even heroes are powerless.’ It takes 9,500 to condense—quite a lot.”

This blue soul, if broken down, would yield about 10,000 soul essence. Compared to the 11,000 required for repair plus the gains from extraction, it was a loss.

Yet this way, he could acquire all the talents the soul possessed. Gains and losses depended on the situation.

“Though I can only use it here, experiencing the life of a secondary character might be interesting,” he mused, then equipped the soul.

An indescribable sensation spread from his heart, flowing through his body, radiating outward—faintly resonating with the land itself, giving him a sense that all things were possible if he willed it.

Rando sensed further changes within himself, though for now he couldn’t quite articulate what they were.

This new awareness increased his desire to kill Prince Shakas. Rando let out a cold laugh. “Perhaps killing you will bring me unexpected rewards,” he muttered.

…

Martial law did not last long—barely two days before the capital returned to normal, at least on the surface.

Through his surveillance, Rando noticed that the royal family’s “big shots” now moved with several times their usual number of guards, both openly and in secret.

Rando was by no means a master tactician, and luring Prince Shakas outside the city to kill him would be too difficult. Though acting within the city was reckless, with a contingency at hand—and the ability to teleport out of this world at any time—he felt little concern.

He had already resolved to act, even if it meant failing his mission, so long as he could follow his heart. Besides, martial prowess in this world was not high; the strongest he’d met during his travels was only at the peak of a high knight from his original world. At best, there were national guardian knights—that was his own level before becoming an arcanist.

The only thing that gave Rando pause was the Destiny talent. Unless he was mistaken, Prince Shakas possessed it; Rando had tested other royals, but none had given him the same sense.

Though he still did not understand why this talent resonated with his system, it did not affect his decision.

…

At first, Prince Shakas was furious when all his “toys” were destroyed. He ordered a city-wide search for the culprit, but soon realized that finding them was impossible.

Someone who could move freely in the inner palace and killed only his “toys” without doing anything else—try as he might, Prince Shakas could not fathom the motive.

So, two days later, the matter was quietly dropped. To prevent further danger, the king had ordered the prince to remain in the inner palace for two days—a confinement that nearly drove him mad with boredom.

Having become the kingdom’s de facto top expert, Prince Shakas was not used to such humiliation. But just as he was about to explode, the king finally lifted the restriction. Though he was told to take more guards when going out, he was no longer confined.

Excited, Prince Shakas decided at once to visit his good friend, Metal Brasso, and perhaps acquire some new “toys” while he was at it.