Chapter 134: Slayer’s Fate - IV

Nearly a thousand brand-new <Fate> threads had been grafted onto my body by the Gaea System. Feeling the enhancement to my intuition and Divination abilities, I glanced at the screen displaying my current comprehension of the <Law of Fate>.

[Law of Fate Comprehension: 0.48% » 0.53%]

Targeting those governed by greater fates was as I’d expected—efficient, but it would come at a cost.

By killing Jijue, I had completely eradicated the 16 Claws from the map, leaving only a few of those who’d been sent out on missions alive.

All of the leaders were dead.

Exactly 82% of their members perished by my hand, their <Fate> threads commandeered and their essence turned into Levels.

Now, the cost was about to hit me.

I had to act preemptively.

[Absolute Awareness: Divination]!

** *

The City of Arenas had a unique mechanic in its management.

Unlike the Living City of Hispe, the Soulless City of Grakkis, and even the City of Spires that assigned governors to certain regions, the City of Arenas was ruled by the greatest fighters.

Each region of the city had an arena. The bigger the arena, the more encompassing the region.

From local neighborhood blocks to whole provincial regions, there were arenas for everything.

Even individual buildings.

Thus, reigning supreme in these arenas meant that one governed its corresponding lands and properties. The resource-rich land of the City of Arenas was highly contested, and yet even then, several races stood out from the rest, occupying large swathes of land for years on end.

The 16 Claws, composed of Beast Humans, were one such local overlord. Other Beast Human organizations were the same.

It was thus quite clear how those with beastly blood were inclined towards combat.

They were the strongest Martial Artists, the most valiant of warriors, and the most rugged of knights.

Their own bodies were a weapon that could tear their opposition to shreds.

However, there was a counterpart to everything. A balancing act as if dictated by the rules of the world.

For the Beast Humans, those would be the intelligent pure beasts. Named races of beastly nature, blessed with astounding natural inspiration.

More than just their beastly bodies, they were also skilled in magic, wielding far more versatility than the Beast Humans despite their alleged lack of intelligence.

The White Roar Clan was a family of intelligent pure beasts—composed of political marriages between Winged Lions and Dread Wolves.

At the center of the White Roar Clan’s territory in the City of Arenas, a sky-scraping tower housed a few of the family’s greatest lions and wolves. Here, they enjoyed a wide-open space with a great view of the surrounding diverse skyline, being the literal tallest building in the region.

Towards the horizon, towers of similar stature rose among the slope of skyscrapers belonging to other provincial zones.

With buildings organized by height to appear like distant man-made mountains, the City of Arenas was a lot more organized than the Soulless City of Grakkis and the Living City of Hispe.

Some would thus argue that the City of Arenas was one of the greatest cities in the Walvaskaz Empire.

It was a prettier display of city planning, at the very least—the Living City was still more beautiful, and the Soulless City was nearly endless. Alas, the Living City had been obliterated.

For an entire city in the empire to have been destroyed like that...

"Only a Dragon’s actions could explain it... Or some other SSS-Rank’s demise." A voice muttered, sounding like half a growl and half a rich tenor that shook the surroundings.

If it wasn’t a Dragon or some SSS-Rank’s final spark, then the perpetrators wouldn’t have destroyed even a few blocks’ worth of Walvaskaz’s buildings.

In this case, a Dragon had perished.

The current Winged Lion patriarch of the White Roar Clan, A-Rank Vin’seth, was worried about exactly that.

"His Excellency, Arvishue’rre probably headed to the scene the moment the Dragon’s aura arrived... but it seems like he hasn’t returned."

Vin’seth was keenly aware of the great Game of Walvaskaz, and thus he couldn’t help but worry. Even for such a lofty existence like the High Winged Lion King, death could come at any time—though that window of ’anytime’ could last lifetimes of those below S-Rank.

If Arvishue’rre was caught in a trap and injured, or worse, slain, then the fall of the Winged Lions would be near.

Just taking a look at the 16 Claws...

Vin’seth’s white tail bristled, and the feathers on his angelic wings shook. His mana felt shaky all of a sudden.

"Father...!"

—Swoosh!

A powerful gust of wind accompanied the arrival of a Winged Lion with fur as white as snow and wings that dwarfed her slender, feline body. Padded paws landed on the tranquil waters of the sky lake in Vin’seth’s lounge.

Only a single ripple moved outward as the newly arrived Winged Lion stood on the water, her irises round with worry and her snout crumpled with an expression of conflicted excitement.

"My daughter... What has rattled you to this degree?" Vin’seth asked, propping his chin atop his folded paws, barely shifting from his position lying on the tranquil waters.

His deep voice created a resonant ripple throughout the lake.

"The 16 Claws have been exterminated!"

Vin’seth heard his daughter’s words and yawned, "Already? Were they that weak?"

"...No, father. They did not fall to our claws, but to the appearance of a human Space Mage. Actually, it’s better to classify him as a Destruction Mage following in the footsteps of humanity’s <Archmagus>."

Vin’seth paused, his narrow vertical irises thickening ever so slightly in response to the news.

"Another human walking the path of destruction. I’m not surprised. Well, first and foremost, have you made contact with this rogue mage? No... given the habits of humans... Have the Empire’s Guards done anything?"

"The guards have not moved. Apparently, the human restored all the damage dealt by his magic. It seems like he is well-aware of the guards’ bottom lines. We have also contacted the human, but he has refused all of our offers." The young Winged Lion bared her fangs. "He has emptied out the treasuries of the 16 Claws in all of their territories!"

Vin’seth seemed to have raised a brow. "Hm? That’s odd. Is he not going after the provincial arena then?"

The Winged Lion patriarch fell into thought. If a random rogue A-Rank Destruction Mage annihilated an entire organization, it was only natural that they would be unable to control all of that organization’s arenas.

Thus, these lone powerhouses would usually offer up a portion of their spoils to the surrounding factions to seek a 10-year development period. Included in such a period were the usual requests for a ceasefire and nonaggression as the lone powerhouse manages their newly-emerged organization.

Only after such an agreement ended would this new organization stand stably among the endless challenges of the City of Arenas.

There were already many precedents of such behavior.

After all, the City of Arenas had a rather special resource generated by its provincial arenas.

The Fruit of Metamorphosis!

A fruit that slowly pushed one’s body into Evolution, one bite at a time. A safe, step-by-step growth towards the legendary S-Rank.

No individual could resist such a treasure, but unfortunately, this resource had both an expiration date and a regional restriction.

A Fruit of Metamorphosis needed to be consumed within the day of its ripening. Furthermore, the fruit cannot be consumed anywhere other than where it was grown.

If brought far away, then the special mana within the Fruit of Metamorphosis would clash with the unfamiliar environment and cause terrifying mutations to occur.

Almost all of such mutations were horrifying and uncontrollable. Even then, the positive ones created a new race from scratch.

This was also why the Walvaskaz Empire had the myriad races.

The City of Arenas’s Fruit of Metamorphosis was one of the biggest reasons for such diversity!

Therefore, any lone powerhouse would sacrifice the resource stockpile of the organization they’d annihilated in exchange for ten years’ worth of the Fruit of Metamorphosis.

Surrounding factions, clans, and organizations would not bother trying to take such fruits because managing another provincial arena would require them to double or even triple their manpower in an instant—creating many weaknesses in the distribution of their forces.

One small mistake could lead to their organization’s demise.

Such was the prudence of the strong and the woes of managing living beings.

Thus, Vin’seth was truly surprised.

An A-Rank Human would especially desire the Fruit of Metamorphosis. Their race had no other way to Evolve, after all.

Well, not exactly.

Humans could easily become a member of other races due to their adaptability. However, to become a High Human? There was no natural method belonging solely to humanity as a whole.

Human bodies were too... adaptable... and therefore, their bodies gained too many unique characteristics over their lifetimes. This meant that a universal method of Evolution could never be standardized.

All humans had to walk their own path, and thus, the Fruit of Metamorphosis, which spurred one’s own body towards Evolution, became the most tantalizing treasure for their race.

In fact...

Recently, every rogue peak A-Rank who’d singlehandedly annihilated an organization in the City of Arenas had been human.

After their 10-year ceasefire treaty ended, most of them successfully achieved Evolution, and they would return to the Human Domain, allowing the surrounding organizations to contest the power vacuum they’d left behind.

Thus.

"...What the hell does that human want?"

Vin’seth felt a headache on the horizon.