Chapter 260: New Sun
***
Two students continued their trek in the darkness...
But somehow one of the two didn't seem to care for what was in front of him.
That student ran, and nothing blocked his path.
He had stumbled a few times, but it was nothing lethal.
Arthur was that student.
His Fortune Wheel specialization was true to its name.
And the second of this duo had noticed that phenomenon.
He kept himself three meters behind Arthur at all times and made the same movements.
Elijah was his name.
Emir told him about Arthur, so he had already expected this, but seeing it happen before his eyes was a different matter altogether.
'Just how can someone be so lucky?'
Oh, well, he knew why, as that was a rhetorical question, or rather, it related to Arthur's luck in getting such a specialization in the first place.
His older brother didn't seem to know much, but he speculated that since Arthur was a bastard of Isidore, he had the lineage of whatever clan the Ebonfyre family originated from.
Then that lineage granted him this path.
So because he unknowingly began walking on this path, his body naturally didn't allow him to acquire abilities that related to other specializations.
That caused him to be labeled as useless TRASH.
Similar to what all main characters experienced at some point in their lives.
Anyhow, since Arthur couldn't acquire abilities, he had to go with the Arcanist route. And guess what?
As it turned out, his Fortune's Wheel was compatible with it.
The 'wheel' would be spun every time he attempted to draw a rune, and if he was lucky, it would be activated.
If not, he would need to try again.
This meant that Arthur's every fight was a game of chance.
In essence, that weak kid could only be described as a wild card.
Once all his runes were activated, he could rival those two minor ranks above him.
But even though he could win against those stronger than him, he could still lose against those weaker.
Arthur was the walking definition of a casino with life as collateral.n/ô/vel/b//jn dot c//om
'Fucking MC's man... bastard's got the whole world bending its rules for him.'
Even though Elijah complained, he understood that there was nothing he could do about it.
It was best to focus on himself instead; otherwise, keeping up with the rest of the class would be impossible.
As those close to him already noticed, the way he saw things differed from before.
It was a natural result...
After all, the more time he spent under Emir's and Lyra's mentorship, the more his personality began to resemble their own.
Rationality always presided over emotion.
Elijah was becoming a mini-Emir and a cute version at that-
"H-Hey, Elijah... C-can I stop leading?"
Arthur's voice suddenly brought him out of his thoughts.
"No, you lead; that was what we decided, so deal with it."
"...B-But how?"
"Can't you do it? You know, elemental runes?"
"Ooh, yeah, I can do that!"
"Right, go lead us to a tree, then I'll..."
***
"You calm now?"
Emir asked as he took another puff, while his eyes remained on the holoscreen.
"Y-Yeah, I just didn't expect it at all..."
"Heh, it's fine... like you, I already got over it."
Ragnar poured himself a glass of whiskey while chuckling.
"But why a novel, though?"
"...Indeed."
Soon, Emir found himself questioning the same thing.
Just why did they fabricate his reincarnation under the banner of a novel?
"Why not a game, or I dunno... like a comic?"
"No idea, Rag, but it's probably the easiest platform for them to implant information or
something."
"That sounds about right; I bet they went through many of us to reach that point, though."
Puff...
"Hmhm... but that doesn't matter much in the end."
Emir pressed his cigar on the ashtray, killing the flame.
"Now let's go back."
***
"AHAHAHAHAHAAH! BURN BITCH BURN!"
Like the birth of a new sun...
"LOOK AT IT! YOU CAN BE USEFUL, YOU LITTLE SHIT! HAHAHA!"
Their whole world was lit with flames that turned the night into the brightest of days.
It started with a few chipped pieces of wood to a small branch that they carried and stuck
higher up a tree.
Then Arthur's luck activated, and the flames caught on the bark, immediately spreading to the
top as if it were coated with oil.
From one canopy to another, from a leaf to the next, their surroundings all turned bright, and
Elijah danced in that scene like a madman.
But his laughing smile soon grew dim as he noticed something amiss.
The ground's rate of vibration had increased.
The thunderous steps grew louder.
It seemed that instead of running away...
They, the colossal beings, were getting closer and closer to the fire...
To them.
"...Fuck."