Child of Destiny

The awkward silence lingered.

Fortunately, Arielle was the first to break it.

”So...” She cleared her throat before glancing toward the others. ”What exactly do you girls think is going on here?”

Nala folded her arms tightly across her voluptuous chest. ”Are we supposed to fight those guys now?”

Her brows remained deeply furrowed.

Truthfully, she would have loved to beat them up for a while now. Unfortunately, reality was far less accommodating.

The so-called Monster Trio alone possessed enough strength to overwhelm every one of them. Adding David—better known as Khing inside the virtual world—only made the gap even larger.

Rook quietly shook her head. ”I don’t think that’s what the System wants.”

Everyone immediately turned toward her.

Rook calmly pointed toward the shimmering gate. ”Think about the first condition.”

She paused briefly before repeating it. ”’A man and a woman are needed to open the gate.’”

The girls fell silent.

Rook looked at Nala with the same calm, expressionless face as always. ”Weren’t you looking for a man earlier?”

Nala blinked. ”Huh?”

Rook casually gestured toward the four young men standing before the gate. ”There they are.”

The girls instinctively followed the direction of her finger.

Four men. And four possible partners.

Then, the meaning behind the System’s earlier condition suddenly clicked.

”A man and a woman are needed to open the gate.”

”Wait.” Nala’s eyes slowly widened.

”Don’t tell me...” Her cheeks instantly turned red. ”We have to choose one of them?”

”So...” She paused shyly before continuing. ”...we’re choosing escorts?”

No one answered.

Or more precisely, they were unable to.

They were not as bold as this lioness with them.

Not long after, Nala’s eyes suddenly lit up while a mischievous grin slowly spread across her face. ”Oh!!!”

”This is going to be interesting.” Her gaze repeatedly shifted between Arielle and Charlotte.

The grin immediately widened. ”You two can settle your little issues first.”

She then casually waved her hand. ”I’ll go ahead and choose mine.”

Before anyone could stop her, she cheerfully skipped toward the gate. Her footsteps eventually stopped before Simba’s avatar.

For the first time since entering this strange place, the usually outspoken girl became strangely quiet.

”Um...”

Even though she knew this was merely an avatar, her cheeks still turned slightly red.

After a brief moment of hesitation, she reached forward and gently grabbed his hand. Then, the instant their hands touched, she pressed her free hand against the shimmering gate.

Whoosh!

Both figures instantly disappeared.

...

The remaining four girls stood frozen.

They silently stared at the place where Nala had vanished while their minds were still struggling to process everything that had just happened.

The first to recover was Miss Bunny. As a mature woman, she regained her composure almost instantly.

She gracefully placed a fist before her lips and cleared her throat.

”Don’t get the wrong idea.” Her voice remained as calm and elegant as ever.

”I have absolutely no interest in younger men.” She softly whispered those words as though convincing herself more than anyone else.

Then, without another word, she calmly walked toward the gate and stopped before Khing’s avatar.

She let out a quiet sigh. ”This is merely the most practical choice.”

Before anyone could question her reasoning, she gently took hold of Khing’s arm.

The instant her hand touched the gate—

Whoosh!

Both figures disappeared beyond the ancient gate.

...

The remaining three girls silently watched the empty space she had left behind.

After several awkward seconds, Rook quietly regained her composure as well. ”Don’t misunderstand either.”

”I’m not interested in that idiot.” She spoke with her usual emotionless expression.

Her calm façade lasted exactly one second as a faint blush swiftly spread across her cheeks.

Without waiting for anyone to respond, she abruptly turned around and sprinted toward Siegfried’s avatar.

Her movements were far less composed than she probably intended.

Reaching him, she quickly grabbed his arm before immediately touching the gate.

Whoosh!

They vanished just as quickly.

...

Silence returned.

Only two girls remained—Arielle and Charlotte.

Both slowly turned toward one another.

The atmosphere suddenly became... incredibly awkward.

...

After what felt like an eternity, Arielle was finally the first to break the silence.

”Don’t you think it’s about time you admitted it?” Her tone remained calm, but almost cold.

Charlotte immediately crossed her arms. ”Hmph! I’m not interested in that idiot either.”

”Good!” Arielle simply nodded. ”Then I won’t have to feel guilty.”

She turned around and calmly began walking toward Shin’s avatar.

”Wait.”

Before Arielle could take another step, she felt someone tugging on the edge of her robe. Turning around, she found Charlotte tightly holding onto it.

”And?” she asked.

Charlotte awkwardly avoided her gaze. ”Don’t you think... it’s a little cruel to leave me here alone?”

Arielle couldn’t help but raise an eyebrow. ”You want us to share?”

Charlotte’s face instantly turned bright red. ”N-No! I didn’t mean it like that!”

”I don’t want to either...” Arielle smiled faintly. ”And I am afraid that’s impossible either.”

She then pointed at the gate and continued. ”One gate... and only one escort.”

Charlotte slowly loosened her grip. ”I know...”

Her hand quietly slipped away from Arielle’s robe.

Arielle watched her for a brief moment. Then, a small triumphant smile appeared on her face. ”See you on the other side.”

She walked straight toward Shin’s avatar.

Without hesitation, she gently took hold of his hand.

Whoosh!

Their figures then disappeared as well.

...

Charlotte stood alone before the enormous gate.

She truly felt alone.

”Seriously.” She forced out a bitter smile. ”Am I really the only one left?”

Just as she lowered her head—

Swoosh!

Another pillar of light suddenly descended before the gate, making Charlotte instinctively look up.

A lone figure slowly stepped out from the light.

Unlike the other four avatars waiting before the gate, this newcomer looked like someone who had just stepped out of an actual battlefield.

At first glance, the newcomer looked no different from another player’s avatar. But the oppressive aura surrounding him made him seem as though he had gone through countless life-and-death battles.

Lightweight armor covered his body, which had the shade of deep crimson. Twin shortswords were resting quietly at either side of his waist.

A dark crimson cloak draped over his shoulders, fluttering gently despite the absence of wind. Its color resembled dried blood.

At the same time, a hood concealed most of his face beneath deep shadows.

Charlotte’s eyes instantly widened while her boy froze when she stood. ”Huh?”

That avatar...

She knew it.

It was the most mysterious avatar that she he encountered within the game.

Someone who had only appeared a handful of times yet left unimaginable feats before disappearing again without explanation.

”Why is he here?” Confusion quickly replaced her initial shock.

The avatar remained completely motionless.

Just like the others before it, it neither spoke nor reached out. It simply waited.

Charlotte stared at the silent figure for a long while.

Then, a helpless sigh escaped her lips. ”I really don’t understand what’s going on.”

Even so, she slowly walked toward the crimson-cloaked avatar.

Just like the others before her, she gently reached out, held its hand, and touched the gate.

Whoosh!

Their figures then disappeared just like the previous four.

...

Not long afterward, the five girls appeared one after another inside a vast hall.

The escorts who had accompanied them vanished just as suddenly, as though they had never been meant to exist beyond the gate.

Silence filled the enormous chamber.

The girls instinctively looked around, their brows furrowing in confusion as they tried to make sense of everything that had just happened.

Unable to hold herself back any longer, Nala was the first to speak. ”Hey, Jill...”

”What kind of quest did you drag us into?” She glanced around the empty hall before looking back at Rook. ”Why is it so... weird?”

The sudden series of events had caught everyone completely off guard.

Even Arielle and Miss Bunny, who normally remained calm under pressure, struggled to process what had just happened.

Rook shook her head. ”I don’t know either...”

”This was supposed to be nothing more than a Hidden Class advancement quest.” She paused briefly before continuing. ”...I never expected it to develop into something like this.”

Nala scratched her head in frustration. ”What kind of class has conditions this strange?”

”Rune Knight...” Rook answered as simply as ever.

Before anyone could continue the conversation—

Ding!

A familiar notification echoed inside every one of their minds.

System: The Final Trial is commencing.

System: You are now entering a Quest Scenario...

System: ’The Lost Letter’ has been initiated...

...

In the next instant, the spacious hall around them slowly dissolved.

One pillar after another faded into countless particles of light.

The marble floor beneath their feet gradually lost its solid form before transforming into an entirely different landscape.

A chilly breeze brushed across their faces.

”What?” Nala instinctively reached for her guns, but they also disappeared along with the dazzling hall.

Not long after, they found themselves standing upon an old cobblestone road stretching toward a quiet countryside village.

The afternoon sky above was painted with gentle orange hues as countless wheat fields swayed beneath the summer wind while the birds sang peacefully from distant trees.

They also saw wooden fences lined along the roadside while smoke lazily drifted from several stone chimneys.

Everything looked ordinary.

”Where are we now...?” Charlotte quietly asked.

No one could answer.

Even Rook silently observed the unfamiliar surroundings.

”This...” Miss Bunny slowly frowned. ”...doesn’t look like a dungeon.”

”It doesn’t.” Arielle nodded. ”There isn’t any trace of mana.”

The girls instinctively gathered together before carefully surveying every direction.

Unlike the previous hall, this place felt alive.

The distant laughter of children echoed from within the village while the farmers could be seen tending crops far away. There were also several horse-drawn wagons slowly traveling along another road.

It felt less like an illusion and more like they had truly been transported somewhere else.

Ding!

Another translucent window appeared before every one of them.

---------------

”Quest Scenario: The Lost Letter”

Difficulty: Unknown

Objective: Complete the story until its conclusion.

Failure Condition: Unable to resolve the lingering regret.

Time Limit: None.

---------------

Nala blinked twice. ”That’s it? No monsters? No boss? No fighting?”

Charlotte slowly reread the notification. ”Resolve a lingering regret?”

Rook shook her head along with a helpless sigh. ”A Story Scenario Quest.”

The other four girls immediately became silent.

They naturally recognized the term.

Story Scenario Quests were among the rarest quest types within «Destiny’s Fate». Unlike ordinary combat quests, they placed players directly inside a carefully constructed story where their choices often determined the outcome.

And among all the quest types, these were the most troublesome ones.

Nala frowned. ”Why would a Hidden Class advancement trigger something like this?”

”I don’t know.” Rook slowly shook her head. ”Based on what Molton has said, the Rune Knight wasn’t supposed to have a Story Scenario attached to it.”

Even Arielle’s expression became slightly more serious. ”Which means...”

Miss Bunny quietly finished the sentence. ”...her class must have mutated, somehow.”

......