Martial Destiny

The man with the ponytail was shocked. He had never imagined that the project would be so successful.

'[The Gates] is already an overwhelming success just because of this one person. If we manage to get more geniuses like him, maybe the elders' plan will really work!'

'The first player who came here to sell already has such strong karma. Could it be that we've been underestimating the commoners all this time for no reason?' The revelation of Julius' karma even made the man with the ponytail reconsider the beliefs he had held his entire life.

'No, that's impossible.' The man knew much more about the martial world than commoners, so he dismissed the idea the moment it appeared in his mind.

'If it were easy to find people with strong karma, we wouldn't even need to start [The Gates].'

As the man got lost in his thoughts, Julius looked at him strangely. 'It's actually a cool trick to change the color of the plate, but what the hell is he staring at me like that for?'

"Cough, cough" Noticing that Julius was uncomfortable, the man with the ponytail coughed a few times.

"Mr. [Tyrant], I apologize for my behavior. My in-game name is [Rainbow Sword]. From now on, let's address each other by our in-game nicknames during this and any future negotiations. I will also be the one handling future business with you. I hope we can get along." [Rainbow Sword] handed Julius a small business card.

Julius, in turn, accepted the card with a smile on his face. 'Finally, we're getting to the business part!'

[Rainbow Sword] had decided to wait a little longer before attempting to recruit Julius so he could develop on his own.

'One of the pillars of the project is to provide a real environment for the population to train before the big trial. Even if he has overwhelming talent, it will be useless if he can't develop on his own.'

'Besides, if I try to bring him to our island..." [Rainbow Sword] knew that Julius' karma was surprisingly strong, but he still couldn't use MANA on his own. 'It would be too dangerous!'

"If you have other coins and are interested in selling them to the [Association], just contact the number on the card. Also, remember that we also buy fragments of [Martial Destiny]!" At this last part, [Rainbow Sword]'s eyes gleamed intensely, almost as if he were seeing a gold mine right in front of him.

'If he really turns into a powerhouse, then humanity will have the ability to produce high-grade [Martial Destiny] fragments without any problems!'

"So, how do I sell you my [Samsara Coin]?" Julius asked quickly, not understanding why the man was staring at him like that.

But for some reason, he didn't like it one bit.

"Actually, it's quite simple. We just need to enter your [Asahah treasure]," [Rainbow Sword] said as if it were the easiest thing in the world.

"How do I do that?" [Asahah treasure] had been a mystery to Julius since he first learned about it.

"It's really simple." [Rainbow Sword] stood up and gave Julius' head a light tap.

'So fast!' Julius only saw a blur moving in front of him before he passed out from the tap.

In Julius' mind,

He found himself surrounded by total darkness, with only a light from what seemed to be the sky illuminating a bag that Julius had seen in his memories when he first heard about the [Asahahtreasure].

Moving towards it, he noticed that every step he took towards the bag didn't bring him any closer. On the contrary, it seemed like he was getting farther away.

He tried walking towards the bag for an unknown amount of time, but the distance seemed to increase with each passing second.

Eventually, Julius just gave up.

"What's going on!?"

"How do I get close to this damn bag!?"

"Wait, could this be another way to delay me from selling the [Samsara Coin]!?"

It was at that moment, when he thought about the [Samsara Coin], that something strange happened.

Julius, who had been staring intently at the bag, noticed it move. Yes, the bag had moved.

It was as if something inside it wanted to get out.

"Could it be the coin?" Julius wondered as he continued watching the bag carefully.

shoush

shoush

shoush

Then, small twigs began to emerge from the bag, visibly growing larger with each passing second.

Julius was stunned as he watched a tree rapidly grow right in front of him.

In just a few seconds, the tree had already fully formed a few meters away from him.

The tree was about 5 meters tall, had violet petals, and a brownish trunk.

"What strange fruit is this?"

Julius stared for a moment before recognizing what it was.

"Is that a [Samsara Coin]?!"

He was surprised to realize that the silvery glow was actually the coin he had obtained by defeating the wolf.

"Hm, I think this is the first time someone has formed an [Asahah treasure] so quickly!" [Rainbow Sword] appeared beside Julius as soon as the tree appeared.

"What!?"

Julius was startled by how someone had suddenly appeared next to him.

"Don't worry about it. Normally, no one is allowed to enter another person's [Asahah treasure]. Today is a special case," [Rainbow Sword] said with a small smile.

"Hm, I see you only have one coin. Are you sure you want to sell it to us? If you lose your Avatar, you'll have to wait in line to get a new one." Seeing that he only had one [Samsara Coin], [Rainbow Sword] gave a small smile to himself.

'He seems to be the greedy type. If he manages to get more coins, he'll have to contact me to negotiate them. If not, and he ends up losing his Avatar... he'll sign the contract even more easily.' He knew how addictive MANA could be for those who had experienced it, and trying to quit after trying it would be impossible. This was why players who had lost their Avatars were so desperate to get a new one!

He suddenly felt a bad taste in his mouth, reminding him of the feeling he had earlier.

'How do the commoners live with such polluted air!?' He couldn't help but recall the environment on the island where he lived... 'Infinitely superior!'

"Yes, I'm sure!" Julius wanted to get this over with as quickly as possible and see the credits in his bank account, so he didn't even try to engage in a conversation with the man in front of him.

Something he would regret later, as up to that point, the man had already shown an advanced knowledge of [The Gates].

And as someone who wanted to become a treasure hunter, information was extremely important to Julius.

"Okay. Just extend your hand towards the coin and intend to grab it." Realizing that Julius didn't want to be there, [Rainbow Sword] explained what he needed to do.

Julius didn't fully understand, but he did as instructed. When he focused on the intention to grab the coin, the only thing he could imagine was grabbing the coin.

He raised his hand and imagined the coin flying toward him. As soon as the coin reached his hand, he closed it, and with a wave of magic, he felt the coldness of the metal in his real hand.

"Incredible." Julius, still thinking he was inside the game, found it all amazing!

Once again, he had that sensation of discovering something new, and it filled him with satisfaction.

After that, Julius handed the coin to [Rainbow Sword], and the two returned to the room they had been in earlier.

Julius looked around and couldn't help but compare it to the place he had just been. "I just can't tell the game from reality."

He thought the bracelet on his wrist was what had caused that brief journey to the dark dimension.

'The slap on my forehead must have just been to make everything more exciting...' He preferred to think that way rather than believe he had been slapped for no reason.

"The 10,000 credits are already in your bank account." When he heard that, Julius almost felt his heart leap out of his chest as he quickly grabbed his phone and checked his bank account.

And indeed, there were 10,000 credits in his account!

"Incredible!" Julius felt that he was slowly taking another step toward becoming a professional player, and he couldn't help but feel fulfilled.