A Bug In Fate

The city had fallen into chaos. At the eastern gate, monsters and cultivators clashed in a storm of steel, spells, and blood, the noise of battle spilling into streets that had gone eerily quiet everywhere else.

Above them, the sun hung low on the horizon, painting the sky in shades of orange and red, as if the heavens themselves were bracing for what was to come. The dying light stretched long shadows across the battlefield, blurring the line between man and monster in the haze of dust and smoke.

Sunset was near. And so, it seemed, was something far worse.

Thirty-two Metamorphosis realm cultivators were leading the charge. Twenty-one of them had come straight from the arena, while the rest had already been on duty elsewhere in the city before the alert reached them. Together, they used their elements to scatter the horde, focusing primarily on the Metamorphosis realm monsters, since those couldn’t be left to lower-ranked cultivators.

The battle had split into two distinct fronts. Metamorphosis realm cultivators fought Metamorphosis realm monsters, their physical strength nearly matched, though the cultivators held an edge through weapon mastery and battle experience.

Meanwhile, Rupture realm monsters were being handled by Rupture realm cultivators. But unlike the Metamorphosis realm fight, where lower-ranked fighters couldn’t easily join in without risking AoE damage or friendly fire, the Rupture realm battles worked differently. Several Spark realm cultivators would support a single Rupture realm cultivator, helping finish off a monster quickly so they could move on to the next target.

The students of Nebulon Academy were also stationed on the front line, their target set squarely on the Metamorphosis realm monsters. To anyone paying close attention, it was clear that even though all thirty-two cultivators shared the same realm, their strength wasn’t equal.

Alice and her classmates showed a level of control and weapon mastery that surpassed the others, despite being younger than most of the Metamorphosis realm cultivators around them.

Maybe there was a reason they came from the best academy in the world after all.

The battle continued for an hour, but there seemed to be no end to it. The monsters were endless, and if not for the cultivators’ formation, the horde could have breached the wall long ago.

As the battle dragged on, the mental strain on the cultivators grew heavier, especially for those who weren’t as experienced as the veterans among them.

But not everyone’s eyes were fixed on the clash below.

High above the chaos, along the top of the city wall, three figures stood watching in silence, untouched by the noise and blood beneath them. Two old men and one middle-aged man, all with calm, unreadable expressions, as if the battlefield before them were nothing more than a passing storm.

The two old men were, in fact, the old dwarf, Ron’s master, and the librarian who rarely left the library, while the middle-aged man was none other than Branch Manager Hilton, who had come out after Boren rushed into his office without even knocking.

"What do you two make of all this?" he asked, his gaze fixed on the horde still surging against the wall.

A silence settled between them as they stared out at the chaotic battlefield.

"Hm, monster attacks aren’t rare. Constant waves of them were the whole reason the city built its wall in the first place," the old librarian said, his expression thoughtful. "But this one feels different. Their numbers are unusual."

"And something is definitely going on in the city. I don’t really want to say this, but there was an assassination attempt on me just a few days ago," he added, trying to sound casual.

*..Though I still don’t understand why they didn’t kill me, when they had more than enough time to steal my bed without me even noticing,* he mused silently.

Their attention then shifted back to the battlefield as they watched the cultivators doing their best to force back the horde. But it was an impossible task. More than seventy-five thousand monsters were still alive, endlessly replacing their dead as they surged toward the gate.

"There’s something wrong with these monsters. They’re more aggressive than usual," the old dwarf said, narrowing his eyes at their behavior.

Suddenly, his attention was caught by something.

"Hey, what’s happening there?"

The other two followed his gaze, and what they saw made their eyes widen slightly.

Below, cutting through the chaos of clashing blades and roaring monsters, a lone figure walked forward, calm and unhurried, as if the battlefield around him didn’t concern him in the slightest.

It was Alden. Snowflakes drifted down around him as he moved, his ice element spreading quietly through the horde, weakening monster after monster in his path. Those caught in the falling snow slowed almost immediately, their movements growing sluggish, their reactions a fraction too late.

It wasn’t enough to stop them outright, but it didn’t need to be. The moment they faltered, the cultivators around them closed in and finished the job with ease.

And through it all, Alden simply kept walking forward.

"Isn’t that Amon? Why is he here?" Hilton said.

How could he not recognize Amon? After all, the boy had caused quite a stir in the arena. No one knew who he was, where he’d come from, or why he was even there, but one thing was clear: he was powerful.

"It seems he’s come to support the others," the old librarian said, watching monster after monster freeze wherever the boy walked.

"I can see that too, but how much mana does he even have? He’s been using it nonstop throughout the entire tournament, and now he’s here when he should be resting," the old dwarf said, his tone confused.

Below them, Alden kept walking forward, a trail of frozen monsters forming in his wake.

"If he’s here to defend the city, then why isn’t he fighting alongside the others? Where’s he going? We should stop him before it’s too late," Hilton said.

To them, Alden was a talented young prodigy who just needed time to grow. They’d seen him wielding his affinity at the Rupture realm and naturally assumed that was the extent of his ability.

"His steps aren’t random. Let’s see where this goes," the old librarian said, stroking his white beard thoughtfully.

They watched as Alden kept walking and monsters kept freezing. A few tried to gang up on him, but they never got the chance, ice spikes shot out from nowhere, piercing through them with brutal efficiency before they could even close the distance.

"His control over his ability is remarkable," Hilton muttered, noticing how each spike struck a vital point instead of landing randomly.

"But why is he charging in alone? At this rate, he’ll be surrounded while running low on mana," he added, wondering why the boy wasn’t using a weapon at all.

They’d watched him both in the arena and now, and one thing remained consistent: he relied on mana the entire time. Not once had they spotted a weapon on him.

Maybe he kept it stored away in his storage ring?

All three of them silently wondered the same thing, though none of them could have guessed the truth, that the boy simply enjoyed using his flashy techniques too much to bother pulling out a weapon anymore.

And really, who could blame him? Between freezing monsters with a wave of the hand and swinging a blade around, there was only one obvious answer as to which looked cooler.

Nine out of ten kids would say the same thing.

Suddenly, the trio’s eyes narrowed. They still didn’t have an answer to why he wasn’t using a weapon, but their other question, where he was heading, was about to be answered.

"Don’t tell me," the old dwarf muttered, narrowing his eyes to confirm his growing suspicion.

"It seems his target isn’t the Rupture realm monsters after all," the old librarian said, his gaze following Alden’s path. "It’s the Metamorphosis realm ones."

Silence settled over the three of them as a cold breeze swept past.

Their suspicion was confirmed a moment later, as Alden came to a stop directly in front of a Metamorphosis realm monster, one that was already looking at him like a meal that had simply walked up and delivered itself.

For a moment, neither of them moved.

Then Alden smiled as he muttered something.

Visit and read more novel to help us update chapter quickly. Thank you so much!