A Bug In Fate

The next day, or in other words, the third day of the bet, Alden was having his breakfast while deep in thought. He was thinking about his new skill, Perfect Memory, and his cultivation technique.

Should I create an elemental-based cultivation technique, or should I focus on my other aspect?

Alden wondered. As for what that other aspect was, it was his physique, which seemed to grant him things randomly whenever he was doing something.

If I create an elemental-based technique, then I have two affinities. That will raise the difficulty by a notch. On the other hand, if I focus on my physique... I wonder what will happen.

He pondered as he sat on the chair and finished his last bite.

Letting out a deep exhale, he looked around at his surroundings before shifting his attention to the books.

He had already read four cultivation techniques, and now sixteen cultivation techniques were left.

What should I read today? I’ve already read four elemental techniques. Should I go for bloodlines today?... Hmm.

He already had a basic idea of how an elemental-based cultivation technique worked, and today he had the urge to learn something new.

Deciding to be guided by his impulse, he picked up a bloodline cultivation technique. He had just flipped the first page when suddenly—

"You’re early today."

He heard a voice beside him and didn’t even try to guess who it belonged to.

"Oh... Teacher, you’re here."

He said and glanced up, but his expression changed as he spoke.

"Why are you two here?"

He asked as he noticed two additional people standing beside his teacher, both covering their mouths for some reason.

It didn’t take long for the reason to reveal itself, as the two began throwing up whatever they had eaten.

"W-we... a-are..."

Liam tried to say something, but he had to stop as he continued vomiting.

"They were looking for you."

Ravenna answered instead, as Liam had failed, and Mina didn’t even bother to try as she had seen what happened to Liam.

Alden looked at their condition before turning to his teacher.

"...I didn’t expect you to bring them here directly."

He said to his teacher, who was now sitting on a chair.

Ravenna sighed for some reason before speaking.

"I couldn’t have if they hadn’t been bothering Boren and the guild staff."

"What? What did they do?"

Alden asked curiously as he glanced toward the two, who were now calming themselves.

"They heard from the adventurers that you were last seen at the guild and hadn’t come out for two days. This morning, they were questioning the staff, who had no idea where you were."

She said and snapped her fingers as two more chairs appeared around the table.

"Oh... so what are they going to do here? I’m busy with my research... Wait, don’t tell me your purpose in bringing them here was to distract me so—"

Alden said as his expression suddenly changed with realization.

Before he could finish what he was about to say, he felt a smack on the back of his head.

"Is that what you think of your teacher? "

Ravenna said as she lowered her hand.

"I am sorry."

Alden apologized before turning toward the two. It was better to ask them directly.

By this point, Liam and Mina had walked over and taken their seats.

"What are you two going to do here?"

Alden asked directly to Liam. Who remained silent for a moment replying.

"We were going to ask you to fight us, but you seem busy."

Liam spoke after looking at the table and the books scattered across it.

"What are you doing here?"

Mina asked curiously.

Alden glanced down before looking at the two. He pondered for a moment before speaking.

"I am doing some research here."

He didn’t say directly that he was creating a technique, as he could already imagine what would have happened if he did.

"Oh... so we should not disturb you. We will take our le—" Liam said calmly.

"Can we stay here too?"

Before he could finish what he was saying, Mina interrupted from the side as she looked around.

Meanwhile, Ravenna watched them with keen interest as she remembered her friends back in the Central Continent. Some of them had even started their own families.

Back to Alden, he looked at his teacher, who seemed to be lost in her thoughts, and spoke.

"Of course, if you guys promise not to jump around swinging your swords around me."

Alden smiled and continued.

"But I think you should ask my teacher, as whether you can stay here depends on her decision."

"Oh... Miss, can we please stay here with Alden? We promise to just sit here."

Liam turned toward Ravenna and asked in a humble tone, while Mina also looked at her. They waited for her, and Ravenna remained silent for a moment and glanced at Alden.

"You can, just don’t bother him. I don’t want him to make excuses."

Ravenna looked back into their eyes and agreed to their request.

"Thank you, ma’am."

Mina didn’t wait for long. She stood up from the chair and ran toward the lake, where sunlight reflected on its surface.

Liam shook his head helplessly as he turned toward Alden and Ravenna.

"I will get going as well."

He scratched the back of his head and stood up as well before following in the same direction as Mina.

"I am sure they are dating but just can’t prove it."

Alden muttered as he watched them playing with the water.

Meanwhile, Ravenna smiled at him and said nothing.

She looked at the table, where one book was slightly open. Ravenna met his eyes and smiled at him before speaking.

"So, what are you reading today? I hope you understand what you are reading, and if you are having some trouble somewhere, you can ask me."

She smiled gently before casually picking up a book.

She looked at the book and recognized it without even looking at the title.

"So, what do you think about bloodlines?" she asked with a gentle smile.

Alden pondered for a moment to sum up everything he knew about bloodlines, and it took him a total of two minutes. He looked into her eyes before speaking.

"Bloodlines are powerful."

"....."

Silence descended on the table as Ravenna waited for him to continue, but Alden seemed to be testing her patience. Nearly two minutes passed, but he remained silent.

They seemed to be locked in a staring contest before Ravenna shook her head helplessly.

"That’s it?" She narrowed her eyes.

"Yes, I mean, isn’t a bloodline powerful? As only nobles have them."

Alden avoided her eyes and whispered in a low voice.

"Who said that only nobles have bloodlines? There are many people who have bloodlines even stronger than those nobles..."

She paused for a moment.

"And you are wrong if you think that every bloodline is strong, as not every bloodline carries powerful abilities. Some of them out there carry curses, and their lineage is still trying to find a cure for them."

Alden was surprised to the core, as he didn’t think there would be people suffering because of their bloodlines.

Ravenna looked at him and sighed before closing the book and placing it on the table. She folded her arms and shook her head in resignation.

"It seems I have to teach you from the beginning."

She spoke in a gentle tone.

"First, you need to get rid of the thought that only nobles have bloodlines. Others have them too. In fact, you have one too."

She stated as she pointed at his chest with her finger.

Alden blinked several times as he considered her words.

"I have one too?"

"Yes, but either your bloodline isn’t powerful enough to carry some powerful ability, or it isn’t awakened yet."

Ravenna stated in a calm tone while Alden turned silent.

After thinking about both possibilities, he spoke.

"I hope it’s the latter case."

Alden chuckled as he leaned forward slightly.

"So why is it that some have bloodli—oh, sorry, let me correct myself."

Alden paused mid-sentence.

"Why is it that some have special bloodlines while others don’t?"

He corrected himself and tilted his head in confusion.

"Evolution."

Ravenna answered in a single word and crossed her arms in a graceful motion.

"...Evolution?"

Alden repeated the word as he pondered in his mind. Of course, he knew what evolution was, but he still needed time to connect the dots between bloodlines and evolution.

"Yes. For example, if a dwarf suddenly decides to become a swordmaster instead of a blacksmith, and his descendants follow the same path, there will come a time when this cycle reaches a point where the descendants of that dwarf will be born with sword-related abilities."

"...That’s amazing."

Alden’s eyes sparked with amazement.

"So the ancestors of today’s noble families did some crazy work, followed by later generations hmm..That’s some serious discipline."

Suddenly, his view toward the nobles tilted to positive, but it wasn’t like he was going to praise every noble he saw, as the ones who did the work were probably dead, and these people were simply lucky enough to be born into that bloodline.

"What about physique-based techniques? Aren’t there techniques related to the eyes as well?"

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