"Actively interfering with fate violates the principles of a Diviner."
"And how do you know that the fragment of destiny they glimpse doesn't differ drastically from the whole picture?"
"When they start speaking in their cryptic, mystical nonsense, you only need to do one thing—choose the path that won't leave you with regrets."
Kanzaki Rei gave a slight nod. His understanding of the Diviner class deepened, and he gained a clearer sense of how to interpret their strange warnings.
Rei asked another question.
"Iz, regarding Mese… how should I deal with him?"
"I feel like he's already set his sights on me."
Rei didn't mention hiding or fleeing into seclusion.
If someone of that level had truly targeted him, escaping would likely be impossible anyway.
Iz Palut responded calmly.
"As long as I'm here, he won't be able to lay a hand on you."
"He's not my opponent."
"In this world, there is no mage who is my opponent."
Iz fell silent for a moment, deep in thought, before continuing.
"I'll go and kill him."
"This matter… should finally come to an end."
Iz's tone carried absolute confidence, without even a hint of doubt.
Having such a reliable mentor make that kind of guarantee brought an overwhelming sense of reassurance.
Iz moved past the topic.
"You've already created your own spells?"
Rei nodded.
"I've created four spells so far, all derived from spells I had already learned."
"But aside from those four, I've had a few ideas for others… yet it feels like I'm missing some key element. I can't quite complete them."
Iz rubbed his chin thoughtfully.
"Rei, you truly are a genius second only to me."
Could you maybe remove the 'second only to me' part?
"You simply lack theoretical knowledge."
"You can only infer the possibilities of new spells based on the spells you already know."
"I'll teach you that knowledge."
"We'll start today. In a moment, I need to help repair the town wall. This afternoon we'll meet at the training grounds."
"And I'll check how much progress you've made."
Rei's expression grew excited.
"Iz, then just wait and see."
"Maybe the current me is already stronger than you were at Level 2."
A confident smile appeared at the corner of Iz's mouth.
"Haha. Then I'll look forward to it."
Rei said goodbye to Iz.
After leaving Iz's room, he checked the room number stored in his pocket and walked to Room 301 on the third floor of the hotel.
He knocked on the door.
"Who is it?"
"It's me—Rei."
"Oh! Welcome!"
The door opened.
Standing inside was a burly middle-aged man with a square face and a close-cropped haircut. His entire body was packed with solid muscle.
"I came to thank you."
"Haha! It was nothing!"
"It wasn't nothing."
The man before him was the Defender who had switched positions with Rei when the Insect King was about to attack him—taking the blow in his place.
He had bought Rei an extremely precious window of time.
If not for him, Rei's fate might still be unknown.
Rei spoke with solemn sincerity.
"I won't forget a life-saving kindness."
"Haha… you make it sound so serious."
"Protecting those who need protection—that's the principle of us Defenders."
"I was just following my own principle."
"Besides, how could I just stand by and ignore a kid?"
"Actually, thanks to you, I feel like I'm about to advance to Level 5 Defender."
Level 5 Defender — Guardian of the Nation
"Regardless of your intentions… Rune, you saved my life."
Rei took out his spatial ring.
"Here are 40,000 gold coins."
"And also the Blood Armor of the Bloodsource Monarch."
"For now, I don't have anything else worthy enough to repay you."
Rune froze for a moment.
"Forty thousand gold?"
He waved his hand quickly.
"That's too much. There's no need."
Rei looked him directly in the eyes, completely serious.
"Rune, I believe my life is worth far more than that."
"I will never forget anyone who has helped or saved me."
Rei valued his life extremely highly. When Rune had stepped forward to block that strike, he hadn't known whether he himself would survive.
"Haha… Rei, you're more mature than many adults."
"My armor was indeed broken and needs repairs. And advancing to Level 5 Defender requires a good amount of money too."
Rune accepted the ring.
"If you ever need me, just call."
Rune handed Rei a small pointer.
"When sound can't reach, you can send letters using a Realm Dove."
"This Life Compass points toward my direction, and it lets the Realm Dove locate me as well."
"We're brothers now."
A Life Compass was not something given lightly.
Revealing one's location at all times meant exposing oneself to danger.
Only someone you truly trusted from the heart would receive such an item.
Rei nodded.
"Alright. Brothers."
Even though the man looked more than thirty years older than his current body.
In his heart, Rei regarded him as a brother.
Damn it—he didn't even know the guy before, yet the man had stepped in to save him and nearly died for it.
If Rei had just walked away afterward as if nothing had happened, that would've been utterly disgraceful.
"I'm planning to invite a few friends. How about gathering tonight?"
Rune burst into laughter.
"Haha! Sounds good!"
After saying goodbye to Rune, Rei also visited the Level 4 Mage, Bais, and the Level 4 Warrior, Akrifa, inviting them to dinner that evening.
Afterward, he found Los and Trand and invited them as well.
Then he went to see the town mayor, delivering Pally's resignation letter.
As for the rest of Pally's situation, Rei didn't mention anything to the mayor.
When he left the mayor's residence, his ring now contained materials worth 5,000 gold coins—the mayor's personal thanks for saving Rhein Town.
Mayor… you seem pretty wealthy.
Combined with your experienced social maneuvering, it's hard not to start wondering about certain things.
But Rei wasn't some anti-corruption officer sent by the kingdom.
Naturally, he had no intention of digging deeper into those mysteries.
After that, he found Maizer at the Adventurers' Tavern—his face swollen like a pig's head.
Oh right.
His two-timing affair had been exposed the day before yesterday.
After he had been listed as missing, the two girlfriends who deeply loved him both came looking for him at the guild…
When the two women met, they immediately learned the whole truth.
Not long after that, Rei had brought Maizer back to town…
And then Maizer had been dragged outside and subjected to a double-team beating.
During yesterday's entire day of resisting the monster invasion, Maizer had been lying in the Life Hall, recovering from his injuries.
To be fair, he was originally a Gatherer anyway.
His Level 2 Archer class wasn't even fully competent yet—his combat power was practically equivalent to Level 1.
Even if he had gone to the battlefield, his usefulness would have been basically zero.
Today, Maizer—his body covered in fractures and wrapped head to toe in bandages—finally had the chance to get out of bed and move around.
He waved at Rei with a heavily bandaged hand.
"Yo, long time no see, Rei!"
His lips were swollen so badly that his words came out slurred.
Honestly… with your mouth swollen like a banana, maybe you should stop trying to talk.