"Meeting and seeing me might also be a form of destiny. Besides, you and I have many things in common, so I truly believe that everything happening now is fate," the soul said with a gentle smile.
Every time the young man looked at the man's smile, he didn't know why, but he couldn't help feeling an overwhelming sadness. He sensed that behind that smile, there was a sorrow the man had been carrying for a very long time.
"In the game Rise of Gods, we also called ourselves Adventurers. To be honest, this isn't my mortal soul, because I can clearly feel the strong soulforce in my body. Maybe that's the reason I'm still in this world. I don't know why this is happening, but there is one thing I understand—I was destined to become the path so that what happened to me will never happen again," he continued.
Finn didn't know what to say, so he simply looked at the man quietly. He couldn't quite grasp everything the man meant, but he could feel the pain and sadness in every word he spoke.
"But before I pass my power on to you, I want you to promise that you will never use it for evil. You will not hurt the innocent with this strength," the soul suddenly said in a serious tone. "I'm not asking you to become a hero. You don't have to save the oppressed. That will be your choice, and I have nothing to do with it. All I ask is that you never do evil just because you have vast knowledge and great power."
Finn nodded in response. He listened carefully to what the man was saying. And of course, he would honor his words, even if he never received any power from him.
A moment later, something occurred to Finn, and he quickly asked, "Sir, after you give me your power and knowledge…what will happen to you?"
The soul smiled again and spoke softly, "About that, you don't need to worry. I gave up my life a long time ago. Right now, I am nothing but a worthless soul waiting for my end."
Finn was stunned by his words and quickly protested, "If the price of giving me your power is your very existence, then forget it. I can't accept you sacrificing yourself just so I can achieve my goals. I can grow stronger on my own and protect my clan from those who oppress us."
The man slowly shook his head. "I no longer have a life. I'm already dead, Finn Doria. And besides, you think you can grow strong on your own? Do you really believe you'll even get that far? Your entire clan will be destroyed, Finn Doria! Your whole family will die! Let me repeat it—I left the world of the living long ago. I am just a soul waiting to fade away from this world. But you…you're still alive, and you still have a chance to protect the clan you belong to."
"But—"
"No more buts. The only thing I want to hear from you is your acceptance of the power I'm offering. And know this—the process of passing on my power and knowledge will not be easy. You will need to be strong and endure the pain, because if you can't, you will only waste this chance and fail your clan," the man insisted firmly.
Finn truly didn't like the idea of inheriting someone else's knowledge and power, but as he thought of his clan being annihilated, he clenched his fists and forced himself to nod.
"Hmm. That is the answer I wanted to hear from you, boy," the man said with a satisfied smile. "Before we begin, is there anything you'd like to say?"
"May I…may I know your name, sir?" Finn asked hesitantly.
They had been talking for a long while, but he still didn't know the name of this kind man who was willing to disappear from this world just to help him protect his clan. Such kindness was something Finn felt he could never repay.
The man did not speak immediately. Instead, he smiled with profound warmth. After a few moments, he finally opened his mouth to answer.
"Why do you want to know? Once we merge, you will learn it anyway."
"I just want to know…and to carve into my memory the name of the man willing to sacrifice everything to help me," Finn answered seriously.
"Kurt…Kurt Bautista. I came from the world of mortals—a planet called Earth," the man replied with a soft smile. He continued, "Shall we begin?"
"Hm," Finn forced himself to nod to Kurt.
At that moment, he didn't know what he was supposed to feel. Should he be happy because he was about to receive power and knowledge that would help him protect his clan? Or sad because for him to gain that strength, someone had to sacrifice himself?
"Let us begin. Just let the soulforce I pass to you flow through your body. Don't worry, I won't let your body explode into pieces," Kurt said reassuringly, smiling gently at the young man.
He placed his index finger against Finn's forehead, while Finn closed his eyes and focused on what was happening.
"Now," Kurt whispered as he closed his eyes. The light surrounding his body began to fade.
As the moments passed, countless memories and knowledge poured into Finn's mind. Images flashed in his thoughts, and tears began streaming down his cheeks.
Little by little, Kurt's soul dissolved—but the smile on his face never vanished. He was happy, at last, because he knew he could finally rest.
Before his soul completely disappeared, Kurt whispered his final words with a smile.
"Mom…Mickey…Kiana…at last, we will see each other again. I hope…when we meet, you can forgive me…"
And then, Kurt's soul vanished completely, and everything around Finn was once again swallowed by darkness.
Yet even then, Finn's tears continued to flow in the void. An unbearable sadness consumed him as all of Kurt's memories and experiences entered his mind.
After a long time weeping, Finn finally opened his eyes and slowly wiped away the tears still running down his face.
"Kurt Bautista…I will never forget you," he whispered, just before the world around him began to change.
[The System detected a peculiar activity]
[You've leveled up]
[You've leveled up]
[You've leveled up]
[You've leveled up]
[You've leveled up]
...
--
After a full day of deep sleep, Finn finally woke up. He opened his eyes and looked around.
Something about him had changed. The emotions in his gaze were different. No longer were his eyes filled with longing—instead, they held traces of sorrow and regret.
After a moment of staring blankly, Finn placed his hand on his chest where the Myriad World Mirror lay hidden—the third most powerful artifact in the game Rise of Gods.
This mirror was similar to an interspatial item, except the space within it was vast—comparable to an entire world, or even countless worlds. Living beings could also be stored inside. The soulforce within was dense and rich, making it a better place to train than the world Finn inhabited.
The mirror floated in front of him, and he reached his hand into it. A moment later, he pulled out a ring. Before closing the MyriadWorld Mirror, he also stored everything that remained scattered on the floor—his leftover ingredients and the alchemy cauldron he had used before passing out.
For now, these things no longer held much value to him. His strength and wealth were no longer what they once were.
He slipped the ring onto his finger, and a familiar voice echoed in his mind:
[Concealing Ring +13]
Effect: Conceal and change the bearer's aura
Armament Grade: Rare
Quality: Top-tier
According to Kurt's memories, this ring could hide and alter the true rank of whoever wore it. Finn needed it to prevent others from noticing the massive changes in his rank and level. Even though he had received power and riches, he knew it still wasn't enough. He understood there were still Adventurers in this world he could not yet defeat. And besides, he wasn't used to the new strength he'd inherited, so he had to pretend to be weak in front of other Adventurers to avoid unexpected trouble.
"Black Tiger Family…if you dare do anything to my clan—especially to my family—I won't hesitate to wipe you out," Finn whispered, his fist clenched tight.
He had promised Kurt never to use this power for evil or slaughter. But if the Black Tiger Family began their cruelty, Finn would have no choice but to teach them a lesson. Now, he finally had enough strength to stand against Frederick's entire clan.
A moment later, Finn froze when he heard a series of knocks on his door.
"Finn! Yoohoo! You have to come out! The competition is about to start!" called a familiar voice from outside.
He quickly walked to the door and slowly opened it. Standing there was a smiling young man, but when he saw Finn, his smile disappeared and was replaced by a look of confusion.
"Is it just me, or has something about you changed?" Isake asked, puzzled as he looked Finn up and down.
"Maybe you're just imagining it. I haven't bathed yet—maybe that's what you noticed," Finn replied calmly.
Even though he and Isake hadn't known each other long, Finn already considered him a true friend. All his life, Finn had never had any friends. So when he met this mischievous but kind young man, he realized that Isake had become his very first.
"Maybe. Anyway, the competition is about to begin. We have to participate, or they'll definitely kick us out of the institute," Isake said seriously.
He was right—this institute was strict with its rules. For example, students could have small duels, but it was forbidden for those duels to lead to severe injury or death. If a student attempted to kill another, whether intentional or not, the heaviest punishment was execution, while the lightest was ten years of imprisonment within the institute's dungeon.
In the thousand of years the institute had stood, such incidents had happened many times.
"Is Instructor Kiden the one overseeing the competition?" Finn asked.
"No," Isake answered immediately. "I haven't seen him these past few days. They've already assigned a new instructor to handle us newcomers."
Finn frowned when he heard this, but he simply nodded. He looked in the direction they were headed and smiled meaningfully.
"Let's go."