Chapter 3 Compass of Destiny(2)

The types of destinies vary widely from person to person.

Swordsman, warrior, archer, mage, cleric…

Various forms of destiny swirl around, and from the moment one is chosen, they are called a hero.

There is no known criterion or direction for this choice.

Some say it’s determined by heredity, while others argue it’s divided by early education from a young age, but no formal condition has been adopted by academia yet.

“Changing Compass of Destiny!”

“You are a hero destined to be a <Mage>. The first crossroads of the <Mage> destiny, <Apprentice Mage>, is swirling within you.”

And ten years ago.

No, to be precise, thirteen years ago.

The fate I faced in the year I came of age was this.

The destiny of a <Mage>.

Among this, the first crossroads, <Apprentice Mage>.

Most of the people active as mages in the continent and kingdoms are destined to be so.

However, compared to others who start by choosing crossroads like <Exceptional Mage> or <Genius Mage>, <Apprentice Mage> is considered quite an ordinary fate.

In rare cases, there are geniuses who are chosen to start with the second crossroads, <Skilled Mage>.

Because of this, the reaction from those around me was cold when I, as a member of the great Mage family, the Mulick family, was destined to the most ordinary <Apprentice Mage> of the first crossroads.

“Did you hear? Edgar Mulick, destined to be an Apprentice Mage.”

• Wow, that’s almost like being a bastard, right? Your older siblings are all doing well.
• Always looking down on people, sneering at commoners, and now it’s turned out like this.

My naturally bad temperament made the words spoken behind my back even sharper.

Especially since I was the only one among the four siblings of the Mulick family who received the <Apprentice Mage> destiny, there was a lot of attention and a flood of negative remarks.

My eldest sister and eldest brother.

And finally, my younger sister, all had outstanding talents.

Perhaps because of that.

I made a decision early on.

To graduate from the military academy roughly and toss aside a fate with no talent.

To remain as a wastrel of the family, living a crooked life forever.

I don’t intend to make excuses for my laziness and bad temperament, but honestly, the fact that I hadn’t learned a single combat spell in three years of school was largely due to that reason.

“I sure remember things well.”

As past memories slowly resurfaced, I gave a wry smile.

Thinking about destiny made these forgotten memories gradually become clearer.

Anyway, that was all there was to the mundane story of the <Mage> destiny and the first crossroads <Apprentice Mage>.

But then.

“Oh, right.”

I had noticed earlier that Ray seemed to be quite a businesslike butler.

She showed almost no change in expression and rarely revealed any personal emotions.

I had thought her demeanor was just cold, but his personality also seemed quite stiff.

Or maybe she was just avoiding me because of my own bad temperament…?

A fleeting thought crossed my mind.

It might be the most plausible explanation.

“Hmm.”

In any case, we moved our steps back toward the main residence where my father was.

Unexpected destinies had come crashing in, but the current objective was still to meet my father.

As we walked, I shared with Ray the curiosity I had about the earlier matter.

“Ray, have there been any heroes with more than one destiny on the continent?”

Heroes with more than one destiny.

I was sure I had heard of them before, but I couldn’t clearly remember.

Damn my ten-year-old self.

I clearly remembered being disregarded, but I couldn’t recall this kind of information.

Ray, unperturbed by the sudden question, provided a clear answer.

“Yes, there are. I’m sure you learned about it at the military academy.”

It wasn’t entirely neat.

“Seems you don’t remember.”

“It’s familiar.”

“Don’t get used to it.”

“It’s commonly referred to as ‘Destiny’s Decider’. Even if a hero has multiple destinies, it’s difficult to fully develop all of them, so the hero chooses the most suitable destiny for themselves and focuses on it.”

It came back to me.

Destiny’s Decider.

Heroes who are born with multiple destinies select the most efficient one among them and develop it intensively.

Even though it’s a rare case, one might wonder why they only choose one, but the reason is surprisingly simple.

Even if one receives multiple destinies, the potential for each destiny is different.

“Just look at me.”

I received both the destinies of a <Mage> and a <Swordsman>.

But while one path starts with <Apprentice Mage>, the other starts with <Genius Swordsman>.

From the very beginning, the potential is different, so there’s no need to follow an unknown path.

Of course, the difficulty of developing multiple destinies simultaneously also played a role.

“However, it’s not impossible for heroes to develop multiple destinies at the same time. They can combine several destinies effectively and grow into special heroes like a magic swordsman, holy knight, or enhanced warrior. These are usually called ‘Destiny Connectors’.”

Pioneers, Deciders, Connectors…

Why are there so many unnecessary titles attached to a single destiny?

It must be remnants of the continent’s tendency for superficiality.

I listened quietly to the explanation and then asked the most curious question.

“Is it possible for the second or third destinies to manifest later? For example, starting with the destiny of a mage and then, after a long time, having the destiny of a swordsman manifest.”

“I see.”

The doubts were finally resolved.

So, I was originally meant to have the destiny of a <Swordsman> in addition to the <Mage> destiny.

With overwhelming talent,

The only difference was that this destiny manifested later, after a long 10 years.

“However, in such cases, heroes usually remain as Deciders rather than Connectors. The destinies are already difficult to develop, and if they manifest late, it becomes even harder to advance. Moreover…”

As Ray continued speaking, she suddenly stopped walking.

She seemed intrigued, her expression showing curiosity.

And then she stared at me intently.

“It feels like I’m a military academy instructor.”

“Excellent lecture. You might have the qualities of an instructor.”

“I’ll pass.”

I couldn’t even make a joke.

In any case, Ray’s cool but helpful explanation seemed to have eased my earlier confusion about receiving the <Swordsman> destiny.

However,

Not all my questions were fully answered.

“You are a hero destined to be <???>.”

*First Crossroads <???>

The third destiny that appeared after the <Swordsman> destiny.

A destiny with a question mark left unresolved along with the phrase ‘not yet explored’.

I had no information about it yet.

And Ray would not know about this either.

“It’s information I’ve never heard of.”

While the information I remembered from my original world after returning was limited, I knew for sure that unexplored destinies are not accessed first.

If it were possible, heroes who received their destinies would have spent a long time studying them from a young age.

The still-unrevealed destiny of <???>.

It was surely a new type of destiny appearing for the first time on the continent and in the kingdoms.

And I had some idea about it.

‘Variable due to return’

The return after ten years in another realm.

Just as the destiny of <Swordsman> and the crossroads of <Understanding of the Sword> emerged for me, this unknown destiny was also likely related to the return.