Look, Brother Akira, we people from Asia''s eastern countries are forming a group together. Would you like to join us?
Akira asks, "A group? But why?"
The boy standing in front replies, "Even after witnessing what happened today, you''re asking why? Didn''t you see how that crazy Indian boy brutally beat up the other Indian boy?"
"That''s why we want to ensure something like that doesn''t happen to us. We''re forming this group so that, when the time comes, we can raise our voice."
Akira thinks about it for a while and then says, "Park Seo, I..."
Suddenly, a girl wearing a burqa, with only her eyes visible, arrives there and says, "Excuse me, sir."
She then turns to Akira and asks, "Can you tell me where I can find the instructor guide? I have some urgent work with him."
Akira replies, "I have no idea about that." As he says this, his eyes are fixed on her hands, which are subtly signaling him to say no.
Akira couldn''t understand why the girl wanted him to respond this way. The nervousness in her brown eyes was evident.
Park Seo speaks from behind, "Excuse me, if you''ve got your answer, you can leave now."
The girl apologizes, "Sorry for the trouble. I''ll take my leave."
Park Seo then asks again, "So, what have you decided?"
Akira replies, "Alright... I won''t join."
The girl in the burqa thinks to herself, ya Allah, does this mean I''ve altered his fate?
But then her attention shifts as she sees Xavier approaching and thinks, This wasn''t how it happened in the dream.
Xavier says, "So, here you are, the hero Akira Nakamura. Apologies for the delay. As per your request, the artifact has been brought here. Would you like to test your ability now?"
With confidence, Akira nods, "Yes."
Park Seo, who was about to leave, stops and starts intently observing the artifact, which looked like a fish with bulging eyes.
Xavier begins explaining, "This has been created using the same technique as your bracelets but is several times more advanced." He then activates the artifact.
Unauthorized duplication: this tale has been taken without consent. Report sightings.
A screen appears in front of them.
Name: Akira Nakamura
Race: Human (Another Worlder)
Potential Rank: Bronze
Ability: Your Fate is like that of a cat. (Unable to provide further details)
Ability Type: Unique
Strength: 2
Agility: 3
Defense: 0.2
Intelligence: Low
Recovery: 0.1
Mana: 105/105
Ability Rank: F
Disappointment is evident on Park Seo''s face as he walks away.
The girl remarks, "Even after all these efforts, Fate cannot be changed. So, does this mean...?"
Then the girl''s attention shifts to Avinash and Alice, approaching from the right.
Avinash, dragging a heavy sack, complains, "What nonsense is this? Why do I have to carry this when your potential rank and stats are higher than mine?"
Alice, fixing her hair in a mirror she''s holding, replies nonchalantly, "Because I''m a girl."
Aniket, with a sarcastic tone, adds, "Wow! In times like these, no one remembers gender equality.We need to protect men''s rights"
With the first rays of sunlight...
Takeshi Hayato walks, holding a bottle of liquor in his hand. Someone asks, "What''s in your hand?"
But Takeshi Hayato takes a deep breath and continues walking without responding.
After a while, he reaches a cage and says, "I hope you''ll like this drink."
However, as soon as he looks inside, he finds the cage empty. Takeshi Hayato is stunned. He doesn''t understand what happened. He first examines the floor, which is completely intact, and then looks around, but there are no signs of disturbance.
Only the chains lie there.
The place looks as though the person who was inside the cage has completely vanished. Takeshi Hayato quickly opens the door and checks to see if anything is wrong, but there are no traces nearby.
The chains weren''t forcibly broken.
Takeshi Hayato is at a complete loss, unable to fathom how someone could disappear from such a heavily guarded area.
He drops the liquor bottle to the ground and runs off, shouting, "Roronoa Zoro is missing!"
From behind the cage, Avinash exhales and mutters, "That was close. The substitute skill was about to wear off. Changing physical form is awesome, though."
Avinash quietly sneaks out of the cage, looking around. Soon, he notices a group of people running toward him.
Avinash mutters, "So soon?How?"
Moments later...
A man exclaims, "How did he escape from here? Who was the last person to see him?"
Takeshi Hayato replies, "The last time I and my companion were here, the doctor had come to treat him. He was in the cage then.
"But when I came here a while ago, no one was inside. The cage was completely empty, not even a scratch on it."
The man, angered, says, "Then tell me what you were doing here."
Everyone around unsheathes their swords and points them at Takeshi Hayato.
Takeshi Hayato calmly responds, "Do you doubt my loyalty?" He locks eyes with the man in front of him, full of confidence.
The man says, "Not at all. That won''t be necessary."
Everyone sheathes their swords again.
The man continues, "But I just want to know what you were doing here."
Takeshi Hayato takes a deep breath and says, "As you all know, he''s the one who killed Raiden. And I was deeply upset that a great warrior was going to die so meaninglessly."
"So, I came to talk to him one last time, and that''s when I saw—"
Avinash muttered in irritation, "Was this drama really necessary right now? Enough already, just leave!"
At this moment, Avinash was clinging to the wall and ceiling using sunken claws. However, the bad news was that the claws were slowly losing their grip on the wall.
The group was about to leave when a samurai turned around and said, "Shouldn''t someone check the surroundings while the rest of us search outside?"
Everyone''s attention shifted to the man, but just then, Takeshi Hayato shouted, "What''s that over there?"
The group saw a feather falling to the ground.
Someone said, "A feather?"
Takeshi Hayato stepped forward and said, "But how could a feather be here? Not even a fly can enter this place, let alone a bird.
"And this feather is strange. Feathers usually fall gradually, but this one dropped straight down."
Saying this, Takeshi Hayato extended his hand to pick it up, but suddenly—
Avinash appeared in a puff of smoke, smiled, and said, "Hello."
In his mind, he thought, So if anyone touches me, the substitute ends? Why wasn''t this crucial information in the description?
Takeshi Hayato was frozen in shock, standing still. He slowly asked, "Who are you? Roronoa Zoro?"
Avinash, now quite frustrated, realized that everyone around him had drawn their swords. Internally, he thought, *Am I in trouble? No, no. I''m in big trouble.
"My simple plan just got shredded to pieces. I think my bad luck is at maximum level."
But then, with a sudden smile, he thought, Wait, no. This can''t be. It seems like God accidentally helped me.
Takeshi Hayato, noticing the faint smoke rising around, asked, "What''s happening here?" He shouted loudly, "Everyone, pay attention! There''s something—"
But it was too late. One by one, everyone around collapsed unconscious, except for Avinash, who stared ahead and said, "So, we finally meet, Kurokami."