[Vol. 8] Chapter 173: The Reconnection of Fate
As for the other heroes, Hongyan the Hero of Dominion, Bowen Bernard the Hero of Humanity, Ayla Light the Hero of Wisdom, and even Shadow. Violet had already arranged for each of them to be guided by highly skilled and experienced instructors.
If there’s one thing Violet has plenty of, it’s connections with powerful people. So training a few Chosen Heroes is no big deal for her.
With her identity as an official Hero Instructor, recognized by the Holy Empire and appointed by the Goddess herself, and with her growing reputation and fame, even though most of these young heroes had just met her, none of them dared to show the slightest disrespect.
That said, Violet didn’t interfere too much in their actions. Other than traveling together when necessary, she left decisions to Elunie, the hero and team leader. She truly lived up to the idea of letting them grow on their own.
Even now, the travel plans they were discussing weren’t something she decided alone. They were openly talking it through together.
“Right now, we have two possible plans,” Violet began. “The first is what I mentioned earlier, we take the main road to Saint Laos City, rest and restock there, gather information, and then look for a chance to enter the ruins. That’s the basic idea…”
As she looked around at the group listening quietly, Violet lifted her hand and traced the air above the magical map. The terrain zoomed out to its original size, and a glowing green travel path appeared where she pointed.
“But I think you all noticed. Although this route is safe and follows the main road the whole way, because it passes by a tributary of the Xinghe River, we’ll need to cross a river and take a long detour. In the end, this might take even more time than the journey we just finished.”
As soon as she said that, the energetic and easily bored Chloe the Mage immediately cried out in frustration.
“Huh? More wagon riding? My butt’s already sore from all the bumping around! Amazing Miss Violet, use your super map and find us a better way!”
Violet chuckled softly, clearly expecting this reaction. She nodded.
“Actually, I don’t really like being stuck in a wagon all day either. And since we still don’t know what’s going on in the ruins, the sooner we get there, the better we’ll be able to deal with whatever’s waiting. So, there’s a second option.”
As she spoke, she waved her hand again, and a new path appeared, completely different from the last one, much shorter, and almost perfectly straight.
After staring at this new route for a moment, one of the members of the hero team. A large, muscular tiger beastman with scholar’s robes and a serious expression, couldn’t help but frown.
“Miss Violet! This new route really would save us a lot of time… but don’t you think it’s a bit too risky? Most of the way is fine, but the Chaos Magic Valley… that place is extremely dangerous.”
“As far as I know, any creature that enters the valley. No matter their power, skill, or race, will lose the ability to use magic completely. If anyone tries to absorb or use even a tiny bit of magic, their power goes out of control and causes deadly backlash. Some may even explode on the spot. Even magical items placed there for a short time stop working and become useless. It’s a very strange place.”
“The only ones who can pass through safely are beings who are naturally cut off from magic and can’t use it at all… but our team…”
“W-What? A place that scary really exists?”
Chloe, wearing her large wizard hat, immediately turned pale. She glanced nervously at her precious staff beside her and started feeling uneasy.
Among everyone in the group, Chloe, being a mage, relied on magic the most. Magic was a part of her daily life. If what the tiger beastman said was true and no magic could be used in Chaos Magic Valley, then it would be pure torture for any magic user.
Forget fighting, daily spells like [Clean], [Dry], or [Create Drinking Water] all needed a bit of magic. Even though it wasn’t a lot, it wasn’t nothing. Not to mention, she had several magical items on her, including a storage ring, all filled with magic. If they all broke just because she walked through that valley, she’d cry for sure.
Just thinking about that made her lose all motivation to support the faster route. Her enthusiasm instantly disappeared, and she sat quietly, unsure what to say.
It seemed Violet wasn’t surprised at all by the doubt expressed. She simply glanced at the tiger beastman scholar sitting by the campfire next to one of the Heaven Heroes and smiled.
“Don’t beastmen normally fight without using magic, relying only on their physical strength? Even those witch-like or secret techniques you use supposedly don’t run on magic, right? So this place shouldn’t affect you or Mevis at all, should it?”
The tiger scholar nodded but firmly explained.
“That’s true, but most of our team still depends on magic to fight. Chloe, Zachary, the Hero herself, and even you, all of you use magic. If we go into that place, our team’s combat strength will be seriously weakened. It’s too risky.”
“In my opinion, we should think this over carefully before making a decision.”
Oh wow—Violet never thought she’d hear the phrase “think this over carefully” coming from a tiger beastman. That was more shocking than seeing an eye grow out of the moon. She knew all too well what beastmen were usually like.
But for this guy, somehow it made perfect sense.
In fact, even Violet herself hadn’t expected that a casual decision she made years ago would actually bear fruit now.
It’s important to say again, this tiger beastman wasn’t a warrior or a tank in the party. He was a scholar.
Normally, the scholar class required a lot of knowledge, quick thinking, and strong learning abilities. Among beastmen, only foxes or dragons might occasionally have that kind of intelligence. For a tiger to be a scholar. It was like saying fire is made of water. Totally unlikely.
But the world is full of strange things. With so many people and possibilities, you really do see all kinds.
Violet actually already knew this tiger beastman. In fact, he was one of the very first living beings she met after arriving in this world.
His name was Kunnir.
Back when she first came to this world, Violet had helped Lilya during a war with the Western Beast Kingdom. It was on that battlefield that she met Kunnir for the first time. He was the commander of a supply team and was killed by a legendary adventurer named Scarlet Flame Flora.
But later, Violet secretly brought him back to life and let him go.
That was actually the first time she ever used resurrection magic. She wanted to test how the spell worked, and also thought it would be useful to plant someone inside the beastmen’s ranks. Plus, she was curious, Kunnir was a strange one, a beastman who loved to read. She wondered what kind of interesting things might happen if she let him live.
Later, in the Azure Sky Kingdom, Violet ran into Kunnir again by chance. This time, he had already learned proper manners and surprisingly knew several foreign languages. Because of that, he was sent to attend the birthday celebration of the Feather Emperor, accompanying a half-dragon princess from the Beast Kingdom.
That really surprised Violet.
Even though she was shocked, Violet always had a clear attitude toward Kunnir: don’t interfere, don’t influence. Just let things play out naturally. So she didn’t try to get involved again.
When the Withering Goddess invaded the Azure Sky Kingdom, Kunnir’s boss, the half-dragon princess Rosa, chose to betray her country and side with the enemy to gain power. But Kunnir, along with the little fox girl Mevis, actually helped the Azure Sky Kingdom and joined the fight to restore order. Violet still remembered this clearly.
Because of that, after the crisis was over, the Beast Kingdom’s delegation, which Kunnir was part of, was treated kindly. The half-dragon princess only had to pay a huge ransom before being allowed to return home.
Later, the Goddess of Life, Sethlin, even talked to Violet about this, praising Kunnir’s wisdom. She believed that helping the Azure Sky Kingdom wasn’t betrayal, it was a strategic move to give both Rosa and the Beast Kingdom a way out. That way, no matter how things turned out, the Beast Kingdom wouldn’t be seen as the enemy.
Looking back, that’s exactly how things played out. If Kunnir hadn’t stepped in, the half-dragon princess who caused all that trouble would never have been let go so easily.
Violet had to admit, she was impressed by this tiger man’s cleverness. But after her trip to the Azure Sky Kingdom, she left to travel elsewhere and never saw Kunnir again… until now.
A few more years passed, and just as Violet was meeting more and more people and things, slowly beginning to forget that strange and unusual tiger man… he suddenly appeared in her life again.
That’s right, Kunnir had somehow ended up participating in the Holy Empire’s Chosen Hero Trials, and he even brought along that other comrade, the little fox girl Mevis, who seemed to have become quite close with him.
Not only did the two of them take part in the trials, but they also advanced through the rounds with surprising strength and made it all the way to the third and final trial. At that time, they were placed at the Path of Underworld and Asura respectively, clearly standing out from the rest.
Unfortunately, although Mevis was a Blessed One of the [Death Omen Star] and had the power of a legendary-level fighter, she was still a bit weaker than Hongyan, the Hero of Dominion. But Kunnir surprised everyone. In the trials, he showed incredible intelligence and ability, a huge leap forward from how he had been in the Azure Sky Kingdom. You could even call it an “evolution.” Violet spent a long time struggling to choose between him and Ayla, the Hero of Wisdom.
But… being a Chosen Hero meant you were no longer tied to your country or race. Still, the Beast Kingdom was an enemy of Human United Kingdom, and they were even at war now. Violet couldn’t fully understand why these two beastfolk came to join the trials, so she had to think more carefully.
Especially because Mevis, who was always with Kunnir, had strong ties to a high-ranking elder of the Beast Kingdom, the Grand Priest Saharit, an old and powerful fox. Violet didn’t see the Beast Kingdom as her enemy, but while Kunnir was smart for a tiger, he still didn’t have the same depth or experience as Ayla, a scholar who had lived for over two hundred years. Since Ayla was clearly the better choice, Violet didn’t want to take unnecessary risks.
Still… as the saying goes, “gold will shine eventually.” Even though Kunnir didn’t become a Chosen Hero, he and Mevis stood out in the recruitment for the hero teams later on, and in the end, they actually became teammates of Elunie, the Heaven Hero, and joined this journey.
Maybe… this was fate. Ever since that first meeting in the Beast Kingdom, Violet and these two were meant to cross paths again someday. It was hard not to feel emotional about it.
When Kunnir raised his concern, the black-haired girl next to him hadn’t responded yet. But then Mevis, who had been quietly trimming her nails in the corner, her big fluffy tail glowing softly in the firelight, looked up.
She glanced at Violet, who was leading the discussion. A strange light flickered in her beautiful fox-like eyes, mixed with respect. Then she spoke up, in slightly broken but clear Human United Kingdom language.
“Even though… it sounds very dangerous… but since she suggested it… I think… it’s okay.”
Among the people involved in the discussion, Mia and Selna, the two maids, weren’t considered part of the combat team. Xiao Guang was a dragon god, so she wasn’t concerned about the ‘Chaos Magic Valley’ effect either.
So this topic was really about Elunie’s hero team, and the small Spirit Hero sitting quietly to Violet’s right. Someone whose true identity was hidden from the outside world.
Now that she was officially a Chosen Hero, Violet wouldn’t let the little one remain just a pretty decoration who didn’t understand anything.
“Eudora, what do you think?”
“Me…?”
The pink-haired little girl, who had been quietly nibbling on a biscuit, blinked in surprise when Violet suddenly looked at her. She pointed at herself in confusion.
“Sister Violet… Can I really join in the grown-ups’ discussion?”
Violet gave her a gentle smile.
“Of course. Don’t you remember what I told you before? You’re not just a kid who hides behind adults anymore. You need to learn to think for yourself, make your own decisions, and one day, stand on your own. So go ahead, say what’s on your mind.”
“Um…”
Feeling everyone’s eyes on her, Eudora quickly swallowed her food and sat up straight like a student being tested. She tilted her head, thinking hard for a moment, then carefully said:
“Um… Sister Fox used to tell me… that a lot of things that seem scary or mysterious… actually aren’t that special once you understand how they work. She said the scariest enemy in this world is always the unknown…”
“I don’t really understand everything she said… but Sister Fox is very smart, just like Sister Violet. She’s always right. So I think… maybe that place called the Chaos Magic Valley… isn’t as scary as Uncle Kunnir said. We won’t know… unless we try it first, right?”