I Reincarnated As A Stick

Chapter 433: The Weight of One’s Decisions

After a moment of awkward silence spread between the two of them, Aurus eventually let out a long sigh as he asked, “So, what are the Gatherers of Fate?”

“Well, although they’re called the Gatherers of Fate, it would be better to say that they are where fate congregates,” Torvas replied. “Of course, I don’t mean it literally, but every action they do have a great impact on other people’s fates, either for better or for worse.”

“Then again, not all Gatherers of Fate have as great of an impact as others. Some could only affect a small group of people with their actions, while some could affect continents, worlds, perhaps even a galaxy’s worth of people with their actions,” he continued.

“Since you say that, what category do I fall into?” Aurus could not help but ask in response, getting the feeling that he would fall into the latter category. Fortunately, that did not happen as Torvas explained, “In your current state, you’d only be able to affect a small group of people. Then again, something like this is mostly measured once one is a Transcendent, so it isn’t certain that your actions would still only affect a small group in the future.”

“As long as it only affects a few people for now, that’s good… I think,” Aurus said in response, inwardly letting out a sigh of relief. After all, just the fact of knowing that he had the possibility to affect the lives of many people with just one careless move of his was quite nerve-wracking. If it was any other person or being, they would have definitely crumbled from the anxiety brought by that statement.

Moving on, the Heralds of Fate act as a guide for the Gatherers of Fate. Well, to be more exact, we correct the wrongs of the Gatherers, allowing them to get back on the right track,” Torvas continued explaining. “They also allow us to become more in touch with the element of Fate itself, bolstering our abilities as a Herald.”

“Hmm…” After Torvas was finished explaining, Aurus could not help but become silent as he tried to sum up his words. “So, if I’m getting this right, the reason why you gave me those prophecies in the first place is because I’m a Gatherer of Fate.”

“Correct.” Torvas nodded.

“And since a Gatherer of Fate allows you to connect with the element of Fate more, you want to form a relationship with me, which would allow you to become a stronger Herald of Fate, correct?” Aurus continued, to which Torvas wryly smiled in response. “Although you explained it in a perspective where it seems like I’m exploiting you, that is correct, yes.”

“Well, I guess that makes sense.” Aurus shrugged his shoulders, deciding to not think much about it. After all, fate was something that was way out of reach right now. Plus, it wouldn’t make much difference for him right now if he thought about it.

‘Though, the fact still stands that I have to consider my actions from now on,’ he thought to himself, remembering that his decisions now held substantial weight behind them. Well, they already held some weight before as he was the leader of the town, but it just increased due to him finding out he was a Gatherer of Fate.

‘Or would it be better to just let things happen when they happen?’ As he thought of this, another thought popped up into his mind, prompting him to ask Torvas, “Now that I think about it, is Gatherer of Fate a class?”

“Nope.” Torvas shook his head. “It’s just what we like to call those who have been given more importance by fate.”

“Given more importance, huh.” With that in mind, the two of them conversed for a bit more regarding other things, with Aurus even asking Torvas for some advice on the development of this town. Surprisingly, Torvas gave him great advice as he actually used to be the leader of a city back then. By the time their conversation was over, the pitcher of strawberry juice was empty.

Looking at Torvas with a smile, Aurus told him, “Thanks for the advice, Torvas. I’ll probably come back here next time when I’m unsure of something. Or perhaps, it might go the other way around.”

Chuckling, Torvas responded, “Perhaps. Nevertheless, I’ll most likely be here when you need me. After all, I can see part of your futures.”

“Alright, I’ll be leaving now,” Aurus said soon after, waving goodbye as he utilized all of his movement speed boosting spells and skills to head back to the Origin Pantheon as soon as possible. As for Torvas, who watched Aurus’s silhouette gradually disappear from his field of vision, he could not help but mutter, “I wonder how the world will turn out now that Argentum knows of his role.”

“Oh wait. He told me he changed his name to Aurus.”

…

With Aurus evolving to Grand-grade, it only took him around an hour or so to get back at the Origin Pantheon, seeing that Cardis was greeting the newcomers that had arrived from time to time. As Aurus’s silhouette appeared in Cardis’s field of vision, the latter could not help but look at him and ask with a smile, “So, how did it go with Torvas?”

“I think I’m going to be leaving this place with more questions rather than answers,” Aurus said in response, letting out a wry chuckle. “In any case, he did clear up some of the doubts I have in mind.”

“Speaking of which, where did that Altamir guy go?” he asked not long after, to which Cardis responded, “Oh, that guy that greeted you before I arrived? He’s probably at the Origin Statue right now, trying to increase his comprehension of the Origin.”

“I see.” Aurus nodded in response. “Well, by the next time I come here, I would probably look drastically different than before.”

“Well, I did notice that you evolved to Grand-grade while we were heading to the Origin Dens, so it wouldn’t be surprising if you came back here with greater power than before,” Cardis said in response, prompting Aurus’s eyes to widen in surprise from his words. Though, not long after, he let out a peal of laughter, to which Cardis let out laughter as well.

After exchanging a few more words of farewell, Aurus eventually left the Origin Pantheon, appearing at the spot where he was sometime ago. With the time difference between the Origin Pantheon and the world of Erudinia, around half an hour had only passed since then.

Checking once more to see if no one was following or tailing him, Aurus eventually returned to Verdant Breeze Town at his fastest speed, heading straight for the manor where he and a few others lived.

While he was making his way up, he could not help but come across Delmann, who seemed to be carrying a small stack of documents with him. Stopping him for a bit, Aurus told him, “Delmann, inform the important personnel that we’ll be holding an important meeting about a week or so from now. At the latest, it would be two weeks for now.”

“Understood, Sir Argentum.” Delmann nodded in response. “Would it be possible if you could tell me what we’re going to talk about during that meeting?”

With a smile, Aurus replied, “The town’s new development plan.”

Hearing that, Delmann seemed to have drunk some sort of tonic as he said with great enthusiasm, “Is that so, Sir Argentum? I’ll make sure to inform the others as soon as possible.”

And with that, he quickly left the manor, leaving Aurus in a daze for a bit before letting out a light chuckle as he soon entered his room.

Even though it was still empty, he sat down in the center of the room as he circulated a bit of his energy towards a certain spot in his body. After a while, this spot seemed to connect to four other beings, prompting Aurus to say, “I would like to tell you guys something.”

Ignoring the silence he received from the others, he continued, “I apologize for my behavior last night. It was only yesterday did I receive the news of that event, so I planned that meeting, I still hadn’t come to grips with what had happened. Of course, I don’t want to say that I have come to grips with it right now, but it’s just that I’ve thoroughly mulled over it. With that, I hope all of you can forgive me.”

“And here we thought Aurus wouldn’t apologize,” Eleanor said soon after Aurus was finished talking, making the other three chuckle in response. Just as Aurus was about to ask them in confusion, Rosalia decided to take the initiative, telling him, “We had a feeling you weren’t you last night, so we didn’t take those words to heart. After all, every being would go across those grievous events from time to time. Nevertheless, it seems that you’ve returned, so tell us your plans, Aurus.”

“Well, for the most part, it doesn’t really detract from the plan I’ve mentioned last night,” Aurus responded. “Once I become an Animate, my goal is to become a Super Animate, or better yet, an Ultra Animate. After I achieve that, Verdant Breeze Town will undergo a massive expansion, possibly becoming a giant city by the end of it.”

“It’s nice to see that my greatest fan is quite ambitious. However, how are you going to become a Super Animate? Or even an Ultra Animate? After all, from the tone of your voice, it seems that you aim to become one as fast as possible,” Helios said in response, his tone slightly suspicious of what Aurus is planning to do.

“Well, I’ll probably take 200 million gold coins from the Rank 9 Mana Stone we sold for me, Herellia, and Horell, utilizing that to buy the resources we need to quickly get stronger. However, there’s something I’m relying on that would allow to obtain the resources even millions and millions of gold can’t buy,” Aurus replied.

“And that would be…?” Helios asked in response.

With a light chuckle, Aurus told them.

“The Seraph Kingdom’s war for the throne!”