Black String of Fate

[Ouch. That hurt. Careful with your words now, I might deduct your rewards…]

"Oh, right! The rewards. I heard from this girl that you can bestow a second Innate gift upon somebody, is that true?"

Looking at the expectant shiny eyes of Xavier, the administrator smiled with pride as he said,

[Huhu, you underestimate me, little Xavier.]

"I'm mentally an old man, don't call me 'little'."

[Oh leave it, you're not even a hundred yet. You are still a toddler in front of me.]

"Can we get to the rewards, please?" Seraphina interjected between the two, bringing back the topic on hand. It felt weird to see Xavier acting like old friends with a godly entity like the administrator.

'You're supposed to be mindful and extremely cautious in front of these tricky, innocent-acting, chaotic god-like beings, yet this idiot is acting buddy-buddy with someone who put him in these various trials in the first place. Is he stupid or does he not care?'

[Right, the rewards… Usually, those who clear the trials are awarded with a random reward best suited, or rather, meant for them. It's like changing their destiny and rewriting their fate. Some get a system, some get a legendary weapon, and some even get an OP summon that can later transform into beautiful girls. Heck, people sometimes get a legendary weapon that transforms into beautiful girls!]

"Everything except the simple legendary weapon sounds weird as fuck to me."

"I'm ashamed to admit it, but it does not to me."

Before Xavier could look at Seraphina with extremely confused and judgemental eyes, the administrator continued,

[But you guys are different. Your chains of fate were already broken, albeit slightly, before you entered these trials. Coming here had the exponential effect of crumbling your destiny even further, and the trial system surprisingly decided to give you the fateless trial. Now, after performing exceptionally in even that, and looking at your collective results, you both are granted one wish each.

Do note that you can only ask for rewards, so don't get into stupid wordplays. And, it should be reasonable, if you ask for something like unlimited power or multiple cheats for yourself, I'll just reject it.]

"Damn, although that last part seems shady, the rewards are quite good, considering your capabilities that we've witnessed. Haha, this seems even better than just an Innate Gift!"

"So, you mean to say you are granting one wish each, so two wishes in total, is that right?"

[Hmm, yes. One from each of you.]

Xavier, who was pretty excited about getting his wish granted, fell silent as he looked towards Seraphina. He looked into her eyes, he had seen them before.

"...You truly are a crafty witch."

It was the same eyes whenever she cooked up a devious plan.

"Xavier, shall we discuss a bit? I'll tell you the Innate Gift I want. Ask for the both of us, and I'll ask for a reward for us worth more than any Innate Gift." Seraphina smiled and proposed this idea, to which Xavier immediately nodded in agreement.

The administrator also knew what they were thinking about, but didn't say anything. This much was fine, otherwise it wouldn't be fun.

**********

[So, you want the Innate Gift of Celestial Mind, the one which Seraphina has, and also wish to grant Seraphina your Innate Gift, the Primordial Devourer Physique?]

"Yes, that is right. Apparently, the price of Seraphina's Innate Gift made her unable to raise her strength beyond the Uninitiate rank, even though mages typically could use mana to appropriately strengthen themselves. That's why she's stuck with her fate as a glass cannon."

"Was adding glass cannon necessa-"

"And, I'm apparently unable to sense even a hint of mana. It's to the point that I can't awaken if I don't eat up some mana sources. While it isn't a big problem in the warrior path, my path to magic is completely blocked. I decided to become a Paragon in this life, so I'll most definitely need that."

[Hmm, alright. This is a perfectly good choice. While having two innate gifts is a pretty powerful advantage, it's not ridiculously unfair. This will count as Xavier's wish, Seraphina, what's yours? Do mind that it cannot be too much, I'm already bending the rules.]

"What do you take me for? Anyway, I want the [Status Screen] for both of us."

"Hm? What's that?"

[Oh, not a system? Just a part of it?]

"I know you will not reward us with that since you've already agreed to the Innate Gift. You're not that generous."

[And you thought correct. You guys… You have really milked the most out of these rewards already. Just the Status Screen is fine since it'll only show your stats and not significantly interfere. Is that all? You can still change your decisions.]

"We're good. This is enough."

"Hey hey, wait a second. What the fuck is a 'Status Screen'? What are 'stats'? I'm telling you, magician, if you dare scam me-"

"Relax, you'll know once you get it. It's a useful thing, I swear."

Xavier begrudgingly backed off, dissatisfied by being kept in such a mystery. He looked towards the administrator who also mysteriously smiled.

"Fine, I'll see it for myself. I'm at least getting the Innate Gift."

[Okay, I'll take this as confirmation. Now, off you go!]

The administrator snapped his fingers and all three of them slowly started to fade away. Xavier looked down from the clouds and saw the world also fading away in motes of light.

"...Welp, turns out the world really wasn't real. I must say, these trials were unlike any dungeon I've ever ventured into."

"You'll be surprised when you find out what these trials really are."

Xavier looked towards Seraphina fading away, lost in her thoughts. While he knew that she, being one of the greatest mages to ever live, held more knowledge of the secrets of this world, it still felt like there was something more.

'Oh well, why do I care? It's not like she means harm to me now. Even if she does, she can't do anything about it. I'm me, in all my glory.'

"I'll find out eventually… or I won't. I don't really care that much. But still, it was fun having you around. This trial… It has given me a lot more than just these rewards. If you have decided to walk the path you showed your determination to walk, we'll meet again.

Well then, see ya."

Xavier completely transformed into the lights and disappeared, leaving Seraphina alone for a few moments.

"What a guy. Just how big of a role he'll play this time around?

Unexpectedly, I'm also looking forward to that…"

Seraphina smiled as she also completely disappeared, finally marking the end of these trials.