Chương 4: Destiny Rewritten

Ch 04 - Destiny Rewritten The game capsule was built with advanced technology that allowed players to fully dive into the game and experience the virtual world as if they were truly living inside it. The hardware delivered stunning graphics, making every place, object, and character feel almost identical to the real world. It also came equipped with touch and pain receptors, allowing players to physically feel everything that happened inside the game. Even so, the pain was nowhere near the level of real life.

By default, it was set to only 5%, and players could increase it up to a maximum of 30% if they wished. The limitation existed to prevent serious physical and mental stress while ensuring the experience remained safe. The capsule could also replicate the body's other senses with incredible accuracy. Taste, smell, hearing, and even subtle sensations such as temperature and air pressure were all faithfully reproduced inside the virtual world.

Every bite of food had its own flavor, every flower carried its own fragrance, and every gust of wind felt real against the skin. The experience was so immersive that people could easily forget about the outside world while they were inside the game. For those few hours, the virtual world no longer felt like a game. It felt like reality itself. Jester slowly regained his vision as the familiar forest where he had last logged out came into view. The last thing he remembered was standing beside the river…

And if he recalled correctly, hadn't there been seven women bathing there?

"Am I still in the same place? Where did those seven women go?" He scanned the area around him. It was definitely the same forest, yet he could no longer hear the sound of the flowing river. It seemed he had been thrown out of the cave domain he had entered earlier. [You have 99+ new notifications.] A game panel suddenly appeared in front of him.

"99+ notifications?" Jester froze for a moment. Ever since he had logged into the game, he had never seen the notification counter climb anywhere near that number before. He opened the notification window, eager to find out what rewards, achievements, and unexpected surprises had been waiting for him. He stood frozen as he read the notifications appearing one after another before his eyes.

"What... had… happened?" He swallowed hard. Whatever had happened inside that strange domain, it was clearly far beyond anything an ordinary player was supposed to experience. [You have successfully obtained the Divine Artifact: Veil of Endless Chaos, once worn by Zetia, the Goddess of Chaos.] [The artifact has acknowledged you as its current bearer.] [A permanent bond has been established. Ownership cannot be transferred unless the current bearer dies.] [Warning: Your existence has begun to intertwine with the authority of the Goddess of Chaos.] [Warning: This event has permanently altered your existence.]"What. The. Fuck?" [Divinity Acquired] [You have inherited a fragment of Zetia's Divine Authority.] [The Divinity has fused with your soul and cannot be removed, transferred, sealed, or discarded. This effect will remain active until the user's permanent death.]"Divinity...? The Veil...?" Jester muttered under his breath.

"The white cloth I picked up by accident yesterday... somehow ended up becoming mine. And it turns out it's something this incredible?" Without hesitation, he opened his inventory. The neatly folded white veil was still resting in one of the slots.

"I... actually took that thing from..." His eyes slowly widened. This book was originally published on Royal Road. Check it out there for the real experience.

"... the Goddess of Chaos?" His breathing became heavier as he continued reading. [Chaos Awakened] [The Veil of Endless Chaos has adapted to its new bearer.] [The order that once governed your existence has been shattered. Your path now partially overlaps with that of the Goddess of Chaos.] [Your future can no longer be predicted through ordinary means. Every choice you make carries the potential to reshape reality itself.] [Synchronization Rewards Granted.] Another notification appeared before he could even process the previous one. [Class Evolution] [Hidden conditions fulfilled. Your class has evolved.] [Clown → Evil Clown] Then another. [Level Up!] [Level 10 → Level 11] [Level 11 → Level 12]... [Level 24 → Level 25] [You have reached Level 25!]"Wait!!" Jester froze once again. He had been so distracted by the notifications that he had not even checked his updated status. Sure enough, his level had skyrocketed all the way to Level 25. Even his class had changed.

Evil Clown. [You have received: Crimson Grin Visage | Epic | Costume] He opened the character appearance window. The familiar 3D model slowly rotated before him. Normally, Jester looked like an ordinary circus clown. His bright orange hair curled wildly around his head, a round red nose sat at the center of his face, and he wore white clothing with oversized striped pants that made him look more ridiculous than intimidating. Now… He barely recognized himself.

His messy orange hair had darkened into deep crimson with streaks of black running through it. The bright red clown nose remained, but it now looked polished like dark ruby, standing out against his unnaturally pale skin. The cheerful white costume had transformed into a long black tailcoat decorated with crimson patterns that resembled dripping paint. His oversized pants had become slim black trousers tucked neatly into polished leather boots, making him appear taller and far more agile.

Most unsettling of all was the mask-like smile permanently painted across his face. Even when his expression remained completely serious, the corners of his lips stayed slightly raised, creating the eerie illusion that he was always smiling.

"Wait..." Jester's mind went completely blank as an overwhelming amount of information flooded into his head all at once. He had not even finished reading all of the notifications, yet his thoughts were already in complete chaos. He had... accidentally stolen the Veil of the Goddess of Chaos? Shouldn't that count as an unbelievable crime? It wasn't like he had planned any of this. He had simply happened to be there, happened to grab the white veil among the seven pieces of cloth lying nearby......

and somehow, the one he picked belonged to the Goddess of Chaos herself. What kind of absurd luck was that? On top of that, his class had evolved into Evil Clown.

"... Although..." He paused for a second.

"The name is actually pretty cool." At least it was no longer just Clown. The word Evil in front of it made the class sound far more intimidating, like the kind of villain that appeared in the final chapter of a story. Still... This had to be because of the Divine Artifact, right? A Divine-grade artifact. A genuine Divine-grade artifact! Among all the item ranks that existed in the game, the order had always been: Common, Rare, Elite, Epic, Legendary, Mythic, Arcane... and finally, Divine.

Divine was the highest possible item grade in the entire game. Jester felt cold sweat slowly run down his back. He honestly did not know whether he should celebrate or panic. It felt as though an unimaginably huge treasure had suddenly fallen into his lap, yet at the same time, it also felt like he had unknowingly accepted an enormous burden. It reminded him of the game capsule that had unexpectedly arrived at his house with Lina.

What had first seemed like unbelievable good fortune now carried the unsettling feeling that something much bigger was waiting in the shadows. Divine-grade equipment was more than just the rarest category of item. It was the absolute pinnacle. As far as Jester knew, not a single player possessed an artifact of that rank. In fact, he was fairly certain that no one had even obtained a Mythic-grade item yet, at least based on every update, forum discussion, and world announcement he had seen since the game launched.

Yet somehow… He had skipped every tier in between and ended up holding an artifact that should have been impossible for any player to obtain. Curious, Jester retrieved the veil from his inventory. The moment it appeared, instead of resting quietly in his hand, the white cloth suddenly shot behind him. The white veil darted away before it could be caught. It zipped to one side, then to the other, circling around him several times. Yet it was not trying to escape.

Instead, it seemed capable of moving on its own, almost as if it had a will of its own. Jester immediately checked the item's information. [Veil of Endless Chaos | Divine] [Bound to Jester, its destined and faithful owner.] [Description: A divine artifact born from primordial chaos, embodying endless possibilities, disorder, and unpredictable change.] No matter how hard he searched for more details, he found nothing beyond the item's name and its short description.

There were no additional effects, abilities, or hidden explanations. Perhaps that alone was proof that the artifact itself was extraordinary. Finding nothing else to learn, Jester tried to return the veil to his inventory.

"Let's see what skills I gained after becoming an Evil Clown." Before he could open his status, however, he instinctively reached for the veil that was still drifting through the air. The instant his fingers touched it, something unexpected happened. A dark energy flowed from his hand and spread across the pure white cloth. Jester quickly grabbed the veil with both hands as the darkness continued to spread, nearly changing its entire color.

"The veil turned dark! Is... is this a bad sign?" Moments later, the cloth began to twist tightly around itself. Its soft fabric gradually hardened, reshaping into a long and unfamiliar form. [The Divine Veil was adapting itself to its owner, transforming into the form that best resonated with the one it had chosen.] [The Divine Veil has undergone a transformation.]