Chris walked out of the spaceship, his thoughts full of the race he had just experienced. He thought about the death-defying obstacles, the cheers of the crowd that bordered on worship, and the glory and sense of achievement of the winner, O'Connor.
The latter's driving skill was ruthless and reckless, full of determination to do whatever it took to be the winner, similar to Chris' style in his youth. And after watching that race, he felt his passion for the sport reignited.
"If you decide to return to the track, you can contact me," said Cruz. "I know an excellent trainer I can introduce you to." Chris distractingly nodded his head before returning home.
The entire time, all he could think about was whether he should change his goal in life from becoming an Arcanist to a driving champion. Instead of waiting decades to gather the money needed for the potion, it might be in his best interest to follow this path.
By becoming a champion, he would get access to wealth and glory. And later on, he could use his earnings from the race to finally buy the potion and become an Arcanist.
This path was perfect for him.
After making a decision, Chris felt relieved, as if a burden had been lifted from his shoulder. He took a step toward the bathroom to wash before suddenly stopping.
'No. My dream has always been to wield magic. Why would I give up now?'
Chris remembered when wizards revealed themselves to the world. The entire planet changed overnight on that day: it became brighter, less mundane, and more magical. Chris can still remember the envy he felt towards these wizards.
And not long afterward, the first magetech technology appeared: it was a flying broom that anyone could use. He waited in line for more than 8 hours before getting his hand on.
When that broom flew into the sky, his pure joy was unlike anything he had sensed in his entire life.
Time passed, and he witnessed wizards rapidly being integrated into society; they were everywhere in the news. And because the news by then was mostly negative and about true history, most people would only watch the few channels that displayed the positive image of wizards.
Then, Chris witnessed the Dementor Invasion. During this time, he finally learned of magic's dark side and cruelty. Nevertheless, his desire for it only increases. And magetech could no longer satisfy his appetite.
Time continued to flow like a river, and the Empire was established after humanity understood the terror of the universe and magic. News of Project Magician was secretly released to the public, giving hope to many people with the same goal as Chris.
After waiting for more than 30 years, the project was completed. But he did not have any magical talent and failed his test, crushing his hope and dream. After that test, Chris almost went into a dark corner of his mind, but he persevered with his Willpower; he believed the Empire would one day have a way for him to achieve his dream.
So, he waited.
When the Gate of Truth appeared and he was given hope at wielding extraordinary power, he took the chance. It was revealed he had a low affinity with energy control, so he could not use the Gate to become an Arcane Sorcerer. Nevertheless, he was satisfied with only being able to use basic transmutation, as this was another form of magic.
The greatest day of his life was when the Empire announced the existence of the Dragon Potion. He knew that his chance had finally arrived, and he only had to wait. Bind his time, do his job, and save as much as possible. Then, he would accomplish his goal, and his future would be bright.
For this goal, he did not marry or have any relationship despite being in his 80s. He was dedicated to being successful before even starting a family.
Chris felt all his life flashing in his eyes. He did not think he would give up so quickly after a moment of excitement.
"Maybe my mental health is declining," he muttered before looking at his golem, Angela. He pondered whether he should use the Psycho-Analysis Module to help with his mental issue. All citizen golems essentially had a therapy mode to help them watch out for their mental health.
'Better yet, let's talk to someone,' thought Chris, commanding Angela to contact the National Mental Service and asking for a meeting with a licensed therapist. And immediately, he received an online appointment for an hour later.
Chris went to shower before logging in to the Virtual Web for his meeting. He found himself in a room with a couch and a young woman with dark skin and curly hair sitting opposite him with a pen and paper.
"You look familiar," commented Chris.
"You probably saw me on TV," she replied.
"You're Doctor Shenice King, considered the best Spiritual Arcanist of the Empire and a great advocate for mental health issues."
Chris has seen this woman on television and read about her. Not only was she a Tier 6 Arcanist, a Tower Master, but she was also famous in the early rise of the Empire. She was always on some network advocating for better mental health laws or policies.
She argued that mental health needed to be an essential part of the Empire's growth because of the rapid development of technology, magic, and society in general; she argued it was necessary to help the citizens better adapt.
Doctor King is responsible for the Pyscho-Analysis Mode used in Chris' golem, along with the one used by many Tower Masters through their Tower Spirit.
"One of the best," replied Dr. King with a gentle smile.
"I thought someone like you would be doing research or speaking at some conference."
"I've always believed in personally treating patients. And one of the advantages of being a therapist with Godly powers is that I can divide my mind into millions to help as many people as possible."
"That must be nice."
Dr. King noticed the slight envy in his tone. "So, Chris, what brings you to see me today?"
Chris hesitated for a moment before telling everything that occurred–including his illegal activities. He also talked to her about the possible life crisis he just had, how he suddenly changed his mind and abandoned his decade-long dream.
Dr. King immediately felt something was wrong, so she used her authority to look out for the government's official data gathered on Chris, including an analysis of his personality.
Determine, driving, hard-working, patient or forbearing, and ambitious.
'Such a person would never have such a sudden change.'
"If you don't mind, could you use a Soul Connection to link to the Virtual Network?"
"Is something wrong?" hurriedly asked Chris.
"Maybe."
Chris hesitated before logging out and logging back on using Soul Link instead of a Neural Link. Immediately, Dr. King began to use her expertise to analyze his soul.
"As expected."
"What is it?"
"Someone or something placed a compelling Spiritual Hint into your soul."
"Spiritual Hint? Why?"
"I don't know exactly. But its purpose seems to influence your choice of career."
"They did this to make me become a driver? But that doesn't make sense."
"Indeed–especially since the spell on was par with a Tier 5 Arcanist. What's more surprising is that you broke through the spell on your own," she analyzed with great surprise. "How did you do it?"
"I don't know."
"Is there something special about you, or did something happen to the Caster?" She did a quick scan of his soul but could not detect anything.
"Definitely the former."
"Maybe," she replied. "I will report your situation."
"Am I going to get in trouble?"
"No. The people behind that race will have to shut down since they broke the rules. But nothing will happen to you."
"That's a relief."
"Alright. Let's continue our research."
…
In some Demiplane, two shadow figures communicated. One was kneeling on a knee, bowing to the other.
"Master, the plan against Chris Tiu failed."
"Tell me something I don't know, you waste," replied the standing figure.