Child of Destiny

…

The class stood at the entrance of the field for the next stage of the course and stared at what was in front of them. The expression on their faces turned weird with every passing second as they stared at the sight ahead.

There were no noticeable traps in the field ahead. But there was something seemingly more troublesome standing on their path. What they saw was a group of humanoid things standing on the field and seemingly waiting for them to step forward.

“Clay Golems and Mechanical Puppets?” commented one of the students while having a grave look on his face.

If those golems and puppets were just ordinary ones that were usually used in training, then they would not have that kind of reaction. But from the threatening feeling that they were getting from those golems and puppets, the class could tell that they will get seriously hurt if they try to mess with those.

Moreover, the class also noticed another thing – these clay golems and mechanical puppets seemed to be targeting a specific individual or group based on what they could see.

There were not many of them, but based on their numbers, the class seemed to suspect that each of them was targeting the groups of students within the class as well as the others who chose to go solo.

“Looks like this is meant to test our choice whether it is good or not,” muttered Jillian as she looked ahead.

“Which one is ours then?” asked Arthur as he was trying to look for the golem or puppet that was targeting them. But even after a few moments, he could not find them.

“You can try by stepping on the field. I am sure that the ones designated to test us will quickly charge at you once you did,” commented Leonard as he calmly looked ahead.

“Whether it is a clay golem or a mechanical puppet, we can just smash them and advance!” declared Lorraine as she was itching to fight.

Shin, on the other hand, was calmly standing on the side. He had the same assessment as Jillian and was also looking for the ones that could possibly target them alongside Arthur. And after a few moments without finding anything, he gave up on it and just turned his head toward the rest of the class.

He could see them making their respective preparations for the upcoming battle. He could only sigh as the looked at them before shaking his head.

He then turned in the direction where their crazy training instructor was sitting leisurely underneath the shade of the tree. He was thinking about how ruthless this old man could be.

This was just the ‘first’ lap, yet they were thoroughly getting exhausted already. Moreover, they were expected to run four more laps at the very least before going to the meditation training that the old man prepared for them.

Shin could not help but sympathize with the first group of the class, who were meant to run through this field for as long as they could. He was suspecting that this crazy old man was trying to kill his students through exhaustion rather than training them.

“Will the difficulty of the course will remain the same or will it adjust in every lap according to our forms?” said Alice, telling the others her thoughts.

Her words were quite soft and quiet, but the whole class heard them. It was at that moment when everyone was reminded that they had to run through the entire course a few more times until the end of the class.

The second group, that were meant to run four more laps after this, was wearing serious looks on their faces while the first group, who had to run through the entire course repeatedly, were already sweating bullets and currently having second thoughts about whether their choice of coming here was the right one.

After observing everyone for a couple of minutes, Shin led the others to distance themselves away. Regardless of the purpose of his part of the course, they were still in the race. And the other groups and individuals were competitors that could sabotage them at any given moment.

Even if Shin was thinking that this might be too early for that, there was no harm in being careful. After all, ‘unexpected’ and ‘accidents’ could always happen anytime.

Not long after, the class started moving forward. This time around, they were not going to wait for the others to take the first move and observe from the distance. They had already gathered enough information, so they could only worry about themselves for the time being.

Moreover, they could also check on the progress of the other groups and certain individuals from time to time while fighting.

Right after everyone crossed a certain line within the field, the clay golems and mechanical puppets quickly made their moves. They responded with the movement of the class and started moving toward their respective targets.

Seeing the direction of where those golems and puppets were heading, the class confirmed that this stage was going to be way different from the rest of the course.

Bang! Bang!

Explosive sounds could be heard in different parts of the field as both sides made their moves. It came from the side of the students as well as the golems and puppets.

Boom!

Then a much larger explosion could be heard as the two sides collided against each other. Different collisions and clashes occurred within the field, creating chaos that resembled a war.

Some of the students that got carried away by their emotions could not help but shout while charging at the golems or puppets standing in front of them. 𝗯𝐞𝗱𝐧𝗼𝐯𝐞𝗹.𝗰𝗼𝗺

…

In a certain part of the field, Shin and the group were currently advancing forward while maintaining their formation.

Leonard and Arthur were spearheading their formation with Shin closely following behind. Then there was Cloe behind him with Alice and Jillian standing on her side. Molton and Lorraine were standing side by side at the rear as they observed their surroundings with sharp eyes.

Ahead of them, A huge clay golem was blocking their path and seemingly waiting for them to reach it. There were also a pair of mechanical puppets standing on each of its sides, which had the same height as an average human.

Shin observed the golem and the puppets with his ‘True Sight’ but could not accurately gauge their strengths no matter how hard and thoroughly he looked at them.

Even Arthur, who was using his ‘Dragon Eyes’ ocular technique, was furrowing his brows quite deeply. He could not tell how strong or how advanced these ‘things’ standing on their path.

This was the problem that almost everyone would encounter when facing a clay golem and mechanic puppets. But given that the golem and the puppets were meant to counter their group, Shin could at least guess the major strength and abilities that they were supposed to have.

While everyone was getting ready for the battle, Molton’s voice suddenly rang from behind. “There is another one hiding somewhere.”

The group suddenly halted in their tracks when they heard his words before waiting for him to continue. “I am not entirely sure, but by Spiritual Sense is picking up another threat lingering in the air.”

Shin did not turn his head as he was keeping an eye on the three ‘opponents’ waiting for them upfront. But he tilted his head to the side, trying to confirm Molton’s assumption.

He was also keeping his Spiritual Sense active, but he could not pick up the ‘threat’ that Molton was saying. He could not help but doubt it a little but did not disregard the possibility.

Since it was either a clay golem or a mechanical puppet, Shin could not feel their ‘presence’ but he could at least feel the movements in the surroundings. But regardless of how sensitive he was, he could not find that ‘thing’ that Molton had found.

Seemingly able to tell what Shin was currently thinking, Jillian explained. “My brother’s spiritual sense is a little special compared to most of the mentalists. Instead of feeling the ‘presence’ and ‘movements’ in the surroundings, he can tell the threat that can possibly harm him.”

Since she was planning to join this group, she had to tell them what she and her brother could do to let them understand each other more.

Even though they had worked together before, the group was still not overly familiar with the two of them, so she took this opportunity to let the others understand them more. She could tell them anything aside from the secrets that could not be known to others.

Shin did not ask any questions nor doubt Molton anymore and just nodded his head in understanding. He thought for a moment before saying to the group. “It seems like the big guy is meant to deal with you, guys.”

“If there are two or three mechanical puppets around and they had similar levels of strength, then it is most likely targeting me and these two,” he added as he pointed at Leornard and Arthur.

He could instantly tell what the crazy old man was thinking after seeing the setup. Old Man Lin want to see how everyone would perform if the three of them, who were the strongest among the group, were put out of the equation.

The old man seemingly wanted to know whether the group was only being carried by the three of them or the others were just being overshadowed by their radiance.

Shin pursed his lips a little before giving his instructions. “Leo, Arthur, go deal with the two mechanical puppets. The rest will be dealing with the clay golem and work together to take it down.”

He then surveyed the surroundings with his gaze before saying. “Leave the hidden threat to me and focus on your task.”

“I will make sure that you guys will perform well in this group assessment,” he added as he turned his gaze back in front of them.

……