Child of Destiny

……

Arthur was currently sitting on a bench along the beach near the hotel where they were staying with the others. He was staring blankly in the air, completely lost in thoughts.

He was thinking about the special training that Nathan was giving him every late night. The training today was canceled due to an important appointment that Nathan had, but he was given a special assignment that needed to be done before the end of this week.

He was tasked to learn more about the Lethal Move of Military Arts and the special techniques of the Imperial Tactics and the True Nine Dragon Arts.

Those sets of skills were not a problem given the current progress that he had. What he was concerned about was the true inheritance of the Springfield Family.

He was aware of it and knew that his achievements in practicing the Imperial Tactics were important in this. But he would only learn more about this inheritance of his family that was being passed down from generation to generation through the dragon statue standing at the center of the fountain in front of their household.

He was not sure why his uncle was suddenly rushing him like this when he said that he could just continue at his own pace and let everything naturally flow.

He found it strange that Nathan was suddenly changing his mind from time to time when he usually stuck with the original plan that he had already prepared.

There was also his big sister, who seemed to be acting a little strange since she came back from the trip. He was not sure if the trip was the reason, or if there was something else.

On the surface, he thought that it had something to do with the special mission concerning the ancient tomb. But after thinking more about it, he felt that the two were thinking about something else, particularly Nathan, who seemed to be preparing for a completely different matter.

He might not be the brightest, but he could at least sense that the two were hiding something from everyone else.

For some unknown reason because of this was getting anxious. He felt quite uneasy about the entire situation.

While he was lost in his thoughts, he suddenly saw a familiar car heading toward the hotel from the corner of his eye. Turning his head, he saw the Black Panther pulled over to the side of the road before the window of the driver seat suddenly rolled down.

“Hey! What are you doing there acting lonely? Are you filming a certain drama or something?” shouted Shin as he looked at Arthur from the distance.

Arthur pursed his lips a little while staring at Shin from his position. He then shook his head before walking over, mumbling to himself. “What a timing.”

***

Central Region

At the abandoned temple, Vincent was staring at Alyssa with a weird gaze. He could not explain the current feeling that he was currently experiencing.

He then swept his gaze at the surroundings and looked at what happened in the temple. There was a long line that covered the entire temple from every angle, cutting through the wall and the statues surrounding the room.

Even the tall Asura Statue at the center of the wall upfront was sliced in half by that line.

Vincent could not help but gulp hard as he recalled what happened.

It was just a single move, yet everything ended before he even realized what was happening. It was somewhat of a terrifying feeling if he was the one standing on the opposing side against this woman. He would be most likely to die before he knew it.

Fortunately, what she attacked was the temple itself and the statues within the room that they were in.

She seemed to have honored her words of sparing Jerimiah’s life. But he could not help but gulp harder when he realized how tough the entire place was.

David and Vincent had almost gone all-out earlier when they were Jerimiah, who was not holding with his attacks due to the influence of the evil spirits. But despite all of that, they still failed to leave a scratch on the ceiling and the walls of the room.

Yet this girl did not only leave a scratch, but she also drew a deep line on the walls and even sliced all the statues with a single move.

But what was scarier about it was how she had done it. She did it with full ease as if she had done nothing. If Vincent could not see the result, then he would think that she only swung her sword in the air.

David was currently checking on Jerimiah, who now had lost consciousness and sleeping on the floor of the temple.

“I can’t understand why you struggle hard when it is just a simple job,” said Alyssa as she sat next to David.

David rolled his eyes and refuted. “Can’t you at least give us some credit? Do you think you will be able to destroy everything without us exhausting all the energy of those evil spirits?”

“That’s what confused me more. Can’t you just do that thing? That one that the monks are doing in the Buddhist Temple” asked Alyssa with a frown.

David sighed. “It is not like I can’t. I just chose not to.”

“We have to get this guy to experience being possessed by those evil spirits because it is a rare opportunity for him. I can’t just exorcise him just like that,” said David, trying to defend himself.

He was still in the middle of taking it when he suddenly felt a series of stabbing sensations on his back, hitting some of his meridians.

“Eh? What are you doing?” asked David as he looked over his shoulders.

“I am redirecting the energy flow within your body and sealing off some of your meridians. Can’t you see?” said Alyssa before standing.

“You don’t have to do that. I can handle it just fine. Moreover, the ‘meridian blocks’ will naturally close with the Limit Break taking effect,” he said.

“Too late for your complaints. I have already done everything,” said Alyssa as she stretched her waist.

She then turned back to David while asking. “Is there anything fun here? I will continue with my adventure and explore more places just like what you have done.”

David rolled his eyes when he heard that. “Have you not learned your lessons yet? You have already caused enough trouble in the Sun-Moon Continent.”

Alyssa stared at David for a moment before suggesting. “At least let me join with the tasks that Sir Adamson has left you.”

“There is nothing urgent right now aside from gathering a few materials, and I have already gotten the final one that I need,” he said as he tossed the crimson gem up and down.

“Then I will explore the continent on my own,” she said while turning around and about to leave.

Seeing that, David panicked a little since he knew that this place was the most ‘dangerous’ for this girl. He could not let her meet the members of the Stuart Family, or at least let her interact with them that much.

“Wait! Wait! Wait!” he stopped her and suddenly suggested. “I don’t have any urgent task at the moment aside from guarding Junior Brother, but I can introduce you to a place where you can do whatever you want.”

“Are you interested?” he asked as he kept the gem.

Alyssa thought for a moment before nodding her head. “As long as it is an interesting place, then I will go for it.”

David smiled, assuring her. “I am sure that you will like that place. I even got hooked on it after visiting a few times.”

Vincent, who was listening from the side, already knew which place David was talking about. He also smiled as he also agreed that the said place was indeed interesting and fun.

Then he heard the two arguing with each other once again.

“So, where is that place.”

“I will tell you later when I am back.”

“Then I will go explore on my own for now. Contact me later.”

“You don’t have to go. I’m afraid that you will get in trouble again if I take my eyes off you.”

“Tell me the place already!”

“Let me rest for now. I will bring you there later.”

Vincent sighed as he listened to the two. He shook his head as he sat powerlessly on the floor and opened a virtual screen with his Advanced Watch, planning to browse the forums to relieve his boredom.

Fortunately, the signal was back.

***

In the said ‘place’ that David was talking about, Shin had just gotten back online and appeared at the center of an unfamiliar city. It was a city built at the top of a mountain along the Sky Deceiving Valley.

It was the city that Shiella had built with the Hand of Midas.

He had not gotten a good look at the place earlier when he logged out since he was in a hurry, but now that he looked around, it seemed like it was right to leave the construction to Shiella and the experts of the firm.

The city was still a little lonely due to the absence of the NPC residents and players, but he could already see how majestic this city was.

The city was designed to have different levels that resembled the stems of a platform. The houses, inns, restaurants, blacksmith shops, potion shops, and other establishments were scattered around the city, forming a staircase-like formation.

This design was to let the travelers, who loved to do sightseeing, see the view from the top of the mountain.

From here, players could see the Frozen Kingdom to the east and the vast sea to the north. The southern part of the city was facing the border of the Saint Heaven Kingdom and the neighboring kingdom while the western part was directed to the Saint Heaven Kingdom itself.

Facing these four directions, the view from the city was very stunning.

Shin could already see the flood of tourists visiting this place.

As for the other buildings that Shin had designed, all the important businesses were gathered at the plaza of the city located at the center, which was also the highest point of the city.

The Mayor’s Residence was obviously at the center while it was surrounded by commercial streets along with the other establishments.

The tall and majestic building was built for the Hand of Midas, which was not lost to the luxurious Mayor’s Residence. It had at least seven floors, which were divided for different activities and shops of the trading firm.

Right across the trading form was the Currecency Exchange Center and the Adventurer Guild. Then they were followed by an NPC Auction House that was partnered with the Hand of Midas.

Then not far from them was the Teleportation Hall.

This place would be, without a doubt, the busiest part of the city.

On the other street, there was the huge land for the majestic Battle Arena, which would be one of the main attractions of the city. Then across it was a string of restaurants with the Heavenly Resto-Bar standing at the center.

This place would be another famous place to visit.

Looking around, Shin could also see the different Churches scattered in different parts of the city, particularly the Church of the Sun and the Moon, the Church of Light, and the Temple of the War God.

It seemed like Cloe and Leonard had successfully convinced their churches to build a branch in this city, increasing their influence.

What surprised Shin a little was the tall tower in the southern part of the city. Even without knowing what it was, he at least knew which faction it belonged to – the Mage Tower.

He did not know how Shiella had convinced them, but it seemed like they had stationed some of their mages here, which would increase the security of the city.

He already knew that Shiella had also invited the Mercenary Guild and Thieves Guild, but he was not sure where she put their bases. The latter were secretive, so he expected them to be on the outskirts of the city or any secluded street, but the former was the rival of the Adventurer Guild, which was why he was curious about where she put them.

He could also see a couple of empty lands, which he expected since they had decided to leave them to the other organizations that they would be allying with such as the Assassin Union and Secret Recipe, as well as the other Adventurer Teams and Mercenary Groups that they had invited to settle down to this place.

Some of these empty plots of land would be sold to other business partners that the Hand of Midas had to increase their profit. They could also collect more taxes from them later.

Shin did not have the time to check on the defense system of the city since he was too busy. However, since he was the one who designed most of the blueprints, he had a major idea of how they worked.

He knew that there was an underground base underneath the city where they could build and train their army, hiding their full power from their enemies. There were also the Elemental Pillars that stood along the walls, which would be the foundation of the defense barrier of the city.

These pillars would also filter the mana in the air, making the density of the elemental mana within the city to be very rich.

Then there were also cannons within the walls and a line of war ballistas along the top.

Given the terrain, it would be hard to invade the city, especially since they had the high-ground advantage.

Shin continued looking around until Shiella suddenly appeared.

She smiled and nodded to him while asking with a proud look on her face. “What do you think? Pretty good, right?”

“It’s perfect,” nodded Shin as he let Shiella stand beside him.

“We are already prepared, and the city can be opened anytime, but we still have a few things to settle first before proceeding,” she said.

Shin nodded as he already heard the details in the real world. He then turned to the coastal area in the northern direction of the city. “Leave it to us. We will clear the entire coast and relocate the Calderock Town later before promoting it into a city.”

“And lend me that NPC assistant of yours. He will be very helpful at managing everything,” added Shiella.

She then paused for a moment before continuing. “Since it is technically your city and this is your territory, you should give it a name.”

Shin raised his brows, surprised as he knew that Shiella was quite picky at picking names. He then thought long and hard before smiling. “You know that I don’t like complicated things, so let’s go with simple ones.”

“Since this place will be flooding with gold, and your guild is named as such – how about naming the city Golden City while the land, or our territory itself, will be the Gold Mountain?”

Shiella slightly knitted her brows while mumbling. “A city of gold and a mountain of gold.”

She then smiled and nodded. “It sounds a little tacky, but it fits perfectly. Let’s go with that.”

She paused for a moment before pointing at the northern coast while saying. “Now, go and get to work. Clean the place before the ice wall fully melts. You can leave the rest to me.”

Shin shook his head as he watched Shiella walk away before opening his friend list and messaging a couple of names. “Let’s go grind some levels.”

…