Child of Destiny

…

After checking the surroundings, Leonard finally signaled Lawrence to lead the way. “Go! I will keep an eye on the surroundings for you.”

Lawrence gulped hard before nodding his head. He slowly stood up and patted the dust off his body before walking toward the direction where the ‘calling’ was coming from.

He was not sure what was calling him, but he could feel that it was something beneficial for his current progress. He could not feel even a bit of hostility coming from it.

While they were walking further, Leonard could sense that a huge number of creatures were staring at them from the dark, keeping a close eye on them.

Their gazes felt a bit predatory, seemingly waiting for the right opportunity to jump at them.

Leonard could even feel the strong hostility directed at him, which indicated that these guys were most likely targeting him rather than Lawrence.

While walking, a strange sensation suddenly washed over Leonard’s body, making him tremble.

A moment later, he suddenly realized that he was currently alone in the middle of the darkness. Those hostile gazes were still present, but Lawrence had suddenly disappeared altogether.

“What!?”

He could not help but shift and turn, looking for any traces of Lawrence, but was unable to find the latter. Not even the scent that he had memorized through his Bestial Instincts could be found.

Not only Lawrence, but Boa as well. Both seemed to have disappeared from this place, leaving him with a bunch of monsters preying on him.

“Tsk! Let’s talk about the others for a moment. I, myself, am currently in a pretty troublesome situation,” he mumbled while slowly turning and sharply sweeping his gaze at the surroundings.

He then held both of his war axes, preparing himself for a bitter battle.

Tap! Tap! Tap!

Clank! Clank! Clank!

Not long after, a series of chaotic sounds suddenly rang from the depths of the darkness, filling the entire place.

These sounds seemed to come from a series of chaotic footsteps and the clanking sounds of mental chains when they were being dragged from the ground.

Grr! Grr! Grr!

A few moments later, bestial growls suddenly mixed into the already chaotic noises, making it quite annoying and hard to endure.

It was at this moment that Leonard realized that these sounds were not ordinary. They must be mixed with mental attacks that were trying to affect his mind.

Sniff! Sniff!

At the same time, Leonard could also tell that the air was currently mixed with some sort of toxins or strange substance that could affect his senses.

These two factors could create a series of illusions, fooling him.

Adding his extreme senses that seemed resembled that of a beast, the stimulation that they created had been amplified and become more distinct.

From his senses, Lawrence and Boa might have disappeared, but the truth was, he was unable to sense them due to the things that were interfering with his senses.

Roar!

He then released a powerful roar that shook the entire place, overpowering the noises that were filling the surroundings.

Boom!

The collision between the two sounds created a sonic explosion along with a strong shockwave that cleared the hidden scent lingering in the air.

Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh!

Unfortunately, he was a bit too late since he had already lost track of Lawrence.

Swoosh!

However, there was still something a bit unexpected that happened.

He also found that Boa remained in the same area as him and happened to be caught in the same illusion trap.

He had unconsciously helped the other party escape the same predicament, putting them in such an awkward position.

“Tsk!” Boa could not help but click his tongue after realizing what happened.

It did not mean that Leonard truly saved him. He also had his means to escape that predicament himself, especially when he was also quite knowledgeable about toxins as well.

Leonard just took the most direct and brute way to solve that situation, which was something that was easier to execute.

What made this situation even odder was when they realized that the surrounding hostiles seemed to have disappeared all of a sudden, leaving the two of them alone.

“Tsk! Tsk! What a nasty trick,” mumbled Leonard, seemingly understanding what the ‘dungeon’ had wanted them to do.

“I guess this is also for the better,” mumbled Leonard, fully accepting it.

With Boa being trapped here with him, he did not have to worry about Lawrence. After all, it was clear that the opposing party was targeting the latter, so it saved him from the problem that he needed to solve earlier.

As for Lawrence, Leonard did not have the time to worry about that guy, given the current situation at hand.

Moreover, he could also tell that whatever dragged the young man toward this place did not want to harm him at all.

After all, if whatever targeting Lawrence did have that thought, then they had most likely been assaulted by all those dangerous beings hiding within the darkness of this place.

Speaking of those beings, all seemed to have disappeared the moment Leonard and Boa broke free from the earlier illusion.

“I guess this is for the best as well,” he mumbled while adjusting his stance to face the other party.

He was preparing for an intense battle. After all, he had also seen how powerful this guy was, particularly when it came to speed.

His mind and senses were at the highest level of alertness since even a momentary distraction could turn into an extremely dangerous situation. Even a little slip in his concentration could cause grave danger to him.

Boa, on the other hand, knitted his brows a bit deep when he realized that he could also not find his target through his special method.

It could either be Lawrence, and they were in a completely isolated place, or the former had stepped out of the range of his special method, which was very unlikely since his maximum range should be at least a kilometer away from him.

This could only mean one thing. He and Leonard were currently trapped in this place.

“I guess I don’t have any other choice,” he mumbled before focusing on Leonard, who was already preparing to engage in battle.

After unsheathing his pair of shortswords, he suddenly hopped backwards, entering the darkness and melding with it.

Swoosh!

Leonard slightly furrowed his brows when he saw the opposing disappeared into the darkness.

Not only had Boa disappeared from his sight, but he had also erased his scent, which was supposed to be the ‘mark’ that Leonard was using to find him.

Leonard slowly paced around, sweeping the surroundings with his fierce and sharp eyes while trying to look for any signs of his opponent.

Boa seemed to belong to the sneaky yet patient type of assassins. He continued to hide within the darkness, waiting for his opponent to slip a little before making his move.

It seemed like he was planning to take the most basic approach that all the assassins and thieves used against their opponents.

Putting invisible pressure on them and exhausting their minds before making their moves, striking at the most unexpected time.

Understanding what his opponent was thinking, Leonard suddenly stopped turning and stood still.

Since the opposing side was planning to waste his stamina and exhaust his concentration, he decided to relax his body and wait as well.

He could respond much faster to any kind of threat directed at him with the help of his innate trait anyway, so all he had to do was to put his body in ‘sleep’ while still being alert at all times.

…

In the meantime, while Leonard and Boa were having a silent standoff, Lawrence had just realized that his ‘personal guard’ had suddenly disappeared.

“What!?”

He was completely off guard by the sudden turn of events, especially when he was sure that Leonard was walking close to him.

He did not know when and how Leonard disappeared, but he was sure that it had something to do with the dungeon itself.

It was as if the dungeon suddenly became alive – or more specifically, someone had been controlling the dungeon while observing all their moves.

He had also felt that whatever or whoever was calling him within the depths of this darkness, it was most likely related to that mysterious entity.

Not long after, Lawrence saw a dot of light coming from a distance, which clearly indicated that he was near the end.

He subconsciously hastened his step, rushing toward that light.

Swoosh!

The ‘voice’ that was calling for him seemed to have become louder as well, making him continue to head in that direction.

His steps became more hurried, turning his fast walking into a jog, which later became a sprint.

Swoosh!

He also felt that his speed was getting much faster with every passing second. He felt like flying toward that dot of light in the distance.

He even felt that he had also lost his control over his body, which started scaring him.

He might be within the game, but everything here felt so real, which also somewhat affected his mind, particularly the depths of his consciousness.

While all these were happening, his sense of time seemed to be getting affected as well. He felt as if time was moving faster, yet his surroundings remained still under the absolute darkness engulfing the place.

He was confused at first, but he started forgetting about everything else as well, the more he approached that bright dot of light.

Not long after, something unbelievable happened.

……