Child of Destiny

...

Owen stared for a moment, trying to find the words that he wanted to say. But no matter how many times he opened and closed his mouth, there seemed to be no words willing to come out from it.

In the end, he could only release a helpless sigh before explaining their situation. "Remember those guys that you met in the VIP room during the Shadow Ranking Cup? Those b*st*rds managed to join a rising powerhouse in our kingdom and started being unreasonable."

"First, they to invite Ithilien to join them but when she refused their invitation, those f*ckers started harassing her and her regular party. They also managed to get a decent standing in that guild which is why they got some support from them."

"Ithilien and her team are not that weak. But given that the other side had a greater number of experts in their ranks, her team was suppressed too much to the point they disbanded."

Reaching this point, Owen suddenly clenched his hands to show his anger before continuing. "And the worst thing about those f*ckers is they don't stop in their harassment and up until now. They pressured her too much to the point she could no longer properly play the game."

"If I didn't get wind of that news, then she most likely has quit the game already," he added while gritting his teeth.

Shin turned silent for a few moments before asking. "So, what's the deal with that Underground Duel or something?"

"About that-…" Owen briefly paused and looked at Ithilien before continuing. "Those guys want her to hand over a special item that Ithilien and her party get from a particular quest. But since she doesn't want to give it to them, those f*ckers started harassing her even more alongside the other members of that guild."

"And since I got frustrated at them, I started hunting some of the elite groups of that particular guild to the point they had no other choice but to request a ceasefire for the time being."

Owen smirked a little when he reached that point which made Charlotte think to herself. 'It seems like this guy is also a madman.'

In the meantime, Ithilien continued what Owen was saying earlier. "But that agreement didn't last long since the guild learned what kind of item I am holding. I'm not sure but it seems like this item can let someone have a Race and Class Conversion."

Hearing that, Shin couldn't help but knit his brow a little before saying. "And how did those guys know that you have that item anyway?"

"About that-…" Ithilien paused for a moment as if she was thinking about something before continuing. "My team worked with them to complete a quest and that is where we got that special item. We don't know what kind of items are those during that time which is why we divide the pieces among our teams; one is left to me while the other half is given to them."

"I see," muttered Shin with a soft voice before falling into deep thought. And after a few moments, he turned his head at the two and asked. "So, that is why those guys propose a betting duel, am I right?"

Seeing them nodding their heads, Shin stood up from his seat and stretched his waist while saying. "Then that also means you are going against the experts of that particular guild. Now, I can no longer let you have all the fun, can't I?"

"So, how many members do you need for that duel?" he asked while looking at Owen.

Owen hesitated for a few moments before replying. "Those guys said that we need to find at least 7 members before the time they set for the duel. And it is within a week from now, in-game time of course."

"Seven members, huh? Alright, I leave it to me and just focus on the current quest that you have," said Shin while patting Owen's shoulders.

"You understand what I mean, am I right?" he added while giving Owen a meaningful look.

Seeing that, Owen could only shake his head bitterly before smiling at Shin while saying. "Then I will entrust you with it."

After that, he looked at Ithilien before sending her a few private messages to tell her a few more things that he knew about Shin excluding the fact that he had two identities. After all, Shin added Owen as a friend with his real in-game name which was why he knew how strong Shin really was.

Shin respected Owen and his strength which was why he did that. And since Owen was feeling the same, he respected Shin's decision and did not reveal his real identity to anyone in return.

After discussing a little, Owen and Ithilien finally looked back at Shin and Charlotte before discussing their plan with each other. And a few moments later, they decided to go with Charlotte's suggestion earlier.

Owen and Ithilien were tasked to head over the two neighboring kingdoms while carrying the letter that Charlotte received from the king of the Elven Kingdom. And when they were done asking for some assistance from them, the two were going to inform Shin and Charlotte about it before proceeding with the next part of the plan.

Meanwhile, Shin and Charlotte were going to proceed with the former's quest and finish it as soon as possible.

"Alright, that should conclude everything. But be sure to be careful since mobilizing a large number of forces will create some misunderstanding. So, it is much better if you manage to request a small yet elite group instead of getting detected by our enemies," said Charlotte, trying to finalize everything.

But before they could wrap up everything, Shin suddenly stopped them while saying. "Wait! I guess it is better if we indeed make some big movements that will attract the attention of our opponents."

Hearing that, the three simultaneously turned their heads towards him before Owen opened his mouth. "Why? Isn't it better if we proceed with the plan unnoticed?"

"Of course," said Shin while nodding his head before saying. "But isn't it also better if we have some distraction that we can use to further avoid more attention?"

"That is a good plan, but what if they decide to ignore the approaching forces? After all, it will lead to some misunderstandings if the forces continue moving forward like that," said Charlotte.

"Well, that is for normal occasions. But what if the two kingdoms are sending some 'diplomats' on the pretext of visiting a neighboring country?" asked Shin in an instant.

Hearing that, the other three suddenly turned silent as they realized what Shin was currently thinking.

And after a moment of silence, Owen suddenly asked. "Then what if the other side still anticipates our moves and also sets up their most elite people to guard the King and his loyal attendants?"

"That is why you need to convince the other two kingdoms to send a quite strong representative that the crown prince and the Corrupted Cult can't ignore. That way, our opponents will be forced to divide their forces into two different places even if they know our plan," said Shin immediately, which rendered Owen speechless.

'This guy-…!' Owen tried to say something about Shin but couldn't find the right words to say so he chose to remain silent.

After that, the group discussed a little to finalize the plan that Shin had suggested before deciding to go with it.

A few moments later, when everything was done, the group was finally ready to proceed with their respective tasks. But before separating, Owen suddenly called Shin to discuss something else. "Hey, brother. Can I talk with you about something? Just the two of us."

Hearing that, Shin slightly nodded his head before following Owen in a distance. And when they put a considerable distance away from the two girls, the latter finally opened his mouth to talk. "Brother, about the thing that you said about your adventurer team-… is there still an extra spot open?"

"You want her to join us too?" asked Shin, understanding what Owen wanted to say.

Nodding his head, Owen immediately added with a bitter smile. "You should know the position that I am in. I can't just leave her alone, can I?"

Seeing that look that he was making, Shin shook his head a little before patting Owen's shoulder while saying. "I already told you that we are not building an ordinary team. So, as long as you are confident that she is good enough to join our team, then there shouldn't be a problem in accepting her."

"If that is everything that you want to say, then there we are already done with it," said Shin as he walked back where the two girls were while waving his hand at Owen and adding. "Just focus on the current quests that we have for now. We will discuss this again later when everything is over."

...…