Child of Destiny

...

Shin and the others were advancing within the Sky Deceiving Valley without encountering any problems.

The monsters that they came across so far were indeed a little troublesome due to their high levels and ranks. But given the current lineup of the team, it was pretty obvious what was the fate of these monsters going to be the moment they bump into this group.

It doesn't matter even if that monster was a King Class one, the team would slaughter them all whenever they encountered one.

Bang!

And just like that, they meet their third King Class Monster Boss as they continue moving forward.

"It is going to do a huge swing again! Arthur, you block this one!" shouted Shin when he saw the 5-meter-tall humanoid monster that they were fighting.

Based on its physical features, this monster seemed to be a hybrid between a yeti and an ice troll. It was holding a huge block of ice on its right hand and about to swing it at Owen who was pinning the monster boss on its place.

Bang!

Arthur blocked the huge ice block with ease, making him smirk a little. "A piece of cake? Is this guy really a King Class Monster Boss?"

In the meantime, Shin ignored his remark and quickly said to the others. "Alright, it will be immobilized for a few moments again. Deal as much damage as you can!"

Swoosh! Swoosh! Swoosh!

Hearing his command, the others quickly threw everything they got to the monster boss. After all, this was one of the few changes that they have to deal some damage on this particular monster.

Aside from the powerful strength that this monster was unleashing from time to time, the most troublesome thing that gave Shin and the others a headache was its regenerative and healing abilities.

The team was fighting this monster boss for quite some time already, yet they only managed to lower its HP by a quarter despite them pouring everything they could into their attacks.

On top of that, the defensive capabilities of this 'Ice Yeti-Troll Hybrid' were also not a joke either. Despite the top-quality equipment that Shin and the others had, the damage that they could deal was somewhat negligible given the total Health that the monster possessed.

"We are going to take forever if we keep doing it this way. Can we just give this monster up?" said Cloe as she looked closely at the state of the battle.

"Giving up this boss is not an issue, but the problem is we might experience another endless pursuit like what just happened with those packs of wolves earlier," replied Shin while keeping an eye on the monster boss in front of them.

"As you can see, the monsters in this area are quite unusual. They seemed to be forever aggroed on whoever dared to provoke them."

"There are also those strange raccoon beasts that persistently chase after us earlier, despite us doing our best to avoid them," he added while proving some ranged support to Arthur and the others with his long-ranged skills.

He then turned to Cloe before continuing. "So, my answer is we can't leave this boss alone. Who knows what kind of trouble is going to happen if it chased after us later?"

  "Then how about we just use a couple of berserk skills to speed things up? Isn't it faster?" said Arthur as he landed in front of the two after being sent flying by the monster boss.

Hearing that, Shin couldn't help but look at Arthur sneeringly. "Are you even paying attention earlier? Up until now, we already encountered three King Class Monster Bosses despite us only exploring the outer parts of the map."

"Do you have any idea what is going to happen to us if we encounter a monster stronger than them once we reach the deeper parts of the valley? We are obviously going to get screwed at the time!"

"So, it is better for us to save as many cards as possible until we encounter a very difficult situation," added Shin with a glare.

"Tsk! Then, at least hurry up and find that stupid source so that we can use our Elemental Possessions!" said Arthur before kicking the ground and launching himself back to the frontline.

On the other hand, Shin quickly turned his head to Daulla and Chaotic Luck behind him before asking them. "You still can't locate that strange source of that strange Elemental Mana?"

Hearing that, the two were unable to help themselves but glared at Shin before saying at the same time.

"How can we locate its source if we don't know what kind of element it is exactly?!"

"I am not familiar with this kind of searching method, Big Brother."

Shin suddenly frowned his eyebrows quite deeply when he heard those words before muttering with a quiet voice. "Tch! This is supposedly an easy task if we have our Elementalist with us."

Since the time they first entered this map, Shin and the others immediately felt a strange flow of mana mixed in the air that was making them quite uncomfortable.

At first, it was quite vague and faint which was why they didn't mind it at the beginning. But as they moved deeper in the valley, the strange mana was getting stronger and stronger, making it hard for them to properly move their bodies. And because of that, they couldn't showcase their full potential in battle.

Not long after, the group also discovered that executing their respective skills also became troublesome. It even reached the point where Shin and the others could no longer use their Elemental Possessions nor summon any of their Elemental Companions.

In the meantime, Cloe seemed to be smiling from ear to ear when she heard Shin's mumbling. Her smile was so bright that even Daulla beside her couldn't help but stare at her blankly.

Due to their pause, Shin immediately noticed that the DPS (Damage per Second) of the team suddenly decreased, making him scold the two. "Hey! What are the two of you doing? The boss is going to recover if you suddenly stop attacking!"

"We are barely able to burn down its HP with our current damage, yet you still have the time to doze off?"

"And look at Owen's HP! Are you going to let him die?"

Hearing those words, the two immediately regained their senses and quickly started focusing on their respective jobs.

"Sheesh! Sometimes, I am starting to get scared of that guy more when he is in charge of attacking than facing him in battle," commented Alucard from the rear of the group.

Beside him, Leonard suddenly leaned over his head a little before whispering. "You haven't experienced how scary he really is. During the exam week, we experienced hell literally due to our tutoring sessions. It is the real mental torture."

Swoosh! Swoosh!

After that, Leonard caught his battle-axes that he threw earlier with each of his hands before continuing. "So, you better not slack off, or else he will immediately spot you."

At that point, Shin suddenly shouted at him. "Leo! It is your turn to re-join the frontlines!"

"I am going ahead, so I will be leaving this spot to you," said Leonard to Alucard before leaping high in the air, planning to give Arthur and Owen some assistance.

Boom!

A few moments later, Shin suddenly sensed a couple of hostile gazes directed to them while they were fighting the hybrid monster boss between a Yeti and an Ice Troll. And the moment he became aware of their presence, his eyes immediately turned sharp.

"Big Brother-…" Chaotic Luck was a second behind. But his blazing undeads also spotted a couple of silhouettes moving within the fog.

And before he could inform Shin about it, the latter immediately cut his words off and immediately instructed. "I know. But don't make any response yet, we still don't know who we are going to face."

"First, observe them from a safe distance and see who they are. We need to know whether we are facing a group of monsters or a team of skilled players."

"If it is the latter, then quickly identify how many there are and what is their team composition," he added after a slight frown.

Receiving the instructions from Shin, Chaotic Luck quickly controlled his undead monsters and moved them sneakily in the fog. He also turned off the blazing flame wrapped in their bodies to make sure that those special undeads were not going to be spotted by the opposing side.

In the meantime, Shin gave Arthur and Leonard a signal about their 'guests' so that they could make some adjustments to their positions. He also informed the others secretly and asked them to change their formation a little.

Not long after, Chaotic Luck figured out who was the sneaky group stalking them and quickly passed it to Shin. "It was a group of players, Big Brother. There are at least 20 members in their group. I am still not sure about their team composition because of the fog. Should I get a little closer?"

Hearing that, Shin quickly shook his head before saying. "No, it is fine for now. Their skills should be decent enough to reach this part of the valley."

"And since they are able to take advantage of the environment properly to hide their presence, I suspect that they are pretty familiar with this place. There is no harm in being a little careful," he added before informing the others of what they discovered.

"At least, let's first see whether they are friends or foes," muttered Shin to himself while keeping an eye on their surroundings.

....…