Child of Destiny

...…

The members of the Empyrean Talon were currently staring at the huge emblem engraved at the wall of ice when a series of system notifications bombarded their ears.

Ding!

System: Quest has been updated!

Ding!

System: You have discovered a mysterious symbol at the frozen end of the Saint Heaven Kingdom.

Historical Note:

According to legends, this place was supposedly one of the lands that were forsaken by the gods due to the ancient civilization that used to live here.

After the Ancient Era War, this place became the burial ground of its own citizens after being defeated by the God of Winter. And aside from its former ruler, no one else managed to survive.

Records from the Ancient Library of the Divine Empire – the great historians of humanity said that the said ruler of the forsaken land passed down the tale of his Kingdom and its fate to his descendants.

Centuries went by and one of the King's descendants found an opportunity to get their revenge.

During the Repelling Era, when the citizens of the Atlas World were fighting the invading forces of the Demon Race, one of the Great Demon Lords happened to arrive in this land while running away from its pursuers.

One day, the descendants of the fallen kingdom encountered the Great Demon Lord and made a contract with each other.

The demon granted the man a power that he could help him for the revenge that his ancestors hoped for in exchange for his own soul.

With the powers granted to him, the descendant of the forsaken kingdom called himself the Monarch of the Everlasting Night.

He then spread a plague that transformed all of the infected into a special type of undead while sharing his blood with a couple of worthy individuals.

Not long after, his army steadily grew and they started invading the neighboring kingdoms.

They won most of their battles but they also suffered a fair share of losses after encountering a couple of formidable foes.

Due to the growing fame of their army, the races that were serving the God of Winter heard about their reputation.

Being led by the most formidable warrior of the Winter Army alongside his closest companion, those races matched their way towards the mysterious kingdom to subjugate the evil forces residing in that area.

A great war occurred when the two sides encountered each other. It was so great that the aftermath of the battle could still be seen today.

But the outcome of the battle was still unclear.

It was because the God of Winter suddenly sent one of her messengers to seal the border of the mysterious kingdom before anyone could even confirm what happened.

And due to the towering wall of ice built by that messenger, no one was able to fully uncover what lies beyond its borders.

???

Ding!

System: To know about this event, please look for the grand historian of the Saint Heaven Kingdom.

NPC's last seen location: Maple Cloud City

...

Arthur practically ignored all of the other notifications and just focused on the last one that they got. "What the heck! Is this stupid system telling us to look for this NPC after all of the trouble that we went through!? Are you kidding me?"

Hearing that, Shin couldn't help but smile bitterly before shaking his head repeatedly. "Hey, do you think we are in any position to complain? We don't even have any clue on how are we going to proceed with that stupid quest of yours since earlier."

"So, you better keep your mouth shut and just accept it to prevent attracting any bad luck," he added while taking another look at system notifications to see if he overlooked anything.

A few moments later, he looked at the others before quickly saying to them. "We need to go back to the city anyways to organize all of the loot that we got, so it is better if we do it now."

"But we still need to continue looking for more clues, so we are going to form two groups. One is going back to the city to organize the loot and store them in our temporary storage while the other group is going to be left behind to continue exploring," explained Shin further.

He took a brief pause to sweep his gaze at the others before asking. "Is there anyone who wants to volunteer for either group?"

Hearing that, Cloe quickly raised her hand and said. "Me! I want to volunteer!"

"I'll join whichever team you are going to choose!" she added while linking her arms with Shin

Shin rolled his eyes at her when he saw that but still let her do what she wanted and looked at the others instead.

Unfortunately, they didn't respond to him immediately and just stared at him with a weird look on their faces. It was as if they were waiting for him to say something before they answered.

Understanding what they were currently thinking, Shin could only look back at them, speechless.

Then he also ignored the look that they were currently making before saying to them. "If no one wants to volunteer, then let me assign who is going to which group."

Urgh!

Right after he said those words, Shin suddenly heard everyone groaning at the same time while also looking at him with an even weirder look on their faces.

"D*mn! Here he goes again!" said Arthur with a soft voice while leaning over to Leonard. "Hey, which one is better? We leave those two here in the wilderness, or let them hang out in the city?"

Hearing that, Leonard suddenly smirked before saying. "Don't bother. Whatever you choose between the two, Shin Bro will only focus on the task at hand."

"Unless he has free time like last time, don't expect anything from him," he added while looking at him.

"Heh! That is rich coming from you," said Arthur smirkingly.

Seeing that the two were about to break into an argument once again, Shin quickly started assigning each other them. "Alright, I am the one assigned to manage our team's storage, then I will be with the team that is going back to the city."

But before he could even continue, Cloe suddenly commented. "But I am the only healer of the group, so I am needed to be here."

The corner of Shin's mouth suddenly twitched when he heard those words before staring at her. He was clearly aware of what she was trying to say. 'This girl! Seriously?'

– "Then I am needed to be in the city to deal with the NPC and the team's storage," – was what he was planning to say.

Unfortunately, he was weak against the pleading look that Cloe currently had. So, he could only release a helpless sigh before pointing at Arthur and Leonard. "Then they can go back to the city instead. And since Ribbit is quite familiar with them, he will naturally let them have access to the storage."

Hearing that, Arthur suddenly became excited and muttered to himself. "Finally! Free from being the personal heater of this group."

Leonard couldn't help but smirk when he heard those words before correcting his friend. "Objection, your honor! You are not the heater, but the 'jacket' instead."

"F*ck! Heater, Jacket, it is the same difference," cursed Arthur after hearing those words.

In the meantime, Alucard suddenly raised his hand and quickly said. "Then I will go with them. After all, I need to restock my Mana Stones to perform more complicated skills."

"Sheesh! What a really expensive class you have. Literally spending money in exchange for more powerful skills," commented Akailu from the said while shaking his head.

"At least it is much cheaper than the magic scrolls that the Mages need," said Owen as he chimed in their conversation.

On the other hand, Daulla hesitated for a moment before also volunteering herself. "I-I will also go with them."

And since she was a 'package' with Archimedes, the Wingman Archer followed her lead and also said that he was going to join the other group.

Shin looked at the three of them for a moment before nodding his head. "Then it is decided!"

After that, he turned to Arthur and Leonard before warning them. "Hey! You two will be the lead, so stick in the plan and don't get involved in any kind of trouble."

"We already have a lot of things on our plate, so we can't afford to waste any more time on useless things," he added to make it clear to the two.

Hearing that, Arthur waved his hand at Shin before replying in a nonchalant manner. "Yeah, yeah! We get it already, so you don't have to nag us like a mom."

Leonard chuckled a little when he heard those words before saying. "We are going, contact us if something goes wrong."

He then took out a teleportation scroll from his inventory and crushed it without any hint of hesitation. "See you later."

Seeing that, the others also took out their respective scrolls and followed after him, leaving Shin and the remaining members of the team behind.

Shin swept his gazes at the other members around him before instructing. "Alright, let's move ahead. Let us see if this place still has more clues stored for us."

....…