Child of Destiny

……

Atlas World.

Somewhere deep within the forest of the Frozen Kingdom.

Boom!

The powerful explosion shook almost half of the entire Frozen Kingdom. And due to how strong it was, everyone who was present in the area sensed it.

All of them looked in that direction regardless of which group they belonged to. Whether they were the members of the Pandemonium Descendants, the resident NPC and ruling monsters of the Kingdom, or the people from the expedition team, all of them instinctively turned their heads in the direction where that explosion was coming from.

Anyone could tell that it was not an ordinary explosion, but the most powerful individuals from each group could at least deduce what exactly happened.

“That direction, isn’t it the area that is assigned to Shin? Don’t tell me he takes all of the fun on himself again?” muttered Arthur as he looked in the said direction with an odd gaze.

He could even see the bright light that was coming from the distance. It was clearly reflected in the sky, so it could be easily spotted. He didn’t know what it was but he was sure that it was something ‘fun’ and ‘exciting’.

Turing the scene towards a different location, Leonard was also looking in the same direction while wearing a deep form. “Tsk! Tsk! Who did he fight this time?”

“What a pity. I think that it is worth hunting whoever or whatever he encountered in that place,” he added before going back to his job. If he couldn’t get an opponent who was worth hunting, then it was better for him to relieve his stress by killing more enemies.

In a different location, Zero was sitting on high ground, giving him a clear view of that explosion. He could see a dome-shaped light of massive size. It was too bright, giving the impression that the sun was just rising in that direction.

He stared in that direction until it disappeared before muttering to himself. “Given the chaotic energy that that explosion had, I am pretty sure that those guys used skills that surpassed the current limit of their strength.”

He then fell into deep thought and further commented. “I guess this ‘Reality Manifestation’ has a lot of secrets. It looks like we can use the advanced form of our Martial Arts when in that state.”

“This will greatly help us understand our respective disciplines more deeply and experience their real powers that we couldn’t reach yet in the real world,” he added as he smiled excitedly.

He couldn’t wait to try and test out the sword techniques that he couldn’t use yet because of his limited sword attainment from the real world.

**********

In another place within the Frozen Kingdom, near the towering wall of ice, Immortal and the members of the Silent Night Adventurer Team and Earners Mercenary Group just walked out of the special portal.

Boom!

Tremble!

The explosion was much nearer to them compared to the other players present in the area, so they could clearly feel how strong it was.

They all turned their heads in the direction of that explosion, wearing deep frowns as they could feel a hint of fear from it.

Immortal creased his brow deeply as he could feel familiar energy mixed in that explosion. A particular player flashed through his mind as he stared at the brilliant light illuminating the sky.

It was the same for Justin. As one of the people who personally experienced the strength of the owner of that energy, he also got an idea of who caused this powerful explosion.

On the other hand, Flouree, who managed to catch the change of expression between the two, couldn’t help but become more interested in the person who was behind such a stunning sight.

Even if she didn’t know who it was, she could still get the rough idea given how solemn the expression Immortal and Justin had. “Interesting~! That person must be the famous Battle God, who is continuously rising in terms of fame and ranks.”

Aside from that person, there was also another player who piqued her interest. It was the same player who was the reason why she accepted this commission from the Corrupted Cult.

“I wonder how is that guy doing. Given that he loves to show off, I am sure that he will not let this scene outshine his feats,” she muttered with a mystifying tone.

But a frown suddenly appeared on her face as she remembered something. “But before everything else, let me first teach him a lesson.”

It was still unknown the reason for the sudden change of her mood, but given the cold tone that she had, it could be interpreted as her having some history with the person that she had mentioned. 𝐛𝗲𝐝𝐧𝗼𝘃𝗲𝗹.𝗼𝐫𝗴

**********

Going back to the place where the rest of the group was located, Arthur suddenly felt a chill that ran through his back for some unknown reason.

“What was that?” he muttered with a confused look on his face before turning back to the others. “Sickarius just contacted me and said that he encountered Diablo just now.”

“He also said that he is currently resting after engaging in a friendly battle with him,” he added, emphasizing the word ‘friendly’ to tell the others that they were currently on good terms with the said player.

Hearing that, the rest immediately understood what just happened. And they also figured out that the previous explosion was caused by that battle

But at the same time, it also gave them a good idea of how powerful Diablo given that he pushed Shin to the point where they needed to cause such a stunning event.

A little different from their thoughts, Arthur couldn’t help but put more thought into it. He knew that Shin could enter the ‘Reality Manifestation’ State where he could unleash his strength on par, if not stronger, with what he had in the real world.

On top of that, there was also the topic of Martial Arts in consideration. If Shin was using the ‘Reality Manifestation’ and still couldn’t overwhelm his opponent with it, then this guy Diablo was much stronger than they had imagined.

“I guess, I need to ask Shin about it later,” muttered Arthur as he couldn’t contain his curiosity about this matter.

Ding!

Then he suddenly got another message from Shin that they needed to regroup as soon as possible.

Arthur couldn’t help but further knit his brow when he read the message, thinking what was the serious matter that they needed to regroup urgently.

Regardless, he relayed the message to the other members of the group and told them to start preparing to move out. They already cleared this area anyway, so it would not hurt their plan if they regrouped with Shin and the others.

***********

In the meantime, Shin just closed the message window after reading its content for another time.

It was a message from David, informing him that Immortal had led an elite group of players to sneak into the Frozen Kingdom.

The message also contained information about the Corrupted Cult mobilizing their hidden experts to deal with him which was why he couldn’t stop the group from entering the region.

“Now this is a little complicated,” muttered Shin with a deep frown due to this development.

But at the same time, he also viewed this situation as a good opportunity. Based on what he just heard from Diablo earlier, Shin could deduce that the Pandemonium Descendants needed their group to clear their quest before the organization could proceed with the one on their side.

He still didn’t know the exact details, but he could at least use this piece of information to con those guys. Based on this, it was obvious that their side had the advantage of the Pandemonium Descendants indeed approached them and proposed cooperation.

He didn’t know whether to laugh or cry when he thought about it. After all, it seemed like the Corrupted Cult was unintentionally helping them clear their quest much easier by just showing their intention of getting in their way.

The only matter that he needed to consider was how he was going to lure Diablo to their side. Based on the performance of the latter, it would be a complete waste if they let such a talented individual slip away.

“From what Zero had mentioned before, Diablo seemed to be a fan of the legendary adventurer team, the Irregulars. From what I remember, the reason why his relationship with the Pandemonium Descendants falls out is that because those guys are somewhat tarnishing the reputation of that group.”

Shin fell into deep thought as he also recalled that Arthur mentioned the same thing when they were creating the Empyrean Talons. It was also the reason why they named their team that way.

“I guess, I need to ask Arthur about the Irregulars to learn more about them,” he muttered as he couldn’t help but become curious about the legendary adventurer team.

He wanted to know how that group of players influenced such a number of highly skilled players.

Aside from that, he was also curious about the state that Diablo had earlier. It was clearly related to the ‘Reality Manifestation’ to some degree. Even if there were distinct differences between the two states, Shin could still the similarities present between them.

“It looks like, I need to consult Professor Henry about this,” muttered Shin as he remembered that it was the professor who told him about the ‘Reality Manifestation’.

After that, he slowly stood up as he was now done recuperating himself. He took a quick glance at the message that Arthur had sent him. It was the coordinates of their rendezvous point.

He took another look at the massive crater a few distances away from him before turning around and disappearing like a shadow.

…