Child of Destiny



...…

Shin and the others arrived at the activity ground designated for their class. When they arrived, there were already a lot of students in their class minding their own business.

Some were doing mild exercises to digest their food faster, not minding the observant eyes of the others. Another group was leisurely sitting on the side and watching their classmates do their thing while the rest were either taking a quick nap or chatting with people in their group.

When Shin and their group arrived, they briefly caught the attention of the other students for various reasons. But it was only a short episode as the others went back to doing their own thing.

Shin led the group to a corner to sit in while waiting for their class to start. Their minds were still somewhat occupied with the matter that they just experienced earlier, but it was immediately erased from their minds right at the next moment.

Swoosh! Swoosh! Swoosh!

A series of swooshing sounds reverberated in the air as every student in the class sensed something. An intense and horrifying killing intent filled the activity field, seemingly threatening every one of them.

  The students who were in the group stopped what they were doing and quickly went into defensive formation while cautiously sweeping their gazes at every corner of the field.

The ones who were originally having a nap quickly woke up and stood up while taking up a stance. The others went to their respective group while the ones that were alone constantly turned around while maintaining their combat stance.

Shin's group was already in formation right after the killing intent spread throughout the activity field. But unlike most of the class, who did not only where to look, their group was facing a certain direction while maintaining a solid rear, where Leonard and Molton positioned themselves.

The groups of the top-ranked students were in a similar situation.

The twin from the Sun-Moon Continent, Mavin and Marie, were covering each other's backs as they faced in opposite directions. The former was holding a pair of pistols in his hands while pointing forward while the latter tucked her hand on a dimensional pouch behind her waist.

The famous Three Kings of the Academy – Jean Camus, Thomas Brook, and Simone Barolomeo – kept a simple triangular formation with the two-meter guy standing at the forefront. They were facing a seemingly ordinary-looking tree in the distance as they circulated their energies within their bodies silently.

Flacon Hawkins stood in front of Diel Hendrickson, seemingly protecting his young master against a powerful foe. He was holding a rapier in his hand while pointing it forward, directed to the shadow under the nearby tree.

Ezio Williams tightly gripped a pair of daggers as his eyes squinted narrowly while staring at a certain corner of the field. His figure was starting to flicker as he was getting ready to attack at any given moment.

Dylan White calmly placed his hand on the hilt of his sheathed sword as he stood a few distances away from Ezio. He was facing the opposite direction where a thick bush was located behind a tree. His sword might still be on its sheath but his sword intent was already being released in a steady manner.

These top students of the class had a clear target in mind, unlike the others who were still looking around and trying to find the owner of the killing intent filling the field.

But what was strange about this situation was the fact that they were looking in different directions when there was supposedly a single enemy. The killing intent that they were currently sensing should belong to a single person yet it was coming from multiple places.

The top students could not help but wear an expression full of worry as they stared at the 'source' of that killing intent.

This situation lasted for a couple of minutes, making the students feel pressured. Some of them were losing their focus and concentration of being 'bathed' in such an overwhelming killing intent. Most of them were already sweating bullets for keeping a sharp and focused mind while being tensed for such a period of time without happening.

Exhaustion was starting to kick in. Their stamina was rapidly draining for keeping their current state despite not doing anything.

This situation lasted for a few more moments before the killing intent finally disappeared, making some of them slightly relaxed.

But despite that being the case, most of them still held out and kept their guard up while waiting for a few more moments, making sure that there was nothing going to happen.

"That should be enough. Good job everyone."

Then a calm voice suddenly sounded at the center of the activity field, right in the middle of the class.

Contrary to the calm and collected tone of that voice, the entire class felt like lightning struck right in the middle of the field, catching them completely off-guard.

Their eyes turned wide while their instincts quickly kicked in and simultaneously moved their bodies, distancing themselves away from the source of that voice.

This included the top students, such as Shin and the others, who did not lower their guards even for a moment. They found it hard to believe that someone managed to sneak past their senses, especially with such a supposedly large formation.

Even though they were not familiar with the other groups and the rest of the students, they were still elite students.

They instantly knew what they needed to do and which side needed to cover, especially the leaders of each group, who already took note of the positions of the other groups and solo individuals.

With them having a tacit agreement, they let their respective groups cover a certain area.

But with such a formation, someone sneaked inside completely unnoticed.

Everyone created an encirclement while still maintaining the original formation of their respective groups. They surrounded the person who suddenly appeared in the middle of their ranks.

And when they raised their heads, they saw an ordinary-looking old man, who seemed to be gentle and harmless at first glance.

But despite how deceiving this old man looks, the entire class would never be fooled by his appearance.

The fact that this old man appeared so soundlessly as if he was a ghost, had already proven that he was not an ordinary old man.

In fact, those who were too sensitive to threats and possessed a much sharper sense than everyone else was already sweating much harder than earlier.

Shin, who already awakened a powerful Spiritual Sense, could see much clearer than the others. From his perspective, this old man seemed to be a monster hiding beneath a human appearance. He was even seeing an illusion of a creature that was staring at him with a gaze that seemed to be looking down at everything.

Arthur, who possessed an ancient and majestic bloodline, was seeing this old man as a creature no weaker than dragons. Even someone like him, who was from a family said to be a descendant of a dragon, could not help but be wary of the old man.

Leonard, who gained the Bestial Instincts after his bloodline was aroused by the previous incident that happened to him, was sensing an immense threat coming from the old. His senses were telling him to run away as far as possible since there was a predator in front of him that stood at the peak of the food chain.

Dylan, Jean, Diel, and the rest of the top students were feeling the same. They could clearly see how strong this old man was. Any form of resistance was meaningless in front of him.

It was not like they hadn't seen anything with a similar level of strength. Given their background, they already met a couple of apex experts that could destroy anyone with just a gaze.

But this was the first time they were seeing something with that kind of power, who was seriously trying to kill them. The pure and strong bloodlust alone was more than enough to suffocate them to death.

In their eyes, this old man was the personification of the words 'absolute strength'.

But despite that being the case, these talented individuals of the younger generation refused to submit in front of such power. To them, everything was possible as long as they did not give up.

Even though their bodies were trembling violently due to them forcing their bodies to move despite it being frozen by the immense threat that was coming from the old man.

They gritted their teeth and forced their frozen bodies to move despite the great difficulty.

In the meantime, the old man, who was the subject of the fear that they were sensing, was calmly and leisurely standing on his spot, not showing any sign of movement.

He just stood straight with his hands crossed behind him while watching the little cubs that were surrounding him struggle to regain their control over their bodies.

And after observing the students for a couple of moments and confirming the powerful strength and strong will of a number of individuals, the old man could not suppress the corners of his mouth from rising.

He was completely satisfied with this batch of students that were sent to him. He could not help but feel a little bit excited for their futures.

But before anything else, he had to whip these little ones into shape and turn them into polished gems. For now, he had to show them the real face of this world.

...