Child of Destiny



...

Shin continued his journey and arrived at his destination when the first day (in-game time) since the servers went back online was about to end.

He took a couple of stops whenever he found a good spot to rest and recover his peak form along the way. He had also harvested quite a number of rare herbs during his trip alongside the materials that he got from the Lord Rank Monsters that he had encountered during his travel.

He encountered quite a lot of monsters during the entire journey, but he did not find a single Overlord Rank Monster and above, which made him quite suspicious. But since hunting here was not his main priority, he ignored it and continued his travel.

And when he was about to reach the entrance of the Starry Spears Mountain Forests, he found a group of players blocking his path.

"Looks like they can't take it any longer. They are forced to make a move," he mumbled when he saw the group.

He was considering what he was going to do, but he quickly set it aside since he knew that they were no match against him despite their advantage in numbers.

"It is quite surprising that they have endured it up until now given that it is already obvious that my destination is this place. Let's see what they have decided this time," he said to himself before continuing to move forward.

He was wearing the [Nightwalker's Cloak] along with the [Nephilim's Mask], so it was impossible for these people to see through his information. What they could see was a black window, telling them nothing.

If not for them being sure that he was a player, then they would suspect that he was an NPC without the slightest bit of doubt.

And given that the good of the cloak hanging over his head cast a shadow underneath it, they could not clearly see the signature mask that he was wearing, much less his real appearance.

This was one of the main reasons why the other party was tiptoeing around him up until now. Their guild leader did not want to accidentally provoke a monster even among the Godlike Players of the game without them knowing.

And sure enough, the cautiousness of their guild leader saved them this time. If not, then their entire guild would suffer a devastating loss that they could never imagine, especially now that the penalty of dying was much harsher than before.

Shin stopped a few meters away from the entrance of the Starry Spears Mountain Forest and stood across the group standing in front of him.

He slightly raised his head to have a clear look at them before asking. "What do you want?"

The Human Wizard standing at the center of the group stepped forward and introduced himself. "My friend, I am Mychell, the guild leader of the Azure Wind Guild. Can I ask what your business is in visiting this place?"

Shin found it amusing that this person was really trying not to provoke him with those polite words. But since he already knew about their agenda, he tried to stir some trouble to see their decision. "What? Do I have to report to you when and where I need to go?"

"Are you also like those guilds, who will restrict the players from entering a certain map because they are controlling that area?"

"Don't joke around me. You don't own anything here," he added as he slightly moved his cloak and revealed his sheathed katana.

His thumb pushed the katana a bit, revealing its blade slightly while releasing an overwhelming pressure.

When he did that, the expression of the opposing party quickly turned grim as he could instantly feel the gap between them and this expert.

What a joke!

Even if they try to stop him here and fight, they knew that they would be slaughtered within a blink of an eye.

That gap was just that big!

They might be experts in front of the average and mainstream players, but in front of this player, they were nothing but a bunch of nobodies that he could slaughter at any time.

Aside from their guild leader, who could at least exchange a couple of blows against this guy, the rest of them did not stand a chance.

Mychell smiled and ignored the threatening pressure that was pressing on them before answering. "Don't misunderstand, my friend. We are not here to stop you. But we just want to warn you that an organization larger than our own is currently doing a huge operation here."

"Interesting!" muttered Shin with a voice that he could only hear when he heard those words. He could see that this Mychell guy had a way with his words.

But the thing that made him most interested was the way the latter dealt with things.

He could see through the intention of the opposing party. It might look like they want to prevent him from moving forward and warn him about the huge organization backing them, urging Shin to reconsider.

But the real reason why they were stopping him here was to buy some time for the Black Market to arrive at him while also preventing him from 'discovering' the rich mines that the region had to offer.

He was sure that they were already aware that his destination was this place, so he could easily guess that they had already reported this matter to the Black Market. But since the latter needed some time to send their own experts here, they were instructed to at least buy them some time until their forces arrived.

Shin could not help but chuckle at that thought. He was not worried about the forces that the Black Market was going to send the slightest. In fact, he was quite eager to meet them here, so that he could test a couple of things against them.

He was in the middle of polishing his style and experimenting with some of his in-game skills. He was more than happy to welcome such a challenge from a large organization such as this one.

Moreover, he had already contacted the Hand of Midas Trading Firm, and he was sure that they were already making preparations to build a channel that would connect this place and their nearest branch.

He was even expecting to see those armored vehicles that he had seen during their operation in the Blind Abyss Empire, where they 'stole' the magic stones and crystals under the noses of the Undying Guild and the Central Order.

Thinking about that, Shin turned to the people in front of him and sharpened his eyes before asking with a chilling tone. "Is that a threat?"

Swoosh!

Right after those words left his mouth, the pressure that was crushing on the opposing party became heavier and started suffocating them.

"Urgh!"

Painful groans started to come out from their mouths as the group could not help but bend their knees while enduring their pressure. Aside from Mychell, who was still doing fairly fine, the rest of the group were either almost on their knees due to the pressure or holding their chest as they struggled to breathe.

Mychell found his clenched arm was trembling, not because he was like the others enduring the pressure, but because he was feeling excited about the battle. He wanted to test himself against someone who was clearly stronger than him by at least a grade higher or two.

Shin, who was releasing that suffocating pressure also noticed that and could not help but smile under his mask. The more he looked at this Mychell guy, the more he found this guy interesting.

'Too bad he already belongs to a guild, and even the guild leader at that. If not, I will extend a hand and invite him to join us,' the thought before shaking his head.

'I have already given them enough time. I have to move now and get what I need before dealing with the people that the Black Market is going to send,' he thought to himself before taking a step forward.

The people on the opposite side could not help but feel their numbing senses when they saw Shin lift his foot in the air and was about to step forward.

They were expecting the worse and readied themselves to battle despite them knowing how large the gap between their strengths and this monster was.

But what witnessed next sent a shiver down their spines.

Shin disappeared for a brief moment before founding him walking between their ranks in a casual manner.

Their bodies tensed. They were unable to move as he walked past them without even glancing at them. It was as if he was treating them as if they were nothing but air.

And when he stepped on the entrance of Starry Spears Mountain Forest, where a pair of mountains across each other were forming a deep valley was located, he paused and said. "If you think that the Black Market will be able to stop me, then think again."

"They may be one of the largest organizations looming in the dark right now, but they are still inferior when compared to the real Powerhouses of the game," he added before continuing to move forward.

At the same time, the members of the Azure Wind Guild could not help but felt their bodies trembling. It was at that moment that they realized that they were facing a person who was already aware of everything, yet still dared to continue.

They could only thank the insights of their guild leader for being able to see through something that they failed to see. If not for him, then they would most likely have committed a mistake that they would regret forever.

In the meantime, Mychell stared at the spot where Shin first stood for a few moments before sighing with a bitter smile.

"The gap – it is still too big," he muttered before turning around and looking at the entrance of the Sparry Spears Mountain Forest before saying to himself. "It looks like I still have to work hard if I want to get invited to the Hegemon Cup."

...