Child of Destiny

...…

Swoosh! Swoosh!

The gust of wind was gradually getting stronger as the surrounding mana was gathered around the body of the Elemental Clone.

Due to how strong the flow of mana was, Shin could see their movements through the naked eye. He saw them spiraling around the Elemental Clone as it continuously absorbed everything.

The current Elemental Clone was like a greedy monster that was devouring everything.

Shin could already tell that what was going to happen next would be much more troublesome than what it was supposed to be, especially when he saw that the Elemental Clone was transforming along with its rapidly increasing power.

He naturally wanted to stop all of this, but it would be impossible because of the raging storm of energy surrounding the Elemental Clone.

All he could do was watch from the sideline and wait for the final transformation to finish.

While staring at the transforming Elemental Clone, Shin could not help but recall his first promotion quest before this one.

When he did his first promotion quest to become a 'Slayer' and covert his race into a 'Nephilim,' he encountered that strange statue inside the game. He had suffered greatly at the hands of that statue, especially when he repeatedly died during the entire process.

But at the very least, there were still some positive results. He had become much stronger and more familiar with his avatar within the game.

And because of this 'Death' experiences that came along with that trial, his senses had become much sharper.

During his Tier 2 Promotion Quest, he was sent to the independent world where Vladimir, his clansmen, and the citizens of his fallen nation had been sealed for countless years.

He had fought a series of blood creatures during his time there and encountered a powerful Blood Demon called Crimson Doppelganger as the final boss if he excluded Vladimir himself, who was the original owner and ruler of that realm.

In that battle, Shin had honed his battle capabilities and even had a deeper understanding of the game. He discovered that this virtual world was not as simple as it seemed to be.

Then when he reached over a hundred level, he took the Awakening Quest, which was similar to the promotion quest.

During that time, he had fought against Mondi's and Regan's clones and experienced a portion of powers.

He had struggled during that battle, but he had also gained quite a lot throughout the entire process. He had gotten a much deeper understanding of the two skills.

He had also polished his sword drawing further during that time. It was also the time when he had become more familiar with his Class Fighting Style, making his battle prowess more mature. He even created a couple of new skills at that time.

Even though he had favored Mondi's Style more and neglected Regan's Method in future battles, he could still feel the depth of the two legacy skills was quite on the same level.

It was until recently that he realized that he could do more complicated skills and techniques when he had combined the two.

And last but not least, was the progress that he had made when trying to clear this Tier 3 Promotion Quest.

Not only he had gotten a more mature fighting style, but he had gained a much deeper understanding of his skills, techniques, and other battle capabilities.

He had also polished the ever-changing fighting style that he had been using. With this complicated style, which concerned a series of sword styles and different types of swords during the battle, he was able to find the path that he needed to take for his mentalism swordsmanship.

During his battle against these four clones, he had already discovered that his swordsmanship should centered around the sword-drawing style while the rest of the sword styles would be the supporting ones.

He could shift between the two main styles depending on the situation. So long as a style would fit a certain situation, he would not hesitate to switch and use that style.

Staring at the Elemental Clone, Shin understood that the next part of the promotion quest would test everything that he had understood and gained during the previous battles.

If it was compared to academics and other school activities, then the next part of the quest would be the final exam that would test everything that he had learned from the entire semester.

"Alright, let's see how good I have become," mumbled Shin as stood straight and relaxed his body while waiting.

He would adjust his mindset and mood to prepare for the upcoming battle. He knew that the next part of the promotion quest would be much more intense than everything that he had experienced up until now.

A couple of moments later, a series of system notifications rang in his ears.

*Ding*

System: The second and final part of the Promotion Quest is commencing!

System: The Final Clone was undergoing a metamorphosis!

System: Searching for a suitable model for the 'Noble Phantasm!'

*Ding*

System: A perfect model has been found!

System: Converting the Final Clone to a 'Noble Phantasm!'

*Ding*

System: 'Noble Phantasm: The Fallen' has been released!

*Ding*

System: Adjusting the quest difficulty.

System: Sealing off the majority of the strength of the Fallen.

*Ding*

System: The second part of the Promotion Quest is now starting!

…

When the final notification sounded, Shin slowly opened his eyes as if taking it as a cue.

He then directed his gaze toward the figure floating in the air in the distance.

It was then he saw a humanoid creature wearing pitch-black armor with golden runes outlining the segments that it had. The deep and dark color of the armor looked like an abyss while the golden runes on the edges were like stars in the dark sky.

Shin also saw a dark cloak worn over that armor. This cloak seemed to have the ability to conceal the presence of the person wearing it. There was also a thin fog that was being emitted by the cloak, shrouding the figure of the humanoid creature.

Focusing his gaze on the face of this creature, Shin found that the latter seemed to have a handsome feature. Despite the ruthlessness and cruelty hidden under the crimson eyes of this creature, it was still hard not to recognize its handsome face.

The hood hanging over its head was fluttering along with the wind, giving Shin a glimpse of the pair of horns underneath.

If not for the golden halo shining brightly over the head of this creature, then Shin would suspect that it was a demon.

On the back of the humanoid creature, Shin saw three pairs of wings. Half of them were angelic and carrying a holy aura while the other half was demonic which was filled with wicked and murderous aura.

Shin could sense a heavy pressure just by staring at them.

This humanoid creature was holding a strange sword that seemed to be a Zweihänder. Its blade seemed to have two segments, forming a diamond shape in between the segments.

It had a cross handle with strange patterns that had fan-shaped edges. Below this handle was another cross-shaped guard, which was twice as large as the previous one. At the very bottom of it was another cross, but much smaller compared to the two.

The blade of this sword was enfolded with alternating golden and crimson flames.

Behind this creature was a huge rune formation that looked like the emblem engraved on the back of Shin's hand. It was a sun emblem with a crescent moon at the center and twelve rays surrounding it.

And as if it was not enough, Shin could also see eight swords of different varieties rotating behind this creature like the hands of a clock.

Looking at its imposing figure, Shin could sense an immense threat that he had never felt before. It might be inferior to the most powerful beings that he had encountered inside the game, but it was giving him a strange feeling that it was not weaker when compared to them.

Using his 'True Sight' skill, Shin tried to see its basic details.

----------------------

[Monster/NPC Name]: Lucy, the Fallen (Clone)

[Title]: Betrayer of Heaven, Ruler of Hell

[Rank]: King Class (Adjusted)

Race: Angel and Demon, ???

Life Rating: Holy and Corrupted, ???

Level: Invalid

HP: Default

Details: ???

------------------

The corner of Shin's mouth suddenly twitched when he saw the information panel. He did not know how to react to it and just stared blankly in the air.

Not long after, he could not help but curse the developers of the game. "What the heck is this? Do those developers have grown sh*t in their heads? What kind of difficulty is this? They want me to solo a King Class Monster for real?"

"Not only it is a Named Monster, but it also has three different titles! For f*ck's sake! I am not a masochist, alright!?"

"Don't tell me they are sabotaging me or something so that I can't clear this quest," he added as he warily looked at the Fallen.

Little did he know, no one wanted him to clear this promotion quest more than those developers. The current progress of the game would drastically change and get back on the right track if he cleared this quest.

The original flow of the game storyline would be on track once again if he had cleared this Promotion Quest, indirectly helping them from their current predicament.

He had no idea that what he was doing right now was currently being broadcasted in different departments of the World Gaming Organization, watching his progress.

The Research and Development Department, the Monitoring Department, and the Design and Quest Department were the ones who were praying greatly for his success.

He had unknowingly become the current main attraction within the headquarters of the World Gaming Organization.

…

Taking a stance, Shin got ready for the battle.

Seemingly taking his actions as a cue, Lucy, the Fallen had suddenly made his move. He raised his sword in the air before swinging it down in a seemingly casual manner.

But that simple-looking movements made Shin continuously curse the game developers once more.

What he saw was a huge crescent wave falling from the sky and heading toward him at extreme speed. It was being covered by rolling flames that seemed to be full of rage and resentment.

Wail!

He could hear the cries of pain, grief, anger, and resentment of ghostly creatures coming from that descending giant wave.

Shin knew that there was no point in running since this crescent wave was covering all the escape routes and retreat paths that he could take from every direction.

All he could do was to face the incoming attack head-on!

With a powerful stomp on the ground, Shin fearlessly took his signature sword-drawing stance while circulating the mana within him to the fullest.

He moved them according to the three secret breathing techniques while forcefully fusing them into one and channeling their combined forces into the sword.

In this predicament, there was only a single skill that he could think of to stop this descending giant wave.

It had been a while since he used this Class Fighting Style. He even had forgotten when he had last used it.

Bang!

The accumulated powers had instantly reached its peak, making the surrounding air explode.

His feet firmly planted on the ground and sank on it for half an inch before a series of cracks spread in every direction.

He was converting this in-game skill into a real-life sword technique with the help of the three secret breathing techniques and the 'Jade Kirin Scripture.'

Click!

His thumb pushed the [Yamato] as he pulled the sword out from its sheath and swung it in the air.

Shing!

'Jade Kirin Scripture: Quick Draw (Tri-Elemental Form): Purgatory Stance'

Swoosh!

The first swing was not performed that fast due to the three elements infused in the move, but it was executed with great perfection.

Swoosh!

The crescent wave that he had released was inferior compared to the descending sword wave, but it carried the unification of the three elements: the heaviness and steadiness of earth, the sharpness and toughness of metal, and the explosiveness and fieriness of fire!

Boom!

The first collision seemed to have not affected the descent of the giant sword despite how powerful the explosion was, but that was just the start.

Shing! Shing! Shing!

Swoosh! Swoosh! Swoosh!

Shin did not pause his movements as he continuously sheathed and unsheathed the [Yamato] in a steady manner and extreme precision.

The first few movements were rather slow and awkward, but he was able to quickly adjust himself. His actions had gradually become smooth and natural.

Boom! Boom! Boom!

He had also picked up the speed after a couple of seconds and bombarded the descending sword wave with his own. Each sword wave that he had released was stronger than the previous ones, showing the real strength of this skill.

That giant sword had lost its momentum after being bombarded by a series of sword waves and slowed down.

It was at that moment when Shin unsheathed the sword one last time and released the final and strongest sword wave.

Shing!

'Jade Kirin Scripture: Quickly Draw (Tri-Elemental Form) – Purgatory Stance – Final Crescent'

Swoosh!

A much larger crescent wave was released from the [Yamato] and flew straight to the sky, rivaling the descending sword wave sent by the Fallen.

BOOM!

Shin maintained his final posture as he released a long breath. He stared at the Fallen floating in the sky and looked back at him in a haughty manner.

The curtain of the falling embers of fire from the previous explosion blocked their vision from time to time, but they refused to retrack their gazes, refusing the back down from the staredown.

And when the final embers fell on the ground and dissipated, as if taking it as a cue, the two of them simultaneously disappeared from their respective spots before reappearing in the air while maintaining a few meters away from each other and getting ready to strike each other down.

Lucy had swung his sword at Shin in an imposing manner while the latter swiftly pulled out the [Yamato] from its sheath and strongly swung it at his opponent.

Swoosh!

Shing!

Boom!

...