Child of Destiny

...

"So, what is the plan for this guy?" asked Arthur as he looked at Kayne who was released by Shin from the prison prism.

"We should have given him to that Archimedes guy earlier and let him handle the rest," said Leonard while also looking at Kayne with knitted brows.

"That is not going to be a good idea," said Shin as he walked beside the two.

Hearing that, the two couldn't help but knit their brows for being confused. And when Shin saw that expression on their faces, he chuckled for a moment before explaining. "That is because this guy is like a tracker for our mysterious opponent."

"Huh?"

The two became even more confused when they heard those words and looked at him with an even deeper frown on their faces.

Seeing that, Shin chuckled a little before saying. "Just look. This is one of the leaders who are taking orders directly from their boss. Do you think they have no means to communicate with him if that is the case? Of course not!"

"And I'm suspecting that is the reason why he said that he can locate his boss earlier," he added while turning his gaze at Kayne.

Shin stared at him with squinting eyes before continuing. "But such methods can also be used the other way around. If these guys can locate his boss, then that guy can also locate them back."

"Which practically explains how he can keep an eye on them all the time," said Cloe as she joined them.

"So, are you saying through this guy, their boss can find a way to enter the so-called floating castle if is taken there?" asked Leonard with knitted brows.

Shin shrugged his shoulders when he heard that before replying. "Well, that is still just a suspicion."

"But when you look closely at it, how come these guys are still biding their time if the location of the floating castle is practically obvious? Why not attack it directly if it is right in front of them?"

"Maybe because it is being guarded by those so-called Keepers," he added with another shrug of his shoulders.

He then turned his head back to Kayne before saying. "So, that cunning snake is probably planning to let this guy get captured by that Archimedes guy and use him to find the safe way to sneak inside that floating castle."

"Well, yeah, it is their main target after all," agreed Artur while nodding his head. He then turned his head at Shin once again before asking for another time. "So, what's your plan with this guy?"

Hearing that, Shin started grinning evilly before talking out the [Spiritual Executioner] and [Silent Killers] from the [Belt of Tomi] wrapped around his waist. "Well, I learned something new from that duo earlier so let me give it a try."

Arthur's face suddenly turned when he saw Shin taking out his flying daggers and needles; especially when he saw the scary look that he was currently wearing. "What are you going to do with those?"

On the other hand, Kayne started trembling in fear while looking at Shin with a terrified expression on his face.

"I-I…" he started stuttering as he was trying to say something but he was too terrified to force out the words from his mouth.

Meanwhile, Shin just ignored the expression that he had and stood up before picking Kayne up and dragging him away from the group. "I'm going to test something. Don't let Cloe get close."

"Huh!?" said Cloe as he looked at Shin with a deep frown.

Meanwhile, Arthur and Leonard were looking at Shin's back with a twitching face as they could already guess what Shin was trying to do.

Not long after, the three heard Kayne's loud cries of agony coming from the place where Shin had brought him to. And after a few more moments, they saw Shin walking back on his own.

"Where is he?" asked Arthur when he didn't see Kayne walking alongside Shin.

Hearing that, Shin just shrugged his shoulders while replying in a nonchalant manner. "Well, his tenacity is quite weak so the system put him in deep sleep mode."

"Fortunately, I immediately put him back inside the prison prism before the game forcefully logged him out.," he added with the same nonchalant tone.

"That is not what I'm talking about. Is he-…?" Arthur was trying to say something when Shin immediately shut him off.

"Don't worry. I didn't go overboard or something, he was just too scared earlier; that's all!" said Shin reassuringly while tapping Arthur's shoulders.

Though, he was having a slightly different thought in mind. 'This game is starting to become evil. To think that they will give the players the ability to do that kind of 'interrogation'? Tsk!'

On the other hand, Cloe grabbed the edge of Shin's cloak which made him pause his steps.

"Hmm?" Shin turned his head and looked at Cloe who currently had her head lowered and looking on the ground.

Seeing that, Shin smiled slightly before patting her head gently while saying.  "As I said, it is not like what you guys are thinking. So, don't worry."

Before the atmosphere surrounding them could even become more awkward, Leonard immediately clapped his hand to quickly change the topic by asking. "So, what happened? Did you get something?"

Thankful, Shin immediately turned his head at him before answering. "Well, I at least learned how to locate their boss from that guy alongside some useful hints."

"So, we can hunt him now?" asked Arthur with a frown.

Unfortunately, Shin shook his head and replied with a bitter smile. "The problem is we can't use that method anymore. The other side already anticipated that we are going to use it right after we captured that Kayne dude."

"And with that, he already blocked all of the possible trails that may expose his location," he added while pursing his lips.

"Tch! So, there is really no way to track him down?" said Arthur, complaining.

But Shin immediately waved his index finger and quickly added. "Ah-Ah~! From the information that I got, there is still a way to find him."

Hearing that, the two immediately turned their heads towards him with skeptical looks on their faces.

"And that is?" seemed to be the words that were written on their faces.

Shin then suddenly smirked after reading the thoughts running inside their heads and said. "If you want to lure the snake out of its nest, you only have 2 ways to do it."

"First is to burn its nest to force the snake to abandon it. Second, throw a good bait that will tempt it to willingly leave its nest."

The two were still not convinced and continued to look at Shin with confused looks on their faces.

"But we already finished the first one. We even burned the whole place which also alerted the others due to how huge the fire we created," said Arthur sneeringly.

"That is why we are going with the second option," refuted Shin instantly.

"But what bait do we have?" asked Leonard while frowning his eyebrows.

This time, Shin started grinning from ear to ear before saying. "Well, I now know what that guy is targeting. He is after the thing hidden inside the floating castle."

"Well, that's obvious! And most likely, it is also the reason why Archimedes and Daulla are guarding that place," said Arthur almost immediately.

Hearing that, Shin turned his head at him and sneered. "Unfortunately, those two and that guy are partially wrong."

"Huh!?" Arthur and Leonard became even more confused the moment they heard those words. Even Cloe who was keeping herself quiet couldn't help but look at Shin with a knitted brow.

Seeing that they still couldn't get what he was pointing out, Shin could only release a helpless sight before explaining further. "Look, it is pretty obvious that those two sides are after Garuda's complete inheritance."

"First, that guy named Archimedes already got half of it which is why he now belongs to the Wingmen Race. But don't you find it strange that he has a pair of silver wings instead of having golden ones."

"After all, he is supposedly Garuda's Descendent, so he should be having a feature which is completely similar to his Predecessor, shouldn't he?"

"At first, I thought that was because he only received a part of the inheritance. But after seeing him fight earlier, I'm pretty sure that it is not the case."

He paused for a brief moment to let his words be processed by the three before continuing. "From the battle earlier. He didn't even use a single skill under his main class; not even a basic or simple skill."

"Maybe he is purposely not using them since they are his trump cards?" refuted Arthur.

Shin just shrugged his shoulders when he heard that and said in return. "Possibly. But… Out of all people, you two should be the ones to know more about that since you guys meet a Wingman with golden wings personally, right?"

"Ah!"

Hearing that, both Arthur and Leonard immediately came into a realization as they got what he was implying.

"Well, they are indeed different. I can't find a trace of divine powers from that Archimedes guy," said Leonard noddingly.

But at the same time, Arthur was still shaking his head and said. "But it is a comparison between an NPC and a Player, so the difference is meant to be huge."

"Before that, how about the differences between an NPC and another NPC?" said Shin before directing his gaze to Leonard.

Understanding what Shin was trying to say, Leonard fell into deep thought before replying after a brief moment. "Similar yet also different at the same time."

"Of course! They come from the same Race but also from different tribes!" refuted Arthur.

But Leonard immediately shook his head and explained. "No, we are not talking about that. Shin Bro is trying to ask me if they have the unique scent of Beastman people as well as the leaders of Beastmen tribes who are staying in the Temple of the God of War."

While Arthur was still racking his brain to keep up with the two, Shin suddenly asked another question. "Did you guys also encounter the leaders of the Wingmen Tribe? The leading Tribes I mean."

"Yeah, just two of them though, the leaders of One-Horned Tribe and Silver-winged Tribe," answered Leonard instantly.

"And their scent? The same assessment?" asked Shin.

Leonard knitted his brow for a moment before nodding his head. "Yeah."

Shin then nodded his head before asking another. "What about their strengths and battle capabilities then?"

"About the same too, I guess," replied Leonard in an instant before adding. "We immediately flee when we recognize that they are the Tribe Leaders, so I'm not sure if they are really on the same level."

But what he said seemed to be more than enough for Shin to confirm his suspicions. "I guess that's all we can do for now. Should we go check it out then?"

"Huh? Where?" Leonard was still quite confused so he was trying to ask another question. But he was about to ask it when a sudden flash of thought entered his mind. "Ah! Could it be!?"

Seeing that Leonard seemed to figure out something, Arthur suddenly became frustrated and shouted. "Hey! As I said! What the hell are you two talking about!?"

But instead of answering him, Leonard just patted his shoulder and said. "Shin Bro seems to figure out something and is planning to see if he is right. Let's go."

After that, he chased after Shin while shouting at Chaotic Luck who was guarding the perimeter. "Hey, Luck! Guarding duty is over! We are heading out now."

"Understood, Big Brother!" answered Chaotic Luck before recalling his Undead Monsters before following after him.

Meanwhile, Arthur was staring at them with a fierce glare before going with them. But he just took a couple of steps when he noticed Cloe was refusing to move. "What's wrong?"

Hearing that, Cloe slowly raised her head and looked at him with teary eyes. "Shin-… he is not going back to his old self, right?"

Understanding what she meant, Arthur forced a smile before reassuring her. "Ah~… About earlier? Don't let it bother you."

He then paused for a moment before pointing at his eyes while saying. "You also see it, right? He still has that light in his eyes."

"What's more, Leonard and I are keeping an eye on him, so there is nothing for you to worry about."

"But most importantly, you should also trust him. You know him very well; he will not break any promises that already he made," he added before walking away. "Let's go! They are waiting."

On the other hand, Cloe looked in the distance where Shin was looking back at her and gesturing to her to hurry.

Seeing that, she immediately calmed herself down and recollected her thoughts. After that, she immediately regained her composure and went back to her usual cheerful self.

She then started running towards them while muttering to herself. "That's right! He will not break his promise; especially to me."

...