Child of Destiny

...…

After separating with Owen and Ithilien, Shin and Charlotte quickly proceeded towards the potential rebirthing place that the latter was talking about.

During their journey, Shin felt a little heartbroken since they encountered quite a lot of strong monsters along the way that could give them a decent amount of experience points.

Unfortunately, their current situation didn't permit them to hunt those monsters down since they were currently in a hurry; they couldn't afford to waste time grinding for some experience points.

But at the same time, there were still some things that they couldn't avoid no matter how hard they tried. And one of them was Shin's 'best friend', the trouble itself. It didn't matter where Shin hid as trouble would always find its way towards him.

While they were heading towards the destination, Shin and Charlotte encountered quite a lot of red-named players along the way, who tried to rob them. Unfortunately for those guys, they happened to mess with the wrong people and got robbed instead.

From time to time, Shin also encountered a few numbers of strong players who also had a decent level of battle prowess. And even if they managed to put up a decent fight, all of them were still beaten black and blue but Shin and Charlotte in an instant.

The two of them were already tired of the repeated ambushes during their journey, so they didn't hold anything back whenever they encountered an ambush from any players; especially the ones who had red tags on their names.

But not long after, they discovered that their opponents were gradually getting stronger as they proceeded towards their destination.

"Looks like we encountered a Dark Guild somehow," said Shin while clearing up the battlefield right after another battle.

"Based on the guild emblem that they have, they should be the members of the 'Venimeux Guild'," said Charlotte while helping Shin at cleaning up the battlefield. The players that they were currently dealing with were quite skilled and had some high-class equipment which was going to be a waste if they just left the drops behind.

She paused for a moment before quickly adding. "It is a Dark Guild that is quite famous here in the Elven Kingdom. Their main operation is also robbing any players who are passing by their territory and stealing Monster Bosses in the wild just like your common Dark Guilds. The only difference is these guys are doing their operations on a larger scale."

"Then that means we are currently in their territory, I assume? After all, we keep on bumping into their members for a while now," said Shin with a deep frown.

But Charlotte immediately shook her head when she read that before saying. "That shouldn't be the case since their territory should be on the other side of the map, in the Pale Forest. We are currently in the 'Valley of the Lost Time', so we are on the completely opposite side of their territory."

Hearing that, Shin quickly clicked his tongue and quickly said. "Tsk! So, are you telling me that these guys have some business here which is why they are in this place?"

"D*mn it! I can already see what is waiting for us ahead," cursed Shin as his instincts were telling him that there were more problems waiting for them ahead.

He was quiet for a few moments before turning to Charlotte while asking. "Is there any significant place around here? Like a rich hunting ground or even a Special Overlord Boss?"

Charlotte thought for a few moments before replying. "From what I know, there are indeed some Bosses around this area. But I am pretty sure that they are not good enough to attract the interest of the 'Venimeux Guild'."

"Unless they discover a new species of monsters that are worth the trouble of coming here," she added while falling into deep thought.

"That's that. Let's leave it for now. As long as they don't get in our way when we are doing our own task, then I will also not bother myself with them," said Shin before standing up and sweeping his gaze at the battlefield once again.

After making sure that he didn't miss anything, he turned at Charlotte once again before saying. "Let's go."

Charlotte stared at Shin for a couple of moments before nodding her head and leading the way once again. But deep inside, she couldn't help but think that there was something odd with Shin.

During their entire journey, Shin never initiated any conversation unless it concerned anything important. If it was another player, they would go crazy just to get near her once they knew who she was. But compared to them, this guy seemed to be unwilling to even have an idle chat with her.

She was still preoccupied with her thoughts when Shin suddenly pulled her back and held her in his arms while covering her mouth. She sharply glared at him and was about to ask what he was doing when she saw him gesturing to her to keep quiet while keeping his eyes ahead of them.

After that, she cast her gaze in front of them and saw a huge wolf with crimson furs sleeping peacefully on top of a rock boulder. And around it was a large pack of wolves roaming around.

Seeing that Charlotte finally calmed down, Shin let her go before observing the area ahead of them. "Tsk! There are more than 50 wolves around. There are at least 5 that are in Commander Ranks while the rest are high-level Special Elites."

"But the main problem is that huge wolf over there. I can't clearly see its details but it looks like it is in Overlord Rank at the very least," he added while squinting his eyes.

In the meantime, Charlotte was staring at the pack of wolves with fully wide eyes while muttering with a soft voice. "Those are the Berserker Wolves!"

Hearing that, Shin couldn't help but slightly knitted his brow before asking. "Berserker Wolves? But their information says that they are called Glacial Dire Wolves."

Charlotte looked at Shin and explained a little. "It was a common nickname given to them by the players, especially the ones who are regularly hunting in the Snowy Mountain Range. They are called that way since these wolves are going berserk as more members of their packs die. And for every wolf that has been killed, the battle prowess of the remaining monsters will gradually increase."

She then took a brief pause to take a closer look at the huge wolf sleeping on the rock boulder before continuing. "And if I am not wrong, then that one over there is the so-called 'Alpha'. Killing it is already troublesome since it is always surrounded by the pack, but what makes it even more problematic is the fact it is in the constant state of Berserk."

"Moreover, it also gains more strength as more members of its pack die just like the others," she added while wearing a heavy expression on her face.

She paused for a couple of moments before quickly continuing. "But that is not the main issue here. These monsters should be in the Snowy Mountain Range since that place is their natural habitat. It is very odd for them to be here."

Shin slightly knitted his brow when he heard that before asking. "Where is that place? The Snowy Mountain Range that you are talking about."

"Up North. It is not that far from here but it is still a considerable distance for these monsters to travel," answered Charlotte in an instant.

Shin thought for a moment before saying. "There can only be two reasons for these wolves to migrate from their original habitat. It is either they find this place more suitable for them to hunt or they are forced to migrate here by something."

"And from what we can see, the Dark Guild that we encountered earlier knows the reason behind this, which is why they are scouting the neighboring area to make sure that the other players will not discover it yet."

"Either way, it looks like we can avoid fighting these monsters since they are blocking our way. Taking a detour is impossible either since they are all over the place already," he added after sweeping his gaze at the vicinity.

But when Charlotte heard that, she immediately grabbed the collar of Shin's cloak before saying. "Are you crazy? Do you know how large the pack of these monsters is?"

"Isn't it only a little over fifty? That shouldn't be a problem for us," said Shin in a nonchalant manner before shrugging his shoulders while adding. "As for their berserk ability, it is going to be useless as long as we kill them all at the same time. So, our only problem is 'Alpha Wolf' who is leading the pack."

Hearing that, Charlotte looked at Shin disdainfully before saying. "As for this pack, yes. But it is a different story if the nearby pack joined the prey."

"Huh? What are you talking about?" asked Shin in confusion.

Charlotte sighed for a moment before further explaining their current situation to Shin. "Monsters here in the Elven Kingdom are quite different from the ones in the Saint Heaven Kingdom."

"The mana density of the hunting grounds in this kingdom is much higher from where you came from. And because of that, the monsters here are more powerful and more intelligent than the other countries."

"Take these Berserker Wolves for example. These monsters are not only troublesome just because of their Berserk Ability, but because their pack is always moving together alongside the other packs."

"To be more precise, these Berserker Wolves are always together to the point that the place that they are currently staying will become a hunting ground. And that is the reason why the players hunting them need to be highly skilled while their parties should be at least in expedition level."

Hearing that, the corner of Shin's mouth suddenly twitched uncontrollably before saying. "You are only telling me that now when we can no longer get out of this place? Moreover, you are the one who led me to this place."

Charlotte suddenly glared at Shin when she heard his tone; he seemed to be blaming her that they are currently in this situation. And after a moment, she immediately snarled at him. "How can I know that these monsters migrated here when I am busy with my quest in the Saint Heaven Kingdom?"

Shin made a snarling look behind his mask when he couldn't find the right words to refute her. After that, he tried to calm himself down before asking. "Just tell me that that monster boss doesn't have a skill that can suppress our Elemental Spirits from being summoned."

Unfortunately, Charlotte gave him an awkward smile under her veil alongside an answer that he really didn't want to hear. "It is not as strong as the experts that have, but it is enough to prevent us summoning all of our Elemental Companions."

'F*ck my luck!' cursed Shin inside before asking. "So, how many can we summon?"

Hearing that, Charlotte raised her index finger as she put up an embarrassed look with her eyes. "One."

Shin could only close his eyes and raised his head towards the sky before muttering to himself. "Oh, Goddess of Luck, why have you forsaken me at a time like this?"

...…