Child of Destiny

...…

Going back in the game, all of the members of the Empyrean Talons except Charlotte finally arrived at the heart of the Sky Deceiving Valley.

But they couldn't advance any longer because of the towering wall of ice blocking their path. Moreover, it was extending as far as their eyes could see. No matter whether it was its height or width, the group couldn't see the end of both of them.

"I guess this is the reason why we can't properly use our Elemental Possessions. It is because the element in the area is too unbalanced, the Ice Elemental is dominating the other elements," said Shin to Arthur who was knocking the wall of ice.

Seeing those actions, Shin couldn't help but look at his brother with a weird expression on his face. "Hey! If you are planning to brute force your way by breaking it, then forget about it. From the looks of it, this wall is set by the system to prevent us from going further ahead."

"Then what about my quest!?" asked Arthur while glaring at Shin.

Hearing that, Shin suddenly smirked before answering. "Of course, we are going to look for the entrance that will lead us beyond this wall. Locks tend to be unlocked and boundaries are meant to be crossed."

"Maybe, this is one of the hidden l maps and regions just like the Sky Island and the Ocean Kingdom," said Cloe from the side while also looking at the wall in front of them.

Not long after, Ithilien and Archimedes regrouped with the team before quickly reporting.

"This wall seems to be extending endlessly. We tried to follow it to see its end, but it looks like it is covering the entire border of the Kingdom," said Ithilien right after arriving.

Shin tilted his head to the side for a moment when he heard those words before frowning deeply. And after a brief moment of thinking, he suddenly turned his head to Daulla and Chaotic Luck before asking. "What do you think? Can you locate the place where it has the highest density of mana?"

"Unfortunately, we can't. It shouldn't be a problem if not because of this wall. It looks like it is absorbing all of the mana in the vicinity, making it hard for us to properly use our elemental senses," replied Daulla while shaking her head.

"So, we have no choice but to look for the clue ourselves, huh?" muttered Shin before turning his head at the towering wall of ice once again.

"Let's walk along this wall for now while we are looking for clues. It seems like there are no monsters that dare to get near it, so we shouldn't have any problems in exploring," he said to the others before turning to the opposite direction where Ithilien and Archimedes came from.

Hearing that, the group quickly went to their respective positions once again, forming the formation that Shin had set earlier.

Just like what Shin had expected, the team didn't encounter any kind of monster along the way while they were following along the wall of ice.

But as they progressed forward, they suddenly felt that the cold coming from the wall was slowly increasing. Snowflakes were even starting to form in the air before slowly falling off the ground.

Not long after, the group encountered a snowfall that was slowly getting stronger and stronger. Their movements were also starting to get affected by that climate, slowing their exploration progress.

Due to the terrible weather, scouting ahead of the group became much harder. And since it was going to be hard for the group to assist their pathfinders if something went wrong, Shin decided to recall Ithilien and Archimedes, telling them to travel alongside their group instead.

...

"D*mn it! This climate is starting to get on my nerves!" cursed Arthur while summoning a blazing barrier around the group.

"We can't even find any place where we can hide," said Chaotic Luck with a sigh while also making one of his undead monsters come closer to him. He was using the hot flame emitting from its body to keep himself warm.

"Hey! Can you add more of those?" said Alucard while pointing at the blazing undead walking beside Chaotic Luck.

Hearing that, Solaris Lich turned his head to Shin, asking for his permission. After all, he didn't want to mess with their current formation while they were advancing forward.

Shin didn't think much about it and just nodded his head. "Just maintain the formation that I told you about."

Earlier, when the climate was starting to get worse, Shin taught Chaotic Luck another strategic formation while they were traveling. Fortunately, it was not as complex as the one that he learned earlier. So he was able to maintain it while they were exploring.

After getting permission from Shin, Chaotic Luck increased the number of blazing undead surrounding the group.

"Hey! Can I also stop maintaining this barrier? It is really getting annoying," complained Arthur while sighing deeply.

"I don't mind if you are tired, but I am not sure about those three," replied Shin while pointing behind him.

Looking in the direction where Shin was pointing, Arthur saw the three girls glaring back at him. And with the sharp looks that he was getting, the poor Dragon God could only sigh in a helpless manner.

Understanding what he was currently feeling, Shin could only pat Arthur's shoulder, sympathizing with him. "Give them some slack. You should know better than anyone how to deal with this kind of situation."

"Tsk! I am not even trying to win them, so why do I have to care?" muttered Arthur with a soft voice, still complaining.

"Hey! Where is that 'gentleman rules' that you are talking about before? Are you showing your true side now?" asked Shin smirkingly.

Hearing that, Arthur suddenly looked behind him for a moment to take a quick glance at the girls, before quickly whispering to Shin. "Hey, listen. Being a gentleman is not always good. Sometimes, you also need to show your bad side to let them know that you are not perfect."

"Being perfect is cool, but it also has its own drawbacks. Girls tend to get pressured for having a perfect guy beside them. And it takes long enough, they are going to get suffocated and get tired of you."

"Their minds are too complex to understand, so don't ask me how it makes sense. The important thing is how you maintain the balance between two sides."

"You need to be a gentleman that can make their hearts flutter. But at the same time, you also need to be a bad guy that can make them feel some thrill," he added to conclude his words.

Shin stared at Arthur with a weird face for a moment before trying to refute. "But I think the timing is still needed for that. And right now, it is not the right time to pull that kind of stunt."

Hearing that, Arthur suddenly smirked at Shin before replying. "That is why I am still maintaining this barrier."

"Tsk! Tsk! You are still too green. Sometimes, complaining about random things is needed to keep the conversation active, just like how we are talking right now," he added while shaking his head.

He then took a brief pause to look behind them before continuing. "And look, Cloe is staring at us right now. I bet she is curious about what we are talking about."

And this claim became even more true when Shin turned his head at her. Cloe raised her eyebrows while staring at the two.

After that, Arthur quickly struck while the iron was hot. He suddenly pushed Shin away from him, making the latter take a couple of steps backward to stabilize himself. And because of that, Shin was now standing beside Cloe who was currently looking at him.

Ahem!

Seeing the expression that she currently had, Shin couldn't help but clear his throat for a moment while trying to avoid her gaze.

"Why are the two of you whispering with each other earlier? What are you talking about?" asked Cloe without removing her sight at Shin.

Hearing those questions, Shin suddenly felt embarrassed before turning his head to Arthur. Then the corner of his mouth started twitching when he saw that the latter was giving him a 'You-can-do-it' look and an 'I've-done-my-part' look.

Shin cleared his throat once again as he was planning to make some excuse. But before he could even open his mouth, his eyes suddenly caught something stacked on the wall.

"Wait!"

The group immediately stopped their tracks when they heard his words, before looking at him with knitted brows.

Then Shin quickly grabbed Chaotic Luck's cape before saying. "Blast that wall with a fire spell," while pointing at the spot that he saw earlier."

The Solaris Lich was still confused at what was happening but he still followed Shin's instructions. He conjured a huge ball of fire on top of his hand before slamming it on the wall of ice.

Bang!

Unsurprisingly, the wall didn't get damaged at all. Instead, the fire spread throughout its surface before it was extinguished. But when the vapors were suddenly cleared, the group suddenly saw something on the ice wall.

It was an emblem.

A huge emblem was engraved in that towering wall of ice.

They couldn't clearly see the entire appearance of that emblem because of how large it was. But right after they saw it, they all knew that they finally found the entrance that they were looking for.

And as if confirming their thoughts, each of them immediately received a series of system notifications that were informing them about the update of their quest.

...