Child of Destiny

...

After taking care of the loot that they got, Arthur and Leonard immediately proceeded to the next task that Shin had given them.

"Should I go check the progress of Shin's plans? Or should I also head back to Maple Cloud City alongside you?" asked Arthur as he walked out of the Mayor's Residence together with Leonard.

Hearing that, Leonard thought for a brief moment before shaking his head. "I think we should look for that NPC right now so that we can finish this quest as soon as possible. Isn't that what you want in the first place?"

Arthur dodged Leonard's eyes for a moment before replying. "Well, I indeed want to finish this quest as soon as possible but I feel that there is something strange on this quest which is why I need to make sure that no one is going to bother us while doing it."

"Heh! So, you are going to stir more trouble that will keep everyone busy?" said Leonard smirkingly.

Arthur shrugged his shoulders when he heard that and replied. "If that is how you want to put it, then I indeed want to mess with anyone who will dare to muddle with my quest."

Leonard shook his head after hearing that and quickly said. "Then do whatever you want. Just don't complain when Shin Bro nag at you later."

"Don't worry, I will only keep an eye on the state of the war. I will not personally participate in it," replied Arthur with full confidence.

Leonard was a little skeptical with his words and immediately said. "As if you will dodge a spotlight after seeing one. You are the type who will jump on it to be the center of everything."

He didn't wait for Arthur to reply and quickly turned around while waving his hand. "Just make it quick. After all, you are the main initiator of the quest, so we need you there to clear it properly."

"Heh! Don't worry, this is just a piece of cake," replied Arthur while walking in the opposite direction.

**********

In the meantime, Daulla and Archimedes already went to different places to look for the NPC that was mentioned on the quest. But despite looking everywhere, they still couldn't find the historian.

Aside from the restricted areas within the cities, they already visited almost every place of Maple Cloud City.

"Aren't historians supposedly staying in a place with a lot of books just like the library?  Then why can't we find any clues about him?" complained Daulla as they walked out from another library.

"This city is full of bookstores and libraries yet we can't find any clues about that NPC!" she added with full frustration.

In the meantime, Archimedes was still acting the same. He didn't talk much but he remained observant of their surroundings. And by relying on his senses, he was able to notice the people that were observing them from afar.

At first, he thought that they were players that had some grudges with the members of their team. But he immediately disregarded that idea when he saw that they did nothing aside from watching them from a distance.

And when he discovered that those people were actually NPCs, Archimedes immediately realized what was happening.

"We are going to stop looking for that NPC for the time being," he said to Daulla.

Hearing that, the Magister suddenly stopped her tracks before looking at Archimedes with a deep frown. "Why? We are currently in a hurry!"

The latter smiled briefly before replying. "I will explain it to you later, so let's take a quick rest for now."

Daulla wanted to say something when Archimedes quickly grabbed her arm and dragged her towards the nearest restaurant before looking for a table on the second floor which was also located right beside the window.

The former was still quite confused at the Wingman Archer's actions when they took a seat beside the window. But not long after, she also noticed a couple of NPCs following them on the second floor of the restaurant before sitting on the tables a few meters away.

She was not suspicious at first, but she also realized that they were being observed by those NPCs after meeting their gaze from time to time. Moreover, she also noticed that there were also a few more NPCs observing them from the outside.

"So, that is the case. No wonder we can't find that historian. Finding someone that is purposely hiding is really not going to be easy," she muttered with a soft voice before looking at Archimedes. "What are we going to do now, dad? It looks like we will not be able to find that NPC if this continues."

"We are still not sure if these guys are with that historian or if they are also looking for him just like us," said Archimedes while sweeping his gaze at the NPCs that were observing them.

"For now, let's report what we have discovered and wait for their instructions," he added before opening a virtual screen in front of him and sending a message on the party channel.

Daulla also did the same while also adding more details to the message that Archimedes had already sent.

Not long after, Alucard also sent a report of his own, saying that the thing was happening to him.

– "Should I try to capture one of them and do some interrogation? Based on their levels, these NPCs seem to be an ordinary bunch." – he asked after shaking off his tails successfully.

A few moments later, they immediately received Shin's instructions. "Don't make any sudden movements yet. We are still not sure which side they are on, so keep your movements low for the time being."

"We can't accidentally provoke the historian if they really happen to be on the same side," he added in the message.

"So, what are we going to do now? Are we going to wait until all of them leave?"' asked Daulla.

The reply instantly arrived right after she sent that message. "Don't worry, it will be over in a minute. This type of job is one of my expertise."

Leonard, who just arrived at Maple Cloud City, sent that message. He even added after a brief pause. "Just do what you are doing and act as natural as possible. Meanwhile, I will investigate their origins."

"Then it is decided. You can proceed with that plan," said Shin in the chat before remembering something. He then opened a personal chat box before sending a private message to Leonard. "Hey! Where is Arthur? Don't tell me, he is up to no good once again!"

Reading the message, Leonard couldn't help but wear a bitter smile before replying. "Well, he said that he needs to make sure that no one is going to bother us in the quest. So, he will make sure that everyone else is pretty occupied with something else while we are doing our own thing."

"After all, we are in the middle of clearing an Empire Quest, so we can't afford to encounter an unexpected problem during the process," he added with a bitter tone.

Shin was silent for a couple of moments before nodding his head and replying back. "Just immediately report to me if you encounter any problem, so that I can make a couple of adjustments."

"Of course!" replied Leonard before quickly asking. "How about the situation on your side? Did you find anything special?"

"Nothing much, actually. But given the distance that we've covered from our previous location, I can say that the map beyond this ice wall is really huge. An entire Kingdom perhaps," answered Shin.

He paused for a moment, trying to estimate the size of the map beyond the wall before continuing. "At least, it is a map with the same size as the Saint Heaven Kingdom itself."

Hearing that, Leonard couldn't help but pause his tracks before quickly asking. "Hey! Tell me that it is not true. Do you know how large the Saint Heaven Kingdom is? It is one of the biggest neutral kingdoms of the game."

"And since it is situated in the middle of other countries, a lot of guilds are keeping their eyes on it. And now, you are telling me a high-level map with the same size is sitting right beside it? This is going to be a huge wave for everyone. Definitely!" he added while suppressing the twitching of his cheeks.

"You don't believe me?" said Shin as he initiated a video call. And right after Leonard accepted it, he quickly turned the camera towards the view that he was currently staring at, shocking the latter.

Shin and the others were currently standing at the peak of a particular mountain. And despite its height piercing through the clouds, it was still not high enough to outsize the towering wall of ice.

But at the very least, Shin and the others were able to peek at what lied beyond that wall. It was pretty vague at first because of the thick cloud covering it.

But when Shin turned his gaze to each of his sides, Leonard could see how far the wall was extending. It was as far as his eyes could see and seemingly no end of it.

Boom!

Not long after, a powerful gust of wind suddenly blew from the other side of the wall, clearing the cloud that was covering it.

Then the War God saw a flock of giant birds flying across the sky before diving back underneath the cloud.

After that, Shin suddenly smirked before asking. "So, do you believe me now?"

...…