Child of Destiny

...

Bang!

Shin destroyed the final statue after a long battle. The group decided to finally destroy all of the statues after knowing that they could no longer improve themselves with them. And just like what he was expecting, he received a system notification about conquering the place as the leader of the party.

*Ding!*

System: Congratulations! You have conquered one of the 'Five Penance Training Grounds'!

System: As the first party to clear this training ground, you and your group will receive a hefty sum of rewards!

*Ding!*

System: You received the blueprint of the Five Penance Training Ground (Eyesight).

System: An ongoing quest related to the Five Penance Training Ground has been detected! Please finish your quest first before receiving the rest of the rewards.

System: The remaining rewards will be distributed once you clear your quest.

...

Shin immediately smiled when he saw the first pair of notifications. Especially when he realized that there might be four more training grounds like this one.

But not long after, that bright smile on his face immediately turned bitter after reading the next pair of system notifications.

"So, that is how it is! Tsk! Tsk! I am overcomplicating things a little too much. It turns out that this quest is actually that simple," muttered Shin to himself with a bitter tone.

After that, he immediately opened the information panel of their current quest and looked at the locations that were indicated on it. And just like what he was expecting, there were a total of five spots including this place that they were currently in.

"Five? Now I understand. That Chief Choi, or whatever his real name is, is trying to test us if we are worthy to be the new protectors of that small village," said Shin as he continued to contemplate on himself. "As for the investigation of the missing knights, we might encounter more clues along the way."

Seeing him being lost in his own world once again, the other members of the group couldn't help shaking their heads while also wearing a bitter smile.

"Look at him talking to himself again. Do we really look unreliable to him? Why does he always like to make plans by himself?" said Owen while knitting his eyebrows.

"It is obviously one of his habits," commented Akailu before checking the information of the new skill that he just learned. "Bestial Insight, and Monstrous Strengthening, not a bad pair to add in my arsenal."

Chaotic Luck was doing them the same as he was the one who reaped the most reward on this particular training ground. "To think that we can get that many benefits here? This place sure is amazing."

"Too bad, it looks like it is just a one-time use only," commented Ithilien from the side before asking Cloe. "Are we not going to invite the others? This is a rare opportunity, so isn't it better to share it with everyone?"

"Don't worry about that, they also have their own quest on their side and will surely get a similar reward after clearing that dungeon," replied Cloe confidently.

She paused for a moment and smiled. "And are you sure that this place is one-time use only? It is a training ground for a reason, so I am sure that there is definitely a way to restore them."

After that, she turned to Shin and pointed to him with her chin before saying. "Look, that guy doesn't look too disappointed."

Hearing that, the others quickly turned their heads at Shin and saw that he was walking towards a particular statue that looked like an ordinary one compared to the ones that they fought earlier.

He first cut the vines wrapped around that statue and cleared the moss on its surface to reveal its appearance.

That statue seemed to be a knight swordsman given the equipment that it had on its body, especially with that unique sword that it was holding. And with the noticeable emblem that it was wearing on the left chest of its armor, it was pretty obvious that it had a high ranking in the army.

After Shin cleaned the surface of the statue and cleared the vines and wild grasses on its surroundings, another notification suddenly rang in his ears.

*Ding!*

System: You have discovered one of the statues of the Legendary Knights of the Repelling Era!

System: Would you like to make a contact?

Shin hesitated for a moment when he heard those notifications. First, the identity of who was the person on the statue was hidden while the second reason was the meaning of the second notification.

Regardless, he still hit the 'yes' button to which the System immediately responded, and bombarded Shin's ears.

*Ding!*

System: Initiating a contact!

System: The system discovered that you already got your legacies.

System: Your legacies are clashing with the Legacy of the Knights of the Round Table.

System: Making contact with the legacy failed!

*Ding!*

System: The Legacy was turning into a fragment of the 'Excalibur'.

The series of system notifications took Shin completely off-guard as he was not expecting that it was going to be like this.

But that was not the end.

As if the system didn't want Shin to take a rest, the statue in front of him suddenly collapses and immediately turns into dust.

He then saw a piece of glowing metal floating in front of him before resting on top of his extended hand. And right after that piece of metal came in contact with his hand, another series of notifications rang on his ears.

*Ding!*

System: Due to your existing Legacies within your body, you will not be able to wield the power of the 'Excalibur'.

*Ding!*

System: The presence of the 'Excalibur' was sensed by the wielders of the holy swords!

System: The holder of the largest part of the 'Excalibur' will now be looking for you.

The corner of Shin's mouth suddenly twitched when he heard those notifications as he could feel that the trouble was coming his way just by looking at the basic hints that the system had given him.

"Wielders of the holy swords, huh? I wonder if they are a player or an NPC," he muttered to himself before adding after a brief moment of pause. "Especially that person who is said to have the largest part of the 'Excalibur'."

Then Cloe hopped her way beside him before asking. "So, what did you discover this time?"

Shin looked at her and briefed her with the notifications that she got before finally showing the blueprint they got from the system.

"This is pretty good! And given that there are four more training grounds similar to this place, then we are most likely going to get a similar blueprint like this one," said Cloe after seeing the details from Shin.

But not long after, she suddenly pursed her lips before saying. "But it is going to be a waste for us after Arthur and the others are done training with it. It is going to be more profitable if we sell it to big organizations like the Powerhouse Guilds of the game."

"But at the same time, we are going to strengthen the forces of our rivals if we do that. How about we let Big Sister Shiella deal with it?" she added after careful thinking.

Hearing that, Shin quickly shook his head before saying. "Nah, she will definitely haggle the price with me until I give it to her for free. That is not going to happen!"

"Anyway, I already have a plan on what to do with these things once we are done with this quest and collecting the other blueprints," he added before patting her head and turning to the others.

"Are you guys done familiarizing yourself with your new skills? If so, then let's head over to the next location so that we can finish up this quest as soon as possible," said Shin as he walked towards them alongside Cloe.

"Hey! Are you even human? We just finished that fight and yet you want to immediately proceed to the next one? Can you at least let us rest a little before moving?" complained Owen with a single breath before taking a seat on the ground.

The others didn't say any but it was pretty obvious that they were agreeing with him since they were repeatedly nodding their heads at his words.

Seeing that, Cloe giggled a little when she saw their actions before convincing Shin to take a little rest for the others.

Being pestered by him, Shin had no other choice but to sigh helplessly before agreeing with them. "Alright, alright! You guys win! We are going to rest for the time being to recover your peak state."

After that, he looked for a spot where he could sit before opening a virtual screen to browse at the online forums to see what was happening in the ongoing war between the HeadHunter Guild and the Wing's Alliance.

***********

In the meantime, somewhere in the high-leveled maps of the Atlas World, a hooded player was currently sitting on the top of monster corpses piled together.

He was currently staring at the system notification that he received just now. "Another holder? I wonder how large the piece that this person currently has."

He then opened his virtual map to look at the location of the new piece of Excalibur. "Saint Heaven Kingdom? I wonder why this place has always been lively."

After that, he slightly turned his head to the side to look over his shoulder before shouting. "Hey, Seven! Wrap everything quickly! We have our new destination."

Hearing that, the swordsman below the mountain of monster corpses suddenly grimaced before cursing quietly. "Again? Is he a monster? Why is not getting tired?"

"Where are we going this time?" asked Seven with a dejected tone.

"Saint Heaven Kingdom!" said the player on top of the mountain corpse before standing up.

"That place again? That is on the complete opposite side of the world map! Do we really need to go there?" complained Seven cursedly before organizing the loots that were on the ground as fast as he could.

...…