Child of Destiny

...…

Diablo was completely caught off-guard by the sudden notifications, almost costing him the outcome of this duel.

Fortunately, he was able to quickly execute a foot technique to save himself from the clutches of death at the very last moment.

He created enough distance between himself and his opponent within an instant, buying him enough time to clearly read the system notifications that he just received.

And when he read through it, he couldn't help but smile widely. He subconsciously tightened his grip over his weapons. "Finally! I finally did it!"

He couldn't explain how he was feeling right now. All of the efforts that he spent were meant for this and all of them paid off.

He could clearly feel the changes in his body. His senses were extremely sharp and his reflexes also improved greatly.

He ducked forward, dodging the saber that was coming after his neck.

Swoosh!

Shing!

Shin caught up to him and planned to continue attacking with his newly founded strength. This Legendary Combat Technique empowered with the 'Eclipse Wielding' was very strong.

Diablo could clearly feel it! He could move his body just like what he had envisioned inside his head. It looked like he could do more freely this time.

As long as his mind commanded it, his body would execute it exactly the way he wanted.

Right after dodging, Diablo moved his feet, executing another foot technique, disappearing from his current position and reappearing behind Shin like a shadow.

But instead of attacking immediately, he followed with another foot technique and re-positioning himself to another side. And that was when Shin threw another strike to his previous position.

Then Diablo quickly struck with his shortsword on the now exposed back of his opponent. His speed and timing for this particular attack greatly surpassed his previous moves, making it hard for Shin to avoid.

Fortunately, Shin's senses were extremely sharp and his reaction speed was instantaneous. Right after he sensed the threat coming from behind, he quickly executed a complicated foot technique to escape his current predicament.

He disappeared and reappeared a few meters away from Diablo. He successfully escaped but the rhythm of his attack was completely broken. The accumulated power through the 'Infinity Edge' and the gathered speed by the 'Mystic Movements' was instantly exhausted.

Swoosh!

Swoosh!

Shin didn't have the time to dwell on it since Diablo quickly went on the offensive. And for the next exchanges, Shin immediately sensed the changes in the movements of his opponent.

Everything that Diablo did still carried irregular movements and complex patterns, but this time, he executed all of them perfectly.

Shin was repeatedly thrown out of his rhythm because of this. He was even finding himself in a difficult predicament that was hard to escape from.

There were also times when Diablo was doing some unexpected moves that he didn't execute before. And due to that, the complexity of his movements became even harder to read.

From Shin's perspective, his opponent looked like a very skilled acrobat who was styling him in every possible way.

Having a closer look at Diablo, Shin discovered that the current state of his opponent seemed to be very unusual. He could feel the sense of familiarity from it but there were also some distinct differences that could be spotted.

Shin was starting to lose his footing and his form was slowly being broken. He was repeatedly being pushed back, having no time to catch his breath.

The current Diablo completely outmatched him in every area!

He couldn't let this happen as it would clearly lead to his defeat.

Having that thought, Shin could only think of a single thing. And that was revealing his real trump card and giving everything he could for the final exchange.

"It looks like he is using the Reality Manifestation. But, at the same time, it also feels completely different," muttered Shin as he closely watched each movement of his opponent.

Diablo clearly had the air of an expert but the essence of his each of his movements was completely different compared to how they were supposed to use.

He was currently wielding a large number of techniques but the way he was using them clearly defied the common knowledge about them.

Those techniques might be a little underwhelming compared to the great Martial Arts in the real world, but when they were gathered together within a single body and were used to their greatest potential, their combined strength didn't lose in comparison.

Hou~!

With all of that, Shin quickly focused his mind and entered a state where he could summon his real strength.

'Reality Manifestation!'

The then swung his saber with great force as a 'formal greeting'.

Bang!

A powerful explosion sent Diablo flying, catching him completely off-guard.

Fortunately, he was able to react in time, or else, he would surely suffer greatly if gotten hit by the unexpected strike from Shin.

He then raised his head and looked ahead of him, cautiously staring at the cloud of snow in a distance.

He could feel the immense threat coming from behind that veil of snow. It was as if a horrifying beast was hiding under its covers.

Swoosh!

Then he saw a huge hole appear, scattering the veil of snow. And at the same time, a tip of a saber was magnifying in front of his eyes in an incredibly fast manner.

Puff!

That attack indeed landed but Diablo's body immediately turned into black smoke at that very moment, indicating that he managed to escape.

Boom!

Then a powerful blast of wind suddenly swept that area, sending the snow on the ground to be thrown in the air and scatter in every direction.

Such a sight clearly indicated how powerful that simple thrust was.

Diablo appeared a few meters away from his previous locations, squinting his eyes as he looked at the new cloud of snow in there.

Then he saw Shin slowly walking out from it in a calm manner with his sabers being held on each of his sides and pointing at the ground. They were still releasing the signature energies of the 'Eclipse Wielding' but Diablo could clearly sense that there was some difference this time.

He couldn't put his finger on what exactly was it, but he was sure that it was much more dangerous this time.

Then he saw Shin's figure blur for an instant before arriving in front of him within that short timeframe. At the same time, the blazing [Dawn Blade] was already making its way toward him, leaving a trail of its white flame in the air.

That was a simple swing without any hint of assistance from the system or elements of the game. This indicated that it was neither a skill nor a combat technique.

But despite that being the case, the power behind this strike was entirely on a different level compared to what Shin had shown earlier.

Even in his current state, Diablo didn't dare to face this attack head-on.

Swoosh!

Inside his mind, a series of information was processed as he looked for the most optimal way to deal with this particular situation. At the same time, he was also formulating a few moves ahead that he was going to do after that.

He then moved his feet to a certain footwork pattern to avoid confronting the incoming attack. But this time, he didn't move too far from Shin nor positioned himself behind the latter.

Instead, he took a step backward to create a space between himself and his opponent before moving sideways to avoid the descending blade of the blazing saber.

Whoosh!

Then he suddenly shifted his foot and took a burst step forward to instantly close the distance between him and Shin. And while he was doing that, the stiletto on his left hand lunged toward the waist of his opponent.

Clang!

His movements were seamless and fast. But to his surprise, Shin deflected his weapon with the same saber that missed its target.

Shin shifted his footing and took a large step in the opposite direction that Diablo took as he changed the trajectory of his previous swing, making the saber and stiletto collide with each other.

Such a precise series of movements greatly surprised Diablo as the data that he had inside his head didn't predict that move.

Diablo tried to out-maneuver Shin a couple of times but the latter had a solid defense, repelling each of his attempts perfectly. And what was more surprising about that was the fact that Shin didn't use any kind of skill or combat technique during the process.

It was at that moment when Diablo realized that Shin was no longer restricted by the limitations within the game. He was freely moving his body the exact way he wanted it.

Diablo also noticed that Shin was in a state that was similar to his yet also somewhat different.

"He is using real Martial Arts within the game!" Diablo realized the truth after a few more exchanges with Shin.

"That is also possible?" he couldn't believe it at first but he later acknowledge it since it was theoretically possible.

After all, the game also had the Self-Created Skill, Combat Techniques, Class Fighting Styles, and similar systems which were not entirely different from Martial Arts in the real world.

"We are opposites. He brought his real strength from the real world and used it within the game while I did the opposite. I gained my Martial Prowess in the real world after learning it within the game."

"But in the state of Hyper Active Immersion, my mental strength and great focus greatly help my in-game avatar. I can move it according to my will and imagination."

Diablo could tell that Shin was using Advanced Martial Arts which was why his attacks were not working against his opponent.

"What I am lacking right now is a set of skills and techniques that can rival that Martial Arts!" this was the thought that was running inside his head as he remembered how he improved the 'Demon Eyes' Ocular Skill.

"If the ones that I currently possessed are still lacking, then all I have to do is to improve all of them with the help of Demon Eyes!

"Something like this is impossible to do in the real world given my limited talent. But inside this game and with my current state, everything is possible," he thought as he decided to make a gamble.

He could feel the burden of using the 'Hyper Active Immersion' and the fourth phase of the 'Demon Eyes'. But this was a very rare chance that might not happen again in the future.

His talent in the real world was limited and the only place where he could prove himself was inside the game. In this world, he could stand toe to toe against the so-called geniuses and prodigies from reality!

"It is all or nothing!"

Diablo took advantage of the 'Hyper Active Immersion' to force his way toward the next phase of the Demon Eyes.

The information recorded within that skill started to make some changes. The combat and foot techniques started to improve at an alarming rate before flashing inside Diablo's head.

'Special Ocular Skill: Demon Eyes (Phase V)'

The headache that assaulted him this time was on a completely different level compared to the ones that he experienced before. He could even imagine his brain cells being toasted by it during the process.

But despite all of that, Diablo chose to endure. There was no going back right now!

"Ah…!"

His shout was more like a bestial roar as he continued to block all the attacks from Shin. And when everything was completely processed inside his head, a shockwave come out from his body, sending his opponent away from him.

Shin was slightly taken aback by it but he still remained calm. He stood up and squinted his eyes while looking ahead.

A few meters away from him, he saw Diablo walking out from the cloud of snow in a steady and calm manner. His body was also releasing a purple steam of mana that was flowing upwards before disappearing into the air.

Shin could feel the air of an expert around Diablo. There was also the essence of a mysteriousness in each of his moves.

If earlier, he could only see Diablo as a top-class player without much understanding of Martial Arts, then he was now seeing a real Martial Artist with a deep knowledge of his craft!

"Incredible! Did he just gain a Martial Enlightenment?" muttered Shin as he looked at the sudden transformation of Diablo.

His face was full of amazement!

"I've changed my mind! I now want to enjoy this moment to the fullest!" he said as this was going to be his first time battling a player while using the 'Reality Manifestation'.

Little did he know that this was also going to be an important event for the development of the gaming industry.

This would be one of the peaks of Virtual Battle.

It was the collision between the legendary state of 'Hyper Active Immersion' and the one that was created based on it, the 'Reality Manifestation'.

Regardless of the outcome of this battle, the Virtual World would be bound to take another step toward a more advanced future!

...