Child of Destiny

...

As Leonard and the others were fighting Nel, Shin was rushing towards the place that Ara and Alucard had indicated. They were heading over to the place where the other boss monster was located.

Shin, who was far ahead of the others, was currently wearing a deep frown on his face. Aside from the first arrow that the archer had sent earlier, which practically revealed their major location, they didn't launch any other attack.

Shin was suspecting that the other side purposely sent that arrow to let the group become aware of their presence. It also seemed like they were telling the group to come at them and they would be waiting.

Swoosh!

Not long after, Shin got out of the forest and reached the top of the hill that they were climbing. And right after he arrived at that place, he immediately spotted the man sitting on top of a huge rock, seemingly waiting for them patiently.

Sensing his presence, that person turned to Shin and slightly nodded his head. "You're finally here."

Swoosh! Swoosh! Swoosh!

Not long after, Arthur, Ara, and Alucard started to arrive one after another and stood right beside Shin.

"That is the guy?" said Arthur while knitting his brow. Just like Shin, he also had his suspicions, but it looked like this person was indeed waiting for their arrival.

On the other hand, Shin quickly used his 'True Sight' Skill to take a look at the information of their current opponent.

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[Monster Name]: Archer King Caelum

Monster Level: 175

Monster Rank: King Class Monster (Bordering Emperor Class)

Bloodline/ Race: (Undead) Fallen Human

HP: 20,000,0000,0000/20,000,000,000

Threat Level: Disaster Class (S+ Rank)

Historical Note: The best of the Archer and one of the commanding generals of the Dragon Knight Army led by Grand Marshal Draco.

He was known to be the most skilled archer in his time before he got cursed by the Goddess of Frost. He was trapped within the Frozen Kingdom since that time.

He was extremely loyal to Grand Marshal Draco and became one of his closest aides.

And due to the contract that the grand marshal had with the First Vampire, the Vampire Lord Dracula, they managed to retain their sanity despite being one of the people who received the worst curse.

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Just like Nel, the Vanguard King, who was currently fighting against Leonard and the others, the person standing a distance away from them was one of the most trusted aides of the said grand marshal.

Aside from their respective class and amount of Hit Points, there was not much difference between the two.

Shin and the others didn't rejoice despite seeing this guy having a much lesser amount of Health Bar. It was because they knew what kind of strength this guy was going to have.

If the Vanguard King Nel, who they had met earlier, possessed an unimaginable strength and insane defense, then, as the Archer King, this Caelum would definitely have unrivaled speed and powerful attacks.

Hu~!

Taking a deep breath, Shin started walking forward while saying to Arthur. "Hey, I will be the frontline this time, protect Ara and Alucard while I am trying to catch this guy."

"The heck!? Did you bring me here just to do the boring job again? If I know that this is going to happen, then I should have stayed behind and let Leo be here," complained Arthur as the expression on his face started to grimace.

Shin rolled his eyes when he saw Arthur's reaction. "What did you expect? If I want to catch that guy faster, then I will definitely choose Leo over you, alright?"

"But if we do that, then we are also going to expose these two to danger," added Shin as he pointed at Ara and Alucard. "They might be skilled, but given the strength of our current opponent, there was a high chance of them getting killed by that guy."

"We can't risk their lives like that. As you know, dying here is the same as them failing the quest. And if that happens, then their accounts are going to get deleted."

"Do you now understand why I bring you here?" asked Shin with a glare.

Naturally, Arthur was aware of that. He just didn't want to acknowledge it since it was still a boring job. He just wanted to complain.

"Can't we swap roles then? I will deal with that guy, you protect these two," asked Arthur, not willing to give up yet.

Shin looked at him with a deadpan expression before asking in return. "Do you really think it is possible?"

"Tsk! Alright, alright! I get it. I'll stay behind and protect these two," seeing that there was no hope of changing Shin's arrangement, Arthur could only give up and agree.

On the other hand, Shin turned to Ara and Alucard and instructed. "You guys should know the current strategy that we are going to use. Deal as much damage as you can while I am kept that guy occupied."

"Given his class, we will not try to get near you but instead will only send a couple of shots in your direction."

He then paused for a moment and pointed to Arthur before continuing. "But since this idiot is here to protect you, you guys can relax and focus on dealing more damage. As long as this idiot is on your side, nothing can happen to you."

From the side, Arthur rolled his eyes at Shin and commented. "Hey! Can you tone down your insults a little? I'm right here, you know? I can clearly hear you!"

Unfortunately for him, Shin ignored his words and started walking toward Caelum.

"Sorry, for the wait. We just need to organize ourselves a little," said Shin to the Archer King who remained seated on the huge rock and didn't make any moves up until now.

Shin knew that the AI of this 'monster/NPC' was pretty high, so converging with them should be possible.

And just like what he had expected, Caelum nodded his head and replied. "That is not a problem. We have been trapped in this place for a very long time, maybe decades or even a century, so we can no longer fight to our heart's content anymore."

"So there is no harm waiting for a few more moments if we can finally end this curse cast upon us," he added as he slowly stood up.

Shin then nodded his head before saying. "I would like to hear more about your story, but I have this feeling that it will be unnecessary. As they say, generals of the army talk to each other through the battlefield."

"It is the same for the people who wear the title of a 'Master' as they talk through fighting," he added as he held his sheathed sword a little higher.

Caelum laughed out loud when he heard those words. He then looked at Shin in a new light. "Our Lord is right! You are really familiar with our customs."

"To think that I would hear those words again. I sure bring back some of the forgotten memories," he added as he raised his bow and nocked an arrow on it.

"Shall we?" he said as he pointed the arrow at Shin.

"Gladly!" replied Shin as he assumed a sword-drawing stance.

The atmosphere surrounding them immediately changed right after they took their respective stances.

Despite standing just a few meters away from Shin within a dangerous range, Caelum remained calm.

It was not because he was a monster who had an astronomical amount of hit points. But it was because he was confident that Shin would not be able to touch him despite being in that range.

Hu~!

In the meantime, Shin took a deep breath and calmed his mind. He was planning to use the Reality Manifestation right off the bat.

He might not be able to showcase amazing battle prowess unlike when he was using his other style. But given that he also couldn't neglect this fighting style, he needed to also hone it properly, especially when it was also the style that seemed to compliment his Mentalism the most.

'I might not be able to summon my full power, but it should be enough since our goal is not to defeat this guy but to buy time,' thought Shin before closing his eye.

Boom!

Then an invisible pressure was released from his body right after he opened his eyes. But it only lasted for a brief moment before quickly disappearing.

Looking closely at Shin's eyes, anyone could tell that it was currently glowing with a golden hue. That glow was flowing towards the conder of his eyes before dissipating in the air like a scattering smoke.

"Mind Cleansing!" muttered Shin to himself as his mind instantly calmed down and eased all of the useless thoughts. It was one of the calming techniques in his arsenal.

At the same time, his senses suddenly became much sharper than before. There was also the invisible energy surrounding him – it was a formless mana from the air fused with his own mana. He was controlling them as if they were Mental Energy from the real world.

'Spiritual Sense!' he then shouted inside his head as the formless mana around him spread in every direction and covered the area within the 50-meter range.

Hu~!

After that, Shin squatted his hips a little more and stared at his opponent with a pair of eyes full of calmness.

"Now, let's see what I can do with this power."

...…