Child of Destiny

...…

No moment when Shin and the others arrived where the rest of the group was located, the battle against Nel was already over.

Briefly looking at the completely devastated place, Shin could easily tell that the battle that took place was as intense as the one that they just experienced earlier, if not more.

Turning his gaze towards Leonard and Lawless, who was currently slumping on the ground, Shin couldn't help but smirk. "You guys looked like someone who went into hell. Have you been beaten up that badly?"

The two were too tired to look at Shin at the moment, so they could only open their mouths to respond.

"You don't have to remind us about that. I am already missing my bed."

"D*mn! What kind of game is this? It is too realistic to be called a game. It is a second world already."

Finding a spot to sit near them, Arthur suddenly asked. "What do you guys get? Is it something interesting?"

Leonard powerlessly turned his head to the side and looked at Arthur. And when he saw the latter's current state, he couldn't help but sneer. "Hah! Shin Bro is talking as if you guys beat your opponent like a walk in the park, but it looks like you guys are not in a better condition either."

The corner of Arthur's mouth suddenly twitched when he heard those before refuting. "I can at least still walk on my own, unlike you, who looked like a dying animal."

"Anyway! Tell us what you've got already!" yelled Arthur in annoyance.

What they had gotten from Caelum was a high-quality bow, which seemed to be at the peak of the Black Mithril Rank weapon, alongside a bead that could let someone change their class into a hidden class with a high rarity.

The bow might be very powerful at the current state o the game, but Arthur already had a set of high-quality equipment of his own as well as weapons. Moreover, his class was a warrior/knight type, so he was not interested in that kind of weapon.

As for the bead, it was said to have a class on par with the Transcendent Class if the possessor was able to complete the series of tests that it had.

Unfortunately, that kind of privilege was no longer as appealing as before due to the news about the Ascended Classes and racial upgrades that came alongside it after the information about the major regions of different races was revealed.

On top of that, Arthur already belonged to the Dragonkin and a Dragon Knight which were a Transcendent Race and Class respectively. He didn't have a use for such an item.

Based on what they had gotten from Caelum, Arthur could already guess what kind of loot the others got, he just wanted to ask to know if the things that they had could interest him.

Understanding what he was thinking, Leonard clicked his tongue before replying. "You can ask Cloe Sis about it. She is the one who collected the drops."

"Though, I can say that it will only disappoint you," he added before turning his head back to the sky.

In the meantime, Faker sat beside Lawless before asking. "Did you release the 'Killing Star'? You are radiating with its murderous aura."

Lawless couldn't help but laugh when he heard those words before replying. "Hah! Do you think it is possible? We are inside the game and not in reality, such a thing is impossible."

"As for the murderous aura, it is because I used one of the advanced moves from the 'Berker Heaven Killing Style'," he added after a brief pause.

"Impossible, huh? I can't no longer say that it is impossible since I've already witnessed someone fight with a dual personality within this game before," responded Faker in a nonchalant tone.

He added after a brief pause. "So, you being able to release your 'Killing Star' shouldn't be impossible either, especially when it is just a special state of mind."

Hearing the first part of Faker's words, Lawless couldn't help but become interested. "Dual Personality? That mental illness? That's rather interesting. So, who is it?"

Faker refused to answer and just shrugged his shoulders. He then changed the topic and continued with what they were originally discussing earlier. "If I were you, I should find time to try experimenting with it. Now that we discovered the Reality Manifestation, I think it is worth the try."

"Moreover, just like what you said, we are currently inside the game. You don't have to be worried about the risk of getting out of control, especially with the current technology that we have."

"The gaming cabin will immediately detect it if something went wrong. On top of that, we are somewhat close with the young masters of the Springfield Family."

"You should know that one of the people who managed to control their Killing Star is from that family, so we can at least try asking for some guidance from them if an unfortunate accident happens."

"It is way better than us being on constant guard, worrying about it going out of control," he added with a tone full of concern.

Lawless naturally knew where Faker was coming from and could only shake his head. And after considering for a couple of moments, he slightly nodded his head. "I'll give it a try when I've gotten the chance."

"For now, let me have a rest. I am really exhausted after that fight. That giant is a pain in the *ss," he added before closing his head to relax his mind.

Not far from those two, Ara run towards S.Tigris and Black Hand who were currently discussing with each other.

Seeing her sitting beside them, S.Tigris immediately asked chucklingly. "How was it? Is it an unforgettable experience?"

He was aware that the other opponent on their side was an Archer, so if a similar thing happened to them, just like how Nel felt like training their group, then Ara should be one of the people who gained the most in that battle.

S.Tigris felt a little pity when he thought about that since he couldn't partake in fighting Nel in the frontline. If he did, then he would be able to experience fighting such a monstrous person and gain some insights during the battle.

Well, it also couldn't be helped since his role earlier was important. The remaining fallen knights were the most elite member of the army, so they were not easy opponents either.

Moreover, they also became more aggressive when Nel appeared on the battlefield, so his earlier job of ensuring the safety of their mages and healers was very important.

Knowing what S.Tigris was trying to ask, Ara closed her eyes and recalled what happened before answering. "It is not bad. I learned quite a few things from it."

She then remembered how Shin and others before grimacing. "And I am once again reminded how weak I am compared to the real 'monsters' of the game."

"Calling them a genius or a prodigy is an understatement, they are monsters. A bunch of monsters," she added with a weird look on her face.

She then turned at Alucard who was walking towards Owen and continued. "Even that guy is way better than me. His skills are powerful but his accuracy and positioning are on an entire level higher than mine, if not more."

Hearing that, Black Hand couldn't help but give his comment. "Of course, he is that strong. He is the Gun King, after all."

Snapping their heads toward his direction, Ara and S.Tigris simultaneously repeated his words.

"Gun King? That Gun King we know?"

"The Unrivalled Sniper Roger? The Gun King of «Nemesis» Online?"

Black Hand briefly looked at them before turning back to Alucard. "Yeah. THAT. Gun King. I've already had some suspicions before but after observing him closely, I am now sure that he is the Gun King."

"B-but-… Isn't the Gun King-…?" Ara was trying to construct her question when Black Hand suddenly cut her words off.

"I know what you are thinking, but I am sure that he is the Gun King. He may be able to mask it with a couple of variations but old habits are hard to hide, especially from someone like me."

Hearing Black Hand's confident tone, the two could only nod their heads and agree.

At that time, Black Hand continued. "I also know why are you doubting my words. After all, the Gun King appeared in the Shadow Ranking Cup and is going with his 'real' in-game name."historical

Taking a brief pause and turning to Shin, he continued. "But with that guy as our living proof, then we can assume that the Gun King is only using an alias during that time, which happened to be his previous name from «Nemesis Online»."

"Now that I think about that, maybe that event is also the link between him and the Empyrean Talons, especially when Owen and Akailu are also on their team," said S.Tigris while nodding his head.

"Then what about the Sword King?" asked Ara innocently.

Hearing that question, Black Hand suddenly remembered something before looking at Alucard, then at Shin, then at Alucard once again.

After that, a sudden thought flashed through his mind. "About that-… I am also quite interested."

Seeing the mystifying look that Black Hand current had, S.Tigris knew that the guy somehow discovered something but was still not sure about it, which was why he couldn't tell them anything yet.

But whatever it was, he was sure that it was worth keeping an eye on since everything that piqued Black Hand's interest was something that was out of the ordinary.

Knowing that S.Tigris knew him well, Black Hand gave his captain a sidelong glance before smiling mysteriously.

"I'm sure that even the Alliance Leader and those old foxes in the main branch will be interested in this."

...