Child of Destiny

...…

Shin stared at the hazy silhouette that was gradually getting clear. He no longer needed to guess the other party's identity, since he was already somewhat familiar with them.

The magical black robe with somewhat tattered edges might have hidden their true appearance and signature features, but the tall bone scepter with a huge skeletal hand holding a black and ominous orb was too easy to recognize.

Shin had seen it quite a couple of times already. Even if the bone scepter had already undergone a series of modifications that had changed its appearance, the overall features were still retained.

He knew that it was the signature weapon of a certain Necromancer that almost everyone within the game was afraid of, Lich God Immortal. This bone scepter was obviously a 'Sacred Relic' or an 'Racial Inheritance' of the True Undead Transcendent Race similar to Shin's [Death's Shadow] or [Yamato], respectively.

Immortal did not stand the ceremony while commenting. "You have been keeping your guard up until now, not giving me any ideal chance to launch an ambush. What a waste of a good opportunity."

He had been observing the earlier battle since earlier, so he was naturally aware of the overall situation. He was originally planning to launch a killing blow to both Shin and Leviathan once they had lost their combat prowess, but such an opportunity did not appear.

Aside from noticing Felicia constantly sweeping the surroundings to prevent any other person from interfering in the earlier battle, Leviathan's ruthless move had discouraged Immortal from fishing in such troubled waters.

He knew that he would most likely lose one or two of his beloved creations in the process in exchange for an unguaranteed success, which would greatly hurt his progress.

Even if he could just recreate one afterward, the materials would still be immensely high, which was not worthy of exchange. If he could produce another powerful undead slave while using both Shin and Leviathan as a base, then he would not have any problem with that. Unfortunately, it was not guaranteed to succeed given how ruthless and powerful the earlier explosion was.

"I don't think that we are in friendly terms to exchange pleasantries with each other," Shin snorted while giving the opposing side a threatening look. "Quick! State your business. And if there is none, then you can just scoot away so that we can both save our time."

Immortal chuckled when he heard this before saying. "What a pity. And here I am looking forward to this meeting."

Obviously, he was not talking about friends reuniting, but about enemies who had encountered each other on a narrow path and clashed again.

"Heh! Shin gave the opposing party a sarcastic laugh before continuing. "If you do want to say anything, then we can just express our 'longing' for each other with the usual method."

Right after, he raised the [Yamato] and pointed it forward, seemingly preparing to attack.

Immortal just chuckled and 'politely' refused. "This is not the time yet."

He then slightly raised his head to somewhat show his face that was still hidden under the shade of his hood before continuing. "And are you sure you want to fight in that state? You may look fine on the surface, but I can tell that you are in a somewhat restricted condition."

Shin was about to refute when Immortal suddenly added.

"Right after devouring another legendary sword, I do not know whether you can still use that favorite Legacy Skill of yours."

Hearing these words, Shin could not help but pause, realizing that the other party seemed to have truly figured out something.

The notification panel of an individual could only be seen by themselves. The other players couldn't see them, much less know their contents.

However, what Immortal had just said struck something, seemingly knowing what Shin had received earlier from the system when his sheath and the Mond's Style Legacy Skill had devoured the [Permafrost] legendary sword.

It was as if Immortal was aware of the legacy skill undergoing a 'slumber' state after that incident.

Squinting his eyes a little, Shin stared at the opposing party intently, seemingly trying to figure out what this old enemy was up to.

Seemingly sensing Shin's thoughts, Immortal smirked as if he had already hit the nail on the head, especially without receiving any other response from the other party.

"Curious, aren't you?" he chuckled before continuing. "While strolling in the Awakened Continent, I happened to stumble upon a certain place, which gave me a little surprise."

He then paused for a moment, seemingly giving Shin a teasing smile, before continuing. "Can you guess what surprise I've just gotten?"

Shin was not an idiot not to know what the other party was trying to imply. Putting two and two together, he immediately figured out what Immortal was trying to say.

This guy must have found the lost tomb of Mondi! The legendary swordsman who had created the legacy skills that Shin currently possessed!

"What do you want?" Shin immediately realized that Immortal wanted something from him in exchange for the situation at hand.

Even though he could not fully trust Immortal, such a clue was too important for him. After all, this legacy skill had become the core of his combat style and battle techniques.

Given how much he had gained from the time he had found 'Regan's Laboratory', which was basically the Phantom Island itself, Shin knew how much he could become more powerful once he had completed the legacy from another legendary swordsman.

The evolution of the 'Regan's Method' had also provided Shin a lot of strength. Not only had the entire legacy skill transformed, but the 'Elemental Mastery' and the 'Elemental Swordsmanship' that came alongside it had also become the core skills of his style.

Not only had they increased his mastery over his elemental powers, but transitioning between different elements had become much smoother while their might had been elevated into a much higher level.

If something similar happened to the Mondi's Style as well, then his current strength would be further elevated and reach another level.

He just hoped that there would be some treasures left behind there if it was truly the lost tomb of Legendary Swordsman Mondi.

However, before he could even let himself get swept by all these, he still had to deal with the person before him.

"What do you want?" he repeatedly, showing a trace of impatience.

Seeing this, Immortal suddenly started grinning before answering ambiguously. "Given your intelligence, I am sure that you already have some idea what I am looking for."

He was right; Shin already figured out what Immortal wanted from him.

"That whatever Demonic Orb?" he asked, seemingly recalling that this object that he had gotten from Leviathan.

"What do you think?" asked Immortal.

Shin squinted his eyes, quite hesitant. He wanted the information from Immortal, but he was unsure if it was worth it to exchange it for this particular item at hand.

He might not be too familiar with the internal matters of the Evil Faction, but he could at least tell that the Demonic Orb that was currently in his hand was something extremely important. After all, it was something that could directly corrupt a dimensional portal and turn it into a demonic one.

This reason alone was more than enough to discourage him from handing such an item to one of their mortal enemies.

Even if the information at Immortal's hand was important to him, he still felt quite uncomfortable making one of his enemies extremely stronger in exchange for it.

Shin did not doubt Immortal too much about the information that he could provide. After all, it was impossible for the latter to just casually hint at something about his 'slumbering' legacy skill if Immortal was not confident about it.

Seeing Shin's hesitation, Immortal waved his hand and retreated. "You can take your time. It is not like I am in a hurry to get my hands on it. It's just a bit convenient for me to get it a bit earlier."

"If you suddenly change your mind, then you can ask that Solaris Lich friend of yours exploring the Forsaken Islets to tell the Council of Arch Liches about it and I will be on my way to find you."

"Make sure to not let those from the other Demonic Churches steal it from you, or else I will be truly disappointed. And once I do, I may give your little territory a brief visit along with a couple of friends that I have just made recently."

He was laughing quite creepily during his retreat.

Shin did not lower his guard even for a second, afraid that the other party would suddenly launch an ambush when he gave them an opening.

He made sure that the other party had truly disappeared before finally turning his gaze to the side. "You can reveal yourself now."

Felicia, who was observing the entire events from the side, finally walked out from the haze. She stared in the direction where Immortal had disappeared from before turning back to Shin. "It seems like the esteemed Battle God has a lot of enemies lurking in the darkness."

"You should be careful as well. I refuse to believe that this guy will suddenly appear here because of me or Leviathan," warned Shin with full seriousness before adding. "He is most likely here for you two and the portal concerning your quests-…"

He paused for a moment before correcting himself. "Or our quests now, I suppose."

He then smiled behind his mask before adding. "Let me rest for a moment before moving forward. After all, I have spent quite some energy from the earlier battle."

At the same time, he also took the initiative to ask her for even more detailed information about the quest and the overall progress that they had to gain more understanding of everything.

...