Child of Destiny

…

“Do you think that it is possible?” asked S.Tigris as he watched Black Hammer walk away from them.

Black Hand couldn’t help but smile bitterly when he heard those words and replied. “We already saw it for ourselves yet you still don’t want to acknowledge it?”

“We are living in the era of Martial-Arts and Mentalism. Of course, such things are possible,” he added while patting the shoulder of his friend.

S.Tigris pursed his lips and tilted his head to the side. “Well, I am also aware of that. It is just-…”

Reaching this point, the so-called ‘Saber Demon’ of the Wing’s Alliance couldn’t help but pause for a moment since he didn’t know how to describe his current feelings in words.

Seeing that S.Tigris was currently speechless, Black Hand lent him a hand. “Just admit that you are also amazed.”

“In our experiences in the real world and our years within the virtual world, this is our first time witnessing such a display of talent. I am afraid that even our Alliance Leader is not as strong as her in this aspect.”

“Most of the Martial-Artists and Mentalists are individualistic and self-centered. They tend to rely on their own due to their instincts, especially the ones with unrivaled talent. In their point of view, they are the best among their peers, the brightest among the stars.”

“Even if we say that there are some people that achieve the state of seamless coordination by combining their strengths, their individuality is still there. It still exists within the system.”

He then paused for a moment and stood up before continuing. “On the other hand, people that are using their strengths to support others are quite rare, especially the ones that are fully committed to it. It is because their individual ‘self’ seems to disappear and completely integrate it in the whole system.”

S.Tigris was silent for a moment before nodding his head in agreement. “Well, that is true.”

Black Hand nodded his head and quickly added. “And to answer your question earlier, I must say that is completely possible.”

“If we look at it in a logical way, then it is definitely possible. For example, you are a warrior who is fighting in the frontline and your support is perfectly covering every mistake that you are making, you are definitely going to gain an overwhelming confidence and will not be afraid of anything.”

He then turned his head at S.Tigris and asked. “Now, tell me. Will you be able to perform with your best in that state? Will you be able to show your peak potential with such a person supporting you from behind?”

Hearing those words, S.Tigris couldn’t help but smile bitterly as he fully understood what Black Hand was trying to say. “Well, the reason why most of the people notice the best warriors in the frontlines is because they shine brighter due to the support given by their colleagues from behind.”

He then patted the priest’s shoulders before saying. “Thanks for always having my back, pal.”

After that, he walked towards the others as they started to gather.

On the other hand, Black Hand shook his head and wore a bitter smile while saying to himself. “I did not think that we would learn something like this here. I guess I need to absorb this and try to improve my own commanding skills.”

After that, he turned to Shiella then thought about a certain person before muttering to himself. “An intellectual commander that can influence her teammates with her tricks and is able to pull out their peak potential-… and an instinctive strategist who is also well versed with the art of the battle.”

Then, a sudden shiver ran through his spine, making him shake his head even more. “Tsk! Tsk! I’m afraid that no one will be able to match them when they start working together.”

…

After receiving a couple of instructions from Shiella, Tinker and Black Hammer brought the experts of the Hand of Midas to clear the remaining guards within the dungeon.

Tinker was fully aware that they needed to act fast if they wanted this operation to be successful. After all, their guild leader and the others would be facing a powerful monster boss this time. And if they wanted to help them, then they would need to give more than a hundred percent on this troublesome raid.

Being fully aware of their current situation, Tinker, as the leader of the clearing team, didn’t hesitate even for a little and quickly led his team to the other parts of the dungeon.

In the meantime, Shiella looked at the remaining people that were left behind before giving them simple instructions. “Get in formation, we are heading inside.”

Each one of them was an experienced expert, so they didn’t really need detailed instructions on everything. And they were somewhat familiar with Shiella and her commands right now, which was why they already knew what she wanted from them.

As usual, Arthur and Leonard took the front with Ringo and S.Tigris standing behind them. And following those two was obviously Black Hand who were responsible for keeping their HP Bars healthy. Then, there were Archimedes and Ara who was flanking Daulla from each side.

Raven and Alucard were responsible for controlling the movements of the boss if ever it managed to break free from Arthur and Leonard. Though, it was more unlikely to happen, so their role would most likely be dealing extra damage.

Shiella was standing at the very rear of the group as she needed to see everyone’s movements to give more accurate commands during the battle.

She swept her gaze at them for a moment to see that they were fully prepared. And when she saw that they were finally ready for battle, she immediately waved her hand at the two at the front to tell them that they could now open the metal gate.

Arthur and Leonard quickly nodded their heads when they saw her signal and swiftly positioned themselves in front of each gate.

After taking a deep breath, both of them strengthened their arms and pushed the metal gate open.

Bang!

A very loud metallic sound resounded as the edges of the metal door separated from each other. Then an ear-piercing sound immediately followed as the two continued to push the metal doors.

Swoosh!

And just like they had expected, the group immediately heard a sharp sound cutting through the air and quickly heading their way.

The tensed muscles of Ringo became even more tensed as knew that he needed to block this surprise attack. But it only lasted for a moment as was already recovered himself and got ready to activate a defensive skill.

Swoosh!

But before he could even have the chance to showcase his defensive capabilities, a thick and towering wall of ice suddenly materialized in front of them and blocked the incoming attack.

Boom!

The ice wall that Shiella had summoned shook violently after colliding with that attack just now. But in the end, it still managed to hold itself and did not break.

Then Ringo heard Shiella’s voice.

“Save your defensive skills, for now, we will need it later.”

After that, she dissolved the ice wall in front of the group and ordered them to move forward. “Advance cautiously and stay vigilant.”

“We need to reserve most of our main cards and save them for the latter part of the battle. This is just the beginning, so we can’t exhaust all of our weapons yet. Let those two prove the strength of the boss for a moment while we are going to observe from the distance.”

Her voice was strict and dignified, carrying the air of a leader. And for some unknown reason, the tense group seemed to finally calm down after hearing her words.

On the other hand, both Arthur and Leonard quickly charged ahead after opening the metal gates. They didn’t even hesitate and lunged forward decisively, not even a hint of hesitation could be seen in their eyes.

In the deeper part of the room, a lone figure was standing straight while holding a huge sword.

The room was quite dark, so they couldn’t clearly see the real appearance of that figure. But based on the silhouette that they vaguely saw, they could at least guess that it was a towering humanoid creature. 𝒃𝙚𝙙𝙣𝙤𝙫𝙚𝒍.𝒐𝙧𝒈

“Is that a giant?” muttered Leonard with a frown, trying to guess what was their opponent this time.

While running, Arthur activated his ‘Dragon Eyes’ to take a look at the appearance of that figure. Upon activation, his eyes suddenly glowed with a golden light as his eyesight suddenly became clear.

What he saw was a muscular and towering figure standing in the middle of the room. Its body was also covered with a combination of metal and leather armor.

The corner of Arthur’s mouth suddenly twitched the moment when he saw the basic details of that creature.

———————————-

NPC Name (Dungeon Boss): Dion

Title: Guardian of the Western Gate

Race: Barbarian Giant

Rank: General (Emperor Rank Monster)

Level: 200

———————————-

“F*ck you! You just jinxed it!” cursed Arthur while sharing the information on the team chat.

“So it is indeed a giant,” commented Leonard nonchalantly after taking a quick glance at it.

Hearing that, Arthur cursed even more and shouted. “Forget about it being a Giant that has an Emperor Rank! It is a Titled NPC on top of everything else.”

But despite his cursed shouting, the flames in his eyes burned even brighter as the two of them accelerated their charge.

Then a huge and exciting smile suddenly formed on their lips while they exclaimed in unison. “This is going to be fun!”

……