Child of Destiny

……

As the battle progressed, Shin and Zero were slowly getting used to each other’s strengths, habits, techniques, and skills.

Zero practically helped Shin fix his style in battle. The latter was able to fully understand each form of the ‘Mondi’s Style’ and was able to utilize them to their full potential.

Shin was also able to use each form alongside the most perfect skill that was suited for each of them. It was strange but this experience really boosted his understanding of ‘Mondi’s Style’. He also tried using the other legacy skills under his belt but he immediately discovered a problem.

Since he had too many powerful skills in his arsenal, he didn’t have the time to fully comprehend all of them.

Due to that, he started reassessing his skills and re-evaluated them one by one while testing them at Zero.

As the Sword God himself, he was able to see what Shin was currently planning. But he didn’t mind since the purpose of this duel was to make Shin a suitable opponent for him to sharpen his blade. The stronger Shin became, the better the grinding stone could be.

Just like what he was expecting, Shin was constantly getting stronger as the battle progressed, especially with his Battle Genius Talent. The longer the battle lasted, the stronger he became.

Not long after, Shin and Zero became accustomed to each other. They were also done assessing each other’s strength and fully understood that this duel would not end if they continued to fight this way.

Unless they used their full capabilities, the victor of this duel would not be determined.

Given that, they suddenly came into tacit agreement to get rid of the eyes watching them before continuing the battle.

But as they were about to make their move, they suddenly caught a glimpse of a certain individual among the players who were spying on them.

Shin also felt a couple of familiar auras among those players which gave him a rough idea of what was going on.

“I guess, some of them are your ‘fans’ while the others are the people that big sister has brought,” said Shin to Zero as he brandished his sword at the latter.

“Well, shaking them off is a little troublesome since they always have a way to find me regardless of how secretive I move,” replied Zero while blocking Shin’s sword.

Cling!

“And killing them is also quite tiring since they are like cockroaches that are always appearing out of nowhere,” he added as he initiated a counterattack at Shin.

Cling!

Shin deflected the course of Zero’s swords with a quick flick of his sword before replying. “I guess being an ‘idol’ has its troublesome side too.”

“Heh! You will experience it too since you are already one of us,” said Zero sneeringly before quickly adding. “How about we use those people as distractions while we are looking for a good place to finish our business?”

“My thoughts exactly!” replied Shi before distancing himself away from Zero.

After that, the two of them simultaneously looked in a particular direction, giving the person hiding there a meaningful look.

Seemingly understanding what they wanted to say, Little Rabbit quickly stood up before disappearing within the darkness enfolding the forest.

Not long after, the sounds of fighting started resounding from the different parts of the forest as Little Rabbit initiated the attack against the other players hiding in the dark.

At the same time, the other players that were from Shiella’s side started helping him at eliminating those guys.

In the meantime, Shin and Zero suddenly exchanged glances before using their best movement skills to run away from this face as fast they could.

Seeing their actions from the corner of his eyes, Little Rabbit suddenly felt that he was going crazy. “I knew it! Those guys are going to use me as a distraction! Urgh!”

But not long after that, he managed to regain his composure as he remembered that Sickarius was a member of the Empyrean Talons. That adventurer team was working with his sister, so they still had a way to get raw footage of the battle of those two.

“Let’s just hope that the quality of their battle is going to live up to our expectations,” he muttered to himself before deciding to vent out his frustrations at the scouts that were sent by different organizations. “These guys are the reason why I am suffering this misfortune! I don’t care if you are from big guilds or large organizations, I will show you that our ‘Bunny Legion’ is not to mess with!”

He suddenly paused when he reached that point before turning his head left and right before saying in the air. “No one heard me, right? No matter how many times I say it, saying our team’s name is still a little embarrassing!”

After that, he disappeared within the shadows of the night once again and resumed doing his job.

……

In the meantime, Shin and Zero were traveling across the woods of the Sky Deceiving Valley with insane speed as they tried to distance themselves away from the Foggy Village.

They also took a couple of clever turns to make sure that those scouts would not be able to track them in a short period of time.

A few moments later, the two of them arrived in front of a waterfall. The sound of the falling water was so loud that it could rival the sound of explosions.

“This place should be good enough,” said Zero as he stopped all of a sudden.

Shin, who was following behind him, also stopped his tracks and slightly nodded his head. “Not a bad spot I guess.”

The two of them were barely able to hear the words of each other due to how loud the waterfall was. But given their senses, communicating with each other shouldn’t be a problem.

Zero swept his gaze on their surroundings for another time to make sure that no one was able to tail them here.

After that, he turned his head back to Shin before asking. “Should we start for real, this time?”

Shin didn’t immediately reply at him as he took at the status of their duel first. “What a clever guy, so that is the real reason why he didn’t set any timer in the duel in the first place.”

With a deep breath, he turned his head at Zero once again before nodding his head. “I guess I should take this seriously since you help me with my style.”

He then took a brief pause before changing the equipment set that he was wearing to the improved version of the [Dawn and Dusk Equipment Set].

The [Yamato] also disappeared as it was replaced by a pair of sabers while the [Dawn’s Mantle] turned into the [Nightwalker’s Cloak].

“Since you are seeking to sharpen your sword by borrowing my strength, then let me warn you to take this seriously as well,” he said before taking a stance where he stood up straight while positioning his sabers on each of his sides, pointing them on the ground.

Immediately after that, each saber suddenly released a faint glow with different properties. The [Dawn Blade] was releasing a warm light with the form of white flame while the [Dusk Blade] had a dark glow that was carrying an aura as cold as the abyss.

‘Epic Combat Technique: (Modified) Eclipse Wielding’

Shin still couldn’t use his Elemental Possession due to the unbalanced elemental mana of the Sky Deceiving Valley, but he could at least use his most powerful combat technique to show Zero what he was capable of.

Seeing that the air surrounding Shin changed all of a sudden, Zero couldn’t help but grin from ear to ear as he could feel a real threat coming from this person.

“It is the same feeling that I feel back then,” he muttered before swapping his silver swords with a double-edged sword that had a broader blade and a longer hilt.

He also couldn’t use his Elemental Sword Manifestation due to the unique nature of the regions but he could also show Shin his real swordsmanship. 𝐛𝗲𝐝𝐧𝗼𝐯𝐞𝐥．𝐜𝐨𝗺

At the same time, a gust of wind started to rush towards Zero as if they were attracted by his sword. They also started revolving around that sword and formed a small tornado that covered it.

‘Epic Combat Technique: Divine Wind’

After that, he held his sword with both of his hands and positioned it horizontally in front of his chest. He then took a step forward and faced Shin sideways as his sword pointed forward.

Seeing his stance, Shin couldn’t help but feel a strange feeling of familiarity from Zero. He was sure that he didn’t know him on a personal level, but his senses were telling him that it was not the case.

Thump!

Then he suddenly felt a heavy beat within his chest as if it was telling himself something. At the same time, there was a flash of memory inside his head that made him frown his eyebrows.

Due to how fast the pictures flash inside his head, he didn’t get a clear look at them. But in that brief moment, he saw a young kid wielding a sword in the same way as Zero.

He was quite confused but he immediately shook off that slight distraction at the back of his head before re-focusing in the duel.

……