LORD OF THE KARMIC FATE

After using his flames to turn all the Mutated Nightshades into ash, only keeping their valuable remnants which later on were stored in the orb hanging on Mia's waist, the group proceeded on with their search.

On their way, they crossed paths with numerous other Mutated Nightshades, however, they were all killed by one or two members of the team.

'They are truly strong.' Raven thought to himself as he watched how Mia fired a bullet into a Mutated Nightshade's gaping mouth which after a few seconds exploded into bits.

'Mia Draper... She possesses an incredible Artifact that lets her annihilate her enemies from a great distance with outstanding accuracy. Furthermore, she can also change her bullets' characteristics which expands her Artifact's potential even more.'

After Raven thought about this his gaze fell on the shorty with the massive shield.

'Alex Caskrock. Although his frame is small his strength incredibly extraordinary. However, his greatest weapon is not his strength but his Artifact which is a unique one, capable of absorbing large amounts of damage which later on can be used to heal others.'

'The only downfall of his healing ability is that he cannot heal himself while also it requires large amounts of Mystique.'

Then, he shifted his eyes at John before he shook his eyes and directed his attention at Oliver.

The reason for that was because just like Luna, John didn't fight yet so he had no idea what his Artifact was and what it was capable of doing.

'Oliver Stone, the typical big guy with a large frame and great strength. However, compared to others with similar characteristics, his Artifact makes him unique. It appears the more wounded he becomes the wilder his flames become and the more destruction he can cause. No wonder his Role is a Berserker.'

As Raven thought about this and the Roles everyone had, soon enough a soft frown appeared on his face.

'Now that I think about it, if I were to join a party, with my Artifact what kind of Role would I get?'

Raven's Artifact was a little bit different from others as it was ever-changing. Whenever he entered a Realm Domain he got a different Relic which hallways granted him different powers.

While Raven followed after the group, Luna beside him looked up at him and after seeing his small scowl she asked, "Is there a problem?"

"Hm? Oh, no, not really." Raven shook his head and after checking that no one was currently paying attention to them he asked in a lowered tone of voice, "I was just wondering what kind of Role I would get because of my True Artifact."

Upon hearing Raven's words Luna seemed to realize what he was talking about and quickly said, "Well, as far as I can tell, there is no one out there who possesses a similar Artifact to yours, so your case is a little special."

"However, if I have to categorize you by your Artifact, I would give you a Role of an All-Rounder or a Role that has yet to be created, like a Jack-of-all-Trades."

"Jack-of-all-Trades, huh?" Raven mumbled, agreeing with his little sister with a soft nod.

Indeed, with his Artifact he was truly a master of none, focusing on everything instead of one thing. As for an All-Rounder, while he was far from being one in the future it was possible to gain that Role. After all, different from other humans his Avatar Traits are incredibly balanced.

Hell, he was pretty sure that there were only a few who succeeded to push all of their Avatar Traits above 300 points!

"Right, what is your current Rank?" Raven asked Luna curiously, wondering just how strong she has become in the past 3 years.

"Here. Let me show you." Luna said and summoned her Avatar Traits.

~~~

° Vitality: 377 [32]

° Mystique: 225 [25]

° Strength: 384 [10]

° Speed: 516 [55]

° Constitution: 207 [9]

° Dexterity: 369 [20]

~~~

'Rank 51... That's just ridiculous.' Raven thought while a small spurt of pride surfaced into his heart.

After all, it was his little sister who succeeded in breaking above Rank 50, something that only the top 0.1% of humanity was able to do!

"And what about them? Are they also this strong?" Raven asked, gesturing toward the others before him.

"No, they are not. Oliver is Rank 46, Alex is Rank 44, while Mia is only Rank 42."

"What about John?"

"He... He is Rank 49." Luna explained quietly.

"I see." Raven nodded as he gazed at John, pondering whether he would be able to kill him if he were to clash with him or not.

However, considering he couldn't use his dagger, after all, it was his alter ego's "Artifact", and that he only had his flute, he would very likely lose their fight.

'I should look for another weapon once this is all over.' Raven though, subconsciously touching his chest where he could feel the shape of the Backroom Key.

Now that he had a bunch of Astral Cores, he was pretty sure he could but a great weapon, one that was much better than his current one.

The group walked through the blue forest while fighting Mutated Nightshades and after one and half an hour later they finally encountered a different type of creature.

This one had the same appearance akin to a Mutated Nightshade, however, it was twice as big and seemingly was also faster than that of a Mutated Nightshade.

Furthermore, it seems that its body was covered in something thick and hard, something akin to scales

"What is that?" Raven frowned as this was his first time crossing paths with such a creature.

"It is a Mutated Nightshade Soldier. Different from normal Mutated Nightshades their stems are thicker and harder, their poison more lethal, and their speed is higher." Mia explained as he looked at Oliver who nodded and extended his hand.

"However, just like normal Mutated Nightshades, they are incredibly weak to fire." Mia smiled, and just as she finished talking the flames around Oliver's first exploded, bursting at the Mutated Nightshade Soldier and engulfing it in whole.

"It's not dying," Raven said quietly as he watched the creature struggling but still alive.

"It's because we need to crack its thick armor a little," Mia said and raised her rifle before pulling its trigger.

BAM!

With a quick flash, a large bullet was fired at the creature with almost lightning speed, earning a loud crack sound in the air the very moment it crashed into the creature.

And just as Mia told him, the moment the thick layer of the armor of the creature was cracked, Oliver's flame was able to penetrate through it and burn the poor master from the inside alive!

"Good job." Mia smiled and once the Mutated Nightshade Soldier stopped moving she stored it in her magic orb.

'Does that Relic have infinite space within?' Raven pondered as they continued to walk forward, only to cross paths with another Mutated Nightshade Soldier.

However, just like how the previous one was killed, this one was slain with ease with the teamwork of Mia and Oliver.

The only time when Alex had to help them was when they met with more than 1 Mutated Nightshade Soldier. During those times his large shield came in perfectly, helping the others to kill each creature one by one.

As for Luna, John, and Raven, they just remained in the rear, showing no signs of helping.

"You know guys, we would be able to finish these off with more ease if you decide to help." after killing her 20th Mutated Nightshade Soldier, Mia looked at Luna and the others.

"I think you guys are doing just fine without us." John started nonchalantly before he added, "Furthermore, I'm still recovering my strength after the previous fight while Luna has to rest in case we encounter another abomination like that back there."

"What is he talking about?" Raven asked Luna who looked at him in silence before explaining.

"Just before you have shown up, we have been fighting against a Mutated Nightshade Queen."

"Mutated Nightshade Queen? An Alpha?"

"Yeah. It's not only stronger, faster, and more tenacious than other Mutated Nightshades but it also possesses insane regenerative abilities and the power to create numerous Mutated Nightshades in mere seconds!"

"Sounds annoying." Raven showed a wry smile, feeling a headache just by imagining the chaos that could have transpired on that battlefield.

Not only that, fighting against an enemy that not only was insanely poisonous, fast, and had a high defense but was also capable of spawning its minions that could fight, it was truly a dangerous being to fight against!

"Yeah, that is why let's hope we don't meet one again. If it were not for Luna and John, we all would have died right there and then." Mia added a nod.

"You guys don't have to worry, we won't have to fight another one." Oliver showed a confident smile, "A single Alpha is exceptionally rare in a Realm Domain much less two or more. Hell, they said the chances for two Alphas existing in the same Realm is less than 2%! You know just how low is that?"

"We will be fine."

When Raven heard Oliver say this he felt the urge to stop him from talking, however, it seemed it was already too late. Not even a second later he finished talking the ground below their feet trembled and cracked, something seemingly wishing to emerge from below!

'Fucking hell! Why did he have to say that!?'

Raven cursed inside and without hesitation grabbed Luna by her waist and jumped several meters backward, just a second before the ground where they stood shattered and a humungous figure slowly arose from below!