Child of Destiny

……

“I did not know that guy would be present in this trial,” greeted Arthur right after seeing Leonard and the other two return.

Leonard, who understood what Arthur was saying, nodded his head. “Well, given his unique ’features’, we have to believe that he can go anywhere, whether it is his intention or not.”

Arthur then shrugged his shoulders before asking. “So, what is the plan? Given that that guy is on the trial grounds, the situation had become a bit trickier to deal with.”

“We have been commissioned to help Senior and his team for this mission, so it is only right to stick to it,” responded Leonard.

Arthur just shrugged his shoulders before continuing to wait for the system to announce the rules for the next trial.

However, no matter how long they waited, the system did not provide them with any information. It was as if it was giving them enough time to recover their forms and state of mind.

This also allowed the teams to reorganize themselves and plan for their next move. It was also quite a good opportunity to discuss the incident earlier.

However, Aoki did not ask too many questions about it, as he could already guess the identity of the mysterious expert from one of the platforms.

Even though he was curious about how Chaotic Luck managed to bypass all the restrictions set to enter this trail grounds. However, since it was something related to the secrets of the Empyrean Talons, it was not appropriate for him to peer deeper through it.

At the very least, this was working to their favor. He could and would not complain about unexpected assistance coming out of nowhere.

While everyone was waiting for the system to announce the rules and the start of the next trial, every side took advantage of this window to recover as much as possible. They would not know what kind of trail was waiting for them and how crazy it was, so it was better to be at the peak of their forms to face the challenges waiting for them.

At the same time, Arthur was glaring sharply at Aoki, seemingly telling the latter that he would fight him if he was not chosen to be the representative for this round.

Left without a choice, Aoki could only sigh helplessly and forget about the possible arrangement that he could use after learning that the so-called mysterious individual was the Solaris Lich from the Empyrean Talons.

“For the next trail, I think it will be best to let Junior Simba rest. After all, he still had yet to fully recover when he had to fight such a troublesome opponent,” said Aoki, giving up on his initial plan altogether. “Junior Siegfried will be taking his place.”

Arthur nodded his head repeatedly before whispering to Leonard beside him. “Is it Gunner?”

“It is Gunner,” nodded Leonard with full seriousness, acknowledging the latter’s words.

Pumped, Arthur bumped his right fist into his left palm, fully excited for what was about to come. “To think that guy has run towards the Black Market after betraying Big Sis and the Hand of Midas! This time, I will make sure to teach him a lesson.”

He was quite eager to beat Gunner and teach the latter a lesson that he would never forget.

Aoki and the other two did not know what exactly the two were whispering about, but they could at least tell that Arthur was unable to wait for the next trial.

“So long as Yuan and Serpent are not overseeing this operation from their respective guilds, then our chances of winning are quite high,” said Riko.

“From the information that we have, Yuan is currently leading the main force of the Dragon Pavilion to fight the Central Order for the right to jurisdiction of another player’s territory,” started Aoki before continuing. “The Central Order has gained quite a lot after gaining a territory of their own, which propelled their progress by a great margin.”

“A long of top forces are trying to snatch a territory of their own, especially after witnessing how the Gold Mountain under the joint management of the Hand of Midas and Empyrean Talons.”

“Of course, the location and the quality of the territory itself are necessary requirements, which is why these top forces are fighting hard for such places once they have been discovered.”

He then paused for a moment before continuing. “As for Serpent, I heard that he is currently negotiating with the Mercenary King of the Earners Mercenary Group.”

“I am not sure what those two are plotting, but it seems likely they are planning to do something big.”

“However, we still can’t overlook the possibility of Serpent appearing here. After all, that guy is the most cunning person known among all the Guild Leaders of the game.”

“There is still a high chance that that guy will suddenly come out of nowhere, catching everyone off guard,” he added before pursing his lips. “We must be prepared for the worst-case scenario.”

…

It did not take that long before the familiar sound of the system rang in everyone’s ears.

*Ding*

System: The Fourth Trial is commencing! All platforms, please send all your representatives for this Trial!

Receiving the notification, Arthur immediately stood up, very eager to step into the trial grounds.

Aoki shook his head when he saw this before signaling to Ryoto and Riko. He also nodded to Leonard before they stepped out of the teleportation circle that would transport them toward the main battlefield.

Swoosh!

They did not even have to wait since the magic circle immediately released a blinding light right after the four of them stood within it. They then disappeared alongside that light on the very next instant.

…

Swoosh! Swoosh! Swoosh! Swoosh!

The four immediately prepared for an intense battle right after appearing on the trail grounds, but they were immediately caught off guard by what they had seen.

This time, they were sent on an open plain. There was nothing to hide in this place aside from the strands of grass filling the entire field, with the height reaching the knees of regular people.

There were five platforms separated from one another, occupying different corners of the grass plains.

After the initial surprise, everyone seemed to have suddenly become excited since they felt that this was going to be a direct competition between teams.

However, it was not something that they were expecting. It was not a confrontation between all teams together.

*Ding*

System: “The World is unfair, but that is also the reason why we have to struggle more against it.”

“Absolute strength is gained through individual suffering, while the strength in numbers is something earned through trust, respect, fear, greed, unity, and common interest.”

“These are the things that I have learned during my journey towards the peak.”

“My successor in the future, let’s see what kind of strength you will favor, and which side of self-righteousness you will envision.” – Tang Hyeon.

*Ding*

System: The name of this Trial is ’Flagbearer’.

System: This trial will have a series of duels, where each team will send a representative, who will fight for their honor.

Each member of the team can only represent their side once for an entire rotation. The said player can only fight again once all their members have represented their team at least once.

This will continue until all the members on their side are eliminated, leading to the elimination of their entire team.

System: Each team needs to finish sending their members once per rotation, which means that they have to first wait until all the other teams finish sending their representatives before they can send their second contender.

System: The team that still has a member on the field when all the other teams have been taken out will be the final winner of this trial.

…

There was a silence when the system ended its announcement.

None of the parties involved took the bait to be the first to enter the stage, not willing to be the guinea pig for this trial.

No matter how simple it was stated by the system, everyone knew that there was a series of traps hidden within those words, especially everything that they had experienced throughout the trials.

“So, it is a classic summit-type of tournament trials,” mumbled Aoki after skimming through the string of notifications from the system.

“This is what the ancient sects and other organizations at that time used to compare notes with one another or during a huge Martial Arts Conference,” he added, explaining it to others, who were somewhat confused by his words.

“It is also their way of showing off the geniuses of their sects to others, which is something that we have inherited from them, if I must say so,” he added while chuckling.

On the other hand, Riko pointed out another matter about this. “It seems like this style of battle is perfect for suppressing the other powerful rivals.”

“They can just ’team’ up indirectly, targeting the much stronger ones with a rotating lineup,” she added, instantly pointing out the main problem for this style.

“Which is why none of those cunning people are sending their people yet,” commented Aoki while pointing at the other teams.

He then turned toward Arthur and said. “It seems like your friend is not lucky this time. Given the current format of the trail, we can’t lend him a hand just like the previous round.”

Hearing this, Arthur could not help but turn to his senior, giving the latter a meaningful look. “That guy!? Unlucky!? Senior, let’s give you some words of wisdom.”

He then paused for a moment, wearing a serious look, before continuing. “The world may end, and the sky may fall, but that guy will never die, even though all of us are dead.”

……