Child of Destiny

”Simple.” Berlin leaned back in his chair before casually raising his mug. ”Help me catch another monster that can only be found in the Fog Sea.”

Shin stared at the old dwarf for quite a while.

”A sea monster, huh?” he muttered.

”What kind of monster?” he asked.

He could tell that it had to be something interesting if a Saint Blacksmith like Berlin was personally asking him to catch it.

”Don’t worry...” Berlin smirked. ”It isn’t as troublesome as your Vanishing Cosmic Lord.”

The old dwarf then extended his short arms toward a nearby shelf before making a grabbing motion.

A moment later, he pulled out a rolled-up portrait from thin air before casually unrolling it and holding it up for Shin to see.

Shin stepped closer and carefully examined the creature depicted on the portrait.

His brows gradually furrowed as he studied its strange appearance.

The creature depicted in the portrait looked nothing like an ordinary sea monster.

Its body was long and streamlined, resembling a gigantic fish at first glance, but that impression quickly disappeared the longer Shin examined it.

Much of its pale body was covered in what appeared to be exposed bone and skeletal plating, giving it an almost undead appearance. Sharp, fin-like structures extended from its back and sides, while several long, ribbon-like appendages trailed behind its body as if they were constantly drifting through the water.

Its scales—or whatever remained of them—were a strange mixture of pale blue and silvery white, with faint shades of violet spreading across its body.

The most striking part was its head.

It possessed a vaguely draconic shape, with a long, angular snout and several sharp protrusions extending backward from its skull. Its jaws were lined with rows of razor-sharp teeth, giving the creature an unmistakably predatory appearance.

Yet despite its intimidating form, there was something strangely ethereal about it.

The creature almost looked as though it were made from the remains of some ancient sea beast, with its skeletal body surrounded by the remnants of translucent fins and wisps of bluish-violet energy.

Shin stared at the portrait for several seconds. ”This thing...”

He had encountered countless powerful monsters throughout his adventures, and he could put this creature in the same category as one with those that had an unusual appearance.

Even the image alone gave him the impression that this was not an ordinary monster.

”What exactly is this?” He finally asked.

Berlin answered without hesitation. ”It is the Undying Scaleless Lord. One of the Overlords of the Fog Sea.”

He casually raised his mug before continuing.

”Since you’re going there anyway, help me catch it while you’re at it.”

A mischievous smirk appeared on his face.

”I need some of its materials to craft something interesting.”

Shin’s gaze returned to the portrait.

”This thing...” He pointed at the strange sea monster. ”Is it an undead monster?”

Berlin pondered for a moment before shaking his head slightly. ”Somewhat. It isn’t naturally an undead creature. It became one after swallowing a certain treasure from the Fog Sea and merging with it.”

Shin’s eyes narrowed slightly.

Berlin continued. ”That treasure fundamentally altered its body, granting it an undead trait while also making it much more troublesome to deal with.”

He paused before looking toward Shin. ”It’s quite difficult to catch.”

Then, as if remembering who he was speaking to, the old dwarf nodded to himself. ”But you shouldn’t have too much trouble with it.”

Shin raised an eyebrow.

Berlin’s gaze lingered on him for a moment.

Even without seeing the powers hidden within Shin’s body, his experienced senses could clearly perceive the various elemental energies emanating from him.

Several of them were particularly hostile toward undead creatures.

As the Envoy of the Church of the Sun and Moon, Shin possessed the Power of the Brilliant Sun.

There was also the Eternal Flame he had obtained through his contract with Solus. And then there was the Sacred Light granted to him by Whitie.

Any one of those powers could serve as a natural counter to undead creatures.

Berlin might not have been able to perceive the true nature of those powers directly, but his realm gave him an exceptionally keen sensitivity toward the energies surrounding him.

He could clearly sense the presence of all three.

”With those abilities of yours...” Berlin smirked. ”Catching that thing shouldn’t be too difficult for you.”

”I will also craft a special cage capable of containing it, so you shouldn’t have too much trouble bringing it back,” Berlin added with a chuckle.

Shin’s attention returned to the portrait, this time focusing on the information written beneath the image.

The corner of his mouth twitched when he saw the creature’s recorded size. ”More than a hundred meters long?”

Fortunately, this was a game. Otherwise, capturing something this enormous would have been a serious problem.

Then again, transporting it wasn’t exactly an issue either. After all, Prison Prisms existed.

They were primarily used to capture demonic players or demonic NPCs, particularly those with important positions within the Demonic Churches.

However, their functions weren’t limited to that.

Shin had already used one to contain the missing natives of the Sky Deceiving Valley before. Compared to that, putting a massive sea monster inside the spatial prison shouldn’t be particularly difficult.

”Alright. I’ll do it.” Shin nodded. ”I’m heading there anyway.”

”Good!” Berlin immediately nodded in satisfaction before grabbing another mug and draining the remaining liquor from it.

He wiped his mouth with his short arm before abruptly standing up. ”I’ll prepare all the tools you’ll need.”

He was already turning toward the door before Shin could say anything. ”You can come back and collect them in two days.”

With that, the old dwarf hurried out of the room and headed straight toward his personal workshop.

Shin could only stare blankly at Berlin’s back. The latter’s mood had changed almost instantly.

Just moments ago, the old dwarf had been sitting there leisurely, drinking himself half-drunk. Now he was already rushing off to prepare equipment for the hunt.

’Dwarves are always strange...’ Shin shook his head helplessly.

He remained in the room for a little while longer, wondering if there might be some kind of quest trigger associated with Berlin’s request.

Unfortunately, no system notification appeared.

Shin couldn’t help but feel slightly disappointed. ”I guess this isn’t important enough to be registered as a quest.”

He eventually gave up and left the room.

Since Berlin needed two days to prepare everything, Shin figured he might as well make productive use of the time.

There was another place he had been meaning to visit anyway—the Gold Mountain.

...

Right after stepping outside Berlin’s workshop, Shin immediately noticed the movements of the players surrounding the area.

A quick glance was enough for him to recognize that they belonged to several notable guilds that had stationed people throughout the Holy City.

None of them, however, were significant enough to catch his attention.

After all, the entire Saint Heaven Kingdom was effectively the territory of the Hand of Midas.

This was where their influence was at its strongest.

Even the other powerhouse guilds rarely dared to cause trouble within their domain. Those who had previously tried to contend with the Hand of Midas had already withdrawn their forces after realizing that they simply could not compete with them.

Aside from their major allies, such as the Assassin Union, the Titan Guild, and several other powerful organizations, there were very few guilds capable of seriously threatening their position.

And with the Hand of Midas being a close ally of the Empyrean Talons, even other top guilds and major organizations were reluctant to provoke the so-called lifestyle guild.

Their influence over the merchant industry was already formidable enough. But their allies were an even greater deterrent.

Shin shook his head as he watched several hostile players begin moving toward him. ”To think there are still guilds that dare to act like they own this place.”

He let out a quiet sigh. ”I guess I should do a little cleanup.”

He was too lazy to deal with these people personally. Fortunately, he didn’t have to.

Shin casually swept his gaze across their chests, taking note of the guild emblems displayed on their equipment.

He only needed to remember their identities, and Shiella could handle the rest.

As expected, it did not take long before the group made their move. Several players stepped forward and deliberately blocked his path.

”Hey, you!” one of them shouted arrogantly. ”What did you do inside?”

”Did you meet the Saint Blacksmith?” another player immediately demanded.

A third player from a different organization stepped forward as well. ”You’d better tell us what you discovered before things get ugly.”

One after another, the players surrounded Shin, their expressions filled with arrogance as they began throwing demands at him.

Shin could only let out a helpless sigh. ’These people really...’

He slowly raised his head. Then, without saying a word, he revealed the mask covering his face.

The moment the familiar design came into view—

Silence.

The entire area suddenly fell quiet while the arrogant expressions on the players’ faces froze. The people surrounding Shin stared at the familiar mask in disbelief.

For a brief moment, nobody seemed capable of saying a single word.

They had thought they were stopping some mysterious player who had discovered a secret connected to the Saint Blacksmith.

They had never imagined that the person they had just surrounded was—

”Ba-... Ba-... The Battle God—!”

......