Child of Destiny

Boom!

An NPC with an extremely bulky build, resembling a three-meter-tall giant, was sent flying off the stone platform and crashed into a huge wall in the distance.

Bang!

The NPC twitched a few times before losing consciousness.

Thud!

Standing on the platform, a young man raised both arms and shouted before flexing his muscles.

He was not wearing anything on his upper body, fully displaying his refined physique. His muscles were not excessively bulky but were just pronounced enough to outline his perfectly sculpted frame.

He took a few laps around the platform before looking toward the surrounding crowd. ”Next challenger!”

On the side of the platform, a pair of players couldn’t help but comment on the scene.

”Damn! That’s an Elite NPC over Level 200, yet he couldn’t even put up a fight against that guy. His level is only around 180,” one of them said. ”And that’s the seventh challenger already!”

”This guy must be an expert! His physical stats are already absurd despite not wearing any equipment,” his friend said, nodding.

”His race and class must be extremely special,” the other player added.

It was at this moment that another player suddenly chimed into their conversation.

”A pair of clueless noobs.”

Hearing the comment, the two immediately turned toward the source of the voice and glared at the player.

The third player didn’t seem bothered by their hostility. Instead, he merely smirked provocatively. ”What? You want to fight? I can entertain you with that.”

The player, who was about to erupt in anger, was just about to retort when his friend immediately grabbed his arm and held him back.

He couldn’t help but turn toward his friend in confusion, only for the latter to lean closer and whisper, ”Don’t provoke that guy. He’s Garnet from the Desert Bandits.”

Hearing this, the player’s expression immediately paled upon hearing the name Desert Bandits.

The Desert Bandits were a notorious group within the region, infamous for robbing and killing other players. They were among the people that players absolutely did not want to provoke within the Green Marbly Kingdom.

Seeing their reaction, Garnet snorted. ”What? Getting cold feet already?”

Seeing that the other two no longer dared to make a sound, Garnet continued. ”That guy over there is Owen, the Dark Knight.”

”Dark Knight Owen!?”

The two couldn’t help but gasp when they heard the name.

Of course, they knew who he was. After all, the Empyrean Talons had just won the United Cup and become the current number one Adventurer Team in the game.

As for Owen, he was a famous Titled Ranker who could stand toe-to-toe with renowned Godlike Players.

He only needed to participate in a few ranking competitions and achieve a decent standing to be officially recognized as a Godlike Player.

Moreover, he was now better known as the main tank of the Empyrean Talons.

Although Dragon God Seigfried was a knight as well—more specifically, a Dragon Knight—Owen had still established himself as the team’s main tank.

After all, Seigfried was a walking disaster on his own. He didn’t need to occupy any specific position in battle. His overwhelming might alone was more than enough for him to stand by himself on any battlefield he chose.

Owen, on the other hand, was more of a team player. He had adapted himself well enough to complement the entire team.

To become the main tank of such a powerful Adventurer Team was more than enough to demonstrate how strong he was.

At the same time, his battle achievements during the United Cup had proven even more than that, further solidifying his reputation.

”That is Dark Knight Owen?” one of the two couldn’t help but mumble.

His friend, however, was more curious about something else. ”Why is someone of his caliber here?”

”Aren’t they supposed to be at the Awakened Continent already?” he added.

Garnet shook his head. ”Noob. Your line of thinking is wrong.”

”The Awakened Continent is a good place for apex experts like them to develop, but that doesn’t mean all opportunities are concentrated there.”

He paused for a moment before continuing. ”Take the battlefield in the Dark Cloud Kingdom, for example. The war against the invading demons is one of the most important events of the current patch.”

”Your line of thinking is exactly what makes you a noob.” Garnet snorted mockingly.

The two couldn’t help but glare at Garnet, but they were unable to refute his words.

They were only Level 150 players who were still struggling to find a way to complete their Tier 3 Promotion Quests.

Compared to an expert like Garnet, they were truly nothing more than noobs.

Still, the same question lingered in the air.

Why would a player of such monstrous caliber be here?

Garnet was curious about it as well, but he wouldn’t dare dig any deeper. Regardless of the reason, he wasn’t qualified to involve himself in such matters.

After all, despite the Desert Bandits being one of the more notorious organizations within the Green Marbly Kingdom, they were still nothing more than a small group in the eyes of the true powerhouses of the game.

”Anyone who provokes these monsters is practically signing their own death warrant,” he mumbled as he stared at Owen, who was now preparing to wrestle his tenth consecutive opponent.

After watching Owen trash his opponent with ease yet again, Garnet couldn’t help but shift his attention toward the other nearby booths.

At one booth, an elf was dancing around a series of tall mud poles, effortlessly shifting from one pole to another while dodging multiple arrows.

Regardless of how fast the arrows were, the elf was able to avoid every single one without even looking at them.

Even their tricky and seemingly impossible-to-read trajectories were useless.

It was as if nothing could escape the elf’s perception.

At another booth, a mysterious figure wearing a crimson trench coat and a gentleman’s hat of the same color was participating in a shooting competition against an infamous scammer NPC from the city.

Yet no matter how faulty the guns the NPC handed to the mysterious gentleman were, he only needed a couple of shots to accurately gauge their condition before firing with terrifying precision.

From the looks of it, the NPC would most likely lose all the money he had scammed from other players once the duel was over.

”Shadow Dancer Diablo... and Sanguine King Alucard.” Garnet accurately identified the two.

These two were just as famous as the Godlike Players of the Empyrean Talons.

They were Maverick Gods—players who possessed overwhelming combat prowess comparable to the famous Godlike Players of the game.

Maverick was a term used to describe players with extraordinary combat abilities who lacked an official title because they had never participated in the ranking competitions necessary to obtain one.

There were numerous Maverick Rankers and Maverick Gods scattered throughout the Green Marbly Kingdom. There were even quite a number of officially recognized Godlike Players.

However, among all of them, only a handful could truly be considered the pinnacle gods of the game.

Both Diablo and Alucard had already proven themselves worthy of standing among those monsters, even when compared to the strongest Maverick Gods and Godlike Players in the game.

They were so powerful that players had dubbed them the Demonic Duo of the Empyrean Talons—a title whose fame nearly rivalled, and at times even eclipsed, that of the Monster Trio of this monstrous Adventurer Team.

”First, there was Owen. Now there’s this duo as well...” Garnet couldn’t help but take a deep breath.

”I guess I have to inform the boss about this as soon as possible. There must be a huge event about to take place in the Green Marbly Kingdom,” he added before turning around to leave.

He was about to walk away when he nearly bumped into someone who was standing silently behind him.

”What!?”

Garnet was caught off guard, completely unaware that someone had been standing there.

’Since when was this person standing here?’

The thought had barely crossed his mind when he suddenly felt the blood rush to his head.

He was about to scold the person for startling him when he caught a glimpse of the familiar mask beneath the hood’s shadow.

Cough! Cough!

He choked on the words that were about to leave his mouth, swallowing them back down his throat.

”Ba... Bat... Battle God Sickarius!?” He stuttered the name the moment he recognized the other party.

Shin, who had been silently watching his group enjoy themselves, merely glanced at the stammering player before turning his attention back toward the three. ’What are these three doing?’

A shiver immediately ran down Garnet’s spine as Shin’s gaze swept over him.

He stood frozen in place, not daring to make a sound. He was afraid that provoking the monster standing before him would be the greatest mistake of his life.

If the previous three were already monsters in his eyes, then the person standing in front of him was a living legend.

He remained completely still, afraid that Shin might have overheard his earlier mumbling and misunderstood their intentions.

Little did he know, Shin had already overlooked his existence.

Shin couldn’t help but stare at the trio, who seemed to be enjoying themselves at their respective booths, with a confused expression.

After a while, he released a helpless sigh. ”I told them to arrive here first to scout the situation, but I never thought they would be doing a completely different type of ’inspection.’”

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