Child of Destiny

...…

Shin watched the battle from the walls at the coast along with the rest of his Elemental Spirits, waiting for Grimrace to finish his job.

He was quite confident with this abomination spirit, especially when the latter was showing rapid growth during the battle. Grimrace was becoming more proficient at using his psychic powers and even combining them with his innate shadow element.

But there were a couple of accidents during the battle. One of such was when the giant jellyfish suddenly started using its hallucination techniques. This Sea King cloned itself through these techniques, confusing Grimrace.

Even Shin and the others in the distance were affected by the technique to a certain degree.

With multiple bodies surrounding Grimrace, the abomination spirit was suddenly trapped and unable to retaliate when the jellyfish and its clones attacked from every direction.

The rest were about to lend a hand when they noticed that Grimrace was able to hold his ground despite being on the back foot. He was able to ward off most of the attacks while blocking the rest with his psychic powers.

The group then learned that Grimrace seemed to be learning the techniques of his opponent while constantly adjusting with every exchange.

At the end of the battle, Grimrace was able to learn everything before he finished off the jellyfish and ended its suffering.

"This clown sure is lucky. Fortunately, that Sea King is gravely injured, or he will find himself in an ugly situation," commented Hanzo as he watched from the distance.

Seeing that they no longer needed it, Hanzo took the initiative to return unsummoned and became a speck of light that circled Shin.

The rest also did the same aside from Astaroth, who remained by Shin's side to protect him and keep the stone wall active.

Shin was about to recall Grimrace when he saw that this nutjob was being a nutjob once again. He saw the abomination spirit dived down to the massive body of the jellyfish without even asking for his opinion.

Not long after, Shin saw that the corpse of the Sea King turned into specks of lights that were being pulled by a strong suction force.

Upon closer inspection, Shin saw that the one at the center of this suction force was the familiar figure of his Shadow Reaper. Grimrace was seated in a cross-legged position while absorbing everything.

At the same time, there was a crystal-like object floating right in front of the abomination spirit.

Shin did not need to know what it was as he already had the idea. It must be the Sea Soul that Hanzo had mentioned earlier.

He was thinking about what to do to that item when he saw Grimrace open his mouth wide and swallow the Sea Soul whole.

"What?"

Shin knew that Grimrace wanted something from the Sea King, but the thought that the core and its corpse were more than enough for him.

He also knew that the corrupted Sea Soul would be helpful to Grimrace. He knew that the latter wanted to eat it to reach the next rank. But he was not expecting that this abomination spirit would be too impatient to absorb the natural treasure even before Shin could read its details.

He could only shake his head and smile bitterly as he watched Grimrace from the distance.

Immediately after, he recovered a string of notifications from the system.

*Ding*

System: You have successfully defended your land from the invasion of the Sea Monster Horde!

*Ding*

System: Your Shadow Reaper, Grimrace has acquired a Sea Soul and absorbed its powers.

System: Your Shadow Reaper, Grimrace has successfully become a Supreme Elemental Being.

System: An Ancestor Bloodline is formed, the Eldritch Psychic Spirit Bloodline!

System: You are the first to acquire an Ancestor Bloodline Elemental Spirit!

*Ding*

System: You have received a special reward for this new achievement.

…

The first string of messages was something that he had somewhat expected. He had already gotten the idea of what he would be getting.

He slightly nodded his head and accepted what happened. Grimrace had already devoured the Sea Soul, so there was no point crying for it.

He just opened the special panel for his Elemental Spirit Companions and looked for the updated information.

As usual, he checked the special border of the name card first. Unlike the others, the border that Grimrace had was somewhat plain and did not possess much design.

Aside from the grey border, there was also a shadowy flow of mana shrouding the name card. It was also reflecting light as if it was made of glass crystal, smooth and appealing, which was completely different from the rough and troublesome personality that Grimrace possessed.

After appreciating the new name card of Grimrace, Shin proceeded to look at the updated information that it had.

--------------------

Spirit Name: Grimrace

Status: Reaper's Retainer – Shadow (Psychic)

Race: Abomination Elemental Spirit (Shadow)

Bloodline: Eldritch Psychic Spirit

Purity: Supreme

Transformation: Yasha Transformation

Ability Status: Temporarily Sealed

Tier: Current 3 (Potential 5)

Level (Sealed): Adjusted to 170 (Max 500)

--------------------

Shin slightly nodded his head as he read the extra data that was not there before. Right now, Grimrace's information was comparable to the rest, particularly their potential.

With all that, Vladimir was the only one left, waiting to reach his peak potential.

Shin was about to wrap everything here and head out to look for the clues of the other condition for his quest when another strong of notifications interrupted him.

*Ding*

System Warning: You have been targeted by the factions: Supreme Temple and Martial Alliance, for stealing the Sea Soul.

System Warning: A bounty has been issued for your head by the Court of Demonic Churches and Corrupted Cult.

System Warning: You will be hunted down by the four factions for two days straight (in-game time).

Note 1: Your locations will constantly update every 2 hours.

Note 2: The timer will be paused whenever you log out or enter a sealed-border or independent world.

Note 3: You will be automatically kicked out of the said independent spaces once you enter them for an extended period. (Maximum time of stay 2 hours)

Note 4: The sealing border will be taken down automatically once you stay them for a certain period. (Maximum 2 hours)

System Warning: You are discouraged from using your authority as the Envoy of the Church of the Sun and Moon when facing the factions of Supreme Temple and Martial Alliance as it can cause a faction war.

*Ding*

System: Survive this hunt and you will get a huge surprise.

…

Shin halted his steps and stared blankly at the string of messages that he had just gotten before cursing. "What the heck is this? Why am I a thief now?"

"It is not my fault that that stupid Sea Spirit steals your treasure. I just killed it and acquired my reward!" he cursed before quickly looking at the progress bar of his quest.

He might have cleared one part of his current quest a little earlier since they had killed the Sea Spirit and had gotten quite lucky after getting the Sea Soul, but it seemed like those two had gotten him another trouble.

He felt like having a headache as it had reminded him of the first big event that he had experienced when he just joined the game – that time when he was trapped in the Shunkai Forest along with Charlotte, Lawless, Faker, and the rest of their team as they were being hunted by a quite a lot of guilds and schemed by Undying Guild.

"This will sure bring back some unpleasant memories," he mumbled as he shook his head.

But this would surely be more troublesome since he was the sole target and even had a true bounty on his head. His coordinates would also be constantly updated on the track of his pursuers.

Sighing, Shin took a couple of screenshots of his system log before sending it to Shiella along with a helplessly sighing emoji.

Right after he sent the message, Shiella's reply immediately came right after.

Snow White: What have you done this time? I remember sending you to the coast to clear the monsters in the area. What happened?

Shin sighed as he explained everything starting from when he was investigating the area.

Shiella fell silent for a few moments before replying.

Snow White: You sure are a magnet of trouble. Wherever you go and whatever you do, everything will turn into a mess in an instant.

Sickarius: I cleared the coast, though. We can relocate to Calderock Town now.

Snow White: Yeah, good job. (Rolling eyes emoji)

After sending a sarcastic remark, Shiella quickly followed.

Snow White: What is your plan now?

Sickarius: What else? I have to play tag with these guys.

Snow White: Alone?

Sickarius: Don't worry Big Sis. It will not be that easy to catch me. I will ask for your help if things get a little troublesome.

Shiella was silent for a minute before nodding.

Snow White: Do as you see fit, but don't get too confident. Those two factions also have monsters in their ranks, particularly the Martial Alliance.

This piqued Shin's interest and about to ask, but Shiella suddenly added.

Snow White: Beware of the God's Paradise, particularly Ashura. That guy is not simple.

After that, Shiella did not continue to chat with Shin as she immediately asked to give her permission to manage Calderock Town as an administrator so that she could handle its relocation and promotion, especially when Shin could not afford to be around due to his sudden quest.

Sickarius: I will go to the administration office of the Holy City before heading out to play.

…

Shiella, who was sitting inside her office in the newly built branch of Golden City, sighed as she closed the message panel.

She was silent for a couple of moments before re-opening the panel once again before clicking on a certain name in her friend list and sending a message.

Snow White: I have a job for you.

The reply came almost instantly as if the person on the other side was always waiting for it.

Jhin: Oh! What a surprise! To think the Club President is contacting me. What this humble servant can do for you?

Snow White: Stop with the nonsense. Let's talk about business.

Jhin: Tsk! Tsk! This is making me brokenhearted.

Snow White: Just tell me if you don't want the job.

Jhin: Of course, I will be taking it. If not, then who will?

Snow White: You are a part of Martial Alliance, right? Monitor their movements and give me a regular update.

The other side seemed to have instantly realized what was going on and asked.

Jhin: Eh? Is it related to the Faction Quest that is released by the Martial Alliance and Supreme Temple? Are you related to it or know the 'culprit?'"

Shiella did not find any problem hiding the truth from this person as he was one of the most loyal members of her club in the real world.

Snow White: The target is my brother. You should understand what needs to be done, am I right?

Seeing the message, the person on the other side fell silent for a moment quickly replying.

Jhin: If that is the case, then I will be moving the entire unit. Don't worry, Club President. We will protect your brother without fail.

Shiella sighed before emphasizing.

Snow White: Have you read my message? I am asking you to give me regular updates on the movements of the Martial Alliance players and nothing else.

Jhin: But-…

The guy wanted to say something, but Shiella instantly shut him.

Snow White: Just do what you are instructed, and do not interfere with anything. The report is more than enough.

Jhin did not know what Shiella was planning, but he could tell that she wanted to use this opportunity to train her brother while also keeping a close eye on everything.

Jhin: I understand, Club President. I will arrange everything.

After closing the message window, Shiella leaned back on her seat while tapping the table with her index finger. "Since you want to challenge, then let me set up a good stage to prove yourself to the world."

...…