Child of Destiny

”So, you are saying that each of our Elemental Companions can give us two quests that are related to them?” asked Shin after listening to Charlotte.

Hearing that, Charlotte nodded her head and clarified. ”Yeah. One for entering a contract with us while the other is for their personal reasons. The first quest can also be an indirect one like asking you for a duel or something similar, but regardless, it is still a quest concerning themselves and our contract.”

Then Shin fell into deep thought. ”Now that I think about it, it is indeed right. I get Hanzo from that quest regarding the fake king of the Holy City, then Vladimir during my Class Promotion quest. As for Grimrace, we challenged him in a duel. And after that, Solus gave me a major quest in the Blind Abyss Empire to become an Elemental Spirit herself.”

He paused for a moment when he reached that thought and looked at his current quest. ”And now, I am here to awaken another one. It makes sense now! Why didn’t I notice it before?”

Reaching that point, he suddenly turned his attention towards Whitie and Blackie who seemed to be in a special case. ”Then what about these two? I didn’t get a quest from them regarding this. Is it because they evolved from being an ordinary pet into an Elemental Spirit? Or because they somehow involved with the quest that Solus gave me?”

Charlotte waited for a few moments before cutting his thoughts. ”So, did you get it now?”

Shin snapped out of his contemplation when he heard that and looked at her. And after a few moments of hesitation, he suddenly asked. ”Then what about the other quest. How can I get it from them? Do I have to ask them directly?”

Charlotte shook her head a little after hearing that question and quickly answered. ”Not exactly. You first need to wait for them to naturally give it to you.”

”You can consider it as building trust between you and your Elemental Companions. No matter how much respect they are currently giving you, they still need some time to fully trust you with that quest. They can also be considered as some sort of NPCs in a way,” she added after a brief pause.

”So, I still need to wait,” muttered Shin as he nodded his head.

Then Charlotte suddenly remembered something and quickly added. ”Ah! They can also give you a hint about the second quest during the first time you met them. It can be some sort of grudge or something similar.”

”For example, if they hate someone or a particular race. The second quest is most likely related to those,” she said to further explain.

”Hmm? A hint that is most likely a grudge?” said Shin with a knitted brow before falling in deep thought once again to recall his first encounter with each of his Elemental Companions.

”Hanzo seems to hate humans when I first meet him. As for Vladimir, I remember he mentioned a certain Demon King before entering a contract with me. But I don’t remember anything particular when I meet Grimrace.”

”Then Solus-… she practically hated the new Gods,” he muttered with a twitching mouth.

Realizing something, Shin turned his head at Charlotte once again before asking. ”Don’t tell me those quests are also related to their life rating?”

Hearing that, Charlotte suddenly smirked at him and said. ”You just realized it? The stronger your Elemental Companions are, the harder the quest that they are going to give you. And that also includes those Elementals with special cases.”

Even if the lower half of her face was being covered with a veil, Shin could still imagine the sneering that she was giving him just by looking at her eyes. She seemed to be enjoying the misfortune that befell to him.

All of his Elemental Spirits were special; Hanzo was an Ancient Void Spirit, Vladimir was a Mutated Blood Spirit, Grimrace was an Evolved Abomination Shadow Spirit, and Solus was Deity Elemental Spirit.

As for Whitie and Blackie, those two were a Sacred and an Abyssal Spirit respectively. And they obviously fell in special cases.

And now, the current Elemental Spirit that he was going to wake for its slumber was also a special one given the information that he got before. It was an Elemental that was formed after the fusion of two Elemental Spirits with similar properties.

Having all of those in mind, Shin could already tell that there was a lot of trouble waiting ahead of him.

Annoyed, Shin gave Charlotte a sharp glare that was more than enough for her to sense even though he was wearing a mask.

But instead of getting intimidated, Charlotte just laughed at him before saying. ”Don’t look at me like that. I am not your enemy, so there is no need for that hostility.”

Shin smirked at her when he heard that before moving forward. But not long after, he suddenly halted his steps and turned back at her once again before asking curiously. ”Wait! If it is true that the quest that they are going to give you corresponds with their ranks, then it means that the Elementals with a unique life rating are going to give quests that are at least in Hell Difficulty and above.”

Then he looked at her with skeptical eyes while pointing at specks of lights that were circling around her, especially those that represented Raijin, Fūjin, Suijin. ”Then I guess you also have your own troubles.”

”I just hope you have a lot of friends to do it with you,” he added with a smirking tone.

”What do you mean? Of course, I have a lot of friends to get along with,” snarled Charlotte immediately while glaring at Shin.

”Is that so? But how come I heard a little differently from Brother Siegfried and Brother Simba. Those two said you like to play alone and rarely team up with anyone,” said Shin, trying to get back at her.

”Regardless, I am still working with other experts if necessary. If not, then I shouldn’t be working with you right now,” refuted Charlotte.

Seeing that her previous cold nature was seemingly melting down a little, Shin couldn’t help but continue teasing her. ”Heh, you are also doing it out of guilt for scamming me with the Blood Stones that I paid you during that time.”

”You-! That-…!” Charlotte wanted to say something to defend herself but she couldn’t find the right words to prove her innocence and could only look at Shin with wide-opened eyes, speechless.

When Shin saw that she couldn’t refute him any longer, he couldn’t help but have a triumph look behind his mask before continuing to move forward.

Not long after, they arrived at the lowest part of the cave and in front of a dead end.

”We are here,” said Charlotte as they stood in front of a thick wall.

Hearing that, Shin couldn’t help but knit his brow and asked suspiciously. ”Here? But the mana density here is not that high. Are you sure we are in the right place?”

This time, Charlotte looked at Shin as if she was looking at an idiot before saying. ”Do you think that I am that stupid to leave such an important place unattended? Of course, I will naturally seal off the entrance to make sure that other people will not find it.”

After that, she waved her hand and summoned her Earth Elemental Spirit. ”Kaolin!”

Swoosh!

And without even saying her command, Kaolin quickly stood in front of the wall blocking their path before closing his eyes and putting his palms together.

After that, the Earth Elemental Spirit started chanting out some Matras as Shin and Charlotte watched from behind.

A few moments later, the whole cave started to tremble as if there was an earthquake shaking it. The walls started showing some cracks while dust and debris fell from the ceiling.

Rumble!

After waiting for a little more, the hard wall in front of them slowly sank to the ground and revealed the area that was hidden behind it.

Boom!

And right after opening, Shin immediately sensed the dense mana that was coming from that area.

Then some of the mana within that place suddenly leaked out due to the seal being released and swept through Shin’s body. And when that happened, the slumbering Elemental Spirit circling around him suddenly trembled for sensing such a dense Earth Elemental Mana.

*Ding!*

After that, Shin’s ears were suddenly bombarded by a series of notification bells which also made his head a little dizzy. And before he could even take a look at them, the Elemental Spirit suddenly broke away from him and flew straight at the center of the inner cave before absorbing all of the surrounding mana within that place.

Then a final notification popped out at Shin’s notification window which made him look at it with a weird expression on his face. ”This guy must be feeling too hungry after sleeping for who knows how long.”

...…