Child of Destiny

Real World, Sun-Moon Continent.

A few moments after Shin and Diablo fought each other.

Pssh!

A special gaming cabin opened its door. And when the fog coming out from it finally subdued, it revealed a young man who seemed to be in his late teenage years.

If Shin was here, he would instantly recognize this person as he was the guy who dueled against him just earlier, he was Diablo or known as Wade Paige in the real world.

Wade didn’t immediately come out of the cabin as he was feeling slightly dizzy. It felt like his world was spinning right now.

At the same time, he also could feel that the heat of his body was pretty abnormal. It seemed like he was having a fever of more than forty-degree Celsius. He could die at this rate.

Fortunately, the cabin that he was using could naturalize the heat that his body was emitting. At the same time, a vial of blue liquid was injected by the cabin into him, making his body return back to normal.

“I guess buying this gaming cabin and those expensive health serums are worth it. I will surely die if something goes wrong,” muttered Wade to himself as he rested his body inside the gaming cabin.

But not long after, an aged voice suddenly sounded from the side of the cabin, seemingly scolding him. “It is good that you understand the risks. But I must say that you are too reckless this time.”

“Ah!” Wade seemed to recognize the owner of that voice and wanted to get up to at least greet the person. Unfortunately, he didn’t have the strength to do it in his current state.

Seemingly understanding his thoughts, the man stood in front of the gaming cabin’s door and revealed himself while saying. “It is fine. You can rest for now as I assess your current state.”

This man seemed to be in his late sixties and had a head full of white hair, even the beard that he had was also the same.

He was wearing a lab coat that was usually seen worn by doctors and researchers. And as he stood in front of the cabin’s door, a tablet was current present on his hands while he was reading the contents displayed on it.

Wade stared at the old man for a few moments before saying. “Grandpa Morel, what are you doing here? Weren’t you out for the research assignment in your lab?”

The old man clicked his tongue when he heard those words and glared at Wade. “This ungrateful brat! Do you know how I rushed here when I heard the alarm I set on your cabin?”

“You may not know it, but your heartbeat is way off the charts! Your heart should have exploded if you continue whatever you were doing inside that stupid game!”

“I will not be able to face your father in the afterlife if something happened to you before I kicked the bucket!” he added with a sharp tone.

He then composed himself a little later and continued. “Fortunately, nothing serious happened, so you should be fine.”

“You should be feeling the aftereffects right now, so you should rest for a few moments. You will return back to normal after a couple of hours of rest.”

He then put down the tablet for a moment before focusing his gaze on the young man. “So-… you must have succeeded, right? It is written all over your face.”

Wade smiled widely and slightly nodded his head. “Yes, Grandpa Morel. I finally entered that state.”

“Your father must be proud that you achieved his dream,” said the old man dotingly.

He was friends with the father of this young man. And after the accident that caused his friend’s unfortunate death, he took this kid under his care.

But Wade was an independent young man who managed to endure all of the hardships of being an orphan by himself. He didn’t need guidance or help from older people as he was already mature enough despite his young age. He was also responsible and could take care of himself just fine.

But there were still some instances that he needed the support of an old-timer such as Doctor Morel.

“That technique that your father had left you is indeed amazing. Based on the readings of your body, it seems like it surpassed most of the players who also entered the state of Hyper Active Immersion,” said the old man with a warning tone.

And after pausing for a brief moment, he continued. “You are not the first person to achieve it but your chase is a little special since it managed to go beyond the expected limit of what an average person can do.”

“You are not a Martial Artist nor a Mentalist, so your mind and body will not be as tough as those guys. You will not able to endure the burden in the future if you continue doing this recklessly.”

“You need proper equipment and nutrients to assist the growth of your body. This gaming cabin and special serums might do the trick for the time being, but in the end, they are still not enough to support you as they will reach a certain limit.”

He then showed the data that was recorded on the tablet and continued. “Your cells are currently in a state of extreme hunger. It is because they are overworking themselves to match the growth of your brain.”

“Hyper Active Immersion is amazing as it can make you achieve a lot of things. Your brain will work twice – or even three times based on your growth. And alongside it, you will be able to perceive some things that you can’t before.”

“But it also comes with a price. If your body can’t match the growth, then it will only consume your life and will lead to your death. This is why a proper training exercise and a set of nutrient meals is important.”

Doctor Morel then became even more serious and added. “As I said before, this is not my area of expertise, so I still suggest you look for a good organization that can suit your needs. Or at least someone who can help you in this”

“I still have a lot of friends in the other field. If I ask them for a favor, I am sure that they will give me some face. And given that your Hyper Active Immersion is quite special, I am pretty sure that there are a lot of them who will be willing to assist you.”

Wade understood Doctor Morel’s concern but he didn’t want to work in any organization. Not after knowing the shady side of the virtual world.

He might not be old but he already encountered quite a lot of things after working under the Pandemonium Descendants and understood the risk of exposing himself to them. He didn’t want to be the guinea pig for their experiments.

Unless it was a trustworthy organization or a person who was really willing to help him, then he would not mind working with them. And based on his knowledge, there were only a very few organizations or people who would fall on those criteria.

The Sun-Moon Continent was the most advanced region in the world as they focused more on technologies compared to others. They were a handful of places that could stand on par with them in this area from the other regions.

Unfortunately, none of the organizations situated on this continent could be trusted, not even the government, so Wade didn’t want to work with any of them.

He also knew his worth, so the path that he should be taking was very clear in his eyes. And with that in mind, he shook his head and politely refuse the offer of the old man. “I am sorry, Grandpa Morel. I know that you care for me, but you should know my answer to that.”

Doctor Morel could only sigh helplessly when he heard those words. He knew how stubborn this young man could be, and no one would be able to change his decision.

But still, the old man could not give up on Wade. “You have to think this through, Little Wade. You can’t continue being like this.”

Ring~! Ring~!

Doctor Morel wanted to continue persuading Wade but his Advanced Watch suddenly started ringing while was in the middle of talking.

At first, he thought that it was from the research lab and wanted to reject it. After all, his research could wait while the life of this young man could be at risk if left alone.

But when he saw the caller ID saved on his watch, he couldn’t help but frown his brows in confusion. “Why is this old guy calling me right now?”

He wanted to reject the call but since the caller rarely contacted anyone, it must be an important matter.

“We are still not done here, Little Wade. Let me take this call and we will continue to discuss this later,” said the old doctor before walking away and answering the call.

“Oh! This is quite rare for you to contact anyone. Aren’t always busy, Mr. Head of the World Research Center?” said Doctor Morel with a sarcastic tone.

“You are still the same as always, Morel,” responded the person from the other side of the call before continuing. “And you are right, I am very busy right now because of a troublesome kid, so I will get straight to the point – I need your help with something.”

Doctor Morel started chuckling when he heard the latter part of those words. “This is quite rare. You? Asking someone for help? That is new. Alright, tell me what is it and I will take care of it immediately. After all, it is ‘you’ who is asking for a favor.”

The person on the other side of the call cleared his throat for a moment before continuing. “It is like this. An old friend asks me to take care of someone because he is currently in danger.”

“But due to the policy of their company, they can’t give me any private information about that person aside from their name and where they live.”

Hearing that, Doctor Morel couldn’t help but ask. “Aren’t you asking for help from the wrong person? Why not ask for an Investigator or something? You haven’t forgotten that I am also a researcher, have you?”

“Hah! Do you think that I am stupid? Of course, I already did!” replied the other person before continuing. “But the funny thing is you seemed to be related to the person that I am looking for.”

“His name is Wade Paige, 17 years of age, and an orphan with his parents who died in an accident. Based on the investigation of the person that I’ve asked, you are taking care of the kid, which is why I am personally contacting you.”

Doctor Morel’s face suddenly turned serious when he heard those words before turning to the young man who was still resting inside his gaming cabin. “Continue, let me hear the details.”

To which the other person responded. “Alright, it is like this-…”

……