Child of Destiny

“Let the charge and we will support you from behind,” said Shin to Leonard while signaling the others to make their preparations.

From what he could see, this ‘race’ was not as simple as running through the obstacle course, but it was also another form of assessment. These thoughts seemed to be confirmed after hearing the words of Old Man Lin, especially when the merit points were mentioned.

But at the same time, Shin was suspecting that this was an assessment test that was meant to test not only their individual strengths but also their teamwork.

Yesterday, they were asked to look for a club to join or make their own. Almost everyone in the class already submitted their report about the clubs that they had joined and created. With this, Shin was suspecting that the academy wanted to check on the students that decided to group together and the others that chose to remain solo.

Since they were in a group, Shin had suspected that the academy wanted to see more of their teamwork and synergy rather than see their individual strengths which they had already proven by their current rankings within the class.

Jillian also had the same thoughts as Shin. She was suspecting that this ‘race’ was supposed to see if their team was good enough to take on missions that the academy would be giving them.

Having that in mind, she had to think about how she would be able to contribute more to the group, as well as her twin brother. They had already worked together with the group twice already but that did not mean that they were already familiar with each other. There were still a lot of things that she had to consider as well as to explore.

Finding the perfect position for her and Molton in the group was their main concern. She could tell that each member of the group had a designated position. Even Alice, who was supposed to be in a similar position with them, seemed to have a better understanding of the group than she was expecting.

…

Leonard quickly stepped forward when he heard Shin’s words. He tilted his head left and right, creating a series of cracking sounds. At the same time, he also rolled his shoulders and stretched his legs to relax his muscles.

He then turned to the side and looked over his shoulders before asking. “Is everyone ready?”

None of the group answered him verbally and just nodded their heads, indicating that he could start running as soon as he was ready.

Seeing that, Leonard smirked before squatting his hips a little while focusing his minimal amount of Internal Qi on his feet.

Crack!

And when he focused more strength on his legs, the ground under him cracked as his feet sank on it by half a foot. And on the very next moment, a small explosion could be heard as his figure suddenly disappeared.

Bang!

A shockwave was produced by that explosion, making the dust and gravel fly in the air. Not only that but similar series of explosions could also be heard in the distance as deep footprints could be seen appearing on the ground continuously.

Not long after, the landmines on the path that those footprints were taking started exploding one after another, creating chaos in the middle of everyone that was supposed to be making their way in the obstacle course carefully.

Bang! Bang! Bang!

‘Blood Sutra: Devil’s Footprint’

Boom! Boom! Boom!

Right after Leonard created a path, Shin and the rest of the group suddenly made their move. They followed closely at the path that he had created, with Shin and Arthur leading them.

Shin waved his hand and sent an energy wave that created a gust of wind that cleared the path in front of them, where explosions were still in the middle of occurring.

Then Arthur charged through it and knocked everyone that was trying to block them away. The same for the others, who were planning to take advantage of the chaos and tried to use the path that Leonard had created – Arthur knocked them all away with the signature move that he loved to use inside the game.

‘True Nine Dragon Arts: Breaking through of the Golden Dragon’

Roar!

Alice and Jillian made a series of hand signs as they ran alongside the rest. They positioned themselves on each side of the group and they prepared their Mentalism Techniques. And when they caught behind Shin, they simultaneously clasped their hands together summoning their Mental Energy.

Their Mental Energy spread in the group before forming a barrier that protected them. These protective techniques were very common to see from every Mentalist since it was the foundation of every advanced technique.

It was because of this that the two were able to set it up despite them being not very familiar with each other. But even if that was the case, they were still having a hard time maintaining such a technique because of the restrictions cast on them by the cuffs wrapped on their wrists.

Fortunately, Shin seemed to have more experience when it came to this. As if he was already expecting that to happen, he quickly put his palms together before releasing his own Mental Energy. His Mental Energy quickly mixed with the ones that the two were released, quickly stabilizing the barrier that the two had created.

Molton, on the other hand, was keeping an eye on their surroundings. He was trying to look for the other students, who might give them trouble along the way.

Lorraine and Cloe were doing the same as they readied themselves to get in the action as soon as the situation called for it.

But after seeing how aggressive the group was, none of the other students were willing to be knocked out by them, especially with that kind of momentum. Moreover, this was a group composed of top-ranked students, so they were only asking to be beaten by them if they carelessly provoke such a group.

With that, the group was able to successfully pass through the field of landmines. They did not encounter much as they continued moving forward. But what they encountered next was a field filled with sharp mental spikes that kept on shooting up from the ground.

Not only that but there was also a bunch of iron arrows that were occasionally flying in the air, seemingly covering that area.

Leonard was already waiting for the group at the edge of that field. He was wearing a deep frown on his face as he was thinking about how they were going to pass through this field.

When the group caught up to him, he quickly turned to Shin and asked for his opinion. “This is going to be a little troublesome. How are we going to continue?”

Shin swept his gaze at the field before asking. “Are there any patterns between the metal spikes and iron arrows?”

Leonard shook his head. “It seems like they are coming in random.”

He thought for a moment before continuing. “I’ve watched the others that passed through it, and it seems like the mental spikes are randomly appearing from the ground while the iron arrows will constantly target anyone who is in the air.”

“There seemed to be a mechanism in the distance that can target anyone who will be trying to leap in the air. As for those iron arrows that are already flying over, they are just randomly being fired to mess with the tempo of everyone.”

Shin slightly knitted his brow before asking. “Did you see how the others pass through it?”

Leonard shrugged his shoulders and replied. “There are already a lot of people who managed to get on the other side when I arrive, but I saw a couple of them passing through it.”

“But the ones that stand out the most is that pair of twins that use some kind of mechanical wings to fly over the entire field. They also have a barrier that completely blocks the iron arrows that are that targeted them in the air.”

Shin looked over the iron arrows flying in the air before turning to the group. “You guys will not be having a hard time dodging those arrows as long as you have enough footing in the air, right?”

“I will create small platforms in the air while you guys are traveling. Just focus on dodging the arrows and I will handle the rest,” he added with a confident tone.

Jillian could not help but furrow her brows when she heard that. She could not help but doubt Shin’s words. But when she saw the absolute trust that the others had, she felt that he might be onto something.

Even Alice, who was supposed to be a little new in the group was also showing a similar level of trust.

Then she saw Shin turn to Leonard and Arthur, saying. “Show them the ropes?”

The two were about to nod their heads when Cloe suddenly walked forward and volunteered. “Let me! Let me! This one is perfect for me.”

Shin paused for a moment as he was about to reject her proposal. But when he saw her confident eyes, he quickly swallowed back the words that he was about to say and nodded his head. “Alright.”

After that, they prepared themselves for a couple of moments and stood in front of the field before Cloe started running forward.

When she stepped right on the field, the ground beneath her started to shake, signifying that the metal spikes were about to emerge from it.

Without any hesitation, she leaped in the air to avoid those metal spikes. But at the same time, she also became a target of those mechanisms firing the iron arrows in the distance.

Swoosh! Swoosh!

A series of swooshing sounds could be heard as the iron around made its way toward her. It would be hard for her to dodge them given her current position in the air.

But right at that moment, she confidently adjusted her body midair before extending her feet, seemingly stepping onto something.

And right on cue, a thin layer of solid tile materialized in the air. It was made of metal energy that Shin had summoned from the distance.

Pah!

Cloe stepped on it and leaped higher in the air, making her avoid the iron arrows flying at her. And quickly after that, she continued to move forward, stepping on the materialized tiles that came out of nowhere.

From the distance, she looked like running in the air as she continued to charge ahead while dodging the arrows in a very skillful manner. And not long after, she managed to arrive at the other end of the field without any problem.

Shin turned to Jillian, who was showing some doubt earlier, before saying. “Simple, right?”

After that, he turned to the others. “Get ready. We are going together to save time. Just make sure to keep some distance from the others, so that they would have enough space to adjust themselves if some stray arrows headed in their way.”

As the rest were making their preparations, Jillian thought to herself if she could do the same level of control over her mental energy given their current forms.

All of them were wearing these same restriction cuffs but it seemed like Shin was unaffected by it after showcasing such a level of control. A single misstep could put Cloe in a dangerous situation, but he calmly and skillfully pulled it off until the end.

Moreover, Cloe’s calm and collected movements also impressed Jillian. Especially when she saw the full confidence and trust that she had showcased while traversing the entire field.

“Seems like this group is more amazing than we originally thought,” she muttered as she could not help but look forward to what this group could accomplish in the future.

At the same time, she was also looking forward to how much she would grow after working with them together.

……..