Child of Destiny

Shin observed what was happening in the entire field while keeping an eye on his teammates. There was still the hidden threat that he needed to deal with, so he could not afford to let his guard down.

On the other hand, he was observing how the other groups were doing. From his position, he could see that everyone was already dealing with their respective opponents. And from what he could see, the entire class seemed to be able to calm themselves down and focused on improving themselves rather than competing with one another for the ‘race’.

He could see that the clay golems were meant to deal with the groups within the class. Everyone who had a group was matched against a clay golem with different features, specially prepared to deal with particular groups.

The mechanical puppets, on the other hand, were meant for the most outstanding individuals that could fight solo. But not everyone was matched with one.

There was the trio of Jean Camus, Thomas Brooks, and Simone Bartolomeo. The three of them were dealing with a clay golem that was specifically designed to deal with their group. They had to work together just to hold their ground and protect themselves.

There was also Diel Hendrickson and Falcon Hawkins. These two were also fighting a clay golem. But unlike the rest of the class, the golem that they were facing was relatively small. It was still huge for having a two-meter height and thick limbs, but it was much smaller compared to the clay golems that the others were dealing with.

The twin – Mavin and Marie – were somewhat in different positions as they were fighting a mechanical puppet together. But this particular puppet was somewhat different from the rest as it had a slightly bulkier body and was donned with mechanical armor.

That mechanical puppet also had a lot of firearms aside from the metal saber that it had in its hand. It was also holding a customized gun in its other hand.

The solo individuals of the group were also fighting a mechanical puppet that was meant to counter the respective styles of each student.

Shin could see Dylan White dealing with a mechanical puppet that was wielding a spear, fighting him at the same distance that could not be reached by his swords. It also had a decent speed that made it hard for Dylan to catch up.

Ezio Williams was matched with a mechanical puppet with heavy armor. It was armed with a solid defense that almost made his attacks ineffective. The puppet had low mobility and slow movement speed, so he could just circle around it while constantly harassing it with his fast attacks.

But the moment Ezio paused his tracks, the mechanical puppet would suddenly explode with an insane burst speed that was only meant for straight movements. It may only be meant for linear motion, but such speed almost made Ezio get eliminated from the course when he failed to respond to it.

As he watched everyone from the side, he suddenly realized that aside from him, everyone else was busy fighting their respective match. He was the only person idling around without doing anything.

Shin frowned his brows as he turned his gaze back to his group. He was rather confused at why he was the only one, who did not have an opponent.

He did hear from Molton that he was able to sense something hiding somewhere and it had a considerable threat. But the latter did not tell them that it was targeting their group specifically.

When he put more thought into it, he thought of another possibility. That ‘something’ hiding somewhere might not be specially targeting their group, but the other groups as well.

This could only mean-…

“A special task?” muttered Shin as he quickly spread his Spiritual Sense in every direction. He was focusing on finding that specific target.

He was thinking that whatever that thing might be, it would most likely be key to passing this stage without exhausting themselves in fighting these clay golems and mechanical puppets.

The fact that he was not facing any opponent might also be the ‘clue’ that was prepared by that crazy old man watching them from the distance.

Shin surveyed every place with his Spiritual Sense – whether it was in the air, under the ground, or anywhere else – he did not leave any stone unturned.

Then, he suddenly sensed an intense bloodlust coming from a certain direction. He snapped toward the source of that bloodlust and spotted a mechanical puppet with a different appearance from the others.

It was a mechanical puppet with a size of an average person just like most of the rest. But it did not have armor or any specific weapon on it. It only had a plain and simple design, making it look like an unremarkable training dummy.

But what made Shin look at it solemnly was the lines that it had on different parts of its body. When looked closely into it, he discovered that those lines were actually made up of mentalism runes.

The runes were arranged and lined up together, forming a specific sequence that was somewhat familiar to Shin.

“Mentalism Enhancements and Lesser Strengthening Array,” muttered Shin as he recognized the arrangements of the runes in a single glance.

He discovered that this particular mechanical puppet was filled with engravements that could only be seen from enchanted weapons and artifacts crafted by Mentalists, who specialized in the art of craftsmanship and forging.

From his perspective, this mechanical puppet was no different from a weapon. It was a dangerous weapon that could kill anyone if not handled properly.

But what his spine shiver was the fact that this mechanical puppet seemed to be quite ‘conscious’. He could see some intelligence in its eyes when he looked at them. He knew that this mechanical puppet possessed a consciousness of its own or something similar.

And from the looked in its eyes, it seemed like the mechanical puppet knew that he was looking for it, so it purposely let Shin find it by emitting such bloodlust.

It was inviting Shin to come.

Shin wore a dark expression on his face as he looked at that mechanical puppet. The threat that he was sensing from it was similar to a powerful beast or an expert in the field of Martial Arts and Mentalism.

Then he saw the mechanical puppet take out a cloak from somewhere and wore it to hide its body. It stood up slowly before gesturing to Shin to come at it.

Shin raised his brows as he could clearly see that the intelligent mechanical puppet was challenging him.

“Hoh~!” he did not know whether he was going to be impressed or scared after seeing everything.

Regardless, he turned to the group and said to them. “Guys, there is a change of plans.”

Hearing his words, the group quickly distance themselves from their respective opponents before turning to him. They were waiting for what he was going to say.

Shin pointed at the mechanical puppet in the distance before saying to them. “There will be another contest. Beat your opponents as soon as possible and join me in taking down that guy.”

He paused for a moment as he thought of something before continuing. “Or prevent the others from interfering in my fight.”

After that, he suddenly disappeared. He was utilizing the Holy Azure Dragon Method to sprint toward the mechanical puppet. He had to reach that place before the others noticed him and realized the other purpose of this stage.

At the same time, he was rather excited.

He wanted to test the current abilities that he had after the sudden upgrade of his Mental Energy alongside the insights that he gained from it. There were also the flame properties that his Celestial Vermillion Bird Method that he gained along with it.

Aside from those, there were also the sword-drawing techniques that he gained just recently. He did not have the chance to properly train or use them, so this would be a good opportunity for it.

This would be the chance to see how good that sword technique was in real battle. He already became familiar with it when he was fighting within the game, but it was still different when he was using it in the real world.

Swoosh!

Shin left a gust of wind on his path as he made his way toward the strange mechanical puppet. And due to that, he attracted the attention of the other students in the class, who were busy dealing with their respective opponents.

Confused, they looked briefly at Shin before moving their gazes toward the place where he was heading.

That was when they saw a strange mechanical puppet waiting for Shin in the distance. It seemed to be calmly waiting for its opponent to come.

It was at that moment that the class realized what Shin was trying to do. They also realized that this particular puppet might be the key to advancing from this stage of the ‘obstacle course’.

The quick-witted ones swiftly moved and made their decision. They dropped what they were doing and left their opponents to their teammates.

The ones who were working solo wanted to give chase too, but they were immediately obstructed by the mechanical puppets in front of them. The only ones who managed to break free from those puppets were the likes of Dylan White and Ezio Williams that were strong enough to ditch their opponents behind.

There were even a couple of crafty ones who were able to pull the mechanical puppets that they were dealing with toward the rest of the class before leaving them behind.

Because of this, the field was immediately thrown into chaos. Most of the class did not know how to deal with the current situation and started making mistakes that they were avoiding earlier.

Some even started engaging in a fight against each other as they tried to shove their opponents into the other groups while the rest tried to repel them.

And just like that, a war broke out within the field.

……