Child of Destiny

…

Shin appeared in the white world for another time, lying on the ground and starting at nothingness. He was breathing quite haggardly as he was quite mentally exhausted.

This was his fourth time from what he could remember. The fourth time that he had fought against those four terrifying clones of himself and got defeated.

Even though he had fought quite better compared to the first time he tried to tackle his Promotion Quest, he was still quite overwhelmed by the combined forces of the four, particularly their perfect synergy and resourceful fighting instincts.

Shin also fought much longer and put up a good fight for every try, and he was showing a great rate of improvement. His growth could be easily seen as his fighting style continuously evolved.

From everything that he had learned from those clones, he was always fusing them with the things that he already knew.

At the same time, he also learned how the four operates and how polished their respective battle style. He could tell that they were much better than himself when it came to certain areas and possessed a strength that was much stronger than what he had.

Take the skill combination and elemental control of the Elemental Clone for example. It was using his skills and fusing them together to produce a new one with the combined effects of the two.

Then it would also use the most appropriate elements that would perfectly match the effects of the newly created skill for better results.

After that, it would use the perfect swords for that skill to maximize the strength that it had while attacking Shin.

Everything that the Elemental Clone was throwing at him was coming in a very natural manner, making Shin quite speechless.

It did not have any systematic pattern or strict requirements when performing those attacks. Instead, it would throw everything at Shin in a smooth and flawless manner like a flow of water in the river.

Shin was quite intrigued with that fighting style and tried to mimic it. After all, he already had some experience when fighting with such a style, particularly during his first battle against Justin.

But compared to what he was doing during that time, the style that this Elemental Clone had was much more polished and greatly perfected.

As a result, Shin failed to copy that style miserably. Without the help of his Elemental Spirit Possession, it was impossible to produce a similar result even with all his efforts.

Without a proper breathing technique and energy control, he would not be able to use any of those tricks even if he was able to successfully combine the required skills.

He lacked the perfect element that could enhance the strength of the skill that he just created.

He could rely on ‘Jade Kirin Scripture’ to try converting the elemental mana in his surroundings into the required elements that he desired, but he would not have absolute control over them, which would always result in his failure.

He realized that he needed a perfect breathing technique to control those elements just like when he was controlling the Fire Elemental Mana with the ‘Solar Breathing Technique’.

Shin tried to do some experiments and used the basic breathing techniques that he had practiced in the real world. It was one of the assignments that Old Man Lin had given the class, so he was somewhat familiar with them.

He had produced a decent result, but it was not satisfying enough for the desired result that he wanted. There were lacking a few substances compared to the ‘Solar Breathing Technique’.

Even though the experiment was quite successful in a sense, he was never satisfied with the results. After experiencing the great effectiveness of the ‘Solar Breathing Technique’, everything below it was a bunch of failures.

Shin felt that this was one of the keys that he needed to solve the puzzle of the Tier 3 Promotion Quest.

For the path that he was currently taking at the very least.

Compared to the Elemental Clone, the rest were quite troublesome in their own right. But what gave Shin quite a headache was ironically the Doppel Phantom.

The one that seemed to be fighting like a ghost. It had a fighting style that was very similar to an assassin or someone with the other thief-related class. It was appearing and disappearing as it pleased and always attacked at the most crucial moments.

The Doppel Phantom was always attacking whenever Shin found an opening to throw a perfect counterattack, saving the rest from suffering greatly.

Moreover, it was always outside Shin’s detection range, so it was able to freely move and launch an ambush.

As if this was not enough, it was also using telekinesis to control the flying daggers and paralyzing needless when attacked. Not only they were mid- to long-ranged weapons, but the Doppel Phantom could also control their trajectory in the air, making it harder for Shin to block or dodge.

With such an unpredictable pattern, Shin was really having a hard time.

Shin did not have any problems when dealing with the Eclipse Clone and Sword Phantom since he was very familiar with their respective styles and techniques. The swordsmanship that they were using was pretty much the same as his ‘Yin-Yang Swordsmanship’, ‘Jade Kirin Scripture – Quick Draw and Sword Movements’, and ‘Four Symbol Scripture – Sword Techniques’.

Every sword technique and bladework that they knew was the same as everything inside his head, so it was not that difficult to avoid or counter them.

The only problems that Shin had were the Doppel Phantom and Elemental Clone. As long as he found the answer on how to deal with them properly, then would be fine.

But the answer that he was looking for seemed to be still out of his reach.

Regardless of all of these, Shin was not that disappointed. Rather, he was quite excited and satisfied with the current situation.

He was fine being beaten up by those clones – as long as he was able to continuously grow in battle and constantly become stronger, then everything would be worth it in the end.

He could agree with Arthur and Leonard when they said that this Promotion Quest was pretty rewarding despite the torture that they were giving him.

Just like what Professor Henry had told him earlier in their classes, he could treat this game as a perfect training ground to hone his skills and make himself stronger.

Having that in mind, Shin rose from his lying position before picking himself up from the ground. “Alright! That is enough for resting. It is time for the next round!”

He stood up with full spirit before walking toward the four clones in the distance once again.

…

Clang! Clang!

Bang!

Swoosh!

Shin was sent flying by the powerful strike of the Elemental Clone while using its great sword.

Swoosh! Swoosh! Swoosh!

Chasing after him, the flying daggers sent by the Doppel Phantom arched through the air while aiming at the exposed vital spots that Shin had.

Adjusting his position in the air, Shin suddenly flipped and curled his body while facing the incoming daggers.

Then he suddenly kicked the air behind him, launching himself toward the direction where he came from.

‘Legacy Skill: Mondi’s Jump’

Swoosh!

At the same time, he raised the [Yamato] in front of him while twirling it in the air, making a rapid spinning motion.

He was also using his Solar Breathing Technique this time, so he was able to control the fire elemental mana more properly.

The blazing blade of his sword left a flaming trail in the air as he continuously twirled the [Yamato]. Its tip was also producing a similar trail in the air and formed a spiraling tail of flames that his figure.

Swoosh!

Clang! Clang! Clang! Clang!

The flying daggers bounced back and got knocked out of the way as they collided with the spinning vortex in front of them.

And when Shin finally broke through them, he was already in front of the Elemental Clone once again.

Swoosh!

Then Shin suddenly grabbed the hilt of the [Yamato] tightly, making its twirling motion come to an abrupt halt and finally revealing his figure once again.

Behind him, the sheath of his sword was held in a forehand grip.

It then released a blinding light before turning into an illusionary longsword, which also released a similar white flame as the [Yamato].

‘Legacy Skill: Mondi’s Style – Meteor Form’

Swoosh!

He then swung the sword forward as he lunged straight at the Elemental Clone.

Shin combined a couple of his skills for this attack just like the ‘Solar Cut’ and modified version of ‘Falling Lightblade’ to produce a sword technique like he had in the real world.

Then applying the principle of the Celestial Vermillion Bird Method and Solar Breathing Technique together, he produced a result that far exceeded his expectations.

‘Four Symbol Scripture: Celestial Vermillion Bird Method – Phoenix Slash’

Swoosh!

This was the best Shin could do when copying the techniques and tricks of the Elemental Clone. Since he could only command a single type of elemental mana in perfection at this moment, he could only use these fire-type techniques like usual.

But this time, with a dual-wielding style rather than his usual quick-draw and one-sword styles.

The Power of Abyssal Moon and Brilliant Sun were exemptions since he was experimenting with something. Those two higher-level forms of mana were more suited for Yin-Yang Swordsmanship, but he was using his Mentalism Sword Techniques at the moment.

Clang!

Sparks flew in the air along with the sound of blades colliding against each other.

The Elemental Clone used the surface of its greatsword as a shield to block the incoming attack. It also infused the Mental and Earth Elemental Mana under its command into the greatsword, enhancing its toughness and sturdiness.

Shin did not stop there as he suddenly spun in the air while swinging his blazing swords in the process.

Clang! Clang! Clang!

A series of metallic sounds could be heard as his attack repeatedly landed on the greatsword while drawing a spiral of blazing circles in the air.

Swoosh!

Shing!

It was at that moment when the Eclipse Clone and Sword Phantom appeared almost at the same time.

They had pincered Shin from both swords by throwing their respective attacks.

The former threw a series of sword slashes while the other went for a sword-drawing strike.

Clang! Clang!

Shin’s spinning motion suddenly stopped as his swords clashed with the incoming attacks of the new opponents. The [Yamato] was pressing against the pair of swords of the Eclipse Clone while the transparent longsword forcefully halted the attack of the Sword Phantom.

In this position, he just borrowed the momentum from his previous spinning motion to counter their attacks. At the same time, his foot was currently stepping on the surface of the greatsword of the Elemental Clone as a platform to not fall from the air.

This was a picture-perfect scene, where he was clearly facing the three clones without a problem. But despite that being the chase, he was still quite unsatisfied.

This was his eighth attempt, and he was getting used to the fighting style of the four clones. He had already adapted to everything and was able to keep up with the irregular pace of the battle.

He was not able to last longer and even put up a very good fight against these four.

This scene was quite a normal occurrence right now.

But despite that being the case, Shin was still feeling rather frustrated since he discovered something just earlier.

As he continuously fought against these four, he noticed that they were also rapidly growing just like himself. Or to be more precise, every time he came back for the next round with a much stronger version of himself and a better mindset, the clones seemed to be adjusting themselves accordingly and matching his newly improved skills and techniques.

The difficulty of the quest seemed to be matching his growth and not giving him any clear advantage against them.

It was at this moment that he realized that if he wanted to win this battle, then he must have to do it in a single round.

The worst part was this was just the first part of the Promotion Quest. There was the second one after he cleared it.

And he seemed to be quite far from it.

……