Child of Destiny

……

Shin headed toward the spot that Berlin had pointed out. From what Saint Blacksmith had said, this place was the core of the entire volcano, which was also the hottest part within that aside from the workshop that Berlin had built.

But the difference between the two was the natural heat that they had. Inside the workshop, Berlin had drawn some formations that gathered all the heat from the volcano, which turned the entire workshop into a furnace.

On the other hand, this place that Berlin called the core of the volcano had a natural heat that was so intense that it turned the entire place into a scorching furnace.

Shin even felt that he was about to be burned alive just by standing there. If not for him mastering the ‘Solar Breathing Technique’ to protect himself, then he would have most likely died right now.

What Shin found surprising was the fact that he did not feel any discomfort from standing in this place the moment he used the breathing technique. He even felt very comfortable just by standing there.

He could also feel that his control over Fire Elemental Mana in the surroundings increased greatly. He could feel that it was not only because of his mastery over the ‘Solar Breathing Technique’, but also of the changes that the legacy skill, ‘Regan’s Method,’ had brought.

Shin glanced at the legacy skill briefly as he felt that it was not as simple as it seemed. Compared to the other legacy skills, ‘Mondi’s Series,’ particularly, ‘Regan’s Method’ was an all-in-one skill.

It had all the skills within it. It looked like a bunch of skills within a skill.

Or to be more precise, it was a unique Skill Tree with multiple branches recorded within a skill.

The changes that the skill had after he had completed the exploration of the Phantom Island were much better than he had expected.

Aside from this, Shin’s attention was also attracted to the special trait that he had gotten after he learned the secrets of the ‘Regan’s Method,’ which was called ‘Elemental Unification.’

Shin did not get anything from that description that it had since it only increased his Elemental Affinity and Sensitivity. But he could feel that it improved some things within him that he was not completely aware of.

But after focusing his senses and feeling the surroundings, Shin felt something strange. He felt as if the surrounding mana was gathering toward him, particularly the major elements within the volcano such as Fire, Earth, and Metal.

And due to his decent level of affinity with the Earth and Metal Elements, he could also feel the minerals scattered in the entire place.

Not only that, but he also felt something from the flowing river of lava. He could feel the mixture of Fire and Earth Elemental Mana in it and a hint of Metal Element.

Sensing that, Shin unconsciously extended his hand and gathered the three elements. He skillfully controlled them. He even separated them from one another.

With his training regarding mental control, he had already reached a certain level where he could fully divide his attention in multiple places.

The training practice that Grandmaster Benn had given him was now paying off.

The elements of Fire, Earth, and Metal formed three different spheres that represented each of them – a ball of fire, a cluster of dirt, and a chuck of metal.

The three elemental spheres spun around one another, controlling them like the steel balls that he had in the real world for training. He played with them a little, moving them at different speeds and paces to showcase his amazing control.

A moment later, an idea entered his mind and slowly moved the three elemental spheres closer to one another. Not long after, the three elements merged, creating a ball of magma.

Its composition was like the river of magma in front of him.

It was at this moment that Shin realized the real usage of the ‘Elemental Unification’ Trait. “This is going to be interesting.”

It reminded him of how the Elemental Clone inside the trial ground of his promotion quest fought. This gave him a rough idea of how he would proceed with his path.

Looking at the Elemental Unification Trait and Regan’s Method Legacy Skill one more time, Shin squinted his eyes before turning to Mondi’s Style Legacy Skill.

With countless ideas running inside his head, Shin was itching to try taking the promotion quest once again. But after a few moments, he shook his head before mumbling. “Let’s wait a little more. Once I have successfully reached the initial mastery of ‘Golden Immortality and Great Dominator Techniques’ before continuing.”

After that, his focus was redirected to the core of the volcano, waiting for the phenomenon that Berlin was talking about earlier.

He looked for a good spot and found a stone pillar standing at the center of the magma river. He knitted his brows a little before summoning his black angelic wings and flew over to that stone pillar.

When he arrived, he did not find anything strange aside from the more concentrated heat enveloping the entire area. But despite being uncomfortable with it, he did not feel any kind of discomfort and felt that the intense heat was giving him strength instead.

He might be confused but he quickly took this opportunity to sit cross-legged on top of the stone pillar and started meditating.

As if taking his actions as some sort of a cue, the surroundings seemed to have taken some changes.

The flowing magma on the river moved more violently and started to around the pillar. It formed a vortex where the stone pillar was acting as the center.

At the same time, Shin also felt some changes in the temperature. The intense heat seemed to be ‘rapidly’ cooling done for some unknown reason. He did not know the reason, but he felt that he could completely feel and read the changes despite how fast they were.

What surprised Shin, even more, was the continuous insights and inspiration that he was getting as he read and observed the changes in the surroundings through his mind.

He was not sure about what was happening, but he would not let this opportunity slip away. He would take advantage of this situation and reap all the benefits as much as he could.

He continued to meditate and absorbed everything without stopping. He greedily devoured all the enlightenment that he had gotten from the changes in the surroundings.

It was at this moment when he realized why the Dwarves called this phenomenon within the volcano the ‘Sleeping Tyrant’. As it turned out, anyone who would be receiving everything would become a tyrannical monster upon waking up.

What was surprising was after the temperature within this place dropped to its ‘coldest’, it suddenly started rising once again at the same speed as it had earlier.

But this time, Shin had gotten completely different insights and inspirations from them.

Shin took a deep breath and controlled the circulation of energy within his body through the ‘Solar Breathing Technique’. He was doing this while absorbing everything that was entering his mind.

From the look of it, the Solar Breathing Technique was the bridge connecting him with this place. It was only when he had reached a certain mastery of this technique that he could receive this enlightenment that was constantly entering his mind.

lightsΝοvεl ?οm It was pretty clear that it was some sort of inheritance technique for dwarves. Shin only managed to get it due to him discovering the truth about the breathing technique of Berlin and combining it with his own set of techniques.

Shin remained seated on top of the stone pillar and continued to mediate, absorbing and organizing everything that he was learning.

All the insights that he had gotten were about the connection between fire, earth, and metal. They were about different applications that could utilize their properties in the best way possible.

Combining all of this with everything that he had learned from Professor Henry and the books that the professor had given him, Shin had gotten a deeper understanding of the three elements and their connections.

His understanding of the ‘Perfected Four Symbol Scripture’ had become more profound.

Along with it, he also started to understand the principles behind the ‘Golden Immortality Technique’ and the ‘Great Dominator Technique’.

He also felt that his connection with the Earth and Metal Element was getting stronger. He even felt that he would only need a small push to fully awaken his other two Innate Attributes.

Shin remained seated on top of the stone pillar and refused to move. He stayed like that during the entire process of the ‘Sleeping Tyrant’ Phenomenon, which lasted until it was noon the next day.

But despite the phenomenon ending, Shin refused to leave and continued to meditate. He felt that he was currently in a bottleneck and was about to reach a breakthrough.

Unfortunately, that feeling did not last long as it gradually disappeared as more time passed.

Helpless, Shin could only stop reluctantly. But he still refused to leave and started practicing his swordsmanship instead.

He was now starting to consolidate the foundation that he had and further strengthened it.

He started with the sword-drawing style of the ‘Jade Kirin Scripture before proceeding to the ‘Thirteen Sword Movements’.

He only stopped when he felt satisfied with his progress.

Then he proceeded to the other techniques under the Perfectly Four Symbol Scripture along with the sword movements that he and Grandmaster Benn had created to complement them.

Shin performed all the techniques and sword movements from the most basic ones up to the most advanced ones that he could perform. He did not stop until everything was covered.

But that was also not the end.

He had yet to take a proper rest when suddenly proceeded with another set of techniques. But this time, he combined the principles of the three major methods of the Four Symbol Scripture – the Celestial Vermillion Bird, the Sacred White Tiger Method, and the Divine Yellow Dragon Method – with the three breathing techniques that he had recently gotten.

Due to his familiarity with the Four Symbol Scriptures, he was able to successfully integrate the three breathing techniques without problem. However, there was still a clear gap between the ‘Solar Breathing Technique’ and the two other techniques.

But despite that being the case, Shin did not feel disappointed and rather became excited instead. It was because he could feel the immense growth that he had after consolidating everything that he had experienced and all the knowledge that he had gotten together.

He only stopped at this moment since he knew that continuing further would not give him any benefits.

He originally wanted to strike while the iron was hot and proceed with the next step.

After successfully combining the Perfect Four Symbol Scripture and the three breathing techniques, Shin wanted to apply the trick that he had learned from the Elemental Clone and fused everything with the Mondi’s Style.

But after careful consideration, he bitterly shook his head and criticized himself. “I can’t be too greedy.”

He knew it very well. After the smooth success, he started getting a little complacent and overconfident.

It was fine to be bold and take the risk, but he still needed to know his limitations.

He might have been successful with combining the Perfected Four Symbol Scripture and the three breathing techniques, but that was only because of his great familiarity with the latter and the special effects of the ‘Elemental Unification’ Trait along with the special effects of the newly improved ‘Regan’s Method.’

All these just happened to complement each other, which resulted in what he had gained right now.

But he knew that it was not perfect. The balance between the three Elements was still incomplete as his Fire Elemental Attribute still greatly surpassed the Earth and Metal Elemental Attributes.

If he wanted to proceed with the next step of his plan, then he had to at least form the absolute balance between those three as well as his mastery over the three high-grade breathing techniques.

This was the reason why returning to the Rebirthing Place of his Elemental Spirit Companions was crucial. He had to get in there as soon as possible and start studying the Elements of Earth and Metal.

And for that to happen, he had the dimensional token that Berlin was trying to craft.

Thinking about this, he remembered that Berlin would be crafting the item now.

And looking at the time, he had unknowingly spent quite a long time training here. It was already the time of their appointment.

“What a perfect timing! Now can I look for the old dwarf and see if he has successfully crafted it!” feeling excited, Shin summoned his wings once again and flew over the bank of the magma river.

But before he could even reach his destination, something unexpected happened.

The magma river under him suddenly erupted and a huge creature suddenly shot up from underneath.

Roar!

Splashes of burning lava flew in the air while a deafening roar shook the entire volcano.

Shin stared at the creature and could not help but smile. “Is it my luck or bad luck? Anyways, this guy just came at the right time!”

……