Child of Destiny

A group of mysterious individuals gathered on an inhabited island not far from the coast of the Sky Deceiving Valley. They were wearing cloaks that were slightly different from the ones the cults used but also shared quite a few resemblances.

The group leader suddenly said when he saw that everyone finally arrived. “How is the progress?”

One of the hooded individuals stepped forward and reported. “The sacrifices are already prepared. We are only waiting for the right to opportunity to use them.”

Hearing that, another person suddenly smirked and said. “What is the use of the sacrifices when our target is already been killed.”

“We went through a lot of trouble just to weaken and corrupt the Sea Spirit. But in the end, the one who benefited is not us, but that Battle God Sickarius. Moreover, it seems like he has already used the Sea Soul for something, which is why the faction quest is triggered,” he added with a deep sigh.

Hearing that, the person who reported to their leader earlier glared at him. “If you don’t have anything better to say, then just shut up your mouth, Jord.”

Jord scoffed when he heard that and said with a provoking tone. “You can try me anytime, Karl. I am not afraid of you.”

Seeing that the two were already starting to argue despite the presence of their leader, another member of the group suddenly stepped in between the two and mediated. “Come on, guys.

We know that we are temporarily grouped because the Messengers of the Cult are currently in a questionable position due to the sudden betrayal of Immortal, but we can’t always be in disagreement since we will fail the quest altogether.”

The two that were about to fight hesitated for a moment before deciding to keep quiet. They were also aware of their current situation, so they could not push their luck that much.

In the meantime, the acting leader of the group, who kept quiet up until now, finally opened his mouth. “Let’s proceed with the meeting if you guys are already done playing around.”

His voice was calm, but it carried an eerie coldness that sent shivers to the other members of the group. That was when they remembered that this person was not like them who were from the middle ranking of the cult.

This guy was quite a low profile, but he was skilled enough to be ranked on the same ranking as the Messengers of the Cult.

“Since the Sea Spirit has already been killed, we don’t have much use for those villagers,” the leader paused for a moment before continuing. “Let’s change the plan and use them as sacrifices for the cult ceremony. Tell our people to build the altar while the rest of you make sure to guard the island and prevent anyone from approaching us.”

Hearing his instructions, the person, who mediates between Jord and Karl, could not help but voice his doubt. “But leader, we will catch the eyes of the NPC Factions if we try to conduct the Cult Ceremony here. And please don’t forget that there are quite a few people from the Supreme Temple and Martial Alliance currently nearby.”

Hearing that, the leader looked at him before saying. “Do you think that I don’t consider that?”

“The Sky Deceiving Valley is currently in lockdown due to some unknown reason, so people are unable to enter it. Since that is the case, they can’t learn about the events here, especially when we are quite a distance from the coast.”

“As for the NPC Factions, they will not be able to sense us as long as we set up the isolation barrier around the island.”

Despite his explanation, the rest were still not fully convinced.

Seeing that, the leader suddenly asked. “Don’t tell me that we are just going to leave the sacrifices that we have earned go to waste? I don’t think that will be the answer to our current situation.”

“Since everything has already been prepared, why not take the initiative, and proceed further ahead? We may as well get a certain benefit after going through a lot of trouble,” he added before dismissing everyone.

The leader was left behind and remained seated on the boulder that he was on, seemingly waiting for something. When he made sure that everyone had left and no one was around, he suddenly opened a virtual screen and sent a message.

“I have already set everything. You only have to come over and collect the ‘item’.”

There was a brief of moment of silence before the person from the other side replied.

“Good job. I will be there once the ceremony starts.”

After seeing the message, he closed the virtual window and jumped down from the boulder, acting as if nothing had happened.

***

A couple of hours after Shin had survived the pursuit of the four factions, a piece of unexpected news was released to the public.

The borders of the Sky Deceiving Valley were opened to everyone once again, making the people rush towards it with the hopes of crossing over it and reaching the borders of the Frozen Kingdom before everyone else.

But before they could enter, they were greeted by another notification from the system,

*Ding*

System Regional Announcement: Congratulations to Player Sickarius for being the first person to reach the Duke Rank Player!

System Regional Announcement: Congratulations to Player Sickarius for successfully setting up a Dukedom! The Sky Deceiving Valley will now be also called the Gold Mountain.

System Regional Announcement: Player Cities: Golden City and Calderock Port are now open to the public! Please visit it, everyone!

…

Each message was repeated at least three times, ringing in the ears of everyone within the Saint Heaven Kingdom.

The ones who were able to quickly recover themselves immediately headed to the teleportation hall of the cities that they were in and chose the Gold Mountain as their destination, particularly the Golden City.

However, they could not help but pause when they saw the entrance fee of the said city was quite expensive. It was worth five gold for every player.

It was nothing in front of the wealthy players or experts of the game, but for ordinary and casual players, such a price was something that they could not afford.

This was a strategy that Shiella had come up with since it would filter out the quality of players that would enter the place, only letting the elites inside, and limiting the population of the city to avoid being overcrowded.

A lot of people instantly dropped the idea of heading to the said city, but the ones that could afford such a fee were teleported there without any hesitation.

Once they arrived in the said city, they could not help but stare blankly at the place, especially when they walked out of the teleportation hall and got a clearer look at the city.

The luxurious buildings and advanced carriages were one thing, but the dreamy view beyond the city walls was another manner. That was when the people realized why the place was called Gold Mountain – they were in a city on top of a mountain.

Looking around, the players that arrived then saw different kinds of views when they looked in different directions.

As for the others who wanted to see if this was a good place for training, they immediately noticed the high density of mana concentrated within the city. It was comparable to the Capital Rank NPC Cities such as the Holy City of the Saint Heaven Kingdom.

They also saw that the Battle Arena within this city was on par with the Divine Arena of the NPC Cities.

People quickly scattered and checked on different places, exploring different parts of the city.

Others also noticed that the so-called Calderock Port situated at the coast below the Gold Mountain was previously Calderock Town.

The members of the top guilds originally wanted to spy on this new city and see if they could launch an attack on it to take it for themselves. But once they saw the affiliated forces through the system, they instantly dropped the idea without any hint of hesitation.

—————

Golden City Affiliated Forces

Owner: Empyrean Talons

Partner: Hand of Midas

Allies:

-Adventurer Teams:

Slayers

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God’s Paradise

Eternal Hope

Secret Society

-Mercenary Group:

Brotherhood

-Guild/Organization:

Assassin Union

Secret Recipe

—————

Seeing such a lineup was more than enough to discourage the people, who were planning to scheme on the city.

The two leading figures were already powerful and influential enough, but adding the Slayers, God’s Paradise, and Assassin Union into the equation would only make the people ask for their deaths if they tried to mess with these guys.

The people, who were thinking of making trouble, immediately dropped the idea after seeing the affiliated groups of the city.

Of course, there were still some exceptions just like the enemies of these groups, particularly those from the evil factions and dark guilds.

There were also quick-witted ones that figured out that the city rightfully belonged to Sickarius after linking the series of regional announcements that they just received to this sudden news.

Because of this, the people could not help but become more impressed with Shin. His might and battle prowess was already something else, so adding his ability to reach such a high social status within the game and even conquer a territory for himself.

Speaking of territory, the people, especially the ones who watched the clash between the Hydra Guild and Central Order for the acquisition of a certain territory, could not help but compare the two.

That was when they realized that Shin had the entirety of the Sky Deceiving Valley under his name, which was way bigger than the territory that the Hydra Guild had acquired.

This makes the powerhouse guilds and big organizations within the game almost die in envy. They were doing everything they could just to acquire a little territory that they could call theirs, yet there was a single person who not only acquired such a huge territory but even built such a majestic city on top of that.

They all knew that the Hand of Midas had something to do with this, but that was only the financial part most probably, which was somewhat easier to acquire than meeting all the requirements to get a territory under their name.

Moreover, the spot that Shin had chosen perfectly fitted the current stage of the game, especially when a high-level neutral kingdom was about to open right beside it.

These huge forces within the game were looking at the Golden City and Gold Mountain full of greed and envy, yet they could not do anything about it as the forces guarding the territory were so powerful and intimidating.

…

In the meantime, while everyone was too busy exploring the newly opened city and the regions around it, the man in question was currently heading toward the coast of the Sky Deceiving Valley to look for the clues for the other part of his solo quest.

Shin was currently exploring the region, recalling the places where he found the village, its residents, as well as the knights that he gathered.

*Ding*

That was when he received a sudden notification from the system.

System: Quest: Rise of the Dukedom has been updated!

System: The villagers are currently at risk of being sacrificed for a Cult Ceremony. Please make haste and find their location as soon as possible.

System: The timer for the ceremony will start once the cultist altar has been fully built.

Reading through the notification, Shin could not help but frown deeply, feeling quite troubled. He still hadn’t found any clue, yet the situation was already getting worse.

However, these notifications also had ironically given him a certain clue.

“Cult Ceremony? Don’t tell me it is related to those guys once again?” mumbled Shin while frowning deeply.

This also made him recall his encounter with that apostle of Immortal during the early stages of the previous event.

He could not help but consider the said proposal once again. However, the previous pursuit was already over, which made him unsure about the offer.

But there could also be something more to it, which might be helpful to him for the current situation.

……