Child of Destiny

…

Shin stared at the obsidian crystal for a while before using his True Sight ocular skill to look into its details.

However, to his surprise, he found that he was unable to glean any form of information coming from this crystal. It was as if there was some sort of invisible power preventing him from seeing through its details.

He suspected that it must be the black-and-white pulses of light that it was constantly releasing.

“What is this thing?” he mumbled before walking forward, trying to approach the crystal.

Unfortunately, he was suddenly subjected to an intense and heavy pressure right after he stepped into the vicinity of the fountain.

Boom!

He almost kneeled on the ground right after the pressure descended and pressed on his body. If not for his quick reflexes and immediate response, then he would have most likely fallen on his knees.

Strengthening his knees and squatting his hips slightly, Shin was able to withstand the pressure and slowly pick himself up.

He then quickly retreated, stepping away from the effective range of this invisible pressure.

Standing right outside of that range, Shin squinted his eyes while observing the obsidian crystal.

He wanted to consult his two experienced elemental spirits, but his connection with them seemed to have been cut off by the invisible powers that engulfed the entire area.

He also noticed that this power had a great effect against elemental mana, which seemed to be devouring any form of elemental mana in the surroundings. This seemed to be the reason why his connection with his elemental spirits was currently in a severed state.

“An Anti-Elemental Powers?” he mumbled, trying to figure out the main features of this strange power.

Unable to think of anything else, Shin tried to look for clues through the official website of the game and the online forums. Unfortunately, he could not find anything about this obsidian crystal despite skimming through everything for a couple of hours.

Troubled, Shin suddenly remembered the new member of their adventurer team, who was an expert when it came to historical records and such.

Sickarius: Yoh! Are you free?

Shin sent a message to Molton, who had already achieved the title of Grand Scholar from the Imperial Library of the Divinity City.

He did not have to wait that long because Molton immediately replied.

Molton: I am free, Brother Shin. Are you referring to the clues about the place where you are trapped? I think I found out about it earlier. Please, wait for a moment.

Molton was using his real name as his in-game ID, which was quite odd these days but not that rare. After all, there were still some people who were also doing the same.

As for what Molton was talking about, Shin had consulted him about his situation previously, asking for some clues about the secret land that he was trapped in. He wanted to at least pinpoint the estimated region of this land from the Aurora Continent.

After all, they had to make a base on this place along with the Hand of Midas and Deicide Guild later, which would become their springboard to connect with the Forgotten Temple and Awakened Continent.

Shin was not in a rush to know about this, which was why he let Molton take his time looking for clues.

He was about to say that it was not the reason why he was contacting him, but Molton had already sent a series of files before he could even say anything.

Molton: Brother Shin, from the information that I have gathered, there are only three places that can fit the characteristics of the place that is currently trapping you.

Molton: The first is the Phantom Island, the mysterious and legendary island that appears and vanishes in the middle of the Sea of Death. But since Brother Shin already knows about this place, we can just scratch it from the list.

Molton: The next is the Quintessence Archipelago, which is the center of the Fog Sea. However, since you said that you are on a massive island, we can also take it out of the list.

Molton: Then that leaves us with the last option, which is the land of the Immortal Empire that vanished a very long time ago.

Shin originally did not want to rush Molton, but since this kid was so diligent and managed to find such clues in such a short amount of time, his interest could not help but piqued in the process.

Sickarius: Let’s hear about it.

Molton immediately continued.

Molton: From what I have researched, it seems to be one of the richest and strongest nations throughout the entire Aurora Continent, rivaling the current Storm Empire, Primal Kingdom, and Monster Regional Lands.

Molton: However, since its land is right in the middle of the Everlasting Sea, they are quite isolated from the conflicts that swept through the entire continent during the Warring Era.

Molton: But their forces are quite well-known throughout the world, especially when they are one of the main forces that won against the invading Demon Races during the Repelling Era.

Molton: They are also quite famous for the regional products unique to their land, which makes the merchants brave through the harsh conditions of the Everlasting Sea just to trade with them.

Reading through the messages that Molton had sent, Shin could not help but raise his brows a little, feeling that something was wrong with this place.

Then Molton continued.

Molton: However, this powerful empire has suddenly vanished in a single night due to a certain incident.

Molton: During the final stages of the Repelling Era, a strange meteor suddenly fell from the sky.

Molton: This meteor possessed multicolored flame while leaving a long trail in the sky during its descent.

Molton: Moreover, this meteor had attracted a lot of strong individuals at that time. However, none of them managed to catch it due to its extreme speed before it landed straight in the center of the Immortal Empire.

Molton: Based on the records, the impact that it generated at that time was so strong that it caused a series of huge and overlapping shockwaves that swept through every direction.

Molton: The shockwaves had even caused huge waves to sweep through the sea and formed a terrifying tsunami that swallowed all the nearby islands, erasing them in the process.

Molton: After that incident, the entire empire had suddenly disappeared. Even the absolute experts of the world were unable to find them.

He then paused for a moment, seemingly trying to organize all the information that he had gotten before continuing.

Molton: Based on what Brother Shin has described, it seems that the entire empire has been surrounded by a mysterious power and has hidden it from the outside world.

Hearing the information from Molton, Shin finally realized why there was a massive lake at the center of this huge piece of land.

Based on the latter part of Molton’s words, Shin figured that the lake at the center of the region was the point where that mysterious meteor had landed.

“Does it mean-… there is a powerful treasure at the bottom of that lake?” mumbled Shin while turning his gaze toward the direction of the lake.

He seemed to have realized that the answer that could help him leave this place was most likely at the bottom of that lake.

Unfortunately, he did not have the strength to explore that place at the moment due to the powerful monsters residing in the areas near the lake.

Realizing his current situation, Shin set that thought aside for a moment before proceeding to the main reason why he contacted Molton.

Sickarius: There is another thing that I want to consult you about.

He then proceeded to send the images he captured of the obsidian crystal floating right at the center of the fountain to Molton while explaining special features that it had, along with the overwhelming powers that it possessed.

Molton: This-… I think I have seen something like this when I was looking for the information previously.

Molton: Give me a few minutes, Brother Shin. I’ll try to look for it.

Shin did not have to wait that long since Molton immediately returned and presented a new batch of information.

Molton: I’ve found it, Brother Shin! And this thing seems to be quite special!

Shin could not help but raise his brows when he saw the message. From the tone that Molton had, he could tell that the latter seemed to have found something interesting.

Molton: If I am not wrong, then it must be the Stone of Samsara, which is a unique product of the Immortal Empire.

Molton: Based on the information that I have gathered, this magical stone is something that can be used by certain people to increase the density of their bloodline or undergo a special type of soul awakening that can awaken the hidden secrets of their bloodline.

Molton: In the current era, it is something that can awaken a certain trait in multiple races.

Molton: If a player with an Ascended Class uses it, they can instantly awaken their bloodline powers and promote themselves into an Ascended Race. It is not an exaggeration to say that it is a free pass to create an Ascended Race!

Molton could not help but feel quite excited, especially when he could see that the size of the Stone of Samsara before Shin was of high quality.

…