Child of Destiny

“There is a big event that happened in the Dark Continent!”

Hearing Lorraine, the group could not help but turn to her almost at the same time. They stared at her for quite a while, seemingly waiting for her to continue.

“Ahem!” She first cleared her throat, seeing that everyone was looking at her, which also made her feel a bit awkward.

She then continued right after regaining her composure. “As everyone knows, the Dark Continent is a place plagued with chaos, which is also where the headquarters of most underworld organizations are gathered.”

“Just recently, there has been news about multiple underworld organizations that have waged war against each other. The entire continent has been thrown into utter chaos, where wars are everywhere!”

Hearing this, Arthur furrowed his brows and said. “Isn’t it normal? The Dark Continent is always like that anyway.”

Lorraine quickly shook her head when she heard this before continuing. “No! It is different this time!”

“The Shadow Alliance, a hegemon of the underworld, has made its move! Their three factions have moved almost at the same time, waging war against the other organizations and seizing their territories.”

“Their actions are so fast that the opposing sides are unable to respond. They can take control of those other organizations.”

“Not only that! They have also announced that they will be waging war against the World Government as well!”

She then paused for a moment, collecting her thoughts, before continuing. “The Black Serpent Mafia has also taken action, taking advantage of the chaos.”

“They have seized a huge portion of the Dark Continent, placing them on the adjacent side of the territories that the Shadow Alliance has taken control of.”

“And because of these two hegemons making their move, the others had also become restless and started making theirs as well, which in turn plagues the entire Dark Continent with further chaos.”

“I even heard from my father that quite a few huge organizations that are operating in virtual industries have been affected by this incident,” she added, trying to recall the exact words of her father.

“One of the biggest organizations that has been hit is the HeadHunter!” she added.

Hearing this, the others could not help but fall into deep thought.

“HeadHunter? Isn’t it the same organization that gives up quite a lot of trouble during the earlier stages of the game?” mumbled Shin, seemingly trying to recall those events.

“That’s right! It is one of the notorious guilds that is said to have been created by a lot of criminal organizations. Rumors that a collection of international criminals and terrorist groups are gathered there,” said Arthur.

“Most of their members within the game are either trainees or successors of those people. But now that the new update has been released, where those from the advanced realms can now enter the game without worrying about any restrictions, I am sure that the more senior experts within their organization will be joining the game.”

“No wonder those guys from the underworld organization want to take them out as soon as possible. They do not want to have such a ‘competitor’ to join the game.”

Hearing this, Shin could not help but furrow his brows before shaking his head. “No. That’s not it.”

“The HeadHunter Organization is quite a unique existence compared to the other underworld organizations. They are nothing but a hub for those criminals and terrorists.”

“The structure of the organization is quite complex as well. It looks like a huge organization from the outside, but it was nothing but a fragile alliance created by multiple groups and individuals.”

“Who are the true founders of that organization anyway?” he mumbled.

Hearing the latter parts of his words, Jilian could not help but frown as well. “There is no specific leader who the organization has acknowledged. The founders, on the other hand, are said to be from multiple organizations.”

“The information about them is not that accurate since, just like you have said, they are nothing but a bunch of criminals or terrorists gathered together,” said Jilian.

“Or-… perhaps, they have been purposely gathered in a place so that it will be easier to keep an eye on them,” added Molton, who seemed to have realized something.

“It also makes it convenient to clean up the trash if they need to,” added Shin, along with a smirk.

Hearing this, the others seemed to have realized something.

“Are you thinking that either the Shadow Alliance or the Black Serpent Mafia is behind the creation of such an organization?” asked Cloe.

Shin shook his head before answering. “They are just a few of the candidates.”

He then suddenly paused, seemingly giving the others enough time to guess, before quickly adding. “Who do you think will benefit the most from doing such a thing?”

Jilian immediately answered. “The World Government?”

Shin smiled as he continued. “Convenient, isn’t it? Not only can they monitor them easily or wipe them out whenever they want, but they can also use such an organization to manipulate a lot of things.”

“Suppressing a certain place or organization through their might, silencing those who they found unpleasant to the eyes, or even creating a mass panic through terrorism, and distracting everyone from the most important things. Then they will be subduing it through their ‘mighty’ army and become a great hero to the eyes of many,” he listed the possible purpose of such an organization, letting the others become enlightened.

“Truly evil!” commented Arthur, seemingly not too surprised about it.

After all, he grew up in a military family, so he was quite aware of certain things that the public was unaware of.

“Well, that is just suspicion. We still do not know the truth about this matter,” said Shin with a sarcastic tone.

“Aren’t the actions of the Shadow Alliance and the Black Serpent Mafia more than enough to confirm it?” mumbled Leonard.

Shin just shrugged his shoulders when he heard this before waving his hand. “Anyway, it is not our problem to deal with. We can just leave those matters to the adults to deal with.”

“What we need to do now is to focus on what we can do,” he added before turning to Lorraine. “Is that all?”

Lorraine could not help but pout her lips, thinking that the big news that she had brought was not that big at all. “You are always boring! I hate you, Shin!”

After cursing Shin, she swiftly appeared beside Leonard and clung her arm. “I still like my Leo better!”

Seeing this, the corner of Shin’s mouth suddenly twitched before saying. “If you want to flirt with him, then just do so. Don’t use me for your schemes.”

Lorraine stuck out her tongue before suddenly recalling something. “Ah! Before I forget! There is something more!”

She paused for a moment, trying to organize her thoughts, before continuing. “I also heard from my father that the Shadow Alliance only dares to make their move now and provoke the World Government because of a few undercurrents happening somewhere.”

“I am not sure about this because Father is not clear about it. But I think it has something to do with the recent appearance of the Voidwalker Tribes and their transactions with a few underworld organizations, particularly the Black Serpent Mafia.”

Shin thought for a moment, seemingly thinking about something. ‘Don’t tell me something happened to the villages within the Forbidden Valley.’

However, he immediately shook his head when he thought about his mother. ‘No. That is not right. If something truly happened to the Fog Village and the neighboring places, then Mom shouldn’t be here.’

After shaking this thought off, Shin continued to chat with the others, either checking on their progress in the game, opening their thoughts about the current situation both inside and outside the game, or gossiping about some unimportant events.

After spending the entire day with each other, everyone went back to the gave at the evening, planning to their respective businesses in the game.

***

Meanwhile, in the Research Department of the Magic Ace Academy.

“That should be enough for today,” said Benedict while looking at the data on his smart tablet.

This bunch of data displayed before him was taken from the series of tests that Wade had undertaken throughout the day.

Wade stepped out of the huge glass cylinder with only a pair of boxer briefs. It was quite easy to notice huge changes in his body compared to what he had been.

Before, he was nothing but a thin young man who seemed to be extremely frail and fragile.

However, his extremely fit body with perfectly toned muscles proved how much he had improved since he first arrived here.

His overall build might still bit lean compared to most of his peers, but his current physique was hosting an unimaginable power contrary to his outer appearance.

He took the robe that was hung nearby and put it on before walking toward Benedict. “How is it, Senior?”

Benedict gave the data another good look before turning to Wage. “Don’t worry. You are recovering quite well. In fact, you are extremely healthy right now.”

“However, you will still have to undergo more rehabilitation to gain the ideal level that the professor is looking for,” he added.

He then paused for a moment, giving the latter a light tap on the shoulders. “But I must congratulate you. It seems like the research is quite successful.”

Benedict then tapped the corner of his eye and added. “That eye technique of yours. It seems like you-… no-… your father has successfully created an artificial talent that is solely for you.”

……