Child of Destiny

”A duel?” Owen asked after hearing Shin’s explanation.

A moment later, he couldn’t help but chuckle. ”I guess those guys aren’t stupid.”

”By requesting a duel, they not only avoid provoking a full-scale war against us, but they can also save face by turning the confrontation into something more acceptable.”

He then turned toward Shin and asked, ”So~! What conditions did they propose in exchange for accepting this duel?”

Shin merely shrugged. ”They’re asking for a meeting with the representatives that the Hand of Midas has sent to survey the kingdom’s potential business opportunities.”

He then pointed toward the area below, where the members of the Desert Bandits were reorganizing themselves. ”Those guys are probably curious about what kind of deal Khavin managed to strike with us to secure this level of backing.”

Hearing this, Owen immediately understood what Shin was implying. ”As expected of a Powerhouse Guild. They sure know how to take advantage of a situation regardless of their position.”

”Turning a confrontation into a negotiation...” He clicked his tongue. ”Tsk! Tsk! That’s actually pretty clever.”

”Is that all?” Owen narrowed his eyes slightly, feeling that such an offer couldn’t possibly be enough to satisfy the ’Devil’ standing beside him.

Seeing that Owen was beginning to understand him, Shin chuckled. ”Of course not. Do you think I’d accept their proposal that easily?”

”We clearly have the upper hand, so they have no choice but to offer us something more substantial in exchange for preserving their reputation.”

He paused for a moment before turning his attention toward Crimson Soul. ”They’re offering an interesting item to resolve this little ’misunderstanding.’”

”Oh~! What kind of item?” Owen immediately asked with interest.

Shin thought for a moment before answering. ”It’s some sort of key.”

”Eh!? Just a key?” Owen’s expression immediately became confused.

”Of course, it isn’t an ordinary key.” Shin shook his head. ”It’s a key to a one-time dungeon.”

He paused before continuing. ”According to the information they’ve provided, it’s a special dungeon with considerable historical significance. The clues they’ve uncovered also suggest that it may be connected to a certain Ancient Creature.”

Shin paused for a moment, a mysterious smile appearing beneath his mask. ’I’m sure Leo will be interested in this.’

”An Ancient Creature, huh?” Owen nodded. ”I bet it must be pretty powerful.”

He then suddenly looked toward Shin. ”They wouldn’t just hand something like that over, right? There has to be a catch beyond this so-called ’friendly’ duel.”

Shin turned toward him and nodded. ”You’re right. They wouldn’t be willing to hand it over so easily, especially after uncovering so many clues related to that key.”

He then chuckled as he recalled what Crimson Soul had told him. ”Unfortunately for them... they’re not qualified to continue the quest connected to the key because it’s restricted to a specific Transcendent Class.”

”Oh! A class-specific quest?” Owen asked in confusion. ”Then wouldn’t that give them even more reason to keep the key?”

Shin’s smile widened. ”Unfortunately for them... the Destroyer Transcendent Class is something that only Simba possesses.”

”Oh~! Brother Simba? No wonder~!” Owen immediately understood. ”So they actually took that into consideration.”

Shin nodded while suspecting that the key might be connected to the God of War Temple, where Leonard had been acknowledged as its Champion.

That title held a status comparable to Shin’s position as an Envoy of the Church of Sun and Moon.

”I’ll have Leo take a look at it later,” Shin murmured to himself. ”This could be his first real clue about his Divine Armor.”

He then set the thought aside for the moment.

...

In the meantime, Khavin was already making arrangements with his people. ”Serv, help our boys deal with the forces of the Desert Sun Coalition.”

”Since there’s nothing left for us to do here, we can afford to send more people to that side now.”

He chuckled as he glanced toward the members of the Ultra Guilds under Dream Entertainment, who were busy reorganizing their forces.

Khavin then turned back toward his right-hand man and grinned. ”Those guys from the Coalition are going to be in for a surprise once you hit them.”

”They’ll never expect their supposed ally to suddenly turn against them at the most crucial moment.” With another chuckle, he waved his hand and sent Serv and the others away.

Thud! Thud!

It was at this moment that Shin and the others dropped down from the top of the canyon walls and landed in front of Khavin.

”Esteemed Battle God!” Khavin immediately greeted Shin, sending a chill down the latter’s spine.

Shin truly hated being addressed that way.

”We will show our gratitude to the Esteemed Battle God and his esteemed allies by devoting ourselves to serving you faithfully,” Khavin continued in an exaggerated tone.

The corner of Shin’s mouth twitched. ”Drop the act before I beat you up.”

Owen, meanwhile, couldn’t hold back his laughter after witnessing the spectacle. ”Damn! These guys really know how to suck up to you!”

Shin ignored him before pointing toward Khavin and issuing his instructions. ”Since your job here is done, bring your people and seal off the other passages leading into this area.”

”Make sure the entire perimeter is secured and prevent anyone from sneaking in.”

”All you need to do is guard the area until we give you further instructions.” He then gestured toward Khavin as though shooing him away.

Khavin immediately acknowledged the order before bringing his people to reinforce the defenses around the area.

Watching them work, Owen couldn’t help but comment. ”That guy is pretty competent, huh? He actually knows how to get the job done.”

He paused before adding, ”He’s worth keeping.”

Shin nodded, acknowledging Khavin’s abilities as well. ”He may be sly and crafty, but he’s still useful.”

Immediately afterward, Shin led the group toward the forces gathered under Crimson Soul while explaining the rules of the competition. ”It has been decided that we’ll use the standard competition rules.”

”Both sides will send three representatives for this competition, with each representative participating in a one-on-one duel. The first side to secure two victories will receive the additional benefits agreed upon by both sides.”

He paused for a moment before continuing. ”If they win, they’ve asked us to help them establish a potential partnership with the Hand of Midas.”

”But if they lose, they’ll have to hand over another treasure of equal value to the dungeon key.”

”So... you guys will have to work a little harder,” Shin chuckled.

Owen, on the other hand, couldn’t help but feel a little strange. ”Aren’t both outcomes a win for us? They’re basically not gaining much from this.”

Even the so-called partnership was beneficial for them, or the Hand of Midas, more specifically.

”Which is why this competition is nothing more than a formality,” Shin replied with a chuckle. ”But wouldn’t it be better if we won that extra treasure as well?”

At that moment, Felix couldn’t help but chime in. ”If it’s a three-on-three competition, can’t I join too?”

Unfortunately, Shin merely patted him on the shoulder. ”Brother... I know you want to fight as well. But wouldn’t it be better to give the opportunity to the junior?”

Immediately afterward, the four turned toward Samael, who was still somewhat oblivious to Shin’s plans.

The moment he noticed everyone staring at him, the young Paladin couldn’t help but feel pressured.

”W-Wait... me? Why me!?” he stammered. ”I don’t think I’m fit for this competition!”

However, Shin didn’t give him the opportunity to refuse. ”Don’t worry. This is just a friendly competition. There’s no need to put too much pressure on yourself.”

”Moreover, you’re going to be the first one to enter the field.” He pointed toward Owen and Felicia. ”Even if you lose, you still have this Big Brother and your beautiful Sister to cover your back.”

Owen immediately chimed in. ”That’s right! This is also a good opportunity for you to test your newly acquired abilities against god-level experts.”

He paused for a moment before trying to reassure Samael further. ”Forget about those two big guys trying to intimidate you. Neither of them will be taking the stage first since they’ll be our opponents.”

”At most, you’ll have to fight Black Soul or Fleeting Dream,” he added.

”That doesn’t help at all, don’t you think?” Samael sighed.

Even though neither of them was an established Godlike Player, unlike Crimson Soul and Heartless Dream, both were still celebrated rising stars of the virtual world—and Maverick Gods in their own right.

Samael certainly wasn’t confident that he could defeat either of them.

In response, Owen repeatedly patted him on the back, hard enough to make the young Paladin cough violently.

”Show some spirit! This isn’t how I’ve trained you!” Owen scolded before quickly adding, ”Just think about all the training you went through in the Dark Cloud Kingdom.”

”You’ve already faced opponents far stronger than yourself during those battles, so you need to have more confidence in yourself!”

Unfortunately, Samael still wasn’t convinced.

”But wars and duels are different,” he replied weakly.

......