Child of Destiny

...

Since Pogo was planning to end this battle with a final exchange, Shin could already tell what his opponent was planning. Given the confidence, despite being desperate, he knew that Pogo was planning to use a Tier 3 Skill.

But using a Tier 3 Skill was not that easy. Shin was aware of this since he was also in the third tier of his class and had seen the condition of using such skills. He did not have the time to explore the Tier 3 Skills under his arsenal due to the recent events that kept on happening, but he was clear about how hard it was to use.

"Just right in the time since I happen to also have a skill that needs some preparations," he said to himself before purposely throwing a strike that pushed Pogo away from him.

Pogo seemed to have realized what Shin was planning to do, especially when he raised his head and saw that the latter seemed to be preparing a big move.

He then smirked mockingly, seemingly trying to say that Shin had made the wrong choice. "You will regret being arrogant."

After that, he suddenly jumped high up in the air while making a series of gestures with his arms and tugging the crimson chains.

At the same time, the sickles swung along with his movements, leaving trails of sanguine lights in the air. Their momentum grew stronger, which also made their speed constantly accelerate during the process.

It did not take long before the crimson chains and bloody sickles formed a huge rotating sphere in the air, surrounding Pogo in every direction.

At the same time, there was also a demonic figure that manifested behind this sphere, standing tall and placing both of its hands on each side of the sphere.

Shriek!

Then a series of eerie screams and horrifying wails could be heard coming from every direction. Some of the players, watching in the distance and possessing keen sense, could see some spirits or ghosts flying everywhere while matching the rotation of the crimson sphere.

It even dyed the air red, creating a strange and horrifying atmosphere that resembled those ghost stories and movies, but to a greater degree.

Along with all of these, heavy pressure was suddenly pressed on everyone. Some trembled while the rest felt suffocated. There were even others who were already kneeling on the ground as they were unable to withstand the pressure.

Pogo, who just completed all the preparations, felt more confident in this final exchange. This was how mighty a Tier 3 Skill was, especially when it was executed under the Hyperactive Immersion.

He was quite smug when he had successfully finished all the preparations, especially when it was his second time using it since he got promoted to Tier 3 Class.

But when he looked at Shin and was about to mock the latter, he noticed that Shin seemed to be doing something strange.

He could tell that Shin was not using a Tier 3 Skill, especially since it did not carry the unique pressure that such a skill should have. He frowned deeply and asked himself. "What is this idiot doing?"

But since Shin seemed to be throwing himself to defeat, Pogo did not care much and fully activated his skill.

'Blood Killer Skill (Tier 3): Crimson Devour'

Roar!

The demonic figure behind the crimson sphere suddenly moved. It raised both of its hands and formed a claw each before slamming them down toward Shin.

Swoosh! Swoosh!

The air seemed to have been ripped apart due to those huge and bloody claws.

Pogo could not help but smile victoriously as he saw that Shin was still not done preparing his skill. "Fool!"

…

Meanwhile, Shin swiftly took a stance right after he pushed Pogo away. He spread his feet apart from each other while slightly leaning to the side.

The pair of swords in his hands had already disappeared at this point as they merged once more and became the [Yamato] once again.

Along with it, Blackie and Whitie also fused along with the swords, triggering the dual possession of reapers.

'Elemental Spirit Possession (Fusion): Chaos Slasher'

Swoosh!

Shin held the sword with both of his hands, positioning it horizontally in front of his chest. He did this because he wanted to somehow recreate the conditions that he had during his battle against the larvae Grand Centipedeus of the Bug Tribe.

He then focused his mind and circulated the energies within his body based on what he remembered.

Crackle! Crackle!

The Primordial Lighting danced around him and covered his sword as if it were responding to his actions. They seemed to be alive as they moved according to his will.

Boom!

A thunderclap could be heard as the lighting struck down from the sky and fell on Shin, who was in the middle of maintaining his stance.

The energies within his body ran rampant and became chaotic due to this. The lightning had become harder to control, making Shin sweat profusely.

But he stubbornly held on to his will and kept the Primordial Lighting under control. He even activated his version of 'Natural State' to make sure that he would be able to control everything.

'Natural State: Perfect Zenith'

When the giant crimson claws were about to fall on him, Shin suddenly opened his eyes and turned the sword in a seemingly casual and slow manner.

Swoosh!

Then, all of a sudden, his arms seemed to disappear as he threw a diagonal slash in the air releasing all the accumulated energies from the sword. When they reappeared, Shin was already in a stance where he had completed the slash.

That was when it happened-…

Flash!

There was a blinding light that illuminated the entire place, seemingly resembling a bolt of lightning that struck down from the sky.

Those with keener eyesight saw a crescent wave made of black-and-white lighting flying from the tip of Shin's sword and obliterated the descending claws before it headed straight to Pogo.

Crackle!

The crescent lighting cut through everything on its path, slicing through the trees before flying toward the sky.

Boom!

That was also when a deafening thunder roared, reverberating throughout the forest, and sending ripples in every direction.

There was also an electrifying feeling that was left lingering in the air, making the players caught in it feel that they were being electricized by the air itself.

'Jade Kirin Scripture: Seventh Movement – Thunder Eclipse'

Pogo was still maintaining his triumphant smile, still believing that he had already won. He failed to process that his Tie 3 Skill was completely obliterated by the crescent lightning earlier.

The strike came a little too fast for Pogo to respond, much less process the sudden development. It only came into him when he realized that he lost control over his body while his arms fell, losing their strength.

That was when he realized that he lost the battle.

"Ah-…" He tried to open his mouth, but no words came out. There was nothing but a scorched feeling coming from his throat while black smoke even came out from his mouth.

Not long after, he was unable to continue standing in the air and fell toward the ground.

His body was slowly dissipating into specks of lights in the air during his fall. All he could remember was his vision turning dark as he felt regret for underestimating such an opponent in their earlier exchange.

Clank! Clank!

What Pogo left was the pair of chained sickles that he had used in the earlier battle.

Shin instantly appeared in front of it through 'Void Steps' before picking it up and keeping it in his inventory. It was an interesting weapon, he wondered what he could do with it.

That was also when he suddenly felt the fatigue kicking in. He felt that his legs were giving out and about to fall.

He quickly flipped his sword and stabbed it on the ground, supporting his weight with it. He also leaned forward and placed his other hand on his knee to further support himself.

"Tsk! Using that skill under normal circumstances is still too much for my current abilities," he mumbled while taking out a bunch of potions and drinking them one after another.

These were the new inventions that Adept Hands had given him for a 'review'. Some of them were better versions of regular health and mana potions as they not only recovered the Health Bar and Mana Pool of a player but also somewhat relieved the fatigue that they felt inside the game.

There was also a special potion that focused on recovering his mental strength. Given the current stage of the game where combat techniques and other methods were commonly used, the willpower and mental strength of the players would be easily exhausted.

With these new inventions, Adept Hands felt that she would be able to solve these problems and create a new trend for option trading.

The result was somewhat effective as Shin instantly felt that he was recovering quite well. He nodded his head and drank a few more to see how much of a person could talk and recover by consuming more of them.

…

In the meantime, the players, who were watching from the distance, felt terrified after seeing the skill that Pogo had used.

But what was scarier was that strike that Shin had executed at the final moments of the battle. It sent shivers down their spine, making them regret coming here. How could they 'hunt' such a monster?

Most of them were about to retreat when they saw Shin almost falling toward the ground. If not for his sword, then he would most likely be lying on the ground already. They also saw Shin consuming a lot of potions, not caring about his surroundings.

Now one knew who it was, but someone had suddenly shouted. "He is already exhausted! That is right! How can he not be affected after such an intense battle!"

Hearing those words, the players who were already having second thoughts on this insane mission felt that they might still have the chance.

"That is right! This can be our chance!"

Blood quickly rushed toward their heads and adrenaline suddenly kicked in. They had become blinded by greed and stared at Shin like a bunch of savage beasts.

Seeing that everyone was still having second thoughts, the quick-witted ones quickly took action!

They started running and charged toward Shin. The ones, who could use movement skills, quickly used them one after another, trying to widen their distance from the rest. They want to capture Shin by themselves and monopolize the rewards from their factions.

Hearing the rumbling of the ground, Shin raised his head and looked at his surroundings. He then realized that the 'spectators' were finally making their move.

"Tsk!" he clicked his tongue as he knew that he would not be able to recover that much. But he was somewhat expecting this already, so he was not that surprised.

Instead, he smiled as he could at least show them that he was not someone that be trifled with, even if he was currently in such a state.

He pushed himself to stand straight before suddenly disappearing from his current location and appearing right at the center of the people leading the 'horde' behind them.

The group was frozen in place when they saw Shin suddenly appearing in their ranks. They were about to use their respective lifesaving skills to either escape or defend themselves.

But before they could even do anything, flashes of light suddenly rained down at them, piercing through their chest and crushing their hearts.

'Extra Skill: (Modified) Flash of Light'

The group surrounding Shin died in an instant without even putting up a fight. They did not even realize that they were dead until their vision turned dark.

Shin briefly glanced at the skill that he just used, recalling its description.

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Skill Name: Flash of Life

Skill Level: Tier 1

Skill Rank: Epic

Skill Details: Stab your sword forward, dealing 100% more Physical Damage at your enemy.

If the stab hits the enemy's vital part, an additional 100% Physical Damage will be added.

If the stab killed an enemy, the cooldown would reset back to zero.

Every time you kill an enemy with this skill, you will enter a 'Reaper's State' for 15 Seconds.

•Reaper's State: Every time you kill someone with the 'Flash of Life' Skill, the skill will receive an additional bonus of 100% Physical Damage per Kill (5 Stacks at most).

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It was one of the overpowered skills that he had received during his earlier adventures in the game, especially when it was meant to complement his class. He remembered how broken it was when he was against multiple people.

It was just a Tier 1 Skill, but since it was of epic rank, its might was no weaker than a Tier 2 offensive skill.

Moreover, with the current update of the game, where it was easier to one-shot an opponent by targeting their vital parts, this was going to be one of the most broken skills that he would have.

Shin could not help but feel that it was a perfect skill given the current circumstances that he was in. He smiled evilly underneath his mask as he instantly entered the 'Repear's State' right after killing the previous group.

Without any hesitation, he charged toward the incoming swarm of players while executing his new movement techniques.

'Personalized Technique: Mystic Lighting Steps'

Swoosh! Swoosh!

Crackle! Crackle!

He dashed through the formation of the players with the speed of lighting while taking the lives of the unlucky ones that met the same end as the recent of the group.

Aside from the 'Flash of Life' Skill, he was also using other skills under his arsenal along with a series of combat techniques that he had not used for a long time.

He was constantly reassessing these skills and repeatedly polishing them, making them match his current style and swordsmanship.

Then the slaughter had begone. A one against an army of players started where the former was winning by killing everyone with mostly one or two strikes.

Shin fought against this army of players fearlessly, making him look like a lightning ghost or a merciless demon of a battlefield.

But to those, who were watching in the distance, had a better name for him.

The Grim Reaper.

...