Chương 57: Rescue (Part 9)

...

"Dragon King Nathan Springfield!"

"Warrior Sage Elias Stuart!"

"Hundred Beast Joaquin Giovanni!"

"Sword Immortal Eugene White!"

"What the Heck? Four Peak Class Experts forming a team? Isn't it a little overkill?"

"Yeah, Brandon and others sure hit an iron wall this time."

"Provoking the Dragon King is already beyond crazy, yet they still provoke him just because they have numbers."

"Yeah, that's why the friends of the Dragon King can't take it and join him, now."

The other experts are discussing with his each other when the saw sudden development.

Nathan look at Brandon's group and smirk. "What now Brandon? Still want to try?"

Brandon glared at Nathan for a moment before turning around with a 'Hmph' sound and started to leave together with his group.

When Elias and others saw that they can't help but rub some more salt on their wounds.

"False Bravado."

"Boring~♪."

"Tsk, Cowards!"

Brandon and his group almost trip on the ground when they heard that. They want to curse out loud but didn't dare to do so. What can they do? Each of those guys are terrifying when provoke. They only dared to frame the Dragon King earlier because they were paid with a good price. What's more they are also have some beef with Nathan since they were young.

But if you include the other three, then it is another story. Even of they add another ten of them, they are still not enough to deal with those four.

The onlooker experts thought that they are going to enjoy an interesting show, but from the looks of it that will be not the case. So when they saw Brandon and his group leaving, they also started to depart, afraid that the other group will set their eyes on them.

When all the other experts leave, Elias setup a Concealment Formation in the entire place to prevent others from spying at them. After that, he look at Nathan and said. "So can you explain the what's happening now to us?"

Nathan thought for a moment before opening his mouth. "This should be a classified information so I ask you to don't tell this to anyone."

After confirming that his friends will keep this information to themselves, Nathan continue. "Recently, we receive a report that there are some organization/s that are planning to revive the 'Project Genius' of 20 years ago. And from the looks of it, this place is one of their operational lab."

The other three faces become solemn when they heard that. If what Nathan said was true, then this is really a major issue. No, this should be a global issue.

During that time, this so called 'Project Genius' have good purpose, creating an artificial talent for everyone. But one day, some people discovered that they are doing a lot of immoral acts. What's more the Military also discovered that they are secretly creating an army of puppet human.

"So this is really a troublesome matter. Have you discovered who they are?" said Elias while frowning his brows.

"Do you think that the World Government will take it laying down, if we know who they are?" Nathan can't help but say sarcastically when heard Elias question.

"Hahaha.... That was right! I'm sure that those cowards sitting on that throne will not take it if someone threaten their positions." this time it is the man with slightly muscular build that opens his mouth. He is Joaquin Giovanni.

Nathan clicked his tounge when he heard that. "Still acting like that? I guess it is better for you to watch out for your mouth. Sooner or Later that tounge of yours might kill you in that future."

Then, their discussion was interrupted by the Eugene White, who is quite quiet earlier. "Then who are those little kids that are fighting below? Especially the one in the state of Semi-Demon. Is he one of the experimented children?"

The other three look below them and use their own special means to see the ongoing battle.

"Whoa!!! That was an intense battle for someone on their level. And Hmm... That young Mentalist looks familiar to me, I guess I saw him before. Hmm...." said Joaquin with an interested expression on his face.

"Oh!!! That Kid? I think he is The Wanderer. David Solomon of the Dark Continent, if I'm not mistaken. Then who is the other guy?" replied Elias.

Nathan is the one that respond on this question. "That kid should be our Family adopted son, Shin Kinghad. And he should be the one that tipped us about the information of this place. As for his current state....."

Nathan pause for a moment to release a helpless sigh before continuing. "*Sigh~*. That kid had a 'Seed of Hatred' since young. And maybe that 'Seed' become triggered by some unknown reason, and turning him into this state. Good thing that Professor Plum took this kid as his personal disciple, and with the Internal Qi nurtured by Yin-Yang Arts, this kid can passively negate the Demonic Qi of Demonic Possession."

"And as for him being here.... From what my subordinates have discovered, this kid should be here because he want to save a friend of his that had been abducted by the persons of this Lab."

Eugene can't help but to remember something when he heard that. "That brings back memories."

Joaquin nodded his head and added. "Yeah. I can't help but to remember that guy. Eh!? Wait. Then, if this kid also manage do the same as that man. Then, that means, it is a birth of someone with another title of 'Heavenly Demon'? No, more importantly. Is this kid somewhat related to that man?."

And while the other two are busy reminiscing about something, Elias is glaring at Shin in his vision. At the same time, he unconsciously muttered something out loud. "So this is the kid that wants to snatch my precious daughter away from me?"

The other three stopped what they are saying when they heard that. Then, they simultaneously looked at Elias with weird expression on their faces.

And after discovering that Elias is still so engrossed in his own world, the other three looked at each other for a moment, before they burst out into a loud laughing.

******

Going back to the battle of the two. David is started to feel some fatigue and frustration. "This is not good. I know that it is a foolish idea to fight a Demon in a battle of attrition. But I didn't expect that this going to become this troublesome. What's more this guy is becoming stronger and stronger as the battle progress. Tsk, looks like I need to unlock another blocked meridian."

David is about to do another limit break but before he manage to do so, Nathan appeared in front of him and said. "That was good enough young man. Thanks for holding this troublemaker here. Now let us handle the rest."

Before David manage to say something, Nathan disappeared once again and reappeared behind 'Shin'. And before the Semi-Demon Shin manage to do anything, he is knocked out by Nathan.

Then, Elias suddenly appeared beside Nathan and do some gestures with his left hand. After that, Elias point his index and middle fingers at 'Shin', who is currently laying on the ground. Seconds later, a gust of Mental Energy rush towards 'Shin', and sealing off the alternating Internal Qi that spilling out from the kid's body.

David is staring blankly at the scene with a weird expression on his face. 'That was it? I've spent almost half of an hour battling that guy, yet they knocked him out just like that? These guys are at least Peak Class Experts, I guess."

After making sure that Shin's condition is under control, Nathan look at David and said. "You must be David Solomon right? Can we invite you our headquarters to have your statement regarding what happened in this place?"

David nodded his head for confirmation. Even if he refuse to comply, he feel that Nathan is going to drag him no matter what.

*******

Deep inside Shin's sea of consciousness, in the endless abyss, Shin is comfortably lying in there. Moments later, the voice that he heard earlier ring once again. "Oi!.... Oi!..... Prince Charming! It is time to wake up. If stay here for a little bit more longer, then you are really going to die."

Shin opens his eyes and look the direction of the voice, but too bad for him, all he can saw is an endless abyss. He knitted his brows and said. "Hey isn't it rude to not show yourself when you are talking to someone?"

The voice replied at Shin lazily. "This is not the right time to see each other. You don't have the luxury to spend more time to do little chats. So immediately get out this place and go back to your world."

Shin clicked his tounge and said. "Tsk, what a boring person. How about tell me who you are instead?"

"You don't need to know who am I, for now. The right time will come for that. Alright, that is enough with idle chats, go back to your world now, or else you will never be able to get out on here for your entire life." replied by the voice.

Shin want to say something more but before he manage to do so, a powerful suction force pulled him upwards. "Ahh!!!....."

******

Going back to the real world, it has been two days since the happening in the Michigan City. And what happened there somehow leaked in the public and spread around the world. And once the World Government confirm the news, the entire global population were shook to the core, and making them to panic.

And after learning that there is some kind of Underworld Organization that wants to restore the 'Project Genius', all the major powers on the surface began to make some precautions for the protection of their people.

After all, What happened back there in 20-years ago were not something that they can easily forgotten. Creating an army of puppet human? Those are no different from zombie like monsters that can't feel pain, tiredness or exhaustion.

.....

At the same time, in the most prestigious hospital of the Capital City, and on one of the VIP rooms, Shin is already laying there unconscious for a little more than two days.

Beside the window, Nathan is currently reading a book on his hand when he suddenly heard a gasping sound. He turned his head and look at the source of the sound and said. "Awake at last?"

Shin took some time to calm his breathing, and manage to observed at his surroundings. When he saw Nathan sitting beside the window he can't help but ask. "Eh!? Uncle Nathan? What am I doi.....ng... *URGH!!!*"

Before Shin manage to finish what he are saying, a sudden pain assaulted his head because of the sudden register of informations. The feeling is like you are being stab by a millions of needles successively.

After Shin regain himself and subdue the pain, Nathan finally open his mouth. "Looks like you already regain your memories on that event."

Shin look at Nathan and about to say something but the later beat him into it. "Enough for your explanations for now. Even though almost everything happened according to what you had planned, you can't still denied the fact that you act all alone. No, to be more precise, you did it with 'John Evans'. But still, the two of you did a lot of foul things in the process."

"I can ignore the fact that you didn't directly report to the military about you going to rescue your friend since it is a personal issue, but to use the military satellite without permission? And erasing all your tracks on the database and city security cameras? For F*CK sake! You are not even an official member of the military! What's more being an officer! So, You don't have the right to access those!!!"

"And invading enemy base alone? Do you honestly believe that you are some kind of special agent? Even if you do some missions before, those are just some special cases and assignments! Do you have any F*cking idea what will happen to you if I didn't arrived in time? Good thing that 'that' kid David is there to hold you down, or else you might slaughter a lot of people there, and will cause your demise! Even the F*cking Gods can't save you at that time!"

Nathan's nagging last for at least half of an hour before finally venting out his frustration. Shin didn't dare to open his mouth even for a little because he knows it will further ignite more anger if he do. He knows Nathan very well, if he dared to rebut even for a little bit, he might get beaten up despite being a patient of the hospital.

After calming himself a little, Nathan release a helpless sigh and added. *Sigh ~* "Another thing. I already contacted Professor Plum about this matter and he and Grandmaster Benn decided to postpone you special training, for now. Especially because of the sudden eruption of your 'seed of hatred'. They are going to wait for you to contain that 'seed' before arranging another training plan."

Nathan pause for a moment to ask Shin. "You already know about it right? About the 'seed' inside your inner heart right?"

Shin stared blankly at Nathan for a moment before shaking his head repeatedly.

This time, it is Nathan's turn to stared at Shin blankly, before slapping his forehead. "You are such a failure to become a Mentalist..... You have the ability to enter your sea of conciseness freely, yet you haven't even check your own body and emotional condition? Then, what have you been doing since you learned Mentalism?"

Shin became embarrassed when he have heard that. All he do after learning Mentalism is to strengthen his spiritual avatar and practice some Mentalism Techniques. Even though he knew that there are some other applications of Mentalism, he is too lazy to explore them for now. And he become too excited on learning the Battle Techniques of Mentalism.

And even if he already become a personal student of that Grandmaster Benn, that Old Fatty didn't even teach him anything yet. All that Old Fatty have done is to passed down his 'Four Symbol Scripture' to Shin and nothing else. From the looks of it, this Old Fatty Benn is also a little irresponsible like Old Geezer Plum.

....

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Chương 58: Seed of Hatred

...

"How about you tell me about it, Uncle Nathan?" asked Shin carefully.

Nathan release a helpless sigh before replying at Shin. "*Sigh~*, From what Arthur have said, You are a studious type student, but why can't I see it at all?"

Shin bend his head downwards and didn't dare to look at Nathan because he is too ashamed to say anything.

"*Sigh ~*, OK. Let's talk about your main concern for now." said Nathan while putting down the book on his hand. Then, he continue after. "Did you feel some strange changes on your behavior every time you lose yourself on your negative emotions, especially anger?"

Shin raise his head and look at Nathan almost instantly when he heard that question. He stared at the later with a startled expression, before nodding his head repeatedly.

'So this idi*t really knows about it but he didn't dare to tell us directly. I guess that was the real reason why is this kid and that rascal are always involved in some trouble at school.' thought Nathan before continuing what he are saying. "I don't know how many times did you experienced that, but I can assure you that those cases are not because of some psychological issue."

"It is because of the 'seed of hatred' in your inner heart. As for what is that 'seed', is quite complicated to explain, but the most simple way to explain it is by comparing it into some kind of drug."

"Every time you lose your temper, that 'seed' will react and trigger your most violent emotions like anger, fury, and rage. And every time it become triggered, your reason, judgment and decision making are going to become clouded, making you to lose your slight control on your body, and forcing you to enter a berserk state."

"And if you lose yourself too much on this state, then that 'seed' might devour you and transformed you into a 'Demon', while that process is called 'Demonic Possession'."

Shin felt shivers on his spine when he heard that, then he suddenly remembered something and asked stutteringly. "T-Then...., during my fight o-on.... that underground secret lab.... when I lose consciousness.... I... I.... almost.... trans....formed into one?"

Nathan nodded his head, as confirmation and said. "Good thing, that the Internal Qi of your Yin-Yang Martial-Arts can naturally counter the Demonic Qi of Demonic Possession."

Shin release a sigh of relief after knowing that and said to himself. 'So that is the real reason why that Old Geezer keep pestering me about nurturing my Internal Qi properly. Good thing, that I listened to him at that time.'

Then, he suddenly realized something. Shin look at Nathan with confused expression and asked. "But how can I have this kind of..... whatever is it called? And where did it come from?"

Nathan smiled bitterly and answered. "That, is what we are unsure off. Since you are the only one that can confirm what kind of 'seed of hatred' is it. After all, you are the only one that can look at your inner heart."

"A 'seed of hatred' is created because of a deep resentment against something or someone."

"That resentment is going to become a food for a person's inner demon. And once that inner demon is strong enough, it will reside in your inner heart in the form of a 'Seed' which will transformed into a 'seed of hatred' after."

"That 'seed' is going to devour your soul bit by bit until you lose yourself completely, and that inner demon will take over your body."

"This 'seed' can either be a 'planted one', an 'inherited one', or a 'natural one'. You will know difference of three by looking at their names alone, right? The first one can easily neutralize, since it is not your own resentment. But the later two are different, an 'inherited seed' runs through your blood, so it is pretty much impossible to removed this one. While the 'natural seed' is formed by yourself, so it is also quite hard to erase it, since it is going to become the true nature of your personal inner demon after all."

Shin took some time to process all the things that heard before asking a question in a doubtful manner. "If that is the case, then how am I going to contain this thing? Isn't it what you guys want?"

Nathan formed a mysterious grin and said. "To tell you the truth, this 'seed' not only it brings you endless trouble but it also give you some surprising benefits in return."

Nathan ignore Shin's confused look and continue. "Let's put it this way. Every time you encounter a major breakthrough, you are going to face your inner demon right?"

Shin still can't get it and asked confusedly. "How can you call it a benefit? Isn't it just going to make my breakthrough even more harder?"

"Idi*t!!!" Nathan can't help himself but curse Shin when he heard a quite obvious question. "That is exactly what I'm talking about! The harder your breakthrough is, the stronger you are when you succeed!"

"But of course, there are some danger in return. If you failed, you are going to undergo another Demonic Possession, and it is going to become much harder time. And once that happen, you might truly be transformed into a real 'Demon'."

"But there are always an exception at everything. Base on the history books, there are few people that manage to survive the Demonic Possession multiple times, and take its powers to become theirs."

At this point, Shin can't help himself but interrupt Nathan a little. "Ahmm..... Uncle, how about you just tell how to contain this thing? That way, we can both save our time a little. Aren't you busy? And I also need some rest too."

"Shut Up! Let me finish first." Nathan glared at Shin fiercely.

'Actually, I never have thought that Uncle Nathan is such a talkative person.' thought Shin before muttering softly. "Then how about we start off with 'A long time ago' or 'Once upon a time'?"

Shin's voice is too soft, to the point that his voice is only enough to be heard by himself. Unfortunately for him, Nathan is a Peak Class Expert that have a very sharp senses. So he throw a chilling glare at Shin, making the later to totally shut off his mouth because of the sudden change of the temperature on the room.

Nathan took another helpless sigh and said. "OK, fine. I guess it is really better for you to explore the benefits of that 'seed' yourself. But you should be mindful on making contact with it, just don't get too near on it."

Then, a scroll appear on Nathan's hand out of nowhere and throw it at Shin, while saying. "Professor Plum said that what's on that scroll is going to be your new breathing technique. And since your 'seed of hatred' become stronger, your 'Deep Meditation' will not be enough anymore."

"So you will be needing an even more powerful calming technique, it is also written on that scroll. And that is called the 'White Dawn Boundary', a very powerful calming technique. But I must have warn you first, you should never use the reverse breathing of that technique, or else you are going to become a 'Demon' real quick. But if you manage to master the control over your emotions, then that is a different story."

"Alright that was it for now. You should take some rest now before practicing that technique." Nathan then pulled his chair backwards, standing up and planning to leave.

Shin suddenly remembered something at this point. "Ah! Wait Uncle Nathan! Leo, what happened to him?"

Nathan pause his steps and said. "Eh!? Oh~, I almost forgot! You don't have to worry about that kid. He should be fine now. No, In fact, he should be the one that ripped off a lot of benefits on this incident. It is the perfect example of Fortune in the midst Misfortune, or it should be a Fortune after Misfortune."

"Then where is he now? I still need to tell his little sister about that guys situation." said Shin while knitting his brows.

Nathan smiled mysteriously and said. "Don't worry. I just sent him to Eastern Sea Region to train. Due to the instability of his bloodline, he need to train under an expert of the same bloodline to stabilize it."

"Oh~..... So that was the case..... Eh!? Wait!? Bloodline!? Did I hear it wrong? Did you just said that Leo have a Bloodline now!? What kind of Bloodline is it?" said Shin rapidly.

Nathan left Shin hanging and walked out the room while laughing out loud.

"Tsk! What a Bore... Why can't he just tell me what kind of bloodline is it?" complained Shin as he left on the room alone.

Then, he suddenly remembered something. "Wait didn't I've lost consciousness. Then how long is it since then? F*CK! MY MAIN QUEST! I forgot about my main quest! SH*T! SH*T SH*T! I need to login back in the game!.... Wait.... didn't the hospital have some 'Gaming Pod' for their patients? That's right, I should go ask the hospital personnel regarding it."

...

Swoosh!!!

Shin login back in the game and appeared in the corner of a building in the inner part of 'The Corrupted Ruins' open dungeon.

And the first thing he discovered is not about his main quest, but the sudden change of his perception on his surroundings. He become startled at it, and try some basic moves after.

After some swinging of his sword, Shin muttered to himself. "Hmm... This is amazing! I didn't think that using a 'Gaming Pod' have this kind of difference. My senses become much more sharper, while the response of my body become instantaneous. The 0.1 delay on my movements disappeared completely."

"Maybe I should consider buying one, once I got enough money? Tsk, but the price of the cheapest 'Gaming Pod' is no joking matter. It is at least ten times the 'Platinum VR Helmet' that I'm using at home. That is at least 20-Million FC(Federal Coins)! Hmm... Should I borrow some money from Big Sis?....."

"Nah.... Let's forget about it for the time being. For now, let us focus on what is in front of me." Shin brushed off the idea of buying a 'Gaming Pod' and open the Quest Status Window, to check the details of his Main Quest.

------------

Quest Name: Monster Horde

Quest type: Main Quest (A Grade)

Quest Details: A Monster Horde have razed a Military Camp to the ground, resulting for the destruction of the Seventh Outpost.

Quest Condition:

1. King Cassius asked you to scout the Seventh Outpost and clear some monsters in the process.

2. Retrieve the Royal Chalice from the Seventh Outpost when you have gotten a chance.

3. Destroy the Royal Chalice before it lands on the hands of the wrong person.

Quest Progress (70%)

- Days before the Royal Army Arrive 19/20

- Retrieved Royal Chalice 0/1

Quest Reward:

+3 levels

Special item related to your Class

+3 000 Reputation on the Holy City

+100 Fame

????

Quest Penalty:

-5 levels

A large decrease on Reputation in Holy City

-200 Fame

-----------

Shin is about to release a sigh of relief when a series system notifications ring his ears and pop-up on his System Window Log.

*Ding!*

System: Due to some special circumstances, and 'You' being offline for almost twelve Natural Days (Equivalent to 4 Days in Real World), numerous Corrupted Monsters started to appear and respawn once again.

System: Kill as many monsters as you can before the Royal Army arrived, to lessen their burden.

System: If you failed to lessen the number of the monsters at a certain degree, you will fail your Main Quest.

-----------

*DING!*

*Quest Update!*

Quest Progress: (0%)

1. Lessen the Numbers of the Corrupted Monsters to at least 50% before the Royal Army arrived.

Time Remaining: 23:59:59↓

2. Retrieve the Royal Chalice and deliver it back to the King.

3. Destroy the Royal Chalice before it lands on the wrong person's hands.

----------

Then, Shin open his virtual map and see an overflowing number of red dots on it. "F*CK ME! Are you telling to reduce this number for at least 50%?....."

Shin is cursing on himself when he suddenly notice something odd. "Eh!? Wait.... The Quest Progress suddenly become choices similar to the Quest Condition. So.... I just need to choose one on these and finish it?"

After that, Shin use the 'Spirit Release' of his [Nephilim's Mask], making the Sun Clone and Moon Clone to appear on his left and right side respectively.

Then, he summon his pets 'Whitie' and 'Blackie' after. The size of the two tigers increase. Both of their heights are a least two meters, while the span of their bodies extend for at least three meters.

Both of their levels already reach Lvl-50 the last time Shin played, so their strength also reach a higher degree since then. Their Life Rating are much more higher that other monster, so they can help Shin on battle now.

Shin take another look on his boys and said. "Alright boys! It is time to get back in action! We have a lot of things that need to be done!"

Blackie immediately use 'Shadow Melding' and disappeared from his place mysteriously. Whitie on the other hand immediately use 'Wind Walking' and rush towards the nearest monster group fearlessly.

At the same time, Shin and his clones sprinted forward and followed closely behind the White Tiger.

...