Child of Destiny

...…

As there was still a lot of time before the airship arrived at the Awakened Continent, the group had plenty of free time to do whatever they wanted.

After being banned from the casinos, the trio of Arthur, Leonard, and Chaotic Luck went back to the training room in high spirits. As a 'thank you' gift for earning them a lot of money, the pair gave Chaotic Luck a 'free' training session.

But they did not last that long as they were too annoyed by the unique 'ability' of the latter during their training. However, Chaotic Luck also suffered quite a beating during their session.

"Tsk! Fighting that guy is annoying s ever," mumbled Arthur as he rested inside the relaxing rooms adjacent to the training room where they came from.

Leonard glanced at him and smiled once he saw that the latter somewhat returned to his previous self.

Arthur had been training constantly both in the real world and inside the game, which worried those around him. Seeing him like this at least eased Leonard even for a little.

"At least that stupid luck of his is quite useful in other areas," commented Leonard while chuckling.

"Watching him bet on random cards and numbers without understanding the rules of the game, then winning the next instant is quite satisfying!" he added before breaking into laughter.

"Yeah! Those slot machines are quite funny as well! Every time he draws, a rain of gold will immediately follow," said Arthur as he laughed on the side.

"Tsk! It is a pity that we were banned by them not long after," complained Leonard as he recalled how they were dragged out of the casino after winning in every gambling game and emptying all the slot machines they encountered.

"I think we finally find the 'right' way to use that kid's annoying talent," said Leonard before wearing a devious grin. "Should we visit every gambling house once we land on the second continent?"

"I bet there will only be two outcomes when we head there. It is either they go bankrupt, or we are going to be blacklisted by them," said Arthur as he thought of something. "It will also not take long before we become notorious in that continent."

"We will at least quite a lot of gold that way," said Leonard before grinning. "We can even earn ourselves a hidden title in the process."

The two exchanged glances before the devious grin that they were wearing grew uglier.

Not far from them, Chaotic Luck, who collapsed on the ground after a full session of torture, could not help but roll his eyes at them. "At least discuss something like this where I can't hear you."

The duo ignored him as they continued their evil laugh. Chaotic Luck was too exhausted to complain longer, so he just ignored them and focused on resting.

Not long after, Alucard and Diablo entered the room after seeing Chaotic Luck through the semi-opened door.

Looking at the collapsed comrade on the ground and the evil duo laughing deviously on the side, the two somewhat guessed what just transpired during the training session. They could only shake their heads and send their pitying gazes at the poor kid before ignoring them completely.

Noticing their arrival, Leonard suddenly asked. "How's the pubs? Pretty good?"

The pair halted their steps and looked at each other before Alucard answered. "Pretty good. The ambiance is somewhat better than the ones we can find in the real world in some sense. You should give it a visit when you have time."

"The drinks that they offer are also quite good. But most importantly, they give decent buffs," added Diablo. "There are also quite a few unique buffs that you can only find from special potions."

Arthur and Leonard ignored the latter part of his words and focused on the first part of what he mentioned. They looked strangely at Diablo as if they were trying to say something.

Diablo realized their odd gazes a little later and gave them a confused look in return, seemingly asking if he said something wrong.

Arthur and Leonard exchanged glances before the latter asked. "I just remembered. How old are you again?"

Diablo knitted his brow before answering. "Seventeen, turning eighteen in two months."

At this point, Alucard suddenly realized something before hitting his forehead. "You are still underage, and you dare to drink? I know this is only a game, but it still-…"

"I can be considered an adult already given our international law. Fifteen years old is what is considered the legal age if I am not wrong," refuted Diablo.

"But you are neither a Martial Artist nor a Mentalist nor a Swordsman. You are not even an Assassin," said Arthur.

"According to international law, those at the age of fifteen can only be considered adults if they are practitioners of a certain discipline," added Leonard before pointing at Arthur. "Even this idiot knows the international laws despite him not paying any attention to the class."

Swoosh!

Leonard quickly leaned back and avoided the incoming fist from Arthur after he completed his words.

Alucard sighed as he just realized that he pulled an underage kid to hang out in the bar. This made him look like a bad influence on these kids.

Diablo turned to Alucard, who was beside him, before asking. "How old are you, by the way?"

Alucard looked at him straight to the eyes and said. "I am already nineteen and seven months this year."

He then patted Diablo's shoulders and apologized. "I am sorry. I thought that you were already of legal age. It is my fault. But you should have told me about your age earlier."

He then walked toward the training room while sighing and shaking his head.

Diablo stared blankly in the air before slowly turning to the others as he realized something. "Did he just say that I looked old compared to my real age?"

Arthur and Leonard turned their heads to the side, dodging his gaze, while Chaotic Luck ignored everything and acted as if he was dead.

Diablo squinted his eyes before following Alucard. "Hey! It has been a while since we spoke with each other. How about we give it a go for a round or two?"

Alucard smirked as he heard that. "Do you think I will be scared? Bring it on!"

…

Meanwhile, on the deck of the airship, Alice just arrived as she wanted to get some fresh air. She just got separated from the other girls as they went their separate ways after their shopping spree.

Walking toward the bow, she suddenly noticed that there were a lot of birds gathered there. She slightly knitted her brow when she saw that and slowly approached them out of curiosity.

It was at that moment that she noticed that someone was sitting at the bow of the airship, where the birds gathered.

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Slightly knitting her brow, she realized that it was Uno.

She watched Uno and the birds for quite a while before turning around to look for another spot to get fresh air. But before she could even take her step, she suddenly heard the latter talk.

"You are wasting too much of your talent."

She could not help but pause when she heard that and turned. "What do you mean by that."

Uno did not immediately reply as he watched the horizon before answering. "The true worth of a Gifted Adept is not during the battle, but from repeated training."

"Since you can adapt to any attacks after experiencing it once and counter it after the second experience, isn't it better to prepare yourself for everything after experiencing them ahead of time?"

"It will even be better if you torture yourself with a series of powerful techniques," he added while chuckling.

Alice stared at Uno's back for a while before hearing another set of words from the latter. "Your Mind Reader is not that bad, but you are using it a little too passively."

"It may be one of the worst ones when compared to the other peerless talents categorized to be listed at the top. But it rivals even the Godly Intuition once its wielder transformed it into Clairvoyance and fully mastered its powers."

Uno paused for a moment before continuing. "As a future Clairvoyant, why are not focusing on nurturing your talent?"

"Rather than wasting your time on useless things and distracting yourself with nonessential thoughts, why not focus on developing your talents and growing your powers?"

"You are chasing a wrong tail all this time because of your sense of superiority over others and inferiority to the past. If you don't rid of these things, you will be stuck in that place and never reach the peak that you are aiming for."

Alice slightly frowned before walking toward the railings of the deck and holding onto it while leaning forward. "You seem to be quite knowledgeable about a lot of things. Just who are you exactly?"

She was unaware of what happened to Shin as Evangeline and David had closely sealed the information and limited it to the most trusted people.

Aside from Leonard, Lorraine, and Cloe, who were currently staying at the Springfield Household, only a handful of people from the Springfield Family knew about this matter.

Of course, Shin's masters were also aware of this, but they couldn't disclose it to other people, who were not closely related to Shin.

But despite that being the case, Alice still someone odd whenever she saw Uno. The latter might be releasing a completely different air compared to Uno, but she still could not shake off the feeling that she might know this person.

Moreover, as a singer herself, her ears were quite sensitive. Even if Uno had a different tone compared to Shin, she still felt that his voice was very familiar. She just could not put her fingers on who exactly that voice belonged to.

The more she thought about it, the more curious she became. She had become very curious about the real identity of this person.

"Is that important?" said Uno as he continued. "As I said, you better forget about the useless things and focus on developing what you have."

"It is annoying to see someone with such potential waste their talents," he added.

Alice thought for a moment before turning to Uno. "How about to teach me how to become powerful then? Guide me on how to properly hone these talents."

Uno did not immediately respond as he finally turned his head toward her. He stared at her eyes which were filled with determination before sneering. "That's an interesting pair of eyes. Unfortunately, I have no interest in helping you."

"Why? You have already guided me with those words earlier, so why stop now? You may as well help me all the way," she said.

She did not know why she was talking to this person, or why she was asking for his help, but she found that she could trust his words and felt she could rely on him.

That overwhelming confidence and domineering tone of him seemed to be pulling her closer to him.

It was her first time feeling something like this – even more so when it was also her first time talking with this person.

This made her confused and curious at the same time, so she wanted to be a little greedier and know more about this mysterious member who seemed to come out of nowhere.

Uno remained silent for a moment before turning his head back to the horizon. "Because it is annoying."

Alice smiled without her knowing before asking. "Is it also the reason why you are here and all alone?"

Uno did not answer and ignored her. When Alice saw that, her lips curved even higher before saying. "Let me stay here and annoy you a little more then."

She found that this mysterious and scary expert who came out of nowhere, was not like how everyone thought he would be.

...…