...
"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.
...