...…

The moment Shin walked out the Battle Arena, he immediately went towards the Heavenly Resto-Bar. It was because Lawless contracted him after he was done closing his deal with Misty Wind.

"Tsk! Isn't brother Lawless' timing a little bit perfect? He immediately contacted me the moment I am done closing with my deal. Did he perhaps has some ESP powers?" mumbled by Shin to himself as he walked towards a secluded alley before looking left and right to make sure that there were no other players in the vicinity.

Then he swapped the {Dawn and Dusk Equipment Set} and the [Nightwalker's Cloak] with the {Apocalypse Set} and [Dawn's Mantle], together with the [Yamato], and the others. At the same time, he also put on the [Nephilim's Gemini Mask] to cover his face.

The entire process was quite fast and flawless, making it hard for others to notice what he did even if they were walking alongside him. But Shin was unaware that there was someone that managed to see the entire process. It was a Beastman that was sitting on the roof of a tall building not far from the alley.

This Beastman was looking down at the entire Town as if he was watching everything from above with his crimson-pupiled eyes; and that was when he happened to see Shin turned into a secluded alley while scanning his surroundings carefully.

The Beastman's interest was suddenly pique when he saw that and squinted his eyes while activating an ocular skill. And that was when he witnessed Shin's quick equipment swapped. Then the Beastman's mouth suddenly curved into a grin when he saw all of those and said. "Found you!"

After that, he immediately stood up from sitting position and hopped down from the building to the roof of another building before running on it as he sprinted towards Shin's direction. And unusual enough, there seemed to be no one noticed him running and jumping from a roof of an establishment to another.

…

Shin was leisurely walking towards the Heavenly Resto-Bar when he suddenly felt a gaze being locked on him. And he felt like it was a gaze of a predator hunting for its prey.

Given that, Shin immediately turned his body around to looked at the direction where that gaze was coming from. And that was when he saw a Beastman jumping off the roof of the building not far from him, before sprinting towards his direction.

Shin didn't know why this guy was running after him but there was one thing that he was sure off; this guy was strong, and a very dangerous one at that! It was because all of the cells on his body was screaming of danger the moment he saw this Beastman. What's more, even if this guy was standing right beside someone, that very person on his side didn't even notice him!

'Who the heck is this guy? And Why is he after me? Don't tell me he was one of the peak experts of those guilds of the allied forces that brother Lawless and the others had beat,' muttered Shin to his heart while looking cautiously at the incoming Beastman.

And when he saw that the this Beastman had no intention of stopping and continued charging towards him, Shin immediately planned to dodge and get away from his current location. But unfortunately, that was also the time when he discovered that he couldn't use any kind of movement skills. 'What!? Since when did I got this debuff!?'

Shin was gotten a little off-guard at that sight. And that was when he saw the Beastman pulled the two-handed, double-headed battle-axe that was hanging on his back, with his right hand before swinging it at Shin in a powerful vertical manner.

Since he couldn't dodge, Shin was forced to face the incoming attack head-on. He was not optimistic about blocking the this attack, so he chose to throw an attack of his own while also throwing all of his reserves.

First, he took a single step forward with his right foot before squatting his hips a little while facing the incoming Beastman sideways. Then he tightened his grip at his sheathed sword with his left hand while putting his other hand at the hilt of the sword while taking a deep breath.

Then the equipment on his body suddenly release a gentle black and white glow that enfold his entire body that made all of his stats to become tripled, together with a massive boost on his movement speed and some additional attack speed.

'Equipment Skill (Apocalypse Set Special Skill): Life-and-Death Descent'

At the same time, Shin also took most of his VIT stat points and converted them all into his AGI stat, boosting his attacking prowess once again.

'Special Skill: Conversion: VIT to AGI'

And that was the time when the battle-axe of the Beastman was almost upon his head!

Shin quickly lean his body a little forward to avoid the trajectory of the blade of the battle-axe before twisting his waist in a counterclockwise motion while simultaneously pulling the [Yamato] out from its sheath and swing it towards the body of the handle of his opponent's battle-axe, so that he could halt its advance.

'Class Fighting Style: Quick Draw'

Bang!

Boom!

Shin's entire body shook violently when his sword and the Beastman's battle-axe collided with each other; his feet were even sunk on the ground with an inch because of the powerful impact from the collision. He also felt that his right arm suddenly turned numb because of it, while the sword on his right hand was trembling violently as he tried to forced the battle-axe of his opponent to halt its advance.

At the same time, the HP bar of Shin also suffered greatly from that collision. It was because most of his VIT was converted into his AGI for his attack; meaning, his Heath Pool was really quite low. And from the previous collision, his HP was ripped with a large chuck and almost emptying his HP bar.

If not because of his 'Death Exception' equipment skill that was attached to the [Maximilian] upper armor, then he should already be a corpse lying on the ground.

And without further ado, Shin immediately activated the second effect of the 'Death Exception' equipment Skill and converted the 25% of his total Mana to recover 50% of his current total HP.

And finally, Shin have a time to take a clear look at his opponent. This guy seemed to be a LionKin based on his appearance, especially when he saw the lion's head that was acting as the helm of the man in front on him. And the body built of this guy was quite lean and somehow similar to his.

And when Shin took a look at his opponent's eyes, he saw that the crimson-pupiled eyes of the latter was also looking back at his eyes. Somehow, he also felt quite familiar with that look. And that was also when he heard the latter talked to him. "I know that you will be survived that kind of greeting, Shin Bro. As expected of you."

Then the irises on Shin's pupils suddenly contracted when he heard that voice; and he couldn't help but to stutter as he tried to voice out the name of the Beastman LionKin in front of him. "Y-You! … Y-You are-…"

But before for he managed complete his sentence, the latter immediately grabbed his shoulder before bringing him somewhere. Because it was impossible for the other players on the vicinity not to notice the previous collision.

But since their exchange of 'greeting' was a little too fast, and since the latter was quite quick enough to take Shin away, the other players in the vicinity failed to see anything the moment they turned their heads at the previous spot of the two.

…

On an alley of the Calderock Town, Shin was currently having a conversation with the Beastman LionKin that he had a brief exchange earlier, while walking towards the Heavenly Resto-Bar.

"Tsk! I didn't expect for you to play this game too. Aren't you quite busy with your sideline jobs in the Real World? No... I heard that you are undergoing some sort training under someone's supervision to control your newly acquired bloodline. " said Shin as he bitterly smiled at the guy walking alongside him.

The other guy shrugged his shoulders and said. "Well, I started playing VR Games since we were in the 1st year of our middle school. It was because 'Golden Boy' keep pestering me to play with him since you are not interested playing before."

Then he paused for a moment to think for a moment before continuing. "And when the Currency Exchange System was released before, I started limiting my sideline jobs and just focused playing the game and our studies instead. I only do a sideline job whenever your Big Sis called for it or whenever I feel like it since I will also be needing some physical exercises from time to time."

"As for my training... Well, master told me to take some rest for the next few days so I have a lot of free time to play for now."

Shin raised one of his brows and asked. "So, you also started playing the since that time? Then did you also play that game two years ago. The one that Arthur had skipped some classes for, so that he could attend some sort of tournament or something?"

"Oh! That one? That was online. And yeah, we also played it together before. Though, we rarely party together since I need to focus on earning some extra money at that time while he also thinks is to stir up some trouble," said by other guy almost immediately.

Shin nodded his head and asked again. "Hmm… Now that we come to it, who is stronger between the two of you, Leo?"

The guy walking alongside Shin, who turned out to be Leonard, thought for a moment and said. "In terms in battle prowess and experience, then he is stronger than me without a doubt he started playing games earlier than me after all. But I am also pretty confident that I can hold myself against him and can pick up a good fight if we battle against each other."

The corner of Shin's mouth suddenly twitched after hearing that. "D*mn! So, I am really left behind by that much? Tsk! And you said earlier that you only used a low-leveled basic skill earlier, right? Yet, I almost died with that attack! Looks like I really need to take advantage of his absence to catch up with him as soon as possible."

And while saying all of that, Shin suddenly remembered something and said. "Wait! Since you already played with him, you should also know his IGN (In-game Name), right?"

Leonard nodded his head, confirming what Shin had said. But before the latter managed to say something more, the former immediately said with a mystifying tone. "But since he doesn't want to tell it to you, I will not tell it you either. It is better if you discovered about it on yourself."

Shin clicked his tongue after hearing that and said. "Tsk! Trying to act mysterious, Huh? Alright, alright, I get it. How about you add me as your friend now?"

And while saying that, he suddenly realized something. "Eh!? Wait! Now that I think about it, how did you know that it was me? I am wearing a special item that could entirely hide my identity."

Leonard suddenly chuckles and said. "Well, when I called Laura earlier, I asked her what you were doing and she said that you are quite busy playing a game. And since there is only a single active VR game now, it was not that hard to figure out about that. After that, I called your Big Sis, trying to ask her if she know your identity inside the game."

"And given your personality, it was impossible for you to become an unknown individual in the game the moment you joined it, so I search for some topics on the forums including your name. And that is why I know where your base of operation is. And while I was looking for you earlier, I discovered something interesting."

The corner of Shin's mouth suddenly twitched after hearing that and tried to rebut. "You know that I am always want to act in a low-profile manner, right?" while ignoring the last part of what Leonard had said. He got some ideas what it was, but he didn't plan to hide it to him after all. What's more, he could also trust this guy since they had gone though think and thin for a long time already.

Leonard laughed out loud and said. "Hahaha… Of course, I know about that. But no matter how much you want to avoid some troubles; troubles will always come looking for you. You may able to dodge them if you are with Arthur since that guy always wants to jump in front of troubles to take some spotlight. But that guy is not with you now."

The expression on Shin's face suddenly turned weird after hearing that and said. "D*mn you. Alright, just add me as a friend then."

Leonard grinned at him and send a friend request.

'Huh? I think I heard this name before,' Shin couldn't help but ask himself when he saw the IGN of Leonard. And when he couldn't recall where he heard it, he just teased the latter instead. "You really like that old school movie, aren't you? Whenever someone ask you about some code-names or something, you always give this them. But if you ask me, your code-name on our special military assignments is even better and sounds cool, The Crimson Devil."

Leonard clicked his tongue and said. "What's wrong with 'Simba'? That guy is the lion king and it pretty complements my real name too, so I really like it better."

"Hahaha… If that was the case, then I prefer KingKong and Sun Wukong," said Shin. Then he added a little later after laughing. "And if Arthur was here, I am pretty sure that he will say. 'I'll be Godzilla then'. Hehe…"

Leonard rolled his eyes at him and said. "Alright, that was enough. Tell me what's your plans for now and I will help you this time, so that we can play together with Arthur when we can back."

Shin thought for a moment before telling to he later. "Hmm… Good idea. Come with me for a moment then, and since you are too strong and powerful now, help me with a current quest of mine. I'll explain the details to you while we are walking."

Then Leonard, or Simba inside the game rather, nodded his head and followed after Shin and listen to the latter's current situation.

...