...…

Atlas World, Saint Heaven Kingdom.

There were a lot of players coming in and out of the Holy City. Not only its Teleportation Hall was packed with people, even its gates were in huge traffic of players. There were even some players camping outside of the walls of the City. All of them were waiting for a single thing, and that was the incoming huge event.

For the big guilds, this event was a huge chance for them to take over the power rights in the vicinity of the Holy City. If they lost their change at the last event against Shin and others, this time, they wanted to get this one by hook or by crook. They were even amassing a large amount of manpower to focus for this event.

The one that was supposedly in advantage on this upcoming event was the Wing's Alliance; S.Tigris and his group were involved at the initiation of this event after all. But since the Powerhouses of the game have moles at each other, it would not take an idi*t for those other Powerhouse Guilds to get a wind of this matter.

With that, it was a given for these guilds to start making their own preparations. And due to all of their movements, even if they tried so hard to hide to their tracks, it wouldn't be hard for the other big guilds to notice that there was something big was up. And Judging with the atmosphere looming around the City alone, they could guess that it was something big on top of that.

And with the big movements of the big guilds, it was natural for the players based on the Holy City to notice that there was something amiss. Together with the strange atmosphere that the other skilled players were feeling, they knew that there was something that was about to take place. So, these players started making their own players.

Then that scene was passed to the ordinary players, and to the casual player after. This snowball effect was spread too fast that even the Powerhouses and Big Guilds were too helpless to cover what was about to come.

And that was when the rumors that a City Defense – Monster Horde event were leaked to the public and spread around, all the way until it reached the ears of some players residing in the neighboring Cities.

Due to this, some of the other players that were hesitating before finally decided to migrate towards the Holy City. Well, that was understandable. Because a huge event just took place in that City, and that event involved some big names, together with a couple of legendary figures.

And if you add that fact that this place was not yet controlled by any Powerhouse Guilds, it became a place like a heaven for independent players. And since there were also some powerful guilds staying in this city, it became even more better, because the players could also pick a guild that they wanted to join in their liking.

With all of those, the population of the Holy City spiked up once again. If only not because of the upcoming event and the other hidden event that took place inside, this City could already be promoted into a Capital City from being a Major City.

Of course, the Powerhouses and the Big Guilds were fully aware of this matter, that was why they were starting to migrate some of their scattered members around the kingdom to secure the spot of this event. And if they managed to do that, they would only be one step away from conquering the Saint Heaven Kingdom.

...

And while everyone was busy preparing for the event, there was a group of 10 players that were currently discussing at the forest not far from the Holy City. And this group was naturally Shin and the others.

"I guess we need to separate for now," said Shin to Lawless. Then he paused for a moment to switch out his equipments with his other set before continuing. "I need to use my other identity for now. We can't be on the same team if Leo and Cloe are here. Or else, Big Sis will become even more suspicious and get it back to me. I don't want to die yet."

Lawless clicked his tongue and said with a joking manner. "Ditching us right after using our strengths for a quest? What a cold-hearted b*st*rd."

The corner of Shin's mouth suddenly twitched after hearing that and rebutted. "Don't you also get quite a number of good rewards too? Especially those equipments dropped by Archbishop Hervil and the Fake King; most of them are given to your team, aren't they?"

Lawless' face suddenly turned stiff after hearing that; he suddenly became speechless and stared at Shin blankly as he didn't know what to say.

And when Shin saw that, he couldn't help but release some chuckles and patted Lawless shoulder while said. "Haha… better not pull some tricks when you try pulling me to your team again."

After that, Shin started walking away from the group. When Cloe saw that, she nodded her head at Lawless and the others before chasing after Shin.

Seeing that, Lawless couldn't help but clicked his tongue for another time before saying. "Tsk! Inviting this guy is really hard."

Simba suddenly started chuckling after hearing that before patting Lawless' shoulder that Shin had patted while saying. "Better luck next time, God Slayer." Then he started walking and followed after Shin and Cloe.

Looking at their back, Lawless couldn't help but shook his head and muttered to himself. "What's more, this guy seems to have a lot of big-time connections. From the Guild Leader of the Hand of Midas Trading Firm to the War God: Simba, then the Gentle Goddess: Arielle. I wonder who will be next."

...

While walking, Simba felt the strange atmosphere between the two and quickly said, "Shin Bro, I'll go back to the City first. I forgot that I need to buy something. I'll meet with you guys later, just send me the coordinates."

After saying that, Simba didn't wait for Shin's reply, he quickly 'bailed out' from this place and started running towards the direction of the City. He ran too fast to the point that even Shin couldn't get a glimpse of his back; it was as if he was running away with his life.

And now that Simba was gone, the atmosphere between the two became a little more unusual. Shin was not used to this atmosphere, especially at the times when he was with Cloe. This girl was always cheerful whenever he was with her.

Even if Shin was considered as a dense person, he was still not an idi*t. So, it was natural for him to notice that there was something wrong. With that, he nudged Cloe's arm with his elbow before saying. "You are not so lively today. What's wrong?"

Cloe pouted. Asking how she felt, made her feel even more aggrieved. She felt good earlier when she heard that he went into that state during the battle. But She still couldn't help but become guilty at what had happened.

"I just… sigh..." Cloe tried to voice out what she felt, but she could not put what she was feeling into words.

Seeing her down like this made Shin feel helpless. He was not used at seeing her like this. Even if she was annoying him sometimes, he still preferred her being in her usual cheerful attitude than being so down like this.

At least, he wanted her to feel a little lighter. With that thought in mind, he nudged her once again and said. "What's with that pout? Are you a mosquito or something?"

Hearing that, Cloe frowned her eyebrows before throwing a glare at Shin. 'Look at this dummy. Aren't you supposed to cheer me up during these times?'

If she was guilty earlier, then she was now annoyed at his denseness. Cloe turned her head away from Shin with a puffed face. "Hmph!"

Seeing that, Shin became even more helpless and didn't know what to do. But at the very least, he felt that the mood changed for the better. So, he went with the flow and felt like teasing her a little. "Who are you? Where is the Cloe that I know?"

Cloe still ignored him and acted as if she was still mad. Seeing her acting like that, Shin knew that her mood improved a little. So, he formed a cheeky smile and raised his right hand before putting it at her head. "No matter what's bugging in your mind, I know that you can get through it. You are a strong girl all."

Cloe's eyes suddenly turned wide when she felt the weight resting on her head. Even if it was quite heavy, she still felt the gentleness behind that hand.

And when she heard his encouraging words, her lips couldn't help but curve in into a smile while her cheeks turned rosy. She also felt some sweetness with it.

It was quite rare of him to suddenly act intimate like this. This made the heaviness in her heart lifted a little.

"Right, Ms. Amazon?"

Or at least, until she heard his last words.

She was stunned for a moment before her face turned gloomy. There were some veins popping out at her temples. Now, she really wanted to punch this guy for ruining such a good mood. "Shi~n! Kingha~~d~!"

Unfortunately, Shin already ran away from her and put a considerable distance. Seeing him walking in front, Cloe suddenly formed a bitter yet sweet smile before muttering to herself. "What an unfair dummy."

...