MMORPG : Ancient WORLD

"Five Months Ago: The Dreadful Day"

Alex sat in the corner of a bustling pub, a plate of steaming food placed in front of him, and as he enjoyed his food, his eyes drifted over the room as he listened to the various ongoing conversations.

The atmosphere was thick with the scent of roasted meat and various beverages, mixing with the murmurs and laughter of consumers.

A group of men at a nearby table spoke in hushed tones about the recent mysterious death of Lady Thalia, a nobleman's wife whose sudden demise had sent ripples through Astraea.

Whispers of suspicion and intrigue wove through their conversation, each man speculating on the possible causes and culprits.

Another table discussed mundane matters, from the latest market prices to the repair of the city's outer wall, but Alex's attention was drawn to a heated conversation happening a few tables away.

"Did you hear? The number of mythical beasts in the surrounding area has gone up significantly,"

"Where before you would be lucky to find one rare beast, now I can confidently say it wouldn't takemore than an hour to spot one." A lanky man said, his voice rising above the general din.

"It's all because the realm has opened to the cosmos," Another man said, his tone laced with frustration.

"I don't understand why we have to be so welcoming of these outsider bastards," A third female voice joined in, her words dripping with disdain.

"How do they even benefit us? They cto play their stupid games, benefit from our land, kill our people, cause chaos, and from old timers, I even heard that the last tthey cthey plunged the two empires into the flames of war."

"After all the damage they do, they just leave for their world, stronger than ever, and we, the inheritors of this realm, have to welcthem."

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"On top of everything, unless they mess with us directly, we can not do anything to them."

"It's truly unfair, but who can question the Realm Ruler?" She said before she downed a jug of rum to drown her sorrow.

"You lot are truly uneducated on the matter," The older man seated on the counter cut in, his voice calm and authoritative.

The old man's voice silenced the entire pub, as many stopped even their eating, and shifted focus toward the old man eager to listen to what he had to say.

"The adventurers are the true inheritors of this realm. We are just the descendants of adventurers who did not return to their world and had children with our first ancestors."

"The Realm Ruler couldn't care less about our existence because this is a land of opportunities, not a realm of empires,"

"It is no coincidence that the number of mythical beasts and great opportunities that would be heard in rumors have grown with the arrival of the adventurers"

"While they are not required to give us anything, what the adventurers offer is a path to freedom, at least to a rare few chosen by fate." The old man said, and at this point, the entire pub had dropped silence, as even the heavy breathing of the mercenaries could be heard.

"Our realm is inside a pocket dimension, not connected to the wider cosmos and the only tit is connected to the wider cosmos is when the realm opens and closes, which happens with an interval of a decade, repeating once every thousand years."

"Unlike the outsider worlds, we cannot ascend to the wider cosmos after reaching a certain limit of mortal bodies and when the realm opens, we have a chance to leave, but not freely."

"The only way to leave is through the help of an adventurer who can earn an exit opportunity for someone through the realm games they are forced to participate in."

"This is why, the realm celebrates their arrival and the ruling powers welcthem with open arms, sponsoring those with great potential, all in the hope they could earn a rare opportunity to take someone of influence and power with them to their real world."

"99.99% of you lot would never reach the strength needed to ascend, but those who have, suffer the miserable fate of living an aimless life, without ever being able to grow their strength or see the wider cosmos."

"I say once again, that is not our realm but it is a realm for the worthy and a land of opportunity," The old man finished, and instantly the entire bar was plunged into chaotic whispers at the shocking truth, that was a fairy tale to the majority present.

Alex knew the old man's words held truth, and while the concept of earning a return token for a realm inhabitant was true, it was anything but easy to acquire for even the best.

An adventurer would need to pay a great cost for even a single return opportunity, that few could be willing to pay when they knew that they would not take anything but what they wield outside the ancestral realm.

The realm Ruler had made sure that adventurers were not dependent on the realm inhabitant in anything, and were also not troubled by them.

Finishing his meal, Alex swept his mouth clean, and placed a gold coin on the table, before he stood up and walked for the exit.

As Alex left the pub, he could feel a presence close behind him, and as the said person was not even trying to hide his presence, he decided to confront him in a nearby ally.

"If it's a duel you desire, we can visit the gladiator arena or the wilderness," Alex said, his voice calm as he turned to face the follower.

The man who was following him was young, barely sixteen, with short blue hair and oceanic eyes. His white, supple skin and delicate features gave him an innocent appearance, but Alex knew better than to judge by looks alone.

"Outside is fine, but before we go, I want to tell you that it won't be your usual duel,"

"It could be a duel to the death if you want, but I want something more than our law tokens on the line."

"Specifically, your sword, the infamous pitch-black blade. I want it if I win." The boy remarked with a cheerful tone, a smile playing on his lips.

"Boy, find someone else to bother," Alex said, suppressing the urge to wipe the smug smile off the kid's face.

The mere idea of wagering his sword was something Alex did not even consider no matter how easy of a target the kid looked.

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"I am willing to bet something of equal value,"

"I'm even willing to duel with certain conditions, like who can land the first strike, wins and if you are not comfortable, I will not even use any elements." The boy said, his tone carrying a bit of panic Alex paid him no attention and decided to leave, but before he could take a step, the boy appeared before him.

"Before you make a hasty decision, please see my artifact collection and if nothing interests you, then maybe a high-

stakes dual is not destined between us." The boy remarked as the darkness engulfed the alley.

Alex didn't waste a moment, summoning his sword and using Ruler Pride to prepare for battle, even when he acknowledged that they were inside the city's safe zone, and he should be safe.

"Don't worry, she won't hurt you," The boy said, as light filled the vast enclosed chamber.

Alex's eyes widened in shock as he seized in the sight before him. Hundreds of artifacts surrounded them, an impressive collection that shouldn't be in the possession of an adventurer.

'How does he have so many artifacts? Did he buy them? No there are thousands of them so unless he has hundreds of adventurers working for him, or a faction giving him their treasury this amount should not be in his possession,' Alex thought, a chain of questions coming to his mind.

Alex was not worried about getting attacked with an artifact that could kill him, because all adventurers even thought they could earn great artifacts like high-ranking scrolls from the realm inhabitants, but they could not use them in battle or even in general.

"I don't need anything from you, so open this place before I kill you," Alex said, his blade pointed at the boy's neck.

"You can kill me, but then you will stay trapped here for no less than ten months until the next epochal gbegins, or you decide to end your life, and we both know neither of us wants that outcome." The boy said, with a smile unfazed.

Alex's grip tightened on his sword, as the thought of killing the boy before killing himself to get out of this place flashed in his mind before he decided that if he was going to do it then at least he should know more about this boy.

Alex did not need to think much to realize that the overwhelming number of artefacts cfrom a faction, which led him to two conclusions for the boy. Either he was a fool who had sold his loyalty to a faction or someone of great influence who had a loyal faction inside the ancestral realm working for the good of his world.