MMORPG : Ancient WORLD

In a garden spanning tens of meters, vibrant green grass carpeted the ground, adorned with lines of carefully tended flower beds, and tall trees created a natural boundary that embraced the peaceful symphony of chirping birds.

A young girl with dark, flowing hair, fair skin, and strikingly bright blue eyes donned a robe as dark as midnight. She stood amidst the lush expanse, her gaze unwavering, fixed upon a sizable and intricate magic circle expanding on the ground.

This magical construct boasted multiple concentric circles adorned with hundreds of meticulously inscribed runes, expanding over a large area.

As moments passed, a hushed silence enveloped the garden, and finally, after seven suspenseful minutes, the intricate process concluded, and the young girl gazed at the magic circle with anticipation, her breath held, small hands clenched into harmless fists.

As Mana flowed through the magic circle, it caused it to illuminate the surroundings, creating a radiant spectacle in the growing brightness.

It was now an elderly man dressed in robes similar to the young girl's appeared by her side and, in silence, started to observe the magic circle with a discerning eye, overseeing the intricate patterns.

After a few moments of brilliance, the illumination began to dim, and witnessing this, the young girl lowered her head, a gesture of disappointment, while the old man shook his head slightly as he shifted his attention toward the girl.

"Young one, Don't be disappointed, for every failure is a stepping stone towards greater understanding." The old man said, and the girl nodded as she looked back at the circle that had faded away, leaving nothing behind.

"Sophia, Your grandma had prepared food, so let's quickly join her before she gets angry at both of us," The old man chuckled as he spoke, but his amiable smile quickly vanished as a thundering tearing sound echoed through the surroundings.

"What is this anomaly?" The old man exclaimed, his eyes wide open, his hand raised in a protective gesture before Sophia.

A rift in space manifested right above the previous location of the magic circle's center, and with each passing moment, it rapidly expanded.

"Sophia, it looks like your summoning circle did something," The old man said, a warm smile returning to his face as he placed his hand on Sophia's shoulder, and instantly, they both appeared tens of meters away from the expanding rift.

In a matter of moments, the spatial tear expanded to nearly thirty meters in height and ten meters in length, and the resulting chaos from this expansion turned the peaceful garden into a chaotic mess, with soil overturned, flowers scattered, and the calm atmosphere completely shattered.

"Grandpa, I am sorry," Sophia said, her voice shuddering, filled with emotions as she watched the tear rip open the ground, transforming the once beautiful garden into a chaotic scene.

"Sunshine, you haven't done anything wrong. In fact, Grandpa is very happy and proud of your success, and as for the garden, we'll rebuild it together and make it more beautiful than before," The old man spoke softly, gently placing his hand on Sophia's head.

"This looks troublesome," A female voice echoed as a white-haired lady appeared beside Sophia, her gaze fixed on the pulsing tear in space.

The old man was about to say something, but he went silent, seeing a pitch-inky aura seeping out from the tear, and following it came out a pitch-dark pointy beak, and slowly, the whole head of the creature.

The creature stepped out from the tear, his body standing over twenty meters tall, his inky dark wings having glitters of silver among them, his two pupilless dark eyes fixing onto the three individuals standing in the distance, particularly on the young girl who a frightened look with tears threatening to fall.

"You reek of chaos. What are you, a demon?"

"No matter who you are, you are not welcome in this isolated space, so leave now, and you will keep your life," The old man declared to the towering owl, his aura pulsing as he walked forward without a shred of fear in his eyes.

"Human, I come in peace, and I am here to pledge my allegiance to my Queen," An ancient, archaic voice reverberated through the surroundings.

The towering creature began to shrink, its massive wings diminishing and disappearing into its back, the third distinctive eye closing.

In mere moments, the imposing creature with a dreadful presence transformed into a small owl, standing at less than two feet in height, now resembling an innocent, feathery owl with pitch-dark, abyss-like eyes.

"Watcher says he is not a threat," The old man said out loud, and in the next instant, the owl appeared before Sophia, who gave an astonished look.

"This humble servant pledges his eternal loyalty to my venerable queen." A childish voice sounded as the small owl stood in thin air with his head down.

"Queen? You are referring to me?" Sophia said, pointing a finger toward herself with a bewildered look.

She was not alone as two elders standing by her side also held confused looks, not understanding what was happening as they knew the creature was strong, far stronger than they could hope to handle.

They were expecting the Watcher to come and kick the creature out of the safe isolated place he had built for other world children, but they received an unexpected answer.

"Yes, My queen," The owl said, his big eyes slightly closed as he gave the expression of a warm smile.

"Are You a Monster?" Sophia asked after moments of silence that she spent shifting her eyes between the two elders who stood beside her.

"I am what my queen needs me to be," The owl replied in a heartbeat.

"Will You harm somebody or destroy things as you did to the garden of my grandpa?" Sophia continued, and a satisfactory answer was given, and she followed it with more and more questions, asking away every detail and scenario she could think of.

It was clear that Sophia had gotten scared after seeing the towering monstrosity come through the space tear that appeared because of her, and the destruction it caused was the most chaos she had witnessed in person, so she was shaken a bit.

After a thorough question, Sophia told the owl to go and stand far away while she talked to the two elders she had taken as grandparents.

After talking to elders for quite some time, the fear and uncertainty in her eyes disappeared, and she returned to her usual cheerful personality.

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On a grassy field, a cocoon of ever-shifting pitch-dark flames raged, and by its side stood three individuals, their expressions solemn as they observed it.

As the moments passed, the raging flames gradually dwindled, their fervor diminishing until nothing of the cocoon was left, revealing the unresponsive man inside of it.

Alex was having the finest sleep of his life, as his mind was free from the weight of failure that had stayed in his mind for years, constantly reminding him that he would be an ordinary man who would spend life at the bottom of the hierarchy.

Alex awakened to the ringing of the system notification, and even though the specific words were vague to him, he unconsciously knew what those words were because he had anticipated to hear them.