MMORPG : Ancient WORLD

After Alex was done creating all the respawn chambers, he rented a hotel room and logged out, and the first thing he did was contact Zero and ask him how much time the Rank promotion would take.

The answer he received was puzzling as Zero said if he just wanted the Rank promotion, then four hours and eight more hours for the round trip from his place, but if he wanted something extra than four days.

Alex asked what this extra was, and Zero told him that he would find it out when he arrived at his place, so with no choice, Alex returned to Ancient World and told his guardians that he would not be available for at least five days and more if necessary before logging out again.

Alex spent a few hours with his family and had dinner with them before breaking the news that he was leaving for a few days. 

A few minutes later, he was standing outside his house with a bag of clothes more than he needed because his mother packed it, and moments later, a black car stopped before him.

The driver stepped out and greeted Alex as he opened the door for him, and it took just a moment for him to recognize that the driver was a robot but not a normal one because of the dense shroud of mana surrounding him and the eerily familiar threatening presence.

Alex got comfortable in his seat before he closed his eyes to take a nap, not knowing what awaited him, and only opened them when he sensed that the car was coming to a halt.

Alex looked through the glass and saw they were inside an underground tunnel, and moments later, the car stopped before a dead end.

"Sir, we've arrived at your destination," The driver said as the door smoothly slid open.

Alex stepped out of the car and moved toward the dark wall, and in an instant, a section of the wall smoothly slid aside, revealing a long passage illuminated by the winding lines of white shimmering lines that covered the walls and the circular ceiling.

Alex sensed the white energy to dance mana, and after moments of walking, he reached the open space and was welcomed with an awe-inspiring sight.

The floor stretched for tens of meters in an open space shaped like a triangle with a high ceiling covered in lines similar to the passage, overflowing with mana.

The very first thing that Alex noticed besides the density of mana was the triangular hole in all three corners.

Alex went closer to one of the corners and was surprised to see the sheer depth that it went down to, the number of floors he could see, and the bustling activity taking place on each level.

Alex counted eighteen floors before he couldn't see further as the visibility was none, but he knew it went deeper.

Alex couldn't see the end of every lower floor because of the angles, but he was certain that each lower floor was wider than the previous floor, like a pyramid.

Alex saw a large number of humanoid robots on each floor, with most just operating machines or moving stuff around, and they varied in shape and size according to their world.

There were humanoid robots with towering and bulky frames, equipped with multiple arms and smaller three-foot dwarfs with long and slender white tube-like tentacles, and the only consistent feature they had was their somewhat humanoid figures and white faceless masks.

The organized and futuristic ambiance, akin to a colossal factory, captivated Alex's attention, and amidst his observations, a voice caught his ear.

Alex turned and saw a section of the ceiling slide open before a man dressed in a back and gray three-piece suit who stood above a hovering flatform descended from the opening toward him.

It was Zero, and after an exchange of greetings, he asked Alex to step onto the hovering platform, which he did while stopping himself from asking what extra thing he had mentioned.

Alex had a few guesses about what that extra thing Zero said could be, but he didn't want to get his hopes up because he knew that Zero wasn't the type to give things for free.

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"How long do you plan to stay silent?" Alex questioned as he followed Zero into a grand room that looked like it belonged in a sci-fi movie.

The expansive chamber featured uniform flowing lines adorning its walls and ceilings, and at its center stood an egg-shaped glass structure towering around fifteen feet in height. 

The glass structure was intricately connected to both the floor and ceiling through crystalline tubes that resembled coiled ropes pulsating with rich mana.

"You know that your avatar in Ancient World is a perfect clone of you on a genetic level, meaning you have all the gifts that you possess as your avatar,"

"Including your, Elemental Physique," Zero declared after a brief pause, and by now, Alex's agitated heart was setting a new human record in its rapid beats.

Alex had theorized that he could have his physique in real life if it was not given to him by Erebus, and after seeing Venedikt acquire it from his legacy, he thought the possibility was high.

However, even if he awakened it because he naturally had it, then that raised many questions that didn't make any sense to him.

Alex set aside the questions challenging his common sense and asked his guardians in recent weeks how one could awaken their dormant elemental physique, and the answer he received was not what he wanted.

All physiques had different conditions to be awakened, with most awakenings after the holder reached a certain level of strength, but to awaken those of higher rank, the user's body and soul need to reach a certain state to be awakened.

Alex was uncertain about the method to awaken his physique, and the best he could think was that refining his body from impurities might be a solution.

But even after his stats stopped increasing, each reaching closer to a hundred points, there still didn't appear to be any hope for him to awaken his physique.

So now, hearing that Zero had a way to awaken his physique, he wanted to jump around because he knew how wild the benefits he would receive.

"You have a way to awaken my physique?" Alex asked, clear shock visible in his voice.

"I do, but it is very expensive for me to use it,"

"At first, I was not even going to share it because I understood you wouldn't be able to afford it not if your government does not back you, but with the recent deal you have made with those five factions, I believe we can come to an agreement," Zero said, with a bright smile.

"What do you want?" Alex questioned cautiously, his emotions a mix of curiosity and vigilance.

"Just a hundred billion Galactic coins that you need to pay me in ten years, and the best part is there is no interest," Zero said with a smile, but Alex's face held a frown. 

Alex was frustrated by the proposal because he understood he didn't want to decline it, but he also wasn't sure if he could even accept it, and then there was a feeling that he was being ripped off.

"Based on my calculations, if everything unfolds somewhat decently as per your ambition, you should be earning around 15 to 18 billion GC every year from now on, and that figure would surely increase on its own, but if you play your cards right it could tenfold,"

"So don't give me that look like I am trying to scam you because it's not like I need galactic coins for personal use," Zero said, seeing Alex standing in silence and looking coldly at him.

'I don't buy that he is not trying to rip me off, but based on what I could earn and the timeframe for payment, do I even have the option to decline,' Alex thought, putting his emotions aside and seeing what there was to gain and loose from making this deal.

After a moment of hesitation, Alex decided to accept it even though he knew the price was extremely steep and he would probably be paying all the Galatic coins he would earn in three to five good years, which felt terrible when he thought about it, but present was no other option.

"Sign this contract, and we have a deal," Zero stated as the transparent contract appeared prior to Alex.

"What the Fuck is this penalty?" Alex shouted, with clear anger, seeing the penalty if he failed to pay the agreed price in ten years.

The penalty outlined that if Alex couldn't pay a hundred billion within the agreed ten years, his initial payment would become void, and he'd be liable for a subsequent payment of one trillion Galactic coins.

"Don't worry. The penalty is placed just to keep you motivated because if you work hard and smart, you could pay me less than five years," Zero said, his friendly smile stretching across his face, but what Alex saw was a demon patiently waiting for him to fall into a trap.

"You stated I will earn 15 to 18 billion GC every year from now on," Alex said after moments of silence.

"So it shouldn't be a problem if we put a condition that if I don't earn ten or more billion each year consistently for the next ten years, the time period of ten years would be extended to a century," Alex said, fully planning not to take this risky deal if he didn't have the safety net in case things went wrong.

"We can do that," Zero said, keeping his smile.