MMORPG : Ancient WORLD

402 The Collector

After seeing Elder Darrien's true strength, Alex wondered if Lady Margaret too concealed her true strength, but he didn't jump to the conclusion, knowing how rare it was to find Ninth Rank warriors, individuals standing at the apex of this world, yet he also didn't deny the possibility.

Fenrik, The Wolf Emperor, was a middle stage Eight Rank warrior, but even with his best efforts, he could not bridge the gap between him and Elder Darrien.

It was a completely one-sided battle, with Fenrik not even being able to land a single hit, as he was getting a painful and humiliating beatdown without being able to resist.

After failing to resist, escape, and even get any help from his supposed allies, and even asking for mercy, he began to vent his frustration and anger by roaring, how it filled him with pleasure knowing the miserable life every domain inhabitant was living in, and the wretched fate they will have in due time.

Alex had no sympathy for Fenrik because that bastard was an enemy of the world, and with the foul talk he just displayed, he showcased his petty and malevolent character, intensifying the disdain he held for him.

Before Fenrik made the comments, he was just getting a beatdown, but after he uttered the nonsense, Elder Darrien made him suffer so much agony that even with his hardened mind and control over emotions, he was roaring like a beast in extreme misery.

The battle lasted for three minutes, and at the end of it, Fenrik was in a state between life and death, with dulled eyes, torn- out claws and fangs, and a shattered jaw, yet a flicker of defiance remained in his fading gaze.

But it was replaced by despair and anger when he failed to explode his law core, his life slipping away under the disdainful gaze of Elder Darrien.

"The Corpse is not in the best state, but it would be useful to you," Elder Darrien said as he appeared before Alex with a crimson coffin and a dark palm-sized orb floating by his side.

The crimson coffin had the mangled yet complete corpse of the Wolf Emperor, and the dark orb was his Law core, and the value of the two of them was hard to put into numbers.

"Thanks," Alex said cheerfully, his mood having improved by a mile as he placed the two treasures into his inventory, giving no heed to the three figures standing like stone statues in the distance.

Alex's vision blurred one more as they returned to real space, and they were welcomed by Lady Margaret, Elder Anaëlle, and Boras, and each of them had a varied expression.

Alex smiled as he cheerfully greeted the group, and seeing his demeanor, the ladies and Boras signed in relief because even though they had received the news of his safety minutes after he reached the domain, they knew things didn't go as planned, and he was not in the best emotional state when he went offline.

Boras's relieved expression swiftly turned to one of worry as he looked at the Elven Empress, the great elder, and the mysterious cloaked figure, knowing a battle could very well break out.

"Elder Anaëlle, I apologize on behalf of my ancestors and inquire for your forgiveness," The Elven Empress walked ahead and uttered with her head down.

"I will not forgive those bastards and not you, seeing you have ones against shamelessly chosen your survival over the lives of others," Elder Anaëlle said, her voice laced with boiling anger.

"I understand and accept your anger, but I will have to ask you not to take action against us because the elves hold importance in the grand plan of the Demon King, and he will not allow you to harm us," The Elven Empress said, a hint of pride in her tone.

"The laws are fair, and your judgment will come in due time,"

"Where is the Core of Alistair? Understand that if you try to keep any information, then I will make sure you regret it dearly," Elder Anaëlle said, returning to her calm and peaceful demeanor, yet the threat was clear.

"It's in the possession of a Man named Tragus Remist, also known as the Collector," The Elven Empress said and followed it by taking a Law oath to confirm her words.

Elder Anaëlle shifted her eyes toward Elder Darrien, and he nodded at her and the next moment, everyone was standing by Alex's side, with the message to return to the domain already delivered to him.

Alex used continental teleportation, and moments later, the group was in the Malefis Domain, and it seemed they acquired the information they needed without any resistance.  

Boras decided to explore the domain as he was not needed anymore, and before he left, Alex gave him the badge of the training chamber. He was already informed of his role, and what to do, so he was free to do as he pleased.

After a few minutes, Alex and the elders sat at a table in the royal palace, discussing the group named Kraken, whose leader held the core of darkness.

Alex expected the man to be strong because of the quest and also troublesome, and as he expected, he was both and worse of both kinds.

Tragus Remist, more commonly known by his title, The Collector, was a man who stood at the peak of strength, a half-

step transcendent, meaning he was a step away from reaching the Tenth Rank and ascending from this world.

Varon and Elder Darrien both knew the man personally, and according to them, he was an obsessive man, a meticulous and eccentric collector who would steal, barter, or manipulate any means necessary to acquire the rarest specimens and artifacts.

So, while taking the core with force was not an option, trading it was, as Tragus was a collector through and through, with an unwavering commitment to amassing only the rarest of things, and he would never shy away from striking a barter.

However, understanding that the core of darkness was truly one of a kind, the price he could demand for such a unique artifact would undoubtedly be astronomical.

Elder Anaëlle was excited as she knew she had a real chance of acquiring the core, but Alex didn't hold the same excitement simply because of the quest.

Varon contacted the Collector and arranged a meeting in three days' time, and once this matter was dealt with, Alex shared his plan to train, not in the chamber but by roaming the domain.

Alex planned to gather intel on the demon cult, and while it would have been best if he could use his royal guards, especially the third regiment bred for such tasks, he couldn't do so because of the restriction.

Alex also didn't want to spend time gathering the information himself, as that would be wasteful, and asking his growing organization members to gather intel would produce little results, so his best option was to use his money to get help outside help.

Alex was going to use the various factions who worked in the field of assassination and gathering intel, and while it would result in the cult finding out about him, it would not matter because it was not like the higherups of the cult didn't already know he would be gunning for them.

While Alex was waiting for the skill cooldown to be over, he got the news of Boras being declared a thief, with the same allegation as his last life.

It was not surprising, knowing the Elven Empress had no other choice but to take such a drastic measure to clear her clan image and not be blamed for losing a talent.

Alex returned to the human continent once his teleportation was off cooldown and visited the Invictus clan, a clan of human origins that dealt in info assassination and gathering.

Alex also visited the Fractal Seraphs group branch, a group that had all sorts of races as its members and had a great reputation for its services.

Alex also visited various lesser-known groups that were not as reputable as those giants, but they were still strong, and it was not surprising that each of the groups knew about the demons and even so had intel on them, but nothing major.

Alex's primary purpose was to find out what the demons planned to do to the human continent and do what he might to stop it.

Alex was certain that humans would play a major role in the incoming disaster because if it was not, then the demons wouldn't need to go through the trouble of replacing the Emperor.

After doing the work, Alex returned to the Domain and began free-roaming the wilderness to train and reach the stat limits of his current Rank.

On the third day, Alex gotten a message informing him that the Collector had made it clear that he would not trade the Core of Darkness against anything they might offer, but he was willing to make a deal with the Domain Ruler.