MMORPG : Ancient WORLD

"Elder Regalis, I am very thankful to you for taking Ricin under your tutelage," Alex said, trying his best not to show his surprise at standing before a living, breathing Monarch.

Regalis Naja was the Monarch of Toxin, meaning he had not only the best but also great control over both poison and diseases, making him a Monarch who stood at the far end of the power scaling.

The man, who was casually smoking a dark wood resembling a giant cigar, was hands down one of the strongest individuals to walk the Ancient world, and to say he was generous to teach a weak Vulture for months would be an understatement.

"I would believe your sincerity if you promised me the rare poison that is collecting dust in the Ruler's treasury," Elder Regalis said with a grin on his face, and Varon was quick to deliver a reply.

"The answer is no," Varon said, and his speaking out loud showed how this was not something Alex could agree to.

"I thought friends were meant to support you," Elder Naja said as he looked toward Varon, shaking his head like he was disappointed.

"Naja, You know why you can not have the Dark poison? Because it will kill even you," Varon said, making Alex close his mouth.

"Well, Varo, You know I can't help but want to do some research on that legendary poison that killed the World Calamity," Elder Regalis said, releasing giant puffs of smoke like their conversation was just some minor talk.

"After your little friend found that you were coming to pick him up, he went out to find you a meeting gift, so it would take some time for him to return, and we can use it to discuss the future of your companion,"

"So, have a seat," Elder Regalis said, as five chairs made of crystalline verdant green poison took form behind each of the present individuals.

Alex got the clue as to what Elder Regalis was referring to, but he could not understand why he was suggesting extending the time Ricin would stay under his tutorship because Ricin was anything but talented, or maybe he was missing something.

"I heard from Varon that you have some magical treasure that lets you evolve the bloodlines of beasts, cure diseases, enhance items, and other magical stuff,"

"So I am certain you will make something amazing out of that little fledgling, but the cruel reality is that he would never become strong enough to stand with you in any of the battles that matter,"

"Not because he does not have the potential but because you will outgrow him,"

"So, while I trained Ricin to be a good hunter, I made sure he learned the ways of the tracker because he would be most useful to you as a tracker, knowing you will be spending a long time in the testing ground,"

"However, he still needs more training, more brutal training, one that would change him forever, but it is needed to prepare him to spend a decade with you inside the hell hole we also call the Ancestral Blood Ground,"

"If he is not prepared, I am very certain you will need to abandon him and bring a more suitable companion with you on your long trip," Elder Regalis said, smoke covering his face, only his two crimson eyes with green slits shining behind it.

'What is talking about? A Decade? Abandon Ricin?' Alex thought, questions popping into his mind one after another.

"While, In practice, a Ninth Rank individual can potentially form bonds with up to ten Beast Companions, one for each stage of strength, but no one will be stupid enough to do it, and one who would do it would never reach a higher stage of strength in life,"

"Each soul bond uses a part of the Master soul to complete the contract, and while one or two companions are ok, making three or four would severely affect the potential of an individual," Elder Regalis said, taking a small pause, allowing Alex to register everything and raise questions.

"When a master releases a companion, the soul part that was keeping the companion loyal to him is freed, and it slowly recovers over time," Elder Regalis said, answering the question of how abandoning the companion would help.

"I can tell from your reaction that you are not privy to the details of what the Ancestral Blood Ground is, so let me first elaborate on that," Elder Regalis said, and Alex nodded, putting the various questions to the back of his mind.

"The story of how the Vampire Progenitor and many ancient beings of immense power from the ancient era were responsible for the creation of the Ancestral blood ground,"

"It is all rubbish, a story for the public and the world,"

"But in reality, it is a magical dimension that has a time difference from reality, where spending ten years is equal to one year in the ancient world," Elder Regalis noted and went silent.

'If this is true,' Alex thought, as he looked at the faces of his guardians and, seeing their agreeing nods, he began to connect the dots to realize the bigger picture.

Alex first finds out about the ancestral blood ground from the vampire queen Bellatrix, who offers him five of ten entry slots as repayment for curing her daughter.

Alex was fascinated by the place that held the riches left behind by the ancients, but he never focussed on it too much, knowing it was two years away.

But now he was finding out that the place had a time difference, like the time chamber from DBZ, and entering it meant having a nine-year head up to every other player, but more than that, having ten years of time to grow stronger.

Alex did query how it could even work, but after returning in time, almost everything looked possible to him, and if it was possible for him, he might find it later by talking to the only man who could answer it.

Alex also picked that a decade seemed to be the limit one could stay, so he began to query if the entry limit and the limit on age and strength were real.

"There are limits to how many individuals could enter through each portal, what their age and strength should be, and finally, everyone will be sent back to their origin world after a decade if they are able to survive that long in that hell hole," Elder Regalis said, making Alex shift his attention back to him.

"You could learn the details of why I call the place of opportunities a hell hole from your elders, but I will tell you what that magical place truly is,"

"As I noted before, the story of our elders building it as their legacy ground is just a cover, but it is a place filled with unfathomable treasures, so it is not completely a lie,"

"The entry portals to that realm open after one century, and they perform so all over the world, few in fixed places, few in random, with different numbers of entries per portal,"

"But Ancient World is not the only place that the entry portals to that realm open and allow its inhabitants entry," Elder Regalis said, with a smile that made Alex see the predatory snake reflection on his face as the two stared at each other.

"You will find Cultivators, those enlighted world ki-wielding Gardeners, Self-proclaimed Heros with broken abilities and weird flashy costumes, and Men of Iron, robots who will shoot laser beams and whatnot,"

"So, yeah, the realm will be full of unknown and tens if not hundreds of different species with different power systems than our own, so that is why you need a good beast Companion, and currently Ricin is not up to the task," Elder Regalis noted and went silent giving Alex time to process everything.

Alex did not know how to react, as he was left shocked, the sheer mental image of that place made him want to visit just for the experience of it.

But at the same time, Alex realized that perhaps players might not be allowed to enter such a place by Zero, and that feeling only grew stronger with each passing moment.

So, without wasting any time, he rapidly used a wish to have a talk with Zero, to clear his doubts before his hopes soared any higher.