MMORPG : Ancient WORLD

As the darkness vanished, Alex found himself standing on a wooden deck overlooking a crystal-clear lake nestled in the center of a jungle, and at the edge of it, a man could be seen seated, holding a fishing rod, with a bucket filled with ice and drinks, and an empty chair next to him.

Alex's thoughts were muddled, and he had tens of questions, but knowing Zero already knew why he was here, he silently took a seat next to him and took a moment to calm his mind.

"It's unbelievable, right," Zero said after a moment of silence.

"Indeed, it is," Alex said, his mind filling with a chain of questions, realizing that any response to his inquiries would only lead to trouble.

"The event is real, and so will be the time difference, and the people of various power systems, those fortunate enough to enter, will find themselves inside the realm."

"I will not spoil the details of the event for you, but I can confirm that everything you have heard and would hear from your guardians will be mostly true."

"You should have already guessed that the details about the time dilation or what will go on inside the Ancestral blood ground are not public information, and those fortunate enough to learn it need to keep it to themselves."

"However, learning about the event and even being extremely lucky or talented to acquire an entry spot does not mean that a player could enter because he needs to fulfill at least the first of the two conditions to enter the realm," Zero said, taking a short pause as he picked two bottles of beer, handing one to Alex, which he accepted and placed it back in the bucket.

"The foremost and ultimate requirement is being an Awakened individual, while the secondary requirement is possessing an upgraded version of the normal Awakened-exclusive VR capsule, which will only be available to those who secure entry into the realm."

"Now, feel free to ask any questions you may have," Zero said, but not before he created a system screen pop in front of Alex, displaying a list of VR Capsules, each more expensive than the last.

'So the cheapest one costs 200 million, and the best one costs four billion galactic coins,' Alex thought as he looked at the four available VR capsule versions, namely the Dreamweave Elite, Pro, Prime, and Ultimate, each an upgraded version of his current capsule.

Alex had the Dreamweave VR capsule, which cost him forty million GC and over a hundred million Gold coins, and it was worth every penny.

But seeing the stats of the four available versions, he was finding it to be more and more just a piece of lesser technology, like an old cell phone, compared to the latest Android.

The base version provided three technologies: Mana Absorption Field, Mana Cognitive Amplifier, and Mana Refinement, with the first gathering mana and funneling it into the user at a very slow pace.

At first, the mana Alex was receiving inside the capsule was more than ten times slower than what he could gather on his own, but after the Rank promotion, it had only grown, now reaching a level where the difference was maybe twenty or thirty times, depending on what situation he was in inside the ancient world.

The Mana Cognitive Amplifier was great as it provided a much smoother experience, while Mana Refinement, as its name implied, used the gathered mana and circulated it through the user's body at a slow and steady pace.

However, Alex's progress after fifty hours inside the capsule and one hour inside the training chamber was practically the same, so while decent, it was only good enough to make him keep playing the Ancient world without feeling any lag.

However, it was the best and only available option, so Alex had no complaints. However, that was no longer the case, as there were four options available, each much better than the last.

'I need to secure the Ultimate version, and while buying just one would not hurt, for six I will need a fortune,' Alex thought, as he did not even consider settling for a lesser version of the capsule after reading all the details.

"Can we log out while we will be in the Ancestral dimension?" Alex asked the thing that was of least concern to him at this point.

"Yes, you can, and do so at any time you want," Zero replied, being as vague as ever.

"How long before you plan to make these upgraded capsules available to everyone?" Alex asked, knowing it would be game-

changing for Awakeneds even if just Elite and Pro versions were released.

"The Elite version will be created available around six months from now, while the Pro version will come three years later, at the latest, and as for the rest, I don't have any dates," Zero said, giving Alex a cause for concern because, with the release of those two versions, the strength of the Awakened will grow, and with it will come chaos.

"You have one last question because that's all you can get for a gold-grade wish," Zero said, making Alex shut his mouth, knowing with Zero, everything had a price.

"How long before the demons initiate their plan on the Human Continent?" Alex said, asking the question that was troubling him the most after confirming he could enter the Ancestral realm.

Alex knew that Ahrimon would very well know about the Ancestral realm, and if he wanted Alex to lose a massive opportunity or mentally torture him by showing him how he had control above everything, that bastard just needed to execute his strategy a few months after the portal to the realm opens.

Alex was not stupid to not realize how Ahrimon was a master planner, as he initiated the demon invasion early to meet him, and months later, he put the human Emperor into a coma and knew Alex would come to save him, so he had a message prepared for him.

Alex believed Ahrimon was trying to break him mentally, so he would leave his position as the Ruler, removing the only major threat that could affect his plans, so whatever he had planned he would make sure that it affected him negatively.

"I cannot say for certain, but it should be before the end of this year, weeks before the start of the Ancestral Blood Ground event," Zero said, and Alex could not help but take a deep breath.

"I will need at minimal six Ultimate Dreamweave capsules, so can I pay you in installments?" Alex asked, knowing the number of capsules could increase if some member secured a spot on their own, and securing 24B GC in just six months would be near impossible, let alone more.

"Sure, and I will not even charge interest, but you need to pay me above four years," Zero said, and before Alex could try his luck in negotiating the time, his vision blurred as his body broke apart.

------------------

"BOY, boy, are you with us?"

"Yes."

"Sorry if I caused any inconvenience," Alex said, with a wary smile, knowing he just went out without giving the elders any heads up.

"Since you are finally back, I will tell you about what your little friend needs to go through to complete his training."

"Poison could be both a disease and the cure, and Ricin will be going through extreme cycles of it that would be extremely painful, but it would change his very being, allowing him to understand poison and plague on a much deeper scale."

"When I say painful, I mean that kid could snap and turn into a vegetable, so my advice would be to let go of him because at his current stage, he is good enough to survive in the wild," Elder Regalis said, with a serious tone, making Alex realize that he might need to make an unexpected decision.

"SHRIIIIIIIIKKKKKKK!"

Alex heard the familiar yet much different cry, and looking up, he saw a dark shadow zooming down at great speed and a moment later, a loud crash echoed through the surroundings as the beast landed meters away from the group.

Alex gazed at the proudly standing beast, whose green irises held a predatory look, his massive frame towering above thirty feet, cloaked in a blend of copious green and obsidian black feathers.

Clutched under his bony white claws was a similarly beautiful avian beast, yet its feathers were eroding away, blisters and giant worm-like veins bulged underneath his exposed tattered skin, and his eyes had lost the light of life, but his impressive build told of the great strength it wielded before its demise.

"It's been a long time," Alex said, smiling as he walked toward his beast companion.