MMORPG : Ancient WORLD

In a well-lit hotel room filled with multiple tables, a small girl could be seen seated at the one in the corner, and with a joyful smile on her face, she savored spoonfuls of ice cream from a goblet brimming with a vibrant mixture of desserts.

"My Queen, we are unable to find what the demons have planned, but whatever it is, it can not be good for the human continent nor my brothers and sisters," A childish voice sounded that could only be heard by the young girl and pearlescent white cat seated atop the table.

"We need to lay low and have you build your strength to peak Elementalist Stage, as then you can wield my strength without much strain, but seeing that we could need to act at any given moment, you will need to grow stronger quickly, and to do so, you will need to use the Chaos Devouring to rapidly grow your strength,"

"I understand the technique puts strain on your mind, and you do not like using it, but that is the only way for you to grow faster,"

"My Queen, If you are forced to use the Chaos Convergence to wield my strength at your current strength, it will not end well, and that is not even the last thing I or any of my brothers and sisters want for you,"

"My Queen, so please consider my request and just grow your strength to the peak of Elementalist Rank, which will only take a few days," The Owl said, his eyes fixed on the young, innocent girl on whom shoulder he was seated upon.

"Sparkle, you already know my answer," Sophia said with an innocent smile on her face.

"I will ask you to reconsider," Sparkle said, his eyes filled with a mix of understanding and concern, as he knew the consequences of utilizing the Chaos Convergence and what choice his queen would make when things demanded it.

"I am not using Chaos Devouring, as it fills my mind with all the anger, despair, and other sad emotions of the dying creatures,"

"It's the worst feeling, and while after using the Chaos Convergence, I will be unconscious for a few days, maybe weeks or months, it's still the better option," Sophia said as she positioned the spoon full of ice cream before the owl.

"Hello, young miss, you have a lovely cat," A young man who was no older than sixteen said as he approached the table, with three older individuals following behind him.

'He looks like one of those creepy young masters that Big Brother Andrei warned me about,' Sophia thought, looking at the boy who had his eyes set on the cat seated on the table.

"Could you please tell me where you bought her or what species she belongs to?" The man inquired as he attempted to pet Lioness, who avoided his touch while she suppressed the urge to turn the man into dust.

"I found her in the jungle outside the city, and her species is just a common forest cat," Sophia replied as she picked Lioness and placed her on her lap.

Before the boy could speak, a white mist surged out from the cat, and instantly, the man and his follower's eyes turned unfocused before they silently turned around and left.

"My Queen, one of my brothers just sent a distress signal, which is only possible if he is free," Lioness said as she had a silent conversation with the owl, her confusion evident in her abys-like crimson eyes.

"Why are you two having a silent staredown when you should be happy and rushing to meet with your brother?" Sophia said, breaking the momentary, intense silence.

"This could not be an accident, at least not when the cult has something planned with my brothers and sisters,"

"But this also could be a great opportunity," Sparkle said as a dark aura seeped from his figure, cloaking Sophia, and in an instant, the three of them disappeared from the hotel.

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

In the desert, a dark dome stood alone, resembling an ominous gem amidst the vast expanse, and at the edge of it, a lone figure could be seen standing.

'Let's hope things work out, but even if they don't, this meeting will be interesting,' Alex thought as he walked through the barrier, his mind free from the emotions of revenge, tension, or any distractions.

While Alex wanted nothing but to pummel the face of Caden and drag him from his high horse of superiority, he knew better than to go into the toughest challenge of his life to date with a messed-up head.

It has been exactly twenty-four hours since the public challenge, and in that time, besides killing Lerela Nilbontare and completing both of the Forechester household quests, Alex had spent time preparing for Caden, knowing he had many unconventional skills.

"Look who decided to show up," A youthful voice familiar to Alex sounded as he stepped through the wall of darkness.

"You have grown stronger, which is great because my little greedy heart can not take the weight of bullying you once more,"

"Not if you could not even put up some resistance, just like a mouse does by playing dead when he knows he has nowhere left to run," Caden said, a wide smile stretching across his face.

"No reaction,"

"Well, let me make a few things clear before we really start our battle,"

"I don't plan to die, but I am not a coward like you, so let's agree to a contract bound by my law of greed,"

"If you kill me or I leave before killing you, you will receive the essence conduit crystal, and If I kill you, then you own me ten million Ruler coins, that I can ask you to use at any time for any item,"

"The Greed contract only works if no one tries to breach the barrier, and if you do not, try to pull a fast one by using a high-rank scroll or something of a similar nature," Caden said and went silent as an ethereal green fox manifests behind him.

"I agree," Alex said, instantly feeling the forging energy wash over him.

In the very next moment, Alex appeared before Caden, his knee making solid contact, sending the smiling figure back like a bullet.

"You have a very interesting skill set," Caden said, floating above the ground unscathed by the attack yet sporting a dark crown identical to the one adorning Alex's head.

'So he could copy a normal skill with just me attacking him,' Alex thought, seeing the Crown of Emptiness adorning Caden's head.

Alex had come prepared, having learned all he could about the Sin laws in general and what the Sin champions could be capable of, and to say he was pissed and jealous at what he learned would be an understatement.

Alex was already aware that all Sin laws had broken abilities, but he learned that the Demon Dukes of Sin did not learn their law the normal way.

Instead, they had a cheat code in the form of mystic unranked law art, something similar to his Spirit Art, which allowed them to make great progress in a much shorter period, and as their sin champions, the likes of Caden received a water down version of their master skills.

Alex knew as the Sin Champion of Greed, Caden would be capable of copying his skills, but he was not certain how quickly he could perform it and how many conditions he needed to fulfill before he could copy his skill by paying a price in what he considered wealth, at a rate that the worldly law considered appropriate.

Caden would need to see the skill in action for him to attempt copying it, while the copied skills would only stay active for a limited time and consume the same if not more mana than the original to keep active.

But if the knowledge of the Varon was accurate, then each copied skill by Caden would be each bit as authentic as the original.

Alex had only used Ruler Pride and Crown of Emptiness before he entered the barrier, knowing fully well that the later skill would be replicated in a matter of the first few seconds if Caden wanted.

This was why Alex did not plan to rely on his time skills or the Dragon Might, which was a big blow to his strength but a necessary step he needed to take to have a winning chance.

Each skill except the Ruler Pride and his two Elemental manipulations might get copied because the first was too unique and high-ranked to be copied, and to copy the latter, Caden would need to pay a massive price that he would never pay.

"I can even copy other Sin skills by paying the price with my strength, yet I can not perform the same with the skill that allows you to advance a complete Rank,"

"However, if I possessed copied it, then I would be really disappointed because then our little game would have ended before it even began," Caden said, as he created the crown dissipate into thin air like he only copied it to display it to Alex that he could.