MMORPG : Ancient WORLD

'I knew mindlessly following the dragon marks was not the correct call, but now, having roamed this place for a few hours, I am certain,' Alex thought as he saw the face of the golden dragon floating before the entrance of the passage, confirming he was back where he had started a few hours ago.

The third challenge had thrown Alex into a maze with ever-changing paths, with some insight into its working and the third riddle.

The riddle implied he had to follow the signs of old, which were the faces of the thirteen dragons, appearing consecutively one at a time at the entrance of one of many passages according to their age.

Going from the order of Youngest to oldest, each dragon mark appeared on one of the paths staying present for a random period before appearing on another passage.

So, in theory, Alex just had to be quick and not take the wrong path to reach the end, but no matter how fast he moved, he ended up at the same place he had started in the beginning.

"In the maze of ever-shifting paths, time plays a crucial part, as signs of old act as the guide, leading to the shard you desire."

'The first and last section of the riddle is of no value, and if I rule out the possibility that by signs of old, it is not referring to something from the past and it is referring to the dragon marks then it leaves only a single section that I need to solve,'

"Time plays a crucial part,"

'It does not say past or present, but specifically time, so it surely can not be a coincidence,'

'So how does time play a role in this riddle?' Alex questioned, gears in his mind turning to search for the simplest to most sophisticated answers.

After a few minutes of thinking, Alex came up with a number of possible solutions he could think of, and he quickly went to work and began testing them.

The solutions ranged from waiting at the entrance to see if any change would occur in the dragon mark, waiting after each passage to see if a hidden passage would open or the mark would stabilize, and waiting after the twelfth passage but at last, there was no result.

After trying nearly everything that needed little time, it was time to test the solution that was going to take hours to complete but it was also the one that made the most sense and could very well be the answer if he was on the right course.

Alex knew that time was a natural order that flowed continuously, and for lack of better words, in a straight line that could not be affected.

Alex was trying to reach the end as quickly as possible, taking the first passage marked with the dragon. However, perhaps what he needed to do was wait after each passage for the next one to align in a straight path before moving forward.

Alex did as he envisioned, and now after four hours of going in a straight line, he was waiting for the thirteenth passage to align.

'At this point, it is pretty much confirmed that the final reward is a time element treasure, and it seems that Astovias Gold either learned about this from someone, or he himself entered the tomb and experienced these trials, reaching a conclusion similar to mine,'

'But the question is, whoever entered the tomb before and cleared the first two trials, why did that person fail to get the reward?' Alex questioned, as he absentmindedly played with half the mask he acquired from the two previous stages.

Alex had realized while the riddles were mind-bending, they were easy to solve if one could spend enough time thinking and since there was no time restriction, one had all the time in the world to solve them.

He also realized that it was certain that only those with a certain level of talent in the element of time could access the hidden trial, and if he could add then it was very much possible that only adventurers could enter, after meeting the first requirement.

The only answer Alex had to his questions was that whoever came before was not able to complete the trials, but seeing the difficulty level of the three trials, he felt there was likely more to it than met the eye.

'I will find out soon enough what made my predecessors fail,' Alex thought, as he saw the dragon mark appear on the passage in the front.

Alex zoomed into the passage, appearing on the other side moments later, and he was thrilled to see that he was not greeted by the looped passage of the beginning but rather an endpoint.

'Three parts done, one more to go,' Alex thought, as he took back the mask that now only had the right upper side missing.

As the third part of the mask was taken, Alex felt his vision blur before darkness took over his senses, and moments later, his vision returned.

Alex was greeted with the sight of a massive open area that stretched for a few hundred meters, surrounded by walls of darkness.

The ceiling was littered with what appeared to be calmly shining stars, and the ground beneath his feet was plain and dark, barely reflecting any light.

'Huh? Is that the last part of the mask?' Alex thought, bewildered to see a shard with a protruding horn in its corner calmly floating in the distance.

In a single step, Alex appeared before the shard and instantly knew that the shard made of plain dark material giving away no aura was exactly the same as the three shards he had collected from the previous three trials.

'Is this supposed to be the fourth trial?' Alex questioned, not knowing if he should complete the mask, or just wait for something else to happen.

'Do I need to show patience to prove that I am worthy? Or will the trial begin once I complete the mask?' Alex questioned, but even after brainstorming for an answer, he had nothing.

Alex was left clueless as to what he should do, as there was no goal, no riddle to solve, just a mask that was waiting to be completed.

'There is nothing else I can do in this place,' Alex thought, deciding to complete the mask after thinking for a few minutes.

Alex took out the mask and let go of it, and like two magnets getting too close, the pieces instantly clipped together, forming a spotless mask.

The mask was pitch dark in color, with a pointed mouth resembling a dragon's snout and two long, pointed horns.

It released little to no aura, making it appear as a common item at first glance, but, to the keen eye, it was impossible to ignore the thin layer of unknown energy that erased any mana that came in contact with it.

'Nothing?' Alex thought, as he took hold of the mask, but the questions in his mind were quickly erased as he used the appraisal on the mask.

'What? It can show me past events at the cost of reversing my age?' Alex questioned, confused and left bewildered by the single skill that mask could offer its user.

"It's amazing right?" A deep voice sounded, forcing Alex to move away and swiftly drew his sword.

'Is he the final challenge?' Alex mused as he looked at the handsome humanoid figure standing in the distance.

The man stood slightly above two meters tall, had pitch-dark pupil-less eyes, long hair that cascaded down his back, and two dragon horns adorning his head.

"The mask can allow you to see the past, at the cost of your age, and while it does not sound great, believe me, it is one of the best applications of time you will ever see, at least until you ascend to the higher cosmos."

"The mask's true worth is not allowing one to see the past, but the cost that comes with it."

"Since one does not just physically de-age, but spiritually as well, and while it makes one lose all the knowledge and strength gained in the time taken from the user, it also brings him into the physical and spiritual state he was at that point in time in the past."

"So, in simple words, it could bring you back from near death to a perfect state," The man said, a proud smile stretching across his face.

"It looks resemble you exist still not impressed by my pride and joy, my greatest work. So, let me demonstrate you what it's like to use it in battle," The man uttered as his form commenced to shift.

Onyx-dark scales started covering his body, rippling across his skin resemble liquid obsidian, and his frame expanded rapidly, muscles bulging and bones elongating with audible cracks.

Massive wings unfurled from his back, their membranes glistening with a dark sheen. His hands and feet morphed into razor-sharp claws, and his eyes glowed with a fierce, predatory light.

In mere moments, he transformed into a hulking dragon, towering over ten meters, exuding an aura of raw, unstoppable power and blood-curdling bloodlust and mana pressure.