MMORPG : Ancient WORLD

?'If I could have such great luck in every other champions game, then I hope I get to participate in one every other day,' Alex thought, standing beneath the dark clouds on the ashy ground.

The clash between him and Zar'Thul had opened an unground area of the labyrinth, and after finishing the beastly giant, Alex roamed the vast open expanse, finding it to be empty except housing a single dark monolith in its center.

Alex decided to stay in the underground area, and seeing that even after hours, no adventurer or tomb guard had come for him, he knew he had lucked out.

Only after four hours did two cyber demons find their way through the same hole he had used to come, and while coordinated and strong, with their ability to phase in and out of the void and wield their deadly plasma and matter-disrupter weapons with uncanny precision, Alex took care of them without needing to resort to using the Monarch Aura.

No other opponent came looking for Alex, and once eleven hours had passed, he was declared the victor and teleported back to the bare lands of the ashen fields.

However, while Alex was happy with the easy victory, he knew that even without such luck, he would have come out as a victor unless he faced one of those monsters whose abilities defied logic.

'Let's hope this golden grade wish is enough for her to give me intel on a sword that is deemed worth tradable by the spirit of the Tesseract Collection,' Alex thought before he cleared his mind of all distractions, engaging in an internal monologue to prepare for his potential conversation with the Realm Ruler.

In a normal scenario, the Realm Ruler would just grant what was asked or reject it, but in extremely rare cases, it conversed with the Adventurer face to face, so he needed to meticulously consider what he would say if that happened because angering it meant a load of trouble, ranging from a quick death or realm expulsion.

While the chances of a meeting happening were close to none, Alex knew better to prepare than to regret it later.

"I wish to use my golden-grade wish to obtain the method for acquiring a sword of equal value to the sword I lost, which is currently in the possession of Gula of the Tesseract Collection," Alex said and stopped, not giving any further information, knowing it was not needed.

The Realm Ruler knew almost everything that happened in the realm simply because it was known, or at least most believed fact, that the entity was the consciousness of this pocket dimension.

Alex felt his vision blur before darkness engulfed him, and in the next moment, he found himself standing atop an expanse of darkness, the ground beneath his feet reminiscent of an onyx ocean.

A woman of immense beauty stood just a few inches from him, her pitch-dark pupils staring at him, a calm smile stretched across what was mostly certain to be the most beautiful face Alex had seen in both his lives.

A moment later, which was like an hour for Alex, she leaned closer, and he could only freeze in fear, not daring to pull away or even move an inch lest he offend this entity.

Alex felt the cold breath on his ear and smelled the calming scent she exuded, but these sensations were secondary to his dread as he cursed his luck, wondering why this enigmatic figure had decided to meet him face-to-face over a simple request.

"Young master, what can this humble servant do for you?" Her ethereal voice was hypnotic, each word wrapping around his mind like silk.

Alex kept silent, not daring to even bring a stray thought to his mind, because he knew he was standing before the only individual he could not afford to displease, or he might very well say goodbye to the grand opportunity of staying inside the ancestral realm.

"I wish for a means to acquire a sword of equal value to the sword I lost, which is currently in the possession of Gula of the Tesseract Collection," Alex answered after a brief pause, not daring to stay silent for too long.

"Fear does not suit you," The entity said, her voice a mixture of amusement and mild reproach.

"There is a city named Nocturna that lies in the Obsidian Wastes, far from the boundaries of the three empires, ruled by a man, Vykan Zeld, and in that place, every crime is legal, a place where the worst of criminals gather and seek shelter," The entity's voice was mesmerizing, painting a vivid picture of a dark, lawless city.

'The city itself sounds terrifying its Ruler could only be scarier,' Alex thought, his worry centered on the mentioned king, but before he could think further, his chain of thoughts was broken as she began to speak once more.

"Beneath the palace of Vykan Zeld, there is a gateway leading into a pocket dimension, and inside this dimension lies the sword you desire."

"To enter the gateway, you must collect an entry token, which has been shattered into eleven pieces, with seven of these pieces currently in the possession of four individuals, while the remaining four are dispersed across different places in the three empires."

"You will need to win more champion games to earn wishes and use them to learn the locations of the pieces of the entry token, but you are also welcome to find them on your own from the clue you can get from your first target,"

"Since you are already here, I might as well give you a little extra gift," the entity said, a hint of generosity in her tone.

"Vykan Zeld has kidnapped the daughter of Elara Winterfell, the Grand Arcanum of the Hrimvalkyr Cohort, the thirteenth regiment of the Magi Empire." The melodic voice echoed in his ears before his vision faded once more, and he returned to reality.

Alex was gone from this mind place, but a specter of him was still present, his eyes carrying the light, yet clearly, it was just an image of him from moments ago, frozen in time.

"Master, you've changed in many ways, yet to me, you remain unchanged," The entity voiced softly as her slender hand lovingly caressed Alex's face.

"I knew you could not die, and after creating this prison for myself to live with my failure, I began my search for you, hoping that destiny might cross our paths once more."

"When countless millennia in this realm did not bring you to me, I sent clones of myself to thousands of worlds in search of you."

"You do not know my level of happiness when I felt your presence in the Ancient World, and from that day till now, I have watched you live."

"I was not one bit surprised, seeing how fate had a path to the cosmic peak arranged for you."

"How I wish I could take away all your troubles and give you a few decades of peace, but I know fate has a grander purpose written for you, and it will not change even if I removed every obstacle in your path."

"My dear Master, I will not fail you again," The entity spoke, tears welling up in her crystal-like eyes.