MMORPG : Ancient WORLD

Alex would need invisibility potions if he didn't want to die before even reaching half the distance to his destination because the forbidden land of darkness was filled with deadly monsters that would rip him apart the moment they saw him.

'I should also buy a few Intangibility and Agility potions just to be on the safe side.' Alex thought as he walked toward the Alchemist guild location while thinking of every bad situation he could encounter and its possible solution.

After a short walk, Alex reached the Alchemist guild building, which was bustling with activity as the players and Npc walked in and out.

The Ancient world had many prominent organizations, but the four major guilds [Adventurer, Merchant, Alchemist, and Blacksmith] had the most influence on all continents as each guild contributed massively to each Race.

After entering the building, Alex skipped the first few floors and directly went to the sixth floor, and in just a few minutes, he bought all the necessary potions he needed to travel safely in the forbidden land of darkness.

'The high Ranking potions are just ridiculously priced.' Alex thought after spending close to four thousand white flame coins on just eight bottles of potions.

'The preparations are done, so let's get going.' Alex thought as he quickly left toward the mount shop.

'I should rent the fastest flying beast.' Alex thought as he entered the mount shop.

The mount shop sold and rented different categories of mounts, and Alex planned to rent a flying beast to reach the forbidden land of darkness because if he traveled using roads, it would take close to twenty hours.

'He is not the shop owner, I remember, but maybe he changed the shop by the time I started using this shop's services.' Alex thought, seeing a middle-aged man dozing off on the shopowner's chair.

"I want to rent your fastest flying beast," Alex said to the owner as he slammed his fist on the counter.

"You need to learn not to disturb your elder when they are resting." The owner said, still not opening his eyes.

"I want to rent a mount," Alex said loudly after seeing the man not giving him any response.

"You want the fastest flying mount? It would cost you one thousand gold coins for twenty-four hours." The owner said with his eyes close.

'It should be a peak third Rank companion beast to be priced that high.' Alex thought after hearing the ridiculous cost of renting the beast.

The mount shops also rented beast companions for a premium cost, and those beast companions belonged to former adventurers who couldn't work as mercenaries or adventurers, so they would place their beasts for rent to keep earning money.

"I will rent the beast for the forty-eight hours," Alex said as he placed ten white flame coins on the counter.

"Please follow me," The owner said as he walked toward the exit.

After reaching outside the shop, he walked toward the empty area next to his shop and summoned a giant black-winged lion.

'This is a rare half-blood Shadow Dragon-Lion.' Alex thought, looking at the magnificent-looking Black lion with pitch black massive dragon wings on his back.

"Young adventurer, this Shadow Dragon-Lion will be your mount for the next forty-eight hours, and he will take you to any place which is not dangerous." The owner said with an expressionless face like he didn't just summon an extremely rare beast.

'This lion looks young, so it should be a peak third Rank Beast at best, but half-blood Shadow Dragon-Lions could easily reach peak fourth or even the Fifth Rank, and controlling their size at that strength level is easy.'

"I want to know if this beast is registered in the adventurer guild as a rentable mount," Alex asked.

All rentable companion beasts were trained to be travel mounts of strangers, and the Adventurer guild was responsible for registering and certifying them.

"Young Adventurer, My companion does have dragon Blood running through his vain, but he is very calm and gentle." The owner replied as he showed Alex the glowing certification card proving its authenticity.

"Please tell your Companion Beast to take me to the entrance of the Forbidden Land of Darkness," Alex said

"Young Adventurer, If you want to rent a mount again, you should come to my shop for the best mounts at a low price." The owner said with a smile after he whispered a few orders to his beast companion.

"I will come to your shop if I need to rent a mount again," Alex said and then jumped on the lion's back.

'The fur is really comfortable.' Alex thought as he took his time to sit on the lion's back comfortably.

"Young Adventurer, You don't need to worry about falling, as Bion will use a mana shield to protect you from the fast winds." The owner said.

"Young Adventurer, Before you leave, let me remind you that Bion will only take you to the forbidden land entrances, and after exactly forty-eight hours, Bion will return to the city with or without you." The owner said with a smile.

'I should be able to get the legacy in thirty hours if some random fifth Rank beast does not kill me.' Alex thought.

"Bion is a little shy, so if he doesn't respond to your order, don't worry because he is very intelligent and won't cause you any trouble." The owner said.

"My friend, start flying when you are ready," Alex said to the lion, who was patiently standing waiting for orders.

"Roarrr"

After a low roar, Bion stretched his wings wide, and slowly, a mana shield covered his back, coving Alex in a protective barrier.

After completing the preparations, Bion gently flapped his draconic wings, and without any delay, his massive body slowly became airborne, and in a few short seconds, he reached a height of close to five hundred meters.

'The feeling of being in the air while sitting comfortably on the back of a giant beast is one of the best experiences.' Alex thought as he looked at the capital city getting smaller with every passing second.

Bion flew slowly at the start, but after leaving the cloudy area around the city, he started flying at a faster speed while gaining more altitude.

'At this speed, we should reach the forbidden land in three hours.' Alex thought as he enjoyed the beautiful bird's eye view.

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

'I underestimated the speed of a Shadow Dragon-Lion.' Alex thought as he looked at the giant fortress in the distance.

'This place looks as scary as I thought.' Alex thought as Bion reached close vicinity to the fortress.

'I finally reached the great fortress [Shelmoure], the most well-guarded fortress on the whole human continent.' Alex thought as Bion landed next to the fortress gate.

The Shelmoure Fortress was in the middle of a wasteland where not a single living being lived, and the fortress was still filled with the strongest guard regiment that the human continent could offer.

The Shelmoure Fortress Regiment was called [The Sanguine Doom Guards], and their only duty was to guard the portal that led to the forbidden land of darkness.

The portal that led to the forbidden land of darkness was in the center of the fortress, and the guard's duty was to keep watch over the portal and kill every monstrosity that tried to leave it.

The Forbidden land portal was massive in size, and as people could enter and leave it without any issue, the monster inside it could also do the same.

The guard in the fortress doesn't kill the monster leaving the portal just to keep the wasteland clean from monsters, but they do it because the monsters would eventually go berserk and go on a rampage, attacking everything in their path.

The Forbidden Land of Darkness was very rich in darkness mana, and every beast living inside it had their body adapt to using the rich darkness mana.

But after the monsters arrive at the human continent, filled with neutral mana, their bodies try to quickly adapt to the different environment, which causes them pain making them go berserk.

After a monster leaves the portal, he would be just like any other beast, but as that monster spends more time in the neutral mana, his body would try to adapt, causing him tremendous pain.

The forceful adaptation of the body would kill most of the weak monsters, but the strong monster would not die and, because of the pain, would go berserk, and the guards would rather fight a sane monster than fight a crazed beast going on a rampage.

'I can't understand why the White Flame Empire doesn't build a teleportation tower here when so many adventurers and players visit this place every day.' Alex thought, looking at the long line at the fortress's entrance.

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?I like to give a Shout-out to ??Jason_Felletter41?? for giving the story 17 gifts! ??

?I want to also thank every reader for supporting the Novel.??