MMORPG : Ancient WORLD

399 Mind Games

"I discovered where the core of the Tree of Darkness is located," Boras said through the system message as the due silently walked through the empty corridors of the palace.

Alex was taken aback by the news, but what surprised him even more was the lackluster expression on Boras's face, displaying clear disappointment instead of any excitement.

"The Core is located in the heart of the Dragon Mainland, in the possession of the Orpheus Dragon Clan,"

"The clan leader, Grinydos, The Nocturnal, is a middle-stage Elemental Ruler, and their clan officially has seventeen Elemental Rulers, with three of them being Night Rank warriors,"

"The Core is the source of a training chamber, making the density of the various Darkness laws inside close to a hundred times purer,"

"While it is also responsible for creating an Essence of Darkness, a single drop of it could help a clan member reach the peak of Elementalist Rank in half the time with similar effort and be much stronger than their counterpart,"

"I don't think the Empress has a reason to fabricate this story, and if she is not lying, then we can do nothing to get the Core because it is the backbone of the Orpheus Dragon Clan and the reason why they are the Ruler of the Dragons,"

"So using force to take it would be impossible unless we can overwhelm the entire Dragon Race, and getting it any peaceful way is certainly impossible," Boras said, his head dropping in disappointment and frustration.

'She is lying,' Alex heard Elder Darrien's voice when he was thinking that the information could hold some truth.

'The training chamber she is referring to is from the golden age of dragons and has nothing to with the core of darkness, while the same is true for the essence of darkness,' Elder Darrien said, making Alex relieved but also disappointed as now they were back at square one.

'The core should be in the possession of Elves or the Dragons, as they are the only two candidates strong enough to keep it,' Alex thought as he silently followed Boras, his mind going over the memories of his previous life.

Alex was confident that the core was not in the possession of elves because of his quest, but he was also somewhat certain that the elves knew something about its location.

If not, why would Boras's previous life destroy his relationship with the Empress when she was the only one who could potentially lead him to the core.

But he pushed those thoughts aside, as it didn't matter now because the moment the Empress left the chamber, he would rescue the Emperor and leave, extracting any information the Empress had to Elder Anaëlle.

As it was already decided that if no relevant information was discovered, they would waste no further time in saving the Emperor, so they left the area and began waiting for the Empress to leave.

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(6 Hours Later)

Alex, disguised as Boras, made his way through the winding corridors toward the secured chamber, nodding to the few royal guards standing guard at key corridors leading to important places.

After a few minutes, Alex arrived at the chamber, clutching an entry badge in one hand and a vial filled with crimson blood in the other.

The vial contained the blood of Emperor Melvin and was a creation of Elder Darrien to confirm whether the person slumbering in the chamber was truly the emperor or not.

Alex couldn't afford to be anything but extremely cautious in this matter, especially when so much depended on the success of this rescue.

As Alex entered, he was greeted by the sight of a massive chamber adorned with hundreds of warmly lit lines of energy. In the center was a giant sarcophagus, and a small space away from it sat Beauty, her eyes closed shut in a cross-legged position.

"Sister Calista, I hope I am not disturbing you," Alex said with a silly smile as they walked forward toward the female.

Calista Aelthion, the adopted daughter of the Elven Empress, had, for some unknown reason, refrained from leaving the chamber ever since the arrival of the Human Emperor to the palace, sparking curiosity and prompting many to speculate the reason behind her stay.

"Who are you?" Calista opened her eyes, a pick hue cloaking her irises, as she questioned in a serious tone before a playful smile appeared on her face.

"Don't tell me. Let me guess," Calista said as the intensity of her pupils began to rise.

The moment she questioned his identity, Alex didn't consider her to be making a joke, even though Boras had told him of her nature to make random comments because his years of honed instincts came alive, telling him of the danger he was in.

Alex used Ruler Pride and activated his eyes of the ancient, and it was a good decision as the following moment, he felt a mental shock that was noticeable but weak, yet it somehow was not blocked by his Psychic Shield skill.

Alex instinctively took out a blood-red token from his inventory that shattered the moment it came in contact with the air, signaling his guardian's things were not going as planned.

"My name is Calista Usinlyn, a humble servant to the Great Demon King, and I also bear the illustrious status of the Champion of Lust."

"It is my pleasure to meet the great Domain Ruler," Calista said after her appearance took a complete shift.

Calista, moments ago, had long flowing gray hair and a noble appearance, but in the time Alex took to summon the emergency badge, her hair turned to a shade of bright pink, her curves became more voluptuous, as her modest cloaths vanished, replaced by a pinkish hue that delicately floated around her private parts not revealing them yet also not hiding them.

"This should give us a few seconds," Calista said as she snapped her fingers, and instantly, a suffocating aura enveloped the entire chamber.

"You do not need to worry as I will not attack you, and you can also take what you came here to get, but I do have a message for you from my beloved king before you take your leave," Calista said, seductively sending Alex a flying kiss, a playful smile player on her face.

"If you think that the Bitch who has given you a magical system and is as well capable of giving gifts so unnatural that challenge the common sense, and she can't replicate an oath taken with the cosmos as the witness, then you are a big fool,"

"You can rescue the Human Emperor, but your efforts are bound to fail, and nothing you can do will save the Human continent from the disaster I will throw at it in one year,"

"It will be the start of the apocalypse that will erase 80% of all population of this wretched world, and there is nothing you can do to stop it,"

"You can join me, stand by my side, and enjoy the benefits of my great work, or stand against me and become a good challenge for me as you are the only individual who holds the potential to entertain me," Calista said, a sadistic smile gracing face, like enjoying the anger, laced with powerlessness she could sense from Alex.

"It looks like our time together, for now, has come to an end, but before I leave, I will give you a little gift that you can use to calm your anger," Calista stated as the pink hue covering her private parts vanished.

After throwing him a flying kiss and posing seductively, the light in her gaze became dull before she fell to the ground like life was sapped away from her body.

At the same time, the barrier shattered, and Elder Darrien appeared by his side, his expression one of boiling rage, and he didn't need an explanation to understand what happened in the chamber.

"Elder, We should leave with the Emperor," Alex said as he silently moved toward the coffin in the distance.

The hundreds of energy lights covering the chamber had gone off, as their energy was used to strengthen the barrier, so the barrier covering the coffin was also gone, leaving it open.

Alex knew that Lady Margaret should possess already left with Boras, so without any delay, he placed his hand on the cold body of the slumbering emperor before using Continental Teleportation.

"I will be back in a few hours," Alex stated before logging out, his mind clouded with various emotions, and spending time discussing it and proving it was wrong was the last thing on his mind at the moment.

Alex exited the VR capsule in the underground training chamber and was greeted by the calm voice of Zoe, and instead of answering her greeting like he always does, he informed her to give him five battle puppets.

Zoe did not question his command and made five, seven-foot-

tall muscular, faceless, dark humanoid creatures appear from underground.

Alex informed her to set their difficulty to extreme, and when Zoe suggested it would be dangerous, he told her to shut up and do it, making her comply.