After the adrenaline of the fight and the world-shattering notification faded, Tony sought the quiet cover of a dense thicket. The corpse of the Mountain Bear, a former tyrant of the slopes, lay behind him, and his inventory was now significantly heavier. He took a moment to appraise his spoils, his [Hawkeye] skill effortlessly pulling up the data.
The haul from a single Special Elite was substantial:
[Mountain Bear Battle Armor](Bronze, Armor)
Defense: +17
Strength: +18
Vitality: +20
Dexterity: +8
Level Requirement: 9
[Stone Skin Boots](Silver rank, Leather Armor)
Defense: +6
Strength: +20
Vitality: +8
Dexterity: +32
Level Requirement: 9
[Chalvos Ring](Bronze rank, Necklace)
Strength: +10
Dexterity: +10
Level Requirement: 9
[Bloody Chestplate](Silver rank, plate Armor)
Defense: +25
Strength: +36
Vitality: +18
Dexterity: +16
Level Requirement: 9
[Heavy Stone Shield](Silver rank, Shield)
Defense: +50
Strength: +29
Level Requirement: 9
"If a mini-boss drops this much, what would a true world boss give?" Tony mused, his blood heating with the thrill of future hunts. His bag was now overflowing with equipment, most of which he had no use for. The practical part of his mind, the strategist, immediately took over.
"I need to liquidate this," he muttered to himself. "I must amass as much gold as possible before reaching the town. The moment the first wave of players hits Level 10, the market will explode. Those backed by guilds will have a colossal economic advantage. I can't afford to be left in the dust." The starting village was a tutorial, a gentle introduction. Beyond it, he knew, lay the true, unforgiving battlefield of Ancient Myth.
With that settled, he turned his attention to the real prizes from the system. First, the Gold-grade equipment. The armor materialized in his hands, not with a gaudy shine, but with a subdued, dark luster that seemed to drink the light around it.
[Darkbright Armor] (Gold Rank, Leather)
Level: 0-30 (Scaling)
Defense: +47
Agility: +15
Attack: +37
Magic Resistance: 3%
Skill: [Darkbright Barrier] - Absorb 30% of all incoming damage (up to 1200 points) for 1 minute. (Cooldown: 1 hour)
Crafted by Garys of the Darkbright Stronghold. Possesses the protective properties of heavy plate while retaining the flexibility and weight of leather.
Tony let out a low whistle. This was more than an armor; it was a strategic game-changer. He could now maintain his blistering speed as a dual-wielding swordsman while having the survivability of a dedicated tank. "I won't need to replace this until level 30, unless I stumble upon a literal miracle," he grinned, equipping it immediately. The armor settled on his frame like a second skin, sleek, dark, and menacing. He felt unstoppable.
But his entire focus soon narrowed to the final reward: the Special Gift. It was a single, glowing orb that rested in his palm, pulsing with a soft, internal light. When he tried to appraise it with [Hawkeye], for the first time, the skill failed utterly. No name, no description, no rank. Nothing. All he received was a feeling—a sensation of profound, ancient supremacy that vibrated through his very soul. It felt less like an item and more like a sacred relic.
Driven by an instinct he couldn't name, he channeled a trickle of mana into it. The orb responded instantly, not with a gentle glow, but with a sharp crack. Fine lines spider-webbed across its surface, and a silvery, ethereal mist erupted from within, enveloping him completely in a cool, dense cloud. His vision whited out, and for a terrifying, exhilarating moment, he felt his consciousness being pulled, not to a respawn point, but upwards, as if his very essence was being drawn out of his avatar.
As the mist connected with Tony, a ripple, subtle yet profound, spread through the very fabric of Ancient Myth.
In a place beyond mortal comprehension, a palace floated amidst clouds and hazy light. Here, in a garden of crystallized music and flowers of pure concept, Utia sat. Her golden eyes, which saw the data streams of billions, suddenly sharpened. She raised a single, perfect finger and pointed, and the space before her tore open like parchment. Without a moment's hesitation, the Goddess of Knowledge and Miracles stepped through the rift.
In the Dragons' Land, a forbidden mountain range where the air itself was thick with primordial power, the tallest peak—God Finger—pierced the heavens. Upon its summit, a creature of scale and shadow so vast it could be mistaken for a mountain itself stirred. The Dragon Monarch, a being older than nations, opened its eyes. A pressure descended that made the entire range, for a million miles in every direction, fall into a panicked silence. Every lesser dragon and ancient beast trembled, prostrating themselves mentally toward the peak.
"A god's touch... upon our realm," the Monarch's voice was a tectonic rumble that shook the clouds. "The threads of fate tremble. A chaotic era dawns." With a final, contemplative glance toward a distant, unremarkable forest, the colossal being settled back into its slumber, its dreams now troubled.
Deep within the Fairy Forest, the Elf Queen, meditating at the roots of the World Tree, felt a shift in the flow of mana. Her serene eyes fluttered open. "The [Soul Orb]... it has been found," she whispered, her voice laced with worry. She reached out with her senses, trying to pinpoint the location, but the signal was masked by vast distance and the orb's own mysterious nature. A greater concern pressed on her: the World Tree itself had been whispering warnings, its leaves trembling with premonitions of a coming storm. She cast a worried look toward the Dragons' Land before sinking back into her trance, seeking answers in the ancient tree's dreams.
In Titan Valley, a paradise of impossible scale, the King of Giants closed an ancient tome with a thud that echoed through his secluded library. He had felt the Dragon Monarch's wakeful anger. "The blessed warriors descend, the prophecy unfolds, and now the great lizard awakens in a fury," he grumbled, his voice like grinding stones. "The Mortal Realm's tribulation approaches faster than we calculated."
At the heart of a colossal mountain, the Supreme Ruler of the Dwarves stared in disgust at the molten, failed weapon cooling on his anvil. The sudden, agitated surge of the Dragon Monarch's mana had broken his legendary concentration at the most critical moment. "What in the blazes has that overgrown lizard so riled up?" he cursed, before tossing his hammer aside and vanishing from his forge in a puff of smoke, determined to get answers.
On a tranquil, impossibly large lake, an old man with a beard as white as snow drifted in a simple boat. His face was unlined, but his eyes held the weight of millennia. He sighed, a sound of genuine sorrow. "The peace we have cultivated for centuries is ending." He looked up at the sky, as if addressing a specific presence. "Venerable Goddess, guide us through the coming storm." Then, he too was gone. Had anyone peered into the lake's depths, they would not have seen fish, but slumbering leviathans of untold power.
In the colossal capital of the Orc Empire, a city of terrifying grandeur, the Orc Emperor on his blood-red throne snapped his eyes open. A killing intent so pure and dense exploded from him that it sent alarms through the entire imperial guard. As quickly as it appeared, it vanished. "When that great lizard stirs," the Emperor growled to the silent hall, "nothing good follows. Send the order! All Orcs are to remain within our borders until further notice!" The command echoed through the empire via a thousand war-drums.
While the guardians of the world were thrown into alert by the Dragon Monarch's disturbance, the source of it all remained hidden in a simple forest. Here, space cracked open, and Utia stepped forth, her grace untouched by the violent translocation. Her luminous golden eyes fixed on Tony, who was still enveloped in the soul-mist, completely unaware of the cosmic ripples he had caused.
A look of genuine, unprecedented surprise crossed Utia's flawless features. "To find the [Soul Orb] by chance... this mortal's luck is not merely high; it defies the heavens themselves." Her analytical gaze scanned the area. "Fortunately, the local threats are too weak to sense the orb's resonance. A blessing for him... and perhaps, a carefully laid design of fate." She watched, a silent goddess observing the pivotal moment of a mere mortal, whose actions were now unknowingly entwined with the destiny of the entire realm.