MMORPG: Rebirth of the Shadow Mage

195 Between the monsters

Leo exhaled, watching as his breath formed a frosty mist in front of him. The mountaintop was bitterly cold and the thin air made it difficult to breathe, but Leo kept his lips tightly sealed. He didn’t dare risk speaking.

Snore...

Only a few hundred feet away from Leo, massive monsters lay sprawled across the mountaintop. The dragons, guardians of the entrance to the Valley of Dragons, were all sound asleep.

Their bodies were enormous, and their scales shimmered in various colors, like a dense forest of armor. The challenge of passing through them without waking any of them up seemed nearly impossible.

“...”

With slow, cautious steps, Leo approached the first monster. He made a wide circle around it, carefully treading on the snow to avoid making any crunching noises.

The slightest sound could awaken the dragons and spell certain death for Leo. He also knew he couldn’t rely on his Mana, as the dragons were highly sensitive creatures that would detect his presence immediately.

Slowly, Leo began to feel the strain on his legs and cursed himself for not investing SP into his Strength attribute.

Gritting his teeth, he managed to pass the first few dragons without incident. But as he looked ahead, he saw thousands upon thousands of dragons still lying in his path.

.....

His resolve began to falter.

Maybe fighting a guardian would have been the better option after all?

However, Leo knew it was too late to turn back. He had committed to entering the valley from the top, and he had to see it through.

Roar...

Leo heard the distant sound of a dragon’s roar and flinched, his heart racing with fear. Luckily, none of the guardians stirred at the sound of their kin. They were probably programmed to only awaken under certain conditions.

‘I should find a better path...’

Leo thought to himself, eyeing the literal wall of dragons before him. It seemed impossible to pass through without touching any of them or making a sound.

As he searched for an alternate route, suddenly he heard a loud sound. A scaly tail came out of nowhere, slamming into him and throwing him several dozen feet back. Leo couldn’t even raise his hands in defense and was hit hard in the chest, spitting blood as he flew away.

Crash...

‘What the hell!’

He cursed inside as he struggled to regain his sight. As his vision cleared, he saw a snoring dragon wiggling its tail as if it was dreaming. It was a close call – a snoring dragon almost killed him.

Leo bit his lip to stifle an angry laugh. He knew that dragons were powerful creatures, but almost being killed by a sleeping one was a blow to his pride.

He took a deep breath and gathered his wits, knowing that he had to be more careful in this treacherous terrain.

He pressed on, taking each step with utmost care. But the dragons seemed never-ending. They spat fire breaths through their slumber, swung their tails randomly, and some even flapped their wings in their sleep.

The path was literally riddled with massive traps that could end his life in a single hit. Leo knew that he had to be even more vigilant. The fact that he couldn’t even use his Shadow Protection made things worse, as he was exposed to the full force of their attacks.

Tap... Tap...

Step by step, Leo advanced until he finally reached the last dragon. He walked past it without alarming the creature, amazed at how easy it had been to pass by.

“That was... surprisingly easy?”

Leo muttered, scratching his cheek in disbelief. He had expected at least one dragon to awaken and attack him, but it seemed like luck was on his side.

As Leo walked past the clouds, he ascended higher and higher until he finally reached the actual peak of the mountains.

“Wow...”

He breathed, amazed by the sight that greeted him.

Before him lay a vast valley that stretched beyond the horizon. Leo could see numerous floating islands, some of which were even bound to the ground by vines. And of course, he saw many scaly creatures flying through the air, swarming around those islands and even a massive sea in the distance. It was a breathtaking view that he knew he would never forget.

Even though Leo had seen this view hundreds of times before, it never ceased to amaze him. The valley was simply stunning.

“I should descend through there...”

However, he didn’t have any time to enjoy the scenery. Leo knew he needed to come up with a plan quickly. The monsters in this territory had keen senses, and staying in one place for too long could attract predators.

He looked towards a narrow path that led down into the valley. He started making his way towards it, careful not to make any sudden movements or noises that could alert any of the creatures below.

Leo surveyed the slippery slope, taking note of its gentle incline. The idea of sliding down the ledge briefly crossed his mind, but he quickly dismissed it and regained his composure.

“...”

As he stood there, he heard a distinct clicking sound emanating from within his inventory. Leo’s eyes widened in surprise as he realized that the Dragon Emblem had been activated. He had officially entered the Dragon Valley.

Without it, he would have been a prime target for a pack of dragons, who would have quickly descended upon him and decimated him.

Leo descended down the mountain and approached the forest with caution, noting that it was unlike any other he had seen before. The trees were colossal, rising hundreds of meters into the sky and dwarfing most of the dragons.

As he pondered the sheer size of the trees, Leo couldn’t help but think about the Ancient Dragons – monstrous creatures that were the size of the trees themselves. The thought of facing such beasts was enough to send shivers down his spine.

Leo knew that taking down an Ancient Dragon required the combined effort of an entire top ranking guild and numerous sacrifices. The creatures spanned over hundreds of meters and some were even a mile long – truly a force to be reckoned with.

Thankfully, the Ancient Dragons were currently dormant and buried deep beneath the ground. If one were to awaken, it could easily decimate an entire continent.

Leo was also almost certain that the game developers would allow such an event to happen – after all, it would make the game more interesting.

Perhaps they would even add a new set of quests that would all lead towards the destruction of the beast – an epic storyline that would draw even more attention from the public.

However, he knew that there were limits to what the game developers would allow. There was an AI that was responsible for monitoring the game’s balance, and if it deemed the dragon to be too strong for the current timeline, it could simply remove it from the game.

Alternatively, the developers could create an epic quest line involving a powerful sage sacrificing their life to bind the dragon until the players were ready to face it themselves.

Either way, the game would remain challenging yet fair, with the AI ensuring that no creature became too overpowering for the players to handle.

“What about me then...”

Leo couldn’t help but wonder about his own fate. While the AI was responsible for monitoring the game’s balance, it seemed that this did not always extend to the players themselves.

While there were bug fixes in place to prevent players from exploiting the game’s economy or discovering ways to clear high-level dungeons at a low level, there was no safeguard against players who had become too powerful in their own right.

Leo himself was an Ancient Bone Dragon!

“...”

He knew that most Dragon Race players were unable to shift into their dragon form until reaching an advanced level in the game, usually around level 1000 or higher. This was because the game’s designers intended for players to explore other realms beyond the starting area, which were far more challenging.

For example, the Asura realm was known to have an incredibly high Mana density that was lethal to all but the most powerful players. Even a player at level 500 would likely explode into pieces upon entering this realm, their body unable to withstand the immense pressure.

“I wonder...”

Leo’s thoughts drifted to his own potential as an Ancient Dragon. As he pondered his dragon form, he couldn’t help but wonder just how massive and powerful it would be. He knew that as an Ancient Dragon, his dragon side had to be incredibly formidable, but without any reference point, he had no way of knowing for sure.

Leo realized that he was the only player who had become an Ancient Dragon, and that his true potential remained largely unknown.

“...”

Leo closed his eyes and allowed his imagination to run wild. He tried to visualize how his dragon form might appear – would his body be made entirely of bones, or would he possess a powerful bone exoskeleton?