Chapter 28：Rapid Progression

Over the next two weeks, Marius' condition worsened. His levels of fatigue grew more difficult to manage. He began to eat less and before the week was out Marius lost his appetite entirely.

It was only through a liquid diet of fruit juice and vegetable pulp that he could get through the days. But even that, Marius struggled to consume.

He could feel his spirits dim and each day only became bearable because of one solitary thought.

Shattered Land.

He yearned for it, like a baby goat for its mother's milk. Like a man dying of thirst begs for a single drop of water.

Marius felt his dependence on the game becoming stronger each day. Each moment away from it was a torture, yet every moment spent within it made his spirit just a little dimmer when he returned to reality.

In-game, the trio, made massive progress. After the first week, they had swept through the Frost Gate Region, stopping only at the Level 80-85 map.

Their Levels had risen to Level 37, with both Super Nova and Cold Mist gaining their promotion to Beast Master.

Their momentum could not be squashed.

They made their way to Blackwood City and took on every Combat Mission The Light Elves could throw at them.

They scoured the Blackwood Maps, conquering every Feild Boss above Level 20.

They plunged into the Black Elves territory and tore them asunder, earning Skill Stones that they added to their collection.

It was after Super Nova and Cold Mist found a secret chamber that an interesting item was discovered. A City Challenge Order.

When they bought it to Marius they saw an evil glint in his eyes and a smile that sent a chill down their spines.

"Do you two know what this means?" Marius asked.

The two young men nodded their heads.

A City Challenge Order was a standard item in most Role Playing Games.

Players would create Cities that would be hugely beneficial for their development. It created a central hub which they could turn into an economic resource. Guilds usually took advantage of them to grow their influence and power in the game.

The City Challenge Order was the item that let Players fight over Cities, allowing Players and Guilds to prove who was the more dominant force.

Marius smiled. "This could be very useful for me. Do you two mind if I keep it? I'll be happy to reimburse you both."

Both Super Nova and Cold Mist declined.

"What are you planning on doing with it, Soli?" Super Nova asked

"I'll use it obviously," Marius replied carelessly while placing the Order into his inventory.

"But the Player base hasn't even gotten to the level where they can create Cities yet." Cold Mist said confused.

Marius just smiled.

Player's probably wouldn't be able to build cities until around Level 50-100. Marius had no real evidence to support this but he did have a gut instinct. The storyline about Demons and the City Lords made Marius skeptical about the world outside the Shattered Lands. Let alone the viability of building Cities within the Shattered Lands.

Plus there were other servers for the game which meant there could be cross-server interaction in the future.

But what had interested Marius was the wording on the item.

City Challenge Order - Allows a Player to Challenge a City for the Title of City Lord.

After they had finished scouring the Blackwood Region, the trio had climbed to Level 45 and 46.

By consensus, it was decided they would travel to the Fire Mountain Region. Cold Mist, as a Battle Mage was primarily a Magic class and the Fire Mountain City was an ideal location for him. After all, the Region did provide the best equipment and resources for Magic classes.

It took them a day to reach Fire Mountain City and a week to complete all the Combat Missions the Dragon Lords could issue.

In that week, Cold Mist grew in power by several Levels.

His equipment became the best out of three and he even stored away several Higher-Leveled equips for later Levels.

But the most beneficial thing to the trio found was Dragon Mounts.

They had come across many interesting Pets and Mounts throughout their travels. The Pets they would Tame and Refine, learning more about their advantages and disadvantages. Sometimes, they would replace their Pets for more preferred Skills or stats offered by different Monsters.

But they had never bothered to Tame a Mount.

After all, it would take very little time to Refine them to the Demon King Rank and they didn't want to waste their Monster Slots.

But Dragon Mounts were a different story altogether.

There were two branches of Dragon Monsters. There was the Drake Mount which was an incredibly agile mount that had a high Attack and Dexterity. All round, they were built for speed and Boosting physical damage. The alternative was the Dragon Mount which boasted High Health and Intelligence, thus Boosting magic damage. It did not have the Drakes Dexterity, but it was a sturdy Mount.

Dragon Mount level 1 - Demon Rank

Health: 7,500

Mana: 15,000

Attack: 300

Defense: 150

Intelligence: 750

Spirit:150

Dexterity:1,000

Drake Mount Level 1 - Demon Rank

Health: 5,000

Mana10,000

Attack: 750

Defense: 100

Intelligence: 300

Spirit: 100

Dexterity: 1,500

The moment Marius saw them, he knew he wanted one. Both Cold Mist and Super Nova shared his enthusiasm.

With a Mount like that, they could traverse the entire Shattered Lands in less than an hour, instead of days. They could clear Maps from their Mounts and tear through them faster than their Pets could and that wasn't the best part.

Mounts all gave a passive buff to their Rider, giving them a boost both offensively and defensively. Although the defensive strength of the Drakes and Dragons were not very high, their offensive capabilities were enough to make them worth more than any other Mount in the game.

But there was a catch.

Dragons and Drakes were considered part of the Dragon Race and sworn to the Fire Mountain City Lord. Dragons were the predominant race of the Region.

To Tame one of their Race would be a huge offense, instantly earning such a Beast Master the eternal wrath of Fire Mountain City, reducing their Reputation to -1,000 forever.

After a long discussion, all three decided that it was worth it to have such a powerful Mount at Level 50. Besides, they were from Iron Mountain City, Taming a Dragon or Drake would not affect their Reputation there.

So they hunted down and Tamed their First Mounts. Cold Mist chose a Dragon, sacrificing a higher speed advantage in favor of an Intelligence Boost and a sturdier Mount.

Both Super Nova and Marius chose Drakes, preferring speed and an Attack Boost.

The ensuing chaos, however, put the forces of Fire Mountain City against the trio, forcing them to fight their way out of the Region and into the Frost Gate Region.

During their escape, they had killed a large number of the Dragon Race, earning them even more negative Reputation. But the rewards from the fight were numerous.

"I didn't think that the rewards for killing the Dragon Race would be so good," Super Nova said in amazement.

Once they had crossed in the Frost Gate region, the Dragons had not dared to continue after them. Though they did stand at the border, waiting and watching.

"It makes sense," Cold Mist replied. "If we had died the consequences would have been huge. The risk has to balance out somehow."

Marius agreed with Cold Mist. So far the game had followed a very simple model featuring High-Risk providing High Rewards. But the gains they had made were simply ridiculous.

The Dragons had been Level 80 Demon King Ranked Monsters and had dropped Skill Stones, Level 80 Equipment Sets and extraordinary amounts of experience.

But the best thing about the situation was that the Level 80 Demon Ranked Monsters were considered Boss class Monsters. So each one of them gave Luck as a reward.

Marius did some quick math in his head and estimated that if they kept grinding on the Dragons they could reach Level 50 in just a few days. And the loot would only get better as their Luck increased.

The efficiency was unreal.

"Soli, what are you thinking?" Super Nova asked.

Marius looked at each of them in turn. "Do you guys want to grind here for a few days?"

In terms of Level, both Super Nova and Cold Mist had surpassed Marius. Afterall, he only played a few hours a day. The two younger men could afford to play for much longer times.

It was only due to the incredibly huge amount of experience needed between Levels that Marius hadn't been left in their dust.

Super Nova and Cold Mist thought about it before agreeing. The benefits were great and the sooner they got to Level 50, the sooner they could use their Mounts.

For the next two days, the trio slaughtered their way through the Dragon Race, watching as their Reputation dropped lower and lower.

"This is something that I should notify Rajan about," Marius thought to himself.

The Lower the trio's Reputation went, the greater their rewards grew. For Marius, his Luck had grown close to 1,000. His efforts, slaying Feild Bosses and discovering new Maps was nothing compared to this new found fortune and its benefits were overwhelming.

Already they had multiple collections of Skill Stones and even Holy Ranked equipment was dropping like water. If any of them were Level 80 they'd be clad in the most powerful equipment in the game.

The only problem was that Marius could not determine if it was a bug or something the developers had deliberately installed for some storyline reason.

Either way, they soon reached Level 50.

Marius felt it was time to try out the Mounts.

"Soli, should we head back and get these Skill Stones Embedded into our weapons?" Super Nova asked.

Marius laughed. "I think that would be a good idea. Plus my inventory is full."

"Same here," Cold Mist agreed.

"Alright, I'll see you guys back at Iron Mountain City." With a grin, Super Nova vanished in a stream of light. Cold Mist followed right behind him.

Marius stayed behind. Dumbfounded.

Didn't they want to give flying a try?

Looking up into the sky, he summoned his Drake. Over the last few days, Marius had been anticipating this. And now he could do it.

The Drake was a large beast, standing twice as tall as Midnight Solitude. Its scales were pitch black with twin ridgelines running down its back. Its forelegs were slim with leather wings stretching from them to the joint of their tree trunk like hind legs.

"What do you say?" Marius asked the Drake. "Will you show me around the skies?"

Marius felt the mental link between him and the Drake and gave it a mental command. It lowered it's wing and allowed Marius access to the saddle on his back.

Once he was seated, Marius felt a tingle of excitement flood through him. Giving the Drake a mental command, the beast flapped its mighty wings and sent them into the sky at high speed.

"Soli, where are you?" a concerned Super Nova sent through the Private Messenger.

"I'm flying," Marius replied simply.

He felt the wind around him as the Drake rose, higher and higher.

To the North, Marius could the Great Falls Region. It was like a holy land of lakes and rivers, with one gigantic Mountain to the far North with a Great Waterfall falling down its face. Marius felt the urge to jump into those waters, to swim through those sapphire blue lakes and dive into their depth.

It was the Great Falls City. The strongest battleground of the game with the strongest Bosses and Maps.

To the East, he could see the Great burning ridge which was the Fire Mountain Region. There were volcanoes and open lava pits that spats smokes and fire, not to mention the mines and tunnels that were the homes of the Various Dargon Clans. Marius wanted to return there and keep grinding on those Dragons. The thrill was so great it almost got the better of him.

To the South, the great vast ice lands of the Frost Gate Region. Cold and desolate, yet so beautiful and wild. Marius yearned to disappear into those vast lands and simply lose himself to its wiles.

To the West, the Iron Mountain Region. Snow-capped mountains with Black Iron hills. Even from this distance, Marius felt like he could hear the mountain singing to him, in a voice so subtle you only knew it was there when it was gone.

And in the center of it all, the Blackwood Region. Its wild tracks and hidden tunnels. The dangers and adventures called to him like a lover to a blind man and he yearned to explore the Region again.

He could even spy the Lands Beyond the Shattered Lands. From his vantage point, he could see far and wide. The Land of mysteries and the unknown. Of forests unexplored and paths unfollowed. Oh, how he wished he could go and conquer them.

"Soli, why didn't you say so? We could have gone flying together." Super Nova.

Marius smiled fondly at the message.

"I'm on my way back now," he replied. "I just couldn't resist."

On the back of his Drake, Marius sped towards Iron Mountain City. The wind whipped his face and the world slipped past like a dream.

A beautiful dream.