Chapter 855: Ancient History
The Realm Key allowed Izroth permanent access to a Secret Realm! Not just to any Secret Realm, but a three-star Secret Realm!
If news of this got out, it would cause players' mouths to salivate and the eyes of those top guilds to widen in greed and envy.
In RML, high-quality resources were limited. This was even more so the further one progressed.
Each top guild had its own territory where they fiercely protected their guild's resources. It was not uncommon for several small skirmishes to occur between guilds over the right to certain resources.
However, in the Mortal Realm, the vast majority of top-quality resources were in the hands of the major kingdoms. No matter how powerful the top guilds were among players, they could not compare to an entire kingdom with their current strength.
The top guilds could only find ways to compromise and secure their own resources in territory not marked by the major kingdoms.
A Secret Realm like the Ancient Celestial Realm contained an abundance of resources—most of which had no major power laying claim to them. For the top guilds, it was an ideal scenario!
Of course, another important thing to consider was that the Secret Realm had items that simply could not be found in the Mortal Realm.
With a Realm Key in his possession, Izroth now had personal access to a massive treasure trove!
Izroth was somewhat disappointed that he could only open one portal every week. He also did not enjoy the fact that the portal could only stay open for an hour on the trip to and back from the Secret Realm.
This meant that if one entered and did not return within an hour, they would have to spend seven days in the Secret Realm. In addition, if one missed the portal returning to the Mortal Realm when it reappeared one week later, that person would have to wait an entire week if Izroth did not open another portal. Nevertheless, the benefits far outweighed the potential losses.
'Even if I spent an entire week here, exploring every corner of this Secret Realm would not be possible. Not to mention, it's not time I can afford to spare.'
Izroth had other quests to complete that were on a time limit. Also, there were many problems he still needed to deal with in the Mortal Realm that required his presence.
'It seems I will have to send some people here when I return to properly survey this Secret Realm. I'm also not entirely sure how it determines where the portal leads to or if it will separate those who enter just as what happened to us. If that is the case, those without at least some strength to protect themselves will not be able to enter even if they are accompanied by stronger players.'
There was still a lot to consider regarding the Realm Key; however, Izroth knew that the answers would be clear to him once he tested it sometime after his return.
As for the Elixir of Immortality, Izroth was surprised by its effects. He knew that the rewards from an SSS-ranked quest were nothing to scoff at; however, wasn't this item a little too unbalanced for something like the system to give out to a player?
It was practically a potion that not only healed one to perfect condition but also made them virtually invincible for one hour!
'Elixir of Immortality... The effects are probably genuine, but it is the last one that is somewhat troubling.'
24 hours after its consumption, the elixir would grant its consumer a permanent benefit. The key word was "benefit", which meant that whatever it was would indeed prove useful one way or another.
Still, what bothered Izroth was the fact that the effect it gave the consumer could not be ignored. This type of phrasing in an item or skill description did not typically lead to something positive for the individual on the receiving end.
Unfortunately, there was no way to confirm what kind of permanent effect it would have without first consuming it.
'Perhaps I am simply overthinking it.'
Izroth inwardly sighed as pushed it to the back of his mind. There was no use dwelling on a matter that would naturally reveal itself when the time was right.
'But, I have to say... I did not expect to find something related to that place here.'
The last item Izroth received after completing his quest was the Lost Scroll of the Ancient Realm.
Name: Lost Scroll of the Ancient Realm(Soulbound)
Usage: This scroll contains some lost history of the Ancient Celestial Realm.
Special Note: This item is soulbound and cannot be traded or sold.
In terms of direct benefits, the Lost Scroll of the Ancient Realm could not compare to the first two rewards Izroth received. However, it was not something one could put a price on.
Izroth had already read over the contents of the scroll and it contained information about the Ancient Celestial Realm.
Not just any information, but things related to the Protogenos—the founders of this realm. As well as the origins of the realm itself.
Izroth remembered what Astratis told him during their journey about the first celestials being birthed from the Protogenos.
At first, Izroth merely took it as the setting of the Secret Realm which was more of a legend than actual fact. But, through the contents of the scroll, he discovered that the first celestials were truly given life by the Protogenos! Though it was not in a traditional way.
Many cycles ago, the realms were in a state of neverending chaos. During that time, there was no Divine Realm. Instead, those who reached the divine realm were able to roam freely below the firmament.
Naturally, this led to a great imbalance in the world. That's when the Divine Realm was born and those who exceeded a certain level of strength and met the requirements were forced to ascend to that place by the Laws of the World.
As a result, they were cut off from directly interfering in the world below the firmament and vice versa.
However, in that moment of great change, a few exceptionally powerful figures joined hands and went against the Law of the World.
They split apart a large portion of space and isolated it completely from everything—including the Law of the World.
In the beginning, it was just an empty void. But, over many cycles, an entirely new world was formed, and eventually, the celestials, as well as ancient races, were brought into existence. This new world became known as the Ancient Celestial Realm.
It was a name given to this realm by its creators as a reminder of their motherland, the Celestial Realm.
That's right, Izroth discovered that the Celestial Realm and the Ancient Celestial Realm were actually, at one point, the same place!
It was no wonder the ethos used by the residents here vaguely reminded him of the celestial energy. They shared the same origins!
Though perhaps the most shocking secret Izroth uncovered had to due with the Timeless Chaos Pool located at the heart of the Celestial Realm.
The reason it existed was due to the fact that after those powerful figures forcibly separated a part of the Celestial Realm from the Laws of the World, it created what was known as the Timeless Chaos Pool.
The same Timeless Chaos Pool that the eternal darkness, the Shadahi originated from.
This was perhaps a secret that few if any in the entirety of RML knew of besides Izroth himself.
'The Timeless Chaos Pool... If possible, I would like to visit the Celestial Realm one day and see it for myself.'
Right now, Izroth did not know if it was possible to visit the other major realms. More importantly, did the other realms even physically exist at the moment?
Izroth halted his steps before a hole in the ground filled with rubble. It was the same hole not long after he entered the Secret Realm. This hole led to an underground tunnel with a temple at its end.
At the time, Izroth did not want to waste any time exploring it given the time limit in place. But, after reading the contents of the lost scroll and obtaining the Realm Key, he wanted to return to that place before he left the Ancient Celestial Realm.
"Stay here. I'll be back soon." Izroth said as he disappeared.
To be more accurate, he turned into a shadow using the Shadow Movement skill and moved in between the cracks of the rubble to travel underground
...
Approximately one hour later...
Sychia quietly sat under a nearby tree in meditation with her sword placed across her lap.
"Hah... What the heck is taking that guy so long?" Hakros groaned.
"You should use this time to meditate. You would be surprised at what you can uncover and discover about yourself with a calm mind." Sychia said calmly as she opened her eyes and stood to her feet.
"Meditate? Isn't that just an excuse people use to sleep while pretending to be productive or something? What a scam." Hakros frowned.
"You... Nevermind. Besides, it seems we will not have to wait any longer." Sychia replied as she released a light sigh.
Woosh!
A shadow rushed up from the cracks of the rubble-covered hole and morphed into a humanoid figure. This person was, of course, Izroth.
"Welcome back." Sychia greeted Izroth politely.
"We can finally leave this place!" Hakros said excitedly.
"We're returning to the Celestial Abode," Izroth stated without hesitation.
"Hm?" Both Sychia and Hakros were somewhat surprised by Izroth's sudden desire to visit the Celestial Abode
However, what shocked them the most was the atmosphere around Izroth. It seemed to change upon his return.