Chapter 230: Returning to Ascension Mountain
After arriving home in the Green Shuttle, under the stunned and shocked gazes of his parents, he slipped into his room and quickly entered Ascension Mountain, appearing at his luxurious mansion in the privileged district.
After a brief inspection, he confirmed that the Failures remained securely locked. After confirming that nothing out of the ordinary had occurred, only then did he leave with Slimy and head toward the Regional Teleportation Hall located in the central district of the shelter.
The Regional Teleportation Hall was not capable of reaching every location within the First Layer.
Its teleportation arrays were linked only to a handful of pre established coordinates, and every activation consumed an enormous quantity of monster cores and spatial crystals. As a result, unless the situation was urgent or the destination could not be be reached by conventional means, most players still preferred flying vehicles, ground convoys, or simply traveling on foot to reduce unnecessary costs.
Arriving at the registration counter, Zich placed the beast patterned token onto the desk.
"Myriad Beast Mountain."
The staff member immediately became serious the moment he saw the token.
Just as he was about to verify it, a questioning voice sounded from nearby.
"A Level 18 Summoner actually qualifies for a Myriad Beast Mountain entry slot?"
The speaker was a young man around twenty years old, followed by five well equipped young players whose auras were all remarkably strong.
Someone nearby quickly recognized him.
His name was Kane Locke, a Level 24 Beast Tamer from the well known Locke Family of the First Layer and one of the more famous young players of his generation.
Unfortunately, he couldn’t participate in the Chosen Tournament because he had been away fighting for his life in a dangerous secret realm.
When he returned and realized that the tournament had already ended, he had been furious. When he learned that the championship had been won by a nobody from an unknown family of players, he became even more dissatisfied.
Naturally, because of the articles and reports, Kane had clearly recognized Zich as well.
It was precisely because of that that the dissatisfaction in his eyes became even more obvious.
Every time Myriad Beast Mountain opened, only a tiny number of entry slots were available. Even after paying a considerable price, the Locke Family had secured only a single opportunity for their team, yet Zich had merely won a tournament before receiving a token personally granted by the City Lord’s Estate.
"Winning a tournament doesn’t mean you’ll survive inside a true forbidden region." Looking at Zich, Kane sneered. "Once you enter Myriad Beast Mountain, there won’t be any referees to save your summons after they’re torn to pieces."
Zich did not even look at him. Instead, he asked the staff member calmly,
"How much longer?"
That complete disregard only made Kane’s expression turn even uglier.
The staff member quickly completed the verification before pointing toward a silver teleportation array deep inside the hall that was steadily gathering spatial energy.
"Myriad Beast Mountain is located within an isolated region deep inside Ascension Mountain. A naturally formed spatial rift surrounds the outer area, making it impossible for ordinary flying vehicles or land routes to reach it. The only way in is through this fixed spatial coordinate."
"The next teleportation will begin in five minutes. You’ll all be using the same array."
Zich nodded and walked directly into the formation.
Kane stared at his back for a moment before leading his own team into the array as well.
When the final monster core was placed into the center of the formation, the middle aged player responsible for guarding the Teleportation Hall slowly swept his gaze across everyone.
"Before you enter, let me remind all of you one last time. Combat between players is not prohibited inside Myriad Beast Mountain. Whatever you discover there, and whatever conflicts arise between you and other players, the Players Association will not interfere. Only what you can bring out alive truly belongs to you."
The moment his words fell, the entire teleportation array erupted with light.
Silver spatial radiance swallowed everyone’s figures.
Zich felt the surrounding space being forcefully stretched by an overwhelming power before the solid sensation of the ground returned beneath his feet.
The next instant, deafening beast roars exploded from every direction.
Before them stretched an ancient mountain range that seemed endless.
Towering peaks pierced the clouds.
Massive flying beasts circled between the mountains.
The skeletons of gigantic creatures that had existed for countless years had long since fused into the surrounding cliffs.
The air was saturated with wildlife energy so dense that it had become almost violent.
Waves of pressure released by high level magical beasts blanketed the surrounding region. Several young players had not even summoned their contracted beasts yet, but the creatures inside their summoning spaces had already begun trembling with unease.
At that moment, the token in Zich’s hand lit up automatically.
[Remaining Time in Myriad Beast Mountain: 5 Days, 23 Hours, 59 Minutes.]
Kane stepped forward, seemingly intending to display the strength of a Beast Tamer from the Locke Family.
With a wave of his hand, he opened his summoning space.
Golden light descended onto the ground.
A gigantic lion over six meters long, its entire body covered in metallic golden armor like scales, slowly emerged.
[Golden Armored Lion]
[Level: 26]
The aura of a Level 26 magical beast burst outward instantly.
Several nearby players subconsciously retreated.
Even the lower level magical beasts roaring in the distance immediately fled from the area.
A trace of pride returned to Kane’s face.
However...
The instant Zich stepped out of the teleportation array, his footsteps suddenly stopped.
Deep within his graveyard space, Tiamant, who had remained dormant all this time, suddenly awakened without any warning.
Almost simultaneously, from the deepest reaches of Myriad Beast Mountain came an ancient, low roar.
BOOM!
The endless mountain range shook violently.
The enormous magical beasts circling the sky instantly folded their wings.
The countless beast roars echoing throughout the forests vanished in an instant.
The majestic Golden Armored Lion froze where it stood. Its eyes remained locked on the deepest part of Myriad Beast Mountain.
Its four limbs trembled uncontrollably. Then, under Kane’s disbelieving gaze, it slowly lowered its head.
The entire world fell into deathly silence.
Zich raised his pale golden eyes and looked toward the deepest mountain range shrouded beneath black clouds.
At the same moment, two system notifications appeared before him.
[An unknown Ancient Beast has sensed your summoned creature.]