Arthur was looking at a particular thread in the Grand Nexus forums that seemed to be talking about a location.
<Murky cockroach: I heard some merchants talk about a strange mountain>
<Gaarthar: What's strange about a mountain? There are so many of them in the game>
<Murky Cockroach: of course, there are many. But the merchants were talking about this since this mountain was freezing>
<M_Black: Freezing? So a mountain in a cold place?>
<Murky Cockroach: That's the thing. This mountain is smack dab in the middle of a forest. A green normal looking forest>
<Gaarthar: My gamer senses are telling me it's a quest location for sure!>
<Murky Cockroach: I thought so too. I even heard the location's name>
<M_Black: Hurry up and tell us! I'll treat you to a cola for that>
<Murky Cockroach: You're gonna have to do way better than that>
<Gaarthar: How about a pizza?>
Follow on NovᴇlEnglish.nᴇt<Murky Cockroach: A cola and a pizza both>
<M_Black: Deal!>
<Gaarthar: Fine with me>
<Murky Cockroach: Alright! So these merchants were passing by on their normal route that goes around this mountain. But this time around, they saw that the path going up the mountain was covered in ice. They had never seen that before and were confused>
<M_Black: What's the name tell us that first!~>
<Murky Cockroach: That place was called as Oxal Tomb Mountain>
<Gaarthar: That name just screams 'QUEST LOCATION! COME TAKE IT'>
<M_Black: Exactly! Where is it though? I don't think it's near my village>
<Murky Cockroach: The merchants came from a town so I think it's near the newbie town.>
<Gaarthar: Town? Drats… I guess we gotta first leave the Oakleaf Village>
<Murky Cockroach: Has anyone managed to leave the newbie villages so far?>
<M_Black: I don't think so. Though they say that there is a level cap in getting out. There are players that tried to go far, but got killed by mobs with ease>
<Gaathar: Sigh! Guess we gotta get stronger first. Another quest for later>
Arthur's eyes were locked onto the three words 'Oxal Tomb Mountain' and kept on repeating in his mind.
"Oxal Tomb Mountain… That's where a Dragon would appear…" Arthur muttered, his mind moving at a blinding pace.
This was really a quest as the people were talking on the forums. But it was a quest for a later time… much, much later.
The Oxal Tomb Mountains would be completely encased in ice by then and even the forest around it would be turned into a frozen hinterland.
"The Ice Dragon… but the quest only appears way later in the future." Arthur was confused about this.
He thought about it hard for a few minutes before realizing one thing he had missed.
'No wait! The quest was certainly issued later, but there was no specific about the change in the mountain itself. The frozen path is basically a mechanic to prevent players from going there.
But it still means that the Ice Dragon has been there since the start!' Arthur understood.
Having understood, Arthur realized that he had a great opportunity.
"If this works… I'll be able to kill a dragon way earlier than I thought," Arthur said with confidence.
A wide smile appeared on his face, knowing that as long as he could get to the mountain, his success would almost be guaranteed.
But before that, he needed to get to the location itself. With that in mind, Arthur pulled up the rough map he had drawn before.
"Hm… the Oxal Tomb Mountains is a higher leveled area for the newbies who have reached a town. The town that these newbies were talking about was Oakleaf Village." Arthur looked at the map and saw that his guess was correct.
Follow on Novᴇl-Onlinᴇ.cᴏm"It's actually a nearby newbie village!" Arthur was pleased.
The way settlements worked in Morpheus Online was that there were first newbie villages where players would start. And then similarly scaled towns with stronger areas around them.
But when it came to cities themselves, players from multiple towns would end up in the same city.
A city was the gathering spot where players would be able to form parties made of players from various villages. It was also in the cities from where players would be able to teleport to other cities.
It just so happened that the town after Oakleaf Village and Roran town were joined by the same city.
"Guess I need to reach Samson City first and then go towards the Oxal Tomb mountains." Arthur now had a goal in front of him. "And it seems to be on the same route as one of the bounties too." He said, looking at the map.
One of the paths to Samson city was from Ballard Cliffs where the bounty for the Ember Bellow lizard was present.
'I'll need to go around the Ballard cliffs to reach Samson city. It's the only shortcut to take. If I take the highway from Ocher plains, it would take too long.' Arthur thought.
The shortcut was not without risks either, as there were a lot of mobs in baller cliffs other than just the Ember Bellow lizard. But Arthur reckoned, as long as he had the ability to kill that lizard, he wouldn't have an issue with other mobs, since he would also have Brambles with him.
'Guess I'll have to prioritize that bounty. I need to rush my levels anyway.' Arthur noted in his mind.
Getting to the city early would also come with benefits, as Arthur would be able to get more skills there. Not to mention better equipment and quests.
>Player Arthur's hunger has fallen to 50%<
The notification snapped Arthur out of his thoughts, making him realize that hours had passed since he had started researching.
"Guess I'll cook dinner and eat before logging in." Arthur saw that he had about two hours left.
With that in mind, Arthur quickly got to cooking. The fresh groceries he had gotten would allow him to make something better than just instant noodles with veggies.