The Obsidian Shore was a vast expanse of enigmatic land shrouded in an aura of mystery and danger. As soon as Minos' group entered it and walked for about 3 kilometers, far enough that they could no longer see the place they had entered earlier, they felt as if they were being watched.
Located in an extreme area of Zocarro, this grandiose region was an impressive sight at first glance.
The cliffs were carved into sharp peaks and hidden caves, with many shadowy hiding places for unknown creatures and unfathomable mysteries.
As travelers ventured further inland, they would discover a wild and rugged landscape covered in lush and exotic vegetation, capable of doing things that the natives of the Spiritual World had never seen before.
Dark, dense forests of twisted trees and thorny bushes were home to a myriad of monstrous creatures, each more frightening than the last. The trees whispered ancient secrets, and the streams murmured songs of enchantment and doom.
Between the shadows of the trees, ancient ruins emerged from the ground, silent testimonies of a civilization long gone. Abandoned temples, ruined palaces, and crumbling towers echoed in this area with the echo of centuries gone by, each stone telling a story of glory and tragedy.
Those who ventured into the depths of these abandoned structures could find forgotten secrets and treasures but also face ancient curses.
Beyond the immediate threats of hostile fauna and flora, The Obsidian Shore hid even darker and more seductive secrets. Rumors spoke of magical springs capable of bringing the dead back to life, granting immortality, powerful artifacts lost in the depths of the soil, and portals to distant areas of Oqia.
The group would experience a little of all this over the next few days in this place. But in their first hour on The Obsidian Shore, they would come across a ruin by the side of the road they had been following until then.
The group was faced with a question. To explore or not to explore.
Minos' group's plan was simple. Follow the directions given by the group that had come to this place during the Black Heart mission.
But the place where that group had found and left things of interest to the guild was nowhere near the entrance to The Obsidian Shore. As far as Minos and his staff knew, that place was in the middle of that territory.
Minos was sure he could reach such a place in minutes if it were in the Spiritual World. But this was The Obsidian Shore, a dangerous place even by Zocarro standards!
There would be so many dangers before they reached such a place that it could take them months to get there, even if they traveled directly to their goal.
So, for now, the group saw no problem stopping to check out a ruin or even taking advantage of opportunities on their way.
"What do you think? My group isn't against us exploring places like this. But I can't help imagining this site won't be worth our efforts." Minos said as he looked at the leader of the group allied to his.
"Why do you think that?" That alien being asked.
He knew what could be in that place and its dangers, but he wanted Minos' opinion to assess what kind of leader this level 97 man was.
Minos explained. "Every place in this area has its opportunities. Even places that have long been explored will have opportunities for us because it's very likely that powerful beings have fallen into these areas and left their storage items behind. At the same time, this area has been inaccessible for thousands and thousands of years. Many resources could have been born in the meantime.
But this place ahead is the kind of place that groups like ours would first investigate in search of useful things.
The problem with it is that it's too easy to reach and exploit. It may have interesting resources. However, we may be able to find places where we'll face the same dangers but much more resources."
The level 99 alien agreed with Minos. "I thought the same thing. Then we'd better continue our journey for a little longer."
Then, one of the members of the group allied with Minos said to him, "Soldier Minos, I know you're here for the Black Heart mission. My group is also in the area because of an old mission from our organization. But our objective is a bit far from this area. I imagine it's the same for you, right?"
"You could say that." Minos didn't deny it, interested in what that being wanted.
"So I'd like to suggest that we explore this off-road area on the way to our targets. The dangers of this area are great, so if we can find opportunities to advance in level at the beginning of our journey here, our chances of success will be greater."
"I agree with her, Minos," Ruth commented. "We have some places indicated by the guild that are interesting for us to explore. I believe our allies also have information like this."
One of the individuals from the other group nodded in the affirmative.
"We can share our information and come to an agreement as to where we can explore first. Or we can head towards a point of interest to us and a point of interest to you in sequence."
Minos agreed, looking at the leader of that other group and saying, "We can do that. My guild has information that a particularly interesting place is not far from the entrance we passed earlier.
According to our information, this area has an ancient ruin of the civilization that caused the disaster that eventually generated the climatic cycles that characterize this area.
Significant spatial and temporal distortions exist in the area, but precisely because of these distortions, much of what this place holds must have been preserved since ancient times."
"Would you venture into such an area at the start of our journey?" That being asked, aware that there was an area exactly like what Minos had said near the entrance to The Obsidian Shore.
This level 99 being just didn't expect Minos to suggest that they go to such a place directly after entering this dangerous region!
Minos smiled confidently. "It's like you said. If we don't strengthen ourselves at the start of our journey, we may not be able to achieve our goals here. We have to behave differently from other groups who have come to this place before us. Otherwise, we'll have the same results as them."
That meant death, so the individuals in that group couldn't help but think silently about it for a moment.
"Do you have an expert capable of controlling space and time in your group? Without someone like that, it would be very difficult for us to get into that place." Said the leader of Minos' allies.
"Yes, we do." Minos smiled.
