Midas sighed. He took a step back, closing his eyes and beginning to think about his questions.
This was a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity. The man standing before him was immensely powerful. Above that, he knew much more about this world than Midas.
It was the perfect opportunity to gain some sort of advantage in this game.
Seconds turned into minutes.
Gool's eyes darted from Midas to Dorian, stress and confusion layered within him.
'W-whats going on?' He glanced at Midas, 'He's just been standing there...' The goblin was confused.
Midas stood completely still for ten minutes straight now. What confused Gool more, however, was the fact that Dorian hadn't said a word either.
His eyes darted to Dorian.
The man simply pecked at a pear, leaning back in his chair without a care in the world.
'Hmph...' Dorian thought to himself, 'Let's see what this boy can muster. After all... he does bear the name of Stars for a reason.' He smirked slightly. 'I have waited patiently in silence for thousands of years... I will give him the time he needs. I am intrigued.'
Thirty minutes slowly passed by. The low howl of wind was all that could be heard.
Finally, Midas' eyes flew open.
"I have my three questions." He said with a stern tone and furrowed eyebrows. He looked serious.
"Spit them out already! I'm tired of waiting!" Dorian exclaimed, scoffing at this point, "I was going to give you time to think... but thirty minutes is excessive. Hurry the hell up, boy."
Despite what Dorian had gone through... he still wasn't the most patient person on the planet...
Midas continued with an unshaken tone, "Firstly, if a powerful outsider appeared in your era with strange abilities... what would have killed them first in Fell-Terra?"
Midas thought long about all three of his questions and their outcomes before deciding.
He replayed countless scenarios in his head, guessing at Dorian's reaction to each.
However, this question was one of only a few that was a victory no matter what. Firstly, the question insinuated that anything could be a danger by saying 'what' instead of 'who.'
This question opened the possibilities from people to monsters, curses, factions, environments, laws, and more. It alone granted Midas defensive intelligence, which was most important to him right now.
As a complete beginner and weakling in this game that he was thrown into, focusing on defense was most important.
The reason why was simple... he had no other choice. What else would he focus on, offense? He had no offensive ability to speak of right now, so that would be useless.
If he could just survive long enough to gain that offensive ability, it would be a massive advantage.
"Hmm..." Dorian's eyelids narrowed as his mind spun for an answer for a second, "That depends on where exactly the outsider appeared. For the sake of the question, however, I will assume the outsider appeared where we currently stand. In the continent of Ygnahril, the first thing to kill an unknown but powerful outsider would be the Magistrate of Kyphas--one of the greatest human empires across all four continents. This is because the eyes of that empire are the largest on the continent. They are spread far and wide, and the protection of their people is of utmost concern. The magistrate would surely target any powerful foe for experimentation or to simply eradicate them for being a threat."
"I see..." Midas said in a low voice, 'Kyphas ey? The magistrate of that empire is something I must avoid.' He glanced at Dorian.
Midas knew the main reason he wanted to avoid Kyphas and its magistrate, but he didn't want to say it in his head in case Dorian caught on.
The main reason was that Kyphas seemed to be a very powerful but also controlling empire.
Since all beings and areas were informed of this game on Fell-Terra, it would make sense that Kyphas would be on a fierce hunt for any and all players around them.
He was glad he asked that question.
"Ask your next one... and don't take thirty minutes again!" Dorian shouted aloud, alerting Midas.
"My second question is..."
Dorian narrowed his eyebrows as he gazed at Midas.
"What knowledge, place, or power from your era would be priceless today... simply because the world has forgotten it?" This question was Midas's sword.
His first question was defensive, gaining pure knowledge for survival.
However, this question was an intellectual attack! A valid answer would instantly bless him with an incredible advantage over all other players in this world in his mind.
The question could reveal other lost ruins, extinct powers, fallen groups and factions, abandoned territories, or sealed treasures that nobody remembers. It would give Midas a perfect head start over every other player, exactly what he wanted!
'This is the kind of question that can change my fate for the better.' Midas said in his head, anticipating Dorian's answer.
Dorian went silent for a long moment.
Then he laughed—low and rough.
"Hah… you truly know how to ask the right things." He leaned back, eyes narrowing. "Very well. I will tell you of something that would drive the powers of this age mad if they knew it still existed."
His voice dropped. "A technique called the Nine-Breath Circulation."
Midas felt a chill.
"It is not a weapon. Not a treasure. And not some divine inheritance.
It is a way of breathing."
Gool blinked. "Breathing…?"
Dorian nodded. "A cultivation art that stems from before even I was born... long before, in fact. Each breath tempers the body. Each cycle grinds power into the bones, blood, and organs."
He raised a finger. "One breath strengthens flesh. Two sharpens the senses. Three fortifies blood. By the ninth… your very foundation changes."
Midas's heart pounded. "And why is it forgotten?"
Dorian sneered.
"Because it is slow... painful... and because most who tried it… died before reaching the fifth breath."
A pause.
"But those who survived…" His eyes glinted. "Could fight those two or three realms above them. Their growth never stalled. And no external power could ever truly hollow them out."
In this moment, a gust of air blew between Midas's feet and swept the air out of his face.
His eyes widened with an almost curious greed as he clenched his fists, 'Victory... that's the surest path.' The idea of its downsides was only an afterthought.
"In this age of instant strength and borrowed power…" Dorian continued, "No one would waste years learning to breathe like a fool." He chuckled. "Which is exactly why it would be priceless today."
It was such a simple reason, but it was believable.
Gool swallowed. "So… where is it?"
Dorian's grin widened. "Carved into the walls of a dead monastery called Ashen Hollow. A place abandoned after its disciples burned themselves from the inside out."
He looked straight at Midas.
"If you ever reach it alive… and if you are foolish enough to try… You will most likely gain nothing. But if you happen to succeed..." He grinned, "You will attain what you so putridly covet in this world... victory. That is the kind of power the world forgets."