[Mount: Shadow Leopard]
[Level: 80]
[Speed: 1,500 mph]
[Status: Currently Rented]
[Description: A mount known for its explosive speed. Due to its unique attributes, it is the only leopard-type mount suitable for long-distance travel.]
Riding atop the Shadow Leopard, Daniel couldn't help but feel a sting in his heart.
"Thirty thousand gold coins for a single day? For this thing? What a ripoff! Might as well be daylight robbery!"
But then again…
You get what you pay for.
The speed was absolutely worth the price—fast, fierce, and reliable.
Of course, Daniel had considered the possibility of buying a mount outright.
But with how rapidly his level was increasing, there was a good chance that a newly-purchased mount would soon become obsolete.
Not to mention—among the God Rank Skills he had unlocked, there was one called [Divine Step].
Its description stated that it could greatly enhance movement speed.
He didn't know the full effect yet, but if it had made its way into the God Rank Skill Compendium, then it had to be incredibly powerful.
So in the spirit of frugality, Daniel decisively abandoned the idea of buying a mount for now.
Also… let's be honest. He didn't have that much money at the moment anyway.
After bidding farewell to the mount stables, Daniel officially began his journey into the deeper reaches of the Whitewild Expanse.
On the road, he encountered many other adventurers—some of them extremely powerful.
He even witnessed a scene where someone was flirting with a girl while riding a dragon…
It was clear: no matter what world you were in, power was everything.
And if you didn't have power, then having enough wealth would do.
Daniel looked up as a massive flying dragon soared overhead. The beautiful girl on the dragon's back giggled playfully as the adventurer beside her cracked a joke.
Watching that, Daniel's fists clenched tightly.
"No way... when I get rich, I'm gonna buy a flying dragon too!"
"No—not just one—I'm buying TEN!"
The Whitewild Expanse was massive, but it still had its own distinct geography.
High in the west, low in the east; cold in the north, hot in the south…
After leaving the Eldor Tribe, Daniel traveled westward toward the Zalot Mountains.
Along the way, he saw much that broadened his perspective.
Many common adventurers opted to form parties to hunt monsters together in the open fields.
While this method of grinding was inefficient—since EXP had to be divided among the team—it had one major benefit:
No cost.
Unlike Labyrinths, where the entrance gates were monopolized by powerful factions, the open wilds didn't require entry fees.
Technically, the Empire had regulations to control the pricing of those gates.
But for ordinary adventurers, it made far more sense to invest their gold coins into better gear or self-improvement rather than handing them over at checkpoints.
At least in the Expanse, even though EXP was harder to come by, you could grind for free.
And if luck was on your side, you might even stumble upon a hidden treasure chest.
"No matter the world, it's always the common folk who suffer the most,"
Daniel murmured to himself as he galloped across the plains.
But that didn't mean he was planning to go around changing the world. Not now.
After all, he was still struggling just to keep up with his own goals.
When poor, take care of yourself first. He needed to survive before he could do anything else.
His Shadow Leopard charged forward with terrifying speed.
Even crossing small mountains took only a few seconds.
Before long, Daniel arrived at the Zalot Mountains.
According to the books, this was one of the locations where new Labyrinths were guaranteed to spawn.
However, because these newly-formed Labyrinths could only be entered by newly awakened adventurers, there weren't many people around.
There were a few risk-takers who loitered around the mountain's perimeter, hoping that a new Labyrinth might trigger a nearby treasure chest spawn.
They were waiting for opportunities, hoping that luck would smile on them.
Just then, one such hopeful adventurer suddenly spotted a black blur zoom past him.
"Shadow Leopard?!"
He rubbed his eyes in disbelief.
"Who the hell is that? Some heir of a major clan coming all the way out to the Zalot Mountains?"
"Why waste time here?"
As he was about to shout out a warning, he suddenly saw Daniel approach and enter a newly-formed teleportation gate.
"…???"
The onlooker was completely stunned.
"What the hell just happened?!"
"How did that guy enter the new portal?"
"According to the usual rules, only this year's newly awakened adventurers should be allowed in!"
"Wait… does that mean the guy riding the Shadow Leopard was actually a newly awakened adventurer who already reached Tier-3?!"
"No freakin' way!"
"Didn't the Awakening Ceremony just happen this morning?!"
Meanwhile, in the Endless Thunder Realm…
A Dragonians elite team was engaged in a fierce battle with a Mountain Giant.
"Brothers and sisters, give it your all!"
"We Dragonians are the strongest of the ten thousand races—our people hold the record for the fastest World Rank Boss kill!"
"Today, let us honor the glory of our ancestors and claim another first kill!"
"Everyone—charge!"
Back in the Zalot Mountains, Daniel emerged from the portal into a new space bathed in brilliant light.
Unlike the Labyrinths he had previously entered, this one felt like a standalone realm—a sealed-off dimension of its own.
A prompt appeared in front of his eyes:
[You have entered Zalot Mountains – This area is classified as a Primordial Land. It contains mysterious powers and can only be accessed by newly awakened adventurers.]
[Note: Rules here differ from normal zones. If you die, you will respawn outside the mountain, and you will be unable to re-enter for 24 hours.]
"Newly awakened adventurers" referred to people like Daniel—those who awakened their talents this year.
Additionally, this area was tier-3 restricted, making Daniel the first and only adventurer currently eligible to enter.
Unlike the wide, open grasslands of the Whitewild Expanse, the Zalot Mountains were an endless stretch of rugged terrain.
The cliffs and peaks were so steep that many areas seemed completely inaccessible.
Daniel scanned the area but couldn't see any exit or boundary.
Mountains surrounded him in all directions, blocking his line of sight.
But none of that mattered.
What did matter was the countless treasure chests scattered all over the cliffs above him!
Just looking up, he could see them—dozens of treasure chests, displayed in the most obvious possible places.
"Primordial Land… this place is something else."