185 A Tempting Offer

Although the Heart of the Heavenly Dragon Pill was only a lower grader Spirit rank pill, it was still a tricky pill to craft. While it did not live up to its tyrannical and overbearing name, it was a pill that all those starting off on their cultivation journey craved. One of the many important things for a cultivator that would determine how far they could go on the path of cultivation was a strong starting foundation. The purpose of the Heart of the Heavenly Dragon Pill was to strengthen and solidify one's foundations as a cultivator so that they could one day reach greater heights. 'I am unsure of the effect the system will grant, but it should definitely be something worthwhile.' As the days passed by within RML, players began to explore new areas and obtain new reagents. This allowed Izroth to craft pills that would have been impossible to create at an earlier date due to the lack of proper resources. The first ingredient Izroth tossed into the Dark Abyssal Cauldron was a reagent known as the Jugris Leaf. Due to the traits it possessed, it became the key replacement for the main ingredient of the Heart of the Heavenly Dragon Pill. The moment the Jugris Leaf touched the bottom of the cauldron, a faint crackling sound as if one was sitting next to a campfire echoed against the inside walls of the cauldron. Exactly two seconds later Izroth slowly increased the temperature of the cauldron while adding three additional ingredients, Elucidoria Stem, Valley Lizard Blood, and Basic Binding Agent in that specific order. When Izroth placed the three ingredients inside the cauldron, it began to shake violently as if something was attempting to break free. However, Izroth did not panic and simply continued to slowly increase the temperature of the cauldron bit by bit. 'Not quite yet...' Izroth did this for precisely ten seconds until the violent shaking seemed to reach its peak. 'Now.' Izroth immediately increased the cauldron to its maximum possible temperature. However, instead of continuing to shake uncontrollably, the cauldron actually became perfectly still. It was as if a savage beast had finally been soothed. Five seconds later, a strong medicinal scent filled the entire room and was accompanied by a warm aura. Izroth looked down into the cauldron as he witnessed an astonishing five pills slowly rising up just above the cauldron. As soon as the pills reach the outside of the cauldron, Izroth received an alert from the system. 〈System Alert: Congratulations Player Izroth, you have successfully created a grade-one pill, please name it.〉 'Just as I suspected it would be; a grade one pill.' "Heart of the Heavenly Dragon Pill." Izroth said without a moment to waste. Izroth believed that he had no talent when it came to naming things and thus, he decided to keep the pill's original name. Even if it was a bit much. 〈System Alert: You have received x5 «Heart of the Heavenly Dragon Pill».〉 Name: Heart of the Heavenly Dragon(I) Rank: Grade-One Usage: The user who consumes this pill permanently gains the passive skill «Well Tempered». «Well Tempered»: Permanently increases the all user stats naturally over time. The user can speed up the process by doing repetitive tasks focused on the stat(s) they are attempting to increase. Stat(s) gain(s) per increase varies. (Max Per Stat: 100) Special Note: Consuming this pill more than once will not grant any additional effect(s). However, consuming a higher grade version of the pill will replace its effect(s). As Izroth examined the pill, he became satisfied with the end results. Although the Heart of the Heavenly Dragon Pill from the Seven Realms was quite different, Izroth speculated that this was the best way the system could integrate the pill effect into RML. After all, there was technically no meridian pathways to be cleared or impure spiritual essence to be purified within RML. However, it did naturally increasing one's strength over time, as well as, sped up the process if they put forth the effort. He had a feeling that this would be one of the most popular grade one pills. A free 100 stat boost to every stat just from taking one pill was simply too good of a chance to pass up. Of course, the speed on which one was able to gain those stats would greatly vary depending on how they went about it. 'I did not expect to receive more than three pills. It is an unexpected surprise. Though, the overall effect is acceptable. That's one down, four more to go.' Izroth set the five pills into his inventory as he moved on to the next pill recipe. ... Two hours later... 'I got a bit too deep into it and lost track of time, however, things turned out better than I originally anticipated.' Izroth's body was currently flickering throughout the streets of Amaharpe as he made his way from the Apothecary building towards the Sleeping Gardenia meeting location. It had been a long time since Izroth had worked around so many different ingredients. He had to admit that it was a pleasant experience and brought back some fond memories. A few moments later, Izroth arrived at his destination as his figure stopped flickering and he entered inside. "Right on time." A voice sounded out from the other end of the room right as Izroth opened the door and stepped inside. Of course, this voice belonged to Mariposa. Sitting alongside Mariposa was He Huian and Valkyria, while sat down across from her was Zi Yi. He Huian had a worried and anxious expression on her face. It was unclear what was going on through her mind at that moment. On the other hand, Valkyria seemed reluctant to be here based upon her body language. "Oh? You're outside the palace library again?" Izroth said as he looked towards Zi Yi. "I helped you with the first contract. Don't tell me that you want to kick me aside now that I'm of no use to you?" Zi Yi scoffed as she glanced over at Izroth. Izroth gave a carefree smile in response and said, "Of course, I always welcome your support." He then walked over to sit down at the table. "You all appear to be a little on edge." Izroth said unhurriedly. "I wonder who's exactly to blame for our being on edge?" Mariposa responded in a partly playfully manner. "I assure you the two-hour wait will have been well worth your time." Izroth said. "Oh? Now I'm really looking forward to what you have to show after two hours." Mariposa said as she made a hand gesture that declared by all means. "I have to admit at first, I was satisfied with our agreement. However, after thinking it over a bit, I found that I had been much too hasty. Although it is not a bad deal, I believe that having you listed as a priority buyer is a mistake." Izroth said. "You can't go back on your word now! Do you know how much trouble we've gone through to come up with the required gold coins for the transaction to take place?" He Huian spoke in a frustrated tone of voice. He Huian had spent countless hours over the past few days rearranging and compensating for any holes in their spending net after moving around the RMB required to come up with 80,000 gold coins. So, she was the one who was most unhappy with Izroth taking things so easily. Valkyria rubbed the temples on her forehead. She felt as if she was going to be here all day based on the words Izroth just said. To her, it sounded as if he no longer wanted to go through with the contract. Zi Yi was startled by Izroth's words as a frown appeared on her face. She knew what kind of person Izroth was and he was definitely not the type to go back on his word. Either he had something better planned or there was a reasonable explanation for his actions. However, she refused to believe that he made that decision just for the heck of it. Mariposa's facial expression darkened as she continuously tapped her finger on the table. "Surely you did not take off during those two hours to make a deal with another top guild, did you?" Mariposa asked in a stale tone of voice. Izroth was unaffected by He Huian's outburst. He had no intention of going back on his words. "I will show you something. I believe after you see it, you will understand." Izroth said as he sent an alert to all those present at the table. Everyone was confused by what they saw at first. A title? Why would Izroth send them a title? What did that have to do with anything they were currently talking about? However, they chose to go along with it as they opened the alert and read the details of the title. They were surprised by the first bonus the title gave to Izroth. However, the moment they laid their eyes on the second bonus, everyone near simultaneously jumped out of their seats. "This is...!" Mariposa was speechless. She did not even bother reading the other bonuses as her eyes were glued to one thing. The same could be said for the others who were equally as speechless. Even Valkyria who seemed reluctant to be here at first was interested. "A gold mine... This is a gold mine!" He Huian said as she sat back down in her chair with a look of disbelief clearly written on her face. A few moments later after everyone managed to calm down, there was now a heavy atmosphere in the room. There was one question on everyone's mind, why had Izroth shown them such a thing at this time? "I don't suppose you'd be interested in selling that property and acting as a stand-in proxy?" Mariposa asked. She knew that it was unlikely, but she had to ask just in case. "I do not plan on selling such a valuable opportunity. Even one million gold coins would not be enough to convince me." Izroth said as he shook his head. "If one million gold coins aren't enough then I'll offer two million! In fact, forget the gold coins, I'll directly offer you 3,000,000,000 RMB right now as long as you sign over total ownership of the property and agree to transfer ownership after obtaining the proper methods of owning property." Mariposa said without hesitation. 3,000,000,000 RMB?! That was nearly 4 million gold coins with the current exchange rate. However, she wanted to directly send Izroth the RMB instead of dealing with gold coins. This showed just how serious Mariposa was about her offer. "But we do not have the proper funds to-" He Huian tried to warn Mariposa, but she was cut off. "Of course, I don't expect the guild to fund this business venture. I will pay out of my own personal account." Mariposa quickly explained. After all, she knew what their guild finances were like and they did not have anywhere near 4 million gold coins to spare. Zi Yi furrowed her brows. The average person would think that Mariposa was either crazy or just wealthy enough to throw away money by offering such a large amount. However, she was able to see the bigger picture and knew exactly what her sister wanted to accomplish. It was most likely the same thing Izroth wished to do or something similar. While 4 million gold coins may seem like a lot, it was definitely worth the investment for a top guild like Sleeping Gardenia. Not only would they be able to establish a strong presence in a capital city like Amaharpe, but they would always make back that 4 million gold coins in probably just a few months, maybe even less than that. "I'll have to decline your generous offer." Izroth replied. While he was tempted by Mariposa's lucrative offer, he was no longer looking for a get rich quick scheme. He wanted a solid and stable form of income. But more important than that, he needed another way to increase his reputation for what he had planned. Mariposa was a bit dejected, but she figured that his answer would still be no. After all, to her current knowledge, no player had yet to own any property within all of RML. Mariposa let out a disappointed sigh and said, "Well, I suppose you didn't show us just to make us jealous. What do you have in mind?" "I'll keep it short and simple." Izroth said as he opened his inventory and removed seven different pills. The moment he did so, a strong medicinal scent filled the entire room and lingered in the air. "I believe this is something that will be beneficial to all parties involved." Izroth said in a carefree manner.