85 The Calm Before The Storm Part 2

Before parting ways, Izroth inquired of Zi Yi about her knowledge regarding fire cores. At the moment, Izroth had a mediocre at best fire core for his cauldron and needed a more powerful one that would enable him to create stronger pills. Zi Yi sadly did not have any information about where he could find a fire core for his cauldron, however, she had told Izroth something that intrigued him. Although she did not have any knowledge about how to locate powerful fire cores, she managed to piece together a theory based on the bits of information she acquired during her visit to Amaharpe's library. In her words, searching for a fire core is the equivalent of looking for a needle in a haystack. Except sometimes, the needle may not even be there, to begin with. Fire cores were dropped by strong fire type monsters. However, not all fire type monsters dropped fire cores. As for those who did, it was not a guarantee that the item would drop. The thing that caught Izroth's attention the most was the possible method she spoke of at obtaining a fire core with virtually a 100% chance. Of course, it was only her theory but Izroth found it to be a sound and logical conclusion based on the facts provided. To sum up what she said, it was "the angrier monster, the better the chances". What she meant by that was based on what she understood, all fire type monsters that possess a fire core share a similar trait. It was that they all were fueled by an unexplainable rage, even more so than usual for monsters. The longer a fire type monster that possessed a fire core fought, the more intense their flames would become. The more intense their flames became, the more power they would draw from their fire cores. In theory, as long as a fire type monster who possesses a fire core reaches the peak of its flame intensity, the more likely the system was to reward a player with the fire core as a drop item. Zi Yi regretted that she did not have access to the palace library or else she would have been able to provide a more solid theory. However, Izroth decided to test her theory when he had the time to. 'This system seems capable of a multitude of things. The chances of her theory being correct are quite high.' Izroth opened his Auction Cube to check on the status on his Five Cycles Pill. When he did, he at first believed that the number he saw was incorrect. 'Such a price... I did not think a single Five Cycles Pill would do this well.' A single Five Cycles Pill had sold for 50 gold coin! He only spent a few silver coins to purchase enough ingredients to make 150 pills and had already earned back his expenses as well as made a large profit. But, Izroth did not fully understand the true reason as to why his pill sold for such a high price just yet. However, Izroth was satisfied with the generous amount he acquired. Even if he sold all 150 pills that he would eventually create for 1 gold coin each, they were enough to net Izroth a total of 150 gold coins! At the current RMB exchange rate of 1:990, that would make for a grand total of 148,500 RMB! Of course, that was before the taxes were taken out. There were millions upon millions of players on RML. Even if the price would eventually fall off, the potential profit was still astronomical! If he could generate a steady income from this then it would not only provide him and Reilei with all the expenses they would require, but it would also help for him to set in motion something he had been thinking about for quite some time now. 'For now, I will focus on crafting the remaining pills. Since the cauldron I was gifted can handle grade three pills, there should not any unexpected accidents this time around. I'll head over to the Apothecary building.' While Izroth could craft pills anywhere thanks to the cauldron he possessed, he did not want to do it in such a public place. He was not afraid of anyone stealing his pill recipe since that was virtually impossible. Izroth just wanted absolute concentration so that he could complete the pills as fast as possible, put them into the auction house for sale, and then finally return to leveling up. Izroth collected his coins from the system, not bothering to convert it into RMB. After all, he would still have a use for the coins itself to purchase items sold by NPCs. Izroth left from out of the auction house and was heading towards the Apothecary building until he suddenly heard a thunderous voice directed at him. However, no one else seemed to be able to hear this voice except for him. "Sir Izroth! Your presence has been requested at the palace. Please report immediately as it is an urgent matter!" Izroth furrowed his brows. His presence was requested at the palace? What could the palace possibly want with him? 'Could it be that they've figured out something about Vozrak and the world quest?' A few seconds later, a Crimson Corps Guard appeared in front of Izroth. It seemed as though he was the source of the voice and was able to transmit it in such a concentrated sound wave so that only Izroth was capable of receiving his message. 'A Crimson Corps Guard?' "Sir, I ask that you follow me to the palace." There were many players going back and forth, however, most of them stopped when they noticed that a Crimson Corps Guard had approached a player. They all started to become excited. Could this be the start of a huge event? "Hey, that player is talking to a Crimson Corps Guard. I tried once and didn't even get a glance spared in my direction!" "Forget that! Did you hear what he just said? He called that player sir! A powerful Crimson Corps Guard actually referred to him as sir! Who exactly is that player? What did he do to earn such respect from the Crimson Corps Guards?" "He must be some super elite player from a top guild! That's the only explanation I can think of." The players were all coming to different conclusions about the situation, however, Izroth nor the Crimson Corps Guard paid them any attention. "Oh? I've never been to the palace before. May I inquire as to why I'm needed?" Izroth responded in a carefree manner. He would not intentionally be rude to someone who has so far shown him such a good deal of respect. "Sir, I am afraid this matter is confidential. However, your questions will all be answered if you follow me. Of course, this is a choice, not a demand." The Crimson Corps Guard remained extremely professional. He understood the dangerous journey that Izroth may eventually embark on. If "that" person thought of him as a worthy individual, then he deserved a proper level of respect. Izroth thought about it for a moment and decided that he could always craft the pills after he finished whatever he was needed for at the palace. "Alright, lead the way." The Crimson Corps Guard turned and began to walk towards the direction of the palace with Izroth following him. As he walked down the streets with the Crimson Corps Guard, Izroth attracted the attention of many players. Some of them wanted to go up to him and ask how he made contact with the Crimson Corps Guard, however, when one of them came too close they were forced back by the Crimson Corps Guard. There were not physically touched, but rather a strong force knocked them back and a heavy pressure fell down upon their bodies. 'One out of ten thousand... What a well-defined aura.' Although players could not get too close, there were still a few that did not need to do so and were only there to observe. Those were the few that monitored any noticeable events that took place within Amaharpe and relayed the information directly to their guild. Though, that was mostly only the top guilds who had the resources and manpower to do so. A lot of the top guilds were interested in the matter. However, it was not enough to draw their attention away from something else that was many times more important than a mere event. There was already a rank three Apothecary within RML! What appeared in the auction was a grade three pill. In RML, there was no other way to receive pills except from other players or by making them yourself. NPCs did not sell pills and the pills created by them were regulated by the city they resided in. Of course, a grade three pill itself was not worth 50 gold coins at all. The hope was to purchase the pill in hopes of deciphering it, studying it, and retrieving the recipe for the pill. The guild who was fortunate enough to obtain the grade three Five Cycles Pill was, in fact, one of the top guilds, Sage Falls. Sage Falls was known for their aggressive and domineering behavior. All the members that were a part of Sage Falls were extremely arrogant and looked down on players that were from other guilds. The leader of Sage Falls, Slayer, was also the person who purchased Izroth's Nameless Blade. At the moment, the guilds were trying to find out clues as to who this mysterious Apothecary was. After all, there was a great possibility that he was not in a top guild and they could rope him in. How could a top guild willingly sell a grade three pill? It did not take long for Izroth and the Crimson Corps Guard to reach the palace. Normally anyone who entered into the palace would have to go through various checkpoints. However, since Izroth was personally being escorted by a Crimson Corps Guard, no one dared to block their path. 'This place is even more luxurious than the Combat Master class building.' The palace was grand and majestic, giving one the impression that whoever could create such a structure was truly a gifted architect. But, Izroth only spared it a glance. He believed that it was only above average based on what he had observed so far within RML. After walking through the palace halls for a few moments, the Crimson Corps Guard stopped in front of a large and sturdy wooden door. Just as the Crimson Corps Guard was about to knock, the door slowly cracked open by itself. "I'll leave you to it. Good luck." The Crimson Corps Guard gave those few words before leaving away from that location. Izroth pushed open the large sturdy wooden door and stepped into the room. When he entered, he noticed a small flicker shot right past him. The first thing he saw when he looked into the room was a middle-aged man sitting on a couch within the room. That middle-aged man reminded Izroth of someone he had met back in Opal Town. When Izroth observed a bit closer, he realized that there was a striking resemblance between that middle-aged man and Gear! In fact, that middle-aged man just appeared to be a more youthful version of Gear. "I'm glad you've taken the time out of your day to come and visit this old man. Ah, I guess old man would not be entirely accurate at the moment." Gear took out a flask from his pocket and took a sip from it. With those words and that action, Izroth could already guess the identity of the individual before him. "You seem to be in good spirits, Gear. However, requesting for me to journey here was a little on the unexpected side." Izroth kept a carefree expression on his face. "Ahahaha, good spirits? Good spirits indeed young man! I haven't felt in such good spirits for quite a while now. It's an important matter, but let us catch up a bit first." Gear laughed wholeheartedly. It would be untruthful if he said he did not enjoy being in his prime and that it did not make him happy. After catching up for a few minutes, Gear turned the conversation in a more serious direction. "Young ma- No, Izroth. I have a personal request to make. I hope your answer is one that is satisfactory." Gear was serious and there was no signs of laughter or fooling around. Izroth narrowed his eyes when he heard Gear's words. He gave a slight nod, "You have gifted me such a wonderful skill and weapon back when I did not have much. If you have a request to make then it would be ungrateful of me to not, at the very least, hear you out."