Chapter 229 Fall of Sage Falls?, The Unforgiving System
Izroth discussed a few more details with Azalea about the surrounding area and what to expect. She was able to provide them a decent amount of information, however, she reminded them that what she told them was only the tip of the iceberg.
"There's a tomb that lies beyond the mist, but it's impossible to get into to using standard methods; I've tried. From the location you've shown me, it appears to be positioned right on top of the same area as that tomb. If that truly is your destination, then I suggest you prepare some holy weapon enchantments. Even if it's a low-quality enchantment, it is one of the few requirements." Azalea said.
"Since you're speaking of tombs and holy enchantments, I assume the type of creatures lurking there are of the specter types." Zi Yi commented.
In RML there were certain creatures who were completely immune to physical forms of damage. One of these creatures was the specter-types that usually lurked around graveyards, tombs, or dark eerie environments. They were impossible to harm without magic or holy weapon enchantments.
Needless to say, every single member of Izroth's party, excluding Luna, who he shared the SSS-ranked request did physical damage, not magic. Therefore, if they were to visit that place without any preparation, then they would only be able to rely on Luna for damage. Whoever heard of a healer being relied on for the main source of damage in a party?
'Last time I checked around in the auction house, there were a few low-quality and some average-quality holy weapon enchantments, however, whether they are still there or not is another question. Though I suppose if all else fails, I'm sure Mariposa and Sleeping Gardenia will be able to locate or provide a few holy enchantments.'
It was impossible that a top guild like Sleeping Gardenia lacked someone who could create enchantments. After all, there were some powerful enchantments that could mean the difference between life and death in highly intense level situations.
After talking for around ten minutes, Azalea gave a proper farewell before taking her leave. But, before she left, Izroth gifted her with one of each pill from the Mystical Realm Palace, excluding the Five Cycles Pill since Azalea had already consumed one.
When she tried to offer him compensation, Izroth used the same 'small gift' excuse that she had used on him when she handed him the Realm Chart. In the end, Azalea graciously them and thanked Izroth for his generosity before finally exiting the Mystical Realm Palace.
Luna looked at Izroth with a slightly curious expression and said, "There's still one slot remaining for the world quest. Why did you not invite Azalea long? From what I've seen, she's quite the skilled player."
"I do not question her skill, I simply believe that she is not the type who enjoys traveling around in large groups. Besides, I already have someone else in mind." Izroth said in a carefree manner.
...
Meanwhile, somewhere within Amaharpe located inside of building rented out by Sage Falls...
Woosh!
A table flew across the room and was soon followed by a few chairs.
"B-boss, calm down. We can still" One of the nearby players tried to calm his guild leader down, however, it was no use. He knew that once the boss got like this, no one would be able to talk him down.
"Get out of here! Unless you want to die!" Slayer said as he snapped at the player trying to talk to him while he was in an unpleasant mood. He glared at that player and sent shivers down their spine, causing them to immediately retreat from the room.
After a few more moments of rampaging about, the door to the building opened as someone stepped inside. The first thing that person did was look around and see the mess that looked as if a tornado had passed through the place.
"You appear to be in a wonderful mood as always." The person who walked into the room said. He had short neat silver hair, gray eyes, and a handsome yet cold and distant appearance to him.
From the daggers placed at his side, one could tell that his class was one from the rogue branch. He wore a silver colored leather outfit with blue markings embedded into it and blue cloth was wrapped around his waist area.
"Fan Yijun, I am in no mood for your games right now. If you have something to say, then say it and get out!" Slayer said in a serious tone of voice.
"Indeed, you seem to be in a better mood than usual." Fan Yijun said in a sarcastic manner.
He then continued, "I heard about what happened at that new shop that opened up. Did I not warn you to send me to deal with it instead?"
Slayer's facial expression darkened as he responded, "All of the other guild leaders were there in person and you expect me to sit back and let you handle things? I had to show them that my Sage Falls is still strong! Those weaklings were mocking me...! Mocking my Sage Falls! When has anyone dared looked upon my Sage Falls with eyes of disdain? We are the ones who look upon others that way!"
Just thinking about what happened at that meeting made Slayer start to go around the room again and toss things around. When he ran out of things to toss, he would pick something up that was already thrown and toss it again. His frustration was transparent.
Fan Yijun released a sigh as he shook his head and said, "So what now? Are you simply going to stay cooped up in this room feeling angry at everyone and everything around you? Tell me, Duan Musheng, when did you become such a pathetic man?!"
"What did you say...?" Slayer turned and gave a death glare to Fan Yijun. If looks could kill, Fan Yijun would have died a thousand times over by now!
"What? Is your hearing pathetic now too? Don't make me repeat myself! What happened to you? Whenever you've wanted something, what did you always do? You were willing to do anything to get the job done and now because of one set back you're going to let our enemies walk away laughing at our misfortune? Tell me, if you're not a pathetic man, then what are you? How can I call you my brother?!" Fan Yijun said.
Slayer was infuriated! He was outraged by the way Fan Yijun spoke to him. Even his own father had never spoken to him in such a way! However, after reaching the peak of his anger, it suddenly subsided. Now, there was a strange calmness to him and his previous incensed attitude seemed to disappear into thin air.
But, it was not that his anger had actually faded away, Slayer had just reached such an extreme point that his anger became a form of clarity for what he needed to do. In truth, Fan Yijun's words hit him like a truck. Fan Yijun was right! When had he, the leader of the vicious and ruthless guild Sage Falls, become such a weakling? Even he would laugh and sneer at his current self!
Surprisingly, Slayer had calmed down and released a deep breath as he looked directly at Fan Yijun.
"If you were anyone else, you would be dead right now. You should be grateful that you're like a brother to me." Slayer said as he stood up straight with a new air of confidence to him.
"Hah, you should be the one whose lucky you have someone like me to talk some sense into you every once in a while." Fan Yijun said with a smirk on his face.
After having a bit of small talk, the main question finally came into play from Fan Yijun.
"So, what do you plan to do now?" Fan Yijun asked.
"Isn't that much obvious? First, I'll rebuild Sage Falls' strength. The Mystical Realm Palace, the Fireheart Apothecary Society; one of these two places will help me achieve that goal whether they like it or not. If they try to resist, hmph, let's just say they will never be able to leave Amaharpe again. As for Vault and the Headhunter Syndicate who betrayed me, they will suffer a thousand times over." Slayer said with a vicious look in his eyes.
A large grin appeared on Fan Yijun's face as he said, "Now that's the Slayer I know and people fear! What are your orders, boss?" Fan Yijun now spoke with a serious expression on his face.
"Find out everything you can about the shop owner of the Mystical Realm Palace and the Fireheart Apothecary Society. I want to know every single detail about them, and I mean everything." Slayer said in a cold tone of voice.
"At once." Fan Yijun responded without hesitation.
...
At the moment, Izroth had left his shop to visit the auction house across the street. He was looking for any holy enchantments that might still be up for auction.
'As I thought, I will most likely have to rely on Sleeping Gardenia to obtain a few enchantments.'
As for Luna and Zi Yi, they both logged off to take a break. Zi Yi had not gotten much sleep lately and after the last all-nighter she pulled, she needed to get some rest. Luna, on the other hand, said that she had some plans to meet up with a few friends in the real world.
Izroth agreed that they would meet tomorrow around the afternoon at the Mystical Realm Palace to head over and check out the location on the Realm Chart.
After browsing through the auction house for a bit, Izroth decided to go for a walk around Amaharpe. As he did so, he became curious as to the amount of time left on the skill Boundless Emperor Void Perfection. It had been processing for quite some time and he figured that it should have been done by now, or at the very least, be close to completion.
Izroth circulated the mysterious energy that was similar to spiritual essence in the same way that he would naturally cultivate the Boundless Emperor Void Perfection heavenly law. It only took him a few moments to receive a system alert, however, when he read over the system alerts he gave a helpless smile.
'This system seems to enjoy toying with me.'
〈System Alert: The system cannot generate this skill at the moment!〉
〈System Alert: The original time required is insufficient to generate this skill... Processing...〉
〈System Alert: The data required to form this skill is limited by system parameters!〉
〈System Alert: Because you possess the skill «Breaker of Limits», set system parameters have been bypassed!〉
〈System Alert: This skill processing time has been increased! Time Remaining: Unknown〉
First, it was 24 hours, then 30 days, and now the system had thrown all etiquette to the wind and increased the time to well... Unknown! In other words, not even the system was sure how long the skill would take to process at this point! The system was truly unforgiving!
Izroth could only look upon the system alerts with a bit of reluctance. However, in the end, he was in no rush to obtain the skill. Even with his current skill set, he was more than a force to be reckoned with.
The next thing he did was open up his quest logs and check the time remaining on the world quest The Beginning of Beginnings. Thanks to the time ratio change, the system adjusted the time frame for all ongoing quest to a time limit it deemed as fair.
'There's still plenty of time remaining on it.'
The original quest time limit was 90 days of in-game time. Of course, some of that time had already been used beforehand, but even then, with the time adjustment of the system, Izroth still had one month left to complete the first part of the quest.