"Is there any additional information you can provide us with regarding the Blazing Temple?" Izroth asked.
Olohas seemed to be lost in his own world as many thoughts swirled through his mind. However, he snapped out of it once he heard Izroth's voice.
"Blazing Temple...? Ah, right. Of course." Olohas cleared his throat and pulled himself together. He did not realize that he had allowed his attention to wander off in the middle of a conversation.
Here he was thinking about how to get Izroth's assistance so that he could avoid casualties in his party and yet the situation had already been dealt with before he could even bring the subject up. But still, there was a small part of him that was unsure if this was a blessing or a curse.
After all, there was a chance that Izroth's party may want to claim the Fire Spirit. If that happened, then he would have preferred to deal with Grippler and the others without any help at all.
"As I was saying, it's too dangerous to enter into the Blazing Temple without a Fire Spirit. This will be my first time entering inside so I can't go too much into detail, however, it's become pretty common knowledge by now to most players wandering within the Blazing Tempris Domain." Olohas explained.
"What happens if someone with a Fire Spirit in their inventory dies? Of course, my question is purely hypothetical. I can assure you that I hold my bad intentions." Present Order cut in to ask with a friendly expression on his face.
Olohas furrowed his brows at the question as a slight frown appeared on his face. Despite Present Order's words and friendly demeanor, it was still an uncomfortable question to answer.
However, it should have been even more awkward for Present Order to ask such a suspicious question. It worried Olohas that someone could ask something so dangerous with such a friendly smile.
While defeating an elite monster was not a difficult task for any of the groups present to do alone, it required too much time or luck to come across a level 35 or higher elite monster roaming around the Blazing Tempris Domain. Even if they chose to wait for the Ragnis Salamander to respawn, it would still be a six-hour delay!
Olohas was not the only player to become on guard after Present Order's question. His party, as well as, the other groups tensed up as the atmosphere grew a bit heavy.
"You can still cause trouble when someone is helping us?!" Mirage scowled. If they were not stuck together due to that strange passive skill, then she would have wanted nothing to do with Present Order at the moment. It was as if he was unable to go even a few seconds without causing trouble.
"It's an honest question. There's no need to hide anything if we're all friends here, right?" Present Order said as he turned his attention towards Olohas.
Izroth could see that everyone was becoming a bit restless. He truly did not know if Present Order was provoking them on purpose, or if he really was as foolish as he appeared to be. It was common sense that his words could be seen as a threat, or at least it should be.
"I give you my word that we will not make a move against you for the Fire Spirit you've obtained. Therefore, feel free to answer the question without worry. In fact, if someone should interfere with your party after you claim it, then I gladly lend you a hand." Izroth said in a carefree tone of voice.
Although Izroth looked as if he were talking to the other groups present, Olohas could tell by his words that he was actually directing them towards Present Order. After he saw how Present Order glared at Izroth when he spoke those words, it only further confirmed his suspicions.
"Captain Niflheim is a good judge of character, so I tend to trust his instinct about people." Olohas said.
"Oh? What exactly does his instinct have to say about me?" Izroth asked.
"Simple, you can be trusted, but never crossed. Well, at least that's what his instinct says. Therefore, I'll take your word since you've given it." Olohas said with a smile on his face as he gave a small nod to further show his approval.
"An interesting instinct." Izroth responded. It was quite impressive how accurate Niflheim's instinct was to make that kind of assessment when they had only met with one another twice.
'A strong instinct like that would have been useful as a cultivator. It's a shame.'
"I'm glad you think so. As for the question you've asked, the Fire Spirit cannot leave the confines of the Blazing Tempris Domain without something called a Confinement Orb. So if one were to die with a Fire Spirit not contained within a Confinement Orb then it would simply drop on their death." Olohas signaled for one of his party members to retrieve the loot that dropped from the Ragnis Salamander.
There were a few good things, however, the most important item was a crimson flame no bigger than a fist. It did not appear to cause any damage to the player holding it within their hands as they delivered it to Olohas.
The crimson flame felt extremely warm to the touch and if one examined it closely, they could see a flame dancing around inside of it. That crimson flame was the Fire Spirit that Olohas had mentioned a few moments ago.
"This is what a Fire Spirit looks like." Olohas said as he allowed Izroth and his party to freely take in its sight as he held it out in the palm of his hand.
"How pretty." Mirage said to herself as she watched the tiny flame dancing around on the inside.
As for the other groups that were present, they had a look of regret and helplessness. Ultimately, none of them were willing to make an enemy out of Blue Oasis for a single item dropped by an elite monster. But even more so, dealing with Izroth most likely meant having to face that monster next to him that took out an entire party alone. That was a risk none of them were willing to take.
After letting out a few sighs and seeing that nothing else interesting was going to happen, the other groups all went their separate ways.
'I do not plan on spending a large amount of time within the Blazing Tempris Domain searching for a Fire Spirit. However...'
Izroth had another idea in mind that could potentially save him a lot of trouble.
"Would you be willing to make a trade?" Izroth asked.
"A trade?" Olohas was a bit surprised by Izroth's sudden inquiry. It had taken them nearly five hours to find a Fire Spirit so that they could enter into the Blazing Temple. Therefore, a trade was unlikely to occur. However, Olohas chose to show Izroth some face and at least hear what it was that he had to offer.
"Alright, but I'll have to first say that this Fire Spirit belongs not only to me but my entire party as well. It also took us almost five hours just to locate one, so please keep that in mind." Olohas said in a firm tone of voice. He wanted to make sure that Izroth knew that whatever he offered, it had to compensate not just him, but his entire party and their time as well.
In truth, Olohas had no plans on trading the Fire Spirit. That was the real reason he made sure to let Izroth know those specific terms. It would not be easy to trade something on the spot that could compensate an entire party of players.
A few moments later, Izroth reached into his inventory and removed six Five Cycles Pills. At the moment, Five Cycles Pills were still incredibly hard to come by. In total, Izroth had put less than 400 pills within the auction house itself.
Seeing as there were millions upon millions of players within RML and thousands upon thousands of players within the top guilds alone, it was safe to say that not everyone had access to such a rare item.
"Those are Five Cycles Pills! It's the same one I saw Captain Abstract take."
"Look, he has six of them! How rich is he to have so many sitting in his inventory?"
"Six grade three pills just for a mere Fire Spirit? I wish I had the resources to make such a trade..."
The Blue Oasis players that were not too far behind Olohas were commenting on Izroth's trade. From their conversation and the excitement in their voice, it was easy to tell what they wanted to happen. After all, it was too valuable of an opportunity to pass up!
They could always obtain a Fire Spirit another day or even after they finished up here. However, there was no guarantee that the same could be said for a grade three pill. Besides, everyone knew those pills were worth at least 20,000 RMB each! Izroth was practically handing them 120,000 RMB for a single Fire Spirit!
Olohas was dumbfounded when he saw Izroth casually offer him six grade three pills for a Fire Spirit. How did he come in possession of so many? Even the top guilds only had around 10-20 or so each and it was at a great cost and struggle in the auction house.
Even Azalea who was usually silent was surprised when she heard the name Five Cycles Pill. She had wanted to get her hands on one of those pills ever since she first discovered its effect. To someone like her who focused mainly on PVP, it was a must have!
She also finally somewhat understood why her teacher was able to keep up with her movements and purposely halt his attacks in such a casual manner. She knew that Izroth's natural abilities were high, but with the help of the Five Cycles Pill, it must have become even more monstrous.
"A grade three pill? And six of them no less..." Mirage exclaimed as she held one of her hands up over her mouth in shock.
Present Order had a look of greed flash across his eyes. He looked over towards Sinking Clouds and the two of them seemed to come to an understanding. He must find a way to obtain a few of those pills! After all, if Izroth was willing to trade them so freely then surely he must have even more stashed away.
However, Present Order felt shivers run down his spine as he looked over and saw Azalea staring at him as if she could read his current thoughts. He quickly turned away and grit his teeth. That's right! He had to find a way to keep that brat from interfering in his plans. Although Present Order did not want to admit it, he did not want to fight Azalea if possible.
"Well?" Izroth said as he noticed that Olohas was simply staring there without giving any kind of response.
Olohas quickly snapped out of it and said, "Ah, yes! It's yours! We can trade right away!" It was almost as if he were afraid that Izroth was going to suddenly change his mind or was playing a trick on him. He did not even bother confirming the trade with his party before rushing to open the trade window.
Izroth inwardly shook his head at Olohas' reaction before opening up his own trade window. He set the six Five Cycles Pills up for trade in exchange for the Fire Spirit. A few moments later, Izroth received an alert from the system.
〈System Alert: You have obtained x1 «Fire Spirit».〉
Name: Fire Spirit(Unique)
Rank: None
Usage: Protects the user and its nearby allies from the wrath of the Blazing Temple.
Special Note: This item will drop from the user's inventory upon death or leaving the Blazing Tempris Domain.
"Thank you for your generosity. I will not forget this day." Olohas said in an extremely polite tone of voice.
"We've made a simple trade, that's all." Izroth responded.
After exchanging a few more pleasantries, Izroth and his party took their leave towards the Blazing Temple. Now that they had a Fire Spirit, they could enter inside without worry.
As Izroth and his party walked away, Olohas kept watching until they were completely out of view.
"I have to inform the captain." Olohas said.
"Hm? What for?" One of the Blue Oasis players asked.
"I'm not entirely sure, but it's possible that Izroth has some kind of direct connection with the Apothecary we've been looking for. Either that or he spent all his time bidding at the auction house which I highly doubt." Olohas explained.
Everyone was shocked! He had a direct connection to that mysterious Apothecary that all the big guilds were calling the Pill Emperor? If that truly was the case, then it would certainly explain how he could hand out six grade three pills in such a casual manner!