Chapter 1086: Proper Motivation
After exchanging greetings and introductions, Izroth turned his attention back to Azalea, who had been patiently waiting behind him.
"What have you found?" Izroth asked.
"I have not discovered any physical clues as to the whereabouts of those teacher is looking for. But, according to the information I gathered, I do know that those matching the descriptions you gave me were here three days ago. After that, the trail becomes cold. My apologies, teacher. I wish that I had more to give you." Azalea said with a hint of dejection in her voice.
"No, you have done well. Now, with this, I'm certain that they went missing sometime during their exploration of Kifa Karsts." Izroth said calmly.
'Outside of ensuring their safety, Empyrean's main goals were to gather high-quality materials and grow his strength alongside Selene. Kifa Karsts spans hundreds of kilometers. Even with his flight skill, it would be impossible for Empyrean to explore and collect high-quality materials in just three days.'
The last time Izroth detected Empyrean and Selene's presence was back during the assault on the Night Lord's Crypt. Since he was trapped in the void for six days, it would mean that Empyrean and Selene only stayed in Kifa Karsts for three days before disappearing without a trace.
Many areas of the Kifa Karsts could not be viewed from the sky; therefore, the Empyreans would have had no choice but to descend and explore on foot.
'Since confined spaces seem to cause him discomfort, there is a good chance that he avoided searching the caves. If that's the case, it will decrease the number of places we'll have to check. If no reasonable clues show up, we will have to circle back around to it.'
"Section Leader Zinnia, I would like for the members of Sleeping Gardenia to search around and report anything out of place. It does not matter how small or insignificant it may seem; be sure to tell them not to hesitate to report it. Also, anyone who uncovers any clues regarding the whereabouts of my people will be rewarded by me personally. If, by chance, you happen to find the location of my people, then-you will never have to pay a single gold coin when you visit my Mystical Realm Palace in the future." Izroth stated.
"?!" Zinnia and the members of Sleeping Gardenia were shocked by Izroth's words.
Not only would he personally reward them if they found any clues, but if they discovered the actual location itself, they would no longer need to spend any gold coins to obtain items at the Mystical Realm Palace. That kind of reward had a value that could not be replicated!
As elite members of a top guild, naturally, they were provided with resources from Sleeping Gardenia. However, Sleeping Gardenia had to divide its resources among thousands of players. Not to mention, resources such as high-grade pills or equipment were severely limited and were typically used for the core players or as a way to incentivize guild members.
In other words, even if a player was part of a top guild, that did not mean that they had access to unlimited resources. In fact, they needed to procure as many resources as possible without the guild's help or allowing their skills to deteriorate if they wanted to climb higher and eventually become a core member.
It was well known by now that the Mystical Realm Palace sold high-quality products. But, of course, its most popular product was, undoubtedly, its pills.
The inventory of high-grade pills was severely limited, and the vast majority of them were snatched up the day they were released. Then, there were the prices.
As elite players of Sleeping Gardenia, most of them were given a monthly salary of 60 to 80 gold coins, depending on their responsibilities. There were also other ways to earn gold coins, such as completing missions for the guild or contributing in some way. Overall, this kind of compensation was considered fairly generous for elite players of a top guild.
But, one grade-three pill from the Mystical Realm Palace was worth at least 150 gold coins or, with the current conversation rate, 22,500 RMB-that was more than two months of salary for most of the elite players present!
To never have to spend another gold coin when they walked through the doors of the Mystical Realm Palace meant saving thousands upon thousands of gold coins. And, when a grade four, wouldn't they be among the first players to obtain one? If a grade three pill was worth a minimum of 150 gold coins, then a grade four pill would probably be at least 500 gold coins, perhaps even more!
Even if the pill turned out not to be suitable for them or they had no use for it, couldn't they just hand it over to the guild to be rewarded another way?
Izroth's words seemed to light a fire under Zinnia and the members of Sleeping Gardenia. Although many of them wanted to find a chance to get close to Izroth, there were still some traces of reluctance to spend their time searching for something that may or may not be there. But, after Izroth spoke, he could feel their eagerness to hurry and start the search.
"This much should be enough.'
After providing more than enough motivation to the members of Sleeping Gardenia, Izroth removed another small bag from his inventory and held it out toward Azalea.
"This is one of your rewards. I have not forgotten about the daggers I promised you. It will take some time to gather the right materials. For now, this much will have to suffice. Be sure to use what's inside immediately." Izroth said as Azalea gracefully accepted the bag.
"Thank you, teacher," Azalea replied as she wasted no time checking the contents of the bag she received.
'It's a shame that I was unable to keep the Umbral Imp Horn. I planned on handing it over to her as a reward, but I suppose this much will have to do for now.'
"Section Leader Zinnia, you can order the start of the search. We will join you once we finish our matters here." Izroth instructed.
"Yes, Palace Master Izroth! Please, leave this to the members of our Sleeping Gardenia!" Zinnia responded respectfully.
Zinnia had just finished dividing up the pills she received from Izroth. He had gifted each of them a grade three Five Cycles Pill.
Since there were twelve of them in total, that single bag of pills was worth at least 1,800 gold coins-that was over 250,000 RMB!
Zinnia gave a meaningful look to the members of her guild present before they all dispersed. Even without having to say anything, Zinnia's message came across loud and clear to the players from Sleeping Gardenia. No matter what, one of them had to be the one to locate clues that led to finding the ones Izroth was looking for!
The moment Zinnia and the members of Sleeping Gardenia took their leave, Izroth's Dark Abyssal Armlet transformed into the Dark Abyssal Cauldron and appeared before him.
"There is one more reward I have for you," Izroth said as he removed three ancient-quality herbs from his inventory.
Two of the ancient quality materials were what he received from the Shattered Guild. As for the remaining one, it was from Izroth's personal collection.
Izroth had given Azalea the grade four Five Cycles Pill, an upgrade obtained through the Blessings of Craft. Mass producing such a pill was not possible and that was Izroth's only other grade four Five Cycles Pill; however, he knew that it would be incredibly useful in the hands of someone like Azalea, who required heightened senses.
The other thing Izroth gifted to Azalea was the Obsconis Hunting Dagger. While it was a good item, it could not compare to his Sword of the Storm. Not to mention, Azalea's current weapons had fallen off too much compared to her level. At the very least, the Obsconis Hunting Dagger would increase her overall power until Izroth gave the promised daggers to
her.
As for the last reward, Izroth wanted to craft Azalea a Self Awakening Pill. While he had a few Self Awakening Pills in his inventory, they were all grade one or grade two. The chances of awakening were too low. Therefore, Izroth planned on crafting at least a grade four Self Awakening Pill for Azalea. Of course, a grade five or grade six pill would be ideal; however, a grade four pill had a fifty percent chance of allowing one to awaken. Those kinds of odds were
good enough.
Without wasting another moment, Izroth began to craft the Self Awakening Pills.
...
Meanwhile...
The members of Sleeping Gardenia had started their search throughout their territory of Kifa Karsts. Considering how large of an area it was to cover, there was no way that only twelve players were capable of leading a search. Therefore, Zinnia had called in most of the Sleeping Gardenia members stationed within Kifa Karsts to aid in the search. Of course, she also told them about the rewards Izroth mentioned.