Chapter 1091: Ore Cave, First Clue
After Zinnia and the members of Sleeping Gardenia started their search, Izroth crafted a Self Awakening Pill for Azalea using ancient-quality materials. Doing so, he was able to craft a Self Awakening Pill VI, which gave one a 95% chance of self awakening.
Unlike Izroth, who was able to choose his own awakening due to being the first to consume a Self Awakening Pill, Azalea's self awakening was completely random. Additionally, the awakening process happened instantly. As a result, Azalea unlocked a trait.
Queen of Phantoms-this was the trait Azalea obtained after consuming the Self Awakening Pill. It was also the reason why there were seemingly two Azaleas.
One of the abilities of the Queen of Phantoms, called Legion of Phantoms, allowed Azalea to create a phantom of herself that copied her stats and skills. The phantom next to her was a Phantom of Harmony, a phantom that was virtually a perfect copy of Azalea herself!
There were many other benefits to the Queen of Phantoms trait. Izroth and Azalea did not know what it meant to be a candidate successor to the Queen of Phantoms. Nevertheless, the trait itself perfectly suited someone like Azalea.
"Can you speak?" Azalea asked as she sized up the phantom.
"I can speak." Azalea's phantom replied without hesitation.
"Can you also create phantoms?" Azalea questioned.
"No. A phantom cannot create a phantom. But, since I am a phantom, I can use the other benefits attached to the Queen of Phantoms trait." Azalea's phantom responded.
'It seems to have its own intelligence. Since the Queen of Phantoms trait has Phantom Telemetry, it shouldn't be Melded Sentience at play. Then, is it something similar?'
Melded Sentience was one of the traits of Izroth's soul avatar, Empyrean. It allowed a part of him to be etched into Empyrean and vice versa. This meant that while they were two separate entities, they were also the same. But, that did not appear to be the case for Azalea's phantom.
If Izroth had to describe the Phantom of Harmony, it was like a highly sophisticated clone. Even though Izroth could not tell the difference between the two with his Energy Vision Sense, he knew Azalea enough to differentiate them based on physical observation alone. Of course, an enemy would not have the same luxury of having known Azalea.
Azalea turned toward Izroth and requested, "Teacher, please allow my Phantom of Harmony to accompany and protect you from the shadows."
One of the most powerful aspects of the phantoms created by the Queen of Phantoms traits was the fact that there was no duration time limit to a phantom's existence. Most likely, a phantom could exist indefinitely as long as it was not eliminated or had its summon canceled by Azalea.
This meant that as long as a phantom stayed by Izroth's side, it was no different than Azalea being there herself. Plus, she could easily use Phantom Swap to switch places with the Phantom of Harmony whenever necessary.
Izroth could see Azalea's intentions. And, naturally, he had no reason to decline her request.
"I will allow it. This is a good opportunity. Since the phantom can send and receive information using Phantom Telemetry, it will have quite a few uses." Izroth stated in a carefree manner.
Back during the raid on the Night Lord's Crypt, communications had been cut off once Izroth entered the crypt itself. However, if he had Azalea's phantom at that time, it may have been possible to communicate with the outside despite the restrictions in place.
Without a doubt, there would be more places that restricted direct communication via the system. Therefore, having a potential backup means to communicate was not a bad thing.
...
A few minutes later...
Izroth and Azalea spent the last few minutes testing the Phantom of Harmony's capabilities and learning its limits. One of the things they learned was that, like Empyrean, the phantom was considered to be a half-player of sorts by the system.
"We've learned all that we can for now. I am curious about what it means to be a candidate successor to the Queen of Phantoms. I will have to look into it to make sure it isn't something dangerous." Izroth commented.
Izroth had no information regarding anyone called the Queen of Phantoms. For all he knew, it was an entity that would grow into a threat against the Mortal Realm. It could also be an existence hunted out of spite with a bad history surrounding it. Whatever the case, he informed Azalea to be careful until they could find out more information.
"Palace Master Izroth-someone has found something!" Zinnia said hurriedly as she rushed over toward Izroth and Azalea.
Initially, Zinnia planned to patiently wait until the two finished speaking before approaching them; however, she just received a special message from one of her guild members.
'Oh? Did they manage to find traces of Empyrean and Selene?'
"What are the coordinates? We will head there immediately." Izroth stated.
"The coordinates won't be necessary. We're already here." Zinnia said as her gaze shifted toward the entrance to the ore cave.
...
A few moments later...
[System Alert: You have entered an >.[]
Not long after Zinnia received a message from her guild member, she, along with Izroth and Azalea, entered the ore cave.
As for Azalea's phantom, for the time being, Azalea left it outside to stand guard at the cave's entrance just in case Defiant tried anything else. After all, there was no way that they would allow things to end so one-sidedly.
Under normal circumstances, outsiders would not be permitted to enter an ore cave that belonged to a top guild. However, Izroth was far from an outsider when it came to Sleeping Gardenia. Not only was he the reason why they obtained a Guild Order and became the first official guild in RML, but he also helped them clear the first hardcore raid and had a relationship with them attached to his Mystical Realm Palace. If he was still considered an outsider at this point, the sincerity of Sleeping Gardenia's gratitude would have already come into question.
"Section leader Zinnia, tell me more about the message you received," Izroth said calmly.
"According to the guild member who sent the message, she discovered an unusual item that should not exist in an ore cave. I am not sure whether Palace Master Izroth knows this or not, but there are two known types of ore caves. The first is filled with monsters who use the ore as a food source, while the second has a dense mana environment with no monsters present. We have determined that this ore cave falls into the second category." Zinnia explained.
She then continued, "Palace Master Izroth can see the item for himself and determine whether or not it counts as a clue."
After following the instructions of her guild member in navigating the ore cave, Zinnia came
to a sudden halt.
"We are here," Zinnia said as she gestured for Izroth to walk ahead.
The three arrived in a spacious area well-lit by several large glowing blue crystals on the ceiling. Various ores of differing qualities and quantities were embedded in the lower and middle walls of the ore cave. However, the most common ore seemed to be Sygrix Stone.
The Sygrix Stone was a dark crystalline ore with a gently pulsing core. The higher the ore's
quality, the more gentle its pulsing core.
Name: Unrefined Low-Quality Sygrix Stone
Rank: Superior(52)
Usage: This dark crystalline ore can only be found in dense mana areas without the presence
of monsters. It releases a gentle pulse at its core. The more gentle a pulse, the greater its
quality. Adding this ore to items will cause them to exhibit some physical or magical
enhancements.
Special Note: In its refined state, it is quite beautiful and is often a highly sought-after
decoration by nobles.
"Section leader! This ore cave is amazing! Even a low-quality stone is already at the superior rank! If we can find higher quality stones, it's possible that we can acquire ancient or even mythical-quality materials!" Starry Aster's voice sounded as she quickly approached the new
arrivals.
Zinnia lightly cleared her throat and reminded, "Aster, that can wait a moment. First, we have to show the item that Ivy found to Palace Master Izroth."
"Ah, my apologies, Palace Master Izroth-section leader. I got too lost in my excitement. I'll guide you to where the item is. I instructed everyone not to touch it since we wanted to allow Palace Master Izroth to see it the way it was found." Starry Aster said as she reeled in her
excitement.
Izroth nodded, "You did well. Lead the way."
The next moment, Starry Aster led Izroth, Azalea, and Zinnia to a different area of the ore cave that seemed to be rich in Sygrix Stones.
In front of that area was a group of three players who looked to be standing guard. However,
when they saw Izroth's group walking toward them, the three players cleared the way without
hesitation.
"This is the item Ivy found. How about it, Palace Master Izroth? Is it helpful?" Starry Aster asked as she pointed to the item on the ground.
Izroth walked forward and looked at the item Starry Aster pointed to. It was a feather. Not just
any feather, a silver feather filled to the brim with powerful mana and the wind element.
Izroth narrowed his eyes as he leaned over to pick up the feather and examine it.
'So, they were here, after all.'
Without a doubt, the silver feather in his hand belonged to none other than Empyrean!