Chapter 890: A Bounty Claimed, Unknown Intentions
"That's right. What is there to be scared of? I am already going to be hunted by one group, what does adding one more matter? This must be his way of testing my resolve. I ought to give him a suitable response." Avia thought to herself as she held the palm of her hand out toward Louven.
"What do you intend to do...?" Louven questioned with a darkened expression.
"Why bother asking a question you already know the answer to?" Avia answered coldly.
"Don't be foolish! As long as you assist me, my Eight Heavens can guarantee your safety! You should know, even your Fifth Great Clan will take you back if we put in a good word! Or, do you really plan to place your fate in the hands of some unknown brat and spend the rest of your life running?!" Louven scowled.
Louven was left in a powerless and defenseless state by Astratis; therefore, he was unable to retaliate. But, as long as he could show Avia a ray of hope, there was no way she could refuse him—at least, that's how it should have been.
"Brat? Mind your words, Louven. That is my young master you're speaking ill of." Avia said as a light green aura encompassed her palm.
"Wai-!"
Before Louven could speak, a bundle of vines with thorns rushed out of Avia's hands.
...
A few moments later...
Izroth was walking down the path along with Astratis and Nomii when he felt a sudden breeze on his back.
"It is done." Avia's voice sounded as she arrived behind Izroth and the others.
Izroth glanced back at Avia and gave a small nod before returning his attention to the front.
Even if Avia did not say anything, Izroth already knew the decision she made since he had been keeping an eye on things with his Energy Vision Sense. And, just as Avia said, she had indeed taken care of Louven.
'Now that that's been settled, it's time to make my way to Xanaharpe. I wanted to pay Danaharpe a visit beforehand, but it will have to wait a little longer. The raid on the Night Lord's Crypt can start at any moment. I can't afford to fall too far behind. There's also the matter of getting these three properly settled in.'
There was no craftsman in Amaharpe who had not heard of Danaharpe. Though that was not surprising considering that it was often called the city of craftsmen.
No matter what profession someone took in RML, if they wanted to achieve a higher grade, a visit to a crafting city like Danaharpe was an unavoidable journey.
Although Izroth's skills were above that of a grade three Apothecary, he still needed to travel to Danaharpe. In order to increase his current Apothecary grade, Izroth would have to take and pass the test at the main Apothecary Guild located there.
There were many benefits that came from having a higher grade as an Apothecary. For one, Izroth would gain access to the higher floors of the Apothecary Guild's library.
While the Amaharpe Palace Library was certainly impressive in its own rights, it was more generally focused, and a good portion of the information was related to the world's history.
However, at a profession's guild's library, sole emphasis was heavily placed on topics related to that particular profession.
Just as these thoughts crossed Izroth's mind, the unexpected sound of alerts from the system sounded in his mind.
〈System Alert: Player Aurora has requested a voice chat!〉
〈System Alert: Do you wish to accept the incoming voice chat from Player Aurora?〉
'Hm? It's unlike her to suddenly contact me out of the blue. Did something happen at the Mystical Realm Palace?'
Izroth had given full authority to Fang Qiu to run things as she saw fit. Therefore, unless it was an emergency, she was never typically the first one to contact him.
"Accept it."
〈System Alert: You have started a voice chat with Player Aurora! To end the voice chat at any time, simply say "Terminate Voice Chat" or open up the player system interface and manually end the call.〉
Aurora, "I gave you more than enough time, yet you're still behind schedule. If we want to make the change by the end of this week, you- One moment—hello?"
Izroth, "Sounds like things are busy on your end. Is everything alright over there?"
Aurora, "It's when I'm not busy that you should be concerned. It's a bit hectic here, but everything is running smoothly. Though that's not what I contacted you for. Someone is here to claim the bounty you set."
Izroth, "Oh? Already? Have you verified its authenticity? No, if it's you, I suppose the answer to that question is obvious."
Even if Aurora did not specify, there was only one bounty when claimed that she would bother to contact him and that was the one placed on the leader of the Headhunter Syndicate, Vault!
Aurora, "I am glad you are getting to know me better. I personally confirmed its authenticity. Without a doubt, it's him."
'They moved faster than I anticipated.'
Izroth knew that the bounty he placed on Vault would be more than enough to gather the attention of top players. After all, 10,00 gold coins along with a favor from his Mystical Realm Palace were too good of an offer to pass up. It was just that he did not expect someone to claim the bounty so fast. This was even more so considering how on guard Vault would have been after the last humiliation he suffered under the hands of Izroth and one of the top guilds Sacred Beasts.
Aurora, "However, there's a slight problem. I was unsure how to respond since it involves you, so I contacted you."
Izroth, "If you say it like this, then I doubt they're just asking for more gold coins as a reward."
Aurora, "That's just it. They don't want the gold coins. Instead, they asked to speak to you."
Izroth, "Oh? Speak with me?"
Not just anyone would turn away 10,000 gold coins just for a conversation. This made Izroth somewhat curious about their identity and purpose.
Izroth, "Do you have a name?"
Aurora, "Yes. They called themselves Haishe."
'Haishe?'
Even though the two never exchanged words, Izroth clearly remembered that name.
Haishe was someone from a player organization known as Fatal Touch.
Fatal Touch was not a part of the top guilds; however, their overall power and influence were not any less than that of a top guild.
They acted as a mercenary group that carried out various tasks such as helping take down boss monsters, gathering rare materials, and, of course, player assassinations.
However, Izroth was not on good terms with Fatal Touch after one of their members ambushed Luna and her friends.
Although he did not take a direct part in the ambush, Haishe was one of the people present that day.
Since Izroth made it in time to help Luna and eliminate the mastermind behind the ambush, he did not actively pursue Fatal Touch after that day. But, that did not mean he had completely forgotten about what occurred. Nor had he forgiven Fatal Touch for daring to go after one of his people.
'What is he up to?'
Izroth heard rumors about Fatal Touch having a somewhat close relationship with the Headhunter Syndicate as they were one of their best customers. To suddenly betray their star employer was not out of character for an organization like Fatal Touch, but it was unusual when the other party was a top guild.
The only reason Izroth believed the video was authentic and not staged had to do with Vault's personality.
Izroth found it challenging to believe that such an arrogant guy would set aside his pride and willingly die at the hands of someone else just for an uncertain chance of fooling him.
Nevertheless, the possibility was not entirely zero. Therefore, Izroth did not completely discard it from his mind.
Izroth, "I'll handle it. Tell them to contact me. I will accept."
Izroth was unsure what Haishe hoped to accomplish; however, there was one easy way to find out. And, that was by talking to him directly.
Aurora, "Then, I'll inform him at once. By the way, you should drop by the Mystical Realm Palace when you have some spare time. I know you've given me full authority on matters, but it's not good in the long run to entirely distance yourself from your own business."
Izroth, "I'll be sure to keep that in mind."
Aurora, "As long as you understand. Then, take care of yourself."
〈System Alert: Player Aurora has terminated the voice chat!〉
Not long after Aurora ended the voice call, Izroth received a new set of system alerts.
〈System Alert: Player Haishe has requested a voice chat!〉
〈System Alert: Do you wish to accept the incoming voice chat from Player Haishe?〉
"Accept."
The moment Izroth accepted the voice chat, a familiar voice came from the other side.
Haishe, "I'm glad you've decided to accept my call, Palace Master Izroth. I believe we have quite a few things to discuss. Wouldn't you agree?"