Izroth gave a small nod as he lightly kicked off the ground and soared into the air using Sky Steps! In the blink of an eye, he traveled tens of meters away from the Sacred Beasts players and deeper into Tempest allied territory.
...
A few moments after Izroth left, One Shot Brick faced Meng Jiang and said, "It's not like you to change plans so suddenly. Does it have something to do with what Acogu'An saw?"
It was no secret to One Shot brick and the core members of Sacred Beasts that Meng Jiang's wolf, Acogu'An, possessed the skill Complete Analysis.
From the way Meng Jiang trusted Izroth to move alone, it was next to impossible that she did not use Complete Analysis on him. However, for some reason, Meng Jiang decided to remain silent about what she found after using it. Given her open personality that was unafraid to speak the truth, it was unusual for her to keep such secrets.
"Perhaps, or perhaps not. Either way, it will be advantageous to our Sacred Beasts if we stay on his good side—that, I can assure you." Meng Jiang responded as she looked out towards the Demilitarization Belt.
She then continued, "That is all I will say regarding that topic. Our main focus is to hunt a couple of snakes. Since they dared to strike first, we will have to remind them that our Sacred Beasts cannot be bullied by just anyone."
Meng Jiang's lips curled into a lovely smile as a cold glint flashed through her eyes.
...
'At my current speed, it won't take me long to reach the outpost.'
Izroth utilized his Energy Vision Sense to scan his surroundings from the air. At the moment, he was above a grove situated at the very center of the three Tempest allied outposts.
One of the outposts used to belong to Rosentarus; however, after the appearance of Ekquilore and the slaughter that followed, Rosentarus was forced to retreat and give up the outpost. It was this same outpost that Izroth chose to head to alone.
'I only have a few seconds remaining on my Sky Steps. I have to find a spot to land.'
There were high-level monsters scattered within the grove below. Although he could not see their information through the system due to the distance restriction, Izroth had a rough idea of their general strength from his Energy Vision Sense.
'The monsters in this area are strong for field monsters. If I had to guess, their levels should be within the mid to high 40s or low 50s range. If the average player attempted to cross this grove unprepared, they would not last long.'
The high-level monsters paired with the blood mist—Izroth understood why Rosentarus had set up an outpost in this area. If one wanted to attack, they would have no choice but to tread the dangers or openly announce their attack. Now that Tempest and their allied forces were in command of the outpost, they likely adopted a similar strategy to Rosentarus.
Swoosh!
Izroth rapidly descended from the sky and activated Falling Feather Steps just as he was about to land. An invisible force straightened out his body as he safely arrived on the ground.
〈System Alert: You have entered the «Hollow Soul Grove»!〉
'This area will have to do. It will be another three minutes or so before Sky Steps is off cooldown. Until then-'
Izroth chose one of the areas with the least amount of monsters roaming around. It was not that he was afraid of the creatures, but rather...
Woosh! Bang!
Out of nowhere, a stick with a pointed tip and patterned stripes crashed into the earth and punctured a hole through it with ease.
Izroth took two quick steps backward and evaded the stick. However, upon closer examination, he noticed that it was not a regular stick.
'This is... A quill?'
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In less than two seconds, the ground where the striped quill made contact began to erode. The next moment, a puddle of putrid black liquid formed and bubbled like boiling water as tiny black spikes manifested on its surface.
Tsst! Tsst!
A bit shy of ten meters away from Izroth's location was a monster just under two meters in length at the top of a tree. The creature's appearance resembled a porcupine that looked as though it had undergone a vicious transformation to adapt to the harsh environment of the grove. On its back were numerous quills that mirrored the one that shot towards Izroth.
This creature was also the reason why Izroth decided to land in this specific spot.
Name: Hollow Soul Grove Silvertip Hystrix(Rare)
Level: 53
'A level 53 rare monster. It's not often one can run into them outside of dungeons, raids, or high-ranking quests. It would seem that I'm quite fortunate.'
When he scanned the grove with his Energy Vision Sense, Izroth identified several areas with strong flames. The peculiar thing about these flames was the fact that little to no other flames were present in their vicinity. But, it was not as if the Hollow Soul Grove lacked monsters.
'Judging from the situation I observed in the sky, the monsters in this grove must be extremely territorial. This works to my advantage. Since I have to time to spare until Meng Jiang and Sacred Beasts reach the other outposts—I should make the most of it.'
While dungeons and raids certainly gave players more experience and better equipment or item drops than wild monsters, there was a limited number of attempts players could make depending on the cooldown time. This rule existed for all dungeons and raids, with the exception of a few low-level dungeons.
Of course, the number of high-level dungeons and raids available in RML that top players could run was even more severely limited. Therefore, one could not merely depend on dungeon dives to progress and secure crucial resources.
Izroth set his gaze on the Silvertip Hystrix as the creature returned a fierce glare with its deep grassy eyes. At the same time, its body slowly began to expand as the quills on the Silvertip Hystrix's back quivered.
Tsst! Tsst!
Suddenly, the Silvertip Hystrix's body contracted as a barrage of quills fired in Izroth's direction.
As the quills closed in on his position, Izroth unsheathed his Sword of The Storm as a mighty gale swept around him. The force of the gale threw the quills off their initial trajectory and caused them to scattered in multiple directions.
'Now... Let's begin the hunt, shall we?'
...
Meanwhile, within a building at an undisclosed location...
There were a total of six people visible in the room—three of which Izroth would recognize immediately.
One was Menerva, the hidden strategists of the Headhunter Syndicate, while the second was the leader of the rising powerhouse guild, Vault.
At the moment, they were seated around a circular table. A few of them looked uninterested in what was transpiring, and some even seemed to be in their own little world.
Nevertheless, despite their nonchalant behavior, every one of them had the potential to claim a spot as a core player within other big guilds.
"So? Why did we have to gather in this dump? I'll get dirty just by looking at this place." A charming voice sounded. It belonged to a player named Open Notes—the same player that led the attack on Sacred Beasts during their fight against the Failed Chimera.
After failing the assault and with everyone else in her party wiped out by Izroth, Open Notes was able to escape with her life. Even though she had to divulge some information, it was nothing of great importance to her. Plus, in the end, she even received some gold coins. Of course, she kept this a secret from those who tagged along with her back then.
"Hah? Can someone as filthy as you even get dirty to begin with, Notes? Besides, I heard you failed your last task and ran away with your tail tucked between your legs! Well, I guess that's fitting for someone who can only pluck at strings and hide during a fight. Bwahahaha!" The one who spoke was a male with bronze skin who appeared to be in his mid to late twenties. He possessed a muscular frame that was incredibly refined—as if he had undergone extensive physical training. His long and wild amber-colored hair was accompanied by a pair of fierce red eyes like that of a wild beast.
"What can I say? Some of us are born with beauty, skills, brains—the whole package. However, you Apex, seem only to have inherited a bag of meat for brains and just half a b-"
"All of you, calm down. If you want to fool around, then do it on your own time. Right now, we have a problem to settle." Vault said with a grin as he cut off Open Notes before she could finish her sentence.