〈System Alert: You have entered the «Sunstone Cave».〉
'It looks like we came to the right place.'
When he first headed into the cave, Izroth was welcomed by darkness. But, as he ventured further in, a warm light appeared on his descending path.
The closer Izroth walked towards the light, the brighter it became. Soon, it got to the point where it was so bright that it was like staring into the sun.
However, this blinding brightness only lasted a split second as Izroth arrived in an underground cavern.
The cavern was serene with gorgeous rock formations and a clear untainted body of water running through it. Though what really caught one's eyes were the numerous softly glowing stones on the cavern walls.
These stones resembled the color of the sun and gave one a feeling of warm comfort just by being in the same vicinity.
'Those stones must be how this cave got its name. I would like to take some with me, but… It's a shame I lack the means to do so.'
The Sunstones were well embedded into the cavern walls and required a good quality pickaxe in order to remove them.
Unfortunately, the one low-grade pickaxe Izroth previously had in his possession had broken during his previous excavation in the Great Sea Palace raid.
'In the future, it seems I will have to invest in a good quality pickaxe. Or, at the very least, find a more convenient way of extracting materials.'
"So warm… This kind of atmosphere naturally soothes your heart and puts you at ease. Even in the Mortal Realm, there are only a handful of places similar to this cavern." Sychia commented as she observed the surroundings.
"Absurd! Do you take me for a fool?! I've been waiting here for half a day yet you had no intention of accepting my invitation from the start! You will have to answer for this eventually!" A voice suddenly erupted from deeper inside the cave.
The voice belonged to a woman. And, from the sound of things, the conversation was not going well.
Not too long after the outburst, Izroth heard the sound of footsteps approaching.
A few seconds later, a woman stepped out from one of the cavern passages.
She was a great beauty with long golden hair and clear blue eyes. The aura around her was nothing to scoff at as it easily surpassed that of Maragos, the anzeyta death warrior that Izroth previously encountered.
Name: Lady of Clear Eyes, Kysamia(???)
Level: 0
Kysamia set her gaze on Izroth and Sychia before a small frown appeared on her face.
"What is a lower celestial doing with a mortal? Did they wander into this cave by chance? Hmph, forget it. Let them disturb that guy's peace. This can be seen as me venting." Kysamia said as she turned her gaze ahead and continued on her way towards the direction Izroth and Sychia had just come from.
'Lower celestial?'
Due to the ethos circulating inside his body, Kysamia had mistaken Izroth for a lower celestial.
The Guardian of the Ambrosia Tree, Thanasia had also referred to Izroth as a "young celestial".
'Is it that one's ethos determines one's standing in this Secret Realm? If so, it's not too surprising. After all, no matter where it may be, in the end, it is always the strong who stands at the top.'
Sychia furrowed her brows and said, "What was that about?"
"The residents of this Secret Realm use an energy source known as ethos that differs from the mana we are used to back in the Mortal Realm. Those who lack the ability to use ethos are called mortals." Izroth explained calmly.
"I see… I thought it was unusual how the mana in this Secret Realm was nonexistent."
"Wait here," Izroth said as he walked towards the passage Kysamia had stormed out of just moments ago.
Sychia nodded and declared, "If I sense that you are in danger or you directly call for my assistance, I will come to your aid at once."
"It won't be necessary, but—I appreciate the sentiment," Izroth said nonchalantly while he casually waved his hand as he went through the passage.
After Izroth left, Sychia quietly positioned herself next to the entrance of the passage.
"I hope I am making the correct choice… For my master's sake…" Sychia internalized as she closed her eyes.
…
'It's quiet.'
The passage was only ten meters long, so it did not take Izroth long to reach the other end.
Izroth arrived in a room that looked manmade. In the room was a single table and chair with a bookstand nearby. Above the table was a single sunstone that released a gentle light and kept the room well-lit.
Sat down in the chair reading a book on the table in front of him was a healthy middle-aged man.
The man wore simple yet refined clothing. His hair was black with slight waves and stopped a little past his shoulders. He had eyes that matched the color of the sunstones embedded in the cavern walls and a well-maintained beard.
And, as the alert from the system sounded, Izroth did not even need to look at the man's system information to know his identity.
〈System Alert: 1/1 Find «Ilioreas» in the «Sunstone Cave».〉
Ilioreas did not bother to look up as Izroth entered the room.
"Why has one who holds the Breath of Gaea come to pay me a visit?" Ilioreas said as he flipped through the page of his book and continued to read at his own pace.
'So he already noticed it. I thought it was strange how he allowed me to enter this place so freely. Since he did not immediately turn me away or attack after seeing the ring, at the very least, he should not be an enemy. Though I doubt Astratis would have sent me here if that were the case to begin with. Now…'
"I came here on behalf of the Son of Thunder, Astratis. He would like to request that you send aid to him." Izroth stated.
"Very well. Then, I shall give you the same answer as the one before you. I will accept your request. However, before I accompany you on the journey, you must wait until I finish reading a book. You are free to leave at any time, but once you do so, you cannot return to this place." Ilioreas said indifferently.
Izroth inwardly furrowed his brows as he looked down at the book Ilioreas was reading. The text was in an ancient language that he had not come across before in RML and the book itself was rather thin. In addition, it seemed that Ilioreas only had at most two or three more pages to go. Even if he read at a slow pace, with the amount of text on the pages, it should not take him more than half an hour to finish.
But, there was something that bothered Izroth.
The woman from before had been waiting for half a day but ended up storming out of the cavern. However, why did she decide to give up when he was so close to finishing the book?
'I still have plenty of time remaining until the quest time limit is up. I would like to complete it as soon as possible since my time in this Secret Realm is limited, but… I suppose it wouldn't hurt to wait a bit. If he truly is handing out false promises, then I will find a way to properly deal with him.'
"Then, I will wait," Izroth responded.
…
One minute later…
Ilioreas flipped to the next page of the book.
Two minutes later…
Ilioreas flipped the page again.
When Izroth witnessed this, he was somewhat surprised. He thought for sure that Ilioreas was an incredibly slow reader, given the temper of the woman who was here not too long ago. But, Ilioreas' pace was not bad at all!
In that case, the woman who left when she was so close to the end was really too impatient. If she had waited just a few more minutes, it may have been possible to achieve her goal. Unfortunately, one who lacked patience could only regret—at least, these were Izroth's initial thoughts.
Five minutes later…
Ten minutes later…
After ten minutes passed, Izroth could not help but inwardly frown. Ilioreas had clearly not stopped turning pages for a moment, but for some reason, no matter how much he turned the page, he always appeared to only have three or four pages remaining.
'No wonder she was so upset. I'm surprised she waited for half a day before storming out of this place.'
There was something strange about the book in Ilioreas' possession. Izroth noticed that the content on each page was different after Ilioreas flipped to the next one. However, it was almost as if the book had an infinite number of pages that never ran out.
'I can't afford to wait here for an hour, let alone half a day… Is this really a task of patience? There has to be another way…'
The system never gave players a quest that was impossible to complete; therefore, Izroth understood that there must be a way to successfully convince Ilioreas.
