Izroth studied Xing Bai for a brief moment before he responded, "Alright, I will consider it. However, you should know that my Mystical Realm Palace does not take in just any pills."
"I can assure you, we wouldn't dream of putting out some mediocre product that would ruin the tarnish the good name of the Fireheart Apothecary Society. Even though we are not very well known, we take pride in our crafting abilities. Rest assured, we will only provide you with pills of the highest quality if we come to an agreement. I thank you for your time." Xing Bai stated before taking his seat.
"Very well, I'll take a look at your definition of quality later on." Izroth replied in a carefree manner.
"I would like to say a few things too…" One of the other players at the table stood up and began speaking.
Just like that, the depth of the gathering grew deeper and deeper as the moments passed and everyone became involved in the conversation.
…
Around one hour later, the gathering that took place in the conference room of the Mystical Realm Palace finally came to an end. For the past hour, Izroth listened to the various offers and different point of views of the players present. In the end, he made a few reasonable gains while giving away a few benefits in return.
However, one of his biggest gains was definitely the new treasure trove of rare materials that he was to hand over to the "Pill Emperor" as a gift from those who attended the gathering. There was also the 1,300 gold coins he obtained as an entry fee to the gathering. Therefore, Izroth did not mind spending an hour of his time and he felt as if it was surely worth it.
'I will have to find the time to go over the new rare materials.'
Izroth was thinking to himself as he was approached by Xing Bai.
"I've brought along a few pills for you to look at. I'm sure after hanging around the Pill Emperor, you must possess quite the knowledge when it comes to pills. However, if you wish for the Pill Emperor to take a look at them, I have been given permission to use these pills as a gift in order for you to do so." Xing Bai said as he removed 13 different pills from his inventory.
'Not bad.'
Izroth closely examined the pills that were laid out before him. Although they were a bit lacking compared to the pills he created, they were definitely high-quality pills, especially compared to the ones up for sale in the auction house.
For example, there was this grade one pill called the Quickening Pill. Its effect was simple, but effective nonetheless.
Name: Quickening Pill(I)
Rank: Grade-One
Usage: The user who consumes this pill permanently gains the passive skill «Quickened Steps».
«Quickened Steps»: Permanently increases the user's movement speed by 5%. This effect doubles when the user is out of combat.
Special Note: Consuming this pill more than once will not grant any additional effect(s). However, consuming a higher grade version of the pill will replace its effect(s).
For a player like Izroth whose main focus was speed and power, this pill would be quite beneficial. However, it was also useful to players who did not focus on speed due to the 5% being doubled while the player was out of combat. There were numerous situations that Izroth could think of where having consumed the Quickening Pill could be helpful.
Most of the pills Xing Bai presented were similar to the Quickening Pill in that they were simple, but still effective for most if not all players. There were a few that focused on a specific class of playstyle, and even some that were a step above the Quickening Pill in the level of complexity department.
'It appears that after today, the Fireheart Apothecary Society will no longer be some unknown group. If they are able to produce something of this level, then they will undoubtedly flourish. However…'
What Izroth did not fully understand was why they chose this specific moment to reveal themselves. While it was true that Xing Bai wanted to sell pills in the Mystical Realm Palace since it was currently the only player owned shop, he and the Fireheart Apothecary Society could have easily held out until property became available for their own shop.
After all, Izroth did not believe that they would want to wish his shop to sell their pills forever. At some point, the Mystical Realm Palace would be a major rival and competitor of the shop opened by the Fireheart Apothecary Society. So the real question was, why did Xing Bai come to a potential rival with this offer instead of some top guild?
"Indeed, the members of the Fireheart Apothecary Society takes pride in their crafting. It reflects well on the pills you have shown here today. There's no need to further verify their quality, the pills speak for themselves loud and clear." Izroth commented.
"Your words are too kind. We work hard to improve ourselves and our skills day by day." Xing Bai replied.
"However, I must say that with these pills alone you are more than capable of running your own shop in the future. Why are you in such a hurry to let a potential rival shop sell your pills? I highly doubt you would find much trouble locating potential buyers with this pill line up. Better yet, why not go directly to a top guild who would be more than willing to purchase your pills?" Izroth said.
Xing Bai released a long sigh and shook his head as he said, "We do not wish to become involved in the complicated battle and rivalry between the top guilds. At the moment, you are the only neutral party and frankly speaking, with the influence of the Pill Emperor and the head of my Fireheart Apothecary Society, no one would dare to cause trouble openly."
He then continued, "As for opening our own shop… It's certainly a possibility in the future. However, I'm sure you're aware of how expensive the needs of an Apothecary can be. Including me, there are a total of ten second rank apothecaries within the Fireheart Apothecary Society. We all wish to become third rank apothecaries, however, we do not wish to be a pill factory for the top guilds."
Ten second rank apothecaries?! Even the top ten guilds only had zero to two second rank apothecaries amongst their ranks and yet, this group actually had ten of them! Who exactly was this group of players that were able to put the top guilds to shame in the Apothecary department?
Izroth and Xing Bai continued their conversation and eventually came to an agreement. Izroth agreed to sell the pills in the Mystical Realm Palace and in return, he would receive 10% of all profit generated from the pills.
Xing Bai had no problems with the terms Izroth set. The auction house charged a ridiculous 20% fee. By selling the pills inside of the Mystical Realm Palace, they would be saving 10% of their total profits! So now if they made 1,000,000 RMB worth of gold coins from their transactions, instead of paying 200,000 RMB, they would only pay 100,000 RMB.
The amount that they would end up saving from this deal would become astronomical.
With the 10% he received, Izroth would be able to cover the personal shop tax for the pills and still make a decent profit. What did he have to do? Absolutely nothing!
"I'll have a proper inventory sent over within the next few days. Now, regarding the meeting with the Pill Emperor…" Xing Bai said.
Xing Bai went on to set a time for the head and the Pill Emperor to meet face to face. He sent Izroth a friend request that was accepted and after confirming a few things, he gave a polite bow and farewell before taking his leave.
However, as soon as Xing Bai stepped outside of the Mystical Realm Palace, he was bombarded by invitations by various parties that were present during the meeting. It was obvious that they wanted to form some sort of connection.
Now, the only people left in the room was Izroth, Niflheim, and Asgard who had begun their conversation. As for Mariposa, she had bid Izroth farewell only a few seconds after the gathering had ended. It turned out that she had some prior engagement to attend to.
What Izroth did not expect was for Ewan, one of the first guild leaders to arrive, to leave not too long after Mariposa. He gave a simple farewell and said that he had hoped to meet with Izroth again some day. In fact, Ewan had been one of the quietest people at the table during the gathering and barely spoke at all. Izroth was curious as to what Ewan gained from all of this.
However, it was pointless to continue thinking about something that had already passed. Right now, Izroth just heard something of great interest from Niflheim.
"While we are unsure of the exact date, it is definitely some time next week between Friday and Sunday. At the moment, we have someone stationed there around the clock for obvious reasons. However, this is a once in a lifetime opportunity and we want you to be a part of it, Izroth. I don't have to tell you the importance of claiming the first territory within RML." Niflheim said.
The first territory! If those other guild leaders before heard those words, Blue Oasis would immediately become public enemy number one until they revealed the information regarding the territory. Facing pressure from so many top guilds, Blue Oasis would have no choice but to concede and give up its location. When that happened, they would lose any previous advantage they had.
Izroth noticed that Asgard seemed to be uncomfortable as Niflheim spoke. It was not difficult to tell that he still had mixed feelings about revealing such sensitive information to someone they barely knew. However, he decided to trust Niflheim's judge of character and ultimately allowed him to disclose it. Of course, he made sure that Niflheim promised to leave out any coordinates.
Izroth felt that Niflheim was too trusting in this case and that Asgard had every right to be uncomfortable as he is now. If Izroth had bad intentions, then it would cause an endless amount of headaches for Blue Oasis. Why did Niflheim so readily trust him with such sensitive information that could radically alter Blue Oasis' future if Izroth decided to open his mouth about it?
When Izroth asked that question, Niflheim responded without hesitation.
"You have already given me your word that you would not disclose it, and I have no intentions of bragging, but if I'm talented at one thing in life it's judging one's character. If I have misjudged you, then I can only blame myself and deal with the consequences that come along with it. However, I do not believe that it will come to that point." Niflheim said with confidence.
"What is it that you need of me that Blue Oasis is incapable of doing themselves?" Izroth asked. Although he was strong, Blue Oasis did not lack skilled players. He highly doubted that Blue Oasis wanted him to assist them solely because of his combat capabilities.
Niflheim gave a helpless expression as he said, "We've done a lot of thinking about this and, in the end, we simply don't have enough players equipped to attempt such a thing, even if we do have nearly a week to prepare. At the moment, we only have two core parties that are fully equipped to handle the situation and one party that is decently equipped."
He then continued, "As for the last party… That's where you come in. To be honest, even with your help, I'm not sure we can pull it off. However, it is a requirement for the territory we wish to obtain. Besides that, it's also the first of its kind to be discovered within RML. Izroth, I'm sure you understand how important this is to a top guild like us. Blue Oasis will be the first to clear a raid in RML."
