Izroth was not surprised by Mariposa's response. The deal he offered was far too beneficial for Sleeping Gardenia for Mariposa to even consider not accepting it. Not only would they gain back their original investment, but they would also continue to earn more after doing so.

'I have taken the first step. Ten percent and a few benefits is a small price to pay.'

​​

For a while now, Izroth had something on his mind that he considered doing at an earlier time, but it was not ideal for him to do so at that moment. After all, he did not have any capital, a stable source of income, no connections, and most importantly no one he could entrust certain things to.

'The next step is going to be a little troublesome. I'll have to depend on the one point in my luck stat to shine when that time comes.'

Mariposa stood up from her seat, "If you have any concerns or needs, He Huian and I will be here to assist you. As for our Apothecary branch, I'll personally introduce you to them whenever you'd like. I'll send you the gold you require." She said as she opened up her system interface and sent the gold coins to Izroth.

〈System Alert: You have received 80,000 gold coins from Player Mariposa〉

"As for the resources, Sleeping Gardenia will cover all common and uncommon resources free of charge. All you have to do is simply make the request. As for the rare resources and beyond, we can locate or even acquire them for you, but it will be put towards the 1,000 gold coins credit line you've suggested." Mariposa said.

She then continued, "You may be interested in some of the more... Not yet public resources we've managed to obtain. He Huian, be sure to grab two samples of each and send them to Izroth. If we only have two samples, then give him the other one."

"I understand." He Huian responded.

"I'll have to thank you for your generosity." Izroth replied. He figured that a top guild like Sleeping Gardenia would definitely have ingredients hidden away from the casual player base, as well as, other top guilds. This was so that their guild would have a slight edge over other guilds, no matter how small.

At the moment, Izroth was limited by two things when it came to the Apothecary profession. The first was the lack of versatile ingredients to work with. While the other was a stronger fire core. Residing inside of his Dark Abyssal Cauldron was a D-ranked fire core.

Right now, Izroth's Dark Abyssal Cauldron had already evolved into a C+ rank after his most recent pill crafting session. However, he could see that in order to further increase its rank, he would have to first acquire a higher grade fire core so that the cauldron could feed off grade four pill essence.

The growth of his cauldron had come to a complete halt after it reached the C+ rank. Therefore, no matter how many grade three pills he crafted inside the Dark Abyssal Cauldron, it would never advance.

Izroth opened his trade window and sent Mariposa 800 Five Cycle Pills, as well as, 10 each of the other six pills. To be honest, it did not cost Izroth more than a few gold coins to make that batch of pills. Therefore, he did not mind giving it away. Also, it reinforced the fact that he would treat those well who treated him well.

"Consider this my way of showing a little gratitude." Izroth said in a carefree manner.

Mariposa had a blank expression on her face when she saw what Izroth was trading her. There were nearly 900 pills! The most shocking thing was that over 800 of them were grade three pills! Could it be he had these pills on him this entire time and was just testing them? Yes, that must be it.

It did not even cross Mariposa's mind that Izroth could have crafted so many pills is just two hours. However, if Mariposa knew that Izroth was capable of such a thing how would she have reacted?

"If this is your way of showing gratitude, I'll be sure to keep that in mind." Mariposa said with a smile on her face. Mariposa handed the pills over to Valkyria who was at her side.

"Be sure that every member of the Lotus Guard receives a Five Cycles Pill. If you have any remaining, you are to hand them over to He Huian to use as a way of rewarding our guild members for any achievements they may have accomplished." Mariposa said.

She then continued, "As for the other six pills... Since will only be eight of each them remaining after both you and I receive one. I will leave it up to you to decide which core members will get the remaining. I trust you to use your better judgment."

Since He Huian was not someone who focused on the combat aspect of the game, she did not have any immediate use for the pills.

"I will do so at once." Valkyria responded as she stood up and gave everyone a proper farewell before taking her leave. She hid it well, but one could tell that she was excited to distribute the pills to the Lotus Guard. After all, a stronger Lotus Guard meant a stronger Sleeping Gardenia. This would increase the overall combat capability of Sleeping Gardenia by leaps and bounds!

Izroth, Mariposa, Zi Yi, and He Huian spoke for around ten minutes after Valkyria took her leave. Most of it was about what plans Izroth had for his shop. Of course, it was obvious that its main attraction would be pills, but they wondered if he had a solid plan for the prices. As for the marketing aspect, Sleeping Gardenia said they would handle it.

While it was true that the building Izroth wished to purchase was right across from the auction house and would naturally receive good business, there were still many other ways to attract potential customers.

"I believe the limit of one or two per customer is a good thing. After all, a player may try to clear out the entire inventory and sell them at a higher price behind your back if given that much freedom. Also this way, there is a chance for more players to visit and make a purchase. The more players that know about it, the more the word will spread." He Huian explained after hearing Zi Yi's suggestion.

Izroth nodded, "I agree. However, I am still unclear about how exactly the shop system works. I will have to explore the options after everything is set up. Zi Yi, I hope that you can put off going to Amaharpe's Palace Library for a while longer and assist me with a few things."

"If it weren't for you I wouldn't even have the chance to access the palace's library at the moment. I don't mind waiting a bit longer before I return." Zi Yi responded.

Zi Yi knew that Izroth still had a lot of things to take care of before he opened the shop. Therefore, she gladly offered her assistance. Especially considering the fact that she did not like to leave things half done. From the moment she accepted Izroth's first invitation she planned on seeing things through until the end.

"When will you be opening up the shop?" Mariposa asked curiously. While the sooner the better applied to this situation, Izroth still needed to create an actual inventory before being able to open up. He had already given them nearly 900 pills, therefore, she assumed that his inventory was severely lacking.

"I will purchase the location immediately. However, I will not be opening the shop until some time tomorrow or the day after that. Since I've already given you the list of resources I need to start off with, I will wait until later today when they are delivered with the other various ingredients." Izroth said.

"He Huian has already sent the message off, so it shouldn't be too long until you receive what you've requested. The amount is actually less than I expected... Are you sure you do not need anything else?" Mariposa said.

When Mariposa received the list of resources Izroth she was shocked. She expected to see a full list of rare and valuable ingredients, however, most of the ingredients were either common or uncommon. There was only one ingredient that would be a bit troublesome to acquire.

"Actually, there is one more item I would like for you to acquire for me. I need a fire core that is at least C-ranked or above. Of course, I will pay a fair price for it." Izroth said.

"C-ranked or above?" Mariposa said as she furrowed her brows as she appeared to be in deep thought for a moment.

"I'll see what I can do. Though, to be truthful, finding anything above a D-ranked fire core is unlikely. According to the information we've gathered so far, only strong fire-type monsters at level 40 and above or a fire-type world boss will drop C-ranked or higher fire cores. I'm sure you can understand our predicament." Mariposa explained.

Izroth figured something like that would be the case. After all, just being a grade two Apothecary was a massive and wonderous accomplishment at their current level and time spent within RML. Being a grade three Apothecary, on the other hand, should have come at a much later date.

Yet, here Izroth was attempting to become a grade four Apothecary! One had to know that the only grade four Apothecary within the capital city Amaharpe was the head of Amaharpe's Apothecary guild.

"I understand. I'll have to trouble you to take a look." Izroth said.

"Not a problem." Mariposa responded.

"I will send you a message once the resources are ready to be delivered. Until then, I have quite a bit of work to do. If you'll excuse me..." He Huian said as she gave a polite bow before excusing herself from the room.

"Then, we will also take our leave. I look forward to what the next few days will bring us." Izroth said.

"I, too, look forward to the future turn of events." Mariposa said as a lovely smile found its way onto her face.

After saying their farewells and Zi Yi finally managing to escape Mariposa's goodbye hug, Izroth and Zi Yi left the Sleeping Gardenia building and made their way towards the auction. Or, to be more precise, towards the shop that Izroth was going to purchase.

"You hide it well, Izroth." Zi Yi suddenly said as she and Izroth were walking in silence.

"Oh? So you've noticed?" Izroth responded.

"I had a vague feeling for a while now, but I was unsure. Well, at least until now." Zi Yi said.

"What do you intend to do?" Izroth said and he glanced over towards Zi Yi.

"I believe you already know the answer to that. Until that moment arrives, I will simply wait." Zi Yi said.

"Your elder sister will be quite sad to hear that." Izroth replied.

"My elder sister has enough people surrounding her. Besides, I have a feeling things will be more exciting this way. So, do you plan on telling the others?" Zi Yi asked curiously.

"In time. But for now, as you said a few moments ago, I will simply wait." Izroth said as a small smile appeared on his face.

...

Meanwhile, somewhere within a small village located not too far away from Amaharpe known as Argusa's Top...

"Boss! I just received a message saying they've located her!" A male player by the name of Fallen Leaf said to the player standing just before him over the dead body of one of the villagers.

"Are you sure? You know the price if you're mistaken, don't you?" The player who stood before Fallen Leaf was none other than the leader of the organization known as Fatal Touch, Silent Steps.

"I'm positive. The description you've given up matches up perfectly. We've even figured out her the name she goes by, Luna. Right now, she's in a full party with some other players, however, none of them appear to be particularly skilled. Just a bunch of nobodies." Fallen Leaf said confidently.

A large grin appeared on Silent Steps' face as his eyes appeared filled with rage and hatred.

"Good, very good...! I will repay the humiliation I suffered a thousand- No, a million fold!" Silent Step said in a cold tone of voice. He had not forgotten for one moment the humiliation he suffered at the hands of Luna. He swore that she would pay for her actions, and he planned on keeping his promise.