"The difficulty of a raid is different compared to that of the dungeons we've been facing so far. Unlike dungeons which are usually run as a party of six players, raids require a raiding group of 24-players. While it's possible to enter with fewer players, I don't have to tell you how impossible that is to even attempt." Asgard explained.

Nilheim nodded and added, "According to the basic information provided about raids in the player's handbook, the enraged state of a raid boss works differently from that of a dungeon boss. Not only that, but it also has a second state that dungeon bosses lack; the berserker state."

​​

He then continued, "Even if one had the ability to ultimately defeat a raid boss unless they can do it within a set time limit, the boss will enter its a berserker state. In that state, it will gain crowd control immunity and have its stats boosted. It's not a state meant for players to fight against. Its sole purpose is to completely wipe out the raiding party."

Izroth knew about the berserker state since he read the player's handbook before even logging onto RML for the first time. The berserker state was there to prevent players from doing something like using 14 healers and 10 tanks to slowly whittle away at the raid bosses HP.

It also stopped undergeared parties from being capable of clearing a raid. Not to mention, it made the damage dealer role just as relevant as the tank and healing roles.

However, there were two other important facts that Niflheim forgot to mention. The first was that the boss would start instantly killing players one by one starting from the tanks and then onto the highest damage dealer. Secondly, the time limit varied from boss to boss. The berserker state time could be anywhere between 5-10 minutes.

The good news was that players would be warned 60 seconds before the raid boss entered into its berserker state. Though the most challenging thing about raid bosses was learning how to properly fight against them. Every raid boss was unique and there were different elements to fights and things that players had to be fully aware of at all times.

It was the main reason experienced raiding parties from most MMORPGs never invited random players to join their party. It required proper coordination and teamwork to clear a raid.

There was a saying amongst players in the gaming community, "Raids separates the skilled from the skill-less.". After all, holding records in raids was ten times more important than those of dungeons.

"I can understand your hurry to clear the first raid, however, it should be well within Blue Oasis' power to increase the equipment quality of their guild members to an appropriate level given a weeks time. Therefore, would you like to inform me of the other reason you have decided to invite me along?" Izroth said in a calm tone of voice.

Niflheim was a bit startled at first, however, he released a small sigh followed by a chuckle as he shook his head and said, "I figured it wouldn't get by you. As I'm sure you know, raids and all dungeons at level 40+ have a difficulty setting attached to them. These settings include Normal, Difficult, and Hardcore."

He then continued, "While it's true that we do not lack the means to improve our players' equipment within a weeks time for a Normal raid, the same cannot be said for a Hardcore raid. Izroth, the territory we wish to claim has three prerequisites attached to it. The first is a basic requirement, gold coins or RMB. Second, we must clear a dungeon on Hardcore mode, however, this is something we can do without too much trouble. Last but not least, we must clear a raid on Hardcore mode."

Clearing a raid on Hardcore mode! The rewards one would receive from doing so would be generous. Not to mention the increase in reputation a guild would experience after accomplishing such a noticeable feat.

'An interesting set of requirements.'

Izroth was well aware of how challenging it could be to claim one's own territory, however, he never expected it to be that uncompromising. But, he understood that Blue Oasis was going after a specific territory which was countless times harder than obtaining a regular Territory Order and settling into a small piece of land. No, this must be something much bigger than that.

Even though Izroth was still curious about a few things, he decided that it was best not to ask too many questions of such a sensitive topic. After all, they had already divulged a hefty amount of information to him. If he continued to try and satisfy his curiosity, he may end up with even less information.

In the end, it all came down to a simple question; did he want to join Blue Oasis on the first ever raid on RML? The answer was obvious. After discussing a few more details, Izroth agreed to lend a hand.

"You and your party should prepare yourselves well, Izroth. Everyone needs to be at least level 40 with at least three pieces of rare quality equipment and the rest uncommon at worse. If not, then we won't be able to even think about attempting the raid on Hardcore mode. We'll meet in seven days to challenge the raid. I'll send you the coordinates one hour before we're ready to begin." Niflheim said.

"Then, I'll be looking forward to it." Izroth replied.

They exchanged a bit of idle chat before ultimately parting ways. Now, the only two remaining in the room was Izroth and Opal.

"Opal, how is the shop doing?" Izroth asked as he opened his inventory to remove a few items.

"The Mystical Realm Palace has been open for a total of 1 hour 45 minutes and 15 seconds. The profits made within that time frame with the 5% personal shop tax removed comes out to a total of 28,593 gold and 90 silver coins. Our total inventory is down by approximately 10%, however, the rate of purchasing is slowing down to a stable predicted state of 1.2% of the total inventory per hour." Opal explained.

Izroth expected that the first wave of purchases would be huge, however, he did not think that he would have already sold 10% of the pills he crafted! However, he knew that the rate would slowly stabilize itself as the initial wave of customers evened out over time.

She then continued, "At the current rate of consumer purchases, shop inventory will need to be refilled within approximately 75 hours. That ends my report."

'75 hours? That leaves me with a little more than two days of time until I have to start crafting again. I'll have to find a solution to my replenishing inventory problem at a later date, for now, I have to take care of something that should have been done a long time ago.'

Izroth removed a total of three items from his inventory. When it came to these three items, it was almost as if Izroth was cursed. This was due to the fact that the two times he attempted to open any of these treasure chests, something bad always happened.

The first time was back in the palace when he was forcibly logged out. The second time was on his way to the Blazing Tempris Domain when he got attacked by Azalea.

'I believe there's a saying in this world that goes, third times the charm.'

Name: Rare Item Treasure Chest(Soulbound)

Rank: Rare

Usage: Contains a single Rare item inside.

Special Note: This item is soulbound and cannot be traded or sold.

Name: True World Treasure Chest(Soulbound)

Rank: True World

Usage: Contains a single preserved relic of the True World.

Special Note: This item is soulbound and cannot be traded or sold.

Izroth was in possession of two Rare Item Treasure Chest and one True World Treasure Chest. The descriptions of both items were straight forward and yet vague at the same time. Izroth had no idea what he would get from the treasure chests be it equipment, some kind of material, or even something like a talisman. All he knew for certain was what the quality of the item would be.

However, it was a bit different for the True World Treasure Chest.

'A relic of the True World...'

Izroth thought to himself for a brief moment, however, he had no knowledge of this so-called True World. He also had no idea what the rank True World meant for an item, but there was only one way to find out.

Izroth opened one of the Rare Item Treasure Chest as a flash of brilliant light appeared before the chest itself disappeared. In its place, it left a small ring black and silver ring with bizarre markings carved into it. Embedded into the top part of the ring was a gemstone that resembled a ruby, however, its shape was a bit odd.

Accessory Name: Ring of The Exiled One

Accessory Rank: Rare

Lifesteal: +3%

Accessory Skill: Life Reaping(Passive/Active) - The user gains the following «Soul Steal» stack(s) for every enemy killed (MAX: 100):

-Normal monster: +1

-Elite monster: +5

-Boss monster: +20

-Enemy player: +10

The user consumes all stacks of «Soul Steal» and gains +1% «Lifesteal» for every 1 stack of «Soul Steal» stored inside the Ring of The Exiled One when activated. This effect lasts for 20 seconds. If the user of this skill kills an enemy while this effect is still active, the time until the effect ends is increased by 5 seconds (MAX: 20 seconds). Stacks of «Soul Steal» are removed from this item 1 hour after being acquired.

Cooldown Time: 30 minutes

'What a powerful item.'

Izroth was extremely satisfied with the item given to him by the treasure chest. Not only was it a lifesteal item, but its effects were ridiculous! This item had the potential to give a player 100% lifesteal for 40 seconds total!

Although its cooldown time was 30 minutes, this item would be incredibly useful in various situations. Also, due to the 3% lifesteal that it naturally gave just from wearing it, Izroth now had a base lifesteal stat of 6%! Izroth did not hesitate and put the RIng of The Exiled One onto his finger. It fit perfectly as if the ring had changed its shape to match his finger.

'Let us hope I didn't use all of my luck on the first treasure chest.'

Izroth opened the second Rare Item Treasure Chest and was confused by the sight of the item.

'A rock? No, that's not quite right.'

Indeed, the item looked just like a normal black rock. However, after taking a closer look, Izroth could make out the magic inscriptions placed upon the black rock. It was actually an inscription stone!

However, it did not look like any inscription stone Izroth had seen before as its color was different from the usually silver-like color of most inscription stones. Izroth did not know if this was a good or bad thing, but he figured if it came from a Rare Item Treasure Chest, it had to be the former.

Name: Five Way Imprint Inscription Stone(Rare)

Usage: Inscribes 'one' piece of equipment with the «Five Way Imprint».

Special Note: This item is destroyed after 1 use(s).

'Five Way Imprint?'

One of the major things with inscription stones was the fact that only its creator or an Inscriptionist could understand the inscription itself. Therefore, if Izroth wanted to know its exact effects, he would have to take it to an Inscriptionist to get it checked out. Or, he could always risk it and use the inscription stone without having it examined. However, doing so was a huge risk.

'I'll have an Inscriptionist take a look at it when I get a chance.'

He set the Five Way Imprint Inscription Stone into his inventory. After he did so, Izroth finally turned his attention towards the True World Treasure Chest. He was looking forward to opening this one the most since everything about it was completely unknown to him.

He wasted no time in lifting the lid of the treasure chest to see what was inside. The brilliant light it released made the one from the Rare Item Treasure Chest look like a campfire sitting next to a sun. When the light dispersed, Izroth set his sights upon the relic that appeared before him.

'This is...!'

When Izroth saw what he received from the True World Treasure Chest, he almost thought he was simply seeing things.

'This... Should something like this even be allowed to exist?'

...