After defeating the Silvertip Hystrix, Izroth moved through the Hollow Soul Grove until he came across the Scorching Earth Liger.

Out of all the flames he viewed with his Energy Vision Sense, the Scorching Earth Liger was one of the strongest in the Hollow Soul Grove. Its attacks were swift and ferocious, with each blow from its large paws carrying a heavy destructive force behind it. However, the most fearsome ability of the Scorching Earth Liger was not its attack power but rather the monster's natural instinct.

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With his Flickering Steps active, Izroth was much faster than the Scorching Earth Liger; however, the creature always managed to avoid the attacks aimed at its vital points at the last second. Among the wild monsters Izroth faced so far, the Scorching Earth Liger was in a league of its own. Even the Silvertip Hystrix, a level 53 rare monster, did not come close to its might!

Unfortunately for the Scorching Earth Liger, it had met the wrong opponent.

Rawwwwwr!

The Scorching Earth Liger unleashed a mighty roar that caused the surrounding earth to tremble. The next moment, its paws became coated in a burning inferno that melted the ground it stood on. Then, in one swift motion, the Scorching Earth Liger pounced towards Izroth as it swiped downward with its massive blazing paw.

BOOOOM!

The creature's attack transformed the terrain into rubble and formed a crater eight meters across in diameter. However, instantly after the Scorching Earth Liger landed, it realized that something was amiss. When the cloud of dust cleared under its large frame, it was the creature alone who stood within the crater.

Grrrrr...!

The monster released a low growl as its eyes sharpened. There was a sudden feeling of danger that flooded its senses. It quickly tried to turn around, but before it could do so, the Scorching Earth Liger came to a grinding halt.

Out of nowhere, Izroth's blurry figure emerged near the monster's back. Then, in a flash, a long cut that traveled from the Scorching Earth Liger's head to its tail appeared on its body.

'Sword Arts: Four Steps of Death.'

«Critical Hit»

-26,633

〈System Alert: The effect «Death In One Step» has been triggered!〉

-105,160

〈System Alert: Congratulations, you have defeated Hollow Soul Grove Scorching Earth Liger!〉

〈System Alert: You have been rewarded +20% EXP!〉

〈System Alert: Congratulations, you are the first player to defeat Hollow Soul Grove Scorching Earth Liger. You will receive the highest drop rate.〉

〈System Alert: Congratulations...

...

Izroth returned his Sword of The Storm to its sheath as the Scorching Earth Liger's body turned into countless particles. A few seconds later, the particles faded, and the only thing that remained was a small pile of items where the Scorching Earth Liger had perished.

'In terms of pure destructive power, overall, it still falls a bit behind the Second Baneful Sword: Kill. Its range is also restricted to melee; however, it easily makes up for both weaknesses with its short cooldown time and burst of mobility. Still, it is somewhat regretful that it cannot be leveled up using skill points.'

Izroth walked over to the pile of loot dropped by the Scorching Earth Liger and examined it. There were several crafting materials, but most of them were uncommon in quality. However, what did stand out among them were three items in particular—the Scorching Earth Liger's pelt, two of its fangs, and a vial of its blood.

'The fangs are decent quality and can be used in weapon or accessory crafting. It's also not easy to acquire the lifeblood essence of a level 55 rare monster. If I collect a few more materials, it may be possible to craft the Pseudo-Celestial Four Beasts Pill. Though it will require some testing.'

Izroth was uncertain if the Scorching Earth Liger's blood was powerful enough to serve as a substitute—even if the pill he wanted to craft was a weakened version of the one he originally knew.

'Now... This one is a bit interesting.'

Izroth shifted his focus to the Scorching Earth Liger's pelt. Among all the materials dropped by the monster, the pelt caught Izroth's attention the most.

Name: Unprocessed Scorching Earth Liger's Flawless Pelt(???)

Description: This pelt belongs to the ferocious Scorching Earth Liger that resides within the Hollow Soul Grove. Its light weight, toughness, and high durability can protect the wearer from minor attacks. It also provides a great deal of warmth and neutralizes some effects of coldness.

Special Note: This material has not been processed.

'Is it similar to the Unrefined Arisia Crystal?'

During the Great Sea Palace raid, Izroth was able to mine a small fragment of a material called Arisia Crystal. When he required the material, it was in an unrefined state. However, after giving it to Gu Chao, the skilled Blacksmith "recruited" to his Mystical Realm Palace, it transformed into something greater.

After being refined to perfection by Gu Chao, the once superior-quality Arisia Crystal had moved up an entire rank! If the same could be done for this pelt, it would undoubtedly require an incredibly skilled Tailor.

'This should fall under the expertise of someone with the Tailor profession. One of the players I accepted into my Mystical Realm palace that day held the Tailor profession; however, although they have talent, it has yet to truly manifest—mostly due to an early lack of funds for materials. At the moment, they are only a 2nd rank Tailor and still inexperienced. To process something like this pelt, only one person comes to mind. Though I have yet to meet them face to face.'

Presently, the sole Tailor that met Izroth's qualifications was one he knew of in name only—Divine Needle.

Divine Needle was the same player who created Izroth's Attire of a Silent Night, as well as the Moonlit Concealing Mantles of Sacred Beasts. If anyone could process the Scorching Earth Liger's pelt, it would have to be them.

'I will have to ask Meng Jiang to introduce me once everything is settled.'

Izroth placed the pelt into his inventory along with the other materials he obtained.

Besides the materials, Izroth also acquired two additional items. One was a level 55 rare spear that contained a hint of the Scorching Earth Liger's beast spirit.

In terms of stats, the spear surpassed Izroth's Sword of The Storm. After all, his Sword of The Storm may be an epic-ranked weapon, but, in the end, it was only level 40.

With a fifteen-level difference and being just one step below his Sword of The Storm in terms of quality, the spear was clearly the better weapon balance-wise. It would not be a stretch to say that this rare spear was currently one of the most powerful weapons in a player's hands within all of RML. It was something a top guild would be willing to pay a fortune to obtain!

However, the skill attached to the spear paled in comparison to Izroth's Sword of The Storm. Not to mention, even if he wanted to equip it, the vast majority of his skills were sword-based. If Izroth suddenly switched his primary weapon to a spear, it would require that he learn a completely different set of skills!

While Izroth was not necessarily against this idea, he did not plan to entertain it until he, at the very least, accomplished a state of perfection for the ten sword forms that made up the Way of the Heavenly Sword.

After pondering for a bit, Izroth decided to hold onto the spear for the time being. Whether to sell, exchange, or eventually use it for his own means, Izroth chose to see what the future had in store.

Izroth put the spear into his inventory and placed his gaze on the final item left behind by the Scorching Earth Liger. It was a verdant-colored book that gave off a faint white aura with the words "Natural Instinct" written on its cover.

'Oh? It actually dropped a rare skill book. As I thought, first kills cannot be taken lightly, but...'

Izroth could not help but inwardly sigh after he read over the skill's description. If he had to summarize, it was basically a weaker version of his Soul Sense.

If Izroth were to learn Natural Instinct, it would only overlap with his Soul Sense and prove ultimately useless!

'It's a bit disappointing, but not a complete loss. Since it has no requirements to learn or use, its value is much higher than a typical rare skill book.'

Right as Izroth placed the skill book into his inventory and finished reviewing every item, he received an alert from the system—the same alert he had been waiting for since the moment he first descended into the Hollow Soul Grove.

'It looks like I wrapped things up right on time.'

〈System Alert: Player Meng Jiang has sent you a message, "Group two will reach their destination in approximately five minutes. Get ready to move, Mr. First Place."〉