Spirit Awakening allowed spirits to undergo a metamorphosis that took their power and potential to entirely new levels. If that was the case, Izroth believed that there was a high possibility that Self Awakening was just like Spirit Awakening. The sole difference being, of course, that it was made specifically for players.

But, the outcome of a Self Awakening was still shrouded in mystery for Izroth.

For spirits, they would obviously evolve to a higher form as a result of their metamorphosis. However, besides a very miniscule number of individuals, players were humans.

Did that mean that Self Awakening would upgrade a player's race to what was considered a higher form? Or did it simply provide them with some kind of power boost? A new set of skills? Bonus stats? At this point, Izroth could only speculate with no clear answer until he found out for himself.

But, Izroth had no intention of creating a Self Awakening Pill for himself with the ingredients he currently had on hand.

If he desired it, Izroth could have removed a few rare quality ingredients from his inventory and made the Self Awakening Pill on the spot since he brought along his Dark Abyssal Cauldron.

However, naturally, Izroth wanted to craft the best quality pill available so that the likelihood of undergoing a Self Awakening was as high as possible.

In the end, a Self Awakening only had a chance to occur upon the very first consumption of a Self Awakening Pill, and the pill's quality played a significant role. Therefore, Izroth required some preparation.

While using mythical and divine materials to craft the pill was far out of his current reach, creating a Self Awakening Pill with ancient quality materials may be feasible. After all, he already had one in his possession, thanks to Emyprean's efforts. Hence, Izroth knew that they were possible for Empyrean to obtain.

'Well, even if Empyrean's harvest turns up dry, I can always try plan B.'

There was one guild in RML that Izroth knew had a stash of ancient quality materials. It was just a question of whether or not they were willing to part with them. And if the materials in their storage were herb-types or not.

While the Self Awakening certainly piqued Izroth's interest, he did not overlook the other benefit that came along with the Self Awakening Pill.

There were two reasons why pills were so expensive in RML. First, the Apothecary profession was arguably one of the most challenging, expensive, and time-consuming professions for players to step into. And, second, the vast majority of pills only had to be consumed a single time! Or, rather, even if a player did consume the same pill more than once, they would gain nothing from it.

Unlike regular consumables—potions, talismans, and other similar items—that players needed to restock on a constant basis, pills were typically a one-time buy.

However, the Self Awakening Pill not only had an effect that made it a regular consumable, but it was also able to permanently increase one's experience gain!

Not just that, but it could even be temporarily doubled once per day! This placed the Self Awakening Pill into a special category of regular consumable pills that most Apothecaries could only dream of.

And, to Izroth's knowledge, there were no items available on the market that temporarily, let alone permanently boosted one's experience gain. If an item like this appeared in the open market, the top guilds would undoubtedly do everything in their power to get their hands on it!

'It does not say the amount of experience that will be gained since it depends on what materials I use to make the pill. But, given that it's unique and soulbound, it should be a reasonable amount.'

It was clear why the system soulbound the recipe to Izroth and made it so that it could not be duplicated or shared. This was the system's way of limiting the total number of Self Awakening Pills that went out into the world. After all, if anyone could craft it, given the material requirements, the market would be flooded with Self Awakening Pills if Izroth ever chose to share the recipe. But, of course, the system was unwilling to bet on whether or not Izroth would keep the recipe to himself.

〈System Alert: You have arrived at the second stage of the «Crusade»!〉

The moment Izroth received the alert from the system, he pushed the Self Awakening Pill to the back of his mind and employed his Energy Vision Sense to scan the vicinity.

'Just like the first stage, there's nothing near the area we were transported to. Is it intentional? Or, just a fortunate coincidence?'

Izroth and his party had been transported to the top of a small hill at the edge of a grassy plain that stretched further than the eye could see. And, a couple of kilometers away from their location in the opposite direction was a massive body of water.

If one were standing right next to the water, it would be easily mistaken for a sea given its sheer size. However, from the small hill, Izroth discovered that it was actually a lake.

'A definite change of scenery compared to the first stage.'

If the first stage was deemed gloomy and eerie, the second stage could only be described as peaceful. The breeze was gentle, the smell of nature was refreshing, and a beautiful full moon in the clear night sky created an atmosphere of tranquility.

'However, that lake—whenever I look in its direction, I can feel a faint warning from my Soul Sense. To get a feeling of danger from nearly two kilometers away... something abnormal is residing within that lake.'

"It's pretty humid here, and it's nighttime as well. But, at least it's not as dreary as the first stage." Colorful Nimbus mentioned.

"You're right. In fact, it's almost... Serene? I'm curious to see what emerges on such a peaceful stage." Sacred Blade stated.

"Whatever it is, we can't afford to let our guard down. Each stage gets progressively harder, so we can be sure that whatever is lurking here is stronger than the Dullahan we encountered during the first stage." Niflheim reminded.

Meanwhile, Morrighan summoned two phantom ravens and conjured a magic screen. She sent one of the ravens towards the endless grass plains and the other in the direction of the lake.

"Hey, Phantom Queen, are you going to summon another one of those things from the sky and take care of this one as well? We might not even really need to do anything again." Colorful Nimbus grinned.

Morrighan remained silent as she kept her gaze focused on the magic screen.

"How cold. You'll end up hurting my feelings, you know?" Colorful Nimbus said playfully.

"If you continue to play with fire, you'll eventually get burned," Niflheim commented with a sigh.

"It's fine, it's fine. I'm a healer, so I can just heal myself if I get burned, right?" Colorful Nimbus responded.

"That's not- No, never mind. Just don't say I didn't warn you." Niflheim shook his head.

...

A few moments later, Morrighan slightly furrowed her brows.

The phantom raven she sent to search the grass plains had been stopped by an invisible barrier.

"The grass plains appear to be empty. The lake also seems devoid of life, but there could be monsters hiding under the surface. I suggest we make our way there first." Morrighan stated calmly.

Niflheim glanced over at Izroth, who had been silent since their arrival. He did not know the exact method Izroth used; however, Niflheim was aware that he possessed a high-ranking detection skill that covered a large area.

Therefore, if Izroth remained quiet after Morrighan's suggestion, Niflheim believed that he must have come to a similar conclusion as the Phantom Queen.

Niflheim nodded, "Alright. Since you've confirmed there are no visible hiding places in the plains; the lake will be our best bet. We'll follow your suggestion and head there first. Everyone, we're moving out!"

...

Approximately ten minutes later...

Thanks to Gram's movement speed buff, it did not take long for Izroth and his party to reach the edge of the giant lake.

However, the closer they got to the lake, the more intense the warning Izroth felt from his Soul Sense.

'It hasn't gone off this much in a while. I-... Hm?'

"Something's coming this way." Izroth cautioned as he unsheathed his Sword of The Storm.

"That was fast. Well, at least we won't have to wait around or go searching for it. Get ready, everyone!" Niflheim said as he positioned himself as close as possible to the lake.

Suddenly, just as everyone moved into position, something rose out of the water and towered over the group. The creature resembled a wingless dragon with glowing green eyes, scales that mirrored heavy-plated armor, and razor-sharp teeth. However, there were no visible limbs on its body, which instantly gave away its identity.

"A sea serpent! I'll draw its aggro, the rest of you-" However, before Niflheim could finish speaking, a second sea serpent emerged out of the water, followed by a third and a fourth!

By the end, there were a total of five serpents—at least, that was what everyone believed until the system information was revealed.

"Hey, hey, is this for real? We're actually going to fight this thing?" Colorful Nimbus smiled excitedly; however, the nervousness on his face could not be hidden.

"Seems like it." Sacred Blade said as his expression turned serious.

'It's no wonder my Soul Sense went off. Compared to the Dullahan—this one ought to be quite interesting.'

Name: (Sealed)The Immortal Hydra

Class: World

HP: [Outer Left: 100%][Left: 100%][Middle: 100%][Right: 100%][Outer Right: 100%]