Realm of Myths and Legends

'Though it's a bit strange. This quest... Why is it that the rewards for failing appear more enticing than the actual reward itself?'

Just by failing the quest, one would be able to gain a great deal of fame with two top-tier powers in the Mortal Realm. In addition, a connection would be forged between three individuals who all had some form of status.

There was the fact that one would lose two levels; however, such a price was small to pay when forming long-term connections.

Of course, the most notable thing was maxing out one's fame with the Princess of the Fifth Great Clan, Luxia. This was even more so for someone like Izroth.

Izroth still had the SSS-ranked quest Awakening of The Lost Bloodline to complete. While there was plenty of time until the deadline, eventually, he would have to visit the Mother of All Forests. 

In order to finish that quest, it required that Izroth obtain the Guardian of the Forest's blessing and acquire a drop of Millennial Dew from the Tree of Provenance.

To have max favor with someone like Luxia would undoubtedly make those tasks more accessible. After all, given how someone like Zouren was willing to reign in his arrogant behavior to gain her favor, there was a high chance that Luxia's status was exceptional even among the princesses of the Great Clans.

Nevertheless, it did not sway Izroth in the slightest. He had met many individuals similar to Luxia. One day, they would treat you as their best friend, and the next, as long as it benefited them, they would not hesitate to backstab you.

They were also wrapped up in numerous schemes and enjoyed being in absolute control. That's why Izroth found it laughable that Zouren was trying to win over someone like Luxia. Without a doubt, the Princess of the Fifth Great Clan was simply using him as a borrowed blade to help eliminate Sychia. Then, when the time came, she would likely find a way to shift the blame of Sychia's death onto Zouren and the power behind him.

At that point, Luxia would sit back and watch as the Order of a Thousand Blossoms clashed with the Eight Heavens to avenge the death of their maiden. As for what Luxia stood to gain from this—Izroth had no clue.

Ultimately, Izroth chose to accept the quest as he headed further into the village.

...

A few moments later, Izroth arrived in front of a building with a sign above it that read "Comfort Dreams Lodging".

With a name like that, it was clearly a place of rest. Therefore, Izroth wasted no time entering the building.

Izroth stepped into what looked like a basic reception area mixed with a cafe that contained several tables and chairs. He swept his gaze across the room, but there were no signs of anyone present. Though since everyone was hiding underground, it came as no surprise to him.

Izroth placed Sychia down on one of the nearby chairs and walked over towards the back area of the lodgings.

Since there was no receptionist, they could not get a proper room. However, Izroth figured that it would not cause any issues if he claimed a room for himself and paid the fee whenever those underground decided to return.

Unfortunately, all the doors in the lodgings were protected by a system barrier. After realizing that was the case, Izroth returned to the front and checked behind the receptionist desk for any type of keys. But, there was nothing that resembled a key anywhere behind the desk.

'This is a bit troublesome.'

While Izroth could probably cut through the system barrier using Zakra's Harmonic Spear of Causality, it would be too much of a waste. So, in the end, Izroth decided to use the front of the lodgings.

As Izroth walked around the lodging, Sychia carefully observed his every action.

"Izroth... Why have I never heard of this name before today? Since he participated in the second team's selection at the Sky Palace, he should not be unknown. Then, what power does he belong to?" Sychia internalized.

"Take this." A voice entered Sychia's ears, causing her to snap out of her deep thoughts.

Before she even looked up, an intense medicinal smell filled her nostrils. Immediately upon inhaling that scent, Sychia could feel the poison in her body began to slightly retreat.

"This is... A grade four pill..!? No, that is not correct. The quality has reached a level of extremity when compared to other pills of a similar grade. If I am not mistaken, this should be a grade three pill." Sychia said as she furrowed her brows.

"Oh? You were able to come to that conclusion with just a glance?" Izroth asked.

"I may not be an apothecary, but I have had the fortune of watching my master craft pills of varying levels. It is unfortunate that I do not have a talent in pill making." Sychia replied as she accepted the pill from Izroth.

After briefly examining the pill, Sychia consumed it as the pill immediately dissolved in her mouth. Right after doing so, a flood of purifying energy rushed into her, rapidly spreading to every corner of her body.

"The purity of this pill is even greater than I imagined...!" Sychia internalized as her eyes widened from shock.

The pill Izroth handed Sychia was the Evil Cleansing Pill, a grade-three pill that granted the passive skill Evil Cleansing.

Evil Cleansing made one resistant to various forms of not only poisons but also evil illusions. In addition, whenever one was poisoned or trapped inside of an illusion, the skill would automatically cleanse all negative effects. Though it was something that could only occur once every two hours.

Sychia closed her eyes and focused on stabilizing her mana while simultaneously reinforcing the purifying effects of the Evil Cleansing Pill flowing throughout her body.

...

15 minutes later...

Sychia opened her eyes. The first thing she did was look down at her right hand and form a fist.

Swoosh!

Sychia lightly swung her fist at the air beside her. Soon after, a controlled shockwave of mana was expelled from her fist as several cherry blossoms briefly materialized before vanishing.

At the same time, Izroth received an alert from the system.

〈System Alert: 1/1 Find a way to detoxify the poison affecting the «Thousand Blossom Maiden, Sychia».〉

"It looks like you successfully managed to cleanse the poison and stabilize your mana," Izroth said calmly as he examined Sychia with his Energy Vision Sense.

Suddenly, Sychia stood to her feet with her arms straightened at her side as she stepped forward.

The Thousand Blossom Maiden then gave a deep bow with her eyes closed towards Izroth.

"I, Sychia, the 82nd Thousand Blossom Maiden of the Order of a Thousand Blossoms, am eternally in your debt, Izroth. One day, this debt shall be repaid by my hands. If not, I shall find myself forsaken by the goddess." Sychia declared sincerely.

"There's no need for such rigid formalities. Your words today—rest assured, I will let them fall on deaf ears." Izroth responded in a carefree manner.

Izroth would not reject Sychia's sincerity since he understood that given her stubborn nature, regardless of what he said, she would insist on finding a way to repay him.

'Not bad. She might be somewhat stubborn, but her personality seems pretty straightforward and honest.'

Sychia stood up straight and opened her eyes. There was a cold look present and even though she tried her best to hold back, Izroth could feel the hidden killing intent.

"I think it's about time you explain what happened. Starting from when you entered the portal into the Secret Realm," Izroth stated.

Sychia nodded and began to explain the train of events that led to her injured state.

...

A few moments later...

"And that's when I sensed your presence approaching the village. Since you were alone, I figured it would be best to take you out before you could call for help, but... My apologies. Looking back at my rash actions, I am quite embarrassed." Sychia revealed.

"No, given the set of events, your actions were well in-line. Still, to think they would use such a ruthless method—what exactly happened between you and that trephasia princess?" Izroth inquired.

According to Sychia, after she entered the portal, she arrived in some old abandoned ruins. From what description alone, it sounded similar to the ruins Izroth was transported to. However, there was no one around when Izroth arrived only seconds after. Therefore, he was certain they teleported to different locations.

Though it was the next part that surprised Izroth. Upon her arrival, Sychia saw no signs of the first person to enter the portal, Hakros. As for the others, Luxia, Agromin, and Zouren all arrived at the same ruins.

Needless to say, Izroth was transported to an entirely different location.

'Hm.... Does it have something to do with the blanked-out text I saw when I used Deep Insight on the portal?'