Alex had marked his teleportation location in the endless forest near [Nova], the capital city of the White Flame Empire because it was the best place on the whole continent.
After getting teleported to the Human Continent, Alex equipped his epic cloak and used the Invisibility skill because the teleportation area was a Rank four beast Zone, and without the invisibility, he would be dead in no time.
Alex, two shadow guardians, would only help him if he was in a situation with serious consciousness or if he asked them to help him, which he didn't plan to do unless the situation was terrible.
Alex was happy with his shadow guardian's decision because he understood that his being an immortal adventurer would have no meaning if they rescued him from every danger.
After reaching the city, Alex rented a luxury room for a few months in the best available hotel, and now he was lying on the bed while being a little anxious and excited about the future.
'I will meet Badger and find out what the people from the human empire want from me, but more importantly, let's meet with Zero and see if he can give me what I want by using my one-time wish.' Alex thought with an anxious heart as he used his wish.
Alex closed his eyes, drifting into slumber, and when he opened them again, he saw sand and a calm ocean.
Alex appeared on an empty while wearing shorts, short-sleeve shirts, and sandals and to his right side, two deckchairs were placed, and on one of them was a man lying while holding a glass of juice.
"Adventurer, We meet again. Come take a seat and get comfortable and tell me what you want for your wish," Zero said as he waved toward Alex.
Alex walked toward the deckchair and took his seat, and after taking a deep breath, he told zero what he wanted.
"I want a Cure for the Devourer Curse that could heal the infected on a large scale," Alex said while holding his breath, fully prepared for a direct rejection.
"Do you want something like the Nirvana Elixir?" Zero asked as he took a sip from his fancy juice glass.
"I want a cure that doesn't have any limitations like the Nirvana Elixir, and it could also be produced quickly with relative ease in large quantity," Alex replied, a little relieved that his wish wasn't outright rejected.
"This was an excellent joke." Zero said as the juice glass vanished, and he took an upright position coming face to face with Alex.
"There are many ways to cure infected individuals with Devourer Curse or other abnormalities, but the higher the infected individual strength, the rarer and harder it is to produce the cure."
"I can give you a recipe that could cure even a peak Elemental Ruler but know this the resources needed to produce that potion will be very hard to acquire, even with the help from Malefis Domain," Zero replied with a smile.
'I knew there was close to zero chance that a cure of miracle quality could be produced easily, but at least I tried.' Alex thought, not disappointed with the answer.
"What is the best that you can offer me," Alex asked.
"I can give Six potions that will cure Six infected individuals with no strength restrictions, like the Nirvana Elixir."
"OR"
"I can tell you where to get an item that could cure any infected individual of any Rank with the help of easily available resources but do know it will be very hard for you to acquire it even with the help of Malefis Domain." Zero casually replied.
'This is a tough choice.'
'If I get the six potions, I will have the support of fully healed six Elemental Rulers, but the second choice will help get a permanent solution to Devourer Curse.' Alex thought, taking a moment to make his decision.
'It would be great to have six fully healed elemental Rulers, but I can't use their strength for much with the restrictions, so there is no point in even considering this option.' Alex thought.
"I will choose the second option," Alex said, and the emotionless face of Zero was replaced with a bright smile.
"Your chances of getting the item are only 11%, while the chances of your avatar getting permanently killed while trying to obtain it are 36%, with the other 53% possibility left to the unknown future, which will definitely not be pretty."
"I am telling you this because after I tell you where to get the special item, you can't go back on the deal, and the same deal will never be available even if you pay for the highest grade wish."
"So you still want the information on the item, or do you want to get the miracle potions." Zero said with a wide smile, like he was enjoying the situation.
'If I can't get a similar deal even with a platinum wish, then it is more of a reason to choose the second option.' Alex thought.
A player could buy wishes of different Grades from Zero, and to buy a wish, a player needed to pay a certain amount of galactic shop coins, which was the currency a player would earn after reaching the fourth Rank.
"I will take the second option," Alex replied.
"The special item is a peak legendary quality Ring [Archaic Ring], and its current holder is a Demon Prince Named [Rongradin] and to acquire it, you need to visit the demon continent and kill him."
"Rongradin is a peak Fifth Rank warrior, and he is the youngest child of the current Demon King, and to get more information on him, go visit the demon continent."
"Archaic Ring is just half of the item, and the other half is an Ancient Red Gem which is already in your possession, and with this, your wish is completed." Zero said as he snapped his finger, sending Alex consciousness back to the game.
"I wonder how he will react after finding that the Red Gem would have automatically led him to the ring location after advancing to a certain quality?"
"He will be grateful to me for telling him this information early on because, without my help, he would have had a much longer period to know the artifact's true value." Zero mumbled as he laid back on the chair, continuing his sunbathing.
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'He didn't even let me ask any question.' Alex thought, pissed at Zero for the limited information as he regained consciousness.
'Let's forget about Zero and organize the information he told me.' Alex thought.
'I can't go to the demon continent until I increase my Ruler authority and raise my Continental Teleportation skill Rank, but I can easily complete the condition of the Ancient Red gem.' Alex smiled as he looked at the red gem stat window.
✦✦✦✦✦✦✦✦✦✦✦✦✦✦
Name: Ancient RED GEM(1/2)
Equipment Type: Accessory
Quality: Common [Mythical+]
Bound: Hidden One
•Skill➊-: [Appraisal] A skill that could help the Player appraise things and understand their real value.
•Skill➋-: SEALED(14/1000) To Unseal the second skill, The Player needs to appraise one thousand different Forging Materials.
•Skill➌-: SEALED(0/???)
✦✦✦✦✦✦✦✦✦✦✦✦✦✦
'I have time until the meeting with Badger, which should be more than enough to buy and appraise a thousand different forging materials.' Alex thought as he quickly opened the player auction forum.
Alex started buying any and every listed forging material on the forum, not caring about their price, and in fifteen minutes, he was gone purchasing over one thousand different quality forging materials.
'Let's start appraising these expensive rocks.' Alex thought as he started the long, continuous task of using the appraisal skill.
While Alex was excitedly appraising colorful metals one after the other, a meeting between two individuals was happening, which would start a chain of events that, unbeknownst to him or anyone, would massively change the future of this world.
----------------------
[A Dark Unknown Room]
A man reaching Nine feet in height covered in a dark cloak kneeled in front of a shadowy twisted mirror in a poorly lit room.
"My Queen, What this loyal servant can do for you." A deep voice echoed in the room.
"A Noble Sacrifice." A bewitching voice came from the mirror.
"It is my honor to sacrifice my life for the greater good of my Race." the cloaked man replied with his head down.
"The King has decided to change his plans for the human continent, and you are required to play the key role in it, so listen carefully because there is no room for error."
"The Demon Invasion will start in Four months." The Voice said, and then it started telling the cloaked person the complete plan.
----------------------
'This is the last forging material I need to appraise, and the second condition will be completed.' Alex thought after fifty minutes and nine hundred and eighty-five appraisals later.
Alex used the appraisal skill on the last, and as the second condition was fulfilled, Alex instantly received the system notification informing him about it.
[Forging Materials Appraised (1000/1000)] [Completed]
[Ancient RED GEM Second Seal] [Unlocked]
[Skill (Devour)] [Unlocked]