Carrying the ten gold coins they had scraped together, the four players headed to the Tiefling Exchange and purchased that Mysterious Invitation.
As Singo dropped the gleaming gold coins into the tiefling merchant's palm, Mantou's face twisted in agony. He grumbled internally, *How much gear could that have bought, you prodigal spendthrift!*
The invitation felt heavy in his hands.
Returning to their rented cottage, the party opened the invitation with bated breath.
Inside was a thin sheet of pale primrose parchment. It seemed no different from ordinary paper, yet the characters inscribed upon it were woven from flickering flames that danced without pause.
It bore only a single brief sentence:
*You shall meet the most esteemed figure of this place.*
"That's a pretty grand intro, isn't it?"
"Looks like we didn't bet wrong. At least we'll get our money's worth."
Staring at the small burning letters on the invitation, Mantou felt a surge of anticipation.
Singo, on the other hand, looked calm as ever. "I told you before: a quest item that costs this much money will definitely yield substantial returns."
Tiansheng Zhankuang gave a hearty chuckle. "Come on, line up, everyone. I'm about to use it."
"Alright."
[Confirmed: Use Mysterious Invitation!]
Instantly, the space before the four rippled like water, then twisted and tore open into a door-shaped spatial rift. Raging flames burned along the perimeter of the fissure, framing the dimensional door in fire.
"Holy crap, a teleportation gate? That's so high-end!" Mantou gasped.
At this stage of the game, not a single spellcaster had unlocked a teleportation skill. Leaving aside wizards, who couldn't learn a thing without spell scrolls, even sorcerers—currently revered as the "true spell lords"—lacked such an extravagant ability.
Xiaye Qiuyu and Tiansheng Zhankuang were naturally thrilled, and even Singo, who usually wore a sour scowl, showed a flicker of excitement.
Even so, he reminded them, "The item description said danger or reward could lie beyond the door. We need to be fully prepared first."
"True enough. It'd suck if we worked so hard to get in only to get wiped out immediately." Mantou nodded in agreement.
"Bless!"
Xiaye Qiuyu waved her wooden staff, calling down beams of radiance that bathed the party.
This divine spell granted its targets advantages on attack rolls and saving throws, making it the ultimate staple spell for clerics in the early game.
"Potion of Healing, Potion of Poison Resistance, Wyvern Poison, Oil of Slipperiness, Oil of Accuracy..."
Singo pulled item after item from his inventory, listing them off like prized family heirlooms until they formed a small pile on the floor.
"Where on earth did you get all this stuff?" Mantou couldn't help asking.
In this resource-starved early game, most novice players couldn't even put together a basic set of standard gear, let alone defeat the pet goose kept by the tiefling auntie next door. Yet Singo had already hoarded such a fortune.
"Watch more, practice more, grind more," Singo replied nonchalantly.
Mantou finally understood what set these top-tier pro players apart. In this regard, he had no choice but to admit defeat—specifically in their ability to act cool.
After applying oils to weapons and armor, stashing contingency potions in their pouches, and finishing a complete round of preparations, Singo was at last ready to move. However, he looked so utterly bloated with gear that he resembled a meta-slave's wet dream and a fashion player's nightmare.
"Let's go."
"Alright."
The four stepped through the mysterious portal of fire.
A wave of blistering heat slammed into them, hot enough to leave its mark on their faces.
"Holy crap, why is it so dark?"
"Where are we?"
"Feels pretty hot here."
"Qiuyu, cast Light. We can't see a thing."
"On it."
Xiaye Qiuyu raised her staff and began casting her divine spell.
"Light!"
The tip of the wooden staff emitted a soft glow.
Though faint, the light was enough to let the four make out their immediate surroundings.
They stood inside a long, gloomy stone tunnel. The air felt suffocatingly warm. Apart from the solid rock walls on either side, there was nothing around them, and the passage plunged ahead into unknown darkness.
"What now? Do we keep going in?"
The narrow stone tunnel made Mantou feel cramped and uneasy. Not even the Light spell could bring him peace of mind.
Singo gritted his teeth and said fiercely, "We've already come this far; we can't just turn back. All in!"
They crept cautiously forward along the tunnel.
Eventually, the four emerged from the passage into a much wider expanse.
"This should be the place."
"Stay alert, everyone. Call out anything you spot."
Yet the Light spell could no longer reach the cave walls. Darkness enveloped them on every side, and faint echoes occasionally drifted through the cavernous gloom, ratcheting up their tension and leaving them drenched in cold sweat.
Suddenly, an unfamiliar light flared to life, followed immediately by more.
*Boom! Boom! Boom!*
Accompanied by the continuous whoosh of igniting flames, over a hundred ornate oil lamps shaped like dragon heads flared to life along the rock walls one after another. They drove back the surrounding darkness, revealing the full breadth of the immense cavern to the four players.
Waves of blistering heat washed over them.
A broad pathway abruptly stretched out before them, lined on both sides by roaring flames.
And at the end of that path stood a man.
He had dark hair and golden eyes, with sharply refined facial features. Deep within those dark gold pupils danced blazing flames, radiating an arrogance bred into his very bloodline. Faint scarlet scales emerged along the sides of his face, and slender, bone-white dragon horns curved upward from his forehead.
A luxurious dark red robe trimmed with gold embroidery draped his tall frame, exuding a noble, commanding presence that brooked no refusal.
Xiaye Qiuyu couldn't help blushing slightly as she marveled, "Wow... the devs really outdid themselves on this character model."
Mantou remarked, "Holy crap, what the hell makes this NPC so handsome? He's almost catching up to me."
Xiaye Qiuyu rolled her eyes at him.
Singo nudged him. "Mantou, hurry up and cast Inspect. We've definitely run into someone important."
"Oh, right," Mantou muttered instinctively, skillfully calling up his interface.
[Mysterious Draconic Bloodline Sorcerer - Cassius]
[Faction: Cinder Nest]
[Basic Abilities: ???]
[Challenge Rating: ??? (Extremely Dangerous!)]
[Favorability: -5 (Slight Dislike)]
Only then did Mantou snap back to reality. He cursed, "Damn it, Sing-dog, you fucking baited me again! My favorability dropped!"
Hearing his derogatory nickname, Singo maintained his usual deadpan scowl. "Everyone will remember your sacrifice. Well, Mantou, what did you see?"
Mantou shook his head. "Nothing at all. Every piece of info is unknown."
Singo clenched his fists in excitement. "Fantastic! We really found him."
"From what I've observed, Mezrolash, Sword of the Oathbreaker, is the only NPC in the entire City of Baator whose Challenge Rating can't be seen. Everyone else, like Guard Captain Damakos, shows a CR. We're the first ones to discover this second key NPC. We're definitely going to—"
Before he could finish, a calm, steady male voice echoed from the distance, cutting him short.
"Honored guests who answered my invitation... casting an inspection spell the moment we meet is rather impolite, wouldn't you say?"
Chapter 71