Chapter 125 Essence Flame

"Shiro… Why do you have the Essence Flame?" Lyrica asked as her face was a little pale.

[Essence Flame? This skill is called the Fire of Life and it's apart of the Ancient Healing Arts.]

Shiro replied with a slight tilt of her head.

"It's a different name but it's the same thing. I just need to let you know that you should never show it to elves." Lyrica said after taking a deep breath.

At this point, even Madison was a little intrigued with what Lyrica meant by that.

"You see, the Essence Flame is a treasured heirloom of the elves that was lost long ago. When the elves had lost the flame, they were no longer able to provide the nutrients to the great forest.

"However, that was not the end of their problem. Without the Essence Flame, they had lost their biggest healing potential. You see, due to the presence of this flame, not many elves had decided to class up into the healer class. Thus it left us defenceless and caused us to lose many battles that we could have won with ease before.

"Naturally, losing meant surrendering your will. This period of time is classified as the dark ages in the elven history." Lyrica sighed.

"During this time, many elves were lost and others used as pleasure tools. We were on the brink of extinction until the Elven Sword Saintess came with power unlike any other. With a single wave of her hand, the skies would be filled with swords that purged all that raised their hands against the elves. With her help, the elves were able to regroup and slowly recuperate.

"Later, the Saintess became the warrior queen of my race and laid down the order that should anyone find the Essence Flame, no matter what, must bring it to the great forest.

"And you know the rest. The elves arrived on Earth and we haven't been able to find the flame ever since."

[But I thought skills can't be passed on. Plus, my Fire of Life is only limited to Tier 2 right now. Its capabilities doesn't match your description.]

Shiro furrowed her brows.

"That's because it is just a spark right now. The elves have a myriad of options to nurture a spark into the Essence Flame. However, you are right that skills can't be passed on. BUT, a few skills are outside of this rule. The essence flame is one of them. You can imagine it to be a torch of sorts. Once you kill the holder, you become the next holder of the essence flame." Lyrica said as she clenched her hands into a fist.

Silence ensued the room as Shiro just realised how dangerous her healing skill was.

[So you're saying that the moment I expose myself to an elf other than you, I'll be attacked.]

Shiro typed out after a heavy sigh.

"Unfortunately yes."

Shiro sat back for a moment as this wasn't good news at all. She would need to be careful of where she shows this fire or else she'll be hunted down at a moments notice. While she did have the safety of temporarily entering Tier 3 due to her trial reward, what happens after her three uses run out?

[Well don't worry about it too much. I just need to be careful of who I expose this fire too right? Plus, I'm sure everything will be fine.]

Shiro smiled.

Her attempt at trying to lighten the mood seemed to work a little as Lyrica nodded in agreement.

As long as she didn't let any other elf see the fire, they'll be fine.

"Yeah, what am I worried about." Lyrica smiled and stood up.

"Right then, what shall we do for the rest of today?" She asked.

"Well let's go to the bath house first." Madison said whilst massaging her neck.

[Agreed.]

###

The next day, Shiro was making her way through the city. Her goal today was to hand the items over to Aarim since her inventory was full of it and it was taking up too much space.

"Hmm… Seems like after I killed a bunch of them, the slums have quietened down a little." Shiro muttered since the stares she used to get had completely disappeared. Naturally, she was still getting a few stares from the crowd but none from the slums area.

Upon arriving at the promised meeting spot, Shiro saw that Aarim was being approached by 3 men. They were being rather pushy as Shiro could see Aarim's discomfort.

Which wasn't odd since Aarim was a beautiful woman.

"Ah you're here." Aarim waved as she saw Shiro from the corner of her eyes.

The three men who were approaching Aarim, looked over to see who it was.

However, when they laid eyes on Shiro, they felt like electricity was coursing through their bodies.

No wait… They were being tasered by Shiro right now.

Shiro, who was currently zapping the trio with her right hand, used her left hand to throw a new lollipop into her mouth.

"Shouldn't you be careful of your output? A few eyes are turned over here." Aarim whispered.

[Not lethal. Just shocking. Think of it like a love tap.]

Shiro shrugged before releasing them.

Shaking off the lightning that was still flickering on her right hand, she left the area with Aarim.

"So why did you call me out today?" Aarim asked after they left the area.

[I got a few items for you that I hope will serve as payment since we haven't found a moment to do some photoshoots.]

"Ohya? A few items? Do go on." Aarim said as she licked her lips a little.

"…" Shiro looked at her with a blank face before looking down back at her phone.

[We should go to a private room. One that won't allow anyone to spy.]

"Why are you ashamed of having these items? It's perfectly normal for a girl your age to possess these kind of items. Even though you are passing these onto me, it doesn't matter." Aarim grinned slightly.

"Pst, by the way, did ya use them?" Aarim asked with a hushed whisper.

"Ha…" Shiro sighed out heavily.

[No these are not mine. I managed to obtain them after I killed a bunch of people in the slums 2 days ago.]

She typed and rolled her eyes.

"Ah, so it was you who killed the people in the slums." Aarim responded in surprise.

[They know of me?]

Shiro asked as she narrowed her eyes. If her identity is compromised, she'll need to slaughter everyone so that no harm will befall her.

"Ah don't worry. They don't know who did it but they do know that you are a mage. A powerful one at that. Not to mention, due to the special type of damage at the scene, they decided to code name who ever caused the mass killing : Noxious Warlock" Aarim said as she tried to suppress her laugh.

When Shio heard what the slums had decided to call her, she couldn't help but feel a little thankful.

While the code name wasn't optimal, the fact that they guessed her gender was a plus since they won't think about looking for a female.

"You seem to like this nickname?"

[Well, it's not bad. They would have less of a chance to find out who I am if they're looking for 'warlocks'. That and I have a question for you.]

"Shoot."

[How do you know all of this?]

"Well… I have a few connections to know about what's happening." Aarim smiled.

[Oh?]

"That's only limited to the slums though. The only thing I know are the common stuff. Nothing more, nothing less." Aarim shrugged as she could tell that Shiro wanted to know more.

[Fine. Shall we go to your tent or something? Mine's not where I would like to show these items.]

Shiro asked as the presence of Kanae at the tent wouldn't allow her to show these items.

"Sure."

###

"Alright, now, what do you want to show me?" Aarim asked as she sat down in her own personal tent.

*BANG!

A pile of 'toys' appeared in Aarim's tent with a heavy thud. The sheer quantity of toys even made Aarim surprised.

"This… You got all of this in one night?" She asked.

[Yeah.]

"Well either you had killed a lot or the people in the slums were quite spicy with their love life." Aarim chuckled before storing everything away in her inventory.

"I'll take all of this as payment and strike off your tab. Now we're even."

[Thanks.]

Shiro typed out as she prepared to stand up.

"Ah before you go. I have a proposition for you and your friends." Aarim called out just before Shiro left.

[A proposition?]

"You see, since I don't know when I'll be going back to New York, I've decided to try to procure a few items that I need. However, to get these items, I'll need to enter the Cairosa Ruins deep in the ocean. And this is where you and your friends will come in. I need you to help me on my way to the ruins since going in solo isn't exactly the smartest thing."

[Can't you recruit a few adventurers? I'm sure there are plenty of people.]

Shiro asked while she sat back down. She was a little curious about the Cairosa Ruins so this offer did hold some temptation for her.

[Plus, I'm sure that the auction house organises an excursion to the ruins every now and again right?]

"You're not wrong. However, with how I look, I'm sure there are a few unsavoury individuals who'll make a move. Not only that, but I would struggle to fight off multiple level 50's under water." Aarim waved her hand.

[True. Especially with your body, I'm sure they'll be more than happy to have a feast.]

Shiro nodded her head.

She understood that beautiful woman were always a target for people. If they weren't strong, they'll be devoured. Both literally and metaphorically.

". . .I'll just take that as a compliment hahaha." Aarim replied as that wasn't something she had expected a 13 year old would type.

[So what are the rewards for us?]

Shiro asked.

"How about… 45% of all the treasure we manage to excavate from the ruins. Naturally, if all we excavate is the stuff I need, then I'll pay you in other forms when we exit the ocean."

'Hmm 45% of all the treasure isn't too bad of a deal.' Shiro thought as it was a little enticing. However, she wanted to see what other forms of payment Aarim was willing to give.

[What other forms of payment are you suggesting?]

"Hmm… A few more sets of monster cloth outfits? A few sets for each of your party." Aarim offered.

'Seems like the importance of whatever it is in the ruin is quite big for her to offer a few sets of monster cloth outfit.' Shiro thought since she knew how hard it was to get a set of monster cloth outfit from Aarim. Even she had only managed to get one set and that was what she was wearing.

No matter how she asked, Aarim had refused to give her another set of monster cloth outfit. That was mostly due to the fact that monster cloth was hard to obtain and even Aarim only had a limited stock of monster cloth.

[How many sets?]

"One for you and your friend since you already have one. And two for anyone else." Aarim offered as that was as much as she could offer.

[You're lucky then. I only have one other party member and her name is Madison. You've already met Lyrica.]

Shiro smiled.

"I take it as you agree?"

[Well not exactly. I'll need to do some research about the place. My and my party are only in our level 40's so we can't challenge anything too above our level.]

Shiro replied seriously.

Even though both Madison and Lyrica had improved, plus the fact that she could use her hand cannons now, she still needed to be careful of what they face. Fighting in the ocean was a lot different to fighting on land as controlling your body movement was harder.

To make matters worse, the monster in the ocean had long adapted to their situation so there were a lot faster than them if they were to swim.

"I've already done the research. In the area we are entering, the highest level enemy would be a level 50 boss and the average would be around 40 to 45. Perfect for your level."

[But you do realise that we are severely weakened when we fight in the ocean right?]

"I know. Which is why I have already prepared a few counter measures for this." Aarim smiled.

[When are we going?]

"We'll be leaving city in 2 days, not including today. The time will be 10pm at the northern docks. The trip to the ocean will be around 2 hours long before we enter a submarine to get closer to the ruins before getting out and scuba diving for the rest of the trip. You don't need to bring anything except for yourselves."

[Alright, I'll go and ask my party members about what they think.]

Shiro nodded before leaving.

While she was on her way back, she was thinking about a few ways to convince Lyrica and Madison into coming to the trip. It was only after 30 minutes of thinking that she settled with an excuse that she was satisfied with. However, it was wasted effort since Lyrica and Madison said yes before even hearing the details of the trip.

. . .

'At least let me use my excuses first!!!'