"This faint red thermal mist is a unique trait of Pyreveil," Vorak explained with a knowledgeable air. "It is a great resource material birthed from the natural combination of Mist and Flames. It is a potent rank 3 resource with its efficiency nearing the next Legendary Tier. It also possesses powerful inferior and superior concepts; actually, that is what makes it so valuable amongst others of the corresponding rank. It is a concept-comprehensive type resource after all, whose value... Well, I don’t think I need to elaborate further, correct?"

He smiled, giving his other four companions a smug look. The mist swirled around them like the ghostly breath of a sleeping dragon.

"I might as well describe the concepts too, I suppose," Vorak continued in an informative tone. "I had performed a great deal of investigation when I accepted this job and came to learn that an undamaged and pure Pyreveil has at least ten inferior concepts and four-five superior concepts, with their potency depending on its rank."

"It has Inferior concepts such as—[Cindermist], [Veilflare], [Ashen Haze], [Fumeveil], [Emberfog], [Glowmist], [Heinous-Steam], [Smolderveil], [Scorchfume], [Pyroclast Mist] and the Superior concepts such as—[Infernum-Vapor], [Phantom Pyromist], [Nyxpyra Shroud], [Devastative Steamfire], [Eclipse Cinderfog]."

"Don’t tell me you are planning on giving such a precious thing away. Who would be so foolish?" Ofmond gave his friend a disbelieving stare, his voice thick with incredulity after what he heard.

"It’s not about foolishness; it’s about priority, Ofmond." This time, it was Keal who responded, his tone patient yet firm. "You know that soon the major Resonant Trynium Academy’s competition would begin, and with this job completion, all of us would have enough energy stones to achieve a smooth breakthrough to Ascension rank 4, since as pureblood elves we have already mastered 5 inferior concepts completely."

"Meaning as essential rank fours, we’d face far less competition in the tournament and would be able to accumulate enough contribution points to easily exchange them for something better or even as good as this Pyreveil, all the while also maintaining our new higher ranks." He voiced with a confident smile, his eyes gleaming with the prospect of future glory.

"Anyhow, enough chitchat. Let us quickly finish our job and leave this place as soon as possible." Vorak looked at Keal, his expression suddenly darkening. "Do you still feel the uneasiness from—[Premonitory Perception]?!"

"Unfortunately, I do," Keal nodded with a heavy sigh. "So let us not lower our guards even if the situation looks non-threatening on the outside."

He shook his head, further informing them that completely trusting detective runes imbued on the bracelet also wouldn’t be wise; considering his uneasiness, there can always be a calamity nearby capable of concealing its presence from their tech.

The threat felt like an invisible predator, circling just beyond the edge of their lantern light. 𝙛𝓻𝒆𝓮𝒘𝙚𝙗𝒏𝙤𝙫𝓮𝒍.𝓬𝒐𝙢

"Understood." The four companions nodded with solemn expressions.

As they moved deeper into the mist, gradually their perception began to fluctuate. The surroundings had become dense with a heavy, low-hanging thermal mist. It was red, clinging close to the surface and drifting unnaturally, as though the land itself exhaled feverish breath through unseen wounds. Within it, tiny embers floated like fireflies, but they did not rise—merely hovering and pulsing with unsettling stillness.

Light became distorted here from heat, making everything appear blurred, warped, or slightly delayed, as if seen through heated glass. The scenery wavered like a reflection in a disturbed pool of blood.

The ground looked damp, yet faintly glowed beneath the fog, like the heat was trapped under a thin veil, waiting for release.

Sound itself became muffled and softened, creating a quiet, suffocating stillness like a grave wrapped in velvet silence.

The air was saturated with a hidden heat that could not immediately be felt on the skin; instead, it was absorbed slowly by both animate and inanimate objects, remaining trapped within the body, waiting.

Waiting until it was the time to begin the smolder from within. It was the effects the resource the elves were after had on the environment where it was born.

Or rather, it could only be born in such an environment in the first place. Vorak immediately reinformed his four companions about these effects coming from the mentioned concepts, confirming that they had not forgotten anything.

In fact, their cautiousness only reminded them of Pyreveil’s distinctive effects time and again.

The effect of Internal Ignition—where instead of surface burning, Pyreveil would cause delayed ignition. Making the materials and even their armor to suddenly ignite from within without any visible flame buildup. The effects of moisture corruption, unstable perception, breath disruption, and surface instability.

The resource: Pyreveil corrupted moisture by turning it into flammable vapor, making even water start feeding on heat instead of stopping it. The humidity became a hungry beast, devouring the very coolness that should have provided relief.

The mist thickens and distorts vision, making it hard to judge distance or see clearly.

Breathing becomes dangerous as the hot vapor enters the lungs and causes internal burning.

The vapor was a silent poison, seeping into their lungs like liquid fire.

At the same time, heat builds up inside surfaces, weakening the ground and structures until they suddenly crack, break, or release bursts of heat.

Despite everything, the elves were prepared, determined. And they knew how to counter each one effectively. So their journey forward wasn’t as hard as it should’ve been.

Soon, they traveled another 3000 meters into the fog and finally came upon an open field where they saw what they were looking for.

In this brightness, where the sky was visible and the mist had retreated, Pyreveil was a small crystallized structure embedded into the trunk of the only tree standing here; it was crimson-red in color, like something similar to a ruby, just that its size was quite big, being as large as one’s fist.

It released a unique energy wave, a presence so singular, that it immediately drew in their attention like moths to an infernal flame.

The red gem pulsed with a rhythmic light, as if it were the beating heart of the forest itself.

However, it appeared that they weren’t the only ones in here. There was another group and it stood awfully close to that tree where their objective lay.

"Are they beastmans?" Mvar narrowed his eyes, his voice turning dangerous, edged with restrained hostility.

After all that they went through to get here, he didn’t like it one bit to find other individuals coveting something which to get they had come so far despite the dangers.

"No, only one of them looks like a member of the beastfolk; the other appears similar to humans, but their pointed ears tell me that they are not." Keal muttered as he constricted his pupils, scrutinizing the four people.

"Let’s not waste our breath on this." Vorak commented, his expression composed. "It looks like they have also noticed our presence. We should first talk to them and see if we can get Pyreveil in a more peaceful manner or not."

His tone was calm, but beneath it lurked steel. A slow smirk curved across his lips. "If not," he added, his tone cooling into something far less diplomatic, "we can always use the forceful approach."

The open clearing stood in stark contrast to the oppressive red haze they had traversed.

Here, the atmosphere was unnervingly clear, as though some unseen force had carved out a sanctuary amidst the suffocating infernal mist.

The lone tree stood in the center of the field like a forgotten sentinel guarding a relic of calamity, its bark darkened and split in places, faint crimson heat pulsing through its trunk where the Pyreveil remained embedded.