A few minutes later, the group arrived at Slime Paradise.
The two little Dwarfs dragged Lux to the nursery where the eggs were located. Along the way, they saw several Dwarfs holding Baby Slimes that just hatched from the eggs with great care and happiness, making Eiko smile brightly.
"I can't believe this, they are just Slimes… why the happy faces?" Cethus muttered. "It's not like they hatched a Phoenix or something."
Gerhart didn't share the same thoughts as Cethus, but he was also wondering what was so good about Slimes.
Cai also had a Baby Golden Slime with her, and from what the green-haired Half-Elf could see, the Priestess of the Rowan Tribe genuinely loved Fei Fei. Naturally, Fei Fei loved her as well, which made Gerhart wonder if there was more to the Slimes than what someone could see on the surface.
"Eiko, can you pick a dozen eggs for me?" Lux asked. "We will bring them back to the Guild Headquarters."
"Pa!" Eiko nodded.
She then jumped off her Papa's head and crawled toward the eggs in front of her. To Gerhart's and Cethus' surprise, the eggs came in different colors, like that of a rainbow. However, the most common color was blue, similar to Eiko's color.
There were eggs that had more than one color, and some even had four colors on them, which made Lux wonder if the coloring of the shells had a deeper meaning.
But since he wasn't a Slime expert, he just left the task to the expert, which was none other than Eiko.
After pressing her forehead against the third egg, the Baby Slime nodded her head in satisfaction and swallowed it whole. She then proceeded to check the other eggs one by one, until she had stored a dozen eggs inside of her body.
"Pa!"
"All done? Good job, Eiko."
"Un!"
After getting a dozen eggs, they left Slime Paradise and visited Lux's Master, Randolph.
Just as the Half-Elf expected, the old Dwarf clung to him like a leech after being informed that he was going on a journey to get him a Transcendent Flame.
"I knew that my eyes didn't deceive me when I chose you as my Disciple," Randolph said as he wiped his snot and tears on Lux's clothes. "Don't worry. As long as I get the Transcendent Flames, I'll start crafting weapons and armor for our entire Guild. I'm sure that my old pals will die of jealousy once they learn that I acquired a Transcendent Flame before them!"
"Master, I am just going to look," Lux replied helplessly. "There's no guarantee that the Transcendent Flame is still there."
Randolph understood what his Disciple was saying.
However, deep inside, he hoped that the Transcendent Flame still hadn't found a Master and had remained undiscovered since Keoza saw it.
"Are you going there now?" Randolph asked. "Let me just close my shop. I will start packing as well."
"Eh? You're coming with me, Master?"
"Of course! A Transcendent Flame will only recognize one Master. I must be there to tame it if I want to make it mine."
Lux tilted his head to the side when he heard the word tame.
"Is the Transcendent Flame a monster?" Lux inquired.
"Silly boy, of course not," Randolph replied. "It's more of a spirit. A Transcendent Spirit! It will only acknowledge one Master throughout its lifetime. Once its partner dies, it will disappear and be reborn again a hundred years later."
"I see." Lux nodded. "Very well, Master. Make the necessary preparations. I will just talk to Grandma Annie and the Village Chief to discuss a few things with them. When we're done, we'll leave right away."
Randolph nodded. "Don't worry. I won't take long. Go and visit the others first."
The old Dwarf hurriedly started packing his tools for the upcoming journey. For Blacksmiths like him, acquiring a Transcendent Flame was a dream come true.
He would gladly drop anything he was doing in order to accompany Lux to find the elusive symbol of the Transcendent Blacksmiths who were able to forge Legendary Equipment.
For him, this was a once-in-a-lifetime chance. The whereabouts of the Transcendent Flames were just as elusive as a needle in a haystack. As long as there was a chance of finding one, all the craftsmen in the world, including Alchemists, would fight to get a Transcendent Flame.
—-----
Grandma Annie's Candy Shop…
"What?!" Grandma Annie gasped in shock after hearing Lux's story about the Transcendent Flame. "You're going to look for a Transcendent Flame in the Wanid Kingdom?!"
The Alchemist of Leaf Village looked at the Half-Elf with bloodshot eyes.
"Do you know the location of another Transcendent Flame?" Grandma Annie asked. "I want one too!"
"Um…" Lux didn't know how to answer Grandma Annie's question because the one that had seen the Transcendent Flame was Keoza and not him.
As the Half-Elf was thinking of a proper answer for the kind Grandma who had looked after him while he was in Leaf Village, Keoza spoke directly inside his head.
'Bring her along,' Keoza stated. 'I forgot to tell you that I didn't see just one spark in the Wanid Kingdom—I saw two.'
'Eh? I thought Transcendent Flames were rare?' Lux replied. 'How come two of them were born in the same Kingdom?'
Keoza chuckled because the Half-Elf didn't know the requirements for the birth of a Transcendent Flame.
The Wanid Kingdom was a Kingdom loved by Spirits. Giving birth to one, two, or three Transcendent Flames was highly possible for a Kingdom that had preserved its relationships with the Spirits and had lived as one with nature.
It was the Kingdom of Druids and Shamans, who used the power of Nature and the elements to protect their Kingdom against invaders.
"A-Actually Grandma Annie, I also know the whereabouts of a second Transcendent Flame," Lux stuttered. "Do you want to come with us?"
"I'm going!" Grandma Annie almost kissed the Half-Elf on the lips after telling her that he might know the location of another Transcendent Flame.
Just like Blacksmiths, Alchemists also relied on the power of flames in order to craft pills, potions, and other consumables that helped those who took them in more ways than one.
"Laura, Livia, both of you start packing as well," Grandma Annie said to the two little Dwarves who were feeding candies to their Baby Slimes. "You're coming with me."
""Yay!"" The two little girls clapped happily because they initially thought that Grandma Annie would leave them behind.
Laura and Livia headed to their rooms with excited expressions on their faces. This was the first time that they would go on an adventure outside the territory of Leaf Village.
They were Grandma Annie's disciples and were also learning the arts of Alchemy. The kind old lady wanted the two of them to gain experience in the real world and not stay cooped up in Leaf Village.
Grandma Annie didn't want to raise Laura and Livia to be like greenhouse flowers that didn't know the danger around them.
She believed that as long as the two little girls were able to overcome the hardships they would encounter as they grew older, the two of them would be able to surpass her as the new generation of Alchemists in Leaf Village.
