Masteria Online: Shattering the Dark God's Grand Scheme-Chapter 84 - YAQ (Yet Another Quest)

"...Nothing," Lumi finally said, eyes still narrowed.

Susie stepped in again. "Okay. Now I’ll remove the device itself." She worked delicately, her fingers maneuvering around the mount with the practiced care of someone used to handling unstable components. With a soft click, the device came loose in her hands.

Elara took a hesitant step closer. "Can we take this back home?"

"From my knowledge of such creations," Susie explained, "It should be safe."

Jin also chimed in. "It has no electricity to power it anymore. Marcus, you’re a mage, feel anything?"

Marcus frowned. "It’s deader than a rock. No magic at all."

"We’ll take it." Lumi replied resolutely. A security camera should be safe to bring back. He could explain taking the small ’risk’ with his position, by not explaining it.

He put his hand over it, taking it into his inventory.

Looking at the rest of the details of the abandoned area, he stated. "We need to document this."

Her response was a hand silently going up, Zara, who had silently documented everything down.

"Good."

...

"So that’s what we found, Alvida."

Alvida listened to their findings with a curious gaze. "So, you suspect the Wings of Darkness are behind this?"

Lumi nodded. "We already had reason to believe so when we first came here. This finding only provides further credence to the theory."

"And Darkwitch Mika...?" Alvida lightly questioned.

Lumi shook his head. "Nothing says she can’t be part of the Wings."

"More importantly," Zara began, whispering, "Isn’t there someone you forgot about?" 𝘧𝑟𝑒𝑒𝘸𝘦𝘣𝑛𝑜𝘷𝑒𝓁.𝘤𝘰𝓂

Alvida tilted her seal neck. "Huh?"

The door opened-

"YOOOOOUUU IDIOOOOOT!" Alona quickly rushed in, hurling herself at Alvida in a hug tackle.

"Stupid, stupid idiot! Sis! You forgot about me! I was so worried about you and here you were doing science and I was just, I was WAHHHHHHHH!"

Lumi gave them a good natured smile. "Well, we’ll leave you two to catch up." He then gestured to his team. "Come on, time to go back to the Glacial Observatory."

He didn’t bother asking her to come with them. Unlike Mickey who was alone on an island, there was a settlement here. He couldn’t possibly take everyone back.

"Indeed." Valeria nodded. "We have what we came for."

...

Back at the Glacial Observatory, Johno received Alvida’s tracking data with great interest.

[Quest Complete: Corrupted Waters Investigation - Part 3]

[EXP +14,000]

[Level Up! 26 -> 27]

Lumi quickly dumped his six skill points into Mana Well, bringing the skill to 17/20. After quickly taking care of that, he observed the situation before him.

The picture was becoming clearer, or so everyone except Lumi believed. The evidence seemed damning. There was magical contamination, necromantic constructs, toxic waste elementals, all centered around the Darkwitch’s island.

"I had hoped we were wrong," Johno admitted heavily. "Mika has lived in these waters for decades. Strange and reclusive, yes, but we never had proof of evil. Now..."

He quickly shook his head. "I can’t believe it. And yet it makes sense. If a foreign organization is responsible for this, it makes sense why Mika is acting against us, who haven’t harmed her."

"Now she must be confronted." Lumi said firmly, acting. "If she’s responsible for this corruption, she must be stopped."

Johno took a big sigh of resignation. His features even flashed a hint of guilt. "I... it’s really her... I feel like a fool. He shook his head.

He went over to the map, and began pointing. "Her island is here." Johno indicated on the map. "Deep in the inner sea, where the corruption is thickest. Approach carefully. She’s said to be a formidable mage."

"What can you tell us about her?" Lumi asked, playing his role.

"Very little," Johno admitted. "She arrived about thirty years ago, claimed a small uninhabited island, and has lived there since. She trades occasionally, herbs and potions for supplies, but discourages visitors. Some say she came here fleeing persecution. Others think she’s hiding from justice."

"Hiding her crimes," one of the penguin researchers muttered.

"Aria Knights." Johno continued, in a slightly desperate tone now. "Please help us."

Lumi took his hand into his. "No need to worry. We already gave you our word multiple times. We do not go back on a promise."

Johno’s statements also continued the ’questline’ the system was manifesting.

[Quest Received: Corrupted Waters Investigation - Part 4]

[Objective: Confront the Darkwitch Mika!]

[Recommended Level: 35-40]

"We’ll find the truth." Lumi promised, accepting the quest update that appeared. This would be the culmination of the investigation’s first phase, and he could already calculate the experience gains. It was going to be yet another 14,000.

Seeing that the Knights seemed eager to depart, Johno hesitated. "Respected Knights..."

Gazes were sent his way. He continued, gesturing up at the sky. "It’s been quite a couple hours. You all must be exhausted from all that you have done already. Would it not be wise to rest before finding her? This would also give Susie a chance to recover some more."

Lumi gave a nod. "That would be wise." He gestured to the others. "The knights have not yet eaten."

Valeria was slightly taken aback by that. She paused, then after recomposing herself, responded, gave a small, yet respectful bow. "Thank you, Lumi."

Lumi shook his head. "It is my fault. I was too focused on the mission, that I neglected you all."

Valeria also shook her head. "No, I should have kept it in mind. I offloaded all the work to you, even though I should have kept these things in mind and informed you."

"Ey, cap!" Jin was the first to step forward next to her. "Don’t worry about it! We’re all strong, we can endure something as small as that."

Marcus stepped up, nervously adding. "T-the people here need our help. This is nothing." That was backed up by Elara, who noted, "Working a whole day is normal."

"What are we talking about?" Zara’s soft yet confused voice suddenly rang out. "I’ve gone three weeks without eating before, I don’t know what we’re talking about."

"What." That statement got a couple worried and confused glances sent her way.

Even Johno had to pause at that, before he started, "You are all great people." Johno affirmed. "Very good people. The entire island of Mora will forever be in your debt. Don’t be harsh on yourself."

He moved aside, and gestured at the observatory. "You are all free to rest here. We’ll prepare the best food for you all too."