Masteria Online: Shattering the Dark God's Grand Scheme-Chapter 75 - Going Back

"You’re back already?" Johno raised his sealy eyebrow, watching the party sail back to the Observatory in under two hours. He slid across the floor to greet them halfway. "Did you encounter any unforeseen problems?"

"Nothing is wrong." Lumi waved his concerns away, and gestured to the ship. "We got the wood as requested."

"So fast!?" Johno examined the haul. Indeed, plenty of purifying willow. "Good!"

[Quest Complete: Corrupted Waters Investigation - Part 1]

[EXP +14,000]

[Level Up! 20 -> 21]

[Level Up! 21 -> 22]

[Level Up! 22 -> 23] 𝘧𝑟𝑒𝑒𝘸𝘦𝘣𝑛𝑜𝘷𝑒𝓁.𝘤𝘰𝓂

[Additional Rewards: Reputation with Mora Inhabitants Increased]

Lumi’s eyebrow twitched. What nonsensical reputation increase? While there were many things the system did, influencing the natives of Masteria to like you more wasn’t one of them. It took too much energy.

Three levels from a single quest.

Lumi gave a grin.

His plan was working spectacularly. At this rate he would reach level 30 at an unprecedented pace. Normally, that took players a few weeks!

He quickly opened up his skill panel. From level 20 to 30, six skill points would be gained per level. This put him at eighteen free points.

Lumi smiled.

Perfect.

[Light Leap: 1/10] -> [Light Leap: 10/10]

[Light Shift: 1/10] -> [Light Shift: 10/10]

With his points used, he focused on the outside world once more.

"Incredible work." Johno couldn’t help but praise again. "I thought I was already overestimating the Knights, and yet you still blew my expectations out of the water."

With a smile on his face, he gestured out. "You can drop the wood off here. I assume you have your own vessel you’d like this applied to."

"Of course." Valeria nodded. "We left it near Amumu. We’ll need to retrieve it. Let’s unload the wood, men!"

Zara spoke softly. "I don’t think I count as one of those." She walked off to the side and flopped on the floor.

"..." Elara said nothing, but followed her and threw herself on the floor as well.

"..."

Valeria’s eye twitched. "Did you guys get influenced by Jin too much? Get up!"

Elara raised a hand idly. "I don’t think we’re guys."

"..."

"Got it all unloaded, Captain!" Marcus suddenly exclaimed, saluting to Valeria.

"You-" Valeria looked over to the now empty ship, and then back at the unloaded wood. "Good work. Did Jin help?"

"No."

"Of course."

...

"Let’s go retrieve the Silver Wind." Lumi declared.

"We can return anytime." Pingu offered immediately. "Just say the word."

The journey back to Amumu’s main harbor was quicker. Pingu was navigating the water with ease, no longer as leisurely as before. Jin leaned over the side, watching the corrupted water swirl past.

"It’s getting worse, isn’t it?" he asked, uncharacteristically serious. "The water looks darker than when we arrived."

"The corruption spreads daily." Pingu confirmed sadly. "Not long ago, this route was clear. Now look at it."

They reached the harbor to find the Silver Wind exactly as they’d left it, though the dockworkers gave it worried looks.

"You’re not taking that into the deep corruption, are you?" A human dockhand asked. "That’s suicide, whether you’re Knights or not."

"Not without proper protection." Valeria assured him. "We’re heading back to treat it now."

Marcus walked around their ship, examining it. "Pingu’s right, we need that treatment."

"Is there damage?" Valeria instantly asked, a hint of worry in her voice.

Marcus shook his head. "None at all, but that’s due to the superior quality of our ship. I can see it has been enduring forces it shouldn’t. If it stays here too long, it’ll eventually be damaged."

He then narrowed his eyes. "Actually, I’ve confirmed a certain problem."

That statement drew all eyes to him, most of all Valeria who was most worried about the ship. "What?"

Marcus directed his finger to the water. "It’s worse. It’s already worse than when we started. The spread of this corruption is significantly faster than I believed. This place may be unlivable within a mere year."

"Just a year...?" Pingu looked contemplative. After a moment, he continued. "Given further thought, even that sounds long. Food is getting harder and harder to hunt. For the corruption to have extended all the way here near Amumu, I didn’t even notice it."

"Near here, it’s only a slight bit of corruption." Marcus noted. "But it does exist."

"Knights," Pingu began, lightly questioning what he had witnessed minutes earlier. They had walked over to the empty Knight ship. "Isn’t it dangerous to leave your ship unattended like this?"

"To an extent." Valeria acknowledged. "However, no one can sail it unless they are a real Aria Knight. The most they can do is sabotage it." She intentionally left out another part, in case any ears were listening.

That is, she would be alerted if unauthorized personnel got on. Therefore, leaving the ship exposed served as an early warning system towards any unexpected threats.

"Hm." Pingu considered the situation. "I suppose this is unnecessary now, given that you will be using your own ship from now on. That said, if for whatever reason you are all off it, I can tend to it."

"Ah?" Valeria was unsure. "We know how to sail our own ship, though. I wouldn’t want to put you in unnecessary harm."

"True." Pingu nodded. "Just an offer, however."

"We’ll take it if we need it." Valeria responded.

The sail back to the Observatory was tense, with Marcus constantly examining the ship. "It’s getting worse." The corrupted waters seemed more volatile. It was unknown whether it was truly getting worse so quickly, or if they were already targeted.

"There." Elara called out, pointing to where something massive moved beneath the surface. "Starboard side, forty meters."

The water bulged. However, whatever lurked below didn’t surface, sensing the Knights aboard. It followed the ship as they sailed for a couple minutes, until it abandoned the ship, going deeper into the ocean.

Once back at the Observatory, they found that Johno was waiting at the dock with several assistants. Two penguins, a seal, and an elderly human woman who clearly led the penguins and seal.

"Excellent timing." Johno said as they moored the Silver Wind. He gestured towards the elderly human. "Master Craftsman Vera here specializes in protective treatments. She’ll oversee the application."