Masteria Online: Shattering the Dark God's Grand Scheme-Chapter 80 - Locating

Lumi accepted the quest on the spot. It might as well be gift-wrapped free EXP.

The party boarded the Silver Wind once more, and set sail to the Second Ice Station.

As they neared, they found that it was a larger, more populated ice chunk. Unlike the First Ice Station, it did not consist of a single research building. It was populated. It had a small fishing outpost nearby, and some homes. It became clear something was wrong. The docks were empty, boats tied up but abandoned. No smoke rose from chimneys despite the cold.

"Where is everyone?" Marcus wondered, looking about. "Do you think...?" He let the implication ring out.

They found their answer as soon as they stepped onto the island itself. The village square was filled with more corrupted creatures, but these were different from any of the monsters from before.

There were barrels of toxic waste, somehow animate and aggressive. They oozed across the ground, leaving trails of contamination.

Lumi directly scanned one.

[Toxic Waste Elemental - Level 29] 𝚏𝗿𝗲𝐞𝐰𝚎𝕓𝐧𝚘𝘃𝗲𝐥.𝐜𝚘𝕞

"What the hell are those?" Jin spat out, disgusted.

A waste elemental emerged from behind a storage shed. It was a writhing mass of toxic sludge contained within a rotting barrel.

"Die!" Jin exclaimed, lightning crackling between his fists as he charged forward.

"Jin, wait-" Valeria started, but it was too late. Talking took much longer than action, after all.

Jin’s lightning punch connected solidly with the creature’s center mass. The barrel exploded in a shower of toxic waste, coating Jin from head to toe in foul smelling sludge. He stumbled back, coughing and gagging.

"It burns!" he yelped. Where it touched his skin, it began to turn red and burn.

"Don’t touch it with your bare hands!" He warned the others, quickly channeling a skill to soak himself and wash the substance off himself. "This stuff is highly corrosive!"

"I was trying to tell you!" Valeria admonished. "You hothead!" She wasn’t too harsh however, as under the vast majority of situations, Jin’s approach would have been correct.

More waste elementals oozed into view, drawn by the commotion. They advanced on the party in a suspiciously organized formation.

Lumi took a step back. His gaze entirely ignored the enemies, scanning the various buildings around. He began ordering.

"Zara, Elara. Locate the positions of all civilians and inform the group. We must avoid as much collateral damage as possible."

His eyes flashed with intellect. It wasn’t as if they had arrived the moment the monsters broke out. That meant all remaining civilians were either very well hidden, or well enough that they were being ignored by the monsters.

If one wasn’t careful, it would be too easy to accidentally burn them in the crossfire.

Zara and Elara swiftly went forth, moving through the various enemies to scout the various buildings. As the Waste Elementals advanced on the remaining party, Valeria stepped forward. She narrowed her eyes and spoke with a small grin. "Come get me!"

Susie blinked. She took a look at Jin, Marcus, and Lumi, who were standing idle. "What... what do we do?"

"Nothing." Lumi replied neutrally.

Seeing her confused expression, Jin explained to her. "Ain’t like these monsters are strong! Plus, cap’s is stronger than us! Ain’t anythin’ gonna happen to ’er."

..

"Hey!" Elara yelled out, making her voice be carried with the wind. "My name is Elara, from the Aria Knights! We have come to rescue you! There are still monsters outside. However, all survivors, make your presence known! We must avoid collateral damage. Do not worry about the monsters. If you attract them, we will save you!"

"...primitive." Zara scoffed at her methods from the shadows. She had her hand on a small seal, who was looking at her with wide eyes. She knelt and spoke with a smile. "Stay there, little one. It’ll be safe soon. Now go, further into those shadows."

Zara took a single step out of the shadows, and her body entirely disappeared.

At the voice of Elara, a penguin braved himself to make his face present at a window. "Here! We’re here!"

His voice attracted the attention of several enemies, making his face pale. A particularly large waste elemental was oozing toward the building...

Shadows swiftly overtook the monster. "Guuhhhhh..." It gurgled in confusion. Who turned the sun off?

Swiff!

Countless invisible blades sliced at it, rendering it nothing more than a toxic puddle in seconds.

Zara appeared inside the building, behind the penguin. "Hey."

"Ah!" He nearly fell backwards in shock.

"Quiet." Zara raised a finger to her lips. "How many of you are inside?"

"F-four. Me, two elders, one child."

"Good." She nodded once. "Barricade the door again and stay away from the windows. Do not open it for anyone except Aria Knights."

She vanished again before he could respond.

Outside, the battle in the square was already underway. Or rather, the entirely stalled battle.

Valeria stood firm at the center of the street. The waste elementals surged toward her in a slow but relentless wave.

"Come on," she muttered.

The first creature attempted to slam into her. She hit its side with her arm, forcefully shoving it aside. From both sides, they ran towards her, but she stood firm. She simply held her arms out, stopping them before they reached her. Then she pushed out, blowing them back.

Gurgle...

The waste elementals grew angry. If they couldn’t just touch her...

One of them opened its lid, spewing toxic waste at her. As it neared her, she jumped high into the air, landing behind the monster. She mocked it, "Useless!"

"Um..." From the side, Susie, who was watching, felt awe. "Is that what a warrior is like...? I admit, I’ve never seen a strong warrior before. I was born here, but actually, I was raised in Elonora. I wasn’t allowed in the Fairy Mage Academy, since it’s for mages. Luckily, I got started on my magic path with Merath. And um..."

She fell silent, with a small blush on her face. "Sorry..."

"I met Merath once!" Marcus exclaimed. "I was watching one of his lectures. You were also his student?"

"Also...?" She looked at Marcus strangely. Marcus was an Aria Knight. How could he...?

Lumi raised his hand. "Me, to an extent." He brought out the ID card Merath had given him, showing it to Susie. It was wooden, shaped like a leaf, with a golden border.

"Oh!" Susie gave it a good look. "Wait, this is a special one! He must be really special to earn his appreciation!" She took out hers and showed it. It looked nearly identical, except for the color of the border, which was bronze.