Masteria Online: Shattering the Dark God's Grand Scheme-Chapter 93 - Big Woman

"There have been irregularities." Johno explained. "Among our territories, there have been areas declared off-limits without clear reason. Shipments that weren’t properly logged. I figured... always figured... there were reasons."

He slapped his flipper against his chest. "I’m a seal. I never thought to suspect my own people. We live here. Benefit from the land, the sea, this is our home. Why would any seal want it gone?"

He shook his head. "But maybe I was blind and misplaced my trust." Johno finished heavily. "Very well. Let me show you the documents."

He moved over to shelves, locating and taking out various documents. As he moved, he received many strange stares from his subordinates. It was obvious why. He had just admitted, in front of everyone, that he had overlooked suspicious activity just because it was from a fellow seal.

The stares weren’t hateful, just complicated. Johno was still the beloved boss of the Glacial Observatory after all.

Johno silently passed a stack of documents to Lumi. Lumi took the documents, and called over the Knights and Susie to read them along with him. Before leaving them, Johno spoke. "I’m sorry." He was visibly disappointed in himself.

"Forget that." Lumi waved his concern away. "We’ll investigate this carefully."

They spent a while reviewing the documents. After doing so, the answer was obvious. However, Lumi purposely didn’t give an answer. He turned to Valeria. "What would you say?"

Valeria considered the information. "If we want to be thorough, then we’ll start with Ice Station Three." She pointed it out on the map. "It’s in traditional seal territory, monitoring the deepest parts of the inner sea. If something irregular is happening, they might have noticed."

Lumi nodded. "Let’s inform Johno."

After they did so, Johno’s expression turned complicated. He was clearly going through some internal turbulence. He paused, then added. "Take this."

He handed them an official seal marking them as official investigators for the Unified Mora Council. "I should have given this earlier. I figured there was no point, given that you are Aria Knights. But given the circumstances, just in case they try to pull strange bureaucratic nonsense, this should prevent any... misunderstandings about your presence."

"Alright." Lumi accepted the seal. "Do you have someone in mind for us to talk to there?"

"I can’t entirely say anymore." Johno sighed. "If there is corruption, I wouldn’t want to direct you to trust someone that you shouldn’t."

"Even if that’s the case, it’s okay." Lumi affirmed. "We can make our own judgments."

Johno thought for a bit, and eventually nodded. "Alright. Then, please meet with Dahni. He’s a manager for our food preservation and warehouses. He’s decently high ranked, he should be able to guide you around. He’s a light cyan seal, he tends to overuse a favorite pink scarf of his, and a brown muffler hat."

The request immediately made a quest manifest for Lumi.

[Quest Received: Corrupted Waters Investigation - Part 5]

[Objective: Find Dahni and investigate Ice Station 3]

[Recommended Level: 40-45]

Lumi’s eyes glowed just that much brighter. Another quest meant another level, exactly what he needed. As far as he understood, this should be marking the approximate halfway point of this ’questline’.

"Got it." Lumi took the map into his inventory. "We’ll leave now."

"Of course." Johno said gravely. "And Knights..."

"If Dahni is involved, if anyone is, it would mean someone I trust is lying to my face. Be careful. And don’t hesitate."

Lumi met his gaze squarely. "We won’t. Do not worry. We’ll head out immediately. Thank you, Johno."

Johno bowed his head slightly, a weary sort of gratitude in his eyes. "And thank you. I’ve repeated myself often, but I sincerely appreciate you Knights. I hope your investigation reveals only misunderstandings... but if not." He glanced at the gathered seals and researchers. "Then I hope it roots out what’s been poisoning our waters."

They departed the Glacial Observatory not long after. The wind had picked up, forcing them to endure an icy wind against their faces as they sailed.

Ice Station Three came into view.

It was an inaccessible island, that is, it did not have a shoreline.

It held countless seal-sized entrances at water level, tunnels for a swimming seal to directly swim inside.

However, it was impossible for a ship to simply land and have its passengers disembark.

They stopped the ship close by, staring up the steep cliff. "This island is bigger." Elara noted. "There is no view of the ship from the island unless one heads to the edge. This could be an issue."

"Is an issue." Jin scoffed, correcting. "If we expect resistance from an intelligent species, it is entirely seasonable that they would board our uninhabited ship."

"We’re being watched," Elara murmured, her voice low. Her eyes glinted darkly. "Perhaps that may be normal, what’s not normal is they are hiding themselves."

Lumi made the decision immediately. "Jin. The ocean provides an excellent vector for your lightning, making you highly effective on soaked targets. Elara, you are our ranged specialist. The two of you should stay and protect the ship."

He turned to Valeria. "Are you in agreement?"

She nodded. "I concur."

"Understood!" Elara agreed, her back straight.

Jin gave a professional nod as well. "We’ll keep the ship safe for your arrival."

"Let’s go." Lumi motioned up towards the island. He moved his gaze to Valeria. "Carry those who need it.

Every class had different ways of moving. In this case, this was not an obstacle that mages could cross easily.

Valeria reached out her arms, taking Lumi within her left, and Marcus within her right.

"H-hey..." Marcus’s face paled. "Wait, be gentle!"

She ignored it completely and squeezed them tight against her body. She took a step forward, and leapt from the ship, several feet in the air. She reached about halfway up the cliff face before she surrounded herself in a bright solar force, propelling herself forward from mid-air, extending her jump until she reached the top.

She then unceremoniously let go of the two.

Lumi landed on his feet.

Marcus flopped to the floor on his face. "Ah!" He gasped, taking in several deep breaths. 𝙛𝓻𝒆𝓮𝒘𝙚𝙗𝒏𝙤𝙫𝓮𝒍.𝓬𝒐𝙢

"Marucs." Valeria threw him a side glance. "Be serious, come on."

"I- I" He stuttered as he got up, "I- You, You suffocated me in there!"

"In there..." Valeria looked down at herself, and quickly saw what he meant. She shook for a moment, before shaking her head. "Shut up."