Masteria Online: Shattering the Dark God's Grand Scheme-Chapter 96 - Message

Just as soon as the group had come to a consensus, three more suddenly came out of nowhere, taking tactical positions.

[Infiltrator Seal Bot - Level 35] [Infiltrator Seal Bot - Level 34] [Infiltrator Seal Bot - Level 36]

"Are they stupid?" Zara mocked, getting her blades ready.

Lumi narrowed his eyes. The intelligence of the robots aside, the Knights had been getting overconfident and careless. It made sense, as the Knights’ strength was vastly higher than the enemies in this region. Every fight thus far had been a joke.

This should continue to be the case until they were done. Lumi saw absolutely no reason for any real threat to show up. He had purposely requested a squad much stronger than the dangers, in order to breeze through.

However, one never knew. Anything could happen. Thus, one had to be prepared.

Lumi ordered. "We can’t assume that. Let’s take care of them seriously."

One of the fake seals dashed straight towards a box, then countless blades began to destroy it.

"They’re trying to destroy evidence! Stop them!" They had completely given up on fighting back but rather started destroying various things around.

Zara emerged from shadows behind one infiltrator, her blades rapidly stabbing as she prodded for weak points. After a couple dozen tries, she hit just the right spot, and the robot stopped moving. "They don’t have consistent weak points! They keep shifting!"

[EXP +89]

"Then we overwhelm them!" Valeria declared. She rushed towards one of the infiltrators, which was actively engaging in destruction. She sliced it clean in half, then quickly kicked the two halves to the side. Once the pieces were clear of anything that may be destroyed as collateral damage, she finished them all off with Cosmic Rain.

[EXP +89]

Another correctly identified Lumi as the weakest target. Several weapons came out of its body, and they were launched towards Lumi. He didn’t even bother to teleport. With a stream of light, all the projectiles got thrown off course by his magic, and then his magic hit the bot directly.

"Inefficient..." His eyes flashed, and he leaped towards the enemy. The bot did not understand the course of action, though it prepared its steel blade. Suddenly, Lumi was entirely gone.

Three overlapping streams of light magic suddenly hit the bot from above, piercing through its entire body from head to toe. It immediately disabled the bot, only made final as Lumi’s weight fell upon the bot, crushing its crumbling remains with a loud thump.

[EXP +92]

The last infiltrator, seeing its companions destroyed, did something unexpected. It began to emit a high pitched signal, clearly trying to alert others to their presence.

"Silence it!" Lumi shouted, firing multiple Light Showers in rapid succession. The spell’s penetrating nature was perfect for disrupting the creature’s internal systems.

Zara appeared on its back, driving blades quickly into it, searching for its weak point. The signal cut off abruptly as the infiltrator spasmed and collapsed.

[EXP +95]

"Search them." Lumi ordered. "There might be evidence of their purpose here."

They examined the remains carefully. They had clear technological components, though it was impossible for them to recognize the specifics.

"This is too sophisticated," Susie said, going one by one. "Look at these components. Clearly, it was made with technology from Entei. And that’s expensive, someone with significant resources is behind this."

"The Wings of Darkness." Marcus said grimly. "Who else would have Entei technology and pull a scheme like this?"

Among the wreckage, Lumi found what he was looking for, documents that had survived the battle, though they were definitely not in a format any of them could read. "Got something here. Looks like orders or communications."

"Garbled." Zara observed, looking over his shoulder. "But definitely writing. Some kind of code?"

"We’ll need experts to decode it." Lumi decided. "But this is evidence. Proof that someone was infiltrating the seal operations."

A sound from the entrance made them all turn, weapons raising instinctively. But it was just Dahni, peering around the corner with wide, frightened eyes.

"Is... is it safe?" he asked tremulously.

"It is now." Valeria assured him. "These weren’t seals, Dahni. They were constructs, infiltrators sent by our enemies to impersonate your people."

The expression on Dahni’s face shifted between horror and relief. "I knew it! I knew something was wrong! But without proof, who would believe me? Suspicious behavior isn’t enough to act on, not when they had proper documentation."

"Your instincts were correct." Lumi said, gathering up the evidence they’d found. "This infiltration was sophisticated, designed to avoid detection. You did well to notice the discrepancies."

[Quest Complete: Corrupted Waters Investigation - Part 5]

[EXP +18,000]

[Level Up! 28 -> 29]

The massive experience gained from completing a quest sent the familiar surge of power through Lumi’s body. He quickly allocated his points, yet another five points in INT, and then he was left with six skill points.

Lumi pursed his lips. Nothing was exactly useful anymore.

No more passives. No more buffs. There were more attacks, yes, a spell at level one would naturally be less powerful than his maxed out Light Shower at 20.

Not to mention, once he officially advanced to Rank Two, attack spells from the previous rank would quickly become sidelined.

Therefore, he directly allocated a point each into each of his six unlearned spells.

Light Drop, Light Touch, Bright Ball, Lux, Light Point, Lite Light.

Better than nothing, I guess. At least I’ll have familiarity with them when I get the system unbound from me.

"There’s more." Dahni said, his expression darkening. "If they were impersonating seals here, then... Oh no. The penguins!"

"What about them?" Lumi asked sharply.

"There have been strange penguins at the port!" Dahni exclaimed. "Different from the usual workers, but like with the seals, they had authorization. They’ve been loading and unloading shipments, always at odd hours. I thought... I hoped it was just new workers I hadn’t met, but if the seals were fake..."

"Show us," Lumi said immediately.

"And not just that," Dahni continued as he led them through the station. "If these infiltrators are here, there might be more. The whole base could be compromised! Please, Aria Knights, help us clear them out. I can’t bear the thought of these... these things pretending to be us, using our faces to spread corruption and chaos."

[Quest Received: Purge the infiltrators from Ice Station Three]

[Objective: Eliminate all infiltrators and find evidence of their plans]

[Recommended Level: 40-45]