Masteria Online: Shattering the Dark God's Grand Scheme-Chapter 143 - What the Raid is

"That artifact." Currway’s voice slithered out. "Use it next to the stump, and it will transport all living beings within the surrounding area inside the seal. Once inside, what I need is simple."

The voice hardened.

"Bring ten people here. Bring them inside. I will consume them. Their life will be sufficient to free me."

Lumi stared at the orb. He slowly reached his hand out, but stopped it midair. He took a moment to tremble, then crouched to move closer to it.

Before he touched it, Currway continued.

"And before you think of betraying me," Currway spoke with the coaxing warmth entirely gone now. "Know this. Telling others I am here accomplishes nothing. If that great magician already knows my location, then anyone who matters already knows. My presence is not a secret I am asking you to keep."

He let that fact sit for a moment.

"And if you think of bringing powerful men in to kill me, think again. The artifact will only transport living beings below the Third Rank inside. You cannot bring anyone capable of killing me. I sit at the absolute peak of the Third Rank, practically the beginning of the Fourth. Unless you are a fool, there is no force you can bring to bear against me in here."

Lumi kept himself quiet. He did not respond.

He stood in silence, and began to breathe erratically. He let the pause stretch, and he looked down at the red orb. He looked at the stump. He looked back at the orb.

He closed his eyes hard. Then, quietly, he said. "You want me to bring people in to be killed."

"I want you to choose yourself." Currway responded, putting on the smooth voice once more. "I want you to choose your future over people who were never on your side to begin with. I want you to choose Emiss."

Currway’s voice grew louder, taking a harsher tone. "Imagine it. Right now, while you stand here in this forest doing nothing, where is she? Picture it. Picture him. Picture exactly what is happening while you stand here being honorable. She’s in bed with him, isn’t she? ISN’T SHE!?"

Lumi’s expression twisted into jealous hatred.

"Bring me my sacrifices." Currway demanded. "And everything you hate ends."

Lumi reached out and took the orb.

He gave a single grave nod, said nothing further, and turned and walked back into the woods.

...

He found his airship where he had left it, pulled himself in, and began navigating back through the layers of Elenora.

The moment he was far enough that no presence could possibly detect him, a grin spread across his face.

What a fool.

He almost felt bad about it.

Almost.

Centuries of isolation had clearly done something to Currway’s judgment, because that had been embarrassingly easy. The demon had handed him a perfectly wrapped excuse to bring a large group of people directly to his location, and was now sitting in his seal congratulating himself on how clever he was.

This was the raid. This was exactly the raid Lumi had posted about on the forums. Currway had practically designed it himself.

And the best part?

Currway believed the artifact’s restrictions made him untouchable. Only those below Third Rank could enter. He sat at the peak of Third Rank, practically the doorstep of Fourth. By the standards of Masteria, that made him an unassailable monster.

Such a thought was merely a joke to Lumi.

He had something on his side that Currway could have never imagined. The players.

Player deaths didn’t matter. They would respawn. They could die a hundred times inside that seal, and the only cost was time and EXP. Throw enough players at a problem and the problem stopped being a problem. Currway had sealed his own fate the moment he handed over the artifact.

Lumi leaned back slightly as the airship hummed beneath him. Brown and green shifted around him as his ship kept onwards.

He pulled up his messages and typed out to Lena.

[Lumi: How’s progress? Where are you at?]

This wasn’t just idle talk. Though he did have to admit that he wanted to talk to her and see her, he did have a reason to contact her right now.

He wanted her.

If she was done with her mission, he would pick her up to go gain power somewhere.

Her response came as quickly as always.

[Lena: Oh! Oh oh! Good timing. I think I’m actually almost done here.]

[Lena: Most of the children have been rescued. Like, the vast majority. The fairies have been... actually really good? They started a bit harsh, but they changed their tune quickly! Like, I expected tolerance at best. I got appreciation. Which is wild. Fairies are wild.]

[Lena: The last thing is the deer king. Which, and I want to be clear, is NOT a real king. It’s a monster. An intelligent one, but a monster. It kidnapped children. Imagine what it did to them? No seriously, imagine it. You know how Masteria is. So we’re going to raid its base, painfully murder it, rescue the last two kids, and then I assume things will wrap up.]

[Lena: I am READY.]

Lumi read through the messages and smiled. She was at the end. This was actually perfect. There was something he could do in this situation.

[Lumi: Hold on. Don’t go in yet. I want to do the boss with you. Tell the fairies to expect me.]

The response was immediate.

[Lena: !!!!!!]

[Lena: Yes. Yes! Done. Done already. Told them. Get here!!! I LOVE YOU!]

She hadn’t even questioned him. She gave him instant compliance and excitement, which he adored her for, and was also exactly what he needed.

He adjusted the airship’s direction.

...

Navigating Elenora was not like navigating anywhere else on Masteria.

Most terrain, even difficult terrain, was fundamentally two-dimensional. You moved north, south, east, west, and the challenge came from obstacles in that plane. A heavy forest was difficult because the trees and undergrowth impeded your path. A mountain range was difficult because of the elevation change.

Elenora was different in degree. It was a three-dimensional labyrinth. If you followed the main paths, you would be fine. If you wandered... good luck.