Amid a flicker of blue light, Su Xuan and Ivsha arrived at the special quest location.
The quest location was a stretch of pale shallows where a weathered, ancient ship lay.
A horrifying hole gaped in the ship's center, as if it had been violently struck by a reef. The sails were tattered, the mast broken, and the entire vessel looked like a tragic painting, telling the tale of its misfortune.
As for the crew?
Su Xuan's gaze grew solemn as he spotted several small Skeletons wandering around the hull in the shallows. They were presumably the former sailors of this ancient ship, their remains now left to roam the beach.
"If Sister Kelly were here, she would surely purify them all and send them to Heaven."
Ivsha murmured softly, gazing at the Skeletons in the distance.
"Sister Kelly?"
"Sister Kelly is one of the two most respected elder Nuns in our church. She was the one who brought me to the church when I was just a baby in swaddling clothes," Ivsha explained.
"She sounds like a kind person."
"She is. But sometimes, too much Kindness can turn a person into a puppet for others to control."
A cold glint flashed in Ivsha's beautiful eyes as she spoke.
It seemed some past event had affected her mood.
Su Xuan didn't respond.
He wouldn't influence Ivsha's own judgment, simply saying to her, "Let's go. We need to finish the quest before dark."
Ivsha's gaze sharpened at his words.
But it quickly softened into a calm smile as she replied softly, "Mm."
As they neared the shipwreck, the Skeletons wandering the shallows began to close in on them.
As Undead, they were terrified of Ivsha's Divine Magic. Before they could even get close, a Golden light bloomed in her palm.
In an instant, the approaching Undead were consecrated, collapsing into piles of ordinary bones.
Thus, Su Xuan reached the door to the captain's cabin without lifting a finger.
Before opening the door, he carefully scanned the area to make sure it was safe. Then, with extreme caution, he slowly pushed the door to the captain's cabin open.
"An empty room?"
After opening the door, Su Xuan saw that the captain's cabin was empty, save for a single treasure chest in the corner.
This confused him. While there were Skeletons near the shipwreck, they were only Level 1 and posed little threat. It didn't make sense for the quest's Recommended Level to be 4.
'Then...'
Su Xuan's gaze locked onto the chest. 'If there's any real danger here,' he surmised, 'it's probably coming from that chest.'
"Ivsha, cast a Divine Magic spell on the chest."
"Alright."
Ivsha immediately began to chant, casting a Divine Magic spell at the chest.
The Golden light washed over the chest. At first, nothing happened. But as the light completely enveloped it, the Demon hiding inside could no longer withstand the corrosion of the Holy Light.
"AWOOOO!"
The mimic, disguised as a treasure chest, opened its gaping maw and lunged at Ivsha.
"A Demon!?"
Ivsha's brow furrowed.
'She had been wondering why Su Xuan wanted her to use Divine Magic on a chest. So this was why—to reveal its true form!'
Facing the lunging mimic, she reacted swiftly, chanting a Magic Spell.
Suddenly, a Golden Holy Sword materialized in mid-air and plummeted down, impaling the mimic.
The mimic thrashed on the floor a few times before falling silent.
Su Xuan drew his Silver Longsword and prodded the mimic with its tip. Only after confirming the Demon was dead did he begin to search it for loot.
The inside of the mimic was filled with pink flesh coated in a slimy liquid, which felt very strange to the touch.
But for the sake of the quest objective, Su Xuan reached his hand inside anyway.
After rummaging around inside the mimic, Su Xuan finally pulled out a letter. It was adorned with the crest of one of the Knight Clans—it had to be the family crest belonging to Knight Roxia, who was mentioned in the quest.
He also pulled out an earring.
But it was just a common item, so he didn't pay it much attention.
'Is the quest complete already? That was pretty simple.'
Su Xuan muttered to himself. He was about to explore the rest of the shipwreck for any hidden secrets.
But suddenly, the entire ship began to shake violently!
"What's going on?"
Su Xuan frowned and looked up.
To his astonishment, a giant octopus tentacle was suctioned to the hull, and it was starting to drag the ship into the deep sea.
[Giant Deep Sea Octopus (Rare)]
Level: 40 (1500/20000)
Race: Deep Sea Type
Power: 500 / Agility: 200 / Magic Power: 400 / Physique: 800
Growth: 6 (Gains 6 points to All Attributes per level.)
Skills: (Expand)
"A Level 40 Demon?"
Su Xuan's brow furrowed. "We have to get out of here!" he shouted to Ivsha.
"There's no time to run!" Ivsha quickly analyzed the situation, realizing it was impossible to escape the shipwreck on foot.
She immediately spread her wings, scooped up Su Xuan, and flew away from the shipwreck.
"That was close. We almost ended up in the sea."
Su Xuan heaved a sigh of relief, watching from Ivsha's arms as the giant octopus dragged the ship down to the seafloor.
'But judging by the Skeletons still thrashing on the surface, the octopus doesn't seem very interested in us—it just wants the ship. That means even if we'd been dragged under, we could have escaped its attack.'
'That would fit the Recommended Level of 4, then.'
"I never thought we'd find a legendary Demon Beast here. Good thing it wasn't interested in us," Ivsha said softly.
"A pity. There must have been some treasure in that shipwreck for the Demon Beast to drag it to the seafloor."
Su Xuan speculated thoughtfully.
"Is that so? Perhaps."
Ivsha gave a calm smile.
Her attention, however, wasn't on the sinking ship. Instead, she stared at the man in her arms, light pink hearts twinkling in her eyes.
Only when Su Xuan prompted her did she flap her wings and return to land.
After watching the ship sink completely beneath the waves, Su Xuan finally turned to leave. He opened a Teleportation Array and returned to the Guild.
The first thing Su Xuan did upon returning was submit the quest item.
The family letter would be delivered by special means to a Knight named Roxia.
A quest completion notification popped up!
[+5 Silver Coins, +500 EXP!]
[You have received one free Trait refresh.]
[Congratulations, you have completed a special quest!]
[Your Player rating has increased to F+, and you have received an Adventurer Recruitment Scroll (White)!]
An ethereal chime sounded, and a white Recruitment Scroll silently appeared on the bar.
The moment Su Xuan picked it up, several traits once again appeared in his vision.
But this time was different. One of the traits was flashing with an unusual brilliance, drawing his eye!
[White Rose and Oath Knight]
(Rare Trait! Using this trait in a combination guarantees the recruitment of an Epic-quality Adventurer!)
(Trigger Condition: Oath Earrings…)