Arknightcraft Modpack
Chapter 501: Initial Quest Released
At Rhodes Island, inside Kal'tsit's office.
After finally wrapping up a major wave of issues involving the fate of Alina, Steven slowly stepped away from the Warp Stone monument.
Now that Talulah had broken free from her confusion, that Black Snake likely wouldn't stir up trouble for a while, and Alina's safety was secured, Steven felt that many of his wishes had been fulfilled.
As for how those two might repay him… that was something to think about later. Since Talulah still had a mountain of Reunion matters to deal with, Steven decided not to disturb them and instead returned to Rhodes Island.
He had obtained a pretty decent drop item, but he couldn't figure out what it was used for. The first person he thought of was that humanoid "search engine."
By coincidence, the green-haired lynx sitting behind the desk seemed to be waiting for his return. The moment she sensed Steven coming back, she gave him a look telling him to sit down across from her.
Without ceremony, Steven pulled out a plastic chair and sat down. Only then did he lazily look at the true power holder of Rhodes Island sitting before him.
"So, you ask first, or should I talk first?"
Kal'tsit shot Steven a cold glance. She didn't even lift her face from the documents, and instead asked a somewhat abrupt question.
"I'm not in a rush. If you have something to say, I'm happy to be the listener," Steven replied casually, waving his hand as if it didn't matter who went first.
"We'll soon reach the border of Yan. Rhodes Island will stop near Lungmen for a while. During that time, if you want to get off the ship with that Kuranta girl you're keeping hidden away, this will be your best chance."
Steven could, of course, do what he did before in Ursus and Kazimierz—just crash-land straight down. But Kal'tsit knew very well that Lungmen wasn't an uninhabited snowfield. If Steven tried that there, he would definitely draw unwanted attention from Lungmen's people.
"Lungmen? The place that issues those blue dollars?" Steven asked with a smile once he realized a new stage of his journey was about to begin. If he remembered correctly, the currency circulating on Rhodes Island was Lungmen Dollars, and from the way Kal'tsit spoke, it seemed Rhodes Island had a pretty good relationship with Lungmen.
"Yes. Compared to other countries, Yan is a little more lenient toward Infected issues. Because of that, we work closely with them, and that's why Lungmen currency became the standard on the ship."
Considering that Steven was effectively a major shareholder who had invested heavily, Kal'tsit didn't bother hiding these details from him.
"Pretty close to Rhodes Island, huh? That doesn't sound like a good thing to me. If I remember right, Yan is one of the powerhouses not much weaker than Ursus, isn't it?"
Steven felt that getting too close to any country in this world carried a kind of danger—like bargaining with a dragon for its reverse scale. That sense of risk only grew stronger when dealing with a major power. Compared in terms of history and foundations, Rhodes Island had no real chance against them.
Steven didn't believe Kal'tsit was unaware of this. She should also know very well that his trip was meant to search for fragments of gods like Nian. Yet she still planned to drop him off at Lungmen. What exactly was she aiming for?
The fact that she had come out of her way to remind him of this meant one thing: she probably had her own business in Lungmen and wanted him to make the trip as well. That was why she was being unusually proactive.
"Yes, but you don't need to worry too much about Lungmen for now," Kal'tsit said. "Yan as a whole may not be trustworthy, but Lungmen has its own bottom line. That much, I can guarantee."
There seemed to be more hidden in her words, but that wasn't what Steven cared about.
"Alright, then say it. What do you want me to do while I'm in Lungmen?" Steven asked. "If this were just kindness for kindness' sake, I don't believe you'd bother reminding me at all."
Steven half-squinted his eyes. He understood Kal'tsit far too well. She was just like him—someone who never acted without benefit. When people like them suddenly became enthusiastic, it usually meant something important was coming.
"Just take a letter to Lungmen's current leader for me," Kal'tsit replied. "And if possible, pass along my regards to an old friend."
She took a sealed envelope out of a drawer and placed it in Steven's hand, then casually added another request that sounded equally simple.
"Someone who can be called your old friend…" Steven said dryly. "A Beast Lord? A Feranmut?"
He wasn't deliberately mocking her. It was just that beings Kal'tsit referred to as "old friends" were extremely rare in this world.
"Something like the Duck Lord—so yes, roughly a Beast Lord," Kal'tsit answered. "It runs a logistics company in Lungmen. Just go say hello for me. And if you can, help me deliver a shipment while you're there."
"A shipment?" Steven raised an eyebrow. "What kind of shipment? Just so you know, I'm firmly against gambling and drugs. Don't expect me to smuggle anything illegal for you."
Steven was clearly intrigued by the mention of a Beast Lord, but what concerned him more was the mysterious "cargo" Kal'tsit had gone through so much trouble to have him deliver.
"Just a somewhat special Sankta courier," Kal'tsit said. "It barely even counts as transporting anything. All you need to do is help protect her while she's in Lungmen. Rhodes Island operators would be far too conspicuous, and if their identities were exposed, it could damage our relationship with Lungmen. After thinking it through, you're the only one who's even remotely reliable."
Kal'tsit rubbed her temples with a headache. If she had any other choice, she really wouldn't want to involve Steven. But she knew very well that if she wanted everything handled perfectly, bringing him along was the safest option.
At the very least, within Lungmen—excluding some hypothetical hidden factors—the rest of the people there combined probably wouldn't be enough to fight the young man standing in front of her alone.
"Hmm. Fine then. That's not too troublesome. I suppose I can accept it," Steven said, nodding as he agreed. At the same time, he took a bead out of his pocket (Inventory).
"As payment, can you tell me something?" Steven asked. "If I split this thing into nine pieces, will there be any problems?"
The instant Kal'tsit sensed the bead's presence, she shot up from her desk. Shock—something she had never shown before—was written all over her face. She stared at Steven, pointing at him, struggling for a long moment before finally forcing out a single sentence.
"Where did you get that thing?"
"Got it after killing some girl who called herself a god." Steven replied casually. "She was pretty weak. Not really worth going into detail."
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Note: Character Illustration is in this Google Drive:
https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/1iuyfwNVFHzIi9H4rWNT_lAm7jTSiah_M