Lady of the Lake (The Old Group Suddenly Exploded, So I Opened a New Group)

Following the forest path, Duanmu Huai and Okegis arrived at a lake. Green grass covered the ground, while broken stone pillars and ruins could be seen all around. From the outside, it seemed to have once been some kind of temple. On a small island in the center of the lake stood a statue of a woman holding a golden Holy Grail.

That must be the Lady of the Lake.

Looking at the statue before him, Duanmu Huai frowned. However, at that moment, a System Prompt suddenly appeared in front of him again.

Holy Relic signal detected. Holy Relic coordinates locked.

"Pffft—!"

Seeing this, Duanmu Huai almost spat up blood. Where had this Holy Relic come from? Wait, could it be that Holy Grail?

Was he supposed to take this thing?

Looking at the Holy Grail in the Lady of the Lake's hands, Duanmu Huai pondered for a moment.

Hey, if I take the Bartonians' Holy Grail, they won't come after me, will they?

They couldn't beat him anyway.

At that thought, Duanmu Huai immediately felt reassured. He had already beaten the Green Knight senseless. What was there to be afraid of?

Thus, Duanmu Huai put his mind at ease. He aimed at the statue of the goddess in the lake, intending to activate his Jetpack and fly over to retrieve the thing directly. With this Holy Relic, he could build the Hall of Inquisition Library, analyze the Antimatter Energy Core, and then construct a reactor!

However, just as Duanmu Huai rubbed his fists and prepared to act, the statue of the goddess suddenly emitted a dazzling golden radiance. Immediately afterward, the statue suddenly changed form, transforming from a stone sculpture into a living woman!

???

Are you seriously playing "turning a statue into a real person" here?

Looking at the woman before him, Duanmu Huai was stunned for a moment. Then he saw her bend down and scoop up a cup of water from the lake. Afterward, she floated across the lake and arrived before Duanmu Huai, holding out the cup.

"Uh..."

Looking at the cup the woman offered him, Duanmu Huai wore an expression of disgust. Don't think I didn't see you flying over here barefoot. Besides, this is untreated lake water. It isn't sanitary. And if you've got athlete's foot or something, wouldn't drinking this cause problems?

Still, refusing to accept something someone had offered him would be impolite. Thus, Duanmu Huai reluctantly took the cup and glanced at the liquid inside. A System Prompt soon appeared.

Holy Water of the Lake: After drinking, gain the special talents Goddess's Favor, Goddess's Blessing, and Psychological Immunity.

Title available: Grail Knight (Charisma +2)

"What the hell? Charisma?"

Duanmu Huai's eyes lit up at once.

If you're increasing Charisma, then I'm all ears!

I'm exactly looking for something that increases Charisma!

At that thought, Duanmu Huai no longer found the cup of holy water quite so objectionable. Although it did indeed have this and that problem, a closer look showed that it was at least fairly clear. It was certainly much better than the aloe juice sold on the streets of India.

Clean and sanitary, right?

However, Duanmu Huai still didn't drink it immediately.

He knew that after drinking the holy water, he would become the Lady of the Lake's Grail Knight. But Duanmu Huai had no intention of selling himself to the Lady of the Lake.

What a joke. He was a dignified Inquisitor. Fortunately, he wasn't part of the Heretic Inquisition, otherwise the Lady of the Lake would also be someone he was supposed to be loyal to. How could he turn around and work for her?

But he really couldn't bear to part with this Holy Grail... It was a Holy Relic right in front of him, after all...

"...?"

Seeing Duanmu Huai hold the Holy Grail without moving for so long, the golden-haired woman before him revealed a puzzled expression.

"This is the blessing of the Lady of the Lake. Once you drink it, you will possess enough power to protect this world..."

I know that, but if the price is selling myself, then I'll have to decline.

Who knows whether that was how the Green Knight got hooked back then.

At this thought, Duanmu Huai hesitated for a moment before looking at the woman.

"Can you give it to me?"

"Of course."

The golden-haired woman smiled and nodded.

"This cup of holy water is bestowed upon you."

"No, I mean the cup... Can you give me the cup?"

"..."

Hearing Duanmu Huai's words, the golden-haired woman fell silent for a moment. She stared at him in astonishment, seemingly unable to understand what was going on. A Grail Knight asking for the Holy Grail right to her face was probably a first.

"Then, thank you."

Since the woman hadn't refused, Duanmu Huai took that as her agreement. He nodded, then swiftly activated a teleportation coordinate. In the next instant, teleportation beams appeared beneath Duanmu Huai and Okegis, and the two vanished completely in the blink of an eye.

"..."

The golden-haired woman continued floating above the lake, staring dumbfoundedly at the deserted wilderness before her.

She had no idea how to react.

Duanmu Huai didn't care what the Lady of the Lake thought. After teleporting back to the Core Cabin, he immediately placed the Holy Grail on the terminal, acquired the required points, and unlocked the Hall of Inquisition Library. Only then did Duanmu Huai finally let out a sigh of relief. He had genuinely been worried that she might take the Holy Grail back. But now that the Holy Relic had already been converted, even if she wanted it back... she couldn't take it back anymore.

Next, Duanmu Huai took out the Antimatter Energy Core he had obtained earlier. He left the Core Cabin, crossed the corridor, and arrived at the Hall of Inquisition Library on the other side.

Its style was exactly the same as the Strategic Command Room. The entire room was arranged like a church, with empty bookshelves lining the walls on all sides. There was nothing on them. A semicircular platform stood high in the center of the room, with another platform resembling a church altar placed atop it. Duanmu Huai stepped forward and placed the Antimatter Energy Core in the center of the platform. Soon, the metal Servo-skulls at the platform's four corners slowly rose, emitting beams of light from their eye sockets as they scanned the core before them.

At the same time, a System Prompt appeared before Duanmu Huai.

Antimatter Energy Core (Analyzing)

Progress: 1%

Time required: 186 days

"That's going to take a while..."

Looking at the progress bar before him, Duanmu Huai slightly furrowed his brow. Still, he wasn't surprised. After all, this was Old Ones technology, and it was indeed extremely difficult to analyze. It was only natural that it would take time.

As for the holy water in the Holy Grail, Duanmu Huai didn't waste it either. He found a bottle and poured it inside, planning to analyze it after the energy core was finished. Then he could see what happened. After all, it was something that increased Charisma. If he could analyze it and manufacture it, then he could make this holy water himself in the future. By then, he wouldn't just drink it—he could even use it to bathe and wash his face...

After finishing all this, Duanmu Huai once again teleported back to the lakeside with Okegis. By then, the poor golden-haired woman was still floating in the air, looking at him pitifully, like a little girl whose lollipop had been snatched away.

"Sorry, but that cup is very useful to me. I have to take it."

Looking at the golden-haired woman before him, Duanmu Huai could only tell her the truth. In any case, your cup has already been broken down. Even if you want it back now, you can't have it!

"But I won't take it for nothing, either. If there's anything you need me to do, and it's something I can accomplish, I certainly won't refuse."

Although taking it by force was somewhat against the rules, to Duanmu Huai at present, the Holy Relic was still the most important thing...

"..."

Hearing this, the golden-haired woman sighed before looking at Duanmu Huai again.

"Then, knight, this continent will soon face an unprecedented calamity. I hope you can protect this world and eliminate the threat that is about to arrive."

As the golden-haired woman spoke, a quest prompt appeared before Duanmu Huai's eyes.

Quest activated: "Doomsday Calamity"

Quest objective: Prevent the destruction of the world

This world is about to face a merciless calamity. Find clues and stop it all.

What the hell? That's a pretty huge premise.

Duanmu Huai was startled. He had originally thought it would be some quest to protect Bartonia or something similar. He hadn't expected it to jump straight to the level of the entire world... Wait, could the apocalypse mentioned here be referring to the End Times?

The so-called End Times could be considered Star Sea Online's first major event.

To summarize it in one sentence... the players' Novice Village exploded.

The situation at the time was this: more and more players poured into Star Sea Online, and then, for all kinds of reasons, the various factions on this planet began fighting one another. The Chaos Faction was no exception. The novice players were delighted at first, because this meant there were many more quests. But later, they discovered that the difficulty of these quests was somewhat beyond the norm. As the story progressed, the farther they went, the more they felt that something was wrong.

Thus, they began seeking help from Inquisitor players who had already successfully left the Novice Planet and traveled into outer space.

At the time, those players were immersed in the joy of exploring the infinite stars. Aside from a small number who returned to check on the situation, most players didn't take these matters to heart. They regarded it as nothing more than the game's story progression. In their minds, there wouldn't be any real problem in the end. If the players couldn't win, wasn't there always the option of a cutscene kill?

Well, the result was completely unexpected... The players ultimately lost. A mysterious existence opened the third Chaos Teleportation Gate hidden inside the planet, tore the entire planet apart, and swallowed it into the Chaos realm of Warp Space. The whole planet was utterly doomed.

This ending shocked every player. After all, quite a few players had joined factions on that planet, grinding reputation, buying houses, and recruiting people. And then you blew the whole thing up in place and wiped it all out?

Could anyone accept that?

Thus, the players at the time angrily denounced the game company, demanding an explanation and compensation.

However, the game company's response was quite something—the players themselves were to blame for not working hard enough. If they had worked hard to stop the conspiracy and protect the planet, then none of this would have happened.

So, when all was said and done, it was the players' own fault for not taking things seriously and working hard enough. What did it have to do with the company?

Faced with the game company shirking responsibility, the players were left dumbfounded. They had seen shameless people before, but they had never seen anyone this shameless...

After that, quite a few people quit the game. But the remaining players also began taking every quest and every event on every planet seriously. Clearly, although the Novice Village exploding on the spot had indeed been heartbreaking, it had also taught every player a lesson. It made them understand that if they merely slacked off, they really could cause the world to be destroyed.

If that was what this was about... then this quest was going to be much trickier!