Chương 38: The Lost Expedition

Nickolas was seething with anger, and Susanne's face was grim. Finola was the worst case of all; she was shaking uncontrollably. Arthur, however, did not know what the issue was between these two groups. He did not think it was just small grudges between rivals, but rather archenemies. Furthermore, the mention of the Grand Tournament made the situation intense. Arthur lacked knowledge about this Tournament. So, he stood still instead of consoling them, letting their anger die down.

It took a few moments for everyone to come to their normal mode. Nickolas was the one who came out of his anger first.

"Okay, let's move. If we delay any longer, we may lose those researchers. The sooner we depart, the sooner we have a chance to find them before the day ends," he said in his usual energetic voice. With that, everyone exited the Awakening Head Office, traveling towards the artifact shop. It took around ten minutes to reach the shop; it was located on the border of Sector A. Arthur asked for a small shop, but it looked like a luxurious shop.

He should have expected it, since everything in Sector A was expensive and prestigious; otherwise, they wouldn't do business with a wealthy family. As for Arthur, he had very little knowledge about artifacts or mechanical gadgets. So, he simply asked for the two items required for the contract. It did not take long for the salesperson to bring the two items.

"One Chronarch Watch and one Truecourse Compass; a total of 28, 000 Credits," the shop manager said. Arthur prayed the price wouldn't exceed the 18, 000 Credits which he currently held. However, reality did not work that way; the price would not magically reduce just because he prayed. Furthermore, if he were to buy a beginner Skeleton with 18, 000 Credits, he would not need to risk taking dangerous Quests to earn Credits.

"Can someone lend me 10, 000 Credits, if you have extra on yourselves? I am short on the bill," Arthur asked. He could rely on Coburn. However, when he thought about its specialty, 'Master of None', he changed his mind. He did not want to feel regret once he got lost in Solomon Valley relying on its skills until he understood its full potential, or until he got to communicate with it; until then, he wouldn't use it on main tasks.

"No problem, let me pay the bill." Nickolas brought out a gold-colored bank card. In comparison, Arthur's was bronze.

"I only need 10, 000 Credits," Arthur urgently said.

"No problem. Since this is for a Quest, we will eventually share the expense at the end, so do not worry." Nickolas handed his gold bank card over to the manager. The manager quickly returned after swiping for the bill. Following this, they exited the shop and traveled directly towards Solomon Valley. The valley was located on the northeast side of Faith City. They had to cross the entirety of Sector D. It would take at least three hours of travel by car.

"Do you think we will finish this Quest by the end of the day? Solomon Valley is very huge," Finola asked in a soft tone, sitting in the backseat of the car. Stolen from its rightful author, this tale is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.

"I hope so. Once we reach the base of Solomon Valley, we may have to walk for a while to reach the location where those researchers conducted their research. That location is situated on the south side of the valley, a small hill called Literal Cascade. Walking there on foot will take an hour. Once we successfully arrive, it will be easy to locate their current position," Arthur explained the plan for the Quest.

Since he had immense confidence in his Skeleton worker from before, the new Skeleton, Brog, would definitely help locate the researchers through their activities at that location.

"Don't worry, Finola. We will definitely find those people before sunset and return," Nickolas gave his reassurance as well. Meanwhile, he himself was pondering over something. When they were about to exit the city limits, it was almost noon. Since there would be no restaurants along that route, they quickly stopped for lunch. Once they were done, they resumed their journey at 12: 30 PM. Arthur calculated they would reach the base of the valley at around 2 PM.

Arthur sat in silence, thinking about the quest details he had read as the car sped through the lone road. There were a total of seven researchers and one extra escort on the team, a total of eight people. The combat guy was an independent Awakener recruited through a quest call.

"A new plant," Arthur muttered.

"What?" Nickolas asked as he drove the car, noticing Arthur speak. Hearing Nickolas, Arthur returned from his trance. He looked at him, realizing he had spoken out loud.

"A new plant?" Nickolas asked.

"Yeah, those people went to do research on a new plant, which has grown as a new species," Arthur stated.

"Well, that is not a strange thing as far as I know. There must be billions of new things that came into this world when the event happened a few centuries ago. So, there are things bound to be missed by humans," Nickolas speculated.

"You are right." Arthur nodded to Nickolas. There were plenty of new things that came into this world after the event, and these new things were constantly identified and used by humans over the centuries. However, there were things still waiting to be found. The team that went to conduct research on this new plant belonged to a private firm. How, then, could they get lost in the valley? It seemed very strange. Just as Arthur was pondering about the discrepancies of this quest, Nickolas spoke.

"We still do not know if there actually was a new plant. They must have gone there to search for a new plant, rather than conduct research on one that was already discovered. If the plant was already discovered, they could not exploit it for their own gain. As soon as new things are found, people will claim a patent on them and earn money from them if possible," Nickolas explained. Arthur was dumbfounded by this new revelation. Could people claim a patent on new things in this world?

This was a matter he did not know before. Following Nickolas's explanation, they must have gone to find a new plant, rather than research an existing one. Such reasoning justified their disappearance; the valley was huge and dense, so one was bound to get lost. If that were the case, the quest would become easy.

"Do you think there was a rivalry and competition between two firms, and something happened, such as them killing each other?" Finola, who had been sitting silently all this while, spoke.

"Indeed, I also thought a similar situation might have played out, but I cannot say so with certainty. Competition between two firms was bound to happen if rumors spread; they would fight each other to claim the new species. Hence, the research team we are searching for is either dead, or they ran into the deeper parts of the valley to save themselves. Alternatively, they just simply lost their path; who knows, we will find them eventually," Nickolas speculated.

Hearing the words of Nickolas and Finola, Arthur's previous theory crumbled. A battle between two firms to poach a new plant; it was an excellent way to explain the disappearance of the researchers. However, to Arthur, it did not matter whether they had lost their path or taken shelter after an attack. He only needed to track their location, rescue them, and complete the Quest; everything else was irrelevant. At around 2 PM, they finally arrived at the base of the valley, the limit of where the car could travel.

From here on out, they had to travel to their destination on foot. Arthur did not waste time. He stepped out of the car, unwrapped the gadgets, and initiated the contract. [Contract Payment Successful.] In the next second, the contract succeeded. One more Skeleton was added to his list.