Bab 29: Chapter 29
"So, did you get it?" Appearing inside Jessica's room, I was met by the disgruntled woman who sat impatiently on her bed, sand falling from her clothes with every tap of her foot.
"I got it," she said in a flat tone. Jessica stared at me as she took the Desert Glass from her inventory. It was a light green, round gemstone with a white edge, embedded in a dull red pillow.
[Desert Glass (Corrupted): Lv 142]
'What the hell is this level?' I thought, staring at the gem in my hand before quickly placing it in my inventory. I then turned to face Jessica, who seemed to have been through a lot since I had given her the order to retrieve the Desert Glass.
"What happened?" I asked. My question seemed to elicit a look of disbelief from her for a moment before she spoke, amazed.
"You sent me to get an item named Desert Glass, and you're asking me what happened?" Her words caused me to cough slightly in embarrassment, but I didn't interrupt as Jessica began to recount the story of how she retrieved the Desert Glass.
- - - - - - - -
Jessica's POV
"I need you to quickly rush to the temple and find anything that looks like a pillow with a gem on it. Take it as quickly as possible." Hearing Duke's words, I was immediately suspicious about how much he was hiding, but before I could ask any questions, he had already hung up.
'Damnit.' With that last thought, I didn't bother thinking too hard. I activated my new dash skill and quickly ran in the direction of the temple, which took less than five minutes to reach. I spotted the large pink lion using its paws to knock on the door, seemingly wanting to get inside, but I paid it no attention. With a great leap, I landed on the roof and, using the skylight, dropped in.
'Where is it?' Looking around the empty home, I didn't immediately spot what I was looking for. I was forced to search under the steady sound of the strange lion beating on the door.
"YOU MADE ME LOOK LIKE A FOOL!" Suddenly, in the middle of my search, I heard Steven's voice from outside the door, causing me to panic as I watched the boy enter the house, yelling at the lion who had left him at the restaurant.
"IS THIS ALL YOU WANT?" I was shocked to see the boy storm past me as he moved toward what I assumed was the living room. From under a little fort made of couch cushions, he pulled out the very item I was searching for.
'What is he doing?' Coming closer to Steven, who was holding the item I needed, panic washed over me as he pulled back his arm and ran outside, launching it off into the distance. It landed quite far on the beach, luckily not reaching the water, giving me a chance to retrieve it.
RUMBLE
Sadly, things didn't go as planned. The ground began to rumble as the sand on the beach rose, defying gravity. Steven, the lion, and I stood in shock, watching as the sand began to morph and change like a living creature.
"Oh no, no, no, no! What have I done?" Steven shouted in panic, while I stood off to the side, silently cursing the guild master for not giving me more warning.
"..." The lion, however, was silent. It glanced at Steven before biting onto his shirt and tossing him onto its back. With a loud roar, it leapt into action, charging toward the morphing sand.
'I gotta move.' I quickly activated the active form of my dash skill. Unlike the passive 5% increase in running speed, this boosted my speed by 10% for 5 seconds—though at level 3, it now passively increased my speed by 15% while boosting it by 30% for 8 seconds.
'Come on, keep up.' That's all I could think as I repeatedly activated the skill, making my form a blur as I chased after the lion, trying to reach the item. But it wasn't meant to be—the lion had far superior jumping ability. It leapt from pillar to pillar, dodging the attacks from the sand, which seemed to be controlled by the item.
'Luckily for me, it can't see me,' I thought happily, as my path went unimpeded by the sand, which only moved to block the lion. The lion, meanwhile, knocked through it with some weird energy roar, but I didn't focus too much on it. Dodging a sand pillar that collapsed near me, I used it to leap higher, climbing toward the strange gem that was now encased in more and more sand.
'How am I supposed to get in there?' That was my thought as I watched the lion use its powerful roar, sending out pink rings to knock down a sand wall. Grinning, I climbed faster toward the dome that covered the item, waiting for the lion to approach.
'NOW!' Seeing the beast release another roar to break into the dome, I wasted no time. I jumped through the hole it created and reached for the now-exposed item, just as the lion came after me. Before both Steven and the lion could react, the item disappeared, thanks to the system.
'Thank God.' That's all I could think as I barely escaped the crumbling megastructure. The item—now identified as the Desert Glass—was safely in my possession.
'Fuck, it's everywhere.' Mentally cursing, I struggled to dodge all the falling sand. I was buried in a pile of it but eventually managed to dig myself out. The gems arrived just as I left, much to my joy as I made off with the item.
Pov end
- - - - - -
Duke's POV
"Good job. I hope I can give more explanation next time." After hearing Jessica's story, I understood how difficult it was, so I thanked her and prepared to leave. But before I could take two steps, I felt a hand grab my shoulder, forcefully turning me around to face the sand-covered woman.
"How about you give one now, Duke? What do you know?" Her sudden question caught me off guard, and I felt her grip tighten on my shoulder. Just as her nails were about to dig in, a sudden bolt of lightning crackled and sent her flying away from me.
"Please avoid hurting the Guildmaster. Any further questioning will be met with a second-stage punishment." Apollo suddenly appeared out of nowhere. Ignoring his words, I ran to help Jessica up, who, aside from being a bit frightened, seemed perfectly fine.
"What the heck was that, Apollo?" I asked, turning toward Apollo, who was staring at me seriously. He quickly replied to my question.
"Guild members are not allowed to harm the Guildmaster, and vice versa. Even the smallest cut counts. Also, she was on a path of questioning that the boss didn't like, so please avoid answering any further questions." Hearing his explanation, both Jessica and I were shocked. After reiterating his words once more, Apollo left, leaving us alone to process what had just happened.
"I won't question you, Duke. Just tell me you're not hiding anything too dangerous?" Jessica asked, her tone softer now. I hesitated, worried that another bolt might strike either of us, but seeing no signs of it, I turned to Jessica and spoke.
"No promises." With that, I didn't linger and quickly teleported away, heading back to the farm, leaving Jessica alone in her room to think about what had just happened. I had a new research topic for Cary—one that could be bigger than even the golems.
- - - -- - - - -
"What do you mean it just disappeared?!" Pearl's shocked voice echoed as she stared at Steven and Lion, who looked just as confused. They had just finished telling everyone what had happened.
"It just, you know, disappeared," Steven replied with a shrug, continuing to pet Lion, who now rested on the sand. The big cat seemed to be enjoying the boy's affection, letting out a small, satisfied growl.
"It can't just disappear! If only we had bubbled it immediately," Pearl said, distressed, as she walked away, her mind deep in thought. She left the other two gems with Steven as she began to scour the area.
"Don't worry, Steven. You handled that well, and don't worry about the Desert Glass—it should turn up soon," Garnet said. Her voice was steady and a bit proud as she spoke to Steven, who, hearing Garnet's praise, began to glow slightly with pride.
"Also, Amethyst, please bubble items more promptly from now on." Hearing Garnet's words, Amethyst didn't argue. She nodded slightly, then summoned her whip and began to spin it, forming her usual purple ball. She ran through the sand piles, more than likely trying to spread the sand out to make searching for the glass easier. But, as usual, it only took a moment for Pearl and her to get into an argument.
"Garnet, are you sure it will be okay? This is kinda like the Crystal Shards," Steven asked, a thought suddenly popping into his head. He directed his question toward the tall gem, who only smiled before rubbing Steven's head, eliciting a small giggle from the boy as she spoke.
"Everything will turn up."
- - - - - - - -
Barely hit the 1500 minimum but considering how I couldn't really stuff this chapter more then its alright.
Also why the hell am I updating this daily! Like it was supposed to be like every 2 - 3 days!
WHY DO I ALWAYS DO THIS TO MYSELF!
I think I got a addiction or something like I can't go a week before I feel the urge to write something like a fiend on molly
Status Power Mingguan
-- Peringkat
Power 
-- Power
stone