Chapter 30 - A Supportive Ally 

"Moonstones, Moonstones..."

Leon muttered to himself as he continued to browse the online forum for any information on the location of the Moonstones related to his quest. He searched diligently, yet none of the keywords he entered into the Immortal Legacy online forums yielded any results. Even the search application didn't seem to be of much help.

No one had been able to explore and map the entire virtual world of Yunatea, nor had the game developer provided a comprehensive guide. As a result, players worldwide have taken it upon themselves to compile a repository of information about the game, which everyone can access. This database and online forum provided an invaluable source of knowledge that could be used to maximize the gaming experience.

However, much of the most important and valuable information was not widely shared and was instead monopolized by certain groups, who did this in order to maintain their standing in the rankings and compete with other top players or guilds.

[Hey everyone! Has anyone ever heard of Moonstone? I recently received a quest from a blacksmith in Deadbay City.]

Leon created a new subject on the forums, hoping someone would be kind enough to provide him with an idea for completing the quest he had been working on.

Immortal Legacy quests have historically been difficult to complete, particularly for unique ones like the one Leon was currently attempting—no one had ever discussed Moonstone before, so this quest was something entirely new. Even though it was possible that someone had experienced something similar, they hadn't shared it on the Internet.

Nevertheless, despite the difficulties he was facing, he was eager to find out how the quest would end, and the promise of a rating upgrade if he could obtain the Moonstones made it all the more appealing.

He refreshed the page multiple times, hoping for a response. His eyes darted across the screen, scanning for any signs of helpful advice. After what felt like an eternity, a notification popped up. Several replies appeared in the thread he had just created.

[What is a Moonstone? Deadbay City is for newbies. I'm sure it's just a useless thing. Meh, skip it.]

[I once knew an unfriendly blacksmith in that town. He was a failed Dwarf who exiled himself from his race. Ha ha ha ha… I think this player is being scammed by the blacksmith.]

[What are you looking for? Do you want to become a blacksmith and get troublesome quests instead? There is an easier way to become a blacksmith; don't burden yourself with such a stupid quest.]

[Moonstone? Like, maybe you should mine the rock on the moon? Kha kha kha.]

Leon let out a sigh of frustration as he scrolled through the replies in the thread he had started. "What's the point of having this online forum if it's filled with more toxic people than helpful ones?"

Taking a deep breath, he closed his laptop and walked over to his bed. Throwing himself onto it, he felt slight exhaustion from having spent so much time in the game.

"I've still got a lot of time left before my eight-hour penalty takes effect. I guess I'll take a trip around Deadbay one more time and see if I can figure out how to solve this problem," he thought out loud.

Leon then walked to the counter to get a glass of refreshing water, taking a few moments to quench his thirst before heading over to his capsule device. After stepping inside, he re-logged into the game.

***

Broken opened his eyes, feeling a sensation completely different from the one he was used to in his own world. The lighting in Yunatea was dimming as the evening approached.

"Alright, let's go around," he decided, hoping to find more information on the miners he had encountered before and to see if they had heard anything about the things he was looking for. However, the system screen had a notification saying that Booba was sending him messages repeatedly.

[Booba: "Broken, hey man, where are you? What are you doing? You haven't given up playing this game, have you?"]

[Broken: "Hey, I'm fine. I'm doing some quests. I need some help; if you could perhaps give me a hint."]

[Booba: "Oh, sure… you can ask me anything. I'll make sure you get the answers you need. You can rely on me."]

[Broken: "Actually, I'm on a quest from a blacksmith, and this quest allows me to get a blacksmith class as well as something else of value. But, for the current step, I need a clue to find where I can get some Moonstones. I don't want to push you, but I would be grateful if you had any information that could be useful to me."]

[Booba: "Don't worry! I'll be right back with answers for you! My sister is a top-ranked player, and she'll make sure you get any information, no matter how confidential it is!"]

"Nice," Broken smiled lightly, relieved to have found another potential source of help. Booba, despite often speaking his mind and acting unpredictably, was genuinely kind and always tried his best to help Broken.

"I guess I should open up to getting to know more players since I can play this game more frequently now," he thought.

***

Booba laughed confidently upon hearing Broken's plea for help, eager to prove his usefulness and reliability.

"But why," he pondered as he entered the inn, a majestic building with dark-brown wooden walls and black stones, standing ten floors high.

"Why does Broken want to be a blacksmith?" He let out a sigh and furrowed his brow. "It seems like he's going through a tough time, and I want to help lighten his load."

Booba stepped casually into the inn, and it was clear that the employees paid him respect. One of the female maids, who looked to be in her early twenties, approached him and inquired, "Is there anything we can help you with, Mr. Booba?"

Booba smiled warmly and replied softly, "My sister, when will she be logging back in?"

"She should be in her room in a few minutes, Mr. Booba," the maid replied.

Booba then headed for the wooden elevator that took him to the tenth floor. After that, he sauntered along the corridor until he was standing in front of a large oak door. He could hear the faint sound of footsteps from the other side, and after a few moments, the door creaked open, revealing a girl with short blue hair.

"What are you doing here?" the girl bellowed.

"Could you be a little nicer to me, my little sister, Elincia?" Booba said sweetly, flashing her a cheerful smile.

Elincia walked toward the elevator, passing her brother Booba. She sighed heavily and said, "I made a big mistake in front of Princess Alora. Now I have to find a player who seems to have a special relationship with her."

"Wow," Booba replied, a big smile stretching across his face. "Am I hearing some pretty confidential news here?" He quickly followed behind his little sister.

"What do you want?" Elincia asked, her voice stern.

Booba took a step back as the girl spun around. "Do you know about Moonstone, my dear sister?" he asked.

Elincia's expression shifted as she heard his question. "Moonstone?" she repeated. Her tone turned serious as she continued, "How can you, of such a low level, have any connection to such an item?"

Booba smirked, "My novice friend has a quest involving these weird things."

"It seems you are the novice here, not your friend," Elincia retorted as she stepped into the elevator. "Moonstones hold great significance and are linked to an important entity in Yunatea."