Red Ink Walkthrough in Crimson Desert (All Forbidden Knowledge Answers)

by Mark Smith · April 20, 2026

TL;DR

Red Ink is the first quest in the Shadows of Knowledge faction questline at the National Delesyian Institute
You must wear the Visione headgear at all times to speak with NPCs in Delesyia
Examine the corpse, find the Sharp Dagger murder weapon, and search the laboratory
For Eli’s interrogation: Question witness testimony → Lie → Research suspension warning → Lie → Murder weapon
For the Scholar Devotee: Murder Weapon → Truth
The culprit is Corvin — chase him down near the noticeboard, tackle him, tie him up, and return him to the Institute

A murder has taken place in the City of Delesyia. Someone is dead, and the trail leads straight into the Delesyian Institute. That’s where Red Ink begins — and it’s one of the more involved investigation quests in Crimson Desert.

The quest is part of the Shadows of Knowledge questline under the National Delesyian Institute Faction Quests. It spans three connected missions: Red Ink, Forbidden Knowledge, and End of Knowledge. This guide covers all three — the corpse examination, the interrogation answers for Eli and the Scholar Devotee, and how to catch the culprit at the end.

For everything else in the game, head to the Crimson Desert Guide Hub.

Table of Contents

Before You Start — Wear the Visione

This is easy to miss and will block all your progress if you skip it.

In the City of Delesyia, all the residents wear a device called the Visione. If you don’t have it equipped as your headgear, NPCs in the area won’t speak with you. Make sure the Visione is on before interacting with anyone during this entire questline. Keep it equipped throughout all three missions.

Red Ink Walkthrough — Step by Step

Step 1: Find and Examine the Corpse

Head to the alley beside the Delesyian Institute. There’s a crowd gathered and a commotion happening. That’s your crime scene.

Approach the corpse and interact with it. Use the Left Stick and Right Stick to rotate and examine the body. You need to examine three specific parts:

The sharp wound on the cheek and neck
The body for any other markings
The area around the victim for clues

The cause of death was a deep stab wound from a sharp metal tool.

Step 2: Interview the Witness

After examining the corpse, speak to the witness nearby. They’ll tell you that the murder weapon was not of Delesyian style and that someone was seen heading upstairs immediately after the incident. That detail matters later.

Step 3: Find the Murder Weapon

The murder weapon is a Sharp Dagger. You’ll find it near the crime scene. Pick it up and add it to your evidence. You’ll also collect a document at the scene — a paper opposing the victim’s research that has several signatures on it. Both items are needed for the interrogation ahead.

Step 4: Search the Laboratory

Head inside the Delesyian Institute and make your way to the laboratory. Search it for additional clues. This step confirms the internal conflict angle and establishes motive for the suspects you’re about to question.

Forbidden Knowledge — Interrogation Answers

This is where most players get stuck. The Forbidden Knowledge quest tasks you with interrogating two suspects: Eli and the Scholar Devotee. Wrong answers force you to restart the conversation, so use this guide to get it right first time.

Interrogating Eli

Eli is inside the Delesyian Institute. The interrogation is built around a mix of pressing with truth and applying strategic pressure through lies. Here is the correct sequence:

Question 1 → Question witness testimony

Question 2 → Lie

Question 3 → Research suspension warning

Question 4 → Lie

Question 5 → Murder weapon

Using lies at the right moments puts pressure on Eli and forces contradictions to surface. The Research suspension warning introduces motive, putting Eli on the defensive. By the time you bring up the murder weapon, the contradictions in Eli’s story become clear.

Interrogating the Scholar Devotee

After finishing with Eli, head outside the Institute into the City of Delesyia toward the blacksmith area. The Scholar Devotee is sitting by a wooden table. Remember to keep your Visione equipped.

The Devotee’s interrogation is much shorter:

Question 1 → Murder Weapon

Question 2 → Truth

Unlike with Eli, honesty is the right call here. Selecting Truth locks in the evidence chain and confirms the key detail — someone with knowledge of the murder weapon was at the scene.

End of Knowledge — Catching the Culprit

The culprit is Corvin, a scholar who frequently visited the area around the well. After both interrogations are complete, the critical clue points directly to him.

Follow Corvin’s trail to the noticeboard in the City of Delesyia. You’ll find two Marni Devotees standing near it. Speak with them. One of them will break and run.

Chase down the fleeing man. When you get close enough, hold X on PlayStation or A on Xbox to tackle him. A short sequence plays out. Tie him up, then carry him back to the Delesyian Institute courtyard.

Deliver Corvin to the guards at the Institute to close the case. That completes the Shadows of Knowledge questline.

Quest summary on completion: The blood-stained conflict of the Institute ultimately revealed a dark side to the pursuit of knowledge.

Tips for This Questline

A few things worth knowing before you dive in:

Keep the Visione on. Seriously. If NPCs won’t talk to you, that’s the reason. Equip it before every conversation.

Don’t guess during interrogations. Wrong dialogue choices don’t just give you bad outcomes — they reset the entire conversation and you have to start from the beginning. Use the order above.

Check your inventory before interrogating. The game expects you to have both the Sharp Dagger and the document collected before you question the suspects. If the interrogation isn’t progressing, make sure you’ve picked up both evidence items.

Use your horse during the chase. After tackling Corvin, you can mount your horse while carrying him to move faster back to the Institute.

Similar Investigation Quests in Crimson Desert

If you enjoy deduction-style quests, there are a few others in the game that work similarly. Here are some guides that will help:

More Useful Guides

Crimson Desert is available on PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X|S, Steam, and Epic Games Store.

Red Ink Walkthrough in Crimson Desert (All Forbidden Knowledge Answers)

Before You Start — Wear the Visione