Hitomi had made it to class with enough time to answer all the questions she knew for sure, but not much else. At least one long response question was left practically blank.
But that wasn't too bad. Now that she actually had some time to think and decompress though, she finally decided to take a look at those notifications. The first one was a message about an update to the weird app unlocking additional features. The second was a pop up about an upgrade system that she currently didn't have any points for.
But the notification she had gotten just before reaching class was the strangest one. Clicking on it brought up a new screen. A quest's log that was previously blank, but now had an entry marked as a Resource Gathering quest.
In all honesty she really shouldn't have gone any further with this, but the pages were designed so gamelike that her instincts made her forget just how bizarre it was and she opened the quest. Instead of opening up to be read, it instead turned into a display showing the stylized eye from last night.
"Congratulations on acquiring your first quest! The long road begins with a single step, so let's hope you have started with an easy one!"
Hitomi quickly hid the phone in her bag and scanned around. There were a few people on the pavilion but they weren't near her. Most people were in the dining hall, which for that very reason she didn't spend much time in. After being assured that she had some privacy she brought it back out.
"What do you mean 'let's hope' it's easy, isn't it the first one?"
The eye circled like it was loading. "Quest's are generated by the environment, as such there is no guarantee that they will be easy at any stage! The first few will be simple resource gathering ones however, so while it may prove difficult the steps will be simple!"
Hitomi sighed, that explanation doing anything but giving her confidence. In fact, it wasn't really answering much of anything "What kind of resource anyways? Do I just go to a hotspot and wait while it's claimed, or play a minigame or something?"
"I will begin a tutorial explanation now! The resource has been identified by the environmental scan and has now been added to your active list! In order to claim it, you simply need to access the Master Circuit program that activates in the vicinity of the target and aim your Mobile Device's camera lens at the target to be acquired! Additional information will be dispersed once the Master Circuit has been activated!"
She had to admit, it seemed like a simple enough method of play. Lots of VR games did similar stuff and she couldn't really see the hook, but… in fact, she couldn't really see any reason to play through this. She'd clicked on the quest because she had gotten drawn in, but wasn't it really time to do something about this?
She shut off the screen and placed the phone back in her pocket, got up and intended to make her way to… somewhere, maybe the computer lab just to get an opinion and then the police? She intended to but a few steps in a loud beep and vibration shook her pocket so much it practically made her jump.
"Excuse me, but it appears you exited the program without examining the quest details. Shall I display them for you Hitomi?" The synthesised voice inquired when she brought the screen up again.
"No, I don't think so. I'm gonna get someone to see if you're dangerous or not."
"I see. I cannot advise that you inform anyone of your participation in Lavender Dungeon. I recommend that you simply complete your first quest."
"Okay, why should I not be worried about the shady program that just installed itself in my phone? I don't have any reason to run around on these quests, do I?" Hitomi fumed a bit from the stress from before about being hacked coming back.
"Ah, of course, you need a reason to participate. Investment is a primary part of all games. Allow me to help you become invested." The screen flashed purple for a moment while the eye spun. "You do not currently possess enough energy to access our rewards system. However we can redirect a first time pre-reward to your account to show you we are indeed being serious about the benefits of participating in Lavender Dungeon. One moment."
Hitomi sighed and watched the loading circle spin, but just because she was interested to see what the app was doing didn't mean she was just waiting around. The ping came when she had ascended back to the second floor of the building and stepped into the main lobby where the computer lab was.
She looked at her screen and saw a new notification come in. She opened it and gaped. She shook her head, wondering if this was some kind of hallucination. It looked real.
"This is just the simplest benefit available from Participating in Lavender Dungeon. We hope that it provides you the incentive you desire."
She gaped again. It was a notification from her banking app. Saying that money was waiting to be added to her account. Not an insignificant amount either.
Hitomi quickly looked around, sure that there must be someone around the corner filming her for the big prank reveal later. But there wasn't really anyone like that around. So she turned around and walked down the stairs to the flight between levels and pulled the app back up.
"Okay. Okay wait, so you're going to pay me to play your game?" Hitmoi whispered into her speaker.
"If that is what you desire. As I mentioned previously, there are a multitude of rewards waiting for you to unlock. Monetary compensation is just one of the minor benefits. If you manage to complete the game the rewards will be unstatable."
Hitomi wasn't as taken in by the pitch as she was by the sudden jump in her account's prospects. It couldn't really hurt to try the game out now, could it?
"Alright, I don't see why not. I'll do it."
"Excellent! You have made the reasonable decision. Allow me to pull up the details now!"
Hitomi watched as the quest screen expanded and the splash icon identifying the target loaded.
It had a very familiar face. Too familiar.
"W-wha? James?"