While they were still pondering about what to do next or where to spend the night, they chanced upon a newly installed telephone booth, with a ringing telephone box inside.
Jax could tell that it was just installed because of the luster of the device and the freshly painted smell that was emanating from the telephone booth.
Jax felt as if he were taking a leisurely evening stroll in a village that was left behind by the whole world as it was busy chasing after the never ending technological inventories.
Jax didn't know why he didn't stop Rob, who hesitantly approached the wailing telephone in small calculative steps.
The way he answered the phone was also a bit 'amateur'... as if he never answered one... as if never even seen one.
Jax immediately brushed off these thoughts as there was no way for a person in this age and time not to know how to answer a phone.
Maybe, he was just being cautious...
Yes, that should be the case...
However, before he could ask why Rob answered the call or what the party on the phone had said, he heard a familiar yet strange voice announcing something in his head.
// Quest number two has been activated //
Wait what? How could he hear yet another voice?
Isn't listening to Nexus bossing around him not enough already?
What was happening inside his head?
It was similar to the mechanical voice of Nexus, though. Only it was much controlled and smooth compared to the weird yet sickly sweet voice he usually heard in his head.
A girly, but childish voice which had a hint of an over matured undertone to it.
Oh right! How could he forget about this voice? This was the same voice that would announce everything that was happening to the system or his body, like when he heard it saying about boosting his strength points.
On the other hand, being busy with making sure that he had nothing wrong with his head, he completely ignored the crux of the issue for it to ring in his ears.
But, that wasn't the case with the other two, as both Rob and Ken simultaneously exchanged a strange look that was beyond comprehensible, before turning to Jax who was still immersed in his own thoughts.
"I heard something in my head just now." Ken said breaking the silence, hesitantly, as if testing the waters. He himself was unsure of what kind of reply he was hoping for.
"It said something about activating a second quest?" Rob generously supplied an answer before turning to Jax who seemed to just realize what he actually heard earlier.
"Sh*t!" Jax cursed under his breath, but before anyone could say anything the same voice rang in their heads, saying that the details would be displayed in three seconds.
Saying that, the robotic voice started counting back to three.
Just as the number one fell in his ears, Jax saw the oh so familiar rows of sentences appear before his eyes.
[Task No. 2 : Find a person.]
[Name : Oscar.]
[Time allocated to complete the mission : Three days.]
[Reward : Strength +1, XP 20.]
[Further details of the task.]
Several rows with details of the task along with the stupid timer that had just started appeared one after one in their eyes.
Yes, the timer started running just as they came to know about the details of a yet another weird task of this quest hunt.
And, they didn't need anyone to tell them that the word 'find' they read here was needed to be translated to 'kill' to complete the task.
The irony of the situation left them standing stunned to even confirm whether they all heard the same voice twice or not.
"Mine was about 'finding' someone named 'Oscar'." After what seemed like an eternity, Rob chose to break the spell of quietness that fell upon them.
He had long placed the receiver back to its original place. Right now, he looked like he was scolding himself to even touch it in the first place.
"What?!" Came two almost whisper- shouting voices upon hearing him reveal his task.
Rob gave the other two a 'What happened for you to react so dramatically?' look with his half lidded arrogant gaze.
"My task is in line with you," Jax answered, ignoring the look he was receiving before looking at Ken as if asking him silently whether that was the same case with him.
"Mine too," Ken confirmed in a low voice.
This whole thing was getting more and more absurd.
"What should we do? Should we three collaborate to finish this one?"
It was Jax who raised this question, as the other two, according to him, were busy contemplating the same issue. He just voiced it out for them. Actually, for the three of them...
"It is only normal that we share the 'burden'," Rob shrugged his shoulders nonchalantly, while Ken nodded his head in agreement with both of their words.
By this point, they clearly understood that they would die if they didn't finish a task before the time had run out. So, having additional limbs to help and shoulder the weight was something they wouldn't reject for anything. Literally anything!
Who would want to be a killer on the run alone?
At least, having companions was better than struggling on your own. No matter what kind of situation you were to face.
"We need a detailed description of the person, but all we got was a name and his workplace. Not even a single photo. How are we gonna find him in such a place, which seemed very remote and far from the rest of the world?" Jax voiced out his doubts, but before the other two could respond to his questions, they heard yet another announcement in their heads.
// A NEW AIDING DEVICE HAS BEEN MADE AVAILABLE, COLLECT IT NOW. //
As soon as these words fell in Jax's ears, all the three of them turned toward the small black box in the shape of a flat but rectangular prism. It was placed just beside the telephone.
From how long had it been lying there?
And what did it mean by an aiding device?