What stood before them was the liberal arts college where the sweeping trees, the vast expanses of green, and the classic Gothic architecture blended in with the Midwestern-style houses on campus. The campus was like a maze of cloisters, archways, and pathways interwoven, making it look like an ancient medieval-era town.
Kiyro had seen many college campuses before, and they were vastly different. The only thing that differentiated this campus from the others was the canopy-like trees displayed at the entranceway leading to the main building. It was a beautiful display of green foliage that was rarely seen. The trees were not forced to grow a certain way; instead, they grew naturally over time. As a result, he felt the land and building seemed old and alive to him.
A place of constant movement of energy and peace, an area that felt there was something present, something old and powerful. Kiyro did not know what but knew he needed to be on alert.
"So beautiful," Eve spoke out, breaking the silence between the group. "I wouldn't mind going to school here."
"Me too." Isabel agreed with Eve's statement. "I wonder what's a school like living here."
"I'm not sure, but it could be interesting."
They took a step forward, and everyone received a message simultaneously on their Alive gear.
Real World Hidden Quest: Alpha Division individual quest
You have been given a quest by an unknown user. This quest has been transferred over to Zero. Therefore, this quest cannot be given to any other person anymore. The time limit has been reduced to six hours. An automatic call out to the nearest group of players has been accomplished, and all six players are present. Each player has bought a selenite at the Fire and Ice Bookstore. There are three parts to this quest.
1st, head over to the designated room to find a hidden message.
2nd each individual player will go to each specific location on their respective map.
3rd, Speak the ancient name of the elements.
Total Individual quest that needs to be completed 3333 worldwide. 1453/3333 completed at this time.
Time Limit: Two hours out of six left
Quest Level: B
Reward: Depends on your completion of the quest. Each individual party member will be different.
"What an odd quest. Speak the ancient name of the elements? Which one is it talking about?" Jack spoke out loud. He scratched his head, trying to find the answer to the question. "Is it talking about the dead languages or English?"
"Could be anything," said Isabel. Her face became pinker the more she smiled and spoke.
"We can figure that part out when we get to it. Let's go find this hidden message," replied Eve. She pulled on Kiyro's arm to hurry him up. She was excited about having her first real live quest. Kiyro, on the other hand, was on alert. The last quest had put him on edge, and to see the level of the quest to be a B meant that there was something more to the quest that he would normally need to be wary of.
Even shadow men were not enough. What else could be there that would top it off? Kiyro silently beat himself up for thinking such a thought. He knew better than to think there weren't things out there that could be more than normal.
Kiyro's group walked through the college campus as if they belonged there. Eve and Jack livened up the situation by talking about random everyday T.V. shows, while Isabel and Will were talking amongst themselves about guild matters. Alex and Kiyro were the only two who did not speak as much during their conversation. Although he caught glimpses of Alex winking at passing girls, he could hear their giggles as they passed by.
Pushing the front door open, they walked into the building. Security in the college was a lot laxer than in other colleges that he went to. So it wasn't difficult to blend in with the surrounding students without being out of place. Most of the students looked around their age, so the only person that would stand out a bit was Jack and maybe Alex, but nobody took much notice except the squealing girls that seemed to swoon every time they made eye contact with Alex.
"It seems the library is the location we need to go to. What could be in a library that we all need to go and check out?" Jack quietly whispered to the group as they headed inside the large double door. Upon opening the door, an old papery smell wafted through my nose. It was not a terrible smell, but a small one, don't forget.
"Take a right. It seems it's in the nonfiction section. Oh, look. There is a small glass room up ahead. It seems to be taking us over there." Isabel pointed toward their destination. They quietly made their way towards the small glass room without disturbing the studious students that were studying.
While walking through, Kiyro's keen ears heard a couple of students whispering behind one of the aisles. Two students were talking with one another with a book covering their mouths.
"Did you hear? The lady's appearance has happened again in the clock tower," said the male student.
"You serious? Are you sure it is not some kind of prank?" The female student said with a bit of fear in her voice.
"No. I even witnessed it first hand as well."
"No way. So the rumors are true that this school is haunted. So then what my friends are saying is true? Walking down the female dorm corridor at 3 am at night, you will hear a crying baby." Her voice squeaked with fright.
"I don't know, I'm not like this. Lately, the sightings of these supposed ghosts have been going out of control. I'm not so sure if it's true or fake. So let's not talk about it anymore. It gives me the creeps."
"Yea." The student's voice faded into the distance, and silence followed.
Kiyro was skeptical of what he had just heard, but he kept the information in the back of his mind.
Isabel was the first one to open the door. Upon opening the door, a table and a couple of chairs were in the middle of the room. Around the interior of the walls were small bookshelves lined with different mythical stories and religions.
"What are we even looking for?" Jack walked around the room, picking through shelves for answers.
"Not sure." Alex replied, "It could be some small trinket or recording device."
"Maybe some form of digital chip or possibly a handwritten note?"
"You're kidding me, right? A handwritten note, you jest. Do you think they would go to a location just to put a paper here? Why so much effort for one thing?" Alex asked, baffled by the statement.
"It's just a thought. Plus, the company has money to spend. Why not?" Jack shook his head in disagreement with Alex.
"Look, before you guys go into a full disagreement, we should-" Kiyro was interrupted by Eve's sudden shake of his shoulder. He turned around to see a life-size holographic image of Dion in his prime days appearing before Kiyro, Will, Eve, Alex, Jack, and Isabel in full size. It flickered on and off like an old static T.V. Eventually, it became clear and solid.
"Hello. My name is Dion." Dion bowed before them. "This is a recording of my past self. I'm glad that an Adventurer has found this recording. How do I know this is an adventurer? It's because only an Adventurer would be able to unlock this message. I had made this in the event of someone finding the Oculus-Morpheus. I was lucky to find one of these valued treasures that record events. I'm not sure who or what made this, but its value is exponential for the use in Noriene. The number of images that we could record and possibly help advance our society.
Though I must say, I have still not figured out how to reproduce such a creation. One day, maybe
I'll find the creator of this Oculus-Morpheus."
"Is he who I think he is?" Jack pointed towards the holographic Dion.
"Yep. He's the vampire that attacked the city during the in-game world quest," Eve silently whispered, leaning towards him to whisper into his ears.
"Oh," he mouthed quietly. "What's he doing here?"
Eve shrugged, not knowing the answer, and the rest quietly listened to the recording.
"I have a warning to the Adventurers in the world of Earth and Noriene," said Dion.
"Wait, Earth? How does he know?" said Jack confused.
Eve nudged him to stay quiet.
"I already imagine your surprised face. I expected such reactions. You are wondering how I know this? For centuries I have found small disturbances that lead me to believe that the Adventures have not been born in the world of Noriene but brought forth from another universe by the gods. I have even found ancient messages that took a long time to decipher that there is a world called Earth." He paused to breathe and continued, "When the world of Noriene called for a hero, you Adventurers were brought here. New generations of powerful Adventurers were born from their descendants, mixed with our people."
The scene in the background of Dion changed to a lush green field that was once where Lilith and Samael had their wedding. His eyes cast off into the distance reminiscing the past.
"The past heroes have all passed away, but there have been some strange rumors that one or two of them are still alive. From what I have remembered from our last fight with the
Demon Prince, they were all heavily injured to death or were killed. I assumed they had all died because of the fatal wounds." Dion's voice grew solemn thinking about the past. His shoulders slouched forward as if it was weighed with a heavy burden.
"So they all died? Wow." Whistled Jack. Eve punched him on his side and gave him a glare.
"We have failed to kill him, but we were able to trap him in the sixth dimension where no beings can step forth. So even though we are no more, our powers should keep him in check for thousands of years." Dion's voice stalled for a moment, and he continued forward, "But just like the world moves on, our powers will wane and disappear. No more would we be able to protect our beloved world and instead must suffer the consequences of what is to come forth."