Log 5:
Date: July 6th, 2190 I.C.
Time: 08:00
Location: Brew It Rai Cafe/Rai Family Residence
>>
BEEP!
BEEP!
BEEP!
BANG!
I slam my fist on my blaring alarm clock, nearly destroying it and my desk.
"Ah, crude!" I groan, rolling around in my bed in an attempt to pull myself up from the scattered sheets.
As you can tell, I am not a morning person, but today, I woke up a couple of hours earlier to cover a part of my co-worker's shift. Honestly, I couldn't complain since I did this to myself, but having some extra cash on hand would be useful when I move out.
>>>
Like any city, renting out a place in Imperium City was pricey. For a relatively fresh Academy grad like myself, the best option would be to stay at home for a few years to rack up some savings before moving out. Although I technically could with my salary, it's not economical.
>>>
I pick up my Liaiser from the Ether charger on my desk. A big blue triangle with a glowing exclamation mark in the middle greeted me on my screen, making me nearly drop my Liaiser. After fumbling with it in the air, I finally caught it and tapped on the notification.
It was the Breaking News notification from OBN, Oriar Broadcasting Network, the number one news network in Oriar. Without hesitation, I expand the notification. My vision was still groggy from just waking up. A video shows up before my eyes, to which I immediately press the triangular play symbol hovering over the center.
The video ran.
I saw smoke, then the face of a reporter. It appeared they were in the desert, the orange dunes that stretched for an eternity without signs of life as the beating summer sun glowed a frightening white.
As for the reporter, I recognized her right away.
Dark skin the color of chocolate, black curly hair with blond streaks that appeared to be wild yet retained a sort of order, purple eyes with stars in their pupils sandwiched between her thick brows emphasized by her mascara. This reporter was an old classmate of mine from my Academy days, Natasha Komel. I didn't realize that she managed to become a Reporter for OBN so quickly though that wasn't important. What was important what the Breaking News she had to share with Oriar.
[Natasha: Breaking News! Overnight, Oriar has seen the emergence of a Mass Dungeon Outbreak. The number of Dungeons that have spawned is estimated to be around 40, with more still forming. From mountains, seas, forests, and towns, these Dungeons have emerged in every part of Oriar. The cause of the outbreak is unknown, and more information will come in the following hours. In the meantime, if you live in the following regions mentioned on-screen, we request you to evacuate to the nearest Duchy or Walled City within the next 24 hours-]
Suddenly another notification came.
It was Martha.
Martha (Cool Boss): Arian, we're extremely short-staffed today. Dispatch orders from the Palace had come in, and we had a surge of Adventurers signing up to take those orders. When you see this message, head over to the office immediately. You will be compensated twice as much since this is a state of emergency.
"Shit." I cursed, quickly changing out of my pajamas into my Receptionist uniform, slipping on my white polo shirt, blue receptionist jacket, black jeggings, mismatched ankle-length socks, and gold-rimmed glasses in seconds. I didn't even fix my bed, but that was the least of my concerns. If there was a Mass Dungeon Outbreak, this could only mean that whatever would come would be absolute chaos.
With a quick Cleaning Sigil to clean my face, removing all the grim from last night, I snatch my messenger bag and the Rosenberg Blend prepared for Martha and burst out the door to the main cafe area. I was right. The cafe was jam-packed with people, and there was even a line going out the door. My parents and their employees ran from one corner of the cafe to another, carrying and packing fresh loaves of bread. No one was dining in the cafe, but the tables were lined with those same loaves I saw in the back, and they were sold in the blink of an eye. One minute there was a table full of bread; the next, it was gone.
So the stockpiling stage has begun.
"Arian, did you see the news?" Dad shouted to me from the register.
"Yes!" I shouted back as the sea of people in the cafe pushed me away from the exit. "There's a mass Dungeon outbreak, and the Dungeons haven't stopped spawning. I'll talk to you guys once I get back. I have to get to work now!"
"Best of luck!" Mom waved to me as I managed to fight my way to the door. "It's going to be busy! Also, your brother is heading home today!"
"I figured!" I yelled, forcing my way out. I may or may not have accidentally pushed two bystanders. Sorry to them, by the way.
What in the world was going on? I pondered as I made a mad dash for the cable car station. A Mass Dungeon Outbreak was something that hadn't occurred in the last millennium. Why now? Argh, forget it! It's not your job to investigate why.
I was a Receptionist. What could I do at the time? If anything, I should leave the responsibility to the Investigation Corps and the Adventurers dispatched to close up these Dungeons. For now, all I knew was that these days to come would be a massive headache for me.
>>>
Because a Mass Dungeon Outbreak was considered a black swan event, there weren't many protocols to handle it. The lack of direction in dealing with such an event meant disorganization, leading to panic and mass hysteria.
While making that emergency evacuation order for those who live in areas close to Dungeons was a wise choice, telling them to head towards a Duchy or a Walled City where they could receive more protection will result in a hot mess. Duchies and Walled Cities only have so much land and resources to accommodate refugees that it could result in supply shortages. Plus, with the Dungeons scattered all over Oriar, transporting resources will become more expensive, considering that the safety of Merchants is now at a higher risk. If things escalate even further, which appears to be the case, the Duchies and Walled Cities could issue an emergency lockdown, meaning it will become even harder to obtain supplies. As such, the initial byproduct of informing the public of this incident would be stockpiling.
But wait a second, Arian, I thought that in typical fantasy stories, monsters can't leave dungeons or whatnot; why is everyone so scared?
Well, if we go back to Log 3, I mentioned briefly that monsters can leave dungeons. Considering how many monsters a single dungeon can produce and multiply it by 40, you basically got an army that could wipe out over half of Oriar. If neglected for long enough, these monsters could become organized, becoming an even greater threat and might even destroy neighboring Continents.
Now, why was my duty as Receptionist so important? Receptionists are the point of connection between the government and Adventurers. Adventurers are contract workers the government hires to take care of business. The way they relay those orders is in the form of Requests, and these requests are managed by Receptionists. With the mass Dungeon outbreak, there are simply not enough troops in the Imperial Reserves to dispatch, so Adventurers will be hired to cover the missing spots. What does that mean for me? A lot of paperwork to process, Monster appraisals to be done, phone calls from the higher-ups, and this list goes on and on.
>>>
After hopping on the cable car to the Outer Business District, I stormed through the Adventurer's Guild doors to find it just as chaotic as the cafe. Hundred of people were crammed into the grand halls of the Guild. There wasn't even an orderly line either.
To avoid repeating the same mistake of fighting the crowd, I left the main entrance and walked around the building to the back entrance, an 'inconspicuous' metal door with a scanner and a keypad embedded into the wall. I tap my Glancable against the scanner and type in my employee pin. A loud clicking sound can be heard from the door, and with a slight push down on the handle, I walk right into the building, where I am greeted face-to-face by Martha brewing herself a fresh cup of coffee.
The back entrance that I just took leads to the staff break room. It was mostly used by the delivery people to drop off office supplies to the Guild, but employees were free to use it too.
"It appears you got my message." The elderly receptionist said just as her coffee finished brewing.
"Yes," I nodded as I checked in to work on the Tabloid. "I saw the news this morning. I had a feeling it was going to be busy. Also, here's the Rosenberg Blend you asked me to bring you last night. You're going to need it."
Martha nodded as I placed the bag of coffee onto the desk while Martha forwarded six bronze coins to my account.
"News spreads like wildfire these days. I was going to have you work at the front today, but you've been called for a more important job."
I was confused by what she meant.
"What?"
Martha handed me a letter. On the front of it was my name, written in neat cursive.
'To: Arian L. Rai'
I flipped the letter over to its backside. A red wax seal embedded with the three shards of Imperium City was present before my eyes. The diamond shards were enclosed in a circle of leaves that looked like angel wings. At the top of the circle connecting the leafy wings was a crown painted with a tint of gold.
Everyone in Oriar knew what this seal was and what it meant. This was an Imperial Decree coming directly from the Emperor and could not be forged.
I opened the letter just to verify if what I saw before my eyes was true. Unfortunately, it was, and this was the message written in it.
'To Arian L. Rai,
Upon Imperial Decree, you have been summoned to the Royal Palace for your abilities. More information will be provided upon your arrival. Once the letter is closed, an escort will meet you at your location within the next fifteen minutes. I await your arrival.
-The Emperor'
I finished reading the main message, but then my eyes wandered over to the tiny, poorly written chicken scratch text at the bottom of the paper.
'P.S. It's been a long time since I've last seen you, so I would like to catch up.'
Just from this last message, I knew I was receiving a real Imperial Decree. I close the letter without a shred of hesitation. A glowing red Sigil appears on its flap indicating how far my escort was from me. Once it turned green, my escort arrived at my location.
"Was it real?" Martha asked out of curiosity.
I let out an exasperated sigh.
"Yes, it's real. They're sending me an escort right now. They'll notify me when they arrive."
"Understood. Just wait here in the meantime. You'll still be paid today since receiving this Imperial Decree is part of the work. Best of luck in front of the Royals."
I let out a dry cough before saying, "Thanks, Martha. I'm going to need all the luck I can get."
With that, Martha left the break room, plunging into chaos outside in the main hall, where I could see Adventurers climbing onto one another to submit their acceptance of the dispatch order.
"What a mess out there."