He had expected the second challenge to be a puzzle, much like the first. However, the creature and the toxic gas made it seem more like a dungeon fight than something that required thinking.
~It doesn't make sense.~
He stared at the ceiling in silence for the next 30 minutes, thinking over everything that had happened during that 'challenge'. And the more he thought about it, the weirder everything seemed.
~No matter how I think about it, it doesn't make sense that the creature didn't just kill both of us the moment we entered,~ he thought before getting out of bed.
His attendant was still standing at the foot, staring at him.
~And what was the point of the toxic gas, or the orb at the end of the room?~ he continued; pacing around in thought. He stopped at the window, looking outside at the fake beach they had stolen from his memories.
~In fact, what were all those strange markings about? There's definitely something going on in that room, something more than just poor-level design, something... I don't think I can crack alone,~ he realized.
He was too stuck on the angle of the monster. If they were expected to solve a puzzle with that thing breathing down their neck, while being in complete darkness at the same time, then perhaps it was impossible.
However, even if that was the case, he wasn't giving up. If the puzzle was hard, it meant that the rewards would be worthwhile. And he was sure that once he got back to earth, there wouldn't be any other requests that gave him a mere time penalty every time he died.
"You said I was banned from entering the hidden room for 24 hours, right," he asked, placing a hand on the windowpane. It was cool, almost as if the breeze outside was actually real.
"That is correct, dominus," his attendant replied.
"How long was I asleep for?"
"14 hours, dominus."
Gray furrowed his eyebrows, as he turned to look at her. "What day is it?"
"The 12th cycle of Moon Acolynth," she replied.
For a moment there was silence. That wasn't the sort of date he was expecting, but it was one he was willing to work with. He had to fight off the smile creeping on his face, lest they realize their slip-up.
~So the quest and the library were named after a moon, huh?~ he realized. It wasn't much, but it was information.
"When exactly did I arrive here?" he asked, walking towards her.
"The 27th hour of the 13th cycle," she replied.
"And what hour is it now?"
"The fifth. If dominus pleases, I can direct him to the timepieces within the store," she said.
Gray was already familiar with the 'timepieces' she was referring to and those would certainly require quite some time before he could afford them. Besides, other than telling the time, they didn't seem to give any other benefit.
"No, that's fine," he replied. ~That means I'll need to wait for the fifteenth hour before I can try again. Before then, I'll need to meet with Doctor and discuss what we saw. Maybe he'll have some ideas,~ Gray thought to himself.
~But how?~
"Is there a way to track others? To find their rooms I mean?" he asked.
"There is an option available to the dominus. However, we will have to ask the main reception desk... and there will be a fee," his attendant replied. He winced at the mention of a fee.
"How much?"
"10 for normal guests—"
"Okay, not so bad," Gray whispered to himself.
"But, 40 for champions."
Ahh, there it was. He only had 52 coins to his name right now, and he had wanted to begin saving for a particularly interesting set he had seen in the store, though it wasn't like he could afford it anytime soon anyway.
~Wait! The contract of intention. We're still party members, so maybe...~ He quickly navigated through his system to the map. And just as he had expected, another dot had emerged. However, a grey filter overlayed it. ~Maybe it's because he's on a different floor?~ he realized.
But if that were the case, then searching for him would take some time. Even if the elevator provided almost instant travel between floors, there were 200 of them to go through.
~I should find Joshua first,~ he decided. 10 coins wasn't such a bad deal to find him.
He searched through his memories, looking for the part of the facility guide that mentioned the receptionist's desk.
~Second floor.~
###
The second floor looked much like a lobby; as wide as a freeway, and with a ceiling so high it was hard to believe it was just a room within a larger building.
A red carpet spanned the entire floor, and golden thread had been used to stitch patterns into it. They seemed like symbols, though Gray could not decipher what they meant.
Despite all his rest, there wasn't anyone else down here. Even if there was nothing else but the receptionist's desk, he had expected at least a few of the something-thousand people here to come down exploring.
~Maybe they're all on the higher floors?~ Gray thought to himself. Besides, he was probably one of the few people who had the facility guide implanted within their mind.
He took quick and wide strides towards the massive desk at the center of the room. It was made of black wood, and so high that Gray would have to reach on his tiptoes to lean against it.
The receptionists, aliens that looked exactly like his attendant though without the silver necklace, stared down at him as if he were an insect.
Silence passed, as he and one of the women behind the desk just stared at each other.
"I've come to track someone," he announced.
The woman remained silent for a moment.
"Tracking is reserved for the higher grades," the receptionist replied boredly. Before turning to his attendant, and speaking in that odd singing language. His attendant replied, and the receptionist turned back to him, inspecting him as if unimpressed.
"You qualify," she sighed, before pressing something on the desk. "Please step to the left, and you will be helped shortly," she added, before walking away from her post.
"What's this about grade requirement?" Gray whispered to his attendant.
"Champions of higher chaos have access to higher facilities, dominus," she replied.
"Chaos?"