"2650...isn’t that just after the Forthcoming?" Serene said as Gio handed the yearbook back to her.
"Yeah," Gio responded.
"To be precise, it’s ten years after it started. This was around the ti when the Forthcoming really ended."
It was talked about like it happened instantly, but the Forthcoming was a lasting event. The biggest changes happened within a month. The entire world humanity knew was changed in that short amount of ti.
In the years that ca after, small changes happened in various places. Things like Scenario Quests and Riftworlds started to appear and new ecosystems sprouted across the worlds.
In 2650, everything finally ended. The world stopped changing and humanity could finally start adapting to it in all of its glory.
And the cities from that world had been manifested again here, almost four hundred years later.
"Scenario Quests are unpredictable," Gio said.
"We can’t say exactly why this world appeared. This is good information, but there’s nothing we can do with it until the Quest Window shows up."
"What should we do, then?" Serene asked.
Gio nudged his head towards the yearbook.
"We look for more things like that. It’ll beco a good clue once we know what to do with it."
Serene nodded in agreent.
"I’ve already looked through this whole room, so I’ll go check out what Neriah’s doing. Are you coming?"
"I’ll be there in a second. I’m going to look at the yearbook for a bit longer to see if there’s anything else we can learn from it."
With another nod, Serene left the room.
Gio glanced at the yearbook with a frown on his face.
’2650...that part was not ntioned.’
His priority was to grow. He brought his three comrades along because he knew that there were several opportunities for improvent in this Scenario Quest. The rewards were listed in detail.
However, there were very obvious holes in the docuntation. When Gio went back and took the ti to look at a lot of the papers he’d read and the reports he’d seen, he realized that there was a lot of forgery taking place under his nose that he never caught onto.
He had to unveil the truth. Otherwise, he would be forced to move on half-truths without fully knowing if he was doing the right thing.
’This was one of those key monts. This Scenario Quest was huge news in the outside world while it was happening and even after it ended. It was strange how nobody involved was ever interviewed or questioned in any way.’
Ninety percent of those people faded from existence. The public forgot about them so quickly that it felt manufactured.
The remaining ten percent left this Scenario Quest as kings and queens. They’d grown so much in a single month that they beca famous across the world and reached positions of high status without much effort at all.
’None of them really went to the frontlines often. They lived lives like celebrities.’
Anyone with real information was inaccessible, leaving only docunts to tell the story of what happened within.
’I saw all of them, and I could only gather so much.’
This realm was a combination of the human world and an unknown world that was far more fantastical. The quest was described as a "race to reach a specified location," however, Scenario Quests were never so straightforward.
’The ones who ca back the first ti were in the Adapted State. The suppression effect is real, so that shouldn’t be a problem for us. Everything else I know is just like what I told Serene; tidbits that will only make sense with context.’
And that context...
As Gio walked back into the main area of the apartnt, the entire world stilled. The ambient noise and even the slight, indiscernible swaying of the building halted, creating an incredibly tangible stillness.
Gio looked at Shiro, who quickly stood up from the couch.
VOOOOOOOM!
A deep hum descended on them from the sky like thunder. It crescendoed until it vibrated the windows and walls of the building before slamming down. As its pitch rapidly shifted lower, the vibrations around them beca quicker and quicker until they finally stopped altogether.
It felt like watching magnets pull towards each other and spin until they ford a connection, only the tower of magnets was a building they were standing in.
Ding!
The new silence didn’t last long.
With the light ding of the holographic screen that appeared before their eyes, the roars, howls, screeches, and cries of monsters and beasts resounded from every direction.
They were rampaging already.
Glancing between Shiro, Neriah, and Serene, all of whom were now gathered in the main area, Gio pointed at the screen.
"I don’t think there are many monsters that will be able to figure out how to get here, so let’s focus on this first."
His own eyes were already on it.
For a second, he was looking at gibberish in a runic language he’d never seen before. Those runes reacted to his perception and changed, accommodating him and shifting into the language he spoke.
[Scenario: One world no longer has space unexplored, yet its history is unknown to its residents. Another has lost its space, yet its residents fight to preserve its history. Two worlds ca together, revealing truths hidden beneath complex webs of deception. Discover the truths awaiting their mont to be perceived.]
"..."
"..."
"..."
Gio smiled wryly when he saw the reactions on his comrades’ faces.
He couldn’t bla them.
"What the hell is that supposed to an?" Serene asked, a deep frown on her face.
"Right? I’m not stupid. This thing is stupid."
"No. You’re stupid, but this is also relatively incoherent. Are these words supposed to an sothing?"
Shiro and Neriah spoke after her, expressing similar frustrations.
’Well, I wasn’t expecting it to be quite this vague, either, but this isn’t a bad thing for .’
"Two words ca together, revealing truths hidden within complex webs of deception..."
He muttered the words written on the window. It was nonsense to the other three because they hadn’t seen more than this single city.
’These two words are referring to the Gehenna Complex as a whole and the place where monsters co from, I’d assu.’
This Scenario Quest wanted them to find the secrets of the world?
Gio was more than happy to do so!
In fact, he was getting annoyed trying to find secrets on his own. Wasn’t this Quest Window telling him that it had gathered a whole load of them and put them in a single location for him?
’I knew there was sothing going on.’
If even this Quest Window was hidden from the reports, the weight of the secrets in question was guaranteed.
Soone in a high position wanted to hide sothing that was found here.
Whether that person was a monster in disguise or a human who was no better than a monster...
’I guess I can reveal so more enemies this ti, too.’
Gio went over to the glass again and looked out onto the streets below.
They were crowded with monsters. They were fighting each other and randomly attacking the buildings.
"Right now, they’re panicking because they have no idea what’s going on."
Once so ti passed, they’d calm down. So of them would resu their old habits, others would try to find new opportunities in this changed land, while others...
’I don’t want to entertain that possibility yet.’
They had been given their Quest and they were already in a city that was bound to be filled with clues.
Everyone was just as ready as Gio was, so when he said it, there were no objections.
"Once they calm down, let’s move. We have work to do."
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