After everything had settled down, I headed back to my office and sat down in my chair.
The room looked just the same as always. Mirelle’s painting hung on the wall, and a bulky fax machine sat beside the desk, surrounded by neatly stacked papers. A box filled with clown clothing sat in the corner of the room, alongside a small trash can.
The overhead lights shone brightly from above.
I rubbed my eyes and leaned back.
“It’ll take a while before I can see the results of the press conference. In the meantime, I should see what I can do next.”
I wasn’t really planning on developing a new game just yet.
I wouldn’t even know where to start.
While I did have some ideas, I didn’t have anything concrete. I also had yet to receive my funding from the Guild.
“…I’ll put that on hold until I get my funding. I’m not in much of a rush.”
If there was one thing that I’d have to prioritize, however, it’d be my eventual meeting and bet with the conductor.
I was really struggling to come up with a way to tackle that situation.
’I’ve already ordered an electronic keyboard so that I can practice, but that’s far from enough for me to play a ’perfect piece’. I need something more.’
But what exactly could I do?
I had spent quite a lot of time thinking, but nothing really popped up in my mind.
I always delayed things in an attempt to see if something would eventually happen, but… nothing.
I was still at a complete loss.
’There are a few items that are interesting in the shop, but outside of improving my abilities, they won’t really get me to where I want.’
I pulled up the shop interface and looked through the items.
─────
[Melody Shard]
Type/Item
A shimmering crystal fragment that hums with a faint, unending tune. When held, it plays a melody audible only to the user. The melody may change based on the user’s emotional state.
: Non-consumable
[Price : 75,610]
[Harmonic Restraints]
Type/Containment Tool
A set of silver cuffs that emit resonant frequencies capable of neutralizing sound-based anomalies.
Warning: Excessive use may cause temporary hearing distortion or hallucinations.
: Non-consumable
[Price : 108,293]
[Echo Lantern]
Type/Tool
An old oil lantern that captures sounds within a 20-meter radius when lit. The captured sounds replay on command, regardless of the time passed.
Warning: Once captured, the sound remains trapped until released. Prolonged storage may corrupt the echo.
: Non-consumable
[Price : 39,771
─────
These were the only sound-based items that I could find. Each was in the Second Order, and the price for each was ridiculous.
’I can see how they might end up useful, but I’m not sure if they’re worth buying.’
I massaged my chin, feeling myself get lost in the situation.
’…I dug my grave back then with the bet, but I really didn’t have a choice. How do I get out of this situation? Do I have no choice but to become a Third Order and hope that my new node or the evolved shop will have something that will help me?’
I shook my head.
No, this felt a lot like gambling.
There was no guarantee that I’d be able to become a Third Order by the time the deadline for the quest came. And even if I did somehow manage to pull off the miraculous feat, I’d still need to hope that the system had an item that would help me.
This felt a lot more like a blind gamble.
I needed something better.
Something more… concrete.
“But what can I do? Where can I possibly get more item—”
I stopped mid-sentence, my eyes suddenly blinking as I looked around me. My mind stopped for a brief moment as I almost had the sudden urge to smack my own face.
Fucking…
’The system shop isn’t the only place that I can rely on for items!’
The Guild!
Where else could I find items outside of the shop?
It had to be the Guild.
Not only that, but it probably also had items that were of a higher order than the system.
“Right… Why didn’t I think of that?”
And even if the Guild didn’t have the item that I wanted, there was still the black market and potentially the other Guilds.
That being said, I didn’t think the latter options were that feasible.
’If it’s the Guild, I can just ask the Section Chief to ’lend’ me the items as the squad leader of the new team.’
If I played my cards right, I was sure he wasn’t going to suspect a single thing.
“Yes, this might work.”
The more I dwelled on it, the more certain I became that this was the right course of action. Just as I was about to rise and storm into the Section Chief’s office once more, a faint vibration from my desk stopped me.
Trrr—! Trrrr!
“Hm?”
I paused and patted my pants before taking out my phone.
But…
“Eh?”
The noise didn’t come from my phone.
Trrr—!
Another vibration.
This time, I was able to pinpoint it, coming from the right side of my desk, buried beneath a stack of papers.
Trrrrrrr—!
The vibrations grew louder and more powerful.
My hand paused.
But then…
I lifted the paper, revealing a black phone. It looked like an old phone. One of the older models that had just introduced the touch screen feature.
Trrrr! Trrrrrrrrrr!
The vibration intensified in that moment, almost as if the phone were sentient… Aware of the fact that I had finally noticed it.
“…..”
There was something about the phone that unsettled me, and I could feel my body growing tense.
I didn’t dare touch it.
’Whose phone is this?’
Could this be Rowan’s phone? Had he left it here before? …Or was it someone else’s?
The vibrations continued.
They grew even more intense than before.
My breathing subconsciously started to become heavier.
Trrrrrrr— Trrrrrrr— Trrrrrrr—!
I continued to stare at the phone, hoping that the call would eventually end, but…
It never ended.
Even as a minute passed, the phone continued to vibrate, and my breathing grew heavier. This was also the moment that I realized that there was something wrong with the phone.
’This is very likely not something Kyle or Rowan owns.’
In that case…
Whose phone was this?
Who—
Ding!
[Optional Quest Activated!]
• Difficulty: Second Order
• Reward: 5 Fragments.
• Objective: Answer the call.
• Location: N/A
Description: Answer the call.
Time Limit: 1 minute
[Do you wish to accept the quest?]
▶[Yes] ▷[No]
The quest notification appeared, and my entire body froze.
Trrrrrrr—
With the ringing in the background, the world around me suddenly seemed to stretch as I stared at the notification in front of me.
This…
I had finally received my answer to the previous question.
This phone…
It was something that originated from the system.
I took several small breaths to try to calm my rapidly beating heart.
However, I couldn’t.
Especially not after I saw what was up for reward.
’The system even grants fragments as rewards?’
This was the first time that it had happened, and seeing the difficulty of the quest, I felt tempted to accept it. I almost did, but I didn’t rush the decision.
The quest…
It only said ’answer the call’. But what did that even mean? I just had to answer? Was that really all there was to it?
’No, obviously not. It can’t be that simple…’
Tik, Tik—
45 seconds…
I looked around the room and took every single item that I had at my disposal.
I didn’t want to make the same mistake as last time.
Tik, Tik—
30 seconds…
I scanned through every item and double-checked with my own system interface.
Should I accept the quest or not?
Tik, Tik—
15 seconds…
I took several deep breaths, calming my raging heartbeat.
Calm.
I needed to be calm.
I couldn’t let the fear take over my thinking.
I needed to be sharp.
Tik, Tik—
5 seconds…
Time was almost up.
Should I… Or should I not?
’Fuck it.’
It was now or never.
Holding my breath, I reached for the phone.
Tik, Tik—
It was almost as if I could hear the seconds tickling in my ears.
Time was closing in.
It was about to run out.
And then—
Click!
I answered the call.
The moment I did, I was just about to open my mouth to speak when—
—Haaa…
A long and soft breath whispered in my ear.
Flick!
The lights flickered off, plunging the room into darkness.
With the darkness came a sudden chill that seeped into the air.
Almost as if… by answering, I had invited something in.