One second Doug was in a high speed chase with his target, his view of the road clear and his gaze focused. Cars whizzed past in the periphery of his vison and the soft glow of the streetlights seemed to guide his path.
Another second and he had blinked. When he opened his eyes, a green digital window had popped into existence, blocking his view of the road.
{Welcome to the Tower Frozen Dreams!
Congratulations for being chosen to participate in this grand Tower!
Enjoy your stay!}
He hurriedly squinted his eyes and tried to peek through the blob of text in front of his face. He didn't have time to read what it said.
The following sparkling confetti that burst forth from the window continued to block his sight, which caused him to swerve dangerously, narrowly missing nearby cars.
Before he could curse or process these strange series of events, the world began to warp--becoming a blur of colors and stretching in unfathomable ways.
And then, as quickly as it was deformed, the world snapped back to normal and he found himself lurching towards a cobblestone path, hopelessly falling from the air.
Time seemed to slow as his adrenaline kicked in. The sight of the jagged road slowly crept closer. He yanked his arms forth, trying to protect his head.
"Oof!" The wind was knocked out of him as he crashed.
He laid on the dirty ground, his cheek pressed against the cold cobble, blinking his eyes in bewildered confusion.
What the hell just happened?
He stared at the shuffling shoes that surrounded him in a daze as his head tried to process the past few seconds. Alarmed voices split the air.
"AHHH!!!"
"What the hell is this place?!"
"Where am I?"
Upon hearing their alarmed voices he snapped out of his daze and hastily stood up. He looked around, studying his surroundings.
He was trapped in a crowd of people. They were all packed together as if crammed into an auditorium--something that reminded him of his sister's music hall and the concerts she sometimes hosted. Despite the strange situation, he found a small speck of comfort from that thought.
Peeking through the crowd he caught glimpses of what seemed to be stone walls, shoddily made tents and... was that a blacksmith's building?
Doug narrowed his eyes in thought.
"Welcome, welcome! Quiet now everyone! I have so much to tell you!" Overtaking the loud murmur of the crowd was a bubbly and sweet chuckle. Doug quickly lifted his head, trying to find the source of that suspiciously cartoonish voice.
Floating high in the night sky, accompanying the backdrop of shining stars that were strangely sharp, was a plush golden retriever wearing an abstract patchwork shirt. Their black beady eyes shined with anticipation, their cotton mouth oddly intricate in its details. It was able to open and close like a real mouth...
A green window faded into existence, as if to introduce this strange speaker.
{Administrator Ko De Oako - Faithful Companion
Administrator of Floors: 1st Floor - Rebirth, 2nd Floor - Kindling Spirit, 3rd Floor - Fleeting Humanity, 7th Floor - The Plaza of Hope, 9th Floor - Crimson Truths}
Doug furrowed his brows at the sight of the Administrator. They reminded him of a certain toy store...
Not only that, but an instinctual warning twisted his gut. The Administrator of Floors meant something--and for some reason he felt it didn't mean anything good...
"What the hell is that?!" Someone called out.
"Yo, he's kinda cute!" Someone else commented.
A warm but eerily twisted smile stretched across Administrator Ko De Oako's cotton face as they pressed a cotton limb across their chest. "My name is Administrator Ko De Oako and this is the First Floor of the Tower: Frozen Dreams!" He proudly introduced, stretching his arms into the air as if showing off the world around. Administrator Ko De Oako's eyes expertly swept the crowd.
"Let's all do a round of applause to welcome this once in a lifetime opportunity! Welcome to Rebirth!" He began to clap his cotton limbs in a steady and smooth pace.
A brief moment of silence followed his introduction. Only a small set of quiet claps could be heard--no doubt done by those in wary confusion.
Doug watched this spectacle warily. So... they were on the First Floor of a Tower called Frozen Dreams... Was this linked to the System in some way? If so, who were these Administrators? Were they responsible for somehow bringing everyone here? In fact, how did they manage to bring everyone here? It seemed like magic, but there had to be a logical explanation for all of this...
Doug shook his head before pinching the bridge of his nose. These weren't his questions to ask. Funnily enough, these were Rob's questions--Doug was assigned to the Gusto Case, and he needed to remember that.
If everyone was brought here... then so was his target...
His heart skipped a beat as a dangerous thought came to mind. If Doug was here, and his target was here, and everyone else was too...
Then...
That meant Allison and Emma were here as well...
His eyes widened, practically forgetting how to breathe in the shock.
He needed to find them.
He needed to find them NOW!
He hurriedly pushed his way through the crowd, aiming for the stone walls. Surely these castle-like walls would have some kind of ladder or staircase right?!
"Yo, watch it!"
"What the hell!"
"Dude, move!"
Some of those pushed by Doug shoved back in retaliation of his desperate attempt, giving him cold glares.
"Now, now everyone, settle down! I'm not done with my introduction just yet!" Administrator Ko De Oako continued. Despite the fact that Doug was moving further away, he could still hear the Administrator's voice at the same volume--as if they were still close by.
"WHERE ARE WE!" Someone in the crowd demanded, ignoring Administrator Ko De Oako's words.
"YEAH, WHY ARE WE HERE!"
"I'M CALLING THE POLICE!"
A series of ringtones could be hear within the crowd, causing quite the ugly commotion.
Administrator Ko De Oako crossed his arms, giving the crowd a disapproving glare. "Human stupidity never ceases to amaze me. I know you can hear and understand me! I JUST told you we're on the First Floor - Rebirth! What part of that didn't you understand?!"
"All of it!" Someone in the crowd defiantly declared.
Administrator Ko De Oako scoffed. "Well, at least you're honest."
Administrator Ko De Oako sighed, ignoring the rest of the hecklers, continuing with his speech. "I'm sure most of you have questions--when do you never?--and I could answer all of them; but I'm short on time."
A large digital clock blanketed the night sky, covering the stars. In large bold text was: 10:00.
It then became 9:59.
9:58.
And so on as each second passed.
Doug lunged out from the crowd, almost tripping on an uplifted section of the cobblestone path. He breathed heavily, eyes quickly scanning the perimeter.
There, a staircase!
Doug rushed along the wall and ran up the decaying staircase taking two steps at a time.
"All of you have ten minutes to prepare until the Ogre hoard reaches this fortress and kills all of you!" Administrator Ko De Oako giggled happily, a sadistic grin spread across his face, baring razor sharp teeth.
Upon reaching the top of the landing, Doug found himself on a long narrow pathway framed with dusty parapet walls on one side that formed the perimeter of the fortress. On the other side of the path was nothing--not a rail, not a fence, just empty space. If one wasn't careful they were very likely to fall off...
Doug glanced down.
...To their death.
"You there! Good, did you gather enough materials?!" A gruff sounding man of short stature ran up to him. A comically large beard draped down from his chin, covering his body. Round bloodshot eyes peered up at Doug. Within his left hand was a burning torch that lit up the dark, causing their shadows on the dusty cobblestone to flicker and dance.
Doug couldn't hide the puzzled look on his face. The short man huffed angrily at his expression.
"Useless! Useless I tell you!" He stomped his feet and jumped on top of the fold in the parapet walls. He pointed a finger out beyond the wall. "Do you see that?! Do you see it!" The short man turned to look back at Doug, fury boiling in his eyes.
Unable to deny this strange man's unspoken orders Doug inched towards the wall.
Beyond the wall, approaching in one large mass that extended far into the horizon and into the dark of the night, was an army of ogres. Torches spotted the formation, horns began to blare loudly and the earth beneath his feet began to tremble slightly.
Doug tightly clutched a handful of dusty sand found on the parapet wall; particles digging sharply underneath his nails. A freezing cold chill crawled up his spine.
The crowd found beneath the walls shouted into the sky at Administrator Ko De Oako's announcement. "Fear not, everyone, I'm not completely heartless! You all have a role to play. If you have no idea what to do, just view your Quests! Or just lie down and die. Choice is yours!" Administrator Ko De Oako sarcastically waved goodbye, disappearing in the blink of an eye.
"What the hell is this?" Doug muttered, backing away from the wall.
"What do you think?" The short man jumped back down onto the narrow path. "This is war." The short man ran his fingers through his beard, smoothing it out neatly. "Look, I don't know where you're from kid--but this is no game--so I advise you get your shit together. Soon."
Doug watched the man walk off in disbelief. He turned back towards the crowd within the fortress, worry blanketing his heart. They were chaotic--shouting amongst themselves, spreading out within the fortress like a popped egg yolk.
He couldn't help but think back on Administrator Ko De Oako's words.
Administrator Ko De Oako mentioned something about a role...
And Quests...
"Quests." He silently whispered.
{Active Quests:
The Eye of Dawn
Description:
Following the fracture of a certain Core Barrier, the Dark Forests that surround the Empire of Eilrea were opened for the first time in hundreds of years. The inevitable results of centuries of uncontested growth have now come forth, threatening to take control.
Despite the fracture of the Core Barrier, the Empire of Eilrea is still safe. 14 fortresses were erected to defend against a moment like this.
You are currently assigned to one such fortress. You must protect the [Eye of Dawn] until the Sunrise in: 6 Hours.
This Quest comes with a Designated Role!
Thanks to the blessing of the Dwarves' Iron-Blood Priestess, you were summoned to defend against the Dark and gifted a Role to help defend the fortress!
Your Role is: Builder
As a Builder you have been gifted with the swiftness of a Dwarf when it comes to gathering: Sand, Stone, Gravel, Dirt, and Wood. In addition, you are capable of building sturdy walls worthy of a Dungeon-Crawling Dwarf!
You must gather materials immediately to make good use of your Role! Perhaps the materials you gather could help those of a different occupation...
Gained Skill: (Temporary) [Eye of Planning] - When placing walls, a guiding blueprint will help visualize the desired formation.}
"The Eye of Dawn..." Doug muttered aloud in thought. Why was it named after the Dawn if they had to defend the fortress until sunrise? He couldn't help but think the title of... whatever that was... didn't quite fit the theme...
His phone's ringtone snapped him out of his thoughts.
Right!
His phone!
He hurriedly yanked his phone from his pocket and glanced at the caller ID.
Thank God it was Allison!
"Allison!" Doug practically cried in relief. "Yes, I'm here too! Meet me on top of the fortress walls! Hurry, we don't have enough time!"