Adrian scratches his nose and reads the panel again.
[Side Quest: Repay the Old Man's Favor! Reward: Skills Tab]
"How exactly am I supposed to do that? Pay him? I don't even have any money in the first place!"
Suddenly, more text begins rapidly appearing under the quest title.
[Pay with currency (ask Gath in the morning). Alternatively, defend the village for the duration of your stay. Sorry about the delay! ＞﹏＜]
"Thanks, I guess. Could have said that much sooner."
The system shudders, almost like it has a real personality. Adrian blinks, making sure he saw that correctly.
"Huh. That's not creepy at all."
Adrian leans into the creaky wall, thinking about his next move.
"Well, I need to see Gath in the morning either way, so there's that."
With a faint smirk, he exhales.
Sinking down into the stiff bedding that borders on inhumane, he watches as the system panel slowly disappears once more. He curls up into a ball and takes a nice deep breath, readying himself for what might come the next day.
***
A white, lean creature, similar to a rooster but not quite, crows in the distance. Its feet have six freakish claws instead of four, and it has black deep voids for pupils. Inside of the actively crumbling lodging sits Adrian on a depressing stack of hay with his hands on his forehead. His eyes are heavy, so he smacks his face once.
"Power on."
The holographic appears as a small square in front of him, and expands out into a rectangle of neon blue for him to stare at, still amazed at the similarities to his brothers AR. It summons a message in the middle once more.
[Good morning!(～￣▽￣)～]
Adrian frowns slightly, getting more and more used to the odd, off puttingly sentient messages. Interacting with buttons that are still grayed out, the same blunt white text appears like last time.
[Locked! Please Progress Further! (T_T)]
"Well, shit."
His eyes shift to one specific one that somehow never caught his eyes.
[Lore]?
In what way? Adrian shakes his head, deciding it's too much work to figure it out now. His fingers idly roam over the cool blue screen, and he taps [Quests]. New info lies under the Side Quest. It simply says
[Happening Now!]
In bright gold.
Just the excuse he needs to get up. He groans as he lifts up off the bundled haystacks, the rotten wood creaking in protest. His spine cries at the lack of mercy from haystacks.
"Guess that's what you get for sleeping on hay."
He pats his back hard, trying to slap the pain away, and trudges to the warped doorway.
Crisp morning air floods into his lungs as he steps through, freeing himself of the mildew jail. He looks up to the sky, light blue shades relaxing his shoulders. The sun filters the wind around him into a slight warm breeze, and he sighs.
As his gaze comes down from the sky, he notices something definitely new.
Above certain items like doors, plants, and certain people are a holographic question mark, spinning and glowing like some sort of pending NPC interaction.
Adrian shifts towards one person with the question mark over their silvered, sparse hair, and takes a deep breath.
"Do you know where Gath is?"
The figure turns towards him, revealing them to be an older woman.
"Hehehe, Mr.Sageward? Why, he's in the elder's quarters, as always, as always. Been doin' it for 40 years now, he has. Say, you're not from around here, are you? All wide-eyed like…like."
Adrian scratches his head. Is she…repeating words?
His brow furrowed. Elder? That can't be right! He didn't seem like a leader. His eyes narrowed.
"No, not necessarily, ma'am. Where is the elder's office, exactly?"
The lady cackles once more, fondling her bright ruby necklace in her hands.
"Why, it's just down there! Down there. You can't miss it, can't miss it at all! It's got a red flag comin' out of it it."
She points towards a long path of houses, each with different colored flags.
That's so helpful.
"Thanks, I suppose?"
Adrian stumbles northward, but the lady talks once more, stopping him. Are these doubled words a habit of hers?
"Just be careful, will you? The Checkends family is that way, and they just got their baby asleep."
Adrian feels her sharp gaze.
"We would all like to keep it that way, yes yes?"
"Y-yes ma'am!"
He continues trekking the dirt path, walking for what feels like eternity. He watches all the flags with a burning intensity. Finally, he reaches the end of the path, and it has a…blue flag?
"Wait, what flag did she say it was? Blue? Or was it Green? Damn these flags and their stupid colors."
Adrian scratches his face with a finger, and taps his skull in a desperate attempt to remember.
"Looks like I have to actually work for it…"
He sighs and starts down the path once more, dirt and rocks crunching beneath him, giving way with each step. Smoke drifts through windows mingling with the scent of fresh bread as he passes flag after flag—yellow, purple, black—until one catches his eye: red.
"Red…red flag. Why does that—oh, that's the flag she mentioned! I think."
The pleasant morning air gives way to the scent of tough lumber as he approaches the door, staring at the floating question mark. As he does, it expands out into an info panel, displaying some simple facts.
[Building: Elder's Office.]
[Power: 0]
[Type: Inanimate]
A simple message under it.
[This is the place, Adrian!!!(✿◠‿◠)]
"Yeah, could have told me when I was trying to remember the color. But, whatever…"
He cracks open the door, and then opens it all the way, a familiar voice echoing in the room at his arrival.
"Ah, there you are Adrian. A pleasant morning it is, yes?"
Adrian's eyes squint as he gets used to the indoor light once more. He sees Gath, now leaning over in a standard wooden chair and desk combo, a sleek polish over it proving it's much newer than his lodging. He smirks as he takes in the scene. The old man seems way more dignified, surprisingly.
"Hello Gath. It is pretty nice, I suppose. I have a question to ask, 'Elder'?
He cringes slightly, still not believing it.
"Oh please, don't call me that!"
He grooms his beard with his hand, and a gentle smile creaks into his face once more.
"Now, back to what you were saying. I might have answers, my boy! Ha-ha-ha-ha!"
Adrian pulls out the vacant chair on the other side of the desk, surprised at how comfy the cloth on top of the hardwood feels. It's surprisingly better than that excuse of a bed.
"So, what's with this currency in the world? What is it, exactly…?"