Dairen stood still. Suddenly, an interface popped up in front of him, showing off all his status. He was amazed at how much info was packed into his screen.
Name: Dairen Sylvian
Title: DareDevil, Radiation Masochist, Siscon
Race: Human
Level: 1
Main Job: None
Secondary Job: None
Health points: 10
Mana Points: 4
Attack: 7
Defense: 3
Agility: 9
Endurance: 9
Luck: 7
Leadership: 0
Magical Attack: 3
Magical Defense: 2
Wisdom: 8
Intelligence: 8
Dexterity: 9
Fame: 2
Just as he was reading, the screen blinked a few times disappearing. He wondered where it went as he looked back at his phone.
All data has synchronized with the world. Your language comprehension has been adjusted to this world. Your Quest objective has begun. Please connect with one of the three powerful influencers of this city: Dragon Express, Red Flower Nation, and Cantona Blood Bank.
Nothing else was written, but the ambiguous content. Dairen had hoped for more, but that was all he got. Putting away his phone, he started to look for clues. Going up to the next person he saw, he spoke to an elderly man with a suit carrying a suitcase.
“Excuse me, sir.” Dairen waved him down. “Do you know where we are at?”
The elderly man looked at him funny. “Atlantis.”
“I mean, do you know where the Dragon Express is or possibly the Red Flower Nation company?”
“What are you talking about?” The elderly man left, leaving Dairen behind.
Dairen was confused, wondering if he had said something wrong. He went to another person, this time a couple.
“Excuse me.” He stopped the couple who walked past him. “Do you guys know where the Dragon Express, Red Flower Nation, or even the Cantando Blood Bank are?”
The couples were confused by his questions. “Red Flower Nation? Dragon Express? Is that some kind of Chinese Food? I never tried that before.” The female stated, trying to be helpful.
“I never had heard of them before,” the male shook his head. “None of those sound familiar….wait, I think I have seen the Dragon Express building. It was a Chinese food place, I think. My mind is a bit hazy on this.” He happily exclaimed. “I believe it's on Everlast street next to the Droid Desert Restaurant….give or take ten minutes from here? Though I don’t quite remember how to get there.”
“It’s fine. Thank you.” Dairen replied. The couples walked past him as they chattered among themselves, hearing the whispers between the two.
“Are you sure there is a Dragon Express?” The woman spoke with a low hiss. “You lied, didn’t you.”
“I….think I told him the truth.”
“You think?”
“Yea, it’s just hazy. Anyways, it’s no big deal. Let’s go.” The couple disappeared, leaving Dairen behind.
Dairen, this time stopped a mother pushing a stroller and her two boys. “Excuse me, do you know where the Dragon Express is?”
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“Huh?” The woman looked at him as if he was talking to him in some kind of foreign language.
“Dragon Express, possibly even Red Flower Nation or Cantando Blood Bank?”
One of the boys spoke out with excitement. “I do! I remember seeing a live dragon protecting that place.” He squealed in delight. “It was curling around a rooftop of a building like some kind of guardian.”
The older brother nodded his head, agreeing with his younger brother. “It was pretty cool.”
With a dumbstruck expression, the mother gave Dairen a half-hearted laugh that told him that she didn’t believe a single word that her kids had said. “Enough, let’s go.” She hurried them away, leaving Dairen alone once again.
As more time he asked around, he noticed that almost everyone he met didn’t know what he was talking about. Except for the Cantando Blood Bank, that was a good hour away from the city, but it was strange that the other two names weren’t even known. Curious, he wanted more information.
Dairen was able to find a cafe where his phone was able to connect to the free wifi. He was glad that he was given the phone, mainly because of how useful it was. There were a few new applications on the phone itself: two different internet icons, contacts, and a few more applications that he didn’t know what use it was for.
He couldn’t help but click on the internet icon with a red plus sign next to it. When he clicked it, he was given a bunch of news. He clicked the top trending news, curious about what was written. Taking out his reading glass, he started to read.
Silverwater State Magical News
March 20, 2030
Atlantis Biggest Insurance Scandal, finally caught!
A couple who runs one of the most prominent Atlantis Hospital have been each sentenced to federal prison for using their clinic to defraud a private insurance company and the Internal Revenue Service of over a million gold.
Sally Solomon, 44, and Milly Millards, 52, both of Atlantis, were each sentenced to seven years and three months in federal prison and three years of supervised release.
Over several years they used their patients’ personal information to bill a private insurance company for services that were never rendered. It is speculated that the insurance fraud has gone much deeper than one would have thought.
The famous Mrs. Jonas, creator of the black magic magical device, has been caught masterminding the couple. It is believed there are more behind the scenes. It is expected her name would be pulled down from the list of the many famous inventors of magical items.
Random Thunder Clouds Sightings
Strange weather patterns have appeared around Atlantis. The usual forecast should have been sunny sunshine throughout the week, but strong winds and thunderclouds are seen throughout the area's random pockets. No rain had fallen for the past week. These unusual sightings had puzzled many, but no signs of unusual activity had been found.
He typed in the word Dragon Express onto the search bar and found a list of extraordinary information. From monster hunting to even the workers that worked there. With the information obtained, he checked the other internet icon.
What came up was completely different from the information that he was given. Every message, blog post had nothing to do with the magical community. He wondered why there were such discrepancies.
Without waiting any longer, he followed the route to the Canatonsoa Blood Bank. It was a large hospital-like building, surrounded by medical personnel that came and went in a hurry. Upon arriving, he was greeted with a receptionist.
“Welcome to Cantansoa Blood Bank.” The receptionist smiled at Dairen, “how can I help you?”
“I’m looking for the higher-ups that work here?”
“For?”
“I have something important to talk with them.” Honestly, he didn’t have anything to talk with them. Instead, he was just trying to get in contact with whoever was present in the building that could help direct the quest's flow.
“They are not in right now. I suggest you leave your name and number.”
“Dairen Sylvian. My number is ....” He pulled out his phone, hoping that it would give him some kind of phone number, but it didn’t. “I’ll just come back tomorrow.”
“Understood.” The receptionist gave him a friendly smile, which he left, wondering what to do next. He could see that it was already getting dark. Quickly, finding a place to rest, he checked in a hotel.
For the next couple of days, he tried to contact the higher-ups, but they weren’t helpful with what he was looking for. Even the information window didn’t update, making him clueless on what to do next. He was wasting time as he searched for another answer.
While on the other hand, the Red Flower Nation didn’t have an address that he was looking for, making it difficult to know where to start.
There were a couple of things that he noticed about the new world. The natives thought that he was on drugs or were talking about some kind of fantasy book. He was confused about why there was such division in this world between the magical and the natives.
Eventually, on the third day, he decided to go to the Dragon Express. He hopped in on a taxi, taking him to a strip mall area. He saw a pretty decent size building that reminded him of a bank, wherein large bold letters the name Dragon Express was situated above.
But what froze him in place was a red snake-like creature plopped on top of the building: sleeping.
Dairen rubbed his eyes, wondering if he saw things. He blinked a few more times, realizing that before him was a sleeping dragon that didn’t even care that someone was staring at it. People walked by, not even looking up as if it wasn’t there.
He wondered if it was all a holographic image or a machine, but then again, it looked too real to be such a case. Its long whiskers draped down on the room, it’s antler’s shot out from behind its mane. Even its snout was broad with white teeth that could crunch a bone with only a single bite, glistened underneath the sunlight.
The dragon opened its eyes, looking at Dairen. It puffed out smoke, snorting at Dairen’s surprised expression. It then rolled over, turning away from him as it continued to sleep. He was a bit worried about entering the building.
But it didn’t take long for him to see two men dragging a large body bag behind him. The dragon didn’t even move as they entered. He waited for a while, wondering what the dragon would do, but it kept on sleeping, leaving him curious about what was going on inside.
Relieved, Dairen crossed the street to the other side. Pulling the door open, he heard the doorbell ring. He froze as he saw a group of people hovering over the body bag as if some kind of crime scene took place in the middle of the room. There were five in total.
One was a buff looking Irish man who looked like he came straight out of some kind of swat police force with his bushy orange mustache. Another was a young Asian man who seemed to be armed with a sword in his everyday wear. Next to him was a beautiful redhead of a lady with a fantastic figure and another with a classy looking lady, who was just as beautiful as the other.
Eventually, his eyes rested on an Asian-looking lady with a hint of European features. Her wispy black hair and blue eyes stared at him with surprise. Eventually, they broke their gaze and his gaze looked next to her.
What caught his attention inside the bag was an ugly, misshapen man-like creature with an inch thick fur. Whiskers were growing out the side of its squashed nose as its black skin seemed wrinkled and old. Feral teeth were shown as its lips, while its face looked like it was almost unnoticeable. He couldn’t help but wonder if he entered into a crime scene that he shouldn’t have.
"Hell, can you believe that?" The Irish looking man spoke with a half-heartedly chuckle. "A Sleeper."
Dairen snapped his head towards the man. He could feel that something wasn’t right in this room, and the intensity they were giving off on him spelled trouble as his guards went up. He knew that any of them would balt towards him any minute now, and he needed to get out.