A loud crack was heard as Damien's hand slowly crushed his phone. He quickly excused himself and left in a hurry to avoid letting Sarah or Jason get a good look at his face. He didn't have a mirror, but he was sure if his face showed even a third of what he was feeling it would've scared them both. He ducked into a narrow alley and pulled out his phone. Spiderweb fractures showed on the screen and the sides had wrapped around his fingers, but a Nokia wasn't a Nokia for nothing and its legendary durability was shown with the screen still shining clearly.

"What the fuck do you think you're playing at, X?"

Why, whatever do you mean~?

A sound as if someone had taken a baseball bat and slammed again the brick wall rang out along with a gust of wind. The blue-eyed boy's fist was planted firmly within the wall, four near groves caused by his fist could be clearly seen. The skin had torn on his knuckles and his hand was undoubtedly filled with fractures, but he didn't seem to mind. His voice was a growl as he shouted at his phone once more.

"You know damn well what I meant, you piece of shit! What the hell were those new quests?!"

What are you getting so worked up? Lol.

How is this any different from what you've done before?

Weren't you the one complaining about not getting Quests recently?

And I gave you such easy ones with high rewards too.

(´_ゝ`)

He couldn't believe his eyes as he read the replies, the nonchalant way X just shrugged off asking him to basically assault his friends. His hands shook in rage and he was so tempted to just toss the phone away or crush it right then and there, but that wouldn't solve anything.

"What in the hell were you thinking, assigning bullshit like that? Why?"

Well...

Why not?

I would like to point out a misconception you seem to be having.

While it is true that I'm the Game Master, but even I must follow the rules that I've set.

Let me ask you a question in return, what do you think Quests are...?

Damien didn't know where this was going, but in spite of all his rage, he knew whatever X was telling him was going to be of vital importance. He swallowed hard and thought seriously about the question. Quests... What are Quests? In games, they are part of how to play the game. Or rather, completing the Quest is the objective of games, one could say doing them is how one can play and enjoy it. In another sense, they are a method to reward players for accomplishments. A method to get stronger, or in a more philosophical sense a goal to strive for and a benchmark of one's history?

Support creative writers by reading their stories on Royal Road, not stolen versions.

"Quests, are goals to strive for?" He wasn't sure where this was going and he wasn't sure if his answer was correct.

Very good.

In the Webster dictionary here is the exact wording,

A Quest is "a long or arduous search for something."

But what is it that drives people to go on Quests?

The answer is quite simple, "Hopes and Dreams"

Let us further break it down, shall we?

In the end, all humans are merely fueled by "Desires"

"Stop with the pointless riddles and just say what you want already!" Damien shouted, nostrils flaring and knuckles white from how hard he was squeezing his fists. However, deep down he was filled with a growing sense of dread as he already felt as if he knew what X was talking about.

(´_ゝ`)

Kids today, really have no patience~

You wanted to know how Quests were made, right?

Quests are fueled by "Human Desires"

The more Desires the Dicer in question contain the more quests they shall receive.

You may think that I am arbitrarily assigning them, but in truth, the origin of quests comes from yourself.

I merely help to give form to them and ensure you're rewarded appropriately for your work.

Of course, I don't need to say that the harder the quest the greater the rewards, right?

"From... Myself? Don't bullshit me! I'd never want to hurt Sarah or Jason! Never!"

Oh? Can you honestly say that?

You didn't seem to have any problems with the other Quests, did you?

"It's not the same, and you know it," he said with grit teeth, slowly counting to 10 in his head in a futile effort to calm himself.

Isn't it?

He crushed his phones into bits and went back home. He had a lot of thinking to do tonight, and it seems he was right about the more sinister nature of X. There's no way he'd believe he wanted to hurt his best friends, not even if you cut him open and searched the deepest depths of his heart. He was sure of it! X was merely twisting his so-called "Desires" to fit his agenda. Sure, he had no problem accepting quests like beating up gang members or picking fights with people, but that was... Only... because... It was a quest... Nobody "bad" had gotten hurt...

Justifications.

"Argh... Fuck me"

He had a lot of thinking to do tonight indeed.