Quota 0/270 - Only 2 days left

6:00 AM

Victor woke up with the urge to go back to sleep. He had tossed and turned in bed for hours before finally succumbing to sleep. Even after managing to fall asleep, a nightmare woke him up in the middle of the night. He struggled out of the comfort of his damp sheets to head down to the hotel reception.

The others didn't seem to have had a bad night. Shirley was asking every 30 seconds when they would go back, her eyes brimming with energy and anticipation. The mysterious man had relaxed shoulders, a coffee in one hand and a donut in the other. You could have thought he was on vacation if it weren't for his constantly intense gaze scrutinizing everyone entering the room. Olivia remained silent, eating her breakfast at a tortoise's pace.

“We won't be searching the house today, or tomorrow for that matter,” the mysterious man announced after taking a sip of his coffee.

Olivia and Shirley were the only ones who reacted, as Victor had already fallen back asleep on his own chair.

“Why do you say that?” Shirley asked him.

The mysterious man pushed a hot cup of coffee into Victor’s hand before answering her.

“Only the depths change disposition after each day. The house on the surface won't have any new items to offer us.”

Victor had been awakened so he could also hear this important information.

'So my system only gives me an advantage on the first day for exploring the house. The other days, we'll be in the depths. Since the items behind the door are either books or valuable objects, my scanner loses much of its value. Let’s hope the system improves after each quota…' Victor thought.

He was tired, with aches from the previous day's sprint, but it was time to get to work.

Victor finished his coffee, Olivia her pastry, and they set off. The same HUMVEE awaited them at the bottom of the hotel steps, but this time, Victor was glad to see it.

'At least, even if the Jester or another of those monsters manages to get through the door, we'll definitely be safe inside, right?' he thought, eyeing the thick armor.

Not really, host. The door that holds them back is at least 100 times thicker than one of these windows!

'I didn’t ask you.'

If that question wasn't meant for me, host, you really are going crazy.

'We’ll see a psychiatrist when all this is over, and believe me, the verdict will be conclusive.'

Whatever you want, host!

'Good to hear!' Victor grumbled as he descended the hotel steps.

6:30 AM

They had arrived.

The noise from the previous day had vanished, but a thick fog now surrounded the property. Victor thought he could hear screams emanating from the forest, but he knew his mind was playing tricks on him. He took a deep breath before stepping out of the vehicle. The air was cold, damp, and heavy.

The quartet began moving towards their target. They couldn't see more than two meters ahead, but they knew exactly where they were going.

The hatch had not moved. The mysterious man led the way, and they began descending the stairs.

The temperature rose as they descended. After just a few minutes, they reached the same door as the previous day.

It hadn’t moved an inch.

'As if anyone could move something that heavy,' Victor thought.

The man took out his tools. Victor thought it would take even less time than the day before to pick the lock, but he was wrong.

It took the man 10 minutes to unlock the mechanism.

The door opened again, but one significant detail shook Victor.

The shelves filled with books had disappeared.

But the questions would have to wait until after the quota.

Olivia and Victor started searching the rooms on the ground floor while the mysterious man and Shirley took care of the upstairs.

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The first opening was right in the middle of the right wall. It hadn't been there the day before, but again, Victor didn’t question it.

It consisted of a succession of several rooms, ending in a dead end. Unfortunately, besides a few shelves filled with books and some wooden chairs and tables, there was nothing.

Which meant: No valuable items.

They exited the opening as quickly as they had entered.

Only two doors remained to explore on the ground floor. The first one contained their first valuable item of the day.

Painting: x1 - value 91

They found it right next to one of the countless shelves. It was the same painting as the previous day.

'Can’t they paint something else? Forget it, Victor, and focus on your work!' he scolded himself, returning to the entrance hall.

He could hear something walking. It wasn’t the footsteps of one of their own or even a human. Before Victor could theorize about what he had heard, he saw the source.

It was a cube resembling a music box. A yellow circle pattern adorned the sides, while a purple square decorated the top.

Victor wouldn’t have had any problem if the music box hadn’t been almost fifty centimeters tall and hadn’t had two little white legs to move around. To top it off, there was a cute little crank on one side with a not-so-cute arm ready to turn it.

‘A Jester!’

Jester!

The two voices exclaimed at the same time, but one of them sounded much happier than the other.

‘Why do you seem happy at the thought of your host encountering problems?’

At least, host, we’re less likely to be bored in the next few minutes!

‘You’re quite the joker, system. Just wait until next time we meet.’

That’s unlikely to happen, but hope springs eternal, host!

Victor let it go for now. He put the painting down by the entrance before turning back to their visitor. He knew from the system's information that he wasn't in immediate danger but that they needed to leave quickly.

Olivia ran upstairs to alert the others while Victor started a staring contest with the Jester.

Well, the Jester didn’t have eyes.

So the atmosphere was rather strange.

Maybe it wanted to break the ice; in any case, the Jester approached Victor with tiny steps.

It stopped only a meter away from him.

‘Having a Jester as a pet must be nice,’ Victor thought, sitting on top of the music box. The comfort was mediocre, but at least he didn’t have to walk.

Victor imagined it already. The tranquility of the morning, the mild summer temperature, the greenery of a park, and a stroll alone with his Jester, riding on its back or eating an ice cream together on a bench. They could go surfing on the waves of the Pacific Ocean, watch a movie at the cinema, sharing popcorn from each other's box, or have fun recreating famous scenes from the greatest films.

Victor already saw himself with tears in his eyes, driving a black Dodge, stopped at a mountain road intersection, looking through the window at his friend and loyal companion, Jester, in a white Supra.

They would then race in their cars, each choosing their path. They would part forever in an emotional scene with sad music, exchanging their farewells.

“You will always be with me, Jester, and you will always be my brother.”

- Dan dan dan daaaaan, daaaaan dan dan da-da-da!

Victor snapped out of his daydream.

‘You weren’t supposed to answer in this scene, damn Jester!’ he grumbled.

Dan dan dan daaaaan, daaaaan dan dan da-da-da!

The Jester had started to wind its music box with its little arm. Meanwhile, Olivia had found the mysterious man and Shirley, and they were rushing down the stairs. The man had an empty bag in each hand, while Shirley was carrying what seemed to be a large axle with both hands.

Without wasting time, the group rushed towards the door. Victor left the noisy top of the Jester with a sigh. He gave it a gentle pat on the head before joining his companions. After a few seconds of waiting amidst the ominous music of the Jester, the door finally opened. The air outside was fresh, and the whole group didn’t hesitate to step through the door.

The mysterious man closed it behind them, and the figure of the Jester and its music gradually disappeared behind the thick armor.

“What do we do now?” Shirley asked the group.

She posed the question to everyone, but everyone knew Victor was the only one with the answer.

‘What do we do now, dear system?’ Victor asked his inner voice.

Wait, host! Once the Jester finishes winding its music box, it will reset. At that point, you can re-enter without any problem!

‘And how long does it take to wind its music box?’

15 minutes, host!

Victor finally responded to Shirley.

“Let’s wait 20 minutes, and we should be able to re-enter without any issues.”

The other three members of the group nodded in agreement.

They waited in silence for about 15 minutes before the mysterious man spoke.

“We found what seems to be the beginning of a maze of rooms upstairs. In 5 minutes, once we’re inside, Victor will handle the last door on the ground floor alone, as I have a feeling it will be a dead end. Olivia will help us explore the maze as much as possible in case the music box shows up again. Does everyone understand their role?”

The rest of the group nodded, and after 5 long minutes of waiting, they went back inside.

Victor was surprised to see an old friend standing in the middle of the entrance hall, ready to welcome them.

With its cute little white legs and its music box, Victor couldn’t say he had missed it.

“We need to be quick and efficient. Let’s go!”

The trio rushed upstairs while Victor headed to the last door on the ground floor. He might have felt alone without Olivia, but the Jester had kindly decided to accompany him.

Victor opened the door, and the Jester closed it behind him.

They entered a large room the size of the entrance hall.

‘And I have to search all this by myself,’ Victor grumbled as he started his search, the Jester patiently waiting by the door.

It was a large library with huge shelves filled with books at the center of the room. There was also a staircase leading to an upper level with another row of shelves.

Victor found neither objects nor new doors downstairs, and the upper level led to a dead end. He descended the stairs and found the Jester by the door. It hadn’t moved an inch since Victor had entered the room.

As Victor reached out to grab the door handle and open it, he ran into something.

Coincidentally, the Jester had wedged itself right under the handle, blocking any possibility of opening the door.

“What are you doing, my brother? You’re not Gandalf in The Lord of the Rings, so let me pass,” he said, trying to move it with all his strength.

As Victor’s muscles strained under the effort and he thought he saw the Jester move at least a few centimeters, the box didn’t budge an inch.

However, its cute little white arm started to move and began winding its music box.

Dan dan dan daaaaan, daaaaan dan dan da-da-da!