For years, Thalia had been ignored by her father.
The great being known as Player Audacity.
Her goal to reconnect with him was something she always strived for, using the vague clues he left her to do her best.
Eventually, it had led her back to his gaze.
So how did they go from vague messages to this?
Hey!
While you're in the area, I was told about a book that should contain some important info in those ruins. Go grab it.
It's near the leftmost side and toward the back, two or so blocks into the ruin.
You'll see a collapsed storefront made out of stone and the skeletal remains of three people.
You'll know you're at the correct building if you see a yellow flower growing out of the rubble at an awkward, nearly horizontal angle.
Also, that type of flower is edible if you're hungry.
And before you jump to conclusions, that is just a normal edible flower that will not grant you any benefits and will taste like any other type of edible flower.
Nevertheless, dig up the rubble.
The book is there with the blank, black leather binding.
As Thalia made her way down the road, Selene and Liora followed behind at a distance.
Part of Thalia felt bad for tricking them into following.
Another part of her knew this was the right path, no matter how it felt.
"Holy crap!" Liora said, her tangent getting more and more sporadic as they walked. "So they used temperature runes to cause rapid condensation, combined with wind runes to gather droplets from the spray and make it even more efficient."
She leaned toward a ruined piece of old magitech.
"How is it powered? Did they have someone charge it every day?"
Even the other visitors looking at the old magitech left in the ruins gave Liora a wide berth.
Selene was walking with Thalia, though it would be more accurate to say she was projecting herself along the wall.
"So if they had a battlement there, and a tar pot there," Selene mumbled, "did they have any spelltech cannons or salamander powder weapons? Were those around at the time? If not, were they stationed with ballistas?"
Her mumbling was constant.
In a way, it was like the sound of the A.T.V. when they were driving.
Except more distracting, because Thalia could understand the words.
Part of her wanted to turn around and snap.
Instead, she held her tongue, focusing on following the lead her father had given her as she continued down the road.
The buildings were collapsed ruins.
Already-turned stones greeted most who walked down the old street.
As Thalia counted the buildings, she arrived at a somewhat intact structure.
At least the front of it was still there.
While the skeletal remains were gone, probably buried when the ruins became a tourist spot, the miasma they had leaked was still feelable as Thalia stepped over the rubble of the doorway and into the interior.
Sure enough, a yellow flower grew almost sideways from a small dirt mound nearby.
Thalia let her strings uncurl and began wrapping them around what looked to be the sturdier parts of the ceiling.
She lifted and moved the stones as she began her search.
Progress was slow at first.
Then Selene became interested and, much to Thalia's slight annoyance, began easily picking up and moving aside the rocks Thalia had been struggling with.
To Selene's credit, she had thirty-four Strength.
That made her about three times stronger than most people.
So while hundred-pound rocks were not easy for Thalia, Selene was tossing them aside like she was using a tool.
"I-Is this the book you were looking for?" Selene called.
She turned and held out a black leather-bound book.
Thalia helped her out of the small pit she had dug herself into, then shook what dirt and dust she could from the book.
She had partially been expecting something a bit grander.
But this looked like a fancy pocket journal.
Though it could also be true that a chunk of the book had been cut off in the rubble.
"Yes," Thalia said. "I heard rumors some shops had things left over, and I felt something weird."
The lie rolled off her tongue easily.
Before Selene could start to question it, Thalia opened the small booklet and began to read its contents aloud.
Logbook of Project J71
Codename: Pilgrim 1
By Dr. Einwright
Thalia was about to turn the page.
Selene lunged, placing her palm over the pages.
A twinge of annoyance shot through Thalia.
"Selene, move. I'm trying to re—"
Thalia paused as her eyes met Selene's gaze.
Alarm went through her.
Selene's face was pale as bone.
Cold sweat ran down her body, and her entire body seemed to be shivering from both fear and what looked like an overload of adrenaline.
"T-T-Thalia," Selene said, her voice trembling badly, "please, f-for the l-love of all things holy, p-p-put that b-book down."
Selene's stutter was common.
Thalia had never heard it this bad before.
Combined with her strange behavior, it made Thalia pause.
A small argument began inside her.
Listen to her father.
Or accept the terrified, earnest plea of her friend.
"So this is where you all wen—"
Liora rounded the doorway and walked inside.
Then she stopped.
"Hey, Selene, you don't look so good."
Her eyes moved to Thalia.
"Thalia? What happened?"
"I-I don't know," Thalia said. "We found this journal I sensed in the rubble by a Dr. Einwright, and—"
"Burn it."
Thalia's eyes turned toward Liora with alarm.
Liora was staring at the book in Thalia's hands like it was a rabid rat waiting to escape and bite people to spread its disease.
"I don't understand," Thalia said, hugging it to her chest. "It's just a book."
A small panic loomed in her chest.
The fear of failing the one and only mission her father had given her with a complete set of instructions.
"No," Liora said. "It's a book by Dr. Einwright. We were warned once already. I doubt it will just be a warning if we look into him again."
"It's a research journal," Thalia argued. "All it talks about is an old experiment run by a scientist."
She flipped to the next page and began to read.
Day 91
They told me to recreate that thing.
They cannot even give me a name because "they would have to kill me."
I know I am damn good at what I do, but there is a point where the requests simply border on ludicrous.
Nevertheless, I need to at least try.
Luckily, I have been given assistance by Sir Rogthar, and while his methods are... unorthodox, he is apparently a predominant figure in the golomancy field, which should be able to give insights into the designs of organ placements and such.
Regardless, I have my apprehensions.
They basically want me to isolate the authority of death into a living being.
Such a contradiction is laughable.
It would make more sense in an item, like a scythe.
Or maybe in a set of shears or something.
Above the page, Thalia could see Liora and Selene diving toward her, trying to stop her.
But as Thalia's eyes drifted over the last sentence, a system notification appeared.
You should have listened to your friends, after all.
Some information is dangerous, you know.
You have been targeted by Knowledge Hunter: Azurite Chimera (A).
Audacity has intervened.
Hey, Red.
It's not as entertaining for any of us to just send an A-rank Knowledge Hunter to slaughter them.
However, maybe send one more fitting of her capabilities to punish her for audacity and revel in their struggle.
—Audacity
You are no longer being targeted by Knowledge Hunter: Azurite Chimera (A).
You have been targeted by Knowledge Hunter: Hand Horse (C).