Virtual Reality : Dystopian Tales Online

016.2 | The Treasure Trove

Adrian silently sat on the nearby sofa while trying to assess the situation. The mountain of treasures around the room signified the existence of a legendary creature. He had guessed the other floors below this one, at least two or three floors, contained the equivalent amount of treasure if not lesser.

If it wasn't convincing enough then the abnormal rise of temperature and loud snoring noises must be enough to showcase its existence. There are only few creatures in the game that rests on hot temperatures and much lesser for those who loved to collect treasures. There's only one character running in his mind.

It is a dragon.

There is a slumbering dragon on the top floor.

He is familiar with the treasure-loving creature since he himself is also a half-dragon in game. He has the subconscious desire of collecting goods especially the rare and expensive ones. He also has the passive skill of [Collecting Treasures] that increases his skill stats as his wealth increases. No wonder he maintains the top place of being the wealthiest game character.

Now that he had identified the existence of his kin then the next step is to know if the dragon is gentle. Dragons typically never live in groups and preferred to go alone in the wild. However, ancienter dragons who were spending the last centuries of their lives tend to stay in breeding places to regard the liveliness of the growing cubs.

The other players did not dare to roam around afraid of waking the dragon up. Dragons are territorial and hate it when other creatures touch their stuff. They consider the reason of keeping it on close areas within their reach since they are greedy and hysterical of people looting it.

Aries and Leon walked around a bit to inspect the area. The piles of gold, jewelries, and diamonds are really blinding that are constantly flickering under the presence of light. They have the feeling that they will become blind if they will look longer. After scouring half the area, they returned to where Adrian is sitting and reported the things they saw.

"I'd never seen enough gold in my life," Aries parted his thoughts. "Money is indeed blinding."

"Aside from gold, what did you see?" Adrian asked.

"Like to guess?" Aries nodded teasingly. "Gold."

The useless information did not give them any leads. Adrian excluded the trickster and inquired Leon about his thoughts. Leon, as the ever excellent member of their group, reported his sightings flawlessly. Adrian sighed in relief and conveyed Aries a sneer.

"Don't you love your position more? I can see someone who is a better candidate than you," Adrian said in a matter of fact.

"What do you want me to say?" Aries is aggrieved. He looked around one more time and added, "You want me to say that the treasure this dragon has been relatively equal to our guild's treasury? You want me to steal them?"

"Do you think you can?" Aries contested.

"You think I won't?"

While they are bickering, the other guild leaders explored to the other side of the floor. Alexander and Damian carefully avoided treasures while examining the exterior of the place. They had seen from outside that only the lower portion of the building retained its former appearance. The area from the third floor and up has been shrouded with the trunk of the tree.

"Obviously, it's a tree outside. But within, it is still made of marble," Alexander commented.

"Didn't that elf guy said that it will take at least 3 days for the integration to happen? Seem like once the countdown is down, the foundations of this building will change to another matter," Damian said.

On their exploration, they had seen the stairs going upstairs. They did not dare to ascend in fear of waking up the dragon. They would have no ways to appease it if they accidentally woke it up or ways to withstand it. All of them are ordinary humans and undoubtedly the soldiers around them won't allow them borrow their weapons.

After all, who would believe them, if they could not see it?

They continued walking until they went in full circle. Frass and the marshal are still talking while Xavier is still inside the restroom. The other armed personnel wasn't that strict and just stood in front of the elevator. It is quiet and peaceful for the normal people but hot and noisy amongst the players.

Jase is following the twins around looking over the treasure chests without touching them. Marcus is silent while Marlene would hum a song or comment some stuff. They remained nearby Adrian where he could see them. If they go any further, Adrian will call them and prompt them to not go far.

Aries has always been intrigued by Adrian's actions of controlling over the twins. It's not that they're so young to be reprimanded. Adrian is just took over in controlling them. It went to the point where he has to be around when the twins go out to play.

It might be less in game since they are always together but this is the real life.

"Just let them ba," Aries commented. "Let them explore around. Don't be so guarded."

Adrian did not expect for Aries to correct him. It made him flinch then slowly look away from the twins to confront Aries ,"Did I go overboard?"

Aries clicked his tongue. "Stop it. They can think by themselves. You're not even their parents, why are you so hung up?"

He had been together with Adrian for ten years, at least in the game. He had captured some of his traits and attitude and, well, not all of them are good. There are not many things he know about Adrian's history but at least he could tell his habits. He had even determined it during the small fight earlier.

In summary, he could tell, Adrian is absolutely a cold person.

No, he wasn't the type that acts all frosty and stern like Frass. In fact, Frass is considerably better. Frass shows his dislike and gets angry often but his emotions are raw and genuine. Aries would frequently act coyly around Frass, but he respected him very much in his heart. He never dared to disobey Frass when it comes to handling serious matters since he knows Frass trusted him.

On the other hand, Adrian is very pretentious. He smiles and talks like any ordinary person - even will joke if necessary. But Aries could tell those are just him trying to cooperate. He is trying to act like a normal person.

If you ask Aries what is his sincere thoughts about Adrian, he will honestly reply - Adrian is very overbearing, selfish, and contradicting. Yet, despite all these traits, he never dared to let him go.

After all, Aries also has his own negative traits.

One thing he did not quite grasp, however, is Adrian's treatment towards Xavier. His paranoia made him a good observant so he noticed the little to no interaction between them. Thinking about it, there is also few interactions between the players in the game and it is always Xavier that initiates it.

Speaking of the devil, Xavier came out from the restroom. He greeted to the marshal and apologized for his sudden actions. It seems like he had eaten much this morning making his stomach act like that. The marshal wasn't really offended and advised the youth to not consume the food he is allergic with.

"Then shall we go up?" Marshal Philippe asked while pointing up.

They all looked at Adrian to which the person nodded. They did not ride the elevator but alternatively used the stairs Damian, and Alexander saw. The stairs wasn't long, only one turn and they could reach the top. Both side of the building have similar stairs meant for emergencies.

It appeared dull and frigid with inaudible sounds of steps echoing in a wide space. Adrian lowered his eyes, watching the specks of light floating from above. The railings of the stairs have been filled with vines curling accompanies but glowing flowers. The slight breeze made it sway lightly letting out some fragrance.

Frass stood in front of Adrian. Aries walked beside him, and asked in a low voice, "What made you decide to climb up? Are you not afraid of the dragon waking up?"

Adrian swayed his head. "I thought about it. This is the only time for us to enter safely."

"Why?" Aries could not understand.

"Have you ever wondered why when Damian and Alexander are playing that game, everyone could see the creature playing them?" Adrian pointed out. "Yet, such a large tree that could be seen even from the moon is invisible to the people. Did you understand?"

Aries tried to understand it. What made the two-faced creature and the magical tree different? Aren't they both transported from the game world?

"Leon said the integration of the worlds would take at least three days. It means that even though the integration is not complete, there are areas that are already consuming the space. The ones in their school are an example. It had become a game area thus anything appear there will be visible."

"Wait a minute," Aries halted him. "Are you saying this place too will become a game area?"

"That's a possibility."

"If that's the case then the dragon will not wake up since the trigger is not here yet," Aries nodded in understanding. "Since there is no trigger yet, we can safely roam around. What if it that is not the case?"

"Then, wish that it is the case ba," Adrian suggested. "Don't try testing your crow's beak."

They reached the top of the stairs. If the floors below are occupied with blinding treasures, this area had entirely become gold. The pile of treasures had reached the ceiling, some even created walls. They are now reflecting on how the floor retained this kind of material while the outside is wood.

It's really unscientific.

The top floor of the building is just a room with floor to window glasses. There are only glass partitions covered with blinds and cabinets with sets of tables and chairs scattered around decorated with ornamental plants adding color to the bleak design. It follows a minimalist design while still giving a pleasant and professional atmosphere.

That is the image it should contain but now it had been transformed into a fantasy setting of a dragon's lair. The floors had changed to polished marbles with distinct crystals implanted on it. The walls had become a mix of wood and interstellar cement with vines thriving in between the cracks. One area barely lost its wall showcasing the cold wind brewing in the sky.

A large amphibian looking creature is curled unto the outer corner closer to the walls to ceiling windows. It had its head exposed in the front while having both its limbs and tail tucked. It is snoring loudly while puffing out warm air. The dragon is blanketed with gold and silver.

Indeed, living a life of luxury.

Everyone started moving around. Adrian had already notified them about the plan earlier. The existence of the dragon altered some parts of the plan, but it didn't hinder them to adapt. Fortunately, the dragon only occupied the desolate area so they could pretty much collect information without getting closer to it.

The top floor is owned by Tristan but ever since the time he got missing, the room becomes empty. There are still people going up to look in things but most of them are his secretaries and some trusted scientists. Despite the vacant area, it is tightly guarded with cameras installed facing in every angle.

The most important files are placed on the archive on the top floor. It is barred with three securities with two of them have the recognition-coded set-up. Only a family member could enter the archive.

"Then how were the other scientist placed the stuff inside if they could not open it?" Shin asked.

"They only have to deposit the material inside a vault and the AI inside will rearrange it for them," Xavier answered. He pointed at the small vault outside the room that can be opened directly.

The area is restricted to other people so only the Xavier, Frass, and Adrian walked forward. The first lock is a ten digit passwords. Frass unlocked it by pressing the keys. The next two locks is an eye recognition test and thumb prints.

Adrian got ahead and faced the scanner that instantly recognized his DNA. It followed by marking the thumb print scan which also showed an affirmative result. The door of the archive opened after more than a decade of being locked.

The trio expected the room to be disorganized or at least have some dust due to being abandoned for so long. However, the moment Adrian stepped in, he is extremely surprised. It caused him to take a step back while supporting himself with the wall. Frass noticed the abnormality and quickly pulled Adrian in his embrace.

"What's wrong? Does your head hurt? What is in th-"

Frass wasn't able t continue talking. Like Adrian, he also stared at the individual inside the room. The individual seems to be lax, sitting in an old model of an office chair while reading a book. It is focused on what it is reading it only looked up after hearing the gasp on the door.

Three people with matching hair color and irises looked at each other.

A mellow and gentle voice asked, "Hi, how are you?"

It is Tristan - the individual inside the room is Tristan Foster.