And so, Haunting gave me a quick run-down of the last 300 years of life on this planet, Earth. Some 300 years ago, what really sounded like a nuclear war occurred. This was called the "Great Disaster."

Populations were wiped away, continents sunk, and others rose--don't ask me how a nuke was able to do that. There must have been other disasters happening.

There were some cities that survived, along with rural communities, but the second disaster came shortly after--the Plague Cloud. From what I understood, the Plague Cloud was a giant swarm of mutated insects. This plague cloud ravaged rural communities and forced people into the cities. The Plague Clouds, as a whole, were ravenous, but for whatever reason, the clouds didn't ever enter the cities. Haunting, and others, believed it was because the Plague Cloud didn't like the lights of the cities and all the noise humans made.

The Plague Cloud was what shaped the development of society the most. Traveling between cities was dangerous for the first century, and the people who took on those jobs--road builders, truckers, and maintenance personnel were now regarded as both insane and heroes. Over time, though, the Plague Clouds dwindled in size and were not as active. The current era is one where people can more easily travel out of the cities, such that a bus of people can travel into the woods with little fear of running into the Plague Cloud as long as they keep an eye on their weather reports.

Interestingly, Haunting noted that 40% of people have never traveled out of their cities.

"Huh... what a precarious setting... Is this what my world's future looks like?"

"Without magic, of course," Haunting added.

I nodded while mulling over whether I should tell Haunting that I was transferred from a parallel Earth to a fantasy world and then here. I decided against it. Too much work for the moment.

"Yeah, though you could say magic would probably make humanity-threatening events worse..."

"Hey, Mari, I was meaning to ask this--was the necklace you got magical?" Haunting asked with curious eyes.

"Well... it had an aura to it--"

"I knew it!" Haunting yelled, her eyes blazing. "I knew it was best to leave it to you! So what does it do?"

"Hold on, why do you think it 'does' something?"

She tilted her head. "Well, because it's an ancient artifact, isn't it?"

"You know that for a fact?"

"No, but wouldn't it be something like that? You beat an ancient evil, and you got rewarded with an object of power. That's how it works in books."

"Hmm..."

"I bet it has some kind of function that will help us in this village!" Haunting simmered down and twisted her lips. "Did you not try activating it?"

"It honestly didn't occur to me... I was a little too preoccupied."

"Oh... Well, you should try putting it on! If I'm right, it should activate!"

"You're really excited about this..."

"Of course I am! A magical person is about to use magic powers! Who wouldn't be excited?!"

"Okay..." I chuckled and relented. "What a funny girl you are." I pulled the necklace out and hung it around my neck.

"Do you feel anything? You look pretty wicked," she swooned. "You wear everything so well, Mari."

"Okay, okay. Settle down there. And no. I'm not feeling anything," I said, lifting that creepy eye up in front of me. "Hmm... an eye..." I brought it up to my eye and looked straight into it.

"Aww, that's too bad," Haunting said. "I was really hoping--"

"Hold on. It's working."

The highest squeal of all reached my ears, and I could feel Haunting repeatedly tapping my knees.

"What's it doing? Can you see through walls? Oh! Are you looking into another dimension... No, no, no! Can you see dead people?!" Her tone became serious. "You can see dead people, can't you?"

"No... I see words and numbers above your head."

Haunting's eyes went wide as she gasped. "Mari, can you see when I'm going to die?! Is it coming soon? Mari!" she cried, latching onto my legs. "I don't want to die without at least kissing you--"

"It's not that," I said incredibly flatly.

Haunting peeled her face from my legs and looked up at me, teary-eyed.

"Investigation:3, Acrobatics:4. That's what's floating above your head."

Her ears twitched as she furrowed her brows.

"Does that make any sense to you?"

She nodded. "It does," she said, her voice soft. "It's like a game."

"I'm glad we're thinking along similar lines... So, am I in a horror game world?"

"There's these tabletop investigation games I play with friends. The investigators have different stats like Investigation! And those numbers make sense! If I was to turn myself into a game piece, I'd give myself Investigation and Acrobatics!" Her face turned smug. "And Presenting. But I realize that doesn't really work here... I'd also have a special talent for sniffing out paranormal elements--"

"Haunting."

"I'm not distracted! I'm saying I get it! My Investigation is good because I do it all the time, and my acrobatics is good because I was in gymnastics until I was 20! And I still practice." She turned smug again. "You never know when a psycho-axe chopper will be chasing you through an abandoned mental asylum. Being able to leap over abandoned furniture will save the daring investigator."

I stared at her. I wasn't able to mask my bewilderment. "I... suppose I respect that you are prepared for such a scenario."

"A paranormal investigator must always be ready for anything."

"Right."

"Including psychos."

"Yeah, I got that."

"Hey, Mari!" Haunting said, all excited and leaning forward again. "What does it say about you?"

I chuckled. "Good question." I looked over to the mirror but frowned quickly. "Aww... it doesn't say anything about me." I sighed, unsure of how to feel. "Well, at least I now know I can check what people are good at. Maybe there will be challenges where selecting the right people for the task will be best."

"Hmm... Hey, Mari," Haunting said, cocking her head and looking at the table in the room. "Was that always there?"

I looked over and saw a folded black card just sitting on the table.

"That wasn't there," I said. "That wasn't there when we came in the first time... I studied the room before we went to Ryza's."

"Did you check after we came back?"

"No... I was a little too focused on questioning you."

"Yeah... I wasn't paying attention, either. I was too focused on your figur--I mean, focused on not tripping over myself."

I accepted the compliment she tried to downplay and got up from the bed. Haunting was already on her feet and investigating the letter.

"There's nothing on here... It's blank."

"Are you sure it's blank, or is it that you can't see what's written?"

Haunting's eyes widened. Then she yelped and dropped the card onto the table. "You mean that's it? The Personal Goal stuff?"

"It must be..." I said, picking up the card but not opening it. "It must have appeared here after I dropped my coat here and went to Ryza's."

"So after you made this room 'yours,' huh... Hold on. Doesn't that mean--"

"There might be one in your room too."

Haunting and I briskly walked out of my room and opened the door to hers, ignoring the light chatter in the hallway.

Haunting was quick. "Mari, it's there!" And she snatched the card from her bed within seconds of seeing it. Then she turned on her heels, wearing that excited but scared face of hers. "Should I open it?"

I grimaced. "Honestly, I'm not sure... I'm better equipped to handle any challenge so..."

"You want to open yours?"

"I'll check mine and get a sense of how terrible these things can be. Don't worry about opening your own right now."

Haunting nodded. "Okay, yeah, that makes sense--"

Ryza's call echoed down the hallway.

"Mari! Haunting! One of the villagers came to greet us!"

"We're in my room!" Haunting called back. Then she focused on me again. "Mari?"

"Yeah. I'll open it right now," I said after a quick breath. I opened it and was immediately surprised. The surprise then subsided, leaving nothing but irritation.

"These are Mari and Haunting?" said an unfamiliar voice.

"Hey girls, this is Beverly," Ryza followed. "She couldn't meet us earlier because she had tasks to do, but she's here now to introduce herself."

"Oh... hi," Haunting said.

I looked over my shoulder, and my irritation reached levels only the goddess could provoke.

"Hello there, Mari and Haunting. It's so nice to meet you," said the woman covered in an aura of Vengeance so thick I could make out none of her features.

I turned my gaze to my card again and cursed every bastard in existence.

***

[Restraint Goal]

Do not kill fellow humans,

or 

knowingly cause fellow humans to be killed by nonhumans.

Duration: 1 Week (168 hours)

Reward: Welcome Home Basket

Penalty: Youlsha of the Strands will be introduced.

***

May all the bastards that get in the way of my removing nefarious elements burn, dammit.