“Show bookstores or library In Macon street...”

  I got two hits, both on Macon Steet. One is a bookstore and the other a public library. They are a block apart so if the one is bust, it would be easy to just go to the other. My instincts said it would be the library.

  This was my last shard, so the end was in sight, thankfully. It was not very late yet, just after noon, but I would like to get this done today.

  The library appeared before me, and I stopped in my tracks.

  It was beautiful — the kind of old building I’d always liked but never appreciated enough before the System. Solid brick, carved stonework, tall windows that looked like they belonged in another century. The MACON BRANCH engraving over the entrance made it feel stately, almost proud.

  “Damn,” I murmured. “I really should’ve visited places like this before everything changed.”

  Old buildings had a presence — a weight of history, of stories. And this one honestly looked amazing, even with the street empty and silent. It was like it was waiting for someone to come inside and wake it up.

  I had a good feeling that this is the location I needed to be at. I entered the open door and was not surprised to see the glass case and the last shard.

  Of course there was a blue screen as well

  In front of the glass case were five shallow outlines, each the size and shape of a book.

  “Okay, from the top,” I muttered.

  The wizard one was obvious. Wizards, bold and bright — that had to be Harry Potter.

  One paints a world of green eggs’ delight.

  “Green Eggs and Ham,” I said under my breath. Easy.

  One tells a tale of a giving tree.

  That line was doing all the work for me: The Giving Tree.

  Another roams where wild things be.

  I didn’t even have to think about that one. Where the Wild Things Are.

  That left the last: The last shows kids how mysteries go— / A clever sleuth with clues in tow.

  “Kids’ mysteries…” I frowned. “Nancy Drew or the Hardy Boys. Both fit. Let’s go with that.”

  I sighed. “Children’s section it is.”

  I headed toward the shelves, hunting down each title one by one. Once I had all five stacked in my arms, I carried them back to the display and started matching them to the outlines in front of the case — wizard to wizard, tree to tree, monster to monster.

  The moment the last book thumped into place, the outlines glowed softly. Light bled up into the glass case, and with a faint chime, the lock dissolved.

  Another shard dropped neatly into my hand.

  Now all that remained was to take the shards up to the rooftop garden, and this quest would finally be over.

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  Well… this part of the quest, anyway.

  One step at a time.

  I stepped outside and took out all four shards. The moment they were all together under the sun, they began to glow — each color brightening until the hues twisted into a single spiralling band of light.

  The strands drifted forward, slipped through the doorway, and stretched out into the open air like a beckoning trail.

  “I guess… I have to follow that,” I muttered.

  And so, I did.

  The trail of light led me on a winding chase through quiet streets until it stopped in front of a beautiful, broad brownstone. It wasn’t one of the narrow single-family ones — this place was wider, easily big enough to hold two, maybe four apartments stacked inside.

  Its brick fa?ade rose three stories, stoop intact, tall windows framed in dark trim. A metal fire escape zig-zagged down one side, and the roofline hinted at what must’ve once been a rooftop garden. I could almost picture it: planters overflowing, vines hanging over the railing, a few scattered chairs.

  Before the System took over, anyway.

  Now, if anything was still up there, it would only be empty pots baked dry under perfect System sunshine.

  Still… this was definitely the place.

  I followed the lights inside, up dark - it would have been dark stairs if not for the band of light – stairs. A door at the top gave me roof access and in the middle was a small glass dome with a luminous watering can inside. Around the can there was places for the shards.

  Okay then…

  I placed the shards into the recessed slots and stepped back.

  It didn’t take long.

  The shards began to break apart — not crumbling like normal objects, but dissolving into drifting specks of light. Tiny motes rushed toward the watering can, drawn to it like iron filings to a magnet. With each mote absorbed, the metal glowed brighter, the form sharpening, gaining weight and presence.

  It was becoming… more.

  More vibrant, more alive, as if mana and vitality were flooding into it — filling the empty shell with purpose, with life of its own.

  I waited until the last of the shards dissolved before picking up the can. The glass dome simply… vanished, fading like mist. A second later, the watering can popped out of existence as well — and if the seed hadn’t done the exact same thing before, I probably would’ve panicked.

  I opened my Inventory, and there it was. The watering can had appeared instantly, though its icon looked a little… funky.

  It was only mid-afternoon — not late at all — but I decided to head home first. I wasn’t sure how long the System’s “kobold truce” would last, and I didn’t want to test it by wandering around for no reason.

  A System message popped up on the way, but I swiped it aside. Food and water packages, my reward for spending the day doing the System a favour — namely, the quest.

  Back in my apartment, I called Claire.

  “Hi! How did it go?” she asked immediately.

  “Great. The System had me running all over Bed-Stuy chasing clues, but I got my watering can in the end.” I smirked, even though she couldn’t see me.

  “Congratulations! And I… levelled up.”

  “Congratulations to you too,” I said warmly. “And I’m sure you’ll get the second part of your quest by tomorrow morning.”

  We spoke for a while and planned on meeting the next day. I had a shower, some food and a very good movie waiting for me.