When Shaggy and Daphne emerged into the sunlight, it was clear that the illusion was in full effect—Daphne sighed as a warm, sea breeze lifted her hair—slightly warmer than the sea breeze that normally blew around Terror Tech. They appeared to be on a dock—with a port city sprawling around them.

"It's beautiful here!" Daphne gushed.

"Yeah, it is!" Shaggy mused. "Knowing Mr. V, I was half-expecting that he'd set us up in Transylvania or something…"

"I know he likes that aesthetic, but don't forget how misty-eyed he gets whenever he talks about the port cities he visited when he was our age," Daphne recalled. "I'll bet we're somewhere he once had an adventure at!"

"Yeah, I wonder where…" Shaggy said, pulling out his phone. "Well, thankfully, we have a nice, little GPS app to find that out…"

"Shaggy, I don't think that'll work…" Daphne began, but she shrugged and watched in amusement as a confused look crossed Shaggy's face.

"According to my phone's GPS, we're still in the Saronic Islands where Terror Tech is," he said.

"Yes, Shaggy, and if you think about it, you'll realize why," Daphne said, gently.

Shaggy stared at his phone screen for a few more moments before his eyes widened.

"Ohhhhhhhhh!" he exclaimed. "Because we didn't really go anywhere, this is all perception filters!"

"Exactly," Daphne said, and she paused as Shaggy's phone rang.

"It's him," Shaggy noted. He hit the speakerphone on. "Hey, Mr. V." He blinked as he realized something. "…You just saw that, huh?"

"Yes," Vincent replied, clearly amused. "Technology has its uses, but also its limitations."

"Yeah, I know…" Shaggy sighed, good-naturedly.

"So where exactly is this place supposed to be?" Daphne asked. "It's so vivid and beautiful."

"Well, that's the first part of your exam," Vincent said, his smirk audible even from just his voice. "I will tell you that this scenario is meant to take place just under halfway through the first century, but as for where it is, you two need to figure it out. After you do, I will tell you the exam's objective."

He ended the call, leaving Shaggy scratching his head.

"Great, how are we supposed to find out where we are?" he asked.

"By doing what we do best—finding out clues," Daphne replied. "Do you remember in high school, when we were annoyed that they didn't have games in the computer lab anymore, Velma found out about that Google Maps game?"

"Oh, yeah!" Shaggy recalled. "We'd have to get random coordinates in street view and then look around to try to figure out where we were!"

"It's the exact same thing here!" Daphne exclaimed. "Okay, so, first of all, did you notice that it's slightly warmer here than in the Saronic Islands?"

"Yeah, I guess we're a little bit lower latitude," Shaggy said. He headed down the docks with Daphne, looking at some of the fishermen selling their wares. "Hey, I think some of them are speaking Greek."

"And some of them are speaking Latin," Daphne added. "So, we're in a seaside port that was part of the Greek and Roman empire, that's somehow awfully close to that gigantic mountain…" She trailed off. "Shaggy, does that mountain look familiar to you?"

"I dunno, since living in the Himalayas, all mountains look the same to me," Shaggy said, though he rubbed his chin thoughtfully as he looked at it. "Although, come to think of it, that mountain does look familiar—right down to that big plume of steam rising from it."

"Right, so we just need to figure out where…" Daphne trailed off again as they both stared at the plume of steam. "…Shaggy… That's a volcano."

"Zoinks! And it's the biggest one I've ever seen!"

"And we know we've seen it before…" Daphne said. "Let's see, a gigantic volcano in an area where they spoke Greek and Latin, a bit south of the Saronic Islands…"

"You know what we need? An aerial view," Shaggy mused.

Daphne glanced at her staff.

"Well, we're here to show that we know what spells to cast when the occasion calls for it, right?" she asked. "Okay, I think I know what we can do here—we can cast Aeroga on ourselves to raise us into the air with the winds, and then I can cast Levitate on us."

"Right," Shaggy said, gripping his katana. "On three?"

"Yup. One… Two… Three!"

"Aeroga!"

Large wind gusts swirled around them, sending them up into the air—their combined spells sent them up several hundred feet high.

"Levitate!" Daphne called, raising her staff again.

She and Shaggy began to float in midair.

"Ohhh, it's cold up here!" Shaggy shivered.

"Okay, but look—look at how the shoreline curves!" Daphne exclaimed. "That's familiar, too!"

"And, like, so is that!" Shaggy added, pointing at a large cave near the foot of the mountain, in front of a maze of even more caverns. "I remember seeing that cave—in Mr. V's crystal ball when he was trying to find the Gorgons' masks!"

"That's right!" Daphne exclaimed. "There's a Cyclops in there with one of the masks!" She paused, recalling the adventure—it had been over a year ago, when so many things had been unsure… "Sicily—we're in Sicily!"

"So that means that the volcano is…"

"…Mt. Etna," Daphne finished.

Eagerly, she brought them gently to the ground and reached for her phone to call Vincent.

"We figured it out—"

"Yes, congratulations!" Vincent said, as the others applauded in the background. "That was record time—good work!"

"Like, I guess we're a dream team, huh?" Shaggy grinned.

"Yes, I should think so," Vincent said. "Now, then—the objective of your exam, as I promised… Did you see all of those caves at the base of the volcano?"

"Yeah, there's the Cyclops's cavern we went to," Daphne said. "And a whole bunch more behind it—I think some of them even go into the side of the mountain."

"They do; a lot of those caves are connected by underground tunnels, and some of those caverns are hidden from view—in the heart of the volcano itself," Vincent said. "There are all kinds of valuable and magical items hidden away in those caverns—but many dangers, as well, which is why most of those items are largely untouched."

Excitement welled up in Daphne's heart as she understood the meaning of what Vincent was trying to say.

"Are you telling me that our exam is a treasure hunt!?" she gushed.

"That's exactly it," Vincent replied, clearly smiling again. "I wanted your exam to be a positive experience—something I knew you would enjoy. Daphne, your thirst for adventure is no secret, and as for you, Shaggy, even though you hide it well, I know you can't resist a treasure hunt, either."

"Hey, well, treasure means money, and that means food!" Shaggy pointed out.

"Ah, but the object of your quest isn't money—it's something far more valuable than that, given its utility and history."

Vincent paused for a dramatic effect.

"Well!?" Daphne asked, excited.

"The Lyre of Apollo," Vincent said. "It is an enchanted lyre brimming with divine mana—special songs can perform as magic spells can, and it is said that those who hold the lyre can be granted the gift of prophecy from Apollo, the divine half-brother of Lady Pallas."

"Like, great—how do we get it?" Shaggy asked.

"Well, I can't tell you—you need to figure that out on your own!" Vincent laughed. "The lyre is somewhere in those caverns; but you need to get everything you need in order to make your way there—and figure out exactly what you'll need, too. And there is a time limit—I'm afraid we can't sit here indefinitely waiting for you to figure out how and where you're going to go about this. But I have no doubts that you'll be able to pull it off."

"How much time do we have?" Daphne asked.

"Six hours—but, knowing you, that should be plenty of time."

"We'll do our best, Vincent!" she promised.

"Yeah, we will!" Shaggy agreed.

"Very well, then," Vincent said. "As always, I am here in case of emergencies, but I believe you can do this without my help. I'll be giving you progress updates as you go along, as well."

He gave a quiet, but clearly proud, little sigh.

"Good luck, both of you," he said.

And the call ended, leaving the two of them with their quest.