"That damn Chen Mu is at the top of the class again. That monster!" cried Zuo Xiaobai, a classmate who sat behind Chen Mu in class. "
"Has there ever been a time when he isn't number one in class? What's the point of complaining about it?" his deskmate said, advising him to let it go and get used to it.
In truth, Chen Mu had not always been at the top of his class. Instead, he used to be a flirt in the past. Other than being super talented in Mathematics, he was merely slightly better than average in all his other subjects.
When he was in junior high, he used to pull tall tales and bullsh*t his way through everything. However, as his family began to face poverty because of his father's condition, Chen Mu started looking around for ways to earn money.
That was when someone had told him that if he managed to become one of the top students in the Senior High School Entrance Examination in the city, he would be awarded scholarships by various senior high schools. Hence, after Chen Mu had considered the idea for a while, he thought to himself, 'That might work.'
Then, without any further hesitation, he began his torturous path of studying—he rigged a cloth around his neck to choke him whenever he dozed off; he jabbed his thigh with a needle whenever he felt sleepy. Like that, he studied until two in the morning every day. He had an aptitude for natural sciences subjects, and he obtained countless trophies by becoming the champion in many Mathematical Olympiads from a young age. As for social sciences subjects such as languages, politics, and history, he spent time and forced himself to memorize them.
Then, he would pay his sleep debt during his mathematics class the next day. With that, he fought his way to rank third in his city's Senior High School Entrance Examination.
Right after, he was flooded by offers from various senior high schools. Initially, Chen Mu wanted to enroll in a school that had a terrible reputation because the school offered him fifty thousand yuan.
However, his old pops and ma disagreed. Hence, Chen Mu could only pick the key school that offered him the most money. He used the twenty thousand incentive to help his family through their hard times.
For the sake of money, Chen Mu studied hard for more than three years. Now that he was in Year 3 senior, he only had to study his way to the province's top ten in his upcoming National College Entrance Examination. With that, Chen Mu would achieve his goals and obtain another eighty thousand or one hundred thousand yuan. The education standards in Chuzhou City, the city Chen Mu lived in, were not that high. Every year, only one or two students would qualify for Hua Tsing and Royal Capital. There were only about fifty people in the whole province that could be considered qualified to challenge the two universities.
Everyone had great hopes in Chen Mu, the consistent ranked one student in Chuzhou No.10 High School. He was so close to reaping all that he had sowed. However, a cursed System had suddenly appeared out of nowhere and wanted him to play League of Legends. Was it not akin to sending the grand councilor to the battlefield?
It was beyond his field of expertise. Hence, Chen Mu felt depressed. With his wonderful talents, how unlucky was he to have not been approached by a science-related system but a gaming system?
"Dear Host, please enjoy your benefits—newbie's lottery," the System sounded.
"I accept." Nevertheless, in exchange, Chen Mu's father's sickness could be cured once Chen Mu completed his mission. It was a fair exchange.
A huge roulette appeared before Chen Mu's eyes and started spinning. Question marks filled the circles of the roulette except for a single circle that read, "Thank you for participating". No one in the world would have been able to guess what he could draw from it.
Thankfully, the pointer did not stop at the words, "Thank you for participating". Instead, it stopped at a blue question mark.
"Congratulations, Host! You have just obtained a one-minute Unkillable Demon King experience trial card!"
"What's that?" Chen Mu asked.
"You're very lucky. You have just obtained a one-minute Unkillable Demon King experience trial card. Upon activation, you will have access to the last host's maxed-out functionalities for one minute," explained the System.
"Oh, it sounds cool because I don't understand how it works." Chen Mu had never played games in such a manner before. Thus, he was clueless about what "one-minute Unkillable Demon King maxed functionalities" meant. Nevertheless, it sounded pretty cool to him.
"The host may choose to activate it when needed. Missions will be formulated based on the host's lifestyle. The host will obtain corresponding points after each mission is completed. Failing to complete a mission will result in the deduction of points. Once the host's points have been deducted to a negative value, the mission as a whole will be considered a failure. Then, the System will automatically leave the host's body and you will fall into a coma," said the System.
"Oh, alright." Chen Mu was quick to accept his fate. For example, he had embraced the fact that he was good-looking, and he often received love letters from girls. He usually replied to the letters within the ten minutes in between classes.
Unfortunately, Chen Mu was the embodiment of the proverb, "still waters run deep". No girl had ever been able to find out what was beneath his high achiever appearance and because of that, he remained single.
"Chen Mu, someone's here for you!" shouted a girl with a ponytail near the door.
Chen Mu walked toward the door and saw a long-legged girl dressed in a school uniform. She was pleasant to look at, and she was standing shyly at the door. Upon seeing Chen Mu, she threw a pink envelope at him and ran away with rosy cheeks.
The letter was a reply, and Chen Mu had met the girl before. She was Huang Lingshan, the prettiest girl from Senior (10) that was next door. Her results always ranked top three in her class. In addition to that, whenever she tied her hair up in her usual ponytail, she looked unbearably cute. She was considered a goddess to many people.
Chen Mu thought, 'What a pity that there's no one in school who truly understands me.'
In truth, he had always craved the fact of having a girlfriend. Sadly, however, Chen Mu was not attracted to most of the girls.
After reading her reply, tears almost began to fall from eyes. Finally! After waiting for so many years, he had finally found someone who was suitable for him. Moreover, she was a beautiful high-achiever, and she had a sweet voice. They were definitely a match made in heaven!
Chen Mu was ready to invite her out on a date and talk about their lives and dreams.
"System reminder: The host must remain single until the mission is accomplished. Otherwise, the mission will be considered a failure." The System was indeed observant.
Chen Mu nearly broke into tears. After three years, he had finally found someone he was interested in. However, why did he have to be so unlucky to have gotten tangled up with such a System?
"Then, what should I do?" asked Chen Mu.
"System's first mission: Reject Huang Lingshan. A League Challenger should focus on the game! Boy-girl relationships are barred!" said the System.
"???" Chen Mu said nothing, but his face carried an expression full of confusion. 'Kill me already. She's someone who's supposed to be my girlfriend.'
"Completing this mission will grant the host a hundred points. Failure to do so will result in the deduction of a hundred points. The host's starting points are a hundred. The host can choose to reject this mission by deducting the corresponding amount of points."
Chen Mu mulled over it. It would cost him a hundred points to reject the mission! If he turned it down, he would not be allowed to make any mistakes from then on. In other words, his fault tolerance rate would be zero. Nobody knew what kind of missions he would get in the future. Thus, he could not afford to turn the mission down.
"Damn you!" Chen Mu exclaimed.
"The host is not allowed to curse at the System," the System responded.
"Fine! At least you can differentiate my tone of voice! What a wonderful system. I'll go complete my mission now." Chen Mu gave the System a thumbs-up.
Chen Mu wrote another letter in reply, inviting Huang Lingshan to meet up at night after school. His language was ornate and grand; his tone was sincere. He utilized everything he had learned throughout the years of his suffering to its fullest.
Similar to how a famous poem line went, "With education comes women." If it were not for the System's existence, Chen Mu would be an alive and kicking example of the statement.
Having the ability to discard all unnecessary thoughts to study hard, Chen Mu entered a godlike state whenever his classes started. He was in Year 3 Senior, and it was a stressful year. Being in a key high school, his class started discussing potential questions that would come out in the National College Entrance Examination the moment school reopened. Chen Mu wanted to remain at the top in his year, and it was not an easy feat to achieve.
At half-past nine in the evening, Huang Lingshan waited for Chen Mu under the parasol tree in the middle of the school field. Huang Lingshan was seen pacing back and forth as her heart pounded in her chest.
On the other hand, Chen Mu thought about how perfect of a match the beautiful lady in front of him was to him. 'So pretty!'
Unfortunately, what a pity it was. Chen Mu walked forward and greeted the beautiful girl under the tree.
That day, after school had ended, the both of them left ten minutes later than everyone else; they only came out when there were not so many people left in school. This was because love letters were taboo in Year 3 Senior. Nevertheless, many yearned for the same rebellious sensation.
It would always be unexplainable; unclarifiable.
Huang Lingshan blushed as she nodded at him. Chen Mu thought she was beautiful. She was a student and the prettiest in her class at that. Her beauty was remarkable even without makeup. 'Yet, you want me to reject her. Isn't this like making a man who has starved for three days throw away roast meat that is right at his lips?'
Huang Lingshan was about to get closer to Chen Mu with the intention of walking home together with him when Chen Mu extended his hand and said, "Lingshan, I'm sorry. I think we aren't meant for each other."
"Huh? What do you mean?" Huang Lingshan did not understand. She began to blink her eyes slowly; they were wide and electrifying.
"I reflected deeply about myself and decided that we aren't meant for each other." Chen Mu looked up at the sky to avoid looking at her small, tempting face.
"But…" Huang Lingshan wanted to add on something else.
"I'm sorry, I'm going to go play some games now." Upon finishing that sentence, Chen Mu's mission was completed. As a result, he obtained a hundred points.
Hearing his words, Huang Lingshan began to tear up. Then, she ran away after turning around.
She sobbed as she ran, "I hate you, uwahhh!"
"Wait!" Chen Mu shouted, but she was already too far. Chen Mu was left puzzled in the midst of the wind.
How Chen Mu wished that he could have persuaded her to stay!
What a cursed System! The mission had trolled him and ruined his reputation as someone's ideal man!
"New mission triggered: Play a game of League of Legends. Obtain victory and you'll be awarded a hundred points; be defeated, and the same amount of points will be deducted," the System's voice was heard.
"Get away from me, I lost a girl today because of you," scolded Chen Mu.
"There is no need to be sad. Once you become the Unkillable Demon King in League of Legends, you'll win the hearts of millions of female fans and countless goddesses," the System consoled him.
"You sure know how to tell tall tales. All I wanted was a girlfriend." Chen Mu lamented.
"Please hurry up and complete your mission. Your time limit is one night," urged the System.
"I got it, let me find a cybercafe," Chen Mu replied.
Chen Mu recalled the first time he visited a cybercafe. He was in Year 2 Junior back then, and the first game he ever played was called 'Dungeon Fighter Online'. He only got as far as level 12 before his old pops fell sick when he was in Year 3 Junior. Chen Mu had not visited a cybercafe ever since then. Now, he needed to look for one.
After about five minutes, he raised his head and saw one that read—Sky Galaxy Cybercafe. 'I like the name. Guess we'll do it here.'
Chen Mu made his decision. He entered the cybercafe and gave it a little scan. Chen Mu liked what he saw. Modern cybercafes were wonderfully designed with giant screens, lighted headphones, and colorful keyboards. They were gorgeous in bright and different colors.
As Chen Mu was choosing his computer, he saw someone that he could not be more familiar with.