A young man and one cat are currently racing through a road surrounded by corn and rice fields on both sides of the road.
[Quest "Getting Into Shape" Completed. You gained 0.5 Strength, 0.5 Agility and 0.5 Stamina as a reward].
"Hooo~ I still can't get used to this"
Michael stopped over a small bridge with a creek below, and let out a long breath as he stretched his body and arms up as he felt a ticklish sensation on every muscle and fibers in his body like there are black ants crawling under his skin, and what followed after was that he felt a little energized, alleviating some of his fatigue from running.
"Hao~!"
"I wonder if the quest changed again?"
With Hao playing with the cattails and bugs on the roadside, Michael opened the Quest Panel.
Major Quest
[Reach Level 5]
Daily/Side Quest
Walk Hao For An Hour
Reward(s): 10 EXP
[Getting Into Shape]
20 Push-ups, 20 Sit-ups, 20 Squats and 2 Kilometer Run
Reward(s): 0.5 Strength, 0.5 Agility and 0.5 Stamina
Repeatable Quest: 2/30]
Brush Hao's Fur For Ten Minutes
Reward(s): 10 EXP
Repeatable Quest: 2/30]
"It really added another five repetitions and another five hundred meters just like yesterday" said Michael while lightly rubbing his chin as he looked at the holographic screen before him.
"It's scary, but also exciting at the same time. I wonder how strong will I be after 28 days"
Michael couldn't help but feel giddy with excitement for his bright future.
"I only need to do this for a few more days before I can reach Level 5, and by then, I'll be able to unlock the [Shop] section" mumbled Michael to himself while smiling widely from ear to ear.
He just couldn't help but keep smiling.
After all, who wouldn't be? If he just needs to follow the direction of his unique ability that allows him to naturally get stronger by each passing day and week.
Then he turned around and looked at Hao playing on the side of the road and called out to her, "Hao, let's go back!"
"Hao~!"
And with the light of the dusk behind them, the man and cat(?) slowly made their way back home.
[Quest "Walk Hao For An Hour" Completed. You received 10 EXP as a reward.]
When they were almost home, Michael finally received another quest completion that he had been waiting for, making him smile as the next quest completion would promote him to the next level!
'It won't be long now'
Michael suddenly ran and yelled joyfully, "Hao! Last to reach the house is dumb! Haha!"
"Hao~!!"
Hao was startled for a second before she hastily ran after him, eventually running past Michael and gaining a huge lead.
"W-wait up!"
"Hao~!"
The next day.
[Quest "Brush Hao's Fur For Ten Minutes" Completed. You have received 10 EXP as a reward.]
[You are now promoted to Level 2. You have received 3 Bonus AP and 1 Skill Points]
[You have unlocked the Attribute Point(s) Slot]
"Yes~!!!"
Not being able to hide his joy, Michael jumped up and punched towards the skies as he yelled with happiness when the long awaited level up notification finally arrived!
Good thing that Michael is with Hao watching over their fields, or his mother would have smacked him again with her broom if it happened inside their house.
Quickly sitting on the hammock, Michael excitedly opened his [User Status] to see what changed.
[Michael Grey] [Human]
[Level 2] 0/200 EXP
[Strength: 10]
[Agility: 9]
[Stamina: 10]
Attribute Point(s): 3
"The exp needed for the the next promotion increased by one hundred fifty, and I gained 3 AP that I can allocate to either three of my attributes, but...i think..this process is too slow"
Michael is on cloud nine with his level up, but it also made him realize that the process of gaining EXP from his current active quests is too slow for him to level up quickly.
"I wonder if there are other ways for me to receive quests other than what's already in the system"
Just as Michael finished mumbling those words to himself, a surprising and startling thing happened!
[The system has been updated]
[You can now received additional random quests from your surroundings]
"W-what!? Just what the hell happened?"
"Hao!"
It was so startling for Michael that he fell down from the hammock with Hao in his arms.
Hao quickly jumped away from Michael and hissed at him before walking away, while Michael didn't even bother getting up as he just laid there on the ground on his back, with his legs dangling over the hammock.
"This...does the system have the ability to predict the...future~?" said Michael while staring blankly at the lush tree above him.
[The system doesn't have the ability to predict the future]
[The system upgrades itself along with the user's growth. Adapting to circumstances that it deems beneficial to the user's growth]
[So the user should grow use to it as it would continue to happen in the future]
Reading those words floating before his eyes, only one thought occurred to his mind.
"Are you...did you just seriously expose to me that you're in the f*cking beta phase right now!?"
Mindblown!
[Yes, the system is currently in its beta state. Please grow quickly user]
Michael placed his hands over his temples and shouted, "Are you f*cking kidding me!? So this is the reason why I felt that there were a lot of things lacking from the start!"
He just couldn't help it.
Who wouldn't yell out in shock after finding out that the all powerful cheat system that he heard a lot about, is actually still in its beta stage right now!?
"Damn, this is such an unexpected development" Michael could only laugh in the end.
After all, he's in no position to complain if he's the one receiving the benefits in the end.
"One moment you think you are floating above the clouds, but the second you notice it, you're now just floating above Mt. Everest" Michael slowly got up from the ground while mumbling those words to himself.
"Michael!"
He had just gotten up when he suddenly heard someone calling his name from far away, so Michael looked up and saw a familiar figure in the distance drawing close.
It was a man around two meters tall and with quite a large build, and even though age had already caught up to the man. It can't hide the fact that he must have been some kind of a bodybuilder in his younger days.
Well accurately saying, he looks like a gangster with how scary the man is with his large build.
Something that had been a mystery to Michael as he had always wondered if he really was his father's son as he never inherited any of his traits at all!
"Dad!" Michael called out to his father as the latter came walking over with a huge frown on his face, startling Michael that he even flinched.
"Are you angry about something?" asked Michael carefully.
"What? No, it's just hot son" replied his father as he looked at him with a bewildered look on his face.
Michael just smiled and said, "Anyway, why are you here dad? I thought you were giving the truck maintenance?"
Snap!
His dad snapped his fingers and quickly turned to him, "Right, I almost forgot about it because of how hot the weather is today. Your mom's calling for you"
"Me? But why? I just got here like twenty minutes ago" said Michael with a question mark above his head.
His dad grumbled as he walked past him and lied down on the hammock saying, "How do I know brat? Just go before all hell breaks loose"
Michael could only smile and lightly shake his head while looking at his father, because he knows that even though his dad is gangster level scary, he becomes an obedient puppy before his mother.
Then Michael turned to Hao who's busy chasing butterflies and shouted as he ran, "Hao!"
Hao quickly turned around and saw him running away, and she quickly bolted after him and jumped on Michael's back when she caught up and dangled over his shoulders.
Arriving home, Michael quickly went inside saying, "Mom, I'm here!"
While Hao quickly got down from his back and ran inside the house.
His mother emerged from the kitchen while wiping her hands with a towel saying, "Why are you here son? Didn't I tell you to watch over the fields in case those buggers come over and ruin our fields?"
Michael had just stepped foot inside, and he froze when he heard those words.
"Eh? But dad told me you were looking for...me?" said Michael as his voice slowly grew softer at the end as he slowly realized that his father had tricked him again!
Seeing the look at her son's face, Michael's mother had already figured it out and could only sigh and say, "Go get the truck and pick up your sister from her school"
"Why? Couldn't she just take a Jeepney?" asked Michael, while accepting the fact that his father had tricked him because he was too lazy to pick up his daughter from her school.
"Her classes finished early, and their school announced that there won't be any afternoon classes," said Michael's mother.
"I-"
Ding!
[A quest has been generated]
"Don't you worry mom! I'll make sure that Harin gets home safe!"
When Michael saw that, he didn't even hesitate to take the keys on the key rack near the door and quickly ran out of the house with a huge smile on his face!
"B-be careful on the road!" his mother stuttered as she was quite startled by Michael's sudden change of attitude that she can only hope for their safety.
Not even two seconds later, a small shadow flashed past her and she heard the word "Hao!" as the shadow disappeared at the door.
In the end, she can only resume what she was doing earlier while wondering what the fuck just happened..
So what's with Michael's sudden change of attitude?
It was because something to motivate him appeared.
[Quest Alert]
The User's mother had asked him to pick up his sister from her school.
Get your sister quickly and safely!
Completion Reward: 20 EXP
Increased closeness with your mother.
Quest Failure: Decreased trust from your mother.
Time limit: 2 Hours.
"So this is what the system update was about" mumbled Michael with a cheeky grin on his face as they drove towards the neighboring city.