-56... 57... 59... *huff* *huff* *huff* Okay... *huff* *huff* *huff* this... *huff* *huff* *huff* is... *huff* *huff* *huff* my limit *huff* *huff* *huff*. Oh my God... *huff* *huff* *huff* My lungs are burning... *huff* *huff* *huff*
I said out loud as I looked at the small update screen.
[Push up 72/100 completed.]
[Sit up 64/100 completed]
[Squats 59/100 completed]
[10 km run 00/10 completed]
{This is clearly asking too much, whoever designed this thinks overly highly of me.} I thought to myself barely able to catch my breath.
This was totally out of expectation. {This sort of mystical sci-fi thing should make things easy for me, not the opposite.} I thought exasperatingly.
{Whatever, I shall complete it in the evening. I am too tired for this now. } After all, I am just an average athletic 13-year-old. Trying to complete all that in one sitting is just asking for trouble. {Mom would be exercising too. She might even let me use her treadmill.}
Who knew that I would come across many many tough, dangerous and threatening situations in my life due to my choices? But none would I regret as much as I regret procrastinating this daily quest.
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-Hey mom, I always wondered, why do you watch cricket instead of daily soaps like all the other housewives of the neighborhood? Even if you want to watch a sport why not baseball or basketball like other people?
I asked mom while watching a day-night cricket match with mom on the couch while chewing popcorn.
-Huh? Where did that come from?
Mom asked confused.
-You know I just wondered. It is not normal, considering there is not much of a fanbase for it here. There are some in the Caribbean. But here people prefer baseball. Then why are you different?
-That is an unnaturally sharp perception for a boy of your age. But I am happy that my boy is turning into a sharp young man.
Mom said baby mimicking me while pinching and twitching my cheeks lightly. Like the ones aunts do to babies and toddlers.
-MOM, stop treating me like a baby... I am a teenager now.
-Ouuu honey, you will always be my baby. Anyway... since you asked, I got it from your dad.
-Seriously?
-Yes! We were in the UK at the time, before we moved to New York. So, your dad was most of the time busy with his duty. And on vacation, he would come home as soon as possible. Help me with due housework and our small business. Very little time he would have for himself while being a housewife, which I had plenty of. I figured, let's not demand more of him and let him do what he enjoys and join him in doing it. 90% of the time he would watch cricket. At first, I only enjoyed your father's company, not caring about sports much. But later it stuck with me anyhow.
-Wow, you are a great woman!
-haha, every mother is to their child.
-No, seriously! That's why I never gonna get married. I don't believe any woman can surpass you.
-Stop buttering me up you little demon! What do you want? If you want another video game, that's not happening.
-Do you think that lowly of me?
-What can I say? You are my son after all.
-You do realize that it means...
-Stop being so punctilious. Tell me what you want.
-I want to... eat beef stake today.
-Hmmm oh... Alright.
-Yay... love you, mom.
I left giving mom a kiss on the cheek.
-Don't forget to wash the bowl, young man.
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Had a fulfilling lunch with mom. Afternoon, went out to play with my buddies. I was back by the evening. Watched a movie. Had dinner with mom. To my dismay, she told me to rub her neck and massage her head. Well, at least I should do that much for her. After 10 or 15 minutes she was already sound asleep on the couch. Looks like she was tired from the housework and supervising the business even if it is macro-management. I told her to get a maid, but she won't listen. She says she doesn't like the idea of another woman messing up her home when she is not looking. I returned to my bed while also tired I looked at the clock. {11.39 PM. Well, I better go to sleep. Early to bed and early to rise. bla bla bla. As if that ever made anyone wealthy and wise. It sure keeps one wealthy though, but where did I hear that again.} thinking of those random thoughts I soon reached dreamland absorbed in sound sleep. Tomorrow definitely would be a beautiful day, I just know it.
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[Time remaining for completing the daily quest: 00:15:35 ]
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[Time remaining for completing the daily quest: 00:05:29 ]
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[Time remaining for completing the daily quest: 00:00:17 ]
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[Time remaining for completing the daily quest: 00:00:05 ]
[Time remaining for completing the daily quest: 00:00:04 ]
[Time remaining for completing the daily quest: 00:00:03 ]
[Time remaining for completing the daily quest: 00:00:02 ]
[Time remaining for completing the daily quest: 00:00:01 ]
[Time remaining for completing the daily quest: 00:00:00 ]
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[Guide has failed to complete the daily quest. The penalty shall start now. ]
[Guide shall be moved to the penalty zone.]
[Objective: Survive 5 hours.]
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As I was sleeping soundly in my bed a sudden tremor shook me out of the sweet dream. {An earthquake! No! This is bombing!} As I realized and tried to get up from bed, I dropped on the floor. I was not in my room anymore. I was in a blasted apart restaurant... or a Shawrma House!? {What the heck! Where am I?} As if on the queue another boom blasted outside. With a crisp *crick* sound a red translucent screen appeared in front of me.
[Guide has failed to complete the daily quest. The penalty shall start now. ]
[Guide shall be moved to the penalty zone.]
[Objective: Survive 5 hours.]
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{The heck! As a penalty, you drop me in the middle of a war zone! What kind of twisted penalty is that? This is a death sentence.} This time another blast came very near to where I was. {I better move. that Virgil guy survived a full-on hunt at a younger age. I should be able to survive if I use the fog of war carefully.}
As I came out on the street, I found out where I was! It was New York, the heart of the USA. What was more intriguing was that the invaders were not humans, but aliens. They were coming out of a portal situated above a sky scrapper which had STARK written in bold letters. {That is the logo of STARK industries. When did they build that new tower at the heart of New York?} I said inwardly while running with my life with all the other people as aliens in metal armor embedded in their body and laser gun was shooting randomly at civilians. Police are getting massacred by their much stronger flying vehicle units. 2 or 3 blocks have already fallen under the complete control of aliens. At that moment a beastly growl was sound far. {Oh my God! What kind of alien that would be?} As I thought, a green humanoid monster growling came down from the 10th floor of a building beside us and literally smashed all the aliens pursuing us. After the job is done, it didn't stick around and left running in another direction. I also didn't stick around to find out more. Life is first priority. As I was running, I saw a little girl fall down, and an alien creepily laughing back at me. It was advancing towards the girl slowly as a predator plays with its prey sometimes. I know my life takes first priority, yes I know, I know... But I simply cannot ignore this. My whole body is screaming to run for my life, but I simply can't.
As the alien creature was about to stab the girl with its gun/sword, I sneaked up behind him with a broken rod and plunged it into the small gap between the armor at the neck area. There is a chance that my near-adult strength might not be enough the penetrate the alien creature's body with such a makeshift dull weapon, but I won't be able to live with guilty consciousness if I leave a little girl to die. Such trashy life is not worth living, at least not to me.
As my fear came true, I managed to penetrate the skin, but it didn't go through the muscles. At that moment a screen appeared in red above the creature.
[Chitauri foot soldier. Level 25]
{Crapbascketssss....} I thought as the Chitauri soldier turned towards me screaming, and went to hack at me, an arrow came from who knows where and penetrated its skull right through the left eye. The Chitauri soldier dropped dead. {Phew...} I released a sigh of relief.
The girl I just saved... Okay, I am giving way too much credit to myself here, the girl who was rescued through my distraction started crying, hugging her mom's dead body which had a hole through the chest. I grabbed her and took her up in my arms and started running again.
{idiot...} A faint echo reverberated in my mind which I didn't have the time to ponder upon.
-No, I don't want to leave mommy. My mommy is hurt. Help her.
She cried.
-Your mom is sleeping, little flower. She is at a better place. You better be a good girl and don't cry. Otherwise, she will feel hurt and won't talk to you when you meet her again.
I didn't lie... technically.
-True? Do you promise?
-Yes, I promise.
-Pinky promise?
-Yes, pinky promise! But you would need to be a very very good girl to be able to meet her. You understand.
-Okay, Hannah will be a good girl then.
-That's right.
I really couldn't find myself breaking the innocence of the girl.
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I was running with the girl and the outer perimeter of the military defense position could be seen. Right at that moment a giant centipede-like monster in armor came out of the portal.
[Chitauri Leviathan Lv. 102]
Looking at the nearly black color of the name, shook my body with fear. Thankfully, it was fried but a huge web of lightning that came from a building top. The first one died, but another four followed along with a lot more flying units and foot soldiers came out from the leviathan. With another round of bombardment, the point I was running towards with Hannah was blown to smithereens. I shielded the girl in my arms.
After the blast, I became disoriented for a moment, then when I came to my senses, I found a stray laser punctured my left shoulder. I took off my already tattered clothes, tore them off using my mouth and hand, and bound them as hard as I could. {I am going to survive this, I am not letting this bullshit war kill me.} I held Hannah inside my makeshift sling and run in another direction away from this madness.
As if, destiny arriving, when I took a corner, at last, I fumbled and fell down, and right there another Chitauri foot soldier was waiting, searching for any survivor. To my dismay unlike the previous one, this one was not playful. It directly pointed its gun from afar and was about to pull the trigger.
{This cannot be the end, I refused to accept this.}
A new determination welled up inside of my heart and something intangible bursting both inside me and outside my surrounding happened.
[Due to continuous physical and mental stress for 2 hours, potential has been simulated.]
[Mana unlocked]
[Dimentional energy unlocked]
[Psion energy unlocked]
But I didn't have the time to look at the notification. Time slowed down around me quite a bit and I could sense the laser beam already started to come out. Following my inside instinct, I gather energy from inside me on the hand, compressed it as small as I could, and shot it toward his eyeball. And it traveled right through the Chitauri beam which was halfway towards us by then and went right through his skull like a heated needle through butter. He dropped dead.
[A Chitauri foot soldier has been slain.]
[You have leveled up]