As I went back inside, I couldn't help but marvel at the luxurious sight before me. I slowly made my way to my room, trying to recall its exact location. "It's been a while," I muttered quietly, my gaze enigmatic. When I finally reached the room and locked the door behind me, I was astounded by the opulence.
How rich were these people? I was so absorbed in admiring the lavish surroundings that I forgot I had cut myself off from the family. Someone else noticed this.
Amidst my inspection of what seemed like a football pitch of a room, I was abruptly reminded of my purpose. "I need 7 liters of water, but how can I get it without seeming weird?"
[Too late for that.]
"Must you bruise me with your words?"
Our conversation was interrupted by a knock on the door.
"Hey, Dad asked if you're coming down for dinner. Totally alright if you're too tired," Sister Bei asked tentatively.
"Yeah, I guess I'll come. Just come get me when it's ready," I replied.
"Lovely, I'll come get you when it's ready. Just rest for now," she said.
Perfect, this is my chance to ask her for the water, I thought silently.
"Before you go, could you bring me seven one-liter bottles of water?" I asked sheepishly.
"Ermm, okay," she replied, somewhat dazed.
I could hear her light footsteps as she walked away from the door.
"Now, she must think am weird
[No, she already knows you're a weirdo. So don't sweat it.]
I rolled my eyes at the system's bluntness.
I was starting to get used to its enthusiastic encouragement.
Letting out a tired groan, I asked, "What was the last task again?"
"Jump 300 times, right? Okay, let's go find someone to do this in front of."
[There are a few guards who already think you're crazy. Why don't you use them?]
My eyes widened in bewilderment. "Did you just make yourself useful?" I teased, still not entirely convinced.
But, of course, the system bluntly ignored me. No surprise there.
As a couple of guards patrolled the surroundings, they noticed something peculiar.
"Hey, isn't that the second young master? Didn't he just get discharged today?" one of the guards asked.
"Yeah, I think it is," another replied, squinting his eyes.
"What in the hell is he doing?" the first guard asked, dazed.
"I think he's jumping," his partner replied emotionlessly, not surprised by the idiocy of the second young master.
"Oh, so he finally snapped. Took him longer than I expected," the first guard replied stoically.
They decided to watch him as a form of amusement, each guessing when he would black out.
Meanwhile, I was reading my will to the indifferent system
."So gasp with this gasp I relinquish gasp my wealth…"
Ding Ding
[Task completed: Run 5km before the end of the day ✓. Do try to keep up.]
[Carry an object of 7kg for an hour]
[Jump 300 times in public ✓]
[2/3 daily tasks completed.]
Just as I was about to collapse again, I heard the angelic sound of the system notification. I immediately collapsed, greedily consuming all the oxygen around me. The guards looked at me with expressions of pity.
"Now they must think I've lost it," I mused.
Looking up at the clouds, I realized I didn't care much about their opinions. To avoid the same fate again, irrelevant things could be sacrificed.
[Meaning to say, your self-worth is irrelevant.]
"I don't think self-worth can keep you from dying, can it now?" I replied.
"Let's complete the last task before I completely black out.
I collapsed onto the bed as soon as I made it to the room. Just as I was getting carried away by the comfort of the bed, I heard a soft knock on the door.
"Who is it?" I asked tiredly.
"It's me. I brought your… erm… the stuff," Sister Bei said.
"Oh, thanks," I said, taking the bottles from her hands.
"No problem. Dinner will be ready in about three hours," she softly reminded me as she walked off.
"Okay, got it," I said, closing the door
I immediately began the last task. "Just carry this for an hour—doesn't sound too hard," I said confidently, only to be gravely mistaken.
Fifteen minutes in, my muscles screamed, and it felt like my limbs were turning into lead. Forty-five agonizing minutes left.
Thirty-five minutes later, I couldn't feel my limbs anymore. Just as I thought I couldn't go on, I heard the beautiful sound of the system notification.
[Run 5km before the end of the day ✓]
[Carry an object of 7kg for an hour ✓]
[Jump 300 times in public ✓]
[3/3 daily tasks completed]
[Rewards: 50 attribute points]
"That's all?" I asked, bewildered. "No increase to my experience or HP?"
[You increase your experience by fighting beasts and your HP by being healthy. You're nowhere close to either.]
[If not for the system, you'd be a lifeless body.]
"Alright, I understand."
I decided to allocate 20 points to strength, 15 to intelligence, 10 to agility, 2 to both accuracy and vitality, and 1 to beauty.
My stats currently looked like this:
(Host attributes)
Journey of the Gods
Level 1
Class — Unidentified
Exp — 0/100
HP — 0/100
Mana — 100/100
Dou Qi — 22/100
Strength — 35
Intelligence — 20
Beauty — 93
Agility — 30
Charm — Null
Accuracy — 18
Vitality — 18
Bravery — Null
Attributes Points — 0
Shop — Locked (Level 20)
Special Skills — Null
Quest —
I immediately felt a tingling sensation all over my body. It was extremely soothing. I felt different, yet the same. I felt reborn—no pun intended.
"Wow, that wasn't so bad. If I get this after every daily quest, I don't actually mind going through the horrific experience again."
[I have no idea what you're talking about. I gave you the simplest of tasks. Just wait until you recover; your training shall start then.]
"Training," I smiled ruefully. "I can already imagine the pain."
[You know the wise saying.]
[Training is an art.]
"Art is painful," I remembered saying before passing out.