<-( )========================( )->
1. Raise the efficiency of raking
leaves to 50% or higher. (0/50)
2. Reach the standard of the peak
of Body Refinement Stage (5%)
3. A Compassionate Soul (Complete)
<-( )========================( )->
Looking at this page of the scroll, Di Tou's eyes couldn't help but be drawn to the (Complete) tag at the end of the third task. Whispering a prayer in his heart, he focused on it, and he could hear the "voice" begin speaking, although it seemed to be lacking a certain gravitas, and in his heart Di Tou knew that this "voice" although it matched the entity that had brought him here was a hollow imitation, or at the very least a recording of sorts.
"A compassionate soul sooths all wounds."
"A virtuous man brings pride for generations"
"Before Dao all lives sit in equilibrium"
"From the great beasts that wander the jungle"
"To the small spider, weaving a web"
"They deserve compassion as your comrades"
"Karma is infinite"
"Virtue is its own reward"
Of course, a literal reward was also a nice addition. In this case, about three seconds after the declaration about virtue, the words on the scroll twisted and reappeared as the following.
"Guidance – [A Compassionate Soul] – Completed: Technique, [A Gentle Touch] received."
[A Gentle Touch]
"Before strife, before shame."
"Before riches, before fame."
"A mother's gentle touch."
"Alleviated all pain."
Di Tou's face that had contorted into a grin when hearing about the reward suddenly cracked.
*Ka-cha*
For the third time in the day, Di Tou wanted to cry. Aiya, others got supremacy systems and money-making systems. Even the worst off had a food making system that came with a free tier 9 pet! How the hell did he end up with a labor system, ah? And what the f*ck was this technique. A gentle touch? Did they think he was a hulking 8 foot barbarian who would accidently crush stones in his hand because he was a brute? Huh?
As if it wasn't bad enough, he had to kneel to access this scroll, the rewards… The rewards didn't seem all that good either.
"Haiya…"
"Haha…"
"Ahahahahaha..."
Inexplicably, just as he was about to burst into tears again, Di Tou broke into a laugher. And just as suddenly he stopped.
"F*ck! It is just a bad boss and minimum wage, it's not like I haven't dealt with things like this before. Bring it on! A janitor, is it? F*ck, alright, your grandfather will be a janitor. The best god*mn janitor you've ever seen."
After this exclamation, a lot of the grievance in Di Tou's heart was relieved. Up to this point while it could be said that Di Tou wasn't especially angry with this situation so much as he was just confused and a bit lost, he couldn't help but feel frustrated at the fact that it seemed like everything was going wrong.
After all, starting from the very moment he got sent here, he hadn't had any real say in the matter, and everything that followed in his interactions with Mu Di Bai was the same. Even if he knew that Mu Di Bai was trying to help him, he couldn't help but feel angry at the man for throwing him into this unfamiliar place without explaining everything clearly.
But in reality, much of this frustration with Mu Di Bai came from his existing frustration from the "voice." But because he couldn't really interact with the voice, he had been subconsciously pushing his frustration on Mu Di Bai and himself.
The fact of matter was, he was already quite fortunate to be alive at this point, and he was lucky that Mu Di Bai was as tolerant as he was and was trying to help him. While it was true that he didn't have some overpowered cheat, but rather one where he had to work hard, it honestly made sense to him.
After all, the world he was used to was one of give and take. This was one of the fundamental natures of human interaction. Just because he was in a new world didn't mean that this changed.
But as a young man, he couldn't help but have some level of expectation. After all, who didn't have dreams of instant success, or being a chosen one?
Here he was, with an advantage that others didn't have. Why should he be in such a rush to prove himself? That wasn't who he was. He was Di Tou, a tolerant and understanding young man. Even he dreamed, even if he wanted more… he wasn't greedy and he certainly knew what boundaries couldn't be crossed.
So what if things weren't going his way? So, what if he was being forced to be a janitor? Who was he? A CEO's son? A genius? A novel protagonist? No. He was an ordinary person, which meant that in life he would have to go through some struggles, bad bosses, unfavorable jobs, bad luck, low pay… weren't these the standard in the modern economy?
In a certain way, this Mandate, this trade of labor for strength, it might suit him more then any instant growth cheat would, in such a way, at the very least he wouldn't lose himself. So that if… No, Di Tou stopped himself. "When I get home…" he would still be himself. The son that his parents loved, the man that his girlfriend knew. The Di Tou he had been for the twenty three years of his life. Not a cliché, not a protagonist, just Di Tou.
As he finished his train of thought, the third slot in the guidance page changed, becoming:
<-( )========================( )->
1. Raise the efficiency of raking
leaves to 50% or higher. (0/50)
2. Reach the standard of the peak
of Body Refinement Stage (5%)
3. A Clear Heart (75%)
<-( )========================( )->
Di Tou saw this and simply smiled and shook his head. Dismissing the scroll in his heart.
"Haish, in the end it doesn't really matter what I get here anyways, what is more important is figuring out how I'm going to make it through tomorrow."
In fact, this was a problem that had been vexing Di Tou in the back of his head ever sense he had been sent here, but he had been trying his best to ignore. How the hell was he going to pretend to be Mu Di Bai?
Even if he could copy some of the mannerisms… he didn't know who Mu Di Bai knew, or how he interacted around people here.
Taking a step back, even if he knew Mu Di Bai's relationships and personality… He didn't know what the hell his job scope was. Was he the janitor for everything? Just the bathrooms? Did he have a quota? And most importantly… Where was his money!?
*Ahem*
What Di Tou meant was, even assuming he could coast along and not be bothered by people, and by some miracle nobody bothered him and let him slowly grind away at the Mandate's requests, he still had to eat didn't he? As for food and drink and all commodities really, it would surely cost something, and at the moment, much less having currency, he didn't know what the bloody currency consisted of. It could be coins, stones, f*ck it could even be seashells for all he knew.
For today he was still okay, as at the very least he had gotten the two buns from Mu Di Bai, and surprisingly to this point he still wasn't feeling all that hungry.
Which Di Tou wondered if it was caused by the fact that he was in the body of an old man and had a slower metabolism that he didn't need to consume as much food. But even if he could fast for three days, eventually he'd still have to figure it out.
"Hmmm. What should I do?"