Chapter 4 - Rehabilitation Program

"HUFF! HUFF! HUFF!* Damn! W-Why did taking out trash take so much time. I can't even move my arms anymore. *Tsk!*" Heavily breathing, Mercedes clicked her tongue in annoyance as cold sweat drenched the entirety of her body.

A couple of hours passed since Mercedes began the cleaning operation of her room. To receive the quest read, she worked hard to her utmost ability. Though, it took too much of her time.

"I haven't even taken a nap yet. I don't have enough sleep." Yawning, Mercedes continued complaining about her circumstances. But while she kept grumbling about it. Mercedes noticed something she had forgotten for quite some time.

It was the appearance of her room.

"So this was how my room originally looked, huh?" Mercedes uttered with a sad smile on her face. She wanted to ask what brought her to such a situation. However, she knew that her current self was nothing more, but the Mercedes pumped up with spirit.

The moment the spirit attribute lowers down to its original state. Mercedes will more or less go back to where she was before. This made her wonder if she would be willing to do more of the quest.

As she herself knew, Mercedes was a loser and a failure. Someone who was lazy and greedy. A young girl who didn't have respect for anyone, even herself. That was who Mercedes was.

*Ding!*

―<▼>―

●[𝐂𝐨𝐧𝐠𝐫𝐚𝐭𝐮𝐥𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧𝐬, 𝐘𝐨𝐮 𝐡𝐚𝐯𝐞 𝐜𝐨𝐦𝐩𝐥𝐞𝐭𝐞𝐝 𝐑𝐞𝐡𝐚𝐛𝐢𝐥𝐢𝐭𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧 𝐨𝐟 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐅𝐚𝐥𝐥𝐞𝐧 𝐋𝐨𝐬𝐞𝐫 𝟏(𝐌𝐚𝐢𝐧 𝐐𝐮𝐞𝐬𝐭).]

➤[𝐘𝐨𝐮 𝐡𝐚𝐯𝐞 𝐠𝐚𝐢𝐧𝐞𝐝 𝐂𝐥𝐞𝐚𝐧𝐢𝐧𝐠(𝐄), +𝟎.𝟏 𝐀𝐭𝐭𝐫𝐢𝐛𝐮𝐭𝐞 𝐨𝐟 𝐒𝐩𝐢𝐫𝐢𝐭, +𝟓 𝐄𝐱𝐩𝐞𝐫𝐢𝐞𝐧𝐜𝐞.]

―<▲>―

A digital window materializes before Mercedes. She gazed upon it with a serious expression on her face. Squinting her eyebrows, she nodded to herself before sighing. "*Sigh...* I guess that was it."

Mercedes had officially completed the quest given to her. This was the first quest she had completed, and she was a bit ecstatic about it. Nevertheless, Mercedes was feeling a bit down. She had a feeling within herself that Spade was about to announce something.

And sadly, she was right.

[𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐇𝐨𝐬𝐭 𝐡𝐚𝐬 𝐜𝐨𝐦𝐩𝐥𝐞𝐭𝐞𝐝 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐟𝐢𝐫𝐬𝐭 𝐨𝐟 𝐡𝐞𝐫 𝐦𝐚𝐧𝐲 𝐌𝐚𝐢𝐧 𝐐𝐮𝐞𝐬𝐭𝐬.]

[𝐒𝐩𝐢𝐫𝐢𝐭 𝐡𝐚𝐬 𝐛𝐞𝐞𝐧 𝐚𝐝𝐝𝐞𝐝, 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐢𝐭 𝐡𝐚𝐬 𝐥𝐢𝐟𝐭𝐞𝐝 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐇𝐨𝐬𝐭'𝐬 𝐚𝐭𝐭𝐫𝐢𝐛𝐮𝐭𝐞 𝐭𝐨 𝐚𝐧 𝐚𝐝𝐞𝐪𝐮𝐚𝐭𝐞 𝐦𝐢𝐧𝐢𝐦𝐮𝐦 𝐬𝐭𝐚𝐧𝐝𝐚𝐫𝐝.]

[𝐖𝐢𝐭𝐡 𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐬, 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐭𝐞𝐦𝐩𝐨𝐫𝐚𝐫𝐲 𝐬𝐩𝐢𝐫𝐢𝐭 𝐞𝐥𝐞𝐯𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧 𝐰𝐢𝐥𝐥 𝐛𝐞 𝐫𝐞𝐥𝐢𝐞𝐯𝐞𝐝 𝐟𝐫𝐨𝐦 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐇𝐨𝐬𝐭.]

"So this is it, huh?" Mercedes noticed her body illuminating in silver light. If this was a game, her buff was about to be lifted. She wanted to continue as the Mercedes with high spirits. She was sure that she would be able to fix her problems with it.

But she also understood that there were no shortcuts. The reason why AEGIS temporarily increased her spirit was because of the attribute not meeting the minimum level. Such was what Mercedes understood from the words of Spade.

After a few seconds, Mercedes's face had gotten paler while her eyebrows were tense. She glances at her fat and bulky arms while visibly annoyed by it.

Becoming better? Why would she bother doing such a thing? Wouldn't it be a waste of time? With such thoughts surging through her mind, Mercedes couldn't help but give the reaction to being displeased. She was annoyed at herself for having thoughts that got on her nerves.

"Spade, why do I have to do any quests? Aren't you supposed to be a cheat? Something that would make my life better than ever before? Can't you flick whatever fingers you have and change me?"

Mercedes wanted to change, but she didn't want to waste time doing something that could be done in an instant. If AEGIS was a second chance, why can't AEGIS turn her into the perfect being? Was she undeserving of it? Was it because she's a loser?

[𝐇𝐨𝐬𝐭, 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐀𝐄𝐆𝐈𝐒 𝐧𝐞𝐯𝐞𝐫 𝐜𝐨𝐧𝐬𝐢𝐝𝐞𝐫𝐬 𝐢𝐭𝐬𝐞𝐥𝐟 𝐚 𝐜𝐡𝐞𝐚𝐭 𝐨𝐟 𝐬𝐨𝐦𝐞 𝐬𝐨𝐫𝐭.]

[𝐈𝐭 𝐢𝐬 𝐚 𝐬𝐲𝐬𝐭𝐞𝐦 𝐭𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐩𝐫𝐨𝐯𝐢𝐝𝐞𝐬 𝐚 𝐜𝐡𝐚𝐧𝐜𝐞 𝐟𝐨𝐫 𝐚 𝐬𝐞𝐜𝐨𝐧𝐝 𝐫𝐞𝐝𝐞𝐦𝐩𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧, 𝐨𝐫 𝐚 𝐬𝐞𝐜𝐨𝐧𝐝 𝐜𝐡𝐚𝐧𝐜𝐞 𝐟𝐨𝐫 𝐬𝐡𝐨𝐫𝐭.]

[𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐀𝐄𝐆𝐈𝐒'𝐬 𝐝𝐮𝐭𝐲 𝐢𝐬 𝐭𝐨 𝐜𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐭𝐞 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐦𝐨𝐬𝐭 𝐨𝐩𝐭𝐢𝐦𝐚𝐥 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐞𝐟𝐟𝐢𝐜𝐢𝐞𝐧𝐭 𝐰𝐚𝐲 𝐟𝐨𝐫 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐇𝐨𝐬𝐭 𝐭𝐨 𝐛𝐞𝐜𝐨𝐦𝐞 𝐬𝐨𝐦𝐞𝐨𝐧𝐞 𝐬𝐡𝐞 𝐰𝐨𝐮𝐥𝐝 𝐛𝐞 𝐩𝐫𝐨𝐮𝐝 𝐨𝐟.]

[𝐒𝐨 𝐮𝐧𝐥𝐞𝐬𝐬 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐇𝐨𝐬𝐭 𝐰𝐨𝐫𝐤𝐬 𝐡𝐚𝐫𝐝 𝐟𝐨𝐫 𝐡𝐞𝐫𝐬𝐞𝐥𝐟, 𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐧 𝐭𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐬𝐞𝐜𝐨𝐧𝐝 𝐜𝐡𝐚𝐧𝐜𝐞 𝐦𝐢𝐠𝐡𝐭 𝐚𝐬 𝐰𝐞𝐥𝐥 𝐛𝐞 𝐥𝐨𝐬𝐭.]

Silence enveloped the entirety of the room. Mercedes heard Spade's monotone voice clearly. It kept echoing within her mind as if it was a reminder. She gritted her teeth in annoyance and clenched her fist. She wanted to speak back, but no words escaped her mouth.

"What you're saying is... As long as I do everything in my power to accomplish the quests given to me. I could return as someone with high spirits. Someone that can return to my family while not making them worry?" Mercedes was angry. A seeping hatred was escaping her heart.

And she was using this hatred to power herself. She was angry for not being able to do anything. For being a disappointment and a failure. For being greedy and lazy. She wanted to look at her mother in the eyes and not avoid her mother's gaze.

And to achieve that wish, determination became aflame within her heart.

[𝐇𝐨𝐬𝐭, 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐚𝐫𝐞 𝐦𝐢𝐬𝐮𝐧𝐝𝐞𝐫𝐬𝐭𝐚𝐧𝐝𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐬𝐨𝐦𝐞𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐧𝐠. 𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐪𝐮𝐞𝐬𝐭𝐬 𝐝𝐨𝐞𝐬𝐧'𝐭 𝐦𝐚𝐤𝐞 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐛𝐞𝐭𝐭𝐞𝐫 𝐯𝐞𝐫𝐬𝐢𝐨𝐧 𝐨𝐟 𝐲𝐨𝐮𝐫𝐬𝐞𝐥𝐟.]

[𝐈𝐭 𝐢𝐬 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐩𝐫𝐨𝐜𝐞𝐬𝐬 𝐭𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐜𝐨𝐦𝐞𝐬 𝐚𝐥𝐨𝐧𝐠 𝐰𝐢𝐭𝐡 𝐢𝐭 𝐭𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐰𝐢𝐥𝐥 𝐜𝐡𝐚𝐧𝐠𝐞 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐇𝐨𝐬𝐭 𝐟𝐨𝐫 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐛𝐞𝐭𝐭𝐞𝐫.]

"Okay, okay, please don't talk like that anymore. You're making me cringe." Mercedes said with a smile and asked Spade a critical question. "So, what will be my next quest? Make sure to give me something that is worth my time."

[𝐃𝐨𝐧'𝐭 𝐰𝐨𝐫𝐫𝐲, 𝐇𝐨𝐬𝐭. 𝐓𝐡𝐢𝐬 𝐪𝐮𝐞𝐬𝐭 𝐢𝐬 𝐬𝐮𝐫𝐞𝐥𝐲 𝐰𝐨𝐫𝐭𝐡𝐰𝐡𝐢𝐥𝐞.]

Mercedes calmly waited as a digital window materialized before her once again. She swiftly glances at it with her scrutinizing gaze and wholly reads the quest.

―<▼>―

[𝐑𝐞𝐡𝐚𝐛𝐢𝐥𝐢𝐭𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧 𝐨𝐟 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐅𝐚𝐥𝐥𝐞𝐧 𝐋𝐨𝐬𝐞𝐫 𝟐(𝐌𝐚𝐢𝐧 𝐐𝐮𝐞𝐬𝐭)]

●[𝐐𝐮𝐞𝐬𝐭 𝐆𝐫𝐚𝐝𝐞: 𝐄𝐚𝐬𝐲]

●[𝐅𝐨𝐫 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐟𝐚𝐥𝐥𝐞𝐧 𝐥𝐨𝐬𝐞𝐫 𝐡𝐚𝐬 𝐜𝐥𝐞𝐚𝐧𝐬𝐞 𝐡𝐞𝐫 𝐝𝐨𝐦𝐚𝐢𝐧 𝐨𝐟 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐟𝐢𝐥𝐭𝐡 𝐭𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐡𝐚𝐬 𝐫𝐢𝐬𝐞𝐧 𝐟𝐫𝐨𝐦 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐚𝐛𝐲𝐬𝐬. 𝐒𝐡𝐞 𝐬𝐡𝐚𝐥𝐥 𝐚𝐬𝐬𝐢𝐬𝐭 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐠𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐭 𝐦𝐨𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐫 𝐨𝐟 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐥𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐭𝐨 𝐜𝐥𝐞𝐚𝐧𝐬𝐞 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐫𝐞𝐦𝐚𝐢𝐧𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐟𝐢𝐥𝐭𝐡 𝐢𝐧 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐫𝐞𝐠𝐢𝐨𝐧. 𝐒𝐮𝐜𝐡 𝐰𝐢𝐥𝐥 𝐛𝐞 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐬𝐞𝐜𝐨𝐧𝐝 𝐨𝐟 𝐚𝐟𝐨𝐫𝐞𝐬𝐚𝐢𝐝 𝐞𝐱𝐭𝐞𝐧𝐬𝐢𝐯𝐞 𝐫𝐞𝐡𝐚𝐛𝐢𝐥𝐢𝐭𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧, 𝐬𝐨 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐝𝐢𝐬𝐚𝐩𝐩𝐨𝐢𝐧𝐭𝐦𝐞𝐧𝐭 𝐦𝐮𝐬𝐭 𝐧𝐨𝐭 𝐝𝐢𝐬𝐚𝐩𝐩𝐨𝐢𝐧𝐭. 𝐅𝐨𝐫 𝐨𝐧𝐥𝐲 𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐧 𝐰𝐢𝐥𝐥 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐝𝐢𝐬𝐠𝐫𝐚𝐜𝐞𝐝 𝐨𝐧𝐞 𝐫𝐞𝐠𝐚𝐢𝐧𝐞𝐝 𝐚 𝐭𝐞𝐚𝐫 𝐨𝐟 𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐢𝐫 𝐥𝐨𝐧𝐠-𝐥𝐨𝐬𝐭 𝐡𝐨𝐧𝐨𝐫.]

➤[𝐐𝐮𝐞𝐬𝐭 𝐑𝐞𝐰𝐚𝐫𝐝: 𝐂𝐥𝐞𝐚𝐧𝐢𝐧𝐠(𝐄+), +𝟎.𝟑 𝐀𝐭𝐭𝐫𝐢𝐛𝐮𝐭𝐞 𝐨𝐟 𝐒𝐩𝐢𝐫𝐢𝐭, +𝟏𝟎 𝐄𝐱𝐩𝐞𝐫𝐢𝐞𝐧𝐜𝐞]

―<▲>―

Realizing what it was, the edges of Mercedes's lips slowly rose. "You didn't disappoint, Spade. So when will we start?" Wanting to start immediately, Mercedes was given an unexpected answer.

[𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐟𝐢𝐫𝐬𝐭 𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐧𝐞𝐞𝐝 𝐢𝐬 𝐬𝐥𝐞𝐞𝐩, 𝐇𝐨𝐬𝐭.]

"Wha-" Before Mercedes could utter a single word, she lost consciousness and fell onto the bed. Tumbling down while bouncing, she slept like a wooden log. What she needed the most before doing the next main quest was a long slumber.

Dozens of hours had passed Mercedes slept. Because of staying up late and not having to sleep way past the regular sleeping schedule, her body has been taking its toll. And the cleaning operation was enough for it to tip over.

The only thing it needed was confirmation which was Mercedes's relaxation. The moment she relaxed her body, she'd fall unconscious and sleep for a couple of hours. Such was the sleep Mercedes needed. It was a slumber she deserved.

Time passes along as seconds become minutes and minutes turn into hours. A couple of hours have long since gone by since Mercedes tumbled onto her sheets. She continued sleeping and never seemed to show any signs of awakening.

Unexpectedly though, her eyes opened, revealing a hue of sapphire-like irises. She rose from the bed and swiftly stood up, wondering what just happen to her. She ruffled her hair and glanced at the clock noticing its change.

"What the hell!"

"How much time has passed?" Mercedes couldn't believe what she was seeing. The fact that a couple of hours had passed meant that instead of being early in the morning, it was already night. While it shouldn't bother someone like her.

Mercedes disliked wasting time, especially if she had a goal in mind that she wanted to accomplish.

[𝐆𝐨𝐨𝐝 𝐞𝐯𝐞𝐧𝐢𝐧𝐠, 𝐇𝐨𝐬𝐭. 𝐈𝐭 𝐬𝐞𝐞𝐦𝐬 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐡𝐚𝐯𝐞 𝐠𝐨𝐭𝐭𝐞𝐧 𝐚 𝐥𝐨𝐧𝐠 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐠𝐨𝐨𝐝 𝐬𝐥𝐮𝐦𝐛𝐞𝐫.]

Hearing the monotone voice of Spade, Mercedes was about to voice out her annoyance at what Spade had done. But she stopped herself from doing so as there was nothing that could change what had happened.

Besides, unlike before, her body felt lighter than usual. It was enough of a sign that long sleep was what she needed after working hard to clean the room.

"*Sigh...* But I can't believe hours have passed with me asleep. I haven't even seen the sun rising from the horizon. What am I? Some nocturnal creature?" Mercedes sighed to herself with an exhausted gaze.

[𝐒𝐢𝐧𝐜𝐞 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐡𝐚𝐯𝐞 𝐜𝐨𝐧𝐜𝐥𝐮𝐝𝐞𝐝 𝐲𝐨𝐮𝐫 𝐬𝐥𝐮𝐦𝐛𝐞𝐫. 𝐖𝐡𝐲 𝐝𝐨𝐧'𝐭 𝐰𝐞 𝐨𝐟𝐟𝐢𝐜𝐢𝐚𝐥𝐥𝐲 𝐬𝐭𝐚𝐫𝐭 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐦𝐚𝐢𝐧 𝐪𝐮𝐞𝐬𝐭?]

"Do what you want. Just tell me what I need to do for the main quest," Mercedes uttered as if she was in a hurry.

Never did her former self love the act of cleaning and having responsibility. But for some reason, after experiencing the high spirit, Mercedes thought that gaining it once again would give her the second chance that she needed.

It will help her turn the loser life she had for the better.

While it wasn't wrong, Mercedes was too focused on rewards. As Spade had said, the importance of a quest was the process of accomplishing it. If Mercedes bypassed the process to immediately take the prize, then the quest wouldn't matter.

This was a rehabilitation program for Mercedes, a program that would help her jump out from the pits she was thrown into.

[𝐀𝐬 𝐬𝐚𝐢𝐝 𝐛𝐞𝐟𝐨𝐫𝐞, 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐪𝐮𝐞𝐬𝐭 𝐰𝐢𝐥𝐥 𝐡𝐚𝐯𝐞 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐇𝐨𝐬𝐭 𝐩𝐚𝐫𝐭𝐚𝐤𝐞 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐜𝐥𝐞𝐚𝐧𝐬𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐨𝐟 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐞𝐧𝐭𝐢𝐫𝐞 𝐡𝐨𝐮𝐬𝐞. 𝐓𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐢𝐧𝐜𝐥𝐮𝐝𝐞𝐬 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐢𝐧𝐭𝐞𝐫𝐢𝐨𝐫, 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐂𝐚𝐟𝐞.]

[𝐋𝐮𝐜𝐤𝐢𝐥𝐲, 𝐢𝐭 𝐡𝐚𝐬 𝐛𝐞𝐞𝐧 𝐚𝐧 𝐡𝐨𝐮𝐫 𝐬𝐢𝐧𝐜𝐞 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐂𝐚𝐟𝐞 𝐛𝐞𝐜𝐚𝐦𝐞 𝐜𝐥𝐨𝐬𝐞𝐝.]

[𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐇𝐨𝐬𝐭 𝐰𝐢𝐥𝐥 𝐡𝐚𝐯𝐞 𝐧𝐨 𝐰𝐨𝐫𝐫𝐲 𝐢𝐧 𝐜𝐥𝐞𝐚𝐧𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐡𝐨𝐮𝐬𝐞 𝐰𝐡𝐢𝐥𝐞 𝐛𝐞𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐰𝐚𝐭𝐜𝐡𝐞𝐝 𝐛𝐲 𝐨𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐫𝐬.]

"You seem to be implying that I lacked in social capability, which is correct." Mercedes nodded before continuing. "Although, to clean the house by myself. That's harder to do than my room."

[𝐀 𝐜𝐡𝐚𝐥𝐥𝐞𝐧𝐠𝐞 𝐢𝐬 𝐚 𝐜𝐡𝐚𝐥𝐥𝐞𝐧𝐠𝐞. 𝐖𝐢𝐥𝐥 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐇𝐨𝐬𝐭 𝐛𝐚𝐢𝐥 𝐨𝐮𝐭?]

"I'm not that kind of coward. I'm someone that loves challenges, especially the kind with rewards." Mercedes smirked with an expression of confidence. It was the same face she would make when having the thought of roasting the heck out of her enemies.

Leaving the room, she climbed down, planning to go to the kitchen. She wanted to take the broom, which she would use to clean the interior of their house first.

Mercedes held the broom with her pale and meaty arms. She imagined a sword in its place and wanted to swing it around. Fortunately, she held her urges and stopped herself from being embarrassed.

It would have been a disaster if anyone had seen it. She wouldn't even be willing to look at anyone ever again if such a disaster ever happened.

"This will be a long night." Mercedes gazed upon the floor, walls, and furniture she would have to clean. From the looks of it, her mother has been slacking off for quite a while. Though, she shouldn't be the one to complain about it.

At any rate, Mercedes began the second cleaning operation.

She went through the floor first and took out every rubbish she noticed with her sapphire-like irises. Then, the walls were next on Mercedes's target list. She scrubbed them of dust along with the floors. It took some time to get them done.

After two hours from the beginning of the second cleaning operation, it was time for the real challenge to start. It was the furniture's turn to be cleansed of their filth.

Holding a duster in one hand while having a spray in the other, Mercedes was about to conquer the boss of the interior.

However, before she could clean one piece of furniture, the front door opened.