Mercedes laid down on her soft and comfy bed while gazing upon the lustrous light plastered on her ceiling. It had been two weeks since she received AEGIS, and she had gone through various quests that gave her intriguing rewards.
The relationship between her and her mother had been resolved. Though, the same couldn't be said for her little sister. Kiara mostly avoids her or perhaps treats it as if she didn't exist.
After giving herself determination, she wasn't bothered by it in the slightest. However, the same couldn't be said with her mother, who would always be saddened when the two of them didn't get along with one another.
It became so worse that Mercedes and Kiara decided to have rules with each other. Instead of avoiding one another, they would not evade the other. Mercedes and Kiara would also not talk to each other unless needed.
They will also have to settle their accounts with each other without their mother's supervision.
"I have worked hard to triumph over the quests given to me by AEGIS. I changed a lot since my first night with AEGIS." Mercedes silently muttered to herself and continued gazing upward.
In reality, she wasn't looking at the ceiling. Instead, she was staring at a digital window before her perception. It was a unique digital window that didn't give her any quest of some sort. Its only duty was to display information about her.
It was none other than the AEGIS's status display.
――<▼>――
[𝐌𝐞𝐫𝐜𝐞𝐝𝐞𝐬 𝐑𝐞𝐞𝐝]
●[𝐄𝐧𝐞𝐫𝐠𝐲: 𝟏𝟎𝟎/𝟏𝟎𝟎]
●[𝐋𝐞𝐯𝐞𝐥 𝟎]
●[𝐄𝐱𝐩𝐞𝐫𝐢𝐞𝐧𝐜𝐞: (𝟗𝟎/𝟏𝟎𝟎)]
●[𝐓𝐢𝐭𝐥𝐞(𝐬): 𝐍𝐨𝐧𝐞]
●[𝐀𝐭𝐭𝐫𝐢𝐛𝐮𝐭𝐞 𝐀𝐬𝐬𝐞𝐬𝐬𝐦𝐞𝐧𝐭]
➤[𝐏𝐡𝐲𝐬𝐢𝐪𝐮𝐞(𝟎.𝟗)]➤[𝐈𝐧𝐭𝐞𝐥𝐥𝐞𝐜𝐭(𝟏.𝟐)]➤[𝐒𝐩𝐢𝐫𝐢𝐭(𝟏.𝟗)]➤[𝐂𝐡𝐚𝐫𝐢𝐬𝐦𝐚(𝟎.𝟑)]
●[𝐒𝐤𝐢𝐥𝐥 𝐈𝐧𝐝𝐞𝐱]
➤[𝐀𝐜𝐭𝐢𝐯𝐞 𝐒𝐤𝐢𝐥𝐥(𝐬): 𝐂𝐥𝐞𝐚𝐧𝐬𝐢𝐧𝐠(𝐁)]
➤[𝐏𝐚𝐬𝐬𝐢𝐯𝐞 𝐒𝐤𝐢𝐥𝐥(𝐬): 𝐆𝐚𝐦𝐢𝐧𝐠(𝐂), 𝐂𝐥𝐞𝐚𝐧𝐢𝐧𝐠(𝐁+), 𝐊𝐞𝐞𝐧 𝐄𝐲𝐞(𝐂+)]
――<▲>――
She had grown a lot during the completion of the quests that were given to her. Her spirit had risen to quite a considerable amount that she wouldn't avoid her mother's gaze anymore. To be honest, her life was becoming better than before.
Mercedes thought that she was finally growing as a person. Though, no matter how much spirit she had gained. Her personality hadn't changed as she was just as unhinge and straightforward as before.
Anyhow, during her journey to complete the main quests given to her. She received two new skills while her passive cleaning skill had evolved to become better than her mother's cleaning abilities.
She was proud of beating her mother in terms of cleaning capabilities. Nonetheless, for Mercedes, it was far from enough. She didn't want to simply go beyond average. There was one thing her heart desired, and that was to reach the apex.
Mercedes didn't know how this desire emerged, whether it be because of Spade's speech or the satisfaction her growth had been given. But there was one thing for sure. She finally had a goal and a dream in mind.
'The most important of my newly gained skills was Cleansing. It helped me efficiently complete the quests, perhaps a hundred times better than before.'
'I kept making the active skill grow, and its effectiveness made me realize the importance of active skills. Though, that doesn't mean that the passive skills are useless.' Mercedes softly thought to herself before continuing.
'Keen Eye gives me an unprecedented amount of awareness of my surroundings. Its versatility isn't something to be underestimated.' Her newly gained passive skill was useful in many areas.
Because of it... Mercedes might not need her eyeglasses anymore. She was free to see everything without any use of tools. However, she prefers wearing her eyeglasses at all times. After all, while she has been cured, it would be complicated if the news got out.
Her mother and perhaps her little sister will barrage her with questions that she might not be able to answer. So only when no one was around or when no one knew of her would Mercedes not use her eyeglasses.
"*Sigh...* I have been through a lot. And it has been a while since I received my last quest." Mercedes sighed to herself as she was doing nothing but waiting for a quest to emerge.
She understood that it was unreliable to rely on everything to AEGIS when it came to moving her body. But until she can level up, at least once, Mercedes wants to keep following the AEGIS's path.
"It's a little bit boring." Mercedes glances at her computer, which she hasn't used since the emergence of AEGIS. The quests that were given to her had preoccupied her time, so she never got a moment to turn on her computer.
'But I may become addicted to it,' Mercedes shook her head. She didn't want to go back to her former self. While it might not have directly caused her downfall, the computer accelerated it.
[𝐇𝐨𝐬𝐭 𝐜𝐚𝐧 𝐝𝐨 𝐚𝐧𝐲𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐬𝐡𝐞 𝐰𝐚𝐧𝐭𝐬. 𝐔𝐬𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐚 𝐜𝐨𝐦𝐩𝐮𝐭𝐞𝐫 𝐨𝐫 𝐩𝐥𝐚𝐲𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐚𝐧 𝐨𝐧𝐥𝐢𝐧𝐞 𝐠𝐚𝐦𝐞 𝐰𝐢𝐥𝐥 𝐚𝐥𝐬𝐨 𝐧𝐨𝐭 𝐫𝐞𝐬𝐮𝐥𝐭 𝐢𝐧 𝐚 𝐩𝐞𝐫𝐬𝐨𝐧𝐚𝐥𝐢𝐭𝐲 𝐫𝐞𝐯𝐞𝐫𝐬𝐢𝐨𝐧.]
[𝐒𝐨 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐡𝐨𝐬𝐭 𝐝𝐨𝐞𝐬𝐧'𝐭 𝐡𝐚𝐯𝐞 𝐭𝐨 𝐰𝐨𝐫𝐫𝐲.]
"Are you sure about that?" Mercedes questioned while raising an eyebrow. She wanted to be sure as she hated the thought of going back to her former self.
[𝐘𝐞𝐬, 𝐨𝐧𝐥𝐲 𝐞𝐱𝐭𝐫𝐞𝐦𝐞 𝐮𝐬𝐞 𝐨𝐟 𝐚 𝐜𝐨𝐦𝐩𝐮𝐭𝐞𝐫 𝐰𝐢𝐥𝐥 𝐜𝐚𝐮𝐬𝐞 𝐚 𝐩𝐫𝐨𝐛𝐥𝐞𝐦.]
[𝐀𝐧𝐝 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐇𝐨𝐬𝐭 𝐢𝐬 𝐛𝐞𝐭𝐭𝐞𝐫 𝐭𝐡𝐚𝐧 𝐛𝐞𝐟𝐨𝐫𝐞, 𝐈 𝐝𝐨𝐮𝐛𝐭 𝐭𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐜𝐨𝐦𝐩𝐮𝐭𝐞𝐫 𝐰𝐢𝐥𝐥 𝐜𝐨𝐧𝐬𝐮𝐦𝐞 𝐡𝐞𝐫 𝐚𝐭𝐭𝐞𝐧𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧.]
Spade's monotone voice echoed throughout her mind. It was assuring her that she could do anything she wanted. As long as she didn't go overboard with it, anything was found, according to Spade.
Mercedes didn't know where Spade got that logic from, but it seemed that using her computer wasn't much of a problem as she previously thought.
At any rate, Mercedes has received the conclusion she needed. She left the covers of her sheets and sat on her comfy chair. It had been a while since she stared at a computer screen. Turning on the computer, Mercedes watches as the monitor turns on.
Its glamorous light basked her chubby face, and she began typing on the keyboard. It didn't take much time for Mercedes to be immersed in the internet as she typed across websites and played some of her favorite online games.
Although an hour later, Mercedes turned off her computer and threw herself under the embrace of her bed. She had become bored, and the internet didn't interest her that much anymore.
She didn't know why she became bored with the internet, which had consumed her attention for over two years. But one thing was for sure. Mercedes realized that she had changed.
She was different from before.
Such a realization gave her an unparalleled amount of confidence.
"But, I still feel bored. It's been quite a while, and Spade hasn't sent me any quests." Mercedes silently complained while pouting. She wanted to move her body, which should have been strange for someone with her physique.
However, this might have been the effect of a higher spirit attribute than before. And Mercedes understood that she needed a new hobby other than doing quests for AEGIS.
Though what kind of hobby should she get into? Does it also give her the benefits of doing quests for AEGIS? If it doesn't, should she bother doing hobbies that don't benefit her in the slightest?
Such were the questions within Mercedes's mind. They were clear questions that signified the kind of personality and thinking Mercedes currently had in mind. It wasn't a bad persona, but it also wasn't a good one.
"Spade, where is my quest? I'm having a hard time waiting over here." Mercedes uttered as she rolled left and right throughout her bed. Becoming a better person was harder than she had thought. But it wasn't a bad experience.
[𝐇𝐨𝐬𝐭, 𝐛𝐞 𝐫𝐞𝐦𝐢𝐧𝐝𝐞𝐝 𝐭𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐝𝐨𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐬𝐨𝐦𝐞𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐰𝐢𝐥𝐥 𝐧𝐨𝐫𝐦𝐚𝐥𝐥𝐲 𝐜𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐭𝐞 𝐪𝐮𝐞𝐬𝐭𝐬.]
Out of nowhere, Spade replied with the same monotone voice as before. Mercedes jolted after hearing her voice and furrowed her eyebrows after thinking about it.
"Wait, are you saying that if I do something, then perhaps I can create quests of my own?" For Mercedes, this was quite a discovery. She generally thought that AEGIS was the only one that could commission for a quest.
[𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐪𝐮𝐞𝐬𝐭𝐬 𝐠𝐢𝐯𝐞𝐧 𝐭𝐨 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐇𝐨𝐬𝐭 𝐢𝐬 𝐡𝐢𝐠𝐡𝐥𝐲 𝐜𝐨𝐫𝐫𝐞𝐥𝐚𝐭𝐞𝐝 𝐭𝐨 𝐡𝐞𝐫 𝐥𝐢𝐟𝐞.]
[𝐈𝐟 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐇𝐨𝐬𝐭 𝐝𝐞𝐜𝐢𝐝𝐞𝐬 𝐭𝐨 𝐭𝐫𝐚𝐢𝐧, 𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐧 𝐚 𝐬𝐮𝐛 𝐪𝐮𝐞𝐬𝐭 𝐟𝐨𝐫 𝐭𝐫𝐚𝐢𝐧𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐰𝐢𝐥𝐥 𝐞𝐦𝐞𝐫𝐠𝐞. 𝐈𝐟 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐇𝐨𝐬𝐭 𝐰𝐚𝐧𝐭𝐬 𝐭𝐨 𝐬𝐭𝐮𝐝𝐲, 𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐧 𝐚𝐧𝐨𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐫 𝐬𝐮𝐛 𝐪𝐮𝐞𝐬𝐭 𝐟𝐨𝐫 𝐬𝐭𝐮𝐝𝐲𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐰𝐢𝐥𝐥 𝐚𝐩𝐩𝐞𝐚𝐫.]
"I see... So that's how it works. I don't know why you never told me about such important info. But I'll forgive you, for now." Mercedes decided to not bother Spade about the lack of communication and decided to give her interest to the newly gained information.
'What kind of quest should I go on?' Mercedes thought about it for a short time while closing her eyelids. After a minute, she opened her eyes, revealing her sapphire-like irises, and softly uttered. "Training... I should go training."
She was aware of her current physique. It was a little bit lower than an average human and was rather fat. Since it was possible to change it through quests, Mercedes didn't want to lose the opportunity.
With things finally connecting like complete puzzle pieces, Mercedes stood up from her comfy bed. She intended to train herself in the room, though she must put some research first before training.
To gain more information about body training, Mercedes walked towards her computer. She wanted to open it and search for the information she needed. However, before she could reach it. Spade's monotone voice echoed throughout her mind.
[𝐇𝐨𝐬𝐭, 𝐚 𝐦𝐚𝐢𝐧 𝐪𝐮𝐞𝐬𝐭 𝐡𝐚𝐬 𝐛𝐞𝐞𝐧 𝐫𝐞𝐜𝐞𝐢𝐯𝐞𝐝.]
It was a sudden notification of a main emerging quest. Just as she was about to search about the ways of training one's body. Mercedes could simply look at the computer before turning her head away from it.
She needed to make sure her priority was straight, and that was participating in AEGIS's quest no matter what.
"What is the quest, Spade? It better be worth my time and have 10 experience." While Mercedes seemed to utter confident words, she was practically begging Spade for 10 experiences.
[𝐍𝐨 𝐧𝐞𝐞𝐝 𝐭𝐨 𝐰𝐨𝐫𝐫𝐲, 𝐇𝐨𝐬𝐭. 𝐓𝐡𝐢𝐬 𝐪𝐮𝐞𝐬𝐭 𝐰𝐢𝐥𝐥 𝐦𝐚𝐤𝐞 𝐲𝐨𝐮𝐫 𝐛𝐨𝐝𝐲 𝐬𝐪𝐮𝐢𝐫𝐦 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐠𝐢𝐯𝐞 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐞𝐱𝐩𝐞𝐫𝐢𝐞𝐧𝐜𝐞 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐧𝐞𝐞𝐝]
"The experience I need, huh... W-Wait, what? Make my body squirm? What kind of quest is it?" Mercedes backed away and leaned on the chromatic wall. She was a bit nervous about the quest that Spade was about to give to her.
'Well, I'm sure that Spade wouldn't give me something that will destroy my mental health and make my body squirm, right?' Mercedes thought to herself. She was doubtful of her thoughts, but it was better than expecting something bad.
"Bring it on, Spade." The corners of Mercedes's lips rose as she prepared herself for what was about to come.
―<▼>―
[𝐑𝐞𝐡𝐚𝐛𝐢𝐥𝐢𝐭𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧 𝐨𝐟 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐅𝐚𝐥𝐥𝐞𝐧 𝐋𝐨𝐬𝐞𝐫 𝐅𝐢𝐧𝐚𝐥𝐞(𝐌𝐚𝐢𝐧 𝐐𝐮𝐞𝐬𝐭)]
●[𝐐𝐮𝐞𝐬𝐭 𝐆𝐫𝐚𝐝𝐞: 𝐇𝐚𝐫𝐝]
●[𝐅𝐨𝐫 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐟𝐚𝐥𝐥𝐞𝐧 𝐥𝐨𝐬𝐞𝐫 𝐡𝐚𝐬 𝐠𝐨𝐧𝐞 𝐭𝐡𝐫𝐨𝐮𝐠𝐡 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐜𝐡𝐚𝐥𝐥𝐞𝐧𝐠𝐞𝐬 𝐨𝐟 𝐜𝐥𝐞𝐚𝐧𝐬𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐠𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐭 𝐦𝐨𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐫'𝐬 𝐥𝐚𝐧𝐝, 𝐬𝐡𝐞 𝐰𝐢𝐥𝐥 𝐫𝐞𝐜𝐞𝐢𝐯𝐞𝐝 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐟𝐢𝐧𝐚𝐥 𝐪𝐮𝐞𝐬𝐭 𝐨𝐟 𝐠𝐥𝐨𝐫𝐲 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐡𝐨𝐧𝐨𝐫. 𝐒𝐡𝐞 𝐬𝐡𝐚𝐥𝐥 𝐚𝐬𝐬𝐢𝐬𝐭 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐠𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐭 𝐦𝐨𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐫 𝐢𝐧 𝐭𝐚𝐜𝐤𝐥𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐨𝐟𝐟 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐨𝐮𝐭𝐬𝐢𝐝𝐞𝐫𝐬 𝐭𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐢𝐧𝐯𝐚𝐝𝐞 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐥𝐚𝐧𝐝. 𝐅𝐨𝐫 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐟𝐢𝐧𝐚𝐥𝐞 𝐨𝐟 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐟𝐨𝐫𝐞𝐠𝐨𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐞𝐱𝐭𝐞𝐧𝐬𝐢𝐯𝐞 𝐫𝐞𝐡𝐚𝐛𝐢𝐥𝐢𝐭𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧, 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐝𝐢𝐬𝐚𝐩𝐩𝐨𝐢𝐧𝐭𝐦𝐞𝐧𝐭 𝐰𝐢𝐥𝐥 𝐟𝐢𝐧𝐚𝐥𝐥𝐲 𝐥𝐨𝐬𝐞 𝐡𝐞𝐫 𝐭𝐢𝐭𝐥𝐞. 𝐀𝐧𝐝 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐥𝐨𝐧𝐠-𝐚𝐰𝐚𝐢𝐭𝐞𝐝 𝐚𝐫𝐫𝐢𝐯𝐚𝐥 𝐨𝐟 𝐡𝐞𝐫 𝐡𝐨𝐧𝐨𝐫 𝐰𝐢𝐥𝐥 𝐛𝐞 𝐠𝐢𝐟𝐭𝐞𝐝.]
➤[𝐐𝐮𝐞𝐬𝐭 𝐑𝐞𝐰𝐚𝐫𝐝: 𝐂𝐨𝐦𝐦𝐮𝐧𝐢𝐜𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧(𝐃+), 𝟎.𝟔 𝐀𝐭𝐭𝐫𝐢𝐛𝐮𝐭𝐞 𝐨𝐟 𝐒𝐩𝐢𝐫𝐢𝐭, 𝟎.𝟕 𝐀𝐭𝐭𝐫𝐢𝐛𝐮𝐭𝐞 𝐨𝐟 𝐂𝐡𝐚𝐫𝐢𝐬𝐦𝐚, 𝟎.𝟑 𝐀𝐭𝐭𝐫𝐢𝐛𝐮𝐭𝐞 𝐨𝐟 𝐈𝐧𝐭𝐞𝐥𝐥𝐞𝐜𝐭, 𝐃𝐢𝐠𝐧𝐢𝐟𝐢𝐞𝐝(𝐓𝐢𝐭𝐥𝐞), +𝟏𝟎 𝐄𝐱𝐩𝐞𝐫𝐢𝐞𝐧𝐜𝐞]
―<▲>―
"NOOO!!!"
It was the worse of Mercedes's enemies.
Communication...