Jake finished changing and headed downstairs to have breakfast in the dining room with four strangers.
He didn't know them, but apparently, they were his family.
It had been six days since he died.
He believed that afterlife didn't exist. Whether it be heaven, hell, or any other plane, he never believed in any of those things.
He just thought that one day he would die and cease to exist.
Without an afterlife, there's no greater purpose, just complete nothingness.
It was a terrifying thought, so he had tried converting to a religion on different occasions. But he simply couldn't believe in a higher existence that created an imperfect and evil world, only to reward its believers after death.
Jake looked at the four people chatting at the table, almost ignoring their existence, with a pensive look.
Who would've thought that after death there would only be another life!
Jake Hurkacs was his name now, it was easy to identify with the name, but he still wasn't used to his last name.
Lena and Gwen were chattering about many school-related things, which Jake didn't pay attention to.
He still considered these people complete strangers, but in the six days since he occupied this body, he had learned to coexist with them without seeming particularly strange.
However...
The colors of the world suddenly disappeared, and words began to appear in his vision.
The people around him froze as if time had stopped.
[Absolute Choice]
[Praise Diane's cooking: +1 positive impression of Diane]
[Criticize the food: +5 disapproval from Diane, Robb, Lena, and Gwen]
[Stay silent: be ignored as usual]
[Praise Gwen's appearance: +5 positive impression from Gwen]
A small 30-second countdown appeared at the bottom of his vision.
There was always the option of doing nothing, although it might not seem like it, that too was a choice.
That reassured Jake a lot, otherwise, he would feel like his actions were being controlled without having free will.
He didn't understand the reason for the appearance of this strange phenomenon that had been happening since he arrived in this world.
But thinking about how crazy this world really was, this event didn't seem very strange to him.
He usually chose to do nothing out of fear of what might happen. But motivated to investigate this strange event, he chose one of the options.
Time started running again when Jake made his choice.
"The food is delicious," Jake suddenly said, surprising the four and causing a smile to appear on Diane's face.
"Thank you."
[+1 positive impression of Diane]
After that, everyone went back to ignoring him as if he didn't exist. A treatment he appreciated as someone who had taken over the body of the boy named Jake and didn't really know anything about anyone.
But the origin of the cold treatment was something that did displease him.
In this world, there was something like the cultivation in Chinese novels from his old world.
Children were examined to determine their talent in this area. Jake's test resulted in a low-grade talent. Better than the 10% of the world's population who couldn't cultivate but much worse than that of his sisters and parents.
For this reason, he was always looked down upon and ignored in his family to the point of being expelled from it.
Now he lived with his uncles and cousins who also didn't look at him very favorably.
After finishing breakfast, everyone said their goodbyes as they went about their business.
Jake had to go to school, so he grabbed his backpack and headed to the door.
But time stopped again, and the letters appeared.
[Absolute Choice]
[Go to school: arrive on time and avoid trouble]
[Wait 15 minutes for Lena and Gwen to leave and hide in the bathroom: learn a secret - ???]
[Do nothing: continue your life as usual.]
Jake's eyes were irresistibly drawn to the second option. His insatiable curiosity and thirst for gossip made him hesitate for not much time before choosing it.
Careful not to be observed by anyone, Jake entered the bathroom and patiently waited.
"Hello!"
Jake heard Robb's voice speaking in whispers.
"Yes, I know. Don't worry, I'll visit you today." Robb looked around cautiously and not seeing anyone, whispered, "I love you, my dear!"
Jake's heart raced with excitement upon learning about the secret relationship his uncle seemed to be maintaining.
When he heard the living room door close, he opened the bathroom door only to watch Diane coming out of the kitchen, biting her lips with clenched fists.
Almost jumping from fright, Jake hid and waited for Diane to be out of sight before finally leaving the house as quietly as possible.
[Learned his uncle's secret - learned that Diane also knows]
Wow! I never expected that! This absolute choice is amazing!
Jake ran to school to avoid being late. Unlike Lena and Gwen, Jake wasn't given money for transportation or food and could only walk there.
.....
"Deep sleep! You must enter deep sleep to increase your vitality!"
A penetrating voice resonated in the 3,000-square-meter sports stadium.
The voice came from a teacher.
She had big, round eyes and peach-colored cheeks, as well as a soft and graceful figure. She was undoubtedly a beautiful lady. However, her manners and vigor were fierce and unrestrained.
This was the spirit class!
Beside his class, Jake sat in the classic cross-legged position and tried to enter what that teacher called deep sleep.
It wasn't easy at all since there were no more than 10 students in the entire school who could enter such a state at will.
What was the state of deep sleep?
Through meditation, reflection, contemplation, and guidance... these trainings could allow the development of a stronger inner self, concentration of the spirit, better control of breathing, heartbeats, pulse, and other bodily functions.
When spiritual training had reached an advanced state, the phenomenon of "Deep Sleep" occurred.
Previous research indicated that one hour of deep sleep for humans had a better effect than seven or eight hours of normal sleep.
How much time could be saved for studying and other things if people slept seven hours less each day?
The effect of one hour of deep sleep could make a person energetic throughout the day and have superior memory. In the long run, it could improve health and prolong life.
But that was a distant dream for someone with such low talent as his.