[Mission completed]
[Reward]
10 Yi Power
[10/15 Missions completed: 1x summon scroll]
Did he see that right? Because his body, mind, and soul felt like it was being relaxed by the literal hands of Mother Earth herself, he was regenerating his energy levels? He was getting 10 energy for every hour that he spent laying down in this heaven. This was a game changer!
Previously, the only way he knew how to regenerate his energy levels was to sleep at night. Then, the next morning, his energy levels would be back to 100 percent. The reason why he was so careful in wasting energy on things like walking and standing was because he didn't have a way to get back that lost energy.
Now, he finally found a way for him to regenerate his energy. He felt like there was finally hope.
His current and biggest problem right now was the Physicality Tests. On that fateful day, he would have to run for 100 meters straight. And according to the system itself, the cost of running for 100 meters straight would be the full 100 energy that he had every day. That was it. If he ran for that much, then all his energy would be spent.
After that, he didn't know what would happen. But he knew that he could be facing a very real threat of death when that energy level went beyond zero. He didn't want to find out.
But at least now, he knew that there was a way to regain that lost energy. He looked down at the soft-to-the-touch leather bound massage chair and realized that he needed to obtain this piece of magnificent technology more than ever. It could be the difference between life and death. He had to own this.
"I need this. Give me this." Patty pleaded.
Surprisingly, the vendor saw the sincerity in Patty's eyes and reconsidered the price. It had been a very long time since he saw a true connoisseur of true relaxation like this young man right in front of him. Usually, customers would take one look at the massage chair and just pass it off as a luxury item that was unnecessary for most people. Only him and this young man knew that this chair was an essential piece of equipment that was as necessary as the light in your homes.
"20,000 Chains. Nothing more, nothing less."
That was a big discount. Since a 20% pure Kore was worth an estimated 10,000 Chains, then he would only need another 10,000 Chains to purchase this massage chair. Unfortunately, he didn't have that kind of money. Where can he get that?
"Do you have 10,000 Chains to spare?" Patty asked Grammo.
"No. Do I need that for the music competition?"
Patty closed his eyes and tried to search his mind for anything that he could sell or bargain to get that extra funds. But when he tried to concentrate, the chaotic sounds of the surroundings muddled his thoughts.
Meat searing, beer bottles clinking, thousands of footsteps, mindless chattering: each noise that the marketplace produced was buzzing in his ears like an annoying fly. He was about to plug his ears when suddenly, out of all the noise and chaos, he heard an enthusiastic sound in the distance.
"Step right up, step right up! Get your chance to earn the riches of a lifetime! Step right up!"
Patty looked in the distance and just beyond the marketplace was a large circular tent that had clown heads decorated along the top and bright neon lights with arrows pointing at the entrance. Families, couples, and children alike were entering the tent with smiles on their faces and exiting with balloons out the other side.
This was an arcade.
"Grammo, did you hear that?"
"What? Did my number come up?"
"It's the arcade! Let's go there!"
"Oooh. You want me to sing at the karaoke for practice, right?"
"Uh…yeah sure."
Again, Grammo had no choice but to push Patty through the streets. And as they got closer and closer, the announcements got louder and louder. Patty's smile got wider and wider as he realized what they were saying. He couldn't wait to get there.
"Folks, you can get rich if you win the jackpot prize! It's really easy! You just have to catch five balls in a row! It's that easy! Try it for yourself now!"
The arcade game was a reaction-type challenge. Of course, the announcer must have been underplaying the difficulty of the task. He only said that it was easy because he wanted more people to spend their money and try their luck. The game must be designed to make the balls very hard to catch.
How lucky! For Patty, this was nothing but a guaranteed win for him. In a game of reaction and speed, no ball would get past him. It was all thanks to his busy little worker called the Muscava Cyclo. With that loyal minion, he could slow down time for nine whole seconds. With that handy little power, the balls would fall right into his hands without any effort.
With a little bit of hurrying from Patty, they finally reached the Arcade section. Immediately, they saw a crowd looking at a man in his early teens with a serious posture as if he was about to fight a lion. His eyes were steady. His gaze never broke from the medieval cannon 10 meters away from him.
The whole crowd was silent, as if they were afraid that their noises could distract the guy in the middle.
"Ladies and gentlemen, the next shot will start now!"
With a blank shot from his gun, the announcer started the game and activated the switch in his hands. Without any delay, the cannon shot out a small red ball the size of a small fist and headed right towards the teen's shoulders.
Even though the guy thought he was prepared, the red ball whizzed past his head and he couldn't even raise his hand before the ball was caught by the net behind him. That was way too fast for him.
"Aw! Unfortunately, you have failed the game! Who wants to try next?"
[Mission]
[Requirement]
Win the arcade game
[Reward]
20 Yi Power
Me!
Pick me!
I want to try!
All kinds of hands raised as they felt like they had a chance to win the game. The announcer smiled as he saw that there were still endless piggy banks just waiting to be shattered by him. The trick to this game was that there was a visual illusion shown to the audience that made them think that the ball was slower than it actually was. Then, they would think that they could catch the ball if they were the one catching it. Of course, they probably couldn't do it. That was how they made money.
Now, who shall he scam this time?
"I'll bet this 20% pure Kore that I can catch those!"
Suddenly, a guy in the very back of the crowd raised a black crystal above his head. Everyone stopped to look at the guy who was stupid enough to bet that kind of money in an arcade game. Was he insane?
The arcade guy's eyes went green with greed. Was this guy serious? Was he a rich kid who wanted to throw away riches just because he wanted to have a good time? Well then, he wouldn't feel guilty taking that guy's money.
He then picked up a monocle from his chest and looked at Patty. This was a special device that showed whether a person had Teqx or not. It would even show what kind of Route they took for their dreams by showing either a Red, Blue, or Yellow aura surrounding them.
There wasn't any color surrounding Patty, which meant that he didn't have any Teqx.
Patty wasn't some kind of secret professional who had the tricks to beat this game. He truly was just an idiot who wanted to throw away his money. A 20% pure Kore would double his daily earnings; he wanted it. And just to be sure, he would tweak the settings of the cannon so that it would be even faster than normal.
"Okay, young man! I accept that bet. If you catch all five balls, you win and I will give you an equivalent 10,000 Chains. If you lose, then you will forfeit that 20% Kore to me."
"Deal!"
Hey kid, don't do it.
It's a scam, bro. Don't fall for it.
Save your Kore, man. You won't win.
The crowd tried to persuade him, but Patty still went forward with great confidence. Even Grammo knew better than to dissuade him. He wasn't even fazed with Patty's boldness anymore. Betting a few thousand Chains was nothing compared to when he bet their expulsion.
But when Patty reached the stage, they didn't expect that he would still be sitting in his rolling chair. They couldn't believe it. Usually, most people would stand up because they would have better mobility to try and catch the fast balls. But Patty didn't seem to care about that. If they thought he was overconfident before, then now they thought he was arrogant. There was no way he would catch all the balls while sitting.
The arcade owner quickly started the game, afraid that Patty would back out and he wouldn't get the Kore anymore.
"Ready, set, start!"
For the first cannon shot, Patty didn't even have to use his ability. It was as slow as a falling apple from a tree. This was easy. Almost everybody who challenged this game always caught the first ball.
Patty looked at the red ball in his hands with a 1 written on it.
"That's one," he said.
Don't get cocky, the arcade owner thought. This was just the beginning.
The second one was faster, about the same as a tennis ball being returned. Patty had trouble with that one and almost let it get past him. He didn't want to use his ability yet because he would only get 9 seconds of slowed time, so he had to be careful when to use it.
Patty showed the red ball with the number 5 in his hands to the audience. They clapped and applauded him.
"Woah, there kid. Having trouble, are ya? You can't back out now!" he taunted. If Patty was having trouble with just the second ball, then there was no way he could catch all five. This win was in the bag.
For the third one, it felt like it was an actual cannon that shot out a cannonball. Patty immediately had to slow down time when he heard the gunshot.
Bzzzzz
The world slowed down and he could finally see the red ball coming at him at such slow speeds that he could see the number 10 stamped on the ball. Raising his two hands, Patty slowly waited until the ball eventually landed above his head where his hands were waiting patiently. He caught the third ball.
Woah
How did he catch that?
Tsk! The arcade owner couldn't help but express his disappointment. He got lucky! He clearly had no ability to catch the balls, so he took a gamble. He clearly saw Patty raise his hands just after the cannon blew off. Patty simply got lucky that he raised his hand in the correct spot where the ball would pass through.
Hmph. He can't be lucky with the next one.
Now, the fourth ball was loaded into the cannon and shot off. This was so much faster than the last one. Even in the slowed time, Patty still saw the ball shoot through the air like it was at normal speed. He had to concentrate on this one.
But with his ability, he still caught this ball. This one had a number 15 written on it.
Everyone was speechless as they saw Patty holding the fourth ball in his hands. They couldn't even follow the ball at all. This was the ball that most people fail at. By the time the ball registered in their minds, it would have already shot past them.
And that's not all. They don't remember the fourth ball being this fast, which could only mean one thing: the arcade owner tampered with the speed and increased it. But somehow, Patty still caught it with his hands. How was that possible?!
The arcade owner was the one most speechless out of all of them. He knew how fast that ball was. Only professionals who trained their senses to the most extreme could even catch a whiff of that ball. But somehow, this normal student caught it just like that. While sitting!
Was he going to lose? Absolutely unthinkable. If he were to pay 10,000 Chains to Patty, then he would lose all the money he earned today. It would be a loss that would be hard to recoup. That can't happen.
The fifth ball was already as fast as a bullet, something that a normal person can't see, much less catch in their hands, but he didn't want to take any chances. He loaded the ball while the crowd was still reeling from the earlier catch.
He didn't give any warning and shot the fifth and final ball towards Patty. Since he wasn't ready, there was no way he was going to catch this speeding bullet, right?
BZZZTT
Patty was still looking at the ball in his hands and when all of a sudden, the he heard the buzzing in his ears again. Without even thinking about it, he activated the ability as time slowed down. Imagine his surprise when he saw the ball beside his head just as it was about to pass through him.
BOOM
The whole crowd was stunned to realize that the fifth ball had already fired from the cannon. They didn't even see anything come out of it. They only heard a whizzing past their ears as they looked towards Patty and saw him lying on the floor.
What happened to him? And where was the ball?
They couldn't see the ball behind the net, which could only mean one thing. Did Patty catch the ball?
Patty slowly raised his head and weakly turned over to show the fifth and final ball caught with both of his hands and trapped on his chest.
"I…I won! I caught it!"
[Mission Completed]
[Reward]
20 Yi Power
[11/15 Missions Completed: 1x summon scroll]
But somehow, he was the only one celebrating the success. Was everyone too stunned to realize what happened?
KYAAAA
OH MY SUPREMES
Shrieks and screams suddenly entered his ears. Were those celebrations, Patty asked himself. No, that didn't make sense. Those voices were full of fear and dread.
Suddenly, a shadow cast over his body. He saw the light suddenly dim as someone or something walked behind him
BZZZZT
BZZZZT
BZZZZT
The Muscava fly was buzzing like it was overtime. It was sending warning signals like it was the end of the world.
Patty felt a cold and wet breath from behind him. Whatever it was, it was huge. He could feel the gravity and immensity of whatever was breathing up and down behind him. He finally turned his head and saw…