Lin Xiao woke up to the sound of his sister knocking on his door, reminding him he'd be late for school.
He groggily got out of bed, gently moving the cats that were nestled on his chest to their bed.
As he washed up, he shook off the remnants of his dungeon memories, focusing instead on the normalcy of his daily routine.
Downstairs, the comforting aroma of breakfast filled the air.
His mother was busy making lunch, and his sister, Lin Meiying, was already eating. Seeing them brought a smile to his face, a sight he had missed dearly.
He sat down at the dining table and started talking with his sister.
"You got a girlfriend or something? You've been going out a lot lately," she asked, a teasing glint in her eyes.
Lin Xiao denied it as quickly as possible. "No, I just went to a gaming cafe with my friends," he said, trying to sound casual.
His sister gave him a skeptical look but decided to let it go. "You should do some sports or something. Girls like that," she said, changing the subject.
Her words triggered a memory. The basketball tournament! He had almost forgotten about it. It wasn't just about the sport; he needed the prize money.
It could help lessen the burden on his mother. He decided right then that he would join the tournament.
After finishing his breakfast, he went into the kitchen to ask his mother for permission. "Mom, there's a basketball tournament coming up. The prize money is pretty good. Can I join?"
His mother paused, looking thoughtful. "If you think you can win and it won't interfere with your studies, then yes, you can join. Just make sure to take care of yourself," she said, her voice filled with concern and encouragement.
Lin Xiao nodded.
Soon Lin Xiao set off to school.
...
...
As Lin Xiao walked to school, he pulled up his status window, analyzing his current state:
[Status Window]
Name: Lin Xiao
Race: Human
Class: None
Level: 4
Experience Points (EXP) to Level Up: 250/1000
Strength: 13.5
Stamina: 12.5
Intelligence: 16
Mana: 130.5
Charisma: 12
Stat Points: 0
Skill Points: 2
Skills: Strength Sharing (MAX), Photogenic Memory (MAX), Memory Manipulation (Lvl 3 Domain), Power Burst (Lvl 1), Map (Lvl 1), Shadow Steps (Lvl 1), Pheromone Manipulation (Lvl 1), Vitality Absorption (Lvl 1)
While Lin Xiao was looking at his status window, he decided to check his missions tab.
Looking through his completed missions, he realized that while many were done, some were still left unfinished.
These remaining tasks seemed impossible at the moment, so he decided to skip them and ask the system to replace them. He focused on the "capture the balloon kidnappers" mission, the only one he planned to keep.
"System, replace all the missions except for 'capture the balloon kidnappers,'" he instructed.
The system responded promptly:
[Missions replaced]
Hearing that, Lin Xiao decided to check the mission window again.
As Lin Xiao checked the mission tab, he saw the new missions assigned to him:
[Normal Missions:
[Modify someone's memory to make them like you]
[Reward: +0.5 Charisma, +20 Exp]
[Win the basketball match today]
[Reward: +0.5 Strength, +60 Exp]
[Help Li Na Confess]
[Reward: +0.5 Charisma, +50 Exp]
He noted that there were only three normal missions instead of the usual five but decided not to think about it too much.
The second mission intrigued him; how did the system know about the basketball match today? His curiosity was peaked so he decided to ask System about it.
[The system is attuned to your immediate environment and events. It incorporates real-time information to generate relevant missions]
Lin Xiao shrugged and moved on. The third mission seemed the easiest. Helping Li Na confess to Zhang Wei could be straightforward, especially since it involved correcting a mistake he had already made.
Next, he checked the intermediate missions:
[Intermediate Missions:
[Confess to Chen Manyao]
[Reward: +1 Charisma, +100 Exp]
[Win the basketball tournament]
[Reward: +1 Intelligence, +100 Exp]
[Train your cats to fight]
[Reward: +1 Strength, +150 Exp]
Seeing the first mission still listed surprised him, but he decided to ignore it for now. Winning the basketball tournament and training his cats were bit challenging but achievable goals.
Finally, he looked at the difficult missions:
[Difficult Missions:
[Win the Supernatural Association tournament]
[Reward: +2 Strength, +500 Exp, Key to unlock Hell Difficulty Missions]
[Capture the serial kidnappers]
[Reward: +2 Intelligence, +500 Exp, Key to unlock Hell Difficulty Missions]
Lin Xiao was shocked by the mission. This difficult mission were on a whole different level.
Winning the Supernatural Association tournament? He didn't even know such a tournament existed. He needed to talk to Li Jing about this.
He decided to focus on what he could handle immediately. The basketball match today seemed like a good start.
Finally, Lin Xiao reached the school.
As Lin Xiao walked into the classroom, his eyes caught sight of Chen Manyao as she sat absorbed in her book.
He wanted to greet her but hesitated, ultimately deciding against it, as he had only talked to her once and it was weeks ago for him. Instead, he moved past her quietly, heading toward his seat.
As he settled in, he noticed Zhang Wei back in his usual spot, engaged in a lively conversation with Li Na.
Their interaction was friendly and light-hearted, a stark contrast to Wang Lei, who sat at his desk with his head down, looking uncharacteristically subdued.
he approached the trio to greet them. "Hey, Zhang Wei, Li Na. How's it going?" he asked, his tone casual.
Zhang Wei looked up and smiled. "Hey, Lin Xiao! Just catching up with Li Na. How about you?"
"Same here, just trying to get through the day," Lin Xiao replied, glancing briefly at Wang Lei. "Everything okay with Wang Lei?"
Zhang Wei shrugged. "He's been like that since this morning. No idea what's up."
Li Na nodded in agreement. "Yeah, he wouldn't say much to us either."
Lin Xiao gave a small nod, deciding to let it go for now.
Before he could continue the conversation, the teacher entered the room, signaling the start of the lesson. Everyone quickly took their seats, and the room fell silent.