Zalin found himself lying in his bed once again. He sighed with relief and exasperation. He was happy it had only been a dream, no matter how much he enjoyed the thought of it. He waved his hand, pushing the thoughts away then stopped dead in his tracks. Three hologram-like panels floated in the air in front of him.
His mind ran wild with thoughts of disbelief, but here it was, floating in front of him. He closed his eyes, focusing, and opened them again. The panels were still there.
So, it wasn't a dream, Zalin thought out loud. I really have some kind of leveling system! This was exciting for him, as he would finally have an ability like the rest of the world! He laughed with relief.
Welcome to the Empathic System, user Zalin!, the cheery voice piped in his mind! Startling Zalin out of his thoughts.
You have new quests available! Would you like to view them?! The System voice sounded excited.
Quests, thought Zalin. Immediately a tab appeared on his main screen and opened up revealing a list of quests.
Quests are given daily to the User, resetting every day at first light, the system voice said. Be sure to complete them to help your level progression! Completion of all Daily Quests in a single day will award you with bonus experience, as well as a single stat point!
Now this, Zalin thought, sounded interesting. They system seemed to have a way of speed leveling him!
The Quests Tab had eight quests in total on it to complete, with quest rewards! The rewards varied from quest to quest, and the quests seemed easy enough.
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• Meditate for 30 Minutes
• Quest Reward: Special Stat: Focus +1
• Perform Simple Fluid Exercise for 30 Minutes
• Quest Reward: Special Stat: Synergy +1
• Practice an Ability for 5 Minutes
• Quest Reward: 10xp
• Use a Talent
• Quest Reward: 25xp
• Drink 64oz of Water
• Quest Reward: 25xp
• Walk for 30 Minutes
• Quest Rewards: 25xp
• Participate in a Fight:
• Quest Reward: 50xp
• Bonus Quest: Win a Fight
• Quest Reward: Special Stat: Resistance +1
• Bonus Reward for Completing All Quests: +5 Stat Points
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Zalin was confident he could complete these quests with ease, apart from a few questions he had concerning a few of them quests, most of them seemed relatively easy. The one that worried him was the Bonus Quest. As one of the weakest people on the planet, fighting had never been his thing. Not that he didn't know how to fight, he just avoided it. Not having a gift made it near impossible for him to stand a chance in any combat situation.
Well, said Zalin to himself, we'd better get this day started, and knock out a few daily quests as well!
Zalin didn't go to college like most people his age, and he was lucky to have some kind of a paying side hustle.. In today's society you had to have money and a good ability in order to qualify for almost anything. The only reason Zalin had sufficient housing and food, as well as low paying side hustle, was because of his grandfather's status and political power. It was literally the only that carried him through life. And Zalin had never even met the man. He didn't even know if he was still alive. Regardless, the man had taken care of him nearly his entire life.
Zalin got up and went to the fridge, pulling out a bottle of water and downing it. Might as well get started, he thought to himself. Zalin wasn't normally a water drinker. He drink tea, or soda, juice, something with flavor, but water wasn't really his thing.
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16 of 64oz of Water Consumed
Quest Updated
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I guess it works!, said Zalin, laughing out loud. Time to work on the meditation quest. He comfortable on the floor, sitting in a cross legged position, his hands on his knees. He closed his eyes, and slowed his breathing. Zalin had very little knowledge of meditation. All that he knew of it were from historical internet videos, recorded over a thousand years ago, from the eastern Asian continent. The continent names were the only thing unchanged after the Devastation.
He steadied himself and his breathing. In the old videos, they seemed very relaxed and focused. He needed to focus, on what thoug, he thought to himself, all he could see was the darkness behind his eyes. Zalin decided that the darkness would be his focus, and with a bit of effort, he drove all thoughts away from his mind, leaving only him and the darkness.
The darkness went on forever in every direction. If Zalin focused on a particular area, his mentality seemed to be drawn to that point, as if forced there by his will. It was almost like flying, Zalin mused. This feeling was a new sensation for him, and he relished in it.
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Quest Completed
Quest Reward Gained
+1 to Special Stat: Focus
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Zalins eyes popped open. Had it been a half an hour already? He checked his daily quests and sure enough, the quest had been completed and grayed out. This excited him more than he'd like to have admitted. And even though it seemed to be the smallest progress, he did seem to be a little more focused. His goal today would be to complete these quests so he could gain the Stat points given to him from the system by completing all of the requirements for the day.
With that Zalin got up and stretched, it was going to be a long day for him, and he wanted to be prepared. After showering, and getting dressed in something light and airy, he packed a back pack with a couple bottles of water and some essentials, and headed cracked open a third bottle of water. He was parched after his meditation session, and even the hot steam of the shower opening his pores couldn't fully hydrate him. Zalin opened another bottle of water and drank deeply, with a satisfied smile as he heard the notification go off.
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Quest Updated
32 of 64oz of Water Consumed
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After finishing the bottle of water and throwing it in the trash, Zalin headed out the door and down the street. He wanted to visit the library to do some research into a couple of his quests. Not that he couldn't have done that from home with his own computer, but he figured he'd knock out the walking quest in the time it took him to reach the library.
The library wasn't that far at all, only being about 2 miles down the road from his house. It was a warm day out and Zalin wanted to make quick work of this trip. Avoiding the areas where the bullies hung out, as well as large crowds, he ended up making it there in what felt like no time.
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Quest Completed
Quest Reward Gained
25xp Gained
25/100xp
75xp Needed to Reach Level 2
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Zalin heard the notification go off in his mind, and smiled, though inwardly he was excited beyond all belief. Completing all of the daily quests would allow him to level up today! This was almost too good to be true. Maybe this system wouldn't be so bad, he thought to himself, as he drank down another bottle of water.
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Quest Updated
48 of 64oz of Water Consumed
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Zalin was ready to get things going and finish off his remaining quests. He found himself a comfortable chair and a private room for unlimited use of the public and private internets. The extended use of the public internet was restricted, even in our homes. The library was no exception. The private internet was only accessible by the families of prominent people and political elites. Using his grandfather's name was all he needed to bypass the normal policies for someone in his situation and financial position.
It was to get down to business. Zalin cracked open the last bottle of water and downed it. He was unnaturally thirsty today.
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Quest Completed
Quest Reward Gained
25xp Gained
50/100xp
50xp Needed to Reach Level 2
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He was halfway to his victory, a small victory, but a victory nonetheless. The weak Zalin would be moving out the door, and new, stronger version, would gradually replace him. Cracking his knuckles, he opened the provided laptop, and after typing in his credentials, he began typing into the private internet search bar.
Zalin need to find out about two quests here. Namely, finding out an example of what a "fluid exercise" was and how to perform it. The other was the best examples of fighting in history, as he needed to improve his fighting skills for to even attempt to complete the Bonus Quest, which would be the hardest for Zalin to complete.
With a sigh he began his search, hoping that this would be a simple find. He typed in the appropriate search words and read them carefully, before clicking the search button.
Almost immediately a list of links had appeared.