Matt blinked a few times at the new popup in front of him. It felt like it was mockingly starting back at him.
__________
[New Quest]
Pay the Rent [$43/800] [Reward: +Mystery Reward, +30xp]
{7D 9H 23M left}
__________
He quickly studied the quest until something caught his attention.
'Mystery Reward? What does that even mean? Just tell me what it's gonna be.' he exhaled slightly annoyed.
He was just being grumpy though. The prospect of a reward made him excited, even if it was a mystery. So far it seemed like the system only gave him XP and sometimes a stat point. This was the first time he had seen a different type of reward.
Maybe it was dependent on the type of quest? It seemed like the XP amount kept changing too.
One last thing he noticed was that there was a timer on the quest. It seemed like he had to finish it in a week to get the reward. There was no way he was going to give up on such an interesting reward, he had to get the money now.
He closed out of the quest and stared around his apartment. There were still clothes laying all over the ground but other than that, it looked cleaner than it ever had. Even just with the trash cleaned up, it was looking significantly better.
'Well, I guess I better get started on the clothes. I don't know what I'm going to do about getting the rent money but I guess I'll just have to worry about that tomorrow.'
With that, Matt went around picking up any thrown-away clothes he could find as the counter on the quest slowly ticked up.
Pick up Laundry [5/14]
After a few more rounds around his apartment, he managed to gather all of the clothes and dump them into the laundry basket in his bedroom. Another ding sounded as the quest finished.
__________
[Quest Complete]
Pick up Laundry [23/23]
+6xp [XP 60/100]
__________
'The last cleaning quest is done. I hate cleaning but that wasn't as hard as I thought it was going to be.'
Matt looked at his general quests again to see what was left.
__________
||General||
Take a Shower [Reward: +4xp]
Do Pushups [0/100] [Reward: +2 Strength, +20xp]
(NEW) Pay the Rent [$43/800] [Reward: +Mystery Reward, +30xp]
__________
Matt glanced at the shower quest before looking down at himself. His clothes were nasty due to his recent run and also just the fact that he hadn't showered in three days. He would often put off showering since he couldn't be bothered to wash laundry and prepare everything.
'I really don't want to live like this anymore'
Everyone pushed him away because he just wasn't pleasant to be around.
'If I put in a little effort, I can be better. The system's just a bonus, or maybe a sign that it's time to change?'
With a renewed fire in his eyes, Matt decided which quest to do next.
'Pushups it is.'
He made his way to the bedroom and laid down face-first on the floor with his hands out. He lined up his legs and pushed away from the floor once, completing a pushup.
Do Pushups [1/100]
'Huh. That wasn't very hard. This is going to be a breeze.'
A minute later, Matt panted and gasped for air as he pushed up with his shaking arms. Sweat dripped from his face and landed on the floor.
Do Pushups [7/100]
'It keeps getting so much worse every time. Why is this so hard?'
He pushed up from the floor again, but his arms shook more this time.
Do Pushups [12/100]
'How do other people do this every day? Is 100 a normal amount or is it a lot?'
After a few more minutes Matt collapsed onto the ground, out of energy.
Do Pushups [14/100]
'This is no use. I can't do any more.'
He stared at the screen above him as he caught his breath on the floor.
'Do I have to do it all at the same time? There isn't a time limit so I guess not?'
Matt stood up and noticed that his clothes and face were completely drenched in sweat. There was also a small puddle on the floor where he just was.
'I really need a shower. I stink, bad.'
He got into the shower and thought for a while.
'It feels like a whole day has passed between the cafe and now. I can't believe it's the same day still. The system is incredible and I still feel like I'm going to wake up and it's going to be gone.'
He opened his stats again just to look.
__________
||Stats||
Name: Matt Peterson
Age: 18
LVL: 1 [XP 60/100] (+6)
HP | 10/10
MP | 0/0
Status Effects: (Sleep Deprivation) [Lesser], (Physical Strain) [Critical]
-
||Attributes||
[Str] - 6
[Con] - 8
[Agi] - 9
[Dex] - 11
[Int] - 12
[Luk] - 10
-
||Skills||
Inspect [Lv.1], Map [Lv.1]
__________
He looked away from his stats and at the floor of the shower.
'I don't know how I'm going to pay the rent. I'm broke. My paycheck this week won't cover it either.'
Potential solutions ran through Matt's head but he ended up with nothing that could get him out of the situation.
'I just need money.'
He sighed again.
Oh well, I'll leave that to future me.'
__________
[Quest Complete]
Take a Shower
+4xp [XP 64/100]
__________
Matt made his way back to his bedroom stretching his arms and yawning. He looked at the clock next to his bed.
[9:46 PM]
'I guess I could use some sleep. I'm exhausted from all these physical quests.'
He browsed through his quests again before closing out of the menu and sitting down on his bed. As he thought about the skills and the system, a smile formed on his face.
'This was the best day ever. I don't know who to thank, but I'm going to use this to change my life.'
Matt laid back in his bed, worn out from the constant exercise and cleaning. As he closed his eyes, he passed out from exhaustion.
...
....
...
In a dark alley, somewhere in the world, a man stood with a wide smile on his face. He stared at the screen in front of him full of pride.
__________
[Quest Complete]
Defeat Punks [10/10]
+Mystery Reward, +50xp [XP 83/144]
__________
"Hah. That's what you get for messing with me. I even got a nice reward for my efforts."
He wiped the blood from his fists on his clothes and made a strange glowing box appear in his hands.
"Now let's see what this so-called mystery reward is."
...
....
...