Lean's eyes widened at the sudden message that read before him.
[Daily Quest Incomplete: Remaining time for the penalty to commence: 5 minutes.]
"Huh… Daily Quest?"
He couldn't believe what he was seeing.
His eyes then went to the part that said 'penalty.'
"Daily Quest and a Penalty!" he exclaimed at the top of his voice.
"No one told me anything about a daily quest and most of all, a penalty!"
[Notice!]
[Daily Quest Incomplete: Remaining time for the penalty to commence: 4 minutes.]
"What!" he yelled.
As the message reappeared, it became clear that the time limit was one minute shorter than the previous.
"What should I do?… What should I do?" he muttered.
He moved aimlessly as he struggled to find an answer. However, nothing came to him.
With the idea of a penalty, he thought of what was going to happen— if something was going to occur to him.
This was a penalty he was talking about, it was something that might come as a massive impact.
However, he was not so sure of what might even happen. I mean it was not like he knew that there was going to be any time relating to a penalty until now.
Although he was almost close to the inn, as the arena was not too far from it.
The street had a cheerful atmosphere, however, to him, he felt a very big weight in his chest. Just a moment ago, he was thinking of how useless the system might be without giving him magic, but after he saw he might be able to gain some he became relaxed.
However, what disturbed him now was the thought of the system giving him punishment for looking down on it.
[Notice!]
[Daily Quest Incomplete: Remaining time for the penalty to commence: 1 minute.]
"One minute already? Is this system broken or something," Lean said as he noticed how four minutes had already passed.
[Tch!]
The robotic feminine voice muttered.
It is as if the system could respond to him, like a human. Or rather the system has its thoughts?
[Penalty will commence in 5
[4…]
[3…]
[2…]
[1…]
...
Suddenly, everything around Lean fell silent, not a single sound broke the stillness, not even the voices of the bustling crowd on the street
"W-What is going on…?"
He couldn't believe it.
"Why isn't there a single noise?"
"Or Am I deaf?"
"Has the system made me deaf?"
"Hmm?… I can't hear my voice."
"Why can't I hear my voice."
As he looked around, trying to notice the changes that were happening, he witnessed everything beginning to slow down bit by bit. And in a mere moment, everything stopped.
'Hm?'
From the sudden silence in his surroundings to everything that once moved to freeze.
It was as if the time itself had stopped.
'Is this the system's penalty' he said in his thoughts as he already knew he couldn't hear his voice even if he spoke.
However, before he could react, the ground where he stood suddenly opened, and he fell into it.
"Arrrggghhh!"
He screamed as he found himself falling at a very high speed down to the down which he saw, looking like sand.
"I-Is that sand? No water?" he said as he got completely confused about what he saw.
"Wait I can hear my voice again?"
After a few moments of being in the fall, he finally fell to the ground.
"Urgh" he groaned in pain. However, to him, there was no pain; the noise he made just came out, knowing it was the most usual thing a person would do after failing from a height.
He then found himself in an unknown place
As he stood up to observe the place…
"I-Is that—"
What he saw was unexplainable. It was a place filled with sand—where he stood, as well as an ocean beside him
It was a place where sand and water exited side by side, but they did not blend. It was as if something prevented them from merging.
Lean confidently glanced up to check if the hole he had fallen from was still there. However, the sun's glare forced him to look away.
The sky was red and the clouds were brown.
This was not the world he was just a moment ago. This place was completely different from the ordinary.
Lean was struck by the breathtaking view and felt compelled to determine exactly where this remarkable place was.
There was nothing that could be seen in sight except continuous sand and water.
As he walked along the side of the river, he tried to find any signs of life, but there was none.
There were no trees, no birds in the sky, no animals in the ground—the place was just empty. He was sure that he was the only living creature in this place.
Whether this was another planet, he couldn't tell, or whether it was another dimension, he still couldn't tell.
He then placed his hands near his mouth as he shouted.
"Hello!"
"Is anyone here!!"
His voice traveled at the speed of sound, and he could hear it again from behind him.
The more he shouted, the more his voice came back to him. It was as if his voice was rotating.
Sigh'
"Didn't this system bring me here? Where is it now?"
Lean continued walking straight with no form of a destination.
It was as if he had reached the end of the earth. No, it was more like he was transported to the future where all lives were no more.
With a huff, Lean exhaled, feeling completely drained after his long walk.
He then sat on the ground with a high sigh of relief, until it happened again.
[Notice!]
The voice spoke again in his head.
[Penalty Area Arrived Successfully]
[Penalty Quest: Survive the hellish scene that is about to occur]
[Time Given: 2 hours]
[Failure to complete the penalty quest will result in an extra penalty quest.]
"The hellish scene?"
'What does it mean by a hellish scene?'
'What is going to happen?'
Lean thoughts became unclear.
"Huh…? Has the sun begun to get hotter?"