Ryuichi jolted awake, his body drenched in sweat. A searing pain shot through his head, as if something was trying to burst from within. He ran a trembling hand over his forehead, trying to regain his composure.
"What was that? A dream? No... it felt too real..." His thoughts swirled. "Am I going crazy?" No, that was impossible. He was in perfect health, at least physically. But he couldn't shake the overwhelming feeling that something was haunting him. "A curse... I'm sure it's a warlock. He wants to turn me into one of his minions. But then why didn't that mage do anything to help me? Fucking Fakes, I want to expose these people, why has no one said anything yet, people are too stupid, I need to go see someone else, someone that is not known..."
He got up with difficulty, his legs wobbling beneath him. His eyes scanned the dark, silent room, searching for an explanation. The shadows danced around him, sinister and menacing, as if they sought to envelop him in their icy embrace. He remembered the legends, stories of individuals chosen by the universe for cosmic quests, tales of an unsettling rarity. It seemed crazy... but not impossible.
Ding.
The sound rang out again, the cursed notification reappearing in his field of vision. Another quest he thought. But this time, something was different. A deep, resonant voice echoed in his mind.
"Ryuichi... don't be afraid."
He recoiled, his heart pounding wildly. His hands clenched into fists.
"Who's speaking?! Is it you, warlock?! Show yourself! I'll find you and kill you!"
His anger twisted his features, but deep down, an insidious terror began to creep in.
"I am not a warlock," the voice responded with an odd gentleness. "I am... a celestial being. You have been chosen for a cosmic quest."
Ryuichi burst into laughter, a nervous, almost hysterical laugh.
"A cosmic quest? Prove it! Prove it, or I'll never believe you!"
The voice didn't waver.
"Do you remember the prophecy of the great mage of Noviak? She said the universe had demanded too much of her... and that she had spoken of you."
His breath caught in his throat. Yes, he remembered. That prophecy... those words he had tried to forget, to dismiss as mere fraud.
"But... why me? I dont believe you warlock, you will never get me alive, I will go see your elf friend and slit his throat." Ryuichi murmured, the anger giving way to a mixture of fear and confusion.
"One of the greatest mages of Noviak prophesied about you. She said that the universe had asked too much of her."
After all he was feeling well, not cursed, and why would a warlock bother with him, if he had the power to implant such a curse, this started to not make much sense, maybe he was lucky after all he thought. "Prove it" he replied, his voice trembling.
"We can see through the minds of beings, warlocks cant, they break and control. You are perfectly suited for this quest."
"How can I be sure you're not a powerful warlock feeding me like a pig to be slaughtered?" Ryuichi squinted in suspicion.
The voice remained calm.
"Think, Ryuichi. If I were a warlock capable of such, you wouldn't interest me in the slightest."
Ryuichi paused to reflect. Perhaps... perhaps for the first time in his life, he was simply lucky.
"Am I blessed by the heavens?" he murmured to himself.
"At last, you're starting to think," said the voice in a mysterious tone, like that of an ancient spirit, thousands of years old.
Ryuichi raised an eyebrow, intrigued by the turn of the conversation.
"Alright, so if this is real what is this quest about, do I really need to do it, can I just abandon?"
"Do you think cosmic quests are so easy to obtain?"
The voice chuckled.
"You're already whining like a child. Do what you're asked... or die. Your choice."
Ryuichi swallowed hard, feeling a drop of sweat trickle down his temple. A lot of famous people had obtain unimaginable gear from celestial quest lines the thing is that once chosen, you could not abandon the quest.
"And... if I fail a quest?" he asked, his throat tightening.
"Fail what? Jogging?! I almost want to feed you to the trolls. If you can't even manage a little running, I could end this here and now. I could kill you now... and this quest would be over."
"Can I leave this quest if I accept?" Ryuichi asked, his heart pounding.
"No," the voice replied coldly, without hesitation.
Ding
You have being chosen for a celestial quest, would you like to accept
"Can a Warlock do that now? they don't..." the voice said
Thinking about it Ryuichi did not have much to loose, his parents were famous raider and had died in a raid when he was 12, maybe that was what he needed to be able to join a famous guild, like the one his parents were in. After all he was a simple thief who lived in the street, " I have no future anyway" he thought "Fuck it, I have nothing to loose I accept" he said
" Great, everything is happening like destined to, I would of hate for the crossroad to change and have to find someone else, I want you to complete the daily quests. That's all for now. Oh, and there are certainly interesting rewards," the voice added, almost amused.
"Well, I have stuff to do, can I do it later?" Ryuichi replied.
The voice grew colder, sharper, like a winter wind.
"My spirit is already within you, I don't like wasting time... If you do not follow the quests asked of you, it will be the end of your life, so do you want to live?" The voice resonated, implacable.
Ryuichi felt a shiver run from his head to his feet. He swallowed hard before answering:
"Live... I like life... thank you."
"Good. Then let's begin."
Ding Ding Ding. The notification reappeared in his mind, marking the beginning of a new trial.
Quest 1: Physical Reinforcement
Objective: Do 100 push-ups, 100 squats, 100 sit-ups everyday.
Description: "Your physical strength must match the task ahead. Complete these exercises to maintain optimal condition."
Quest 2: Endurance
Objective: Run 10 kilometers a day without stopping.
Description: "Endurance is the key to survival in critical situations. Run the required distance to improve your physical resistance."
Quest 3: Combat Techniques Training
Objective: Practice your dagger techniques for 4 hours.
Description: "Mastering combat skills requires rigorous discipline. Spend 4 hours a day perfecting your movements, refining your precision, and strengthening your control to face the challenges ahead."
Ryuichi looked at the list and groaned.
"This is to much, this is like 10 hours of training daily! Are you trying to kill me?"
"Shut up and Go! You humans have gotten so weak. Ancient human use to do that with out potions and in sick bodies, which were fat, they didn't even have magic."
After several hours, he finally sat down for a break. He headed to his kitchen, grabbed a piece of bread from the cupboard, and some rejuvenation and started making his way to the thieves' district to start his dagger training, as required by the quest.
"Ryuichi," the voice suddenly said in his mind, "Your parents were great thieves."
"What do you know about my parents?!" he exclaimed, outraged. "Don't talk to me about my parents!"
"I'm a celestial being... We'll be spending a lot of time together, so let's try to get along, alright."
"Easy for you to say after threatening to kill me..." he thought, irritated.
"You accepted the quest. Did you not?"
irritated he then headed to the training room, a large, dim space illuminated only by magical lanterns hanging on the walls. The atmosphere was thick, almost suffocating, as if the air itself was weighed down by the efforts of those who had trained there before. Wooden dummies and training machines were lined up, ready to be activated.
Ryuichi tossed a handful of copper coins into the slot to start the machines. A click echoed, followed by the whirring of gears and wheels as they came to life. Metal balls suddenly shot out from the walls, accompanied by magical jets, ready to strike him at every mistake.
He dashed forward, his heart pounding in his chest. Every movement was a struggle to stay focused. He struck the targets with what felt like clumsy precision. The balls whizzed toward him, and he tried to dodge them with agility, but each failure stung like a slap, amplified by the fatigue that was weighing on his muscles.
The voice in his head resumed its usual mocking tone.
"Wow, you're far from being a thief, ahaha!" the spirit jeered, its tone dripping with sarcasm.
Ryuichi gritted his teeth, wiping the sweat from his forehead. He was starting to feel the exhaustion catching up with him, his movements becoming less precise.
"What? You think being a thief is easy?! You're just a spirit—you don't know what it's like to have a body!" he snapped, frustrated.
The training room, with its cold stone walls, seemed to close in on him. He could almost hear the echo of his own thoughts bouncing off the empty space around him.
"Let me show you," the spirit offered in a calm, almost too confident tone. "Let me control your body. I'll show you how it's done."
A notification suddenly appeared in Ryuichi's mind:
An entity requests to guide you. Do you accept?
He hesitated, what if this is just the curse? I am still not sure if I am cursed. His legs were trembling slightly, his muscles fatigued from the effort, letting him once, he will have control of me, will I disappear today? Maybe he needed to trust, just this once. He swallowed hard and finally murmured:
"Yes..."
"Good. Relax. Don't move. And most importantly... don't be afraid. Otherwise, I won't be able to control you properly."
He took a deep breath, trying to calm his frantic heartbeat. Anxiety welled up inside him, but he couldn't back down now.
"Let's begin," the voice said, gentler this time.
Ryuichi reactivated the training room. This time, something different happened. He felt his limbs become incredibly light, as if the weight of fatigue had been lifted. It was strange, almost disorienting. His arms moved as if guided by an invisible force—gentle but firm. The air seemed to push him along with a breeze, each movement flowing with a grace he had never experienced before.
He struck the targets with unsettling precision, shattering the metal balls before they could reach him, and dodged each magical jet with almost supernatural ease.
A signal sounded in the room.
Level 1 complete.
Without thinking, he moved on to the next level. Each level became more challenging, but under the spirit's guidance, everything seemed curiously easy.
Level 2, 3, 4... he breezed through the motions as if in a dream.
Level 5, 6...
Suddenly, the voice grew more serious, almost concerned.
"Wait. Don't go any further. Your body won't withstand it beyond this point. You're not flexible or agile enough for the higher levels yet. It would be pointless to continue."
Ryuichi slowed down, breathless but strangely exhilarated by what he had just accomplished. He collapsed onto the floor of the training room, panting as the spirit slowly withdrew from his control.
He looked up at the ceiling, feeling the coolness of the stone against his sweat-soaked skin.
"Maybe this spirit really knows what it's doing..."