The sun had barely risen, but already, the world outside was bustling with activity. Birds chirped, a stray dog barked, and the familiar scent of breakfast was in the air.
Waking up after the festival felt like coming back to life after a legendary party—except, in my case, the party involved less dancing and more drooling. The crib life is glamorous, folks.
It was the perfect morning for a new quest.
That's right. The system had given me yet another challenge to conquer.
[SYSTEM ALERT: NEW QUEST AVAILABLE!]
Objective: "The Balanced Diet "Details: Consume three new food items today.
Reward: +1 Strength, +1 Agility.
"Oh, great," I thought, trying not to roll my baby eyes. "Is this how my life's gonna be now? Quests involving food? I mean, I'm not complaining, but come on."
Mom was already in the kitchen, humming cheerfully while stirring something in a bowl that could have been anything from mashed potatoes to what I assumed was some kind of alien sludge. "Good morning, my little genius!" she greeted, swooping me up out of the crib as if I weighed nothing.
"Yeah, yeah, I'm a genius," I muttered silently. "We'll see if my system agrees when I complete this food quest."
Mom set me down in my high chair, the tray in front of me looking suspiciously clean. "We're going to try some new foods today, okay, Andreas?" she said like she was about to unveil a magic trick. "You're going to love it! First up… avocado!"
She showed me the mushy green concoction, and I gave it the side-eye. "Really? You couldn't have started me off with something easy like pizza? Or a cookie?" But instead of whining (too much), I went along with it because, well, the system was watching.
The spoon entered my mouth. At first, it was… weird. But surprisingly, it wasn't terrible. The texture was smooth, and the flavor—well, it was an acquired taste.
[SYSTEM ALERT: FOOD REGISTERED! 1/3 COMPLETE.]
I couldn't help but feel a tiny bit proud. One down, two to go. Maybe being a "food quest hero" wasn't as bad as I'd originally thought.
"Next, we're trying sweet potato," Mom announced, completely unaware of my internal commentary. She scooped some onto the spoon and shoved it into my mouth with the enthusiasm of a chef presenting a Michelin-star dish.
I paused.
Wait…
I knew this taste. This wasn't just any sweet potato. This was the good stuff. The kind they served at fancy dinners or on food challenge shows.
I smiled.
[SYSTEM ALERT: FOOD REGISTERED! 2/3 COMPLETE.]
"Mom, you're a wizard. This is the good sweet potato," I thought, trying to hide my excitement. My newfound "gourmet taste" was already paying off.
And then… the moment I feared arrived: pear.
If avocado was weird and sweet potato was a winner, pear? Pear was like that "last pick" at the lunch table. The flavor was okay, but the texture? Weirdly gritty.
I took one bite. And then another. My baby face scrunched up as I tried to pretend like I liked it.
"Uh-oh. Not sure I'm going to make it through this one, Mom," I thought, silently fighting the urge to spit it out. But, hey, the system wasn't going to let me off easy.
With Herculean effort, I swallowed the pear mush down.
[SYSTEM ALERT: FOOD REGISTERED! QUEST COMPLETE.]
Reward: +1 Strength, +1 Agility!
I felt a surge of energy, like someone had slipped me a tiny potion of awesomeness. Seriously, this food quest might be the easiest thing I'd ever done—and yet, it still counted as a level-up in my book.
"Well done, little genius!" Mom cooed, clearly oblivious to my inner struggle with the pear. She clapped her hands, obviously proud of how "well" I'd eaten.
"Yeah, sure, I'll add 'food connoisseur' to my resume," I thought, staring at the half-eaten pear on the tray. The system was way too pleased with this little diet challenge.
Just as I was basking in my newfound "strength" and "agility," the system decided to hit me with another quest.
[SYSTEM ALERT: NEW QUEST AVAILABLE!]
Objective: "Master the Spoon "Details: Successfully feed yourself with the spoon.
Reward: +2 Intelligence.
I stared at the screen.
Master the spoon? Seriously? I couldn't even hold the spoon right, and now it wanted me to feed myself with it?
But I wasn't going to back down from a challenge. Not after my culinary victories today.
As I grasped the spoon (awkwardly), I had a sudden flash of genius. What if I turned this into an art form? The "Masterpiece Spoon Feeding"? I'd be like the Picasso of mashed peas.
I took the spoon in my hand with all the confidence of a toddler trying to hold a weapon for the first time. It was shaky, I was definitely covered in puree, but I managed to scoop some food onto it.
I raised the spoon toward my mouth, not expecting much. "You're really gonna do this, aren't you?" I thought, already regretting the decision.
But then something happened. I got it to my mouth—successfully! It wasn't graceful, and it definitely wasn't elegant, but it was enough for the system to register.
[SYSTEM ALERT: QUEST COMPLETE.]
Reward: +2 Intelligence!
As I stared at the glowing screen in triumph, I couldn't help but laugh a little. Who knew a spoon could lead to such a grand victory? Maybe I was a genius after all.
But just as I started to feel smug, the door opened. Mom walked in, looking at the mess around me—food everywhere—and gasped.
"Oh no, what have you done?" she exclaimed.
I couldn't help but grin. "Uh... you said I was a genius," I thought with a smug baby smile.
And then... the next quest popped up.
[SYSTEM ALERT: NEW QUEST AVAILABLE!]
Quest: "Cleanup Time"
Objective: Clean up your mess. Reward: +1 Charisma
I sighed. Looks like this baby had to earn some real life skills after all.