Chapter 10 - Back To School

Emmy sprawled tirelessly in the midst of the cones he had arranged himself, staring blankly into the air with his chest rising slowly. His breathing was hoarse. He closed his eyes, then opened them again and sighed.

"I only need to push harder, just a little harder,"

He muttered.

Sunny could be seen sitting on the sidelines with a bored expression on his face. An ice cream straw hung loosely from his lips, and he was surrounded by several empty snack packages. He had gotten all of that for Emmy and himself, but surprisingly, he had consumed it all by himself.

Emmy, on the other hand, didn't know how many times he had collapsed in the midst of these cones today or how many more times he still would collapse. But one thing he knew was that he wouldn't leave this place without completing the last quest.

He had been running back and forth between the cones he had set for the past five hours but still hadn't achieved his goal. At first, it was just as his brother had said—he didn't last five minutes on his first six tries. He lasted three minutes four times and four minutes twice. It was on his seventh try that he was able to last five minutes after pushing himself to the extreme limit.

That's when he realized his problem wasn't speed at all. What he lacked was stamina. His stamina wasn't strong enough to run back and forth between 10–20 yards for ten minutes.

But still, he never gave up. He pushed himself until he was able to last seven minutes after collapsing countless times. Now, he couldn't get up anymore. His arms felt heavy, his legs numb, and his body refused to move. He felt like a dead person.

His brother couldn't stop teasing him, constantly telling him to give up while also hurling harsh words at him. But all Emmy did was turn a deaf ear to him.

He knew Sunny had grown bored of watching him do the same thing repeatedly. The bastard had even taken a nap twice, gone out to fetch a load of snacks, and visited their grandfather to get the charm he made for Emmy. Even after going out more than five times, Emmy was still running back and forth nonstop. So it was fair for Sunny to hurl harsh words at him.

"You know you'll never do it if you refuse to eat anything,"

Sunny finally said after gulping down half of the ice cream in his hand. He slowly walked up to Emmy, who was still struggling to stand.

Sunny walked up to his helpless brother, helped him sit on his backside, and offered him the last sandwich and the half-empty ice cream. Sunny had already promised himself not to offer Emmy anything after persuading him to eat earlier, but his brother was stubborn and never listened. That's why Sunny had angrily consumed everything he had bought.

But now, the night sky was already approaching, and before they knew it, it would be dark. In the blink of an eye, the next day would arrive. This meant they both would be stuck here together if Emmy kept failing because the bastard wouldn't leave.

Emmy looked at Sunny as he brought the sandwich to him, still unwilling to take it. Before he could reject it, Sunny forcefully shoved it into his mouth.

"Idiot, why keep playing hard? You've already exhausted your energy; that's why you couldn't go any further. You can only replenish it by eating something,"

Sunny said, his hand holding the sandwich, which Emmy was now chewing like a hungry wolf.

After finishing the sandwich, Emmy grabbed the ice cream from his brother, gulped it down in one go, and said,

"More. I want more."

"Bastard. And you kept playing hard earlier,"

Sunny said with a smile as he tapped a few buttons on his wristwatch. A new package of snacks appeared.

---

Two hours later, Emmy lay on the pitch with a large, satisfied smile on his face, staring blankly into the air—more precisely, at his system—while Sunny was busy packing the cones to return them to the equipment store.

It was already late at night, the night sky in its full glory, and the moon lit up the dark night with a happy glow.

After so many failures and a will to never give up, Emmy had finally completed his quest for the day. After refueling himself, he relaxed for an hour to regain his energy. In the next hour, he was able to complete the task after just two tries. Now, he couldn't help but stare at the rewards with a large smile.

[Daily Quest Completed]

[Rewards have been granted]

[Rewards: +5 speed points, +2 agility points, +1 stamina point]

He decided to check his stats.

[Strength: 10]

[Stamina: 11]

[Agility: 5]

[Speed: 15]

[Perception: 5]

[Endurance: 0]

[Resistance: 0]

[Attribute Points: 0]

"If the damn system hadn't stolen my speed and agility points,"

He thought.

He would have 7 points in Agility now and 20 in Speed. His overall speed would have increased incredibly, and then he would be proud to say tomorrow at school that he had awakened a super speed ability. But now, he just hoped they would believe him.

"If I can complete everything for this week, my stats will be incredible."

His ultimate goal now was to complete all the quests for the week. He couldn't wait to see his overall speed points after that.

"Get your lazy ass up, and let's go home,"

Sunny called out after packing all the cones away.

They would be resuming school the next day.

---

Emmy woke up early the next morning and quickly went for what he called his early morning exercise.

The first thing he did was sprint to the highway from his house. According to the system, the distance was as far as 200 meters. Upon reaching the highway, the first part of the daily quest had already been marked completed. Without wasting time, he started his six-lap jog around the highway to complete the second quest.

He moved back home and prepared for school. The last quest would be left until the evening after school.

By the time he was done getting ready, his brother was just waking up. Emmy decided to inspect the charm their grandfather had made while Sunny was getting ready for school.

He hadn't had time to look at it yesterday because he was too exhausted, but now he had plenty of time.

The charm was surprisingly a wristband. It was a silvery band with his name embedded on it alongside various football designs. The moment he put it on, he could feel a faint but strange energy around him. The energy was oddly similar to that of the divine rock when it first appeared at the Heavenly Tower, but it wasn't as suffocating. It was almost as if he were the only one who could feel it—well, maybe some powerful people could too, he guessed.

"Is this what it feels like to have an ability?"

Emmy thought.

He decided to wear the band on his left wrist while his right was occupied by the wristwatch Sunny had gotten him.

"Let's just hope they won't suspect anything,"

He murmured.

---

Several minutes later, Emmy and his brother stood at the front of the school gate, which was wide open, with students pouring inside. Some were catching up and discussing how they had spent their summer holiday.

The school name, 'New Dawn College,' was boldly written at the top of the gate. Right below it, on a large banner, were the words 'Welcome Back to School.'

Emmy's lips curled into a smirk as he walked through the entrance.