Karl took a deep breath, keeping his composure as Sasha continued her usual routine of passive-aggressive jabs.
"Well, enjoy wasting your time, Karl," Sasha scoffed, flipping her ponytail as she turned to leave. "I have an actual job to get back to."
Karl didn't respond. He simply watched her disappear into the crowd, shaking his head.
"Some people never change," he muttered.
His phone buzzed.
---
[Tutorial Quest 18/20]
Objective: Alter how people perceive urgency when using escalators.
Example: Make them believe standing still on escalators is an outdated, inefficient habit.
Reward: +20 Uncommon Points
---
Karl stared at the quest description, arching an eyebrow.
"Huh. So, basically, I have to make people stop being lazy and start walking up the escalators?"
He looked at the nearby escalator, where people stood idly, some engrossed in their phones, others chatting, completely ignoring the flow of foot traffic.
"Alright, let's see how much chaos this can cause," Karl mused, opening the app.
His fingers hovered over the screen as he typed:
"People in this area will feel that standing still on escalators is embarrassing—like blocking traffic in the middle of the street."
He hesitated for a brief moment before pressing [YES].
And just like that, the change began.
At first, nothing seemed out of the ordinary. Then, a woman at the top of the escalator frowned at the people standing in front of her.
"Ugh, why are people just standing here?" she muttered, stepping past them.
A man in a business suit glanced around, suddenly looking self-conscious. "Yeah... this is kind of annoying."
He started walking up, nudging his way past those who were still standing.
Then, a young guy in a hoodie sighed exaggeratedly. "I swear, standing on escalators is for lazy people."
His friend immediately straightened up. "Dude, you're right! Why are we just standing here?"
One by one, more and more people began moving, as if an unspoken rule had suddenly been ingrained in their minds. The entire escalator transformed into a fast-moving, self-clearing pathway.
Even those who were hesitant at first found themselves swept up in the sudden change of common sense. No one wanted to be the awkward one holding up the crowd.
Karl watched in amusement as an elderly man at the bottom of the escalator hesitated, looking around nervously. A younger woman gently gestured for him to go first, and instead of stubbornly standing still, he nodded and slowly began walking.
Karl smirked. "This is insane."
He checked his phone.
---
[Tutorial Quest Progress: 18/20]
[Uncommon Points: 260]
---
The mall's flow had completely shifted, all because of one tiny adjustment.
Karl leaned against a nearby railing, observing his handiwork.
"At this rate, I'll finish these tutorial quests in no time."