—————————–

[Quests List]

[Daily]

<Eating Habits: COMPLETE>

-Rewards for completion: Ten Experience, ten DNA points

-Failure Penalty: None

(Eat a healthy meal)

<Physical training: COMPLETE>

-Rewards for completion: Ten Experience, ten DNA points

-Failure Penalty: None

(Train for at least an hour. The Host may choose whatever exercise to complete the quest.)

—————————–

<I finished the second daily quest,> Erik thought with satisfaction. Then curiosity arose, “Status,” he said, and a screen appeared in front of his eyes. Was it a mirage? A projection? An illusion?

—————————–

[Host Information]

-Name: Erik Romano

-Age: 16

-Level: 0

-Experience: 30/100

-DNA points: 30

-Health: 100/100

-Mana: 10/10

[Attributes]

-Strength: 3

-Intelligence: 6

-Dexterity: 4

-Energy: 1

[Available Attributes point: 0]

—————————–

He was satisfied with his training. He had thirty DNA points, only seventy missing to reach his goal. Then the future would be unknown. If now he knew that he was destined to suffer because of his unfortunate power, with the system, everything would be different. There was hope.

Erik was not athletic; he had no visible abs and was a bit chubby. He wasn’t strong since his brain crystal power was the worst in terms of mana efficiency, but he was relatively good-looking. He had brown eyes and raven black hair that gave the kid a mysterious look. Too bad he was shunned by society or he would have had a lot of success with women.

Sweat trickled from the young man’s forehead when he ended the exercises. He had to take it slow because he would risk a muscle contracture at best if he rushed things. He sat on one end of his old sofa while resting his back against another armrest.

He was sweaty, and the sensation of his wet skin on the dry couch wasn’t the best. He was tired and wanted to rest a little before taking a shower, having dinner, and going to bed.

The room looked like something out of an antique store: sofas with wooden frames covered in floral patterns and tables made entirely of wood. The furniture was old and probably second or third-hand; he couldn’t afford a new one.

A single window stood open behind him, allowing moonlight and fresh air into the living space. It also let Erik hear bugs outside—a rare thing those days, thanks to pollution.

There weren’t many trees left either because he lived in the city. His apartment building itself was quite large compared to most others around it, which meant more people could live there. But since the building was not in its best shape, there weren’t many people living in it, and it didn’t feel too overcrowded. Though, since the place was not in the rich part of the city, there were many people roaming the street at night, and Erik didn’t feel very safe coming home late at night.

When Erik was about to go wash, his smartphone started ringing. It was an old device given to him by his parents. He hadn’t upgraded his phones recently because they still worked perfectly fine, and he didn’t have money, but it was worn out.

The screen was broken due to all the beatings the young man did take, but luckily, there weren’t any problems. Erik picked up the phone and looked at the caller; it was Benjamin Kaminski. He was his father’s oldest and best of friends.

The man took care of him in his father’s absence, helping him through difficult times. Whenever he didn’t have money to buy food, he gave him; whenever Erik needed something at school, he bought it. If there was a parent-teacher meeting, it was he who went.

He was the father Erik never had, but he too couldn’t be there whenever he needed something; he was a busy man as a military sergeant. So instead, he helped where he could.

“Uncle Benjamin!” Erik replied cheerfully.

Benjamin chuckled, “You’re always happy.” The young man tried not to be a burden to this person, so he didn’t report the bullying he was subject to.

The older man continued, “I’m doing great, by the way. How about yourself?”

Erik sighed deeply, but he tried to not make Benjamin hear it. He then put on the biggest smile he could and said, “Yeah, things are going well,” It was not true, obviously.

His uncle paused for a moment, he was probably aware of what happened to the young man, but if he didn’t say anything, he didn’t want to insist. After some time spent thinking, he spoke again, “is there something I can do to help you?” 𝙚𝙙𝙤𝙫𝒆𝙡.𝒄𝙤𝒎

That question was hard to answer, honestly. No matter how much he told Ben that he was okay, Erik wished someone would come along and save him from the hell he endured every day. But saying that aloud wouldn’t change anything, so he kept quiet about it.

“I don’t need anything. Thank you, uncle Benjamin,” the young man said.

After a few moments of silence, Benjamin said, “I was thinking of paying you a visit.”

“What? When?” Erik exclaimed. This was unexpected. Not only was he surprised, but he was also thrilled as well. Uncle Benjamin rarely visited him anymore, maybe once a month or less. Now that he mentioned it, it had been over three months since the last time.

“Is tomorrow good for you?”

It was perfect. Tomorrow would be Sunday, which meant no classes.

“Tomorrow is great!”

There was a short pause between them until Ben finally broke it.

“So why don’t we meet up at noon? I’ll bring you to a fancy restaurant,” Benjamin said.

“Yeah, that would be great!” Erik replied.

“Good,” Benjamin said.

The two talked a little bit more and ended their conversation after a while. Erik sat back on his couch, smiling happily while rubbing his hands together. Tomorrow he’d get to eat lunch somewhere nice with his favorite relative. For a kid like him, that was priceless.

The young man then stood from the couch and went to the bathroom; he had to take a shower. As usual, he changed clothes quickly when he got out before heading towards the kitchen. He grabbed his bowl filled with rice, chicken soup, and salad and ate dinner.

The following day was bound to be a good day, and his mood was good. It was something rare for him, well, he was happy when Benjamin came to visit him, but this time it was also thanks to the Biological supercomputer and the possibilities that it opened for him.

After dinner, the young man went to bed and drifted into Morpheus’s embrace a little while later.

***

-Inside another building.-

“How could you do that?” Logan’s mother said. She was angry, really furious.

Logan stayed silent; he wasn’t sure what else he should say. His mind was blank. He didn’t know whether he wanted to cry or scream. He felt helpless and scared.

Logan’s father remained silent.

She continued yelling at him, screaming. Her voice echoed throughout the room, shaking walls and rattling windows. At least she stopped beating him, although the bruises were already forming over his skin. That woman was crazy.

Maybe this was why Erik was bullied so much by the young boy.

“I swear, mom, I didn’t do it on purpose!” Logan replied.

“It doesn’t matter, you all damaged the school, and now we have to pay back the damages,” his mother screamed.

“Mom…”

“No, shut up!” She yelled.

He knew that one word was enough to trigger his mother. He decided to keep quiet instead. If he talked, it might end badly. So he did just that; he closed his mouth and waited patiently for her to calm herself.

As the seconds ticked away, Logan started wondering where his friends were.

Eventually, the screams subsided, and his mother calmed down. “I forbid you to see Orson and Conal,” his mother said.

“WHAT?! MOM, PLEASE!”

“NO! Logan, can you understand how grave the situation you put us in is? Besides, you probably ruined your future because of what you did. What if you won’t get job opportunities after the military years because of this stupid thing you did?”

“Then I will simply stay in the militaries!” Logan replied.

“And fight the thaids?!” His mother replied.

“Why not? Isn’t this our duty as citizens of Frant?”

Logan’s mother looked at her son with incredulity. “Do you even hear yourself when you speak?”

“Yes, yes, of course, I am aware of my stupidity,” Logan replied sarcastically.

His mother gave him an exasperated look.

“Look, I’m sorry,” Logan apologized. “But please let me hang out with my friends again, they’re the best people ever, and without them, life sucks.”

“They are troublemakers,” his mother said.

It was then that his father spoke. “Look, dear, stopping him from hanging out with his friends look a little too much?”

“Are you on his side now?” she asked.

“I’m not, honey.” Logan’s dad said to his wife.

Logan knew he had done something bad, but he couldn’t stop wondering if what they were doing was too much.

“We are only concerned about you, sweety,” his mother said.

Their only concern was Logan; it was true. Albeit, they showed it in a strange and twisted way. And that concerned them both equally.

“You need to learn some discipline, Logan,” his mother added. Discipline. Wasn’t he disciplined enough for his parents’ liking?

“Now, go to your room,” his mother said. He did as she said, but there was no way Logan could fall asleep that night. He lay awake staring at the ceiling for many hours. Did he really ruin his future? That question hunted the young man. Eventually, exhaustion took over, and he fell asleep, not knowing that Conal and Orson were in the same situation.