Chapter 21: Good People and Bad People
[DING]
[The difficulty of Daily Mission #1 Physical Training has been adjusted.]
[The details of Daily Mission #1 Physical Training are now available to the user.]
[The user has accepted Daily Mission #2 Old Man's Test.]
[The details of Daily Mission #2 Old Man's Test are now available to the user.]
Shun heard the announcements made by the system's robotic voice, and he eagerly opened the daily missions tab.
[Daily Missions:
#1 Physical Training
Run 15 km
Complete all the following exercises and positions*
Deadline: End of the day.
Rewards: 10 coins and 2 bronze mystery boxes.
Failure Penalty: Loss of the system.
#2 Old Man's Test
Run 40 km
Deadline: End of the day.
Rewards: Quirk Divine Recovery, 1 legendary skill box for runners, and 2 random grade C elixirs.
Failure Penalty: Loss of the system.]
Shun looked at the first mission and swallowed hard. He looked at the extra 5 km of running with dread, but when he saw the updated exercise list, he broke into a cold sweat. The list was even longer and more intense, and just the thought of completing it sent chills down Shun's spine.
Shun then looked at the second mission in disbelief, feeling the life drain from his body as he tried to put his feelings into words.
"You— you— Old Man, you son of a b***h! Hahaha, I knew it, you want to kill me! Ahhhhh, I'm so stupid, how could I trust this stupid system! I'm going to die, I'm definitely going to die!" - Madness overtook Shun as he realized he had to run 40 km today. In recent days, he had struggled to run 10 km, and the increase to 15 km made him sweat with fear, but 40 km? He genuinely believed he might die.
As part of the system, the Old Man knew the best thing to do in this situation was to remain silent and let Shun calm down on his own. A few minutes later, Shun left his room without saying a word and went for a run.
*2 hours later*
*Gasp* *Gasp* *Gasp* - The sound of Shun's deep breathing could be heard from several meters away. Normally, the boy would be cursing the system by now, but he didn't have a drop of energy left in his body. After running as if his life depended on it for 2 hours, with almost no breaks, Shun managed to run 17 km.
Normally, he would be proud of breaking his record, but at that moment, the boy was crawling back home with a single thought driving him to the brink of insanity.
"I still have 23 km left."
Shun opened the door to his house and climbed the stairs with difficulty. The boy got into the bathtub to take a bath, and when he felt the warm, comfortable water, he almost decided to stay there for the rest of the day.
"Come to think of it, if I manage to complete the mission, the rewards seem really good." - Shun was calmer after running for so long, but all that calm disappeared when the Old Man's voice echoed inside his head.
[Hmph! Of course the rewards are good, kid. I already told you, as long as you listen to me, I can be a great help to you.]
"Great help, my ass! You damn Old Man, you finally started talking again. You really have no shame, do you? You tricked an innocent child by offering a bunch of benefits. How can you live with yourself?" - Shun resumed his tirade against the Old Man almost immediately after hearing his voice.
Normally, the Old Man would stay quiet and wait for the boy to calm down, but his patience had its limits, and that limit had already been reached.
[You little brat! Who the hell is an innocent child? And when did I ever trick you, huh? You were the one whining about two years being too long. I simply offered you the chance you asked for, you ungrateful brat! Besides, I warned you it would be difficult, and you just didn't think it through, you stupid kid!]
"Huh??!! You're the stupid one, you damn Old Man!"
And so, an old man and a boy argued for quite some time. In the end, Shun's mother yelled at him for taking too long in the bath, and the boy quickly put on his school uniform and went downstairs. He was late, his father had already left for work, and his twin sister had already gone to her school.
"Bro!" - Shun heard his little sister Yumi's voice. He looked in the direction of the voice and saw the little girl sitting at the table, eating her breakfast. He couldn't help but think about how there were such good people in the world, like his sweet and cute sister, and how there were such bad people, like a certain old man who deceived children.
He walked over to his sister and placed his hand on her head, gently patting it.
"Hey Yumi, never stop being a good person, okay?"
"Hm?" - The little girl looked up at her brother, her big blue eyes full of confusion. But before the girl could say anything, she heard her mother's voice.
"SHUN TAKAHASHI, STOP DAWDLING!!" - Aiko appeared in the kitchen, clearly angry with her son. The boy was already late, but instead of sitting down and eating, he was playing with his little sister.
"YES MA'AM!" - Shun felt a chill run down his spine when he heard his mother's irritated voice. He quickly gave a mock military salute with his right hand and sat down. The boy then began eating as fast as he could. He finished his breakfast quickly, grabbed his packed lunch from the counter, and dashed out the door toward school.
"Hey, Shun, wait!" - Aiko saw her son sprint out the door and tried to call him back, but when she stepped outside to stop him, Shun was already disappearing around the corner, running quickly with his lunch in hand.
"Mama! Bro forgot his backpack!" - The adorable Yumi came running to her mother with her brother's backpack in her hands.
"Oh dear, it looks like your idiot brother is going to have to attend class without his materials today" - Aiko sighed as she took the backpack from the little girl's hands and headed back inside.