The upgraded System had only been active for a short time, but Vash was already discovering how much had changed.
He sat at the small table behind Grandpa's Noodles and opened the new interface.
---
[ ORDINARY SYSTEM ]
Host: Vash
Level: 1
System Points: 1 / 100
System Integrity: 18%
System Initialization: 20%
Condition: Operational
---
Vash looked through the options.
Status
Attributes
Skills
Daily Mission
Mission
System Shop
He had already seen the System Shop.
Now his attention moved to Daily Mission.
He opened it.
The interface changed.
---
[ DAILY MISSION ]
Daily Objectives:
1. Run — 1 kilometer
2. Push-ups — 10 repetitions
3. Yoga — 15 minutes
4. Study — 2 hours
5. Help at Grandpa's Noodles
Completion Reward: +3 System Points
Reset: Every 24 Hours
---
Vash stared at the list.
"These weren't here before."
The System had changed the old daily routine into something much more structured.
The first three were clearly connected to his physical development.
Running.
Push-ups.
Yoga.
Nothing extreme.
Just consistency.
Vash looked at his attributes.
---
Strength: 7.5 / 10
Agility: 6.5 / 10
Endurance: 5.5 / 10
Reaction: 6.5 / 10
---
He understood what the System was trying to do.
His body had recovered.
But recovery was only the beginning.
If he wanted to become stronger, he had to train regularly.
Vash closed the Daily Mission interface.
Then he noticed the other option.
Mission.
He tapped it.
A new screen appeared.
---
[ MISSION INTERFACE ]
Available Missions: 2
---
MISSION 01 — ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE
Objective: Create a Functioning Artificial Intelligence
Time Limit: 3 Years
Progress: 0.00%
Current Stage: AI Fundamentals
Stage Reward: +1,000 System Points
Final Reward: +10,000 System Points
Penalty: System Shutdown Mode
---
Vash's eyes widened.
"So the first stage gives me a thousand?"
He remembered the System Shop.
Basic Mathematics cost 100 points.
Basic Programming cost 200.
Basic Artificial Intelligence cost 300.
A thousand points would give him access to several things.
But there was still a problem.
He had only 1 System Point.
Vash scratched his head.
"I really need to start earning again."
He moved to the second mission.
---
MISSION 02 — HUMAN LIMIT
Objective: Develop physical attributes to the natural human limit.
Required:
Strength — 10.0 / 10
Agility — 10.0 / 10
Endurance — 10.0 / 10
Reaction — 10.0 / 10
Current Progress: Incomplete
Reward: +1,000 System Points
---
Vash became quiet.
Ten out of ten.
He looked at his current numbers again.
He was nowhere near it.
"So recovery didn't make me physically perfect."
That actually made sense.
His injuries had healed.
His movement had returned.
But physical development was something different.
It would take time.
Training.
Practice.
Consistency.
Vash smiled.
"Two missions."
One required his mind.
The other required his body.
"I guess I can't neglect either one."
He closed the interface.
A moment later, Grandpa's voice came from the restaurant.
"Vash! Can you help me carry these?"
"Coming!"
Vash stood and walked outside.
The restaurant was finally open again.
The repairs were complete.
The new tables stood where the damaged ones had been.
The chairs were replaced.
The dishes and utensils had been restocked.
The new signboard was hanging above the entrance.
Grandma was already preparing food.
Customers had started returning.
Vash helped Grandpa carry supplies inside.
For a while, everything felt normal again.
Then the restaurant door opened.
The Gang Boss walked in.
Several of his men followed him.
But this time, there was another person with them.
One of the members walked behind the Boss with his head lowered.
Vash recognized him.
The Boss stopped near Grandpa and Grandma.
"Grandpa."
Grandpa looked up.
"You're here."
The Boss didn't sit down.
Instead, he turned toward the member beside him.
"Tell them."
The man hesitated.
The Boss's expression became serious.
"Tell them what you did."
The member slowly stepped forward.
"I was involved in the attack on this restaurant."
Grandma stopped what she was doing.
Grandpa's face became serious.
Vash said nothing.
The man continued.
"We were paid to damage this place."
"Who paid you?" Grandpa asked.
The man lowered his head.
"Some restaurant owners from the other side of the area."
Vash immediately remembered the nearby competitors.
The people who had been complaining about Grandpa's Noodles.
The people who had watched the restaurant's growth with jealousy.
The member continued.
"They gave us $300."
Grandpa frowned.
"$300?"
"Yes."
"They told us to cause enough damage that the restaurant would have trouble operating."
Silence filled the room.
Vash's expression hardened.
So it had been planned.
The destruction hadn't happened by accident.
Someone had paid for it.
The Gang Boss finally spoke.
"I found out only recently."
He looked at the member.
"He works in another part of the area. He didn't know about my arrangement with this restaurant."
Grandpa looked at him.
"You had told your people?"
"I had."
The Boss nodded.
"Grandpa's Noodles is under my protection. But this member didn't know."
The member stepped forward.
"I'm sorry."
He bowed.
"What I did was wrong."
Grandma looked at him for several seconds.
Then she glanced around the repaired restaurant.
"You can't undo what happened."
"I know."
"But at least you came here and told us the truth."
The man nodded.
The Boss reached into his pocket and placed an envelope on the table.
Grandpa looked at it.
"What is that?"
"Five thousand dollars."
Grandpa immediately shook his head.
"$5,000? That's too much."
"The repairs cost less than that," Grandma added.
"I know."
The Boss looked around the restaurant.
"This isn't only about the repair bill."
He pushed the envelope toward them.
"You lost business. You lost time. Your family had to deal with the damage."
Grandpa remained silent.
"We caused the problem," the Boss continued. "So we'll take responsibility for it."
After a moment, Grandpa accepted the money.
"Thank you."
The Boss nodded.
Then he added something else.
"And I won't retaliate against the other restaurant."
Vash looked at him.
The Boss continued.
"They did something wrong. But destroying their business won't solve the problem."
Vash didn't respond.
He understood.
But understanding didn't mean forgetting.
His eyes moved around the restaurant.
He remembered the broken tables.
The damaged dishes.
The ruined equipment.
And most of all, he remembered the look on his grandparents' faces.
He wouldn't forget that.
Not because he wanted revenge.
Because it reminded him of something.
His grandparents had already sacrificed almost everything for him once.
He didn't want them to ever be helpless again.
Vash looked at his hands.
The System had given him two missions.
One for his mind.
One for his body.
Maybe they weren't just random objectives.
Maybe becoming stronger meant being able to protect what mattered to him.
He quietly made a promise to himself.
"I'll become stronger."
Not recklessly.
Not overnight.
Step by step.
The restaurant gradually became busy again.
Grandpa returned to serving customers.
Grandma went back to the kitchen.
Vash helped them both.
Later that night, he returned to his room.
He opened the System.
---
[ DAILY MISSION ]
Run — 1 km
Push-ups — 10
Yoga — 15 minutes
Study — 2 hours
Help at Grandpa's Noodles
Completion Reward: +3 System Points
---
Vash looked at the list.
Then he opened Mission.
---
[ MISSION ]
Create a Functioning Artificial Intelligence
Reward: +10,000 SP
Human Limit
Reward: +1,000 SP
---
Two paths.
One toward knowledge.
One toward physical strength.
Vash smiled.
"I'll do both."
He closed the System.
Outside, Grandpa's Noodles was quiet again.
The restaurant had been repaired.
The truth had finally come out.
But Vash knew that remembering what happened would change him.
And he wasn't going to waste that lesson.
One week passed.