Just as Adam was about to resume his jog, the familiar tone of a system alert chimed in his ears like an overly cheerful cashier announcing a deal at the worst possible moment.
[New Quest Available!]
"Ignore Her Until She Leaves"
Objective: Refuse to engage with Crystal Blake until she gets bored and walks away.
Reward: +10 Physique
Assimilation Time: 12 Hours
Note: Mental resistance to verbal distractions required.
He blinked.
"…Huh."
He reread the quest twice. A simple task—on paper. Ignore his other older sister. Stay silent. Let her scream, insult, curse, whatever. Don't respond.
In exchange? Ten points in Physique.
If this works the way I think it does… would I actually start getting abs?
The thought alone was enough to make his brain short-circuit. He'd never had abs in either of his lives. Not even accidental definition. Just a blob of pudding from chest to knees. This was too good to pass up.
He hit [Accept Quest] without hesitation.
"Hey!" Crystal's voice cut sharply through the space between them. "Are you just going to keep ignoring me, Piggy Brother?"
He didn't respond. Just tilted his head slightly in acknowledgment, like she was a particularly loud bird, and dropped into position to begin his sit-ups.
Crystal huffed.
"Hello? I'm talking to you. Don't act like your ears are full of grease."
Adam began counting silently in his head. One… two… three…
Her footsteps clicked closer behind him. She crouched. "What, are you possessed now? Did someone drop you on your head?"
Still no answer.
"Fine," she muttered, standing back up with a flick of her twin-tails. She took a seat on the bench at the edge of the training yard, legs crossed, arms folded. "I've got time. Let's see how long your stupid little health arc lasts."
The wind stirred, and her silvery twin-tails fluttered dangerously behind her like twin whips. Adam kept his breathing steady, spine crunching up and down as he pushed through his reps. Her gaze was like twin icicles stabbing into his back.
"Honestly," she said after a while, voice laced with a kind of petty amusement, "why now? Trying to get hot before entering the Grand Academy? Want to find yourself a sugar mommy? Don't tell me you think losing a few pounds will turn you into some stunning beauty."
He didn't flinch.
"Don't bother," she continued, resting her chin on her hand. "I've seen what you look like at your best. At most, you're cute. Barely. The type of face that could maybe get pity-kissed by a lonely dorm matron with a weird kink."
He moved to pushups.
Still silent.
Still working.
Crystal narrowed her eyes, watching as sweat pooled at his brow, rolled down his nose, soaked into the collar of his training shirt. His limbs were thicker now—not in the bloated, sickly way from before, but the kind that came from effort. Real effort.
She frowned slightly.
Something was off.
Just two nights ago, this same boy was half-wheezing over a tray of cream buns, acting like climbing a flight of stairs was martial training. Now, he was doing pushups under the evening sun like it was his religion.
What changed?
Her eyes drifted to the upper floor of the manor.
Laylee's tower room.
That strange calmness in her flames recently… her newfound clarity in casting…
No, Crystal dismissed the thought. It couldn't be. That kind of mana disturbance required a deep understanding of magical turbulence. Theoretical alignment. Spiritual recalibration. A man couldn't possibly comprehend something they've never even felt, let alone fix it.
Men didn't wield mana. They didn't understand casting. They didn't learn about channels or flows or core harmonization. Their bodies weren't even designed to experience such things.
Right?
She leaned back, exhaling through her nose.
In the end, it didn't matter. Even if he had somehow helped Laylee, it was probably an accident. He probably guessed. Said something vague that worked by coincidence. That was the limit of his use.
She stared up at the sky, now warming into gold-orange. Sunset.
Her own magic had plateaued for years now—stuck at Tier 5. She'd told herself she didn't care, but she knew why. That day. That humiliating test of aptitude, when their mother compared both daughters—magecraft and lordship, intellect and leadership. Crystal had outperformed her sister in raw magic, sure. But Laylee had embarrassed her in every other category. Political navigation. Territory management. Civil diplomacy. Trade.
She had stood there, furious and humiliated, while her mother praised Laylee in front of the council.
That was the first and last time she saw Laylee as her equal.
Now? She was stuck.
Stalled.
She hated being stalled.
And she hated being left behind.
Even now, watching this stupid tubby brother of hers do sit-ups with a straight back and grit in his jaw, something about it bothered her.
Because that wasn't Adam Blake.
Not the one she knew.
That Adam wouldn't last ten pushups without pretending to faint for sympathy. That Adam wouldn't stay silent after her fourth jab. That Adam… wouldn't try at all.
Why now? she thought again, biting her lip.
But she didn't ask.
She didn't even realize how long she'd sat there, watching, until the last rays of sunlight dipped below the edge of the garden.
When Adam finally stood, breath heavy, shirt soaked, he looked behind him—and found the bench empty.
She was gone.
[Quest Complete!]
✅ Ignore Her Until She Leaves
Reward: +10 Physique
[Assimilation in 12 hours!]
A new notification slid quietly into place in the corner of his vision, but he barely reacted. His body ached, his knees wobbled, and his arms were shaking—but it was the good kind of pain. The kind that felt earned.
He stood in the little garden at the edge of the courtyard, watching the last colors of the sky bleed away into a darkening blue. The air was heavy with the scent of grass, flowers, and, unfortunately, his own sweat. Still, he smiled.
This was work.
This was real.
This was him clawing his way out of the shallow grave that fate had already dug for Adam Blake.