Seon-mi had spent the whole night navigating the intricate system, trying to gain a better understanding. She came to the realisation that a higher power was at play, this technology was far too advanced, far too intricate to not have been created by some omnipotent being.
The sun started to rise and cast its warm glow into Seon-mi's room.
"Morning already huh? I should probably take a shower" she said.
Just as she got out of bed ready to start her day a system message appeared
DAILY OBJECTIVE
1K RUN - 0m/1000m
10 PUSH UPS - 0/10
10 SIT UPS - 0/10
10 PULL UPS - 0/10
10 PALM STRIKES - 0/10
HOLD BREATH - 0/60 SECONDS
TIME REMAINING: 17:30:55
"This has got to be a joke. It seriously expects me to do all of this"
Seon-mi sat down and contemplated.
"But will there be some sort of penalty if I ignore it? If this is anything like a game there just might be, I should'nt take any chances, I don't fully understand what's happening yet "
Seon-mi approached her suitcase that she didn't even get the chance to unpack that day and brought out a tracksuit.
"Well... I guess I'm doing this."
* * *
Worn out and panting, Seon-Mi returned home after a grueling two-hour session. As she collapsed at the front door, catching her breath, she exclaimed, "I NEVER want to do that again."
Just as she lay there, another notification box popped up.
DAILY OBJECTIVE COMPLETE
1K RUN - 1000m/1000m
10 PUSH UPS - 10/10
10 SIT UPS - 10/10
10 PULL UPS - 10/10
10 PALM STRIKES - 10/10
HOLD BREATH - 60/60 SECONDS
PLEASE SELECT YOUR REWARD
"A reward? Of course, this wasn't just trying to keep me fit and healthy, everything this system does has a purpose. I guess if there's a reward at the end of it I have something to work towards.
The rewards were listed below
- 20 XP
- 10 COINS
- RANDOM 1* TOOL
- RANDOM 1* GEAR
"These rewards, they're not half bad. If it's like this everyday I can really increase my stats and level."
Seon-mi selected '10 Coins'. The bell dinged and the coins were added.
INFO
LEVEL: 2
XP: 2
AVAILABLE COINS: 10
NAME: Song Seon-mi
JOB: Hitman*
GENDER: Female
AGE: 23
WEIGHT: 58KG
HEIGHT: 5'5
HP: 100
SP: 12
MP: 100
CONDITION: EXHAUSTED, SORE, THIRSTY
STATUS EFFECTS: None
XP TILL NEXT LEVEL: 10
"Choosing coins was the right choice, if I chose XP I'd only be able to level up, but with coins I can buy items from the shop and increase my stats which in turn gives me XP"
Seon-mi navigated to the attributes & skills page
ATTRIBUTES
STRENGTH: 6
SPEED: 4
CHARISMA: 6
DEXTERITY: 2
AGILITY: 3
IQ: 16
SKILL: 7
ENDURANCE: 16
LUCK: 2
HUMANITY: 1001
SKILLS
NONE
AVAILABLE COINS: 10
She added coins to the following stats and a notification box popped up
ARE YOU SURE YOU WANT TO INCREASE:
SPEED: 3 (+2)
ENDURANCE: 16 (+2)
DEXTERITY: 2 (+1)
NO - YES
She selected 'yes' and another box appeared
YOUR ATTRIBUTES HAVE INCREASED
YOU HAVE ACQUIRED
5 XP
"Good it worked, so the 5 Coins I just spent somehow gets transferred into XP whenever I increase my stats. Why don't all games have this feature?"
Seon-mi was a fast learner and quickly got used to the how the system worked. She went back to the info page
INFO
LEVEL: 2
XP: 7
AVAILABLE COINS: 5
NAME: Song Seon-mi
JOB: Hitman*
GENDER: Female
AGE: 23
WEIGHT: 58KG
HEIGHT: 5'5
HP: 100
SP: 12
MP: 100
CONDITION: TIRED, SORE, THIRSTY
STATUS EFFECTS: None
XP TILL NEXT LEVEL: 10
"Looks like I'm only 3 XP away from levelling up again. I should probably take shower."
* * *
Under the stream of the shower, as the water cascaded around her, Seon-mi stood frozen, caught in a PTSD episode, her mind replaying the horrifying moment when she discovered her family. Suddenly a system notification snapped her out of the haunting trance, bringing her back to reality.
A SMALL GROUP OF THUGS HAVE TERRORISED YOUR NEIGHBOURHOOD FOR THREE YEARS.
DISPOSE OF THEM
REWARDS:
- 50 XP
- 30 COINS
- SMITH & WESSON M&P 9mm
- 9mm ROUNDS x60
- SILENCER (ATTACHMENT)
- SKILL: SLIGHT OF HAND
RECOMMENDED LEVEL: 5
"Dispose of them? As in kill? No way this thing is actually serious right?"
Seon-mi got out of the shower and proceeded to get dressed. She decided to make herself a quick bowl of instant ramen before heading out.
As she sat at the table eating, she re-checked the mission details.
"Now that I'm looking again these rewards are pretty good. It's even giving me a gun, but the thing I'm really after is that skill. I don't have a skill yet so I want to see what that's like."
She picked up the bowl and drank the remaining broth.
"I guess I'm doing this"
Swiping away the system box, she dawned her hoodie and pulled the strings tight in order to conceal her face as much as she could, and left the house.
Under the high sun, casting its warm embrace over the neighborhood, Seon-mi felt a pang of sorrow. This would have been the perfect day to spend with her family. Yet, those days were gone. Unable to relish the warmth of the sun, she pressed forward, burdened by the weight of her loss.
She summoned the system box & tapped on the map, and just like before a detailed map of her neighbourhood appeared. There was a group of red dots in a single location.
"That must be them. I'm just gonna do some recon, there's no need to rush this since there isn't a timer on this mission, plus going in as I am now would be suicide. Baby steps."
Seon-Mi strolled through her neighborhood with both hands in her hoodie pockets, her mind weaving a plan for the challenging task that lay ahead.