Basic Mission: Community Cleanup Service.
Kill 6 goblins
6/6 ✓
Mission complete
Secret Condition Triggered.
Kill a total of 20 goblins
20/20 ✓
The sun slowly rised behind the buildings. Luke took a deep breath, leaning his back against the alley wall, fingers trembling.
The dead goblins vanished before his eyes, turning into digital dust carried away by the wind from the main street.
He had no idea what hit his head to spark that absurd idea, but somehow, Luke hunted nonstop through the entire night, and his heart didn't explode in the process.
Even though he was completely wrecked, his calves burning in pain and arms as limp as noodles, he felt more alive than ever.
Unfortunately, all his gear had disintegrated in the process, due to the quirks of the mirrored dimension, forcing him to find replacements.
'I got lucky there's no one in these houses… I can jump the wall and borrow what I need…' He wiped the dirt off his shredded clothes, torn apart from so much running back and forth. "Status."
Class: ?????
Level: 3
You're probably the most out-of-shape human in existence, but you've started to learn the basics of this world and can now function like a normal person in it.
"Nice, updated again! That's it, I'm too good for this!"
He smiled at the glowing screen, until a second one popped up, wiping away the last trace of joy from that brief moment.
You completed the mission!
Claim rewards?
"Ugh, don't scare me like that, I almost had a heart attack!" Luke clutched his chest; his heart was still weak after such stress. "Yes, I want to."
The screen stretched sideways, spitting out a wide leather quiver. Luke raised an eyebrow and untied the knot on the gift.
His eyes sparkled at what was inside — most notably, a long and super-cool katana, along with a set of vials.
Training Katana
Smaller and lighter than a regular katana. Still has a sharp edge, careful not to lose an arm!
Small Healing Potion
Self-explanatory. A reduced amount was distilled, so the effect is weaker.
Supplement Vial
Restores some energy and reduces muscle soreness. All attributes gain 10% more experience for the next 24 hours.
Alchemical Energy Drink
A beverage with an absurd amount of caffeine and other components to keep you awake for hours non stop. Stronger than Tadalafil. Use with caution, you could die if consumed repeatedly.
"Stronger than Tadala? You've got to be kidding me..."
The system shook a little before vanishing. Well, since it was already morning and Luke hadn't slept a single hour, he had no other choice but to accept it.
"This is a game in real life."
He drank the small healing potion first. His surface wounds healed quickly. A few remained, forcing him to drink another.
"There's no tutorial or anything like that. Everything depends on my body and my own intelligence. The message from the system reflects who I am now—so depending on my level and condition, it will change. Same goes for the separate attributes."
Made sense in his head. As crazy as it seemed, the secret reward for beating Chronicles of the King was living in another world with the help of a sarcastic floating screen.
Kinda annoying to have it constantly around, but existed to make life easier
If people in this world had unique powers, he should take full advantage of the one right in front of him. Besides, if not for sheer luck, he would've died the night before last.
Next, he downed the energy drink, which immediately wiped away any trace of sleep from his brain.
The marketing wasn't lying, Luke felt like he had drunk a whole bottle of coffee and could conquer the world with the electricity running through his veins.
"I'm also feeling some things I really shouldn't..."
All that remained was the katana and the vial. He grabbed the weapon first, a little heavy, but it'd do the trick.
He swung it in a straight line once, like a child with a rolled-up poster board. He had never practiced with a weapon like that, so he demonstrated zero skill using it.
A little green man turned the corner, the perfect target for a test. Luke ran at him and slashed diagonally, aiming for the neck.
The poor goblin had its head cut off, rolling down the asphalt before the entire body vanished.
"The system doesn't lie… Now, just the supplement vial is left."
With the item in hand, he noticed it looked like a regular potion, only yellow instead of the red of healing potions.
At first glance, its effect didn't seem very impressive. A 10% attribute gain increase sounded pretty lame, and besides, he didn't want to train every day.
The Supplement Vial will improve if the player repeats their daily mission. The effect increases by 2%, but resets if the mission is not completed.
"2%? So, if I train consistently for a month, the effect rises to 60%, and I can reach 100% in 50 days, basically doubling my attribute gains from training…"
According to the system's wording, existed a hidden experience system tied to physical attributes.
Using 100% of Luke's RPG knowledge, the safest way to become strong was to grind stats before facing a boss, unless you knew exactly what you were doing.
He had 0% idea of anything, so the best option would be to train nonstop and only fight when he felt ready, or when a new mission popped up.
"But killing mobs is so cool, and I'm sure I can level up even faster if I keep hunting goblins!"
Luke was now fully immersed in the idea of slaying monsters to eventually become a Raider.
He might not be able to shoot fire, run fast, or have a 200 IQ, but if he worked hard enough, maybe he'd become just as good as that masked savior!
He grinned, so excited he didn't even notice the new goblins spawning in the distance, ready to get slashed.
Luke took them down in no time, now equipped with a real weapon that actually did damage, they were easy prey.
You leveled up!
"Right, I can't forget I can still level up during all this…"
The screen vanished again, only to return with another update.
By completing the mission and leveling up, the option to exit the mirrored dimension has been unlocked.
To return, enter a safe zone and cross the transport line.
The mirrored dimension will only be available at scheduled times.
The option to modify the mirrored dimension's schedule will be added in the future.
"Safe zone, transport line… I guess that means a place with no monsters and some sort of indicator?"
Currently available safe zones: Home, Work.
"Home? But a goblin showed up there! How can that be a safe zone?"
Before answering anything, the floating window disappeared, leaving him with a grumpy face and a strong urge to slap whoever designed the system.
Luke sighed. The only option was to head back and see if any little green man would attack or not. He refused to lose his composure, anyone unaware could lose their head real fast.
Luckily, no goblin appeared. It was so calm that, for a moment, he felt deeply uncomfortable just walking around.
When he turned toward the bedroom door, he noticed a green line splitting the doorway from the living room.
"That must be what the system mentioned…"
He stepped into the room, and a pulse shot through his body—the same one he felt when first entering the mirrored dimension.
The sun hit his tired eyes with a blast of light, strong enough to make him shut the curtains.
He looked outside through a gap in the window. People walked back and forth, no goblins crawling out of sewers to drag anyone into the sludge.
"It worked. I'm back."
Luke smiled. He survived and remained in one piece. He even had the spoils of the mission, so everything felt more than just a dream.
"But I also stink like hell..."
Yeah, it was hard to avoid that when your clothes were trashed and covered in dirt. He tossed them aside and took a shower before coming back to check his rewards again.
He hid it on top of the wardrobe, believing to be the best place.
His phone chirped with the annoying crow of a rooster. Early morning, practically the same time he woken up yesterday.
The exercise mission screen also appeared.
"You know I can't pull that off so easily... Hah, seriously, killing goblins is way more fun."
Unfortunately, that window wanted to impose its healthy ideology on him. With no choice, he placed his hands on the floor to try a push-up, hopelessly.
"One...!" His belly almost hit the ground but somehow came back up. "Two...!" Wait, two?
Luke was so shocked he lost strength and hit his chin on the floor. It hurt like hell, but he wasn't hallucinating. He had done two reps!
2/40 push-ups; ⇧ UP
A huge dumb grin spread across his face. It was something so simple, something most people could probably do, and yet he had never been able to do it properly.
His mind quickly latched onto something specific: the supplement vial. If that boosted his stats and gave him a bit more energy, maybe he could finish the mission.
Luke opened the potion. The liquid bubbled inside like some deadly acid. He clenched his teeth and gulped it down.
An electric wave shot through his muscles, snapping every part of his body in sync. There was no obvious effect, but once he had jumped in, there was no turning back.
"Three...! Fooouur...!"
4/40 push-ups; ⇧ UP
His brain short-circuited. No thoughts, not even complaints—just muscle cries and pain flooding his awareness.
It hurt like hell. One of the worst things he'd ever gone through. The only reason he didn't puke was because his stomach was empty.
Sometimes, he had to stop. Tremors kicked in, and nothing responded, forcing him to rest. But as soon as the feeling passed, he went right back at it in a new set.
"One, two!"
2/40 sit-ups; ⇧ UP
Luke got lost in himself. He lost count of the reps. He only stopped when a specific floating screen showed up.
40/40 sit-ups. ✓
If that wasn't in front of his eyes, he'd never have had a reason to move on to another exercise. One by one, Luke broke down these impossible barriers.
When only the last two tasks remained, he stopped and ate something light, an apple. He also took the chance to pet Chocolata, the chocolate-colored cat who had no chocolate color at all.
In return, he got an extremely suspicious look from the little guy, judging him for getting up so early.
"Even you, Chocolata? Come on, I know it's supernatural, but you could cut me some slack..."
A disappointed sigh escaped his lips. It was clear not even his pet had any faith, but in the end, Luke himself who had taken the initiative.
He opened the front door. Once again, the sun attacked his forehead.
"I'm heading out, Chocolata. See you later."
Only the kitten woke up so early in the house. It didn't matter if its color was purple now, Chocolata was still the household pet.
He went down the stairs and headed to the nearby square, beginning the final step to complete his daily mission.
Your resistance increased.