Emergency Quest

Slurping sounds were prominent as all 10 students fervently enjoyed a rare meal. The ramen in front of them glistened from oils of beast meat. Amazingly, this meal even managed to spark a friendly conversation between mouthfuls. Despite not always being at the best of odds with each other, there was currently no arguing.

Sadly, all good things must come to an end.

*Sigh*

"Why can't we enjoy food like this on the surface?" Ina mumbled to herself.

"Who knows?"

"Hey, I have an idea!" Oliver shot up excitedly! "Why don't we just bring the food to the surface! It's an untouched market!"

"Tch." Ken clicked his tongue while shaking his head as if he was looking at an idiot.

"I'm sorry, did I offend you, princess?"

Princess was the nickname Oliver had dubbed Ken ever since Terran carried him into the dorm passed out.

"No, I just don't see why you have to proclaim such a dumb idea out loud." Ken shot back.

"Dumb? I see someone hasn't been paying attention in their economics class! Buy low sell high! That's the most basic rule there is."

"Exactly."

"Oh, if you agree with me then why do you have to act like such a dickwad?"

"How dense is that head of yours? If it's the most basic rule, then a knucklehead like you wouldn't have been the first person to think of it! Have you already forgotten how we got here?"

"Teleportation," Oliver responded with confidence.

"And how do you suppose we do that? Even if we can, it doesn't mean we can carry a bunch of inventory with us. Moreover, there are bound to be other complications that we don't know about."

"Ha-ha! It appears you are the dumb one here. Have you forgotten? This place is basically just a hole in the ground.

Hearing this, Ken could only roll his eyes. "Ok, genius, where is the escalator?

Oliver, sensing that he may have made a dumb suggestion, retreated and decided to see if someone else could dig him out, "That's not what I was talking about. Terran, tell him what I meant!"

Unfortunately for Oliver, Terran had tuned them out long ago and was currently extremely distracted. A few minutes ago, the normally quiet system had popped up with an unexpected message.

<An entity carrying the energy of a Key Blessing has been discovered. An emergency quest has been issued.>

Terran zoned out after hearing such words from the normally quiet system. Then, after repeating what he had heard several times in his head, he decided to ask, "System, what is a key blessing?" While thinking, maybe the system would be in one of its rare sharing moods, considering it had gone out of the way to use the word emergency.

<Blessings get classified as a Key Blessing when they are determined to greatly increase the odds of the completion of the mission statement.>

Thankfully, Terran received a response and was not left fully in the dark.

--

Emergency Quest Name: Noah's Ark

Description: Steal specified blessing.

Additional Information: The target carrying the key blessing has been highlighted.

Time Limit: None.

Rewards: 100% AP Discount when learning the Key Blessing | 1,000 XP

Penalty: Every 24h, the user's stats will be decreased by 5%, stacking to a maximum of 50%. Upon completion, any remaining penalty debuff will be dispelled.

--

Reading through the quest, Terran frowned. This was the first time the system was using its power to make him do something. While it had desensitized the quest by using words like entity and steal, the truth was it was telling him to kill someone. Something he had worried about when reading through the system for the first time.

Yet that was not all. Apparently, the system could even tell what blessings people carried without needing to see them in use.

At this point, Terran noticed from the corner of his eye a cloaked figure walking down the street. However, that was not what drew his attention. Instead, it was the white glow that outlined their figure.

"So that's them? System, could you at least tell me what this so-called Key Blessing does? You clearly know since you have deemed it so important."

<Inspect feature locked. Progress to level 5 to unlock.> The monotone feminine voice of the system replied.

With nowhere to release his frustration, Terran's gut twisted.

"So let me get this straight, I'm supposed to risk my life to kill some random person who has an unknown world-saving blessing, and my already pitiful stats get reduced to that of a kid's until I decide to comply?"

<Correct.>

"Bullshit."

<Please note: issued emergency quests will always be within the user's skill range. The system will never do anything to put the mission statement at risk.>

"Glad to know my life is overshadowed by the mission statement."

Terran clicked his tongue, but in the end, he stood up, pushing in his chair and opening his mouth. "There is much to learn about the abyss. So, I propose we split up and try to gather as much information as possible."

Oliver, who had been looking at Terran for a response, was taken aback but did not miss the opportunity his friend gave him.

"Ha-ha, see Ken! Terran agrees there's a way to transport food to the surface, we just need to find it!"

Terran was clueless as to what Oliver was talking about. However, his cloaked target was already down the street. While the generous system had decided to mark them so they'd glow, it wouldn't be much help once they disappeared into the massive city.

Without saying anything else, Terran got up and left. He had not made up his mind to kill them. Still, this didn't mean he would completely ignore the quest and accept the debuff without doing his diligence.

With the system lighting his target up like a Christmas tree, following from a distance was no problem. Still, after 15 minutes, the figure hadn't made any stops. Terran was beginning to grow impatient; after all, their time on the first floor of the abyss was extremely limited. Thankfully, after another 5 minutes, the cloaked figure walked down an alleyway before disappearing into a warehouse.

Checking for cameras, Terran approached carefully. Upon reaching the door, he noticed an old fashion lock hole, something that had been long outdated and replaced by biometric scanners.

Seeing the hole, Terran smiled. "Today's my lucky day."

Pressing the tip of his finger to the lock, a tiny bone slowly began to extend outward, rapidly filling the gap.

A few seconds passed, and a soft click was heard.

Warily, Terran pressed himself up against the door and slowly turned the handle. As he cracked the door open, a wretched squeaking filled the air.

"Shit." He cursed while staring hatefully at the hinges and wishing for a lube-based blessing.

Despite the noise, Terran was not about to turn away. The warehouse was big, and there was still a chance his target was still blissfully unaware. Even if he did get caught, it wasn't like trespassing was a severe crime.

Finally, Terran peaked his head through the small crack, but the sight that greeted him caused him to jump back, slamming his back against the doorframe.

"Fuck me, I'm so dead! It definitely heard that! Why is it here? Why did I trust this stupid system!"

Not many living things could scare Terran. But, unfortunately, if there was one thing on earth that could, then it was without a doubt the thing he had just stolen a glance at through the rusty old door.

His target that he had so easily followed had taken off their cloak, and underneath was long flowing golden hair. However, Terran had not cared that his mark had turned out to be a woman. No, he would not have cared in the first place. Yet, he certainly didn't care when all he could focus on were the two white feathery wings.

"Why is there still a fucking chicken on Titan! What even was the point of reading those damn history books if all of them are clearly inaccurate!?"

Terran's mind was currently spinning as images from his trial flashed in his mind. The only time he had ever felt the pressure of death weighing on his head.

Without warning, a survival instinct that Terran had no memories of using kicked in. In fact, Terran never stopped moving after jumping back from the door.

He needed to seem harmless and have a plausible reason to be lurking. Diving into a nearby dumpster, Terran tore off his shirt and ripped his pants, covering himself in dirt and blood from instantly healed cuts.

When he was done, Terran looked no different from a kid that had raised themselves on the streets from a young age. This was all thanks to his body which was nowhere near fully recovered from his two years without food.

Within a second of taking on his new appearance, the door opened, and the figure immerged, once again draped in a black cloak.