21 The reward

"Well," Beth said, swayed for a moment by the suggestion. She shook her head. Focus Beth, focus! She shouted inside her head. Extending a hand towards the boy, she said, "My reward. I want to know-"

"Ahh, your reward. I forgot." The boy said, cutting her off.

He clicked his hand and stood back, nodding at her appreciatively.

"Huh? Was that it?" She asked, raising her brows.

Was the reward a click of his hand? She went through all that trouble to hear that?! She glared at him irritated. She was about to curse him when a mirror appeared between the two of them.

"There you go!" The boy's voice rose from behind the mirror. "Now we look around the same age, don't we?"

Beth stared at the image on the shiny surface with shock. She raised her hand, and the image mimicked her action. She opened her mouth, and it did the same. There was no doubt that the mirror was reflecting her figure. But how?

"How?" She asked, looking at her reflection in awe.

Instead of the shabby ten-year-old was a girl who looked much older. At least two to three years older than her previous self. Instead of a flat chest, she now had two tiny bumps in that area. Her lips were a bit more defined, and her lashes longer. She still had the child-like green eyes, that along with her silver hair, made her stand out as a beauty in any crowd. With just a click of the boy's hand, her body had grown up without her even realizing it.

The boy peeked at her from behind the mirror. "You completed your task, so you've leveled up by..." He paused, looking thoughtful. "I'd say half a GD. After one more task, you can proceed to the next level."

"Half a GD?" Beth asked, confused by the term.

She remembered that once before the system had shown her good deeds in the same unit.

"A GD is how we measure good deeds." The boy said, nodding to her. With a click of his hand, the mirror disappeared. He turned to her with an appreciative nod. "You were smart planting a Winged Golden Pear. If you were to have planted any ordinary tree, then your progress would have been much slower. Though, I would advise you to be more careful on your next task." He said, looking thoughtful.

Beth smiled, thanking her luck. She had only chosen a seed randomly, and it turned out to be her best choice. But the information bothered her.

"What?" She asked, narrowing her eyes at the pretty boy. "Wait. So you're telling me that I don't get to ask for rewards, but you will give it to me when I complete each task."

"You're right." The boy said with a nod.

Beth narrowed her eyes as she waved at the boy. "Come here." She said, calling the boy forward.

He stepped towards her, curiously, asking, "What is- Ouch!" He screamed, putting a hand to his cheek.

"Sorry, I just wanted to test something." She replied with a shrug. "So you feel pain, and you're just as warm as a normal person."

She couldn't figure it out. The boy claimed that he was the system. Then how was it possible that he was just like her? She stared at him, hoping to figure out something with it.

The boy looked at her with fear. Making sure that there was ample distance between the two of them, he said, "It's a secret of the creator. He is a genius god indeed."

"God? Which god?" She asked enthusiastically. "Who created you?"

Her mind raced with infinite possibilities. Maybe if she found the god and returned the system to them, they could strike a bargain of some sort...

"What god? When did I say, god?" The boy asked with a shrug.

"You just did." Beth accused, shaking a finger at him.

"No, I didn't." He said, matching her energy.

She pouted at him in annoyance. It seemed like she wasn't going to get anything out of him. "Fine. What do I call you?" She asked, taking a seat beside him on the mattress.

"System, of course." He replied with a goofy smile.

"Don't you have a name?" She asked, raising her brows in surprise.

The boy nodded. "I do. That is my name." He said, looking offended at her question.

Beth huffed. "How boring." She said, turning away. "Anyway, how am I supposed to go out like this? Wouldn't people get suspicious?" She asked, waving at her transformed body.

"No. When you step out of this dimension, all the data about you will be reset in heaven. Nobody would be able to spot the difference between how you looked earlier and how you do now." He replied.

"So say, I keep doing the tasks you assign to me, I'd keep growing in body size?" She asked, sitting back against the wall.

"Yes, as you keep leveling up, your body will also grow accordingly." The system replied, mimicking her actions.

Beth nodded, deep in her thoughts. That was not her plan. She wanted to find out more information on heaven and hell and then escape to wherever was better. But since what the system offered was an easier way out, she thought that it would be ideal for her.

"Not a bad deal. So as long as I do it all, I can escape being a slave. Right?" She asked, turning to the boy.

If it meant that she could level up to at least a free god, she would be happy.

"Better yet, you can level up to the highest gods in heaven." The system replied, beaming at her.

Beth laughed at the answer. Great. If she was ever to become an important god, then that meant that she could live more luxuriously than the likes of One, Two, or Three. If she were to have more power than them, then none of them would be able to bully her as well. She thought happily. Suddenly she heard a thud somewhere nearby.

"What's that sound?" She asked, turning to the boy.

But before she could complete her sentence, she was back in her room, sitting on the floor, hunched toward her futon.

"Beth?" Fifty-eight's voice came from behind her. "Who were you talking to?"