2 First Quest
Adam woke up in the school infirmary. He instantly realized the place because of all the times he had to come here for treatment thanks to James' incessant bullying.
'What was that thing I saw before I passed out?... ' But he could not focus on his aching body as he got up. The only thing on Adam's mind was the strange characters that he saw before passing out.
"I pity you, you know? It's difficult for me to see you come here every day covered in wounds like this. " A man who seemed to be in his mid-thirties spoke while blowing smoke out the room window.
It's the school nurse Henry Blake, an African-American High Human healer who got close to Adam through the small conversations they had whenever he visited the infirmary for treatment.
Henry knew James was the reason for Adam's constant injuries and tried to help him several times by talking to the principal and even filed a complaint with the school board.
However, they ignored them all, stating the importance of James graduating from their school. They preferred a High Human graduate over a top-student graduate.
'Those old bastards have a few loose screws, letting that pampered kid do whatever he wants.... ' The school director's attitude infuriated Henry. But the only thing he could do for the poor boy was to conserve as much energy as he could during the day to treat his wounds after school.
"Thank you, Henry. " Adam thanked the kind man with a soft smile before getting out the bed, "I am all better now, thanks to your top-class treatment. "
Adam knew about Henry's various attempts to help him and regarded the man as his only ally. He found it quite funny how his only friend in a school full of young people his age was a 34-year-old nurse.
'If the nurse was a sexy older woman, at least... ' Adam cursed his miserable fate as he turned to the room door.
"Are you sure you can go home? " Henry asked in a worried tone.
"I'm as good as new, man, look I can even tap dance if you'd like. " Adam said as he skipped to the door. He did not want to worry Henry more than he already was.
'Don't act tough, kid.... ' Henry looked at Adam, who was slightly limping while skipping out, with a pitiful expression while sucking in another breath.
'I need to find out what the thing I saw earlier was... ' Adam thought as he ran through the hallways leading outside the school building.
__________
After a brief run through the busy streets of Brooklyn, Adam finally reached his apartment complex. A filthy dump with all kinds of lowlifes hanging around, fatherless children crying, with night workers soliciting businessmen on the street.
Adam walked through the mess and entered his building using his key. He ran straight into his apartment before locking the door behind him.
It's a small studio apartment containing a small bed to the right, an open kitchen to the left, and an overused sofa facing an old television in the middle. Despite its small size, however, the apartment was spotless and tidy.
Adam never neglected his daily cleaning duties and always picked up after himself, a habit he had to learn the hard way after living alone for 4 years.
Normally, a kid his age with the same circumstances would live in an orphanage, but because of the heavy burden on the government created by the increasing danger of the monsters. Orphanage programs diminished, and they normally left orphans to fend for themselves.
"Let's eat something first. " After changing his clothes, the young man fetched himself a cup of instant noodles to eat while watching the television.
The news all reported the same news about monster attacks or high suicide rates, but Adam had nothing else to watch. He didn't have enough money to pay for streaming services or video games.
The only entertainment he had was the occasional bloopers on news channels and books he borrowed from the school library.
After finishing his meal, he laid down on his bed while thinking about the strange characters he saw.
'How can I see it again? It mentioned something about a system, but that's all I can remember. ' Adam tried stretching his hand in the air, hoping he could feel something, it didn't work.
'Next... ' He tried thinking about the characters in his head, but nothing happened.
'Next.. '
"Next. "
"Next! "
"NEXT!"
"NEXT! NEXT! NEXT! "
He tried everything he could think of, but to no avail. The characters just wouldn't appear no matter how hard he tried.
"How do I get this system bull- " Something flashed in front of him before he could finish his sentence.
[Congratulations! You have awakened the Akashic system.]
[Check your record by saying "Unveil"]
"THIS IS IT!!! Finally, it's here. " Adam jumped off the bed when he saw the hovering text.
"Okay, I just need to say "Unveil" right? " As soon as he said the word, more characters blocked his vision.
[Name: Adam King]
[Sex: Male]
[Age: 17]
[Height: 170 cm]
[Class: None]
[Akashic connection: Low (low)]
[Level: 1]
Stats:
[HP: 90/90] [MP: 80/80]
[STR: 7] [AGI: 9]
[INT: 8] [VIT: 9]
[END: 10] [DEX: 11]
[ASP: 0]
[Skills: None]
"Woah!! This is amazing. " Adam said with a gaping mouth. The strange phenomena blew his mind away and left him in a daze. A rectangular black plate with golden text appeared in front of him.
"What exactly is this? It shows my name, sex, age, and height, but what are the rest of the characters? " He wondered what they were while his hand moved closer to the hovering text.
[Quest Generated]
Before Adam's hand could reach the plate, a new text interrupted him. He reached out and touched it.
[Quest #1:
Success condition:
Kill three Goblins before midnight.
Rewards: ASP+10
Gold potion +1
Silver potion+1
Penalty: Death]
[Do you accept? Y/N]
"What the? Death? I don't want to do it then. I refuse. " Adam read the text and instantly backed away at the mention of "Death". He is an ordinary high school student, his fighting capabilities are below average, and his physical condition is in the dumps.
Although goblins are weak monsters with low IQ and the physical strength of a 10-year-old, Adam is not confident in killing three of them.
[Refusing the quest will automatically enforce the penalty, are you sure? Y/N]
"Dammit!! Are you saying that I'm gonna die either way? " Adam thought about the possibility of the system being a stupid scam, but he chose not to test that theory.
"I accept the quest..... " He said with a dejected face and scornful eyes.
[Quest accepted!]
[Please choose a weapon for the upcoming quest]
Another black panel appeared in front of Adam, this time showing multiple weapon icons on a list. It contained spears, bows, daggers, hammers, and swords.
"Wow! These look so cool! Is it okay if I pick one? " Adam looked at the list with sparkling eyes. Like any normal teenager, he also wanted to try using a cool weapon to fight against monsters and sweep girls off their feet.
"I want a spear, but I don't think I'll be able to use it properly. So no. "
"A dagger is too short. No. "
"I'm no good at aiming, bows out of the question. "
"Hammer is... Just no. "
"I'll take a sword. It's the most suitable weapon. " Or so he made excuses, but he only wanted to choose a sword from the start.
In the various books he read, the main character would always be a handsome man riding a horse and wielding a shiny sword. To the powerless boy who could only dream about being the main character, a sword was the most alluring weapon.
"Okay, let's go with a one-handed sword, easy to carry and wield. " He settled on a silver sword with a black handle, about 120 cm long, which fit him perfectly.
"I like it, but carrying this with me in this neighborhood is going to cause me trouble... " Adam thought about ways to hide the sword before another text popped up.
[You can use the system inventory by saying "inventory"]
"Inventory... " Adam said, albeit unsure.
Only to have his doubts disappear by the big panel that showed up. It had several empty icons on it.
[0/80]
And some numbers on top, probably showing the number of things he can store.
[The size of the inventory depends on the user's MP.]
"That's perfect!! " Adam rejoiced and placed his new weapon in the inventory.
[1/80]
"Time to hunt some goblins. " His green eyes shone as he stepped out of his apartment.
Finding monsters is easy in New York. Apart from the regularly cleaned-out areas like Brooklyn and Manhattan, one only needed to go to infested areas, such as The Bronx.
Adam ran down the stairs and out of the building in a flash to avoid encountering any dangerous people. Although Brooklyn is one of the regularly cleaned-out areas, the crime rate is still high and criminals wandered everywhere. Adam ran to the subway station and boarded the next train to the Brooklyn Bridge.
"I hope I don't die... " The anxious boy got on the train with fear gripping his heart.
